NOVPUBEx Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School
The Class 0 Alumni Hall, located within the Yeonggwang District.
The Class 0 Alumni Hall may appear to be just another facility within Yeonggwang High School, similar to an alumni association building, but it is different.
This facility was created when the alumni of Class 0 voluntarily gathered money, bought land, and built a structure.
Class 0 graduates often found it troublesome to arrange a place for gatherings each time, and they felt the need for a safe hideout to maintain security, so they decided to create this alumni hall.
As a result, a fortress created by Class 0 graduates appeared in Yeonggwang District.
"I’m sure the school could have given us one of their buildings if we had asked, but we went and did this. Well, thinking about it, I can see why it had to be this way."
It wasn’t a thought that hadn’t crossed their minds, but still, the Class 0 graduates insisted on building their alumni hall outside the school grounds.
The alumni hall was established during a time when Hwang Ji-ho was neglecting his duties, causing all sorts of conflicts and corruption within Yeonggwang High.
In those days, it wasn’t surprising that graduates, having just escaped Yeonggwang High’s control, didn’t want to gather within the school.
Moreover, for the alumni to enter Yeonggwang High, they had to regularly update their information in the barrier registry, which was likely a hassle.
"I knew it existed, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it in person. Not bad."
In front of the entrance to the Class 0 Alumni Hall.
Hwang Ji-ho looked up at the building and commented.
As he said, the exterior was not bad.
It was a bit old, but it had been remodeled periodically, making it look as if it were a newly constructed building, neat and well-kept with an appealing design.
Eunho, who had been observing the alumni hall longer than Hwang Ji-ho, spoke up.
"The exterior materials are quite standard."
It seemed that the interior materials might be something different.
After all, this was a building erected by the seniors of Class 0, so it was unlikely to be ordinary.
If they had coated the inside with otherworldly metals for a scenario involving battles within the building, like a pro-player team building, it wouldn’t have been surprising.
Not that it was for dealing with otherworldly threats or enemies, but more likely, it was for when conflicts between the seniors of Class 0 occurred—such fights seemed inevitable.
‘Is it alright to bring Eunho into such a dangerous place?’
I knew that Eunho belonged to a noble family.
However, he had only recently gotten out of bed after being ill.
Though he had shown his skill when sparring with first-year Class 0 students, I worried about him facing those ruthless seniors of Class 0.
Additionally, unlike the old tiger who had no intention of hiding his identity, Eunho was disguised as Cheon Eun-ha.
There was a possibility that Eunho, instead of revealing his true ability in a tough situation, might just choose to take the hits.
"Eui-shin hyung, I think you’re worried about me."
Eunho smiled warmly.
There was no difference from back when we were at Cheon Seongheon’s school—he was still delighted by the smallest gestures from his seniors.
Maybe he would listen to my worries, so I spoke up.
"Yeah, you and Hwang Ji-ho don’t need to go in. How about we wait until the situation inside is sorted out?"
Even after I spoke, Eunho’s expression didn’t change, but I felt a chill in the air.
‘I knew Jo Eui-shin would say that.’ Hwang Ji-ho said, but Eunho didn’t respond right away.
Then Eunho spoke.
"Are you asking me to just watch while you know my condition? If you ever make such a suggestion again, I’ll act on my own to prove my strength."
I realized I had spoken in a way that belittled Eunho.
I immediately apologized, worried that Eunho might take matters into his own hands because of my words. 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
To explain, Eunho appeared younger than me, and with his appearance closer to Cheon Seongheon’s, I had unconsciously treated him like a younger junior.
Though I still didn’t feel comfortable sending my juniors into a fight, I had to apologize sincerely since I had disrespected him.
Eunho, after hearing my apology, responded gently.
"I’m happy to be treated like a junior. But don’t forget that I can fight too. Also, don’t forget what kind of situation you’re in and what you’ve gone through, Eui-shin hyung."
Even though I had made a mistake, Eunho graciously let it slide.
I thought he was a good junior, just like back in the day, and together we made our way toward the alumni hall.
"Was it like this before?"
"Something like this."
"It’s clear to see what it was like."
The tigers were chattering, but there was something more important than listening to their conversation.
We had to enter that alumni hall and face the traps set by the seniors.
‘The promised meeting place is the top floor, the 16th floor. There will likely be traps inside, so it might be faster to just enter through the window...’
Unfortunately, the graduates had made a rule that when entering the alumni hall, they must use the front entrance.
That rule was obvious, but the reason it was established was because no one from Class 0 actually followed it.
Ugiwan had tried to scale the outer wall with his bare hands, while Geumchan Wangchan, feeling something off, wanted to just blow up the building.
Whiiiiiing...
The glass door, which had been tightly shut, automatically opened.
Before trying another entrance, it seemed they intended to let us in through the front door.
Hwang Ji-ho, staring straight at the object that seemed to be the lens of a recording device, spoke.
"They must have seen us coming."
As we entered the alumni hall, the automatic glass doors immediately closed behind us, and a sturdy shutter dropped over it.
The tigers and I could probably break through if we wanted, but we decided to watch quietly.
The large lobby was soon filled with a broadcast.
[As expected of Class 0 juniors, you’re not surprised. Welcome, juniors!]
Though it was just a voice, I immediately recognized it.
It was a senior in charge of the Class 0 alumni association.
He was surprisingly young for someone handling all of Class 0, but this one seemed crazy enough to manage all of them.
[According to alumni association rules, we begin the trial!]
Had there been a rule like this in the alumni association—that when ungraduated Class 0 students visit, they must undergo some kind of trial?
Why did such a rule exist?
I couldn’t make sense of it, but I decided not to waste time trying to understand the logic of madmen.
We chose the stairs instead of the malfunctioning elevator and moved forward.
The first floor had only the greeting from the alumni association secretary, but the trial began on the upper floors.
‘As warned by the device message, there were traps.’
Progressing through the floors wasn’t particularly hard.
The vine trap on the second floor could easily be broken through by force, and the hot iron plates on the third floor were the same.
Though they looked tough at first glance, they were surprisingly simple to deal with once engaged.
"Not as hard as I thought."
Perhaps wanting to prove his strength, Eunho actively took the lead in handling the traps.
Before the electric shocks on the fourth floor even began, Eunho found and pressed the power-off button, allowing us to pass through safely.
The lighting was out, and the windows were covered, making it dark, but the tigers had good night vision, so it wasn’t an issue.
We didn’t even need the device’s flashlight, and we found the stairs leading to the next floor.
The progress continued smoothly, but something felt off.
‘If the traps are this easy, why bother warning us with a device message?’
Seong Guk-eon, being so considerate, might have warned us about even the flimsy traps.
But the other seniors weren’t like that.
Ugiwan and Geumchan Wangchan knew I could hold my own.
They must have known this kind of trap could be handled easily in no time.
Those seniors were always busy, and it didn’t seem like they’d warn us out of boredom.
‘Is it because there’s a first-year here, so they’re going easy on us? No, the seniors wouldn’t do that. There’s something more to it.’
Hwang Ji-ho made a visibly bored face.
Just a moment ago, he had looked excited about the scale of the alumni hall, but upon seeing the prepared traps, he couldn’t hide his disappointment.
Eunho seemed dissatisfied.
Judging from the traps’ level, it seemed that Eunho, or even Cheon Eun-ha, could not fully demonstrate his true ability.
"With traps like these, Eui-shin hyung would doubt I can fight well."
The tigers glanced at me as they spoke.
They seemed to be looking at me with strange expectations.
"But Jo Eui-shin hasn’t let his guard down. He’s probably just being cautious, but he might be thinking something else."
"I think so too. He seems to believe there’s more going on."
When we passed the 10th floor, the difficulty seemed to rise.
For the first time, Hwang Ji-ho had to take action instead of leaving it to Eunho.
He saw the dust clouds spreading from every direction and immediately set up a barrier.
Though it wasn’t a life-threatening trap, it was enough to ruin our clothes if we weren’t careful.
"The dust spreads fast. I almost got my uniform dirty."
The attacks continued, but Hwang Ji-ho’s involvement ended there.
As the dusty air settled, laser beams shot out, and Eunho quickly created a mirror item to reflect them.
It was a piece crafted from a decorative frame nearby and basic materials provided by the school for crafting items.
Though it was a one-time use, it had enough durability to block all the laser attacks.
From the 10th floor onward, the traps became slightly more troublesome.
"Maybe they wanted us to let our guard down with easy traps, only to catch us off guard later? Not bad, but not amazing either."
"We’re almost at the last floor. How much time do we have left?"
We were on the 14th floor now.
Just now, Eunho had completely disassembled the windmill, which interfered with psychic forces, finishing the trap dismantling.
Only one more floor to go before we reach the promised 16th floor.
I checked the device’s clock.
"About 30 minutes left."
We still had 30 minutes until the agreed-upon time.
I thought we could easily clear the last floor no matter what they had prepared.
When we reached the 15th floor...
Whoooom...
The walls, floor, and ceiling began to resonate with a powerful energy.
The entire floor was covered in otherworldly metal, with complex magic circles etched into the surface.
As Hwang Ji-ho was briefly in awe, a broadcast started.
[Now it’s your turn to experience the fear of the old school ghost!]
It sounded like nonsense, but it couldn’t be ignored.
Was this space related to the ghost of the old school building?
Would it really summon a ghost or show us an illusion? I needed to prepare a countermeasure.
‘Eunho is ready to fight. Hwang Ji-ho will probably set up a barrier and observe. As for me, it’s best to prepare a warding skill just in case.’
Eunho would likely handle it, but it wouldn’t hurt to prepare for the worst.
As I thought about preparing a warding skill that would be sufficient even if the seniors saw it, Hwang Ji-ho set up a barrier.
At that moment, I heard a familiar system notification.
〈Skill ‘Fate Power’ has activated.〉
