NOVPUBThe Dragon Tribe gathered in one place to bid farewell to Jo Eui-shin.
Although Hwang Ryong did not physically hold Jo Eui-shin back, it was clear he felt some regret.
"After so long, the Dragon Palace finally has a new master, but my benefactor has no greed and is so busy."
Influenced by Hwang Ryong’s mood, the dragons, especially Un-ryong, lay down on the clouds, looking disheartened.
Perhaps they were especially disappointed because they had hoped Jo Eui-shin, the owner of the palace, might stay a little longer. Un-ryong had even tidied up the Red, White, and Black Dragon Palaces, hoping Jo Eui-shin would remain.
"I wanted to let him rest a little more, but it seems like there’s too much to do, so I couldn’t keep him."
"Look at Hwang Ho. He just gave up and is following along. Do you plan to follow Eui-shin too, Hwang Ryong?"
"That's a good idea. If I didn’t have a duty to protect the Dragon Palace, I would have accompanied my benefactor too."
Yong Je-geon half-jokingly made this remark, and Hwang Ryong responded seriously.
It seemed there was a certain similarity between Hwang Ryong and Hwang Ho.
Hwang Ryong, still expressing regret, continued to speak about his benefactor.
"Would it have been different if other dragons had been here?"
"Cheongryong probably wouldn't have been much help."
"That’s true. But since Jun-yeol is here, I think he can be of help."
The conversation shifted to the topic of "What if other dragons had been here? Could they have kept Jo Eui-shin at the Dragon Palace longer?"
Cheongryong, though inwardly wishing Jo Eui-shin would stay, would not show it.
However, if Yeo Jun-yeol had actively tried to stop Jo Eui-shin, he would have helped with all his might.
In that sense, Cheongryong and Cheongho shared some similarities.
"If Shin In and Cheongho were among the Ho Tribe, Cheongryong would probably have acted similarly. Cheongho would watch quietly and then follow Shin In’s intentions."
"Ha-ha, what about Jeokho? If it were Jeokryong, he would have straightforwardly told Jo Eui-shin not to go."
"Jeokho would probably be the same. If he put his mind to it, he would use harsh words to keep Eui-shin here. But if he were persuaded, I think he would ultimately respect Eui-shin's decision."
The conversation also turned to Baekho and Baekryong.
Yong Je-geon predicted that they would hide their disappointment and still send Jo Eui-shin off kindly.
As for Baekho, Yong Je-geon added his thoughts.
"Baekho is good at listening to Eui-shin. If necessary, he would even help him escape."
"I’m not sure about Baekryong, but I think he would help the benefactor escape as well."
The dragons discussed the similarities and differences between the colored dragons and the Ho Tribe in a lively conversation.
This was only possible because the Dragon Tribe and the Ho Tribe had grown closer.
When the Dragon Tribe had isolated themselves from other tribes and the Dragon Palace had been secluded, they would have never dreamed of such conversations.
Because of that, Yeo Jun-yeol found it rather nice to hear the dragons talking about the Ho Tribe.
While Yeo Jun-yeol was listening to Hwang Ryong and Yong Je-geon, he suddenly grew curious.
"What about the Black Dragon?"
When he asked about the Black Dragon, both Yong Je-geon and Hwang Ryong froze.
Hwang Ryong looked at Yeo Jun-yeol through his eye patch with a worried expression.
"Jun-yeol, you should call her 'Black Dragon-nim.' If you don’t, she might feel upset and stir things up, possibly even attempt to descend."
"Ah...!"
There were many dragons, regardless of their age, who wanted to hear "hyung" or "noona" from Yeo Jun-yeol, and the Black Dragon was one of them.
Though the Black Dragon had ascended and never met Yeo Jun-yeol face-to-face, it was well-known that she wanted to hear "noona."
Yong Je-geon and Hwang Ryong, who knew the Black Dragon well, added their thoughts.
"Yeah, Jun-yeol. I’ve seen Cheongryong get upset when he’s not called ‘uncle.’ I’m sure the Black Dragon would feel even worse about it."
"Jeokryong, Baekryong, and the Black Dragon all gave their scales to help the Dragon King descend, which is why their energy is unstable. If Jun-yeol calls her 'Black Dragon-nim' in that state, she’ll feel deeply hurt."
Though it seemed absurd that she’d be upset just for not being called "noona," seeing Cheongryong’s obsession with being called "uncle" made it understandable.
Yeo Jun-yeol quickly reflected and said,
"I made a big mistake. From now on, I’ll call her ‘Black Dragon-nim.’"
The dragons were very pleased with his words.
"Yes, she’ll be happy. You asked about the Black Dragon, right? The Black Dragon will likely try to fight Baekryong, who is trying to send Eui-shin off willingly."
"That’s right. She’ll start a fight with Baekryong and scatter cold air everywhere. It may seem like a playful prank, but she’ll freeze the door so it can’t open."
Yong Je-geon and Hwang Ryong speculated about the absent Black Dragon.
If it were the Black Dragon, after creating chaos with her cold, she would probably play the flute as an apology.
The benefactor would likely have to listen to her performance before leaving, which meant she’d keep him around for a while longer.
What had started as a lively conversation about the dragons’ similarities and differences turned into nostalgic tales filled with longing for the ascended beings.
Before the pleasant mood completely disappeared, Hwang Ryong decided to change the subject.
"By the way, Jun-yeol, you said you’re going to practice the I-neungpa link at the Dragon Palace today?"
"Yes, Hwang Ryong... no, Hwang Ryong-hyung, I actually wanted to ask you something."
"Haha, call me however you like. As long as you’re calling me, I’m fine with any title."
Though Hwang Ryong said that, his face brightened when Jun-yeol called him "hyung."
Noticing this, Jun-yeol chose his words carefully.
"I heard that you did I-neungpa linking with Kim Shin-rok-sensei. After that, you gave him some advice. I’d like to ask for your advice too."
"I’m not sure if my advice will help you, but of course, I’ll help. We should try doing the I-neungpa link together first."
Hwang Ryong responded positively, and Jun-yeol thanked him.
Hwang Ryong immediately got up to prepare for the I-neungpa link, but Jun-yeol seemed to have something more to say.
Sensing this quickly, Hwang Ryong asked,
"It seems like you have more to ask. Go ahead, anything."
Actually, Jun-yeol had intended to only practice the I-neungpa link today.
He thought it would take time to master it, even if he got advice from Hwang Ryong, who had used the I-neungpa link in actual combat with Kim Shin-rok.
However, after hearing about Jo Eui-shin’s injury, Jun-yeol had changed his mind.
He decided to push forward and become stronger, faster.
"My master, Jeokbyeok Gweido... Eui-shin told me that I have a latent ability called 'Hongryonghwa.'"
"Hongryonghwa...?"
Hwang Ryong looked puzzled at this new term, while Yong Je-geon seemed to suddenly become excited.
Hearing about Jun-yeol’s latent ability, "Hongryonghwa," made Yong Je-geon even more excited.
Jun-yeol said resolutely,
"I want to practice controlling that power at the Dragon Palace, where the energy of the Dragon Tribe is the strongest."
Although I received strange messages from Seong Guk-eon, I couldn’t ignore them.
Seong Guk-eon had said I was busy, but it was clear that he was the one who was busy.
He was still wearing an eye patch, which had become a hot topic. 𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝒐𝙢
Reporters, especially those with political agendas, had caused a lot of trouble by focusing on his eye patch.
‘They caused a lot of trouble trying to focus on Seong Guk-eon’s eye.’
One of the most egregious acts was when a reporter tried to use a contact to steal medical records from Hwang Myeong-un Hospital.
Hwang Myeong-un Hospital was so large that it had a separate player-exclusive ward, making it impossible for it to be managed solely by the Ho Tribe.
Around 8,000 employees worked there, including both regular and non-regular workers, as well as partners.
Doctors and nurses made up about 4,000 of them.
Most of the key figures had influence from the Ho Tribe, but there were also those who were outside of their influence.
‘There’s no way they would handle Seong Guk-eon’s records carelessly, but it’s daring. At the time, Jeokho and Kim Shin-rok were alternating in helping Seong Guk-eon, so they quickly noticed and dealt with it.’
Several dozen people who had cooperated in stealing medical records directly or indirectly lost their jobs and were now awaiting lawsuits from the Hwang Myeong Foundation’s legal team and Seong Guk-eon.
There were more incidents.
A player pretending to be a supporter tried to forcibly remove Seong Guk-eon’s eye patch.
‘They probably tried to make up for failing to steal the medical records. They must have planned to show Seong Guk-eon’s perfectly healthy eye in front of the public to completely turn the public opinion around.’
The player who attempted to remove the eye patch was a pro player with quite a skill for ambushes.
In fact, he succeeded in touching Seong Guk-eon’s eye patch by bypassing Jeon Mu-young’s guards.
However, he failed to actually remove the eye patch.
As soon as his hand touched it, a knife flew and shattered his cervical vertebrae and tendons, causing him to collapse.
The knife’s owner was Kim Shin-rok, who couldn’t stand to see his disciple in danger.
‘Some people tried to accuse Seong Guk-eon of overreacting, but since that player was heavily armed and had explosive items, they were let off. When they traced his background, he turned out to be an international fugitive.’
Since the eye patch had been blessed by Hwang Ji-ho’s barrier, it wasn’t something that could be easily removed. I couldn’t imagine Seong Guk-eon simply allowing it to be taken off.
Even so, given the size of the incident, it was clear there was something more behind Seong Guk-eon sending a message.
Others had also sent messages.
[Wang Chansol] What’s up?
[Geum Chansol] Stay sharp.
Geum Chansol, who normally wouldn’t message first unless it had to do with Jeongal Jaegul, suddenly started a quarrel.
Following the quarrel, they posted links to the player association’s affiliated store.
The items in the link were consumable detection items that could be purchased with player points earned through accomplishments in interdimensional exploration and enemy hunting.
After posting the link, Geum Chansol made sure to say, "Thank us."
I couldn’t refuse, so I just thanked them.
[Ugiwan] If you hadn’t been lazy with training, a crisis wouldn’t be such a big deal.
I didn’t understand what this primitive person was saying.
I politely replied, asking what nonsense he was talking about, but Ugiwan didn’t reply.
Instead, I received an automatic reply stating that he was in the middle of muscle training.
‘Strange. It’s typical for Geum Chansol and Ugiwan to send weird messages, but Seong Guk-eon also sent a strange one.’
The common thread among all the messages was that they were all from Class 0 alumni.
Could it be a coincidence that all the Class 0 seniors were sending messages at the same time?
"It can’t be a coincidence. The seniors are offering advice for you, Eui-shin."
After leaving the Dragon Palace, I joined Eunho.
When I brought up the messages, Eunho was certain that something was going on.
I felt complicated, thinking that the Class 0 alumni association might be planning something, but Eunho smiled and said,
"This is a good thing. Sometimes, using strength is faster than words."
Eunho seemed to welcome the trap that had been set.
