"I've become indebted to you again, Cho Euishin-gun. Thank you for helping with the cleanup of Silverlight District."
His tone and atmosphere were completely different from the Kim Shinrok I knew.
He wasn't the same friendly teacher who came to my room with Seong Siwan and wished me well.
Kim Shinrok's expression was difficult to read.
'Somehow, he doesn't look human.'
Red Tiger.
Kim Shinrok.
The magic beast's intrusion at the entrance exam.
The Tiger and Bear Clans.
This place.
One by one, I put my thoughts together.
It was hard to believe, but I could only come to one conclusion.
"You're not human."
The probability of True Clansmen having children with each other or with humans was extremely low. And even if they did, the child isn't part of the True Clan.
In the cases of White Tiger, Yellow Tiger, and Red Tiger, who were sacred tigers recorded in the Gaecheon myth, they became True Clansmen.
Meanwhile, Yong Jegeon was born from the yeouiju of the Dragon King, a higher being.
(tl/n: yeouiju – a wish-fulfilling gem, consider it like a philosopher's stone. Eastern dragons are often depicted holding one.)
'Haa, I can't believe it.'
Being in Red Tiger's realm meant he needed to be either a Tiger Clansman or one of their descendants.
However, if he was just a Tiger or a descendant of theirs, he wouldn't have been easily defeated by the Bear Clansman at the entrance exam.
Even if a descendant fought against the True Clan, there was no way they could be seriously injured within the brief time afforded by deceiving the eyes of other teachers prior to the entrance exam.
But if he was also a descendant of the Bear Clan, it'd be a different story.
Descendants couldn't resist the True Clan they inherited the blood of.
"You're a descendant of the Tiger and Bear Clans."
Kim Shinrok was a descendant of the Tiger Clan while simultaneously being a descendant of the Bear Clan.
To be more precise, he was the descendant of Red Tiger and Sorrowful Ungnyeo.
"As expected of the Unknown Supernova. How brilliant."
As Kim Shinrok answered with a smile, he didn't look human at all.
"That's right. I'm the descendant of two True Clans, the Tigers and Bears."
That crazy garbage game.
A character who died during the tutorial, and without a single line of dialogue, has a setting like this?
"As you already know, descendants are bound by blood. I can't attack Tiger or Bear Clansmen. So, in the last raid, I couldn't resist and was defeated by the Bear Clansman."
Kim Shinrok smiled and pointed to the end of the dark hallway.
"Let's go. Red Tiger-nim is waiting for you."
In the game, Red Tiger wore only black clothes until the day he died.
It was probably in mourning of Kim Shinrok, his son and a descendant of the Tiger Clan.
After following Kim Shinrok to the end of the hallway, I saw Red Tiger.
"White Tiger, Cho Euishin. The Bear Clansman is confined here, but he's unconscious."
Guided by Red Tiger, we entered the laboratory.
Inside, I could see the armless Bear Clansman and the struggling Choi Pyeondeuk.
When Choi Pyeondeuk saw Kim Shinrok, his eyes lit up.
"M-Mr. Kim, you're just in time! Come on, listen to me. There seems to be a small misunderstanding between me and these gentlemen! Come on, help me."
"Don't flap your mouth in front of White Tiger-nim and Red Tiger-nim."
Kim Shinrok threw a thumbtack at his chin.
"Gyaack!"
The thumbtack nailed itself to Choi Pyeondeuk's chin.
He sobbed as blood flowed from where the tack pierced him.
'It's only natural for Choi Pyeondeuk to be beaten up, but why?'
Why?
Why a thumbtack?
I gave Kim Shinrok a questioning gaze.
"Some students and faculty prefer physical noticeboards, so I always have them on me."
Shake-
Kim Shinrok waved a small plastic container full of thumbtacks.
Gazing at Choi Pyeondeuk, he took out two and repeatedly flicked them into the air before catching them.
"Is there anything you want to ask?"
Of course, I had expected Red Tiger to do the interrogating.
Kim Shinrok spoke with an artificial smile that still didn't look like that of a human's.
"I'm pretty good at this, even more so than Red Tiger-nim."
"Leave it to him, Cho Euishin."
Choi Pyeondeuk, stunned by Red Tiger's words, gasped and looked at me.
"What? Cho Euishin? N-No way, the Unknown Supernova is the Phan-…!"
"Only talk to answer questions."
"Gyaak!"
Kim Shinrok took the two thumbtacks he'd been juggling and shot them into Choi Pyeondeuk's forehead.
There was no doubt about it.
Kim Shinrok really was good at this.
"I only have one question."
There was one thing I wanted to ask.
Apart from that, I already knew about or could easily investigate anything Choi Pyeondeuk knew.
However, I needed to uncover information that was unknown even in the game.
"Which member of the Zodiac Alliance broke Silverlight's barrier?"
At my question, Baek Hogun, Red Tiger, and Kim Shinrok's gazes became sharp.
Choi Pyeondeuk responded to me.
"I-I can't answer that!"
Clatter-
Kim Shinrok poured out school supplies in front of Choi Pyeondeuk.
Ballpoint pens, safety scissors, box knives, thumbtacks, pencil sharpeners…
They were clearly common school supplies, but they felt ominous in the hands of Kim Shinrok.
Feeling my gaze, Kim Shinrok smiled again and spoke.
"I've been a teacher for a while."
He picked up a 0.38mm red ink ballpoint pen and held it up to Choi Pyeondeuk's eye.
"And there's a lot of very, very good pen and paper school supplies."
Soon, Choi Pyeondeuk began to let out shrill screams.
I saw the true nature of the True Clan descendant Kim Shinrok, who pretends to be an ordinary, kind-hearted teacher.
There was yet another faculty member I should never mess with.
About 30 minutes later.
Before Kim Shinrok could even test out ten kinds of school supplies, Choi Pyeondeuk squealed out a surrender.
"A-Argh, I-I don't know! When the barrier was broken, I saw a shadow with a long tail. They have a long tail!"
After checking Choi Pyeondeuk's eye movement, heart rate, subtle twitches, etc, Kim Shinrok gave me a nod.
It seemed to be true.
In accordance with the Zodiac Alliance's covenant, they must have needed to transform into the incarnation of a zodiac sign when breaking the barrier.
'A long tail. In the zodiac, the rat, ox, tiger, dragon, snake, horse, monkey, and dog have long tails. It can be cut down to six if you exclude the tiger and dragon, who are obviously innocent.'
Rat, ox, snake, horse, monkey, dog.
It was between the Rat Clan, Ox Clan, Snake Clan, Horse Clan, Monkey Clan, and Dog Clan.
Among those six was the True Clan who betrayed the Tigers.
It was impossible to tell if there was just one traitor, but even if there was, it wouldn't be a problem.
'The game is still in its early stages. I still have an infinite amount of things to take advantage of.'
After I was done, Kim Shinrok started questioning him.
"Why did you aim for the positions of class 1-1's homeroom teacher and the Landwing Union's advisor? You've previously declined the opportunity to be both. What are you trying to do in Silverlight High?"
"I-I don't know… They told me to do it…!"
I could hear the sound of three colorful thumbtacks between Kim Shinrok's fingers.
Shaken, Choi Pyeondeuk answered immediately.
"Agh! Excellent students, they said they needed them for sacrifices!"
After hearing excellent students and sacrifices being brought up, I remembered something.
In the game, the Landwing Union was annihilated one year from now.
Thanks to Joo Soohyeok and An Dain, most first years survived the event.
'Killing the descendant Kim Shinrok allowed them to cut down on Silverlight's power and appoint Choi Pyeondeuk to handle gathering sacrifices. They've been working hard from the very beginning.'
I expected something like that, but it was good to hear it straight from the mouth of an active Silverlight teacher.
After that, there were more interrogations and confessions.
'…There's no end to it.'
Insulting the Tiger Clan's sacred land with his lavish business.
Putting a talented student into a fight club.
Selling a student with rare abilities to an auction.
Obstructing an excellent teacher from becoming a full-timer…
Red Tiger constantly emitted red sparks, and Baek Hogun's eyes grew colder and colder.
However, those weren't all the evil deeds committed by Choi Pyeondeuk.
'To accept and advocate for bribes from students… It's not directly related to the Tiger Clan, so he won't be questioned about it here.'
After Kim Shinrok decided he heard everything he needed to and received Red Tiger and I's consent, he stuck a box cutter through Choi Pyeondeuk's throat, rendering him unable to even scream.
Meanwhile, Red Tiger took out a cross, blood-stained ropes wrapping around its red, wooden boards.
'What is that…?!'
Red Tiger brought out a scarlet cross.
Within the cross were incomprehensible thoughts and horrendous curses.
Just looking at it was suffocating.
It was as if he brought out a mini-hell.
"Uh… Euu…!"
It seemed like Choi Pyeondeuk sensed something, because he began to struggle.
Kim Shinrok kindly gave a brief explanation about the hell Choi Pyeondeuk would be suffering in for the foreseeable future.
"After committing a mortal sin, Red Tiger-nim was tied here for about 4,900 years before the interworld conflict as punishment. Human lifespans are short, so garbage like you will probably last around 100 years at most."
Was that the cross Red Tiger used to punish himself?
It probably felt like a tiny version of hell.
'Every moment of Choi Pyeondeuk's life will be hellish.'
I guess this would be my final farewell to Choi Pyeondeuk.
So, I said goodbye.
"I listened to your sorry excuse for a class, and it was dog shit. Live long here, Choi Pyeondeuk."
A birthday punch was originally meant as a wish for longevity.
Unable to scream, Choi Pyeondeuk twisted his body as I turned my back on him.
Leaving behind Kim Shinrok to clean up, Baek Hogun, Red Tiger, and I headed to the elevator for Silver Shadow Hall's lobby.
'Since Baek Hogun showed up, I have a lot of leftover strength for today.'
Good, there was still work to be done.
I looked back at Baek Hogun and Red Tiger and spoke.
"There's still buildings that need to be demolished. Who wants to go with me?"
Choi Pyeondeuk operated a total of five lavish buildings in front of Silverlight High.
So, there were still places that needed demolition.
Before the rain and wind stopped, I planned to destroy all of them as a pleasant bonus.
Since they're in the Tiger Clan, who controls the Hwangmyeong Group, they didn't need any money. Therefore, I was going to monopolize everything of value.
"I'll go."
"Let's go together, Cho Euishin."
The two nodding Tiger Clansmen were truly reliable.
They offered the highest quality of free labor.
As I stepped out of Silver Shadow Hall, I was once again met with the rain.
It was still dark, but the lights of the research district's lab and large greenhouse were on as they underwent all-night experiments.
Shwaaaa-
'I don't think the rain and wind will stop.'
Still, going into this storm was worth it.
'Ever since I started playing the game, I always wanted to destroy maps where shitty events occured.'
Unless the game included a special gimmick, it was impossible to destroy a map or building, no matter how strong a character was.
'It's different now.'
If I had the strength to, I could demolish anything.
The three of us made our way through the storm, setting out to destroy illegal buildings.
Since I already checked their blueprints in advance for key points to break, the work was easy.
Breaking into the hidden safes here and there was also dealt with quickly.
I felt proud when I looked at the cash and item cards accumulating in my item window.
'It's so easy and rewarding to gain things without working for them!'
Since midnight already passed, it was now Saturday morning, but you could say we had a Flaming Friday.
(tl/n: Flaming Friday – slang, refers to a Friday where you party all night like there's no tomorrow.)
Baek Hogun, Red Tiger, and I had fun bulldozing buildings and setting fire to Friday.
* * *
After Flaming Friday was over, the address book in my wearable device increased by one.
The one responsible for the additional contact number was Baek Hogun.
He and I exchanged codes just before I returned to the dormitory.
'It's strange, but Baek Hogun uses informal speech with me.'
Of course, Yellow Tiger and Red Tiger spoke formally, but Baek Hogun used casual speech right off the bat.
(tl/n: A lot of the time, informal speech is only used with someone after asking for permission first (according to the internet), and doing so is mostly for close friends and family members.)
Maybe it's because he's been a playable character for almost 10 years?
Yellow Tiger and Red Tiger were NPCs, so they were a little different from Baek Hogun.
'Baek Hogun doesn't seem to care, so I should just speak casually.'
Occasionally, Red Tiger gave me a look of confusion.
(tl/n: Talking to someone older than you casually without asking first is extremely odd.)
'The weather is nice.'
Looking out the window, the rain and wind had completely stopped.
It was daytime on Saturday now.
As usual, I was in optimal condition after a nice, dreamless sleep.
'At some point, Ham Geunhyeong will message me.'
As expected, I heard the ping of a message notification.
[Ham Geunhyeong] Come to the faculty and staff break room by 2pm.
Ham Geunhyeong probably wanted to contact me as soon as he finished protecting Maeng Hyodon.
He must've guessed what I was up to last night and waited for me to get some sleep.
I should get going.
After changing clothes, I left my dorm room.
* * *
It was the weekend, so the faculty and staff break room was empty.
"Hello."
"Yes, sit down."
I sat across from Ham Geunhyeong.
He spoke calmly with a gloomy expression.
"Maeng Hyodon is undergoing a thorough examination at Central District Infirmary 1. We don't have the exact results yet, but the player specialist said he shows symptoms of healing item overdose."
Symptoms of healing item overdose.
Maeng Hyodon's school uniform, littered with stitches.
Enemies chasing after him.
The lack of an Enemy alert from Player SAT-K.
Ham Geunhyeong must've guessed what happened just by looking at those facts.
"All you said was to protect Maeng Hyodon as he runs to Silverlight's main gate after midnight, and report to the Player Association. Do you have anything else you want to tell me?"
I told him about things he'd probably end up learning in the near future.
I just elaborated on the circumstances around Choi Pyeondeuk and Maeng Hyodon.
After hearing the explanation, Ham Geunhyeong got up from his seat.
"…All right. I'm off to meet Maeng Hyodon, let's go together."
What?
I anticipated him questioning me further, so I had been arranging excuses in my head. Instead, I was left stunned.
Ham Geunhyeong seemed to have no intention of asking anything else.
"Aren't you going to ask me more questions?"
"If you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask."
I don't understand.
Choi Pyeondeuk, a teacher, and Maeng Hyodon, a student, were deeply involved in this case.
It was natural to ask how I learned about and dealt with it.
But he still wasn't questioning me?
"I've seen a few student players with a strong sense of justice, great abilities, and unique information-gathering routes. I also know that those kinds of students have an unbreakable will. We've only known each other for less than a month, but I feel like you're one of those types."
Ham Geunhyeong spoke as he got up from his seat.
"If I clumsily try and help those kinds of kids, I'll just end up hurting them. And I don't want to hurt students."
"Mr. Ham Geunhyeong…"
I've heard this line before.
It was what Ham Geunhyeong said to Joo Soohyeok.
It was the dialogue that made me think, "Is there a teacher who would ever say this?" and "As expected, a game is just a game."
"If you can't say it, just don't, Cho Euishin. Instead, be sure to tell me when you need help. Don't hesitate to ask me for any kind of assistance."
I felt really lucky that he became my homeroom teacher.
* * *
Ham Geunhyeong and I each boarded a hoverboard and moved to the central district.
As I got on the board, an unusually azure sky came into view.
'The sky is pure blue…!'
The rain had stopped, and it was a little chilly, but the sky was blue and the wind was refreshing.
After a short flight, we landed in the central district, where we found someone waiting for us.
A man walked towards me and Ham Geunhyeong with a smile.
"It's been a while, Euishin."
The figure stood in a wrinkle-free Draw Fit trench coat, its hem fluttering.
(tl/n: Draw Fit is a real life clothing brand, this trench coat would cost about 170 USD.)
It was Hong Kyubin, team leader of the Korean branch's Player Association's Press Team #1.