NOVPUBAs the last day of exams approached, I studied at the Dragon Palace, receiving warm treatment and even a dinner, perhaps because of that, I managed to finish my remaining exams without issue.
Huang Ji-ho didn’t look particularly happy after his visit to the Dragon Palace, and sadly, he scored a 40 again, as usual.
The grades weren’t finalized yet since the correction period was still ongoing, but it didn’t seem like there would be any changes.
As of now, only three students in our class had confirmed re-exams because they missed the test due to sleeping or refusing to attend school.
"It’s unfortunate to miss the exam just because of sleep; that shows a lack of training," I said.
"So, only three people in our class are taking the re-exam," someone remarked.
"I hope they’ll start attending school again after this incident," another student added.
There wasn’t much concern for the three students since they were not failing due to lack of ability but simply missed the exam.
After the final exams were over, the atmosphere in our class was lively, with everyone eagerly chatting about the upcoming vacation.
The topic of conversation quickly shifted from exams to vacation plans.
The biggest event during the summer vacation was the Korea-China-Japan Youth Exchange, but only three people from our class—Dokomi, Maeng Hyo-don, and I—would directly participate. Thus, we also talked about plans unrelated to the exchange.
"I’ll be watching baseball, playing games, and going on a hunting party with Choi Pyeon-deok... looks like I’ll be busy this summer."
"Aren’t you planning to study? You struggled so much during the finals, and now you’re saying this?" someone teased.
"Seok is probably not going to study either," another person pointed out.
"I was just asking," Song Dae-seok mumbled, embarrassed after hearing Min Green's comment.
Song Dae-seok had recently started becoming more aware and integrated into the group, but when he spoke, about one in ten times, he'd still make an awkward remark.
Of course, our class had gotten used to his behavior, so no one really paid attention to it.
"I won’t study this summer! I’ll study hard when the second semester starts," I joked.
"I won’t study either," Maeng Hyo-don added.
"Hahaha! I won’t either," Huang Ji-ho followed, making it clear that they all planned to avoid studying during the break.
Apart from Kim Yu-ri, Kwon Le-na, and Han Yi, no one in our class seemed likely to study during the break.
However, there was one person who absolutely needed to study.
"I’m not studying during the vacation either..." I started, but was quickly interrupted.
"If you’re choosing math, you should study," someone suggested.
"...Huh?"
"If you didn’t get more than half of the questions you guessed right, you’d have to retake the test. Without preparatory study, it’ll be difficult to keep up next semester," the person explained.
Seizing the opportunity, I briefly explained my plan for preparatory study during the summer to Maeng Hyo-don.
He nodded awkwardly, as if swallowing a stone, but didn’t outright say he would give up on math.
Although he looked like he was about to give up, he didn’t say it directly.
Jin Jeong-mook, who had been sipping his peach smoothie cautiously, said, "How did you manage to handle all those schedules while preparing for the exams? You prepared for exams, helped your classmates and juniors, and even made videos. As the vice-president of the class, you truly are remarkable."
"Did you see the video that Eui-shin made?" Kwon Le-na asked.
"I did," Jeong-mook replied without hesitation.
He was referring to the PlayerZ video that I edited and uploaded on Yoo Sang-hoon’s channel.
Despite the channel being new and not actively promoted, the fact that I edited the videos spread quickly around school.
The source of the rumor was the school’s general bulletin board.
When the newly formed sub-group "Eun-gwangZ" posted about the PlayerZ videos on the bulletin board, they included my alias as the editor.
‘It’s natural to promote the video of the shield warrior in the group. But why did they have to mention the editor’s name? People would have joined the group anyway without my name being attached.’
It was rare for a fan of an internet broadcaster to notice the name of the editor while binge-watching the videos, but for some reason, Eun-gwangZ insisted on including the phrase "edited by the nameless rising star."
This fact spread quickly in the PlayerZ community, and soon people knew that the survivors of the practical entrance exam, the "Team 13," were also playing the game together.
As a result, there were a lot of requests in the comments to upload videos of our gameplay.
Despite our slow progress compared to more skilled players, and the presence of beginners, the comments were filled with requests like "We’re expecting great things!" and "Please upload it quickly!"
Our classmates had similar reactions.
"I watched the video Eui-shin made! Even though I don’t know much about the game, it was really fun to watch. The fonts, sizes, and placements were great, the editing was neat, and there were some funny points..." one of them said.
"...Well, it was well done," another person added.
"I saw it too. It was a shame Eui-shin wasn’t in it," someone else said.
"I agree with Mi-ro. I’m looking forward to the next video!" another person chimed in.
Most of Yoo Sang-hoon’s subscribers were probably fans of the Shield Warrior, so they worried that the secondary characters would ruin the video.
Should I make a separate edited version to show my friends?
While I was thinking about this, Huang Ji-ho suddenly interrupted.
"Do you know that Eui-shin plays the Bard in the game? His main weapon is the Celtic harp," he said.
I had never mentioned my game job to Huang Ji-ho, so how did he know?
Did he see the screenshot I sent to Eun Seoh and Eun Yi-ho, who had shown interest in PlayerZ? Or did someone else tell him?
"How can a beginner use a Celtic harp as a weapon? Is the world of magical instruments that advanced?" Huang Ji-ho asked with interest.
"Really? Is that okay, Eui-shin?" Yeom Jun-yeol asked, now curious.
"There are a lot of jobs, but of all things, the Bard..." I said with a hint of surprise.
"Hahaha! I heard from Yoo Sang-hoon that your character in the game is actually better at playing instruments than the actual player," Huang Ji-ho added.
As my classmates worried, I just looked at Huang Ji-ho without saying anything.
Huang Ji-ho, despite his teasing, only chuckled.
There were exactly two people in the whole school who scored a 40 in the common subject theory exam: one was our classmate, and the other was Yoo Sang-hoon.
Although Yoo Sang-hoon didn’t score a 40 in every subject like Huang Ji-ho, it seemed like they had developed a sense of camaraderie, and they became quite close.
Yoo Sang-hoon treated Huang Ji-ho as just another classmate who got a 40, and Huang Ji-ho seemed to enjoy that treatment.
"At the student council meeting, the schedule that Eui-shin made was posted. Are you just sleeping through it?" Kim Yu-ri asked as she handed me another orange smoothie from the icebox.
This time, the student council meeting materials were divided into halves by Kim Yu-ri's suggestion.
Given how busy Kim Yu-ri was as a staff member of the Youth Exchange, I couldn’t burden her with too much.
If she hadn’t suggested it so assertively, I would’ve ended up doing everything myself.
"Thanks as always, Eui-shin," Kim Yu-ri said.
I, too, was always grateful to her.
Early in the morning, I received a message from Seong Guk-eon.
[Seong Guk-eon] Did you sleep well?
[Seong Guk-eon] I’m worried that your health might have deteriorated during exam prep.
[Seong Guk-eon] I’d like to see you and buy you a meal, but you’re probably busy during the summer vacation, right? At least I hope we can meet before the camp for the Youth Exchange starts.
Despite being busy dealing with the Center issue, Seong Guk-eon took time to contact me and check on me.
I was still more concerned about Seong Guk-eon, who wore the eye patch.
Though I spent most of my time at school, Seong Guk-eon was managing his duties as a congressman and working on his promise to conquer otherworlds.
Whenever I saw Seong Guk-eon on the news with the eye patch, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of discomfort in my left eye.
[Me] I’m always available, but I’m worried about you finding time for me.
[Seong Guk-eon] You don’t need to worry about that, my junior.
Seong Guk-eon tried to reassure me, but I could tell it wasn’t working.
In the end, we arranged a meeting through Jeon Mu-yeong, his chief secretary.
It was a sign of how busy Seong Guk-eon was that even setting up a simple meal required scheduling help from his chief secretary. While I was grateful, I also felt sorry.
I added one more message, hoping that Seong Guk-eon might take off his eye patch to rest.
[Me] I heard your treatment is almost done. Wouldn’t it be fine to remove the eye patch soon?
[Seong Guk-eon] It’s better to discuss it face-to-face. Let’s meet later.
That message essentially meant that Seong Guk-eon wouldn’t take off his eye patch until I fully recovered.
I thought about sending more messages to convince him, but since he had already firmly said it, I decided not to push further and closed the hologram window.
‘It’s already hot in the early morning. Maybe it’s just me, but it feels even hotter outside the school.’
Today was a school day, but I was outside the school.
After leaving the dorm early in the morning, I didn’t head to the second-year area but instead made my way outside the school.
As I passed by students in their school uniforms heading to class, I felt a bit of a fresh sense, walking in a different direction.
Although I sometimes didn’t go straight to class when I went to MITRON early, today, I wasn’t headed to a bakery.
It might look like I wasn’t being diligent as a student, but as the vice-president of the 2nd-year class 0, I had an important mission to carry out.
‘At least it’s inside Eun-gwang-gu, so I’m lucky. Otherwise, it would’ve taken much longer.’
My destination was a house in a residential area about a block away from Kim Yu-ri’s house, located in the outer part of Eun-gwang-gu.
It was my first time coming here, but since I knew the address well, I arrived without getting lost.
Though I knew the address for sure, seeing the exterior of the house, I wasn’t sure if I had arrived at the right place.
It looked quite ordinary compared to the mental state of those inside.
‘There aren’t any notable buildings around here, so I don’t think I’m lost. It must be camouflaged.’
I double-checked the address and rang the doorbell.
There was no answer.
Did they really make the same mistake again?
I rang the doorbell again, but still no answer.
I decided to use my ability to gently knock on the door.
Knock, knock.
I sent my ability throughout the house, and a presence inside responded.
Luckily, it seemed the people inside had sensed my ability.
The voices inside responded clearly, and I spoke while making sure not to disturb the neighbors by directing my ability toward the interior of the building.
"Wake up, you need to take the test."
Today was the day for the re-exams, and this place was the hideout for those who missed the test due to sleeping.
As the vice-president, I had come here to prevent anyone from failing in our class.
