NOVPUBSeeing Ju Su-hyeok and Ahn Dain standing side by side from the morning, I felt my vision clear up and widen, even though I hadn’t used clairvoyance.
But if Ju Su-hyeok had been looking for me, there was no need for him to use clairvoyance to find me. He would’ve just come to me directly.
Did I miss a message from him?
I checked my device, but there was no trace of a message from Ju Su-hyeok.
“I just wanted to find you myself instead of calling you out. I didn’t want to seem like I couldn’t even find you at Eungwang High.”
Ju Su-hyeok said this lightly, but considering the size of Eungwang High, it was definitely not an easy task.
I admired his hero-like determination when Maeng Hyo-don spoke up.
“I found him before Ju Su-hyeok.”
“Huh, later than you, huh? Did you use clairvoyance too?”
“No, it’s a derived skill. I got two derived skills after fighting, and one of them is called ‘Fighter’s Eye,’ so...”
Ju Su-hyeok showed interest, and Maeng Hyo-don immediately started explaining his derived skills.
Maeng Hyo-don had gained two derived skills: Fighter’s Eye and Fighter’s Mentor.
I had suspected that Maeng Hyo-don had gained a derived skill, but the real problem lay elsewhere.
‘Maeng Hyo-don got two derived skills?’
I had maxed out Maeng Hyo-don in Plmago, and while I did get a derived skill for him in the process, it was only one.
The derived skill I had predicted for him was Fighter’s Mentor, which was the ability to replicate martial arts that he had observed.
It was similar to my own Player's Track, but the difference was that Fighter’s Mentor was more flexible, allowing him to learn new techniques, while my ability was limited to a fixed set of characters.
Maeng Hyo-don could potentially grow and gain new techniques through Fighter’s Mentor, while Player’s Track didn’t have that kind of potential.
For someone with such incredible derived skills, gaining another powerful superpower was even more remarkable. It was like a genius fighter gaining an excellent master to guide him.
“Vice-captain said he went out with that martial artist. That martial artist hates light and is wary of ambushes... so I used my eyes to follow the shadowed areas where there wouldn’t be any ambushes.”
Fighter’s Eye seemed to show what would normally be invisible when it came to combat.
Though Maeng Hyo-don hesitated as he spoke, it was clear that he was a genius when it came to using his body.
After finishing his explanation, Maeng Hyo-don turned toward me.
It looked like he was waiting for some kind of evaluation or praise.
I was about to praise him, thinking that’s what he was expecting, but Maeng Hyo-don’s expression was a little strange.
Ju Su-hyeok and Ahn Dain were also looking at me with similar expressions.
‘...Was this not the right answer?’
I decided to leave the deeper meanings of their expressions for later and focused on saying what was most important.
Since Maeng Hyo-don had gained two derived skills, there was something to be careful about.
“Everyone here is trustworthy, but when it comes to your derived skills, you should be careful about sharing them. Just having such rare powers makes you a target.”
“...Yeah, Do-in did tell me not to talk about it too freely...”
Maeng Hyo-don looked visibly embarrassed.
Then, Ahn Dain, who had been quietly listening, spoke for the first time.
“I guess I’ve broken down some of Hyo-don’s psychological barriers by revealing a big secret.”
A big secret?
Was she referring to her secret about her connection to the noble factions?
I couldn’t ask directly, as it might be something I hadn’t considered, so I kept silent.
Ahn Dain continued.
“I want to openly say that I’m their child. It’s difficult right now, but I’m planning to gradually reveal it to trustworthy friends. So, today I told Hyo-don, and yesterday I told Su-hyeok about my birth.”
A sudden shock hit me when Ahn Dain revealed this.
If her secret about her birth became known, it wouldn’t be of her own choosing but because it was forced out.
I had completely misunderstood her, perhaps underestimating the heroine all this time.
Ahn Dain was braver and more trusting of her friends than I had thought.
As I stood there dumbfounded and speechless, Ahn Dain added:
“I talked to Su-hyeok about this yesterday. At first, Su-hyeok suggested I reveal my secret to Yu-ri, but since she already knows, I decided to tell Hyo-don instead.”
Wait, they met privately over the weekend?
It seemed they had a very important conversation, but just looking at their meeting, it felt just as significant as what they were discussing.
They probably considered it an honest conversation between friends, but everyone at Eungwang High would think it was just a date.
Ahn Dain continued, speaking with a clear tone.
She also mentioned that she was considering revealing her birth secret to Ju Sang-hoon, which surprised me even more.
‘She’s thinking of revealing it to Ju Sang-hoon too?... Maeng Hyo-don and Ju Sang-hoon know a bit about the noble faction and are close with Ahn Dain, though.’
Ahn Dain added this about Maeng Hyo-don and Ju Sang-hoon:
“Hyo-don is a friend of Su-hyeok and Eui-shin. And Sang-hoon and I worked together as class representatives, and he’s been connected to Eui-shin since before entering the school. The noble faction trusts Hyo-don and Sang-hoon, so they said they would leave it to me to reveal my secret.”
I felt somewhat dazed as I tried to make sense of what Ahn Dain was saying, but the one thing I was sure of was that she was bravely entrusting her secret to those she trusted.
Why did she feel the need to reveal this secret now?
Could it be that the incident over the weekend made her decide to open up?
I couldn’t find an answer to that question, and just as I was thinking it over, Ahn Dain looked at me directly.
It almost felt like she was looking into my left eye.
“I heard that Eui-shin has been working with the noble faction for a long time. That’s why I decided to start with the friends who are connected to the noble faction.”
It almost sounded like Ahn Dain decided to reveal her secret because of me.
My thoughts were racing, and I felt a bit self-conscious under her gaze.
“If I were as strong as Jiho or the other members of the noble faction, I could have joined the mission last time... It’s a regret. That’s why I want to get stronger with my friends.”
“I feel the same way.”
“...So do I.”
A sense of regret and frustration showed on all three faces.
It wasn’t that I underestimated or excluded them because I thought they were weak.
But at the same time, I couldn’t help but think:
If, like Ahn Dain said, they were as strong as Jiho, wouldn’t I have considered them when making plans?
Comparing them to someone as strong as Jiho might not be fair, but if they had been as strong, I would have felt more at ease asking them to cooperate.
Even if they were players targeted by the dark forces, I would have included them in the mission like I did with Yong Je-gun.
‘Maybe without realizing it, I’ve been ignoring them. No, I can’t deny that I might have underestimated them.’
I had been hoping they’d be safe, but just using that as an excuse didn’t seem enough.
They were players on the front lines, and they probably wouldn’t easily accept such flimsy excuses.
When I was overwhelmed by this gloomy feeling, Maeng Hyo-don spoke up.
“I think that guy’s feeling sorry for us.”
“That’s not what I meant...”
Ahn Dain wore a sad expression.
I felt like a criminal for making the title heroine wear that expression.
Luckily, the title hero, Ju Su-hyeok, stepped in to help smooth things over.
With a bright, light tone, he said:
“This won’t do. We need to show our skills in the upcoming selection.”
“Selection?”
“We’ll be choosing students to represent us in the Korea-China-Japan Youth Exchange. Hyo-don, you should join too.”
“Got it.”
Maeng Hyo-don nodded eagerly, his face filled with determination.
Ahn Dain also spoke with a resolute expression.
“I won’t be stronger than Jiho in such a short time, but I’ll get strong enough that Eui-shin can include me in the plan. You’ll see in the selection.”
Though many questions remained, one thing was clear. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝙗.𝒄𝒐𝒎
All four of us would be participating in the selection for the Korea-China-Japan Youth Exchange.
As I was heading to the classroom, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
When Maeng Hyo-don explained his derived skill, I wondered why the three of them had such a subtle reaction.
‘Could it be that they wanted to hear the words let’s fight together?’
But there was no way I could ask that now.
In the end, I said nothing and we dispersed.
Meanwhile, in our class, there was another person showing a great deal of interest in the selection.
“I’m definitely going. It’s a chance to make a name for myself. Plus, I’m a school ambassador, so I should do my part. You’re going, right?”
It was Dokgo Miro.
With the official launch of PlayerZ coming up, Dokgo Miro was handling some minor schedules.
Streamers who focused on gaming were inviting Dokgo Miro to be on their shows, trying to capture his audience.
Dokgo Miro was being cautious and carefully deciding whether or not to appear, selecting streamers who weren’t controversial.
He mentioned that he would talk about the Korea-China-Japan Youth Exchange in a way that would be publicly available.
“There’s a streamer who wants you to appear with me. I told them I’d talk to you first.”
Since we were both school ambassadors, I was also invited.
I had too much to do and didn’t think there was any benefit in drawing attention, so I decided to decline.
Dokgo Miro seemed disappointed, but he left with words of encouragement to do well in the selection.
‘There’s a lot of talk about the Korea-China-Japan Youth Exchange.’
Despite the big incident, many people around me were discussing it.
Even the first-year Zero Class students gathered to express their intention to support in the selection.
With so many people cheering, I worried it would be difficult to avoid the selection.
But it was fortunate that the fact I had been involved in the incident near Tanraejung or the problem with my left eye hadn't been revealed.
And so, after school ended...
Thanks to all the excitement, Moon Saeron’s enthusiasm overflowed, extending the newspaper club activities.
‘The reason she’s so enthusiastic might be because Ju Su-hyeok and Ahn Dain had some sort of date over the weekend.’
Moon Saeron, who had gathered witness accounts from a café near Eungwang-gu, shared the good news with me.
In exchange for this information, she asked for details about the selection.
After finishing the newspaper club activities, I was on my way home when someone called out to me.
"...Eui-shin, Jiho. I’ve been waiting."
I had originally planned to head straight to the dormitory, but since Ahn Dain was waiting like that, I couldn’t just leave.
Reluctantly, I ended up going with Ahn Dain and Jiho to the Tiger Mansion.
When we reached the separate annex of the mansion, Ahn Dain and Jiho had a conversation.
"Jiho, you said an important deal was finalized today?"
"Yes. You’ll be able to see the results soon."
As we opened the door to the annex, besides the tigers, I noticed another Jin tribe member present.
There was a small shadow, and I hoped it was Hwang Yoo-ho, but it wasn’t.
It was Hyang Rok.
