NOVPUBA few days ago.
Jo Su-hyeok instructed Kim Cheol to investigate the Dream Gate and Fight Club.
At first, it seemed like just another case of re-investigating an incident involving players, but in reality, it was a process of gathering information to understand the connection between his friend and the events.
Kim Cheol, being astute, immediately understood Jo Su-hyeok's intentions and proceeded with the investigation.
However, despite his competence and his thorough investigation, even sacrificing his break time, the results were minimal.
The report was full of blanks.
‘It’s not that Hyung Cheol wasn’t capable. The blank spaces in the report themselves are clues.’ 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
When the incident first occurred, Jo Su-hyeok had just awakened his Gwanglim.
Since he had officially become a player, he decided to pay attention to related incidents and looked into them.
Compared to that time, more time had passed, so the investigation should have progressed, and more clues should have been gathered, but the reality was different.
Apart from the details of the criminals involved and the punishments they received, there was little known.
Especially the information regarding the Crimson Wall Bandits and those who attacked the Fight Club was almost nonexistent.
It seemed like a formal investigation that had fizzled out.
But that wasn’t all.
“Someone must be erasing information about the ones who broke the Dream Gate and Fight Club.”
The record device that had been secured was mysteriously broken for an unknown reason.
Witness testimonies were deemed unreliable and excluded.
With the emergence of counter-evidence, the existing hypotheses were gradually wiped out, one by one.
It just looked like a typical unsolved case slowly slipping into the abyss, but to Jo Su-hyeok, it seemed different.
Behind this series of events, there seemed to be a deliberate and thorough attempt to protect the Crimson Wall Bandits and the Raven Mask over a long period.
“Someone wants to protect the Crimson Wall Bandits and the Raven Mask. Someone with the authority of an association executive, someone with enough wealth and subordinates to deploy, someone who can exert influence in the player community... It seems like multiple factions are moving.”
Jo Su-hyeok was satisfied with the results of his investigation.
By now, Jo Su-hyeok had already concluded that the Crimson Wall Bandits and Raven Mask were Jo Eui-shin.
Though he failed to find concrete proof through his investigation, he was relieved to know that Jo Eui-shin wasn’t fighting alone.
Jo Eui-shin had helped many people, including Maeng Hyo-don, and it seemed they, too, wanted to help Jo Eui-shin.
‘Before the entrance exam to Eungwang High, Eui-shin had lived a life unrelated to players. The people helping him now must be connections formed after he entered. Most likely, these connections were made through the people Eui-shin helped.’
During the 13th team incident, Jo Eui-shin’s contributions were on the verge of being overshadowed.
Had the Hwangmyeong Foundation not suddenly changed its stance, Jo Eui-shin might have been treated as trash, robbed of his friend’s credit, and blamed for something he didn’t do.
If those now helping Jo Eui-shin had been helping him back then, they would have immediately pressured the Min Ki faction to silence them and leaked evidence to the media, changing public opinion.
If Jo Su-hyeok had been in Jo Eui-shin’s position during the 13th team incident, the Ju-o group and his associates would likely have used even more drastic measures.
‘Before entering Eungwang High, Eui-shin was completely alone.’
Furthermore, Jo Eui-shin had spent a considerable amount of time in dire circumstances before entering Eungwang High.
A middle schooler who had lost his entire family found himself in that situation, and no one reached out to help him, which was undeniable proof that Jo Eui-shin had been isolated.
‘It’s certain that Jiho didn’t help Eui-shin from the beginning. Perhaps after the Hwangmyeong Foundation stopped being passive, Jiho started slowly changing his stance?’
Jo Su-hyeok knew how the Hwangmyeong Foundation used to handle students in the past.
Before entering Eungwang High, the alumni and current students warned Jo Su-hyeok.
Do Won-woo, who had just been elected student council president, even told him to consult him first, before the faculty, if anything happened.
Despite hearing that, Jo Su-hyeok had believed that the school wasn’t lacking good teachers, and as long as he followed the right path, there wouldn’t be a problem.
But after seeing what Choi Pyeon-deuk and his group did, that belief wavered, and he came to learn about the foundation’s passivity.
‘Jiho isn’t an ordinary person. The change in the Hwangmyeong Foundation might have happened because of Jiho. And the cause of that change is likely Eui-shin.’
Jo Su-hyeok was able to make a close guess about the truth by retracing Jo Eui-shin’s steps.
Having observed Jo Eui-shin and Hwang Ho for over a year, Jo Su-hyeok had plenty of material to assess the validity of his speculations.
He reviewed the changes in the Hwangmyeong Foundation’s school management policies, the timing of Maeng Hyo-don’s first day at school, the incidents surrounding other Class 0 students, and many more.
Looking at it all in relation to Jo Eui-shin and those around him, the truth became even clearer.
And he could even guess what Jo Eui-shin might do next.
“We’ll keep an eye on Hyo-don. There’s something suspicious about the jewel incident, and there are many questionable aspects to it. Eui-shin will move to save Hyo-don again.”
“Understood.”
Since that incident, Jo Su-hyeok had been closely monitoring Maeng Hyo-don.
No one found it strange.
Jo Su-hyeok had always been close to Maeng Hyo-don, and had he shown no concern despite Maeng Hyo-don’s father-related issues, it would have raised suspicions.
“Whenever Teacher Tak Geo-san isn’t around, the bodyguards have been following Hyo-don, right? Did you confirm who sent them?”
“I’ve confirmed. They’re all sent by the Hwangmyeong Foundation. There are no members from the Player Association or professional player teams among them.”
For once, Kim Cheol quickly handled the matter, but Jo Su-hyeok’s expression grew dark.
After double-checking Kim Cheol’s report, Jo Su-hyeok spoke.
“It’s strange that we identified the identities of the Hwangmyeong Foundation’s agents so quickly. The Hwangmyeong Foundation can move the Jin Tribe. They could have easily fooled us, making it impossible to detect the identity of the bodyguards or their surveillance.”
Hearing this, Kim Cheol began to understand.
The investigation had progressed too smoothly, which also seemed suspicious.
As Jo Su-hyeok continued, the vague unease began to take on a more solid form.
“If Eui-shin sent these people to protect Hyo-don, it wouldn’t have been this sloppy. There’s definitely a deeper intention behind this.”
Then, what about observing Jo Eui-shin instead of Maeng Hyo-don?
Kim Cheol proposed this idea, but Jo Su-hyeok disagreed.
“Monitoring Eui-shin and tailing him would be difficult. The ones who erased the traces of the Crimson Wall Bandits are the ones helping Eui-shin. It’s almost impossible to track him down directly.”
Jo Su-hyeok declared firmly.
Kim Cheol hadn’t sensed anything unusual, but he did find Jo Su-hyeok’s reasoning valid.
It seemed likely that those who erased the traces of the Crimson Wall Bandits were secretly protecting Jo Eui-shin and keeping an eye on him without Kim Cheol noticing.
“It will be hard to figure out what’s happening through Eui-shin or Hyo-don. So, let’s look at Eui-shin’s collaborators.”
“Collaborators? Are you referring to the Hwangmyeong Foundation?”
“Probably, but since it’s impossible to monitor the entire Hwangmyeong Foundation, let’s narrow it down.”
Jo Su-hyeok began thinking about who Eui-shin might send as a collaborator to save Maeng Hyo-don.
The first person that came to mind was Tak Geo-san, but something told him he might be a decoy.
Tak Geo-san had been sticking close to his student to protect him, so the enemies targeting Maeng Hyo-don would likely have prepared countermeasures.
‘Tak Geo-san and the bodyguards sent by the Hwangmyeong Foundation aren’t the ones Eui-shin would trust to look after Hyo-don...’
Next, he thought of the second-year Class 0 students.
Although they were all students, many of them were strong and reliable.
But that didn’t seem likely either.
‘Eui-shin wouldn’t risk putting his friends in danger.’
Jo Su-hyeok recalled the expression on Jo Eui-shin’s face when he confronted him during the time when the dark eyes had fallen.
Jo Eui-shin had looked so surprised when he saw Jo Su-hyeok, Maeng Hyo-don, and Yoo Sang-hoon confronting the Umay Wang.
Yoo Sang-hoon had used his Gwanglim, the “Wind of Revenge,” to block the Umay Wang’s Soul Iron Staff, and Jo Eui-shin could hardly tear his eyes away despite the pain.
‘If it was Jiho fighting alongside Eui-shin from the beginning, he might not have been surprised. But he wouldn’t call any other kids.’
However, investigating Hwang Ho’s movements would be more difficult than monitoring Jo Eui-shin.
Jo Su-hyeok narrowed down his options one by one using the process of elimination.
Finally, he concluded.
“Cheol, check the schedule of one person.”
“One person will do?”
“Yes, probably.”
It would be difficult to monitor them, but Jo Su-hyeok believed they were easier to observe than Jo Eui-shin or Hwang Ho.
Luckily, this individual had publicly disclosed part of their schedule, making the task easier.
By combining their movements with the surrounding circumstances, Jo Su-hyeok anticipated that something significant would happen on Teacher’s Day.
‘Hyo-don is in a bad state after going through such incidents. Moreover, last year, Hyo-don’s teacher was very pleased when Eui-shin and I visited. Eui-shin’s personality suggests he would have rearranged his schedule to free up Teacher’s Day, but the fact that he didn’t means...’
On Teacher’s Day, Jo Su-hyeok and Kim Cheol decided to head toward Tanrae Middle School.
“Cheol, make sure you’re ready to fight at any moment. Oh, I’m not planning to fight recklessly. I’ll intervene when I think I can reduce the risk to my friends.”
Jo Su-hyeok had already come up with a reason to persuade Kim Cheol in case he objected.
But Kim Cheol readily agreed.
“Understood.”
It was unexpected, and Jo Su-hyeok widened his eyes slightly.
Kim Cheol added in a flat tone.
“I owe your friend, the young master.”
The darkness passed, and dawn arrived.
I walked quietly towards my destination, muffling my footsteps.
As I walked, I fell into deep thought.
‘Jeon Mu-young will be fine, right? He’s been doing well with his assignments. Using it outside of practice will be his first time, so it might be tough, but he’s the type to excel in real situations, so he should be fine.’
The enemy was targeting us, just as I had expected.
Using the player’s trajectory, they shifted me and Jeon Mu-young into Seong Guk-eon’s appearance.
It went according to my plan, but I was more concerned about the other side.
‘Tanrae Middle School is full of variables, so I’m worried. But for now, I have no way to confirm. Even if some problems arise, I’m sure Tak Do-in and Maeng Hyo-don won’t be easily caught off guard, so they should hold out for a while. If I buy some time, the plans I’ve prepared...’
Although my thoughts weren’t as smooth as usual, I continued to push myself to think.
If I kept dwelling on reality, I felt like I might be suffocated by the past.
If I wasn’t careful, I might get swallowed not by the past itself, but by a fake version of it.
The soft patter of footsteps.
Two kids, still half-asleep, approached me.
“Hyung, did you buy a gift on the way?”
“Oppa, are you still mad about the snack I ate last time? I’m sorry.”
“Want something to eat?”
My younger siblings, just waking up, handed me snacks.
This was the last time I saw my living family before leaving for the airport. I was in middle school at the time.
This was the last moment with my living family.
