NOVPUBYeonggwang High School has active alumni networks such as reunions and alumni associations, ensuring that even after graduation, students continue to engage with each other.
This is a well-known fact, but there is one gathering even the graduates of Yeonggwang High School find questionable.
It’s the alumni association of Class 0 graduates.
When Class 0 graduates leave, they are expected to go their separate ways, and it seemed unlikely that they would maintain any connection.
However, there’s a certain connection between crazy people, and having done insane things together during their time in school, they became quite close. They even continued to stay close after graduation.
They would even gather to perform rituals at the old Yeonggwang High School building.
“A call came from a junior from Class 0.”
When the Class 0 alumni association secretary said this, the representatives of each graduating class murmured.
The current Class 0 students and recent graduates were not getting along well.
The alumni had been feeling quite disappointed and had much to say about this.
“Who is it? Is it the Chansol gang? Or maybe Ugiwan?”
“It’s not them. Gumsanwangchan is too busy following the homeroom teacher, and Ugiwan doesn’t even talk to us, saying he’ll lose muscle mass if he does.”
“Wait, is Ugiwan still like that after graduation?”
“Most of the guys from his year are like that. Jeong Hae-soo is the only one who’s less like that because he’s into Mi-ro fan activities.”
“Did you see the video of Mi-ro’s preliminary round? I saw they were also filming school promotional material...”
“Of course, I saw it.”
They were about to continue talking about the younger Class 0 members when the conversation suddenly shifted to Dokgo Mi-ro.
There was a lot of interest in Dokgo Mi-ro, as she was potentially the first idol to come from Class 0. Every time they gathered, the conversation always turned to her.
The secretary, along with everyone else, eagerly exchanged information about Dokgo Mi-ro. They all listened to the song featured in PlayerZ's teaser video together before finally switching topics.
The new topic was about the current Class 0 students.
“What about the new Class 0 students? They’ll join the alumni association later, but it’s still a bit concerning.”
“That first-year Class 0 president, Eun Seo-ho? He’s quite polite. But whenever you try to talk to him, the vice president appears and distracts him...”
“That first-year vice president must be Cheon Eun-ha, right? He seemed calm and kind, just like Cheon Dong-ha’s younger sibling.”
“Someone like that must have something going on. Why else would he be in Class 0? Think about Ugiwan when he was in his first year.”
When Ugiwan’s past was brought up, everyone nodded in agreement.
At the start of his first year, Ugiwan seemed perfectly normal.
His grades were excellent, and his attitude in class was so diligent that the teachers even wished all Class 0 students were like Ugiwan.
Of course, it didn’t take long before his strange behaviors began to surface, and the teachers quickly withdrew their praise.
“Then who was the Class 0 junior who contacted you?”
Finally, they returned to the main topic.
Before the secretary could answer, the alumni present responded.
“There's only one person. It must be Jo Eui-shin.”
“Oh, he’s kind. He’s the type to always greet those who exchanged device codes. He even greeted me.”
“Didn’t you just say someone like that must have something going on?”
For Jo Eui-shin, being suddenly asked to exchange device codes was awkward, but as a junior, he at least greeted them. His response was perfectly ordinary, but from the perspective of alumni like Ugiwan and Gumsanwangchan, Jo Eui-shin seemed like a very polite and good junior.
“It was Jo Eui-shin who contacted us.”
“What did he contact you for? From what was said, it seems like it’s related to us.”
“He didn’t challenge us, did he?”
“The junior handling the alumni association said he was surprised, but wanted to take us on for a challenge.”
“Ah, right. He lost and ended up taking over the secretary position.”
Handling the contact for the crazy people’s group meant taking on the troublesome tasks, so no one wanted to be the secretary.
They had decided it by drawing lots, and after one junior graduated, he decided to take up the secretary role after a fight for it.
The current secretary of the alumni association was quite good at fighting, but he couldn’t defeat the more insane seniors.
The secretary spoke proudly.
“I had to build up my strength to confront it. I needed to check if the seniors had the power to fight alongside me.”
“Good, good, keep doing a good job as secretary.”
“He’s not normal, but he does a good job.”
“Why does he talk as if he’s normal?”
Before the topic changed again, the alumni secretary interrupted.
“I think Jo Eui-shin contacted us for the same reason I did.”
The word “same reason” immediately quieted the room.
The secretary’s crazy actions had a purpose, and the Class 0 alumni could relate to that purpose.
“He’s planning to interview Class 0 alumni. He wants to interview us.”
“Just a simple interview with alumni? Really?”
“That junior is in the newspaper club. Some of the Class 0 students are in it.”
“With the preliminary round going on, the newspaper club must be busy. Why would they be doing this now? It’s not even the graduation season.”
“I think this project came up because of Ugiwan’s fight with his tough homeroom teacher.”
Opinions about Jo Eui-shin’s interview request were divided.
They all assumed Jo Eui-shin wasn’t just coming for an interview.
The secretary didn’t think Jo Eui-shin was coming just for an interview either.
The secretary confidently spoke the conclusion.
“Just like I did, Jo Eui-shin is trying to fight the ghost of the old school building!”
When they were in school, it was a Class 0 tradition to test their courage by going to the old school building, and the secretary encountered a ghost there.
Since then, the secretary had worked hard to perform a ritual there, but he hadn’t been able to accomplish it.
He had hoped the current Class 0 students would carry on that will, but with juniors like Ugiwan and Gumsanwangchan, they had given up and started planning to do the ritual themselves.
However, with Jo Eui-shin’s contact, a new possibility appeared.
“Is it really like that? Is it finally time to say goodbye to the ghost of the old school building...!”
“It’s time to send them off!”
The alumni all agreed with the secretary’s opinion.
There was no actual evidence to support this claim, and it wasn’t true, but it wasn’t entirely unrelated either.
“Well then, let’s prepare to welcome our junior.”
At the secretary’s words, the Class 0 alumni exchanged sharp glances.
If Seong Guk-eon had been there, he would have stopped them, but unfortunately, the older alumni were absent, so they would just receive the result of the meeting.
With the secretary at the center, the Class 0 alumni began preparing to welcome their junior.
On the weekend in the dormitory.
Something major had happened recently, so I wanted to relax with some training and recheck my plans, but I had a lot to do and had to wake up early.
When I checked my device in the morning, I saw a late-night message from Yoo Sang-hoon.
[Yoo Sang-hoon] Hey
[Yoo Sang-hoon] The flidget opens next Wednesday.
[Yoo Sang-hoon] (link)
[Yoo Sang-hoon] Have you verified the device code and pre-registered? You need to do it before the open, or the items won’t come.
Lately, Yoo Sang-hoon’s messages had been getting longer.
The message contained information about PlayerZ.
As the advance team member, Yoo Sang-hoon wanted to teach us everything, but I was worried it might become too much advice.
It reminded me of my old self when I tried to help a tiny number of users who came from Flamago by coming up with guides, writing easy-to-read strategy posts with GIFs, and doing everything I could.
But the game flopped, and no matter what I did, everyone quit and left.
When I thought about that, I couldn’t ignore Yoo Sang-hoon’s efforts.
[Jang Nam-uk] Wow, Sang-hoon. It’s been a long time since you sent such a long message. This might be the first time. You really must have high hopes for PlayerZ.
[Yoo Sang-hoon] Yep
[Jang Nam-uk] But when I asked people who have played the game, they said you’re a heavy user since the closed beta, so you’re way ahead of us. You’re not used to the controls, and you don’t really get the game system. Plus, you were a ranked player, right? I’m a total newbie, is that okay? I’m watching the videos you sent, but I don’t think I’ll be good at it yet. I’m worried that I might frustrate you if we play together.
[Yoo Sang-hoon] Summarize it.
[Jang Nam-uk] Uh...
[Jang Nam-uk] I don’t think I’ll be good at the game, is that okay?
[Yoo Sang-hoon] Yep
Yoo Sang-hoon quickly agreed.
I could understand how he felt.
Whether a friend is good or bad at something, they just want to play together.
I would have been very happy if someone wanted to play Flamagod with me, but I couldn’t recommend that miserable game to anyone.
But when someone showed interest in it, I would still give advice to beginner users.
However, those who were interested would usually get tired of the game and never mention Flamagod again.
[Yoo Sang-hoon] Set the reservation download. When it opens, you’ll want to start right away. If you try to download it when it’s time, it’ll be crowded.
[Jang Nam-uk] Okay, got it. If there’s anything I’m stuck on, I’ll ask.
[Yoo Sang-hoon] Yep
Yoo Sang-hoon was unusually sending long messages and explaining everything. His response speed was also much faster than usual.
I could understand his feelings, and it seemed like Jang Nam-uk was starting to learn more about PlayerZ.
Still, Yoo Sang-hoon, who came from a server ranker background, would eventually challenge the top-tier raids, and it was uncertain whether we could keep up with him.
At least until we hit the wall, we planned to go together.
‘I’ve already pre-registered, now I just need to set the reservation download. I’ll download the regular version instead of VR mode like Sang-hoon...’
While Jang Nam-uk and Yoo Sang-hoon were exchanging messages, I was watching PlayerZ information when a new message arrived.
The message came from one person but was split into two parts.
[Yeo Jun-yeol] Eui-shin.
[Yeo Jun-yeol] Master.
It was a message from Yeo Jun-yeol.
Today, I thought he was going to split the message to tell me the weather forecast again, but it was a bit different this time.
The message did include a mention of the weather, but there was no usual Hongryong stamp, and Yeo Jun-yeol’s tone felt a bit more serious.
I had a bad feeling.
Yeo Jun-yeol ended each message with the following:
[Yeo Jun-yeol] I heard what happened. I’ll be waiting at the Dragon Palace.
[Yeo Jun-yeol] I heard about what you did, Master. I’ll see you at the Dragon Palace.
Today, I was supposed to interview Class 0 alumni, but before that, there was somewhere I had to go.
It was the Dragon Palace.
I had been taking elixirs recently and wearing the lenses Eunho gave me, but the treatment would be done periodically with the help of the shrine maidens at the Dragon Palace.
So today, I had planned to visit the Dragon Palace for treatment.
I hadn’t expected to see Yeo Jun-yeol waiting there.
‘...It makes sense that Yeo Jun-yeol would find out, since I’ve received help from the Dragon Tribe. It would actually be strange if he didn’t know.’
It seemed like Yeo Jun-yeol had learned about my missing left eye.
