Chapter 685: Gift (4)

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I stared blankly at the skies of Eungwang High embroidered with black snow.

I couldn’t see the school properly when I made black snow fall because I was in Mt. Cheonik, so maybe that’s why I couldn’t take my eyes off it for a long time.

I don’t know how long I’ve been distracted, but I’ve been standing for quite a while before I came to my senses.

‘The black snow must’ve stopped then, but why is it falling now?’

I clearly saw the black snow stop the moment I fell into the cracks leading to the underworld.

It was the last sight I saw in this world before arriving so there’s no way I would’ve forgotten

“Enemies stopped appearing when the black snow fell. That’s how it ended. Everyone in Eungwang High saw it.”

Hwang Jiho said as we were hit by black snow.

No one in Eungwang High used an umbrella, probably knowing that it wasn’t actual snow in the first place.

‘It’s not normal snow, it’s an illusion made from energy waves.’

It’s an illusion that doesn’t have any effect, but it wouldn’t have been easy to spray black snow enough to cover the whole school.

It’s like a continuing firework throughout the school.

It would’ve cost a lot of money if they used consumable items, and the manpower needed to operate would be considerable.

Why on earth did they decide to do this?

There are a few people who have the ability and money to do this.

One of them happened to be in front of me, so I decided to check.

“Did you prepare this?”

“The students proposed it.”

The student body proposed to make black snow fall on Eungwang High?

I didn’t understand.

There’s no way my wise playable characters would suggest doing this inefficient and wasteful thing, especially those who hold positions in autonomous organizations.

But it didn’t seem like Hwang Jiho was lying.

“All the students in this school are excellent, as you know. They guessed what the energy wave-filled snow meant. That’s why they decided that it suited this festival.”

Hwang Jiho seemed to like the proposal made by the students very much, smiling as he gathered black snowflakes in his palm.

Over time, the snowflakes disappeared without a trace and did not accumulate.

“The student body said they would spray it for a while during entry and exit, but a lot of people won’t be able to see it. That’s why yours truly suggested something.”

Judging from his words, did Hwang Jiho make the black snow?

Hwang Jiho’s imposing voice sealed it.

“This body, no, the school will pay for all the costs, so I said we should make black snow fall throughout the event.”

Why would he do that…

I didn’t understand, but I didn’t say anything.

The proposal came from the students, and the faces of the people in the dark snow were bright.

I felt strangely embarrassed, but I decided to pretend not to know.

“Hahahaha! As expected, this is how you react.”

Hwang Jiho, who had been observing me, laughed out loud.

I felt like it’s been a while since I saw him laugh.

From Hwang Jiho’s point of view though, it’s only been a day or two.

“Euishin-ah!”

Then, a dragon of flames ascended from the snow.

Yeom Junyeol, who was riding Hongryong, was coming toward me.

I examined Yeom Junyeol in detail.

If he was seriously injured, the Dragon Clan wouldn’t have sent him to school, but I couldn’t help but worry about my student and senior.

‘Far from being hurt, he actually looks pretty good. Besides, I think Hongryong got bigger.’

Yeom Junyeol has grown through the First Christmas scenario.

He smiled brightly, and seeing his expression overflowing with confidence made me feel better.

Jump!

When Hongryong was about three meters away from the ground, Yeom Junyeol jumped and de-summoned the dragon.

Yeom Junyeol landed perfectly between the afterimage of flames left by Hongryong.

He came running directly toward me, his red fur coat fluttering in the air.

“I was worried because I couldn’t contact you for a while. I’m glad I saw your face before Christmas ended. Merry Christmas.”

“I’m sorry to have worried you.”

“No, it’s fine. Oh, I received your gift, Euishin-ah. If I knew I’d run into you here, I would’ve brought your present.”

Yeom Junyeol looked at me and greeted me with friendly words.

Of course, I wasn’t hurt anywhere.

However, Yeom Junyeol’s expression blurred as if it was obvious that I didn’t have much energy waves left.

“You’d be quickly exhausted if you use a skill. Don’t go around alone just in case. I wish I could go with you, but because of the association work I have to do today…”

Then, Yeom Junyeol found Hwang Jiho who was standing one step back from me.

Finding the Tiger Clan’s elder, Yeom Junyeol looked somewhat embarrassed.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

He seemed to hesitate for a moment whether he should say hello to the old man respectfully or just treat him as a junior.

In the end, he chose to greet simply.

“…Merry Christmas.”

“It’s a good Christmas. You’ve worked hard.”

Hwang Jiho smiled, finding Yeom Junyeol’s agony to be fun.

I would’ve said something myself if he had laughed, but fortunately, the old man got some sense.

“I don’t have to worry if you two are together.”

Yeom Junyeol spoke with half relief and half regret.

I guess he wanted to watch the events with me.

“There’s a lot I want to talk about yesterday, Euishin-ah. I want to hear about the black snow, and I want to tell you what I went through.”

Yeom Junyeol’s voice seemed to gain strength at the latter part of his sentence.

Perhaps it has something to do with Hongryong’s growth.

I said I would make time, and Yeom Junyeol was happy.

Seeing my playable character like that was like a Christmas present.

“Your device was turned off, did it break or run out of battery?”

“…No.”

I turned off my device as I held out in the dark to save its battery.

Whenever I had a hard time, I would turn it on to see pictures or read the saved messages.

I never used it in the bridle of reincarnation, so it was left off until I returned to the mortal world.

I couldn’t do anything else with the device in the presence of the tigers, so I had no time to turn it on.

“I see. You must’ve forgotten. Leave your device on, Euishin-ah. I’ll contact you later!”

Hwiiik!

After Yeom Junyeol’s refreshing greeting, he summoned Hongryong again and flew to the sky.

I could see people cheering and taking pictures of Hongryong from afar.

“Jo Euishin, keep your device on. You’ll have a lot to check.”

What does he mean?

When I turned on my device, notifications kept pouring in.

Beep! Beep! Beeee…!

Hologram screens came up one after another

I was stunned as I read the texts on the screen.

‘They’re all device messages.’

There were also messages from the Player SAT-K, but most of them were messages.

Messages confirming what was happening in Eungwang High, and those asking how I was doing.

Messages expressing worry when they couldn’t get in touch after my scheduled Christmas greeting.

Messages wishing me a Merry Christmas.

All but a few of those registered in my address book have sent messages.

‘I didn’t expect to have this many…’

My heart felt ticklish.

I tried to ignore it and checked the messages.

Among them, the one who sent the most and longest messages was of course Jang Namwook.

[Jang Namwook] Euishin-ah, Sanghoon-ah. I heard about what happened at Eungwang High. Are you two okay? I want to help you guys right now, but I’m on call. There’s also an otherworld that spawned around the academy. I could’ve gone to help if I went to see the event in Eungwang High…

[Jang Namwook] Player satellite information is not being received, but the radar used exclusively in the academy detected the otherworld.

[Jang Namwook] The seniors are on our attack team. If another otherworld spawns, the freshmen will have to step up.

[Jang Namwook] Communication around Eungwang High is cut off, so I guess you can’t see my messages. Are you guys safe?

[Jang Namwook] I’ll be going into the next otherworld. The rarity is not that high, but I don’t know how it will turn out. I’ll message you when I get back. Call me when you see this message.

[Jang Namwook] We cleared the otherworld. I didn’t play a big role, but Sihoo calmly led the other cadets so we finished safely. Once the satellite is normalized, Sihoo will be the biggest contributor.

Even after the whole fiasco, Jang Namwook sent messages periodically.

‘The date was adjusted so that they wouldn’t get to come on Christmas Eve. So Jang Namwook was fighting outside the school too.’

I tried my best not to get Jang Namwook involved, but he ended up having to work anyway.

Still, I was satisfied because the military academy was much safer than Eungwang High.

It was only after scrolling through the long sentences of Jang Namwook did I see a message from another person.

Yoo Sanghoon sent a long message.

[Yoo Sanghoon] I’m safe.

He would normally send a “K,” but he messaged two words this time.

Knowing that Jang Namwook worried so much, he must’ve wanted to reassure him.

[Jang Namwook] That’s a relief, Sanghoon-ah! Is Jo Euishin okay? Are the other Eungwang High kids okay? The communication signal is back up, but there’s not much news yet.

[Yoo Sanghoon] Yeah.

[Jang Namwook] I see. Oh, I got a message from Euishin! I’ll go check it.

[Yoo Sanghoon] K.

Unfortunately, Yoo Sanghoon’s lengthy message did not continue.

I wrote a message similar to Sanghoon in reply to Jang Namwook.

“It’s time for the big event soon. Let’s go, Jo Euishin.”

Hwang Jiho looked at me with a strangely happy face.

“A big event?”

“It’s a very important event for the Class 1-0 kids. I’m sure it’s important to you too.”

Didn’t our class prepare what we did at the last festival?

I thought Hwang Jiho was exaggerating.

However, hearing Hwang Jiho’s next words immediately made sense.

“It’s a battle scheduled for the 14th kid in our class to go to school.”

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