NOVPUBThe Changing Seasons and the Start of the School Year
As the seasons changed, the back-to-school and new enrollment season arrived.
Every time Seong Guk-eon looked at Eungwang High, he was tormented by thoughts of Seong Si-wan and filled with anger at the school’s complacent management, yet he never turned a blind eye to it.
Seong Guk-eon suppressed his emotions and focused on what came next, preparing for the future.
Then, he received an unexpected report.
“Joo Su-hyeok is going to the 0-class?”
“Yes. The faculty decided to place Joo Su-hyeok in the 0-class, and he agreed to it.”
“Agreed? He must have been put in a position where he couldn’t help but agree.”
Seong Guk-eon had been in the 0-class himself, and there was no shame in that fact.
He didn’t think poorly of the 0-class, but he didn’t want to see a junior being forcibly placed there like this.
In the attached photo of Joo Su-hyeok, he looked different from the beginning of the previous year—there seemed to be a shadow over him.
Although he seemed to maintain a soft smile, likely anticipating the possibility of being photographed, Seong Guk-eon’s observational skills couldn’t be fooled.
‘No matter how mature or talented a player he is, he is still a young student. It hasn’t been long since he lost his friend...’
Seong Guk-eon knew what Joo Su-hyeok had gone through during Christmas.
Joo Su-hyeok had been forced to defeat a classmate who had been possessed and turned into an enemy by a demon’s influence.
The demon who caused the trouble had escaped calmly before external reinforcements arrived, and the absent faculty tried to pin the blame on Joo Su-hyeok.
Had it not been for the active defense from the Joo Group and the association, Joo Su-hyeok might have found it difficult to stay at Eungwang High.
‘If the Joo Group hadn’t been backing him, he might have been expelled or branded a criminal. At least going to the 0-class is a blessing.’
The current teachers were not in good condition.
Though there were still some teachers who performed their duties properly, they were overwhelmed with the tasks of dealing with the deceased and the negligent, corrupt teachers.
While the capable teachers were managing the situation, the forces under Choi Pyeon-deuk were expanding their influence.
Considering the state of Eungwang High, it seemed that Joo Su-hyeok should be grateful just to still be at the school.
“There’s something else I need to report.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about Joo Su-hyeok and Ahn Da-in. Apparently, the two of them visited the Dragon Tribe’s Dragon Palace during the vacation.”
Seong Guk-eon was surprised to hear that the two students he had been paying attention to had gone to the Dragon Palace.
He had thought that the Dragon Tribe was slightly better than the Jin Tribe, but it still bothered him that these two had gotten involved with them.
Even if you were close to the Dragon Tribe, it wasn’t easy to visit their Dragon Palace.
It was unclear how two students who didn’t seem connected to the Jin Tribe ended up getting so deeply involved with the Dragon Tribe.
“They seem to have been close to Teacher Yong Je-geon. They encountered the Yellow Dragon at the funeral, and that’s how they were invited to the Dragon Palace.”
“Was it the Yellow Dragon who invited them? That tribe rarely comes out to the surface. It’s unexpected that they would invite them. What was the reason for the invitation?”
“They said it was for the selection of the Dragon King's priestess and the succession ceremony. They mentioned that due to certain circumstances, no new priestess was born this time.”
Jeon Moo-young, who had been reporting, began trailing off.
This was understandable, as the Dragon Tribe was notoriously secretive, and information they shared with outsiders was limited.
Since the Dragon Palace was deep underwater, further investigation was impossible.
To be honest, the fact that Jeon Moo-young had gathered this much information was already a significant achievement.
Unless Seong Guk-eon made direct contact with the Dragon Tribe or the two students, there was no further way to investigate.
The unresolved questions weighed on Seong Guk-eon’s mind.
‘There are too many strange things.’ 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
The Yellow Dragon, who had cared for Yong Je-geon like a brother, must have felt affection for his disciple during the ceremony.
This much was understandable to Seong Guk-eon.
But he couldn’t figure out why Joo Su-hyeok and Ahn Da-in, who had no prior connection to the Dragon Tribe, were invited to the Dragon Palace.
In truth, even other members of the Dragon Tribe didn’t know the reason.
‘Why did the Yellow Dragon invite them?’
Only the Yellow Dragon knew the answer.
The Yellow Dragon had dismissed the priestesses who were advising him to protect the Dragon Palace and come to the surface.
Upon arriving on the surface, the Yellow Dragon felt a sense of discomfort.
Having escaped the influence of the Imugi, he was able to breathe fresh air and eat meals that were not tainted with its scales.
But the Yellow Dragon thought that his senses were off due to the grief of losing Yong Je-geon.
The moment of discomfort reached its peak when he encountered Joo Su-hyeok and Ahn Da-in at the funeral, where they were sitting together, mourning Yong Je-geon.
“Are you Je-geon’s disciples?”
The Yellow Dragon unconsciously approached them and spoke.
As he got closer, the Yellow Dragon felt his mind clear.
This was because Ahn Da-in’s “special constitution” temporarily cleansed his body, which had been tainted by the Imugi’s scales, but the Yellow Dragon didn’t realize this.
Instinctively, the Yellow Dragon felt that he should invite them to the Dragon Palace.
Without fully understanding why, the Yellow Dragon declared that he would invite them and successfully convinced the Azure Dragon, who was initially perplexed.
“Why did you invite them? The Dragon King did not summon them.”
“Ahn Da-in and Joo Su-hyeok are Je-geon’s disciples. I wanted to invite them to the Dragon Palace to hear about Je-geon.”
“Yellow Dragon... I’m sorry for leaving the succession ceremony to you. I will handle the affairs on the surface. Please entertain the guests well.”
Considering the Yellow Dragon’s position, which was also under the pressure of the priestesses and the Dragon Palace, the Azure Dragon didn’t question him further.
Thanks to their visit to the Dragon Palace, the Yellow Dragon had an opportunity to uncover the Imugi’s presence.
That was the Yellow Dragon’s last chance, but due to the deception of the shadowy figures and the priestesses, it slipped away.
While the Yellow Dragon suspected something had happened to the Dragon Palace and to him, he never imagined that the priestesses had betrayed him and that the Imugi would replace the Dragon King’s position.
The shadowy figures manipulated the priestesses to have the Yellow Dragon and Ahn Da-in act separately, and they increased the amount of Imugi’s scales administered to the Yellow Dragon.
As a result, the sulfuric priestess took control of the priestesses and successfully pushed out the priestess candidates.
Yoon Yeorang, who had been expected to become the strongest priestess, was assassinated, having been labeled a liar.
And so, the Imugi took the place of the Dragon King, and its scales permeated the entire Dragon Palace, eventually consuming the Yellow Dragon.
“In the end, we learned nothing. There were accidents, and... I feel uneasy, but as long as the Dragon King is with us, we’ll be fine.”
The Yellow Dragon murmured in a hoarse voice as he looked at the traces of the Imugi’s descent from behind the blindfold in the Dragon Palace.
By the time the Yellow Dragon missed his last chance, the Dragon Palace collapsed.
The most horrifying part was that the Dragon Tribe, unaware of the collapse of the Dragon Palace, still believed the Yellow Dragon and the priestesses without question.
With the situation as it was, no matter how sharp Seong Guk-eon’s mind was, it was impossible for him to see through the Dragon Tribe’s circumstances.
“Is there anything else to report?”
“There are a few more things. While checking Joo Su-hyeok’s schedule, something caught my eye.”
After his visit to the Dragon Palace, Joo Su-hyeok had frequently visited hospitals and funeral homes.
The reason for this was that many of Joo Su-hyeok’s distant relatives or close acquaintances had been suffering from severe illnesses or died suddenly.
“They were all related to the Joo Group. Are they all from the Oh family?”
“Yes. Some have different surnames, but they are originally from the Oh family, having changed their surname.”
Rumors of the misfortunes of the Oh family had quietly spread, but suddenly the rate of mysterious deaths and sudden deaths had increased drastically.
There was chaos within the Joo Group, with several executives suddenly dying or falling ill.
Speculations ranged from genetic diseases to curses from higher beings, and even assassinations by the Jin Tribe, but the exact cause had not been clarified.
The Joo Group consulted with a shaman player reputed for his skills in curses, but he gave responses such as “deserved,” “no other gods can intervene,” and “keep your promises,” and gave them a salt bath.
“The eldest daughter, Oh Hye-jeong, is missing. The second daughter, Oh Hye-ji, died on Christmas Eve. But the others died mysteriously.”
Among the survivors of the Oh family, the only one who wasn’t suffering from illness was a middle school child.
Before any inheritance procedures could be followed, the Oh family members were dying one after another, and the family was in turmoil due to the last heir, the middle school child.
Among the Joo Group’s executives, the one most closely connected to the Oh family and frequently dealing with them was Executive Director Joo Su-gyeom, who was reportedly protecting the last surviving member of the Oh family.
‘If Joo Su-gyeom is protecting him, he should be safe. But...’
The misfortune of the Oh family was the result of a contract with the Sea Dragon King.
At least, the Oh family had been able to hold on, thanks to the Yellow Dragon managing the Crystal Palace, but things had changed after the Dragon Palace collapsed.
The Yellow Dragon, now completely consumed by the Imugi’s scales, had stopped managing the Crystal Palace and was instead moving to empower the Imugi.
The situation had become a tangled mess, and the truth was nearly impossible to uncover.
“Finally, there’s something to report about the 0-class that Joo Su-hyeok has joined.”
“Seems like there’s more with the juniors.”
Jeon Moo-young handed over the roster for the second-year 0-class.
The name of the homeroom teacher, Ham Geun-hyeong, was written at the top, but the name of the assistant homeroom teacher was left blank.
It seemed that since there was only a handful of students in the 2nd-year 0-class, no assistant homeroom teacher had been assigned.
While reviewing the list, Seong Guk-eon came across a name he didn’t recognize.
“Hwang Ji-ho? This name wasn’t here last year.”
“This student transferred to Eungwang High this year. He is said to be related to the Hwangmyeong Group, and considering his family connection to Hwang Myung-ho, I think he’s likely....”
“Highly likely to be from the Ho-jok. They might have enrolled a human, but if that’s the case, they would have kept a low profile instead of making such a noticeable move.”
“Transfers to Eungwang High are rare, happening maybe once every ten years. As you said, it’s highly likely he’s from the Ho-jok.”
After seeing Hwang Ji-ho’s photo, Seong Guk-eon chuckled.
Hwang Ji-ho had a face reminiscent of Hwang Myung-ho’s younger years.
Seong Guk-eon was certain that this student, Hwang Ji-ho, was from the Ho-jok.
“Even though the school is in such disarray, they’re still messing around. It’s very Jin Tribe-like to blatantly insert a student without caring about the outside world.”
“Perhaps they’re trying to use the student identity to conduct an investigation?”
“Students are limited by classes and exams. If they were serious about investigating, they would have used a teaching staff position.”
After the new school year began at Eungwang High, Seong Guk-eon kept an eye on Hwang Ji-ho’s movements.
Hwang Ji-ho seemed to be frequently associating with Joo Su-hyeok at school.
Judging by their behavior, it seemed that Hwang Ji-ho was attending school to observe Joo Su-hyeok.
‘The Ho-jok are watching Joo Su-hyeok. They’ll probably be keeping an eye on Ahn Da-in, who catches his interest as well. I need to avoid approaching those two.’
If he wasn’t careful, information about the secret organization within Eungwang High could end up leaking to the Ho-jok.
Seong Guk-eon decided to give up on approaching them and chose to find another way.
Without relying on anyone else, he continued his lonely fight.
At times, Seong Guk-eon felt as if the ground beneath him was slowly crumbling.
Even so, he was determined to stand firm until the end.
When the political schemes against Seong Guk-eon had mysteriously quieted down, it was already May.
