NOVPUBThree weeks remained until the exam began.
As the time to prepare for finals arrived, the heat of the competition seemed like a lie, and the atmosphere at Yeonggwang High School sank.
As the days grew longer and the temperature rose, students’ faces darkened.
This trend became more pronounced as the grade level increased.
Of course, there was an exception.
That exception was Yoo Sang-hoon.
"Hey, don't just log in, do your daily quests too. If you don't, you'll be losing out."
Yoo Sang-hoon was still playing PlayerZ.
While Jang Nam-uk, who had immersed himself in the story, had stopped logging in, Yoo Sang-hoon was different.
Yoo Sang-hoon didn’t follow the main quest to match our progress.
But he did the daily quests that were updated randomly every day, giving experience, upgrade materials, etc., and also the side quests that didn’t even need to be completed.
I didn't do those quests, but I logged in daily just to collect the rewards given for logging in, keeping the game running for a few seconds before closing it again.
‘Every time I logged in, Yoo Sang-hoon was always there.’
Even though he knew I was just logging in for the rewards, Yoo Sang-hoon would always start a conversation with me.
And it wasn’t just Yoo Sang-hoon. Doh Si-hoo also contacted me.
Doh Si-hoo wasn't as frequent as Yoo Sang-hoon, but he said he also logged in often to play together.
Because of that, the two seemed to have become quite close, though I wondered if they should be doing that during exam season.
Jang Nam-uk consulted me about it.
[Jang Nam-uk] I tried to persuade Si-hoo to cut back on the game, but surprisingly, his study time increased, and I don’t know what to do.
I asked again, confused by what he meant by studying more while playing a game he hadn’t played before.
[Jang Nam-uk] Si-hoo usually studies at the same pace even during exam periods. This time, he’s been playing games, but when he saw me worrying, he increased his study time accordingly.
[Jang Nam-uk] Besides, Si-hoo has always been top-ranked, so I can’t really say anything about him. These days, he’s happy to have become close with Sang-hoon, and he’s focusing more on his studies, so I don’t want to stop him. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
[Jang Nam-uk] Still, I’m thinking of suggesting he play the game where others can’t see him, as seeing him play could demotivate others.
It seemed that Jang Nam-uk decided to just watch Doh Si-hoo play games.
If someone can balance games and studies, there’s no real need to stop them.
In fact, if it has a positive impact, maybe it’s better to leave it alone?
Thinking "He’s doing well now, so he’ll probably do even better without the game" could be an overreach and counterproductive.
‘I remember when I tried to force myself to stop playing PLMAGO, my concentration did get a little messed up for a while. But I’m not sure if playing the game has a positive effect on Yoo Sang-hoon...’
Yoo Sang-hoon was currently a famous figure in the PlayerZ strategy community.
In the trailer video, he showcased his dream of playing as a tank and VR, and his name "Shield Soldier" became well-known.
PlayerZ had a system where the first player to accomplish something in-game would have a message displayed across the entire server.
And that "Shield Soldier" name kept appearing in those messages multiple times.
‘Considering Yoo Sang-hoon’s gaming skill, I thought it was probably as a member of the first team to clear high rarity raids.’
Yoo Sang-hoon was nowhere near reaching that end-game content since he was catching up with us.
As the exam period approached and we stopped logging in, Yoo Sang-hoon had nothing else to do, so he started exploring fields suitable for his level.
Then, Yoo Sang-hoon ended up discovering hidden adventure elements multiple times, being the first to uncover them.
Yoo Sang-hoon, without any clues, accidentally rescued the missing NPC "Spirit of the Forgotten Forest" and succeeded in reviving the "Dead Forest," an off-limits area, expanding the game’s map, and breaking open a dam to revive a dying village, greatly increasing the available items in NPC shops.
This event could be repeated by other players, but the name "Shield Soldier" was inscribed on the statue of the hero, which transcended time and space.
‘Currently, the continent Yoo Sang-hoon is on is just a passing field for gamers. It’s one of those areas that players don’t revisit after leveling up.’
After several such incidents, Yoo Sang-hoon received countless friend requests and whispers.
Although Yoo Sang-hoon had set his whispers and friend requests to reject, players searched through the vast map and numerous servers, trying to find him and pestering him.
They claimed to be his fans and would lay down asking for him to post screenshots or stream.
‘He’s the kind of person who says it’s better to play the game than post something online, so he wouldn't do such things.’
Yoo Sang-hoon hadn’t even joined the game community, and naturally, had no intention of posting or streaming.
But more and more people began whining that they couldn’t clear the quests that Yoo Sang-hoon had cleared first.
Yoo Sang-hoon, who loved PlayerZ so much, began to consider whether he should put up with the hassle and do something about it.
He, who normally typed only consonants in messages, was now writing long sentences, which was a surprise.
[Yoo Sang-hoon] What if I quit? I need to do something.
Even looking at the number of concurrent players and revenue for PlayerZ, I wondered why he was worried like that.
Even if you hung them upside down, there would still be loyal users playing PlayerZ with fervor. What was he even talking about?
This godly game was breaking all the records for previous games, yet Yoo Sang-hoon was still worrying over nonsense.
I couldn’t sympathize with his situation, since PLMAGO had never been successful, but I understood his desire to help other players.
[Yoo Sang-hoon] I have a recording, so I can just upload it.
[Jang Nam-uk] Sharing guides is a good idea. But, Sang-hoon, you are studying, right? Recently, Sang-hee sister is really worried about you playing only PLJet. If you have to take extra exams, you won’t have time for games, so study while you can.
[Yoo Sang-hoon] I’ll pass 40 points.
[Jang Nam-uk] 40 points is just barely passing!
Now, Yoo Sang-hoon had become a rival to Hwang Ji-ho, who had a 40-point average.
Not long ago, it seemed that Anda-in thought it would be good if that guy joined the special class in 3rd year, but from the recent behavior, it seemed he had given up on that idea.
Since he had already failed the midterms miserably, entering the special class was out of the question, and with the finals looking this way, it was all over.
But, still, seeing that even with all that time spent on the game, Yoo Sang-hoon still had enough leeway to score over 40 points, I decided to look at it positively.
I didn’t exactly understand his passion for games, but I decided to help him a little.
[I] I’ll edit the video. So at least study in front of Sang-hee senior.
[Doh Si-hoo] I’ll help with editing too, haha.
Yoo Sang-hoon seemed to think there was no need for it.
In game guide videos, editing was important, but Yoo Sang-hoon didn’t understand that at all.
A well-made guide video lowers the entry barrier for newbies, and existing users can enjoy the game more easily and last longer.
I explained this point earnestly, and Jang Nam-uk seemed to think that if my suggestion was accepted, it would ease Sang-hee’s worries, so he agreed, and Doh Si-hoo seemed to feel the same.
With the situation now 3 to 1, Yoo Sang-hoon finally surrendered.
[Yoo Sang-hoon] Fine, just make it roughly. Or we can do it after the exam period.
I succeeded in negotiating and managed to keep Yoo Sang-hoon engaged with reality for a little longer.
The Yoo Sang-hoon matter was settled, but there was still a problem.
Unlike Yoo Sang-hoon, there were students in our class who could fail even if they stayed at their desks all during the exam period.
Those students were Maeng Hyo-don and Kwon Lena.
And Maeng Hyo-don’s condition was more serious than Kwon Lena, who was receiving personalized tutoring from Mok Woo-ram.
"..."
Maeng Hyo-don, sitting by the window, seemed to be melting in the sunlight.
I wondered if even a stone could melt in the sunlight, but it turned out he was just sweating a lot, which made him look like he was melting.
"Do you think Hyo-don will be okay in other subjects? There are a lot of hard subjects besides math, right?"
"Among the core subjects, Player Theory is a bit tricky, but the other elective subjects should be fine."
"He's got a lot of classes overlapping with me. Most of the electives are physical classes."
Maeng Hyo-don had chosen most of his subjects strategically, except for math.
Because of that, he had many overlapping subjects with Dokgo Miro, who wasn’t too interested in academics.
They said they both got perfect scores in the practical subjects, but if I were to ask who would do better in this exam, I’d probably bet on Dokgo Miro.
'Dokgo Miro didn’t choose time-consuming subjects like Enemy Studies or Math, so he had more time for practice. Plus, recently, he asked Gong Cheong-hwon for training.'
They said they helped each other out, but it seemed that the king of warriors, Dokgo Miro, wasn’t too pleased about losing to Anda-in.
Dokgo Miro was working hard on his training, claiming he would show a better performance as the representative.
"Sometimes, if you don’t stretch, your brain won’t work. Want to practice practical skills together? Han-i, you join too! Huh?"
While Maeng Hyo-don looked like he was melting, Dokgo Miro smiled brightly, making the atmosphere around them seem a lot warmer.
It was hard to believe they were both under the same sunlight.
Dokgo Miro naturally tried to pull Han-i into the practice session, but Han-i shook her head.
Dokgo Miro tried again, but stopped when he saw Han-i’s face.
"...If you ever want to practice, let me know anytime, okay?"
"Okay."
"Don’t overdo it. I found some cookies that the vice class president brought. They used a sugar substitute, though. Let’s eat some now!"
Since Han-i’s complexion looked paler than usual, Dokgo Miro, instead of pushing, offered her some snacks.
Gong Cheong-hwon’s "Otherworldly Environment and Enemy Ecosystem" course had a wider range than the midterms, and most students who were taking the course looked like that.
'But I don’t think it’s just because of the exams.'
I remembered Han-i’s dream that Gong Cheong-hwon had mentioned.
Eunho and I thought the higher being in Han-i’s dream was a celestial being.
If that were the case, the recent events might have caused some change.
‘Since the Hojok found out about Cheongho’s body, the celestial being might have reacted differently than usual.’
But since I couldn’t directly ask Han-i, I couldn’t verify it.
I looked at Han-i, who seemed dazed, and Dokgo Miro, who was cheerfully offering food.
And just then, Hwang Ji-ho called me out.
Hwang Ji-ho often spoke nonsense, but since he usually made such remarks in front of the class, I figured this might be important and responded immediately.
Hwang Ji-ho, who had set up a barrier, spoke.
"Jeokho and Kim Shin-rok confirmed the location where Seong Hyeong-woo’s corpse passed through."
"All of it? I heard it would take a long time."
It was said that analyzing the information left on Seong Hyeong-woo’s corpse would take quite a bit of time.
That’s because the body hadn’t just been in the country.
Outside the Korean Peninsula, the Hojok’s influence was weaker, so it became harder to analyze the body.
I didn’t know how they had managed to cross the border with Seong Hyeong-woo’s body, but since the dark forces had once crossed the sea while sealing Muji-gi, it wasn’t impossible.
"It’s not done yet. But I thought I should let you know in advance."
It seemed that this was important information since they were reporting at this stage.
Hwang Ji-ho opened his mouth after a long pause.
"Seong Hyeong-woo passed through the place where Cheongho’s training belt was found."
