NOVPUBIn the corner of the Garden of Silverlight.
After the departure of the Pomor Demon Clan, there was no movement around the area, especially around the time Do-cheol used his translocation ability. But gradually, more and more people began to pass through.
This was thanks to the disappearance of the skill that had interfered with perception and blocked their movements.
Once it was confirmed that the skill no longer affected the local residents, Kim Shin-rok, disguised as Seong Guk-eon and Jeon Mu-young, attempted to move. However, before they could, an even more troublesome presence appeared and addressed them.
"Hello?"
It was Yong Je-geon.
Yong Je-geon appeared with a bold expression, squinting his eyes slightly.
He used to walk around with his eyes wide open, but recently, he started narrowing them again.
Since he had abandoned all his divine powers, there was no longer any need for him to squint in such a manner, but Yong Je-geon did it on purpose.
He claimed it was amusing when he kept his eyes narrowed, only to suddenly widen them and observe the reactions of those around him.
In the past, seeing that face would have infuriated Seong Guk-eon, but now, it made him smile.
‘I thought he would come once the gaze and power of the enemies in this area faded. It must have been boring for him just watching from a distance.’
After the replay, Yong Je-geon came to find Seong Guk-eon and Jeon Mu-young.
They had a sincere conversation that day and cleared up the misunderstandings that had built up over time.
The misunderstandings had been one-sided, mostly on Seong Guk-eon and Jeon Mu-young’s part, but Yong Je-geon, despite knowing, had provoked and left them unresolved.
There were deep-rooted issues, and since Yong Je-geon had been fine with leaving them that way, it was difficult for the three of them to converse.
Despite this, their conversation turned out well.
Half of this was due to Seong Guk-eon’s immense patience and understanding, while the other half was because Kim Shin-rok was not there at that time.
‘I figured Yong Je-geon would try to mess with Kim Shin-rok while pretending to be Mu-young. Since things have gone smoothly here, it might be best to just watch for now.’
Had it been the old Seong Guk-eon, he would have immediately intervened to stop Yong Je-geon from messing with his mentor.
Back in school, he would have mobilized the 0-class students to create a disturbance, separating Yong Je-geon from his mentor.
If that didn’t work, he would sometimes call his mentor under the pretense of career counseling.
He couldn’t use this excuse too often, though, as his mentor had once worried that his student appeared overly troubled.
Back then, Seong Guk-eon had thought that the young dragon from the Joy Realm was merely toying with humans for fun, so he would stop him with all his might.
The reactions of his fellow students had amused Yong Je-geon, pushing him to escalate the pranks, and a vicious cycle had followed.
‘If I had known they were old friends, I wouldn’t have interfered like that. I would have just watched like now.’
Now, things were different.
Yong Je-geon knew what he could do for Kim Shin-rok, but he couldn’t just mess with him out of spite.
Among his classmates from 0-class, there were others who were more playful than Yong Je-geon, so it was something he could allow.
Thus, with Seong Guk-eon turning a blind eye, Yong Je-geon approached Kim Shin-rok.
"Hello?"
"......"
Kim Shin-rok, in the guise of Jeon Mu-young, looked displeased.
It was a rather fresh expression, and for a moment, Seong Guk-eon felt he could almost understand Yong Je-geon’s feelings.
That said, Seong Guk-eon would never dare to act like Yong Je-geon did with his mentor.
Yong Je-geon grinned.
"Aren’t you going to say hello? I thought you were getting close to Mu-young recently, but was I wrong?"
"......Hello."
"Yeah, I’m fine. Looks like you like that design, Mu-young. It’s the same suit you wore last time, but the fabric looks brand new."
Kim Shin-rok opened his mouth as if to rebut, but no words came out.
Usually, when Kim Shin-rok used his reverse transformation to borrow someone’s face, he would complete the look with perfect attention to detail, including the outfit.
He would adjust the fabric and buttons so they weren’t worn down, but this time, he hadn’t done that.
Since he was imitating the "fake Jeon Mu-young," he had used the reverse transformation sloppily, wearing only a new suit that was merely similar in design.
This was a calculated decision, but it appeared that Yong Je-geon was pointing out the flaw, which made Kim Shin-rok feel uneasy.
"Mu-young, what’s wrong? Got something to say?"
"......It’s nothing."
"Hahaha, really? If you have something to say, feel free to. It’s Teacher’s Day today, how about I buy you a meal?"
"......It’s fine."
For a moment, Kim Shin-rok’s face, which resembled Jeon Mu-young, looked like he wanted to strike Yong Je-geon.
Had Seong Guk-eon not been there, he might have thrown a pushpin at him, regardless of whether it would have hit or not.
Yong Je-geon watched the face with amusement, as he observed the emotions slipping through the "fake" Jeon Mu-young’s demeanor.
The sight of his mentor’s feelings leaking out from the disguise almost made Seong Guk-eon laugh.
‘I bet Yong Je-geon knows exactly what he’s doing. Even a thoughtful teacher can lose their perspective when messing with a close friend.’
Seong Guk-eon sensed the presence of some people nearby who weren’t very threatening.
As the number of passersby began to increase, it would be better to move soon.
Though the eyes observing them had disappeared, there was still a possibility that ordinary people or recording devices could gather observational information.
Currently, Seong Guk-eon was playing the role of the "fake," and although the real one was being captured, he needed to appear composed as if nothing was wrong.
Seong Guk-eon suggested they move.
"Let’s move for now. We were planning to have dinner at Hwangmyeong Tower, would you like to join, Yong Je-geon?"
"Sure."
Yong Je-geon immediately agreed.
Throughout the move, Yong Je-geon grumbled a few times, but Kim Shin-rok kept his patience.
He thought to himself that it would be fine as long as he could bear with it until they reached Hwangmyeong Tower.
When they arrived at Hwangmyeong Tower, everything appeared to be running as usual, but the security in the area controlled by the noble families had been greatly strengthened.
After passing through the staff entrance, they entered the golden elevator, and as soon as they did, Kim Shin-rok dispelled the reverse transformation.
Crack, crack.
The sound of bones and muscles realigning filled the air as he adjusted his body.
Though Kim Shin-rok and Jeon Mu-young had similar builds, their heights, shoulder widths, and muscle mass were different, requiring adjustments to the bones and the amount of blood and flesh using energy.
Seong Guk-eon watched the process with a neutral expression, but his insides weren’t feeling quite right.
‘It’s not like his body was magically changed through energy. He’s adjusting his muscles and bones with energy. There must be pain.’
Kim Shin-rok’s face, which had shown frustration whenever Yong Je-geon spouted nonsense, remained calm throughout the process of dispelling the reverse transformation.
His mentor, who would have been easily shaken by his friend’s antics, now accepted the pain with a sense of calmness as if it were nothing unusual.
Seong Guk-eon briefly glanced at Yong Je-geon.
He was still smiling, though the playful glint had faded.
Yong Je-geon remained silent while Kim Shin-rok dispelled the transformation and didn’t seem to enjoy it.
Once the transformation had been fully dispelled and Kim Shin-rok had returned to his original face, Yong Je-geon spoke.
"So you’re finally done? It was fun seeing Mu-young’s appearance though."
"Why are you here? Your role was to check the surroundings and make sure the eyes were gone. You didn’t need to come."
"Of course, I came to tease Shin-rok."
Whish!
Unable to hold back any longer, Kim Shin-rok threw three pushpins toward Yong Je-geon’s mouth.
Seong Guk-eon admired the swift movement, but Yong Je-geon was even faster, dodging and retrieving the pins with his fingers.
Kim Shin-rok clicked his tongue, and Yong Je-geon grinned while collecting the pins.
Seong Guk-eon decided it was time to step in and help Kim Shin-rok.
"Let’s check the news from elsewhere. I’d like to hear more about what happened in Tanraejung."
"......Understood."
Kim Shin-rok hesitated before apologizing for his earlier behavior.
Seong Guk-eon reassured him that it was fine.
In fact, Seong Guk-eon was glad that Kim Shin-rok acted that way in front of him, as it showed that he had opened up.
Kim Shin-rok then explained what had happened in Tanraejung.
"At the time Hyo-don and his group were translocated, a natural energy release occurred, and the Jin Tribe’s energy in the atmosphere was absorbed, right?"
"Yes, because of that, none of the people the noble families had stationed nearby could move according to the translocation. But Jo Eui-shin had a plan..."
As Kim Shin-rok continued, Seong Guk-eon nodded.
It seemed that Jo Eui-shin, the excellent 0-class underclassman, had successfully countered their opponent’s strong move.
However, it seemed there was even an unexpected move that Jo Eui-shin hadn’t anticipated.
"So Su-hyeok and his secretary were there as well. Did they get caught in the natural energy release?"
"They were elsewhere, observing Tak Geo-san and his group from a distance."
Upon hearing that Su-hyeok and Kim Cheol had succeeded in translocating with Maeng Hyo-don’s group, Seong Guk-eon was impressed.
Even though they hadn’t been caught in the energy release, it wasn’t easy to immediately follow the translocation once it occurred.
It would have been impossible to keep up unless they had sufficient physical abilities, energy, and reaction speed. Su-hyeok had jumped in for the sake of his friends.
Su-hyeok truly was a talent that Seong Guk-eon had recognized even in the replay.
‘Su-hyeok and Jo Eui-shin are close too. It would be good if they joined forces and moved together in this situation...’
Seong Guk-eon was worried that Jo Eui-shin wouldn’t ask for help from his classmates, but it was clear that if the enemy was targeting Eun-gwang, they needed to protect the students and gather those who could act together.
Rather than relying on the adults’ power to protect everyone, fighting together might be safer.
As Seong Guk-eon considered this, he asked with lingering concern.
"Can this energy release be controlled... Wasn’t the same phenomenon encountered by Jo Eui-shin in Kimo-Polyahoh? Does that have anything to do with this?"
"The entities behind it are the same, but it’s different. The one who caused the phenomenon in Kimo-Polyahoh was captured by the noble families."
Kim Shin-rok’s face showed a faint anger as he responded.
The entity behind that incident had torn Jeok-ho apart into nine pieces, causing significant injuries, so it was hard to think positively about it.
Although Seong Guk-eon was unaware of the details, he changed the topic, considering Kim Shin-rok’s feelings.
"Has there been any word from Jo Eui-shin? I’m also concerned about the real Mu-young. Though they should both be fine."
"That should be confirmed soon."
Yong Je-geon nodded toward the golden lion-shaped door handle.
By now, they had reached the innermost room on the top floor of Hwangmyeong Tower.
It seemed the leader of the noble families was waiting inside.
Though communication devices wouldn’t work, the leader could use a clone to share information.
Screech...
As they stood in front of the door, it opened as though it had been waiting for them.
The moment the door opened, they felt the air grow heavy.
Just stepping through the door felt oppressive.
Even Yong Je-geon fell silent, gazing ahead.
‘...It’s not the right atmosphere to speak. Something must have happened.’
On the far side of the room, someone in a school uniform was sitting.
It was Hwang Ho, in the form of Hwang Ji-ho.
The three of them had things to ask Hwang Ho, but upon seeing him, they forgot their words.
A deep shadow had settled on Hwang Ho’s face.
