Chapter 712: Hidden Piece (4)

Support Ex-Rank

Mt. Cheonik is just about 156 meters above sea level.

Considering the physical ability of Eungwang High students, Mt. Cheonik isn’t particularly rough or steep.

But every year, students get lost in the mountain as they carry out high-level combat training.

Those who go up to the mountain judge that it feels very rugged compared to observational data in the area.

So, Jiikhoe used to ask students who weren’t confident in hiking to not go off the trail.

However, there were students who deliberately pioneered a new path, prominently the Class 3-0 led by Woo Kihwan.

Sanryeong knew this very well.

‘I know all the paths that they go to! Something’s off! If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have come to the Cheondansu…’

Sanryeong has become increasingly visible throughout the year.

His blurred silhouette became clearer, his power grew, and his energy waves gained color.

As Sanryeong’s presence grew, it became more difficult to communicate with the transcendent universe.

Still, the tigers, and even Sanryeong himself, didn’t think that it was a bad thing.

Eunho and Sanryeong had a conversation before.

— The stronger the power, the stronger the presence of the mountain spirit on the ground. It’s not a bad thing. But…

— But? It’s not all good?

— I think it’s too fast. It’s fast even considering the earth power overflowing in this land. It’s good to be strong. Still, I can’t judge whether having it this fast is a good thing or a bad thing.

Eunho put the judgment on hold, perhaps due to the lack of information.

Sanryeong felt confused about this.

So he sometimes used his communication skill at the risk of his body.

It’s impossible to talk freely like before.

He only gets “yes” or “no” answers, but it is manageable if he uses it over time.

Before Christmas, the tigers were facing a big problem and he asked the universe how he could help, and as a result of his communication, the spring on the Baegunbong Peak shone.

Sanryeong repeatedly asked questions to find out when and what to do at the peak, and as a result, Sanryeong led the tigers to the Baegunbong Peak on Christmas.

Hwangho and the other tigers pressed for how he called them out because they thought Jo Euishin would appear at that time, but Sanryeong didn’t answer.

Because of what Hwangho said before.

— Then you’ll have to ask as many questions as you can from now on. We’ll prepare about a thousand yes or no questions and…

One or two questions a week already makes him weak, but a thousand!

He thought it would be better to be scolded by Baekho or Shinsoo in training rather than being compelled to use his communication skill, so Sanryeong shut his mouth.

It’s been a long time since he had the courage to do something good, but he hadn’t heard a single praise.

Sanryeong felt more complicated because he was already in a chaotic situation with his identity and presence.

He came to Cheondansu to soothe his heart, but he ended up getting caught.

‘I should’ve run away instead of teasing them!’

Then, he heard the voice of the person he was thinking about.

“Over there! Catch him!”

Sanryeong was surprised by Woo Kihwan’s voice.

He had no clue how they gained in on him, but Woo Kihwan’s group moved faster than Sanryeong expected.

Following Woo Kihwan were other voices here and there.

“Don’t let him get to the bottom of the mountain. Catch him from the top!”

“Little traps don’t work on the energy of the universe. He can go through most nets, so you have to catch him with energy waves!”

Sanryeong ran toward a silent area, trying to secure his escape.

Fortunately, there was one thing that the group of students got wrong.

He can’t go through narrow gaps like before because of his growing presence.

If the students had known, his escape would’ve been more exhausting.

However, he heard a voice breaking his hope.

“He’ll go through? That guy? Hm. I think the trap will work though.”

A strange voice raised Sanryeong’s alertness.

It sounded relaxed, which means that it was strong.

There were many from the Tiger Clan that gave him that feeling and Sanryeong was confused as to why there was such a person among Class 3-0.

In fact, the reason why he decided to run away was because of that strong presence.

‘How did she know that at once?’

Im Yeonhwa wasn’t just strong, she was also good at tactics.

Like a ghost, she can infer where Sanryeong will go just based on the direction of his feet.

She then personally blocked his paths and encouraged the students to go ahead.

Everywhere Sanryeong would go, he would hear Im Yeonhwa’s voice.

Fortunately, Woo Kihwan went against Im Yeonhwa.

“No! Even if we put on a tighter net, we’ll fail to capture him just like the previous times!”

“Really? Then it will be better to catch him without a trap. Alright, now…”

Sanryeong felt relieved by Woo Kihwan’s foolishness but immediately felt uneasy.

‘It’s strange. I thought the voice was still far but… she seems very close…’

Sanryeong received the spirit of Mt. Cheonik and can quickly grasp the sounds in the mountain.

That’s how he planned his escape.

However, the movement of the sounds and his senses didn’t match.

At that time, he heard Im Yeonhwa’s voice from a very close distance.

“Catch him.”

Hwik!

When Sanryeong turned his head, he saw Im Yeonhwa just a few steps away.

Behind her was a group of students.

Sanryeong thought they’d be at least a kilometer away.

Seeing them so close all of a sudden made him confused.

‘Teleportation? No, that’s impossible! I didn’t feel any power like that!”

Sanryeong’s confusion ended only after finding some equipment.

Im Yeonhwa and Class 3-0 were wearing bone conduction earphones, an uncommon piece of equipment.

‘There’s a sound-blocking boundary on the microphone!’

No matter how close they spoke, the sound didn’t spread and was sucked into the mic.

If so, the speaker would be connected to the microphone.

Im Yeonhwa took off her earphones to confuse Sanryeong.

‘D-don’t tell me everything I’ve been hearing was from a speaker.’

The students employed a good strategy to confuse Sanryeong as they lured him using speakers secretly installed throughout the mountain.

‘It was like a real human voice! I felt energy waves faintly too… Did they put energy waves into the output device?’

Sanryeong looked ahead and behind.

He was completely surrounded.

‘W-what would happen if I get caught?’

Sanryeong and Woo Kihwan made eye contact, the latter’s face looking uncharacteristic.

Woo Kihwan was continuously defeated by his homeroom teacher and consistently placed second in Eungwang High.

He wanted the energy of the universe to get out of this predicament.

And now the energy of the universe was right in front of him.

“Finally, the energy of the universe is in my hands!”

“Geuhk, we can finally win against the homeroom teacher!”

“It’s our freedom! Wahaha!”

Woo Kihwan wasn’t the only one who rejoiced.

When Sanryeong was shaking with fear…

“Guys, throw away your earphones!”

Im Yeonhwa shouted urgently.

It was an unexpected directive, but the students followed without hesitation.

However, only Woo Kihwan and the vice president had quick enough reflexes.

The earphones emitted a sound that ripped their ears.

Fwiijik!

Kiiiiiing!

“Geuhk!”

“Ahhhhk, what’s this sound!”

“Oww, my ears!”

The earphones gave off the sound of an electric current as the students screeched and tried to throw it away.

It wasn’t enough to damage their hearing but only to paralyze them for a moment.

‘Now!’

He didn’t know what happened, but Sanryeong ran away in a hurry.

Im Yeonhwa, Woo Kihwan, and the vice president didn’t suffer any damage as they left the others behind.

While the three tried to figure out who attacked, Sanryeong was able to make distance again.

“Can you still run?”

When Sanryeong stopped for a moment, someone suddenly spoke to him.

He turned his head frantically and saw Jo Euishin.

He was upset that he didn’t get help from Jo Euishin whenever he got beaten by the tigers, but he’s happy to see him now.

Sanryeong felt like crying from the sudden relief at the sight of a familiar face.

He held it back and replied.

“Yeah! I can run!”

“Looks like he’s okay.”

Baekho, who was next to Jo Euishin, looked at Sanryeong and added a word.

Looking at the two’s attitudes, it seems like they were trying to help him.

Sanryeong felt reassured, but there was no time to rest.

“They’re coming,”

Baekho said as he gazed in the direction where Sanryeong ran from.

Then, Jo Euishin said ‘As expected, they recover fast.’

Perhaps it was them who attacked the group of students.

Sanryeong was curious about what they planned, but before he could ask, Jo Euishin gave an order.

“Go to the hill with the biting wind.”

“Okay!”

Stifling his curiosity, Sanryeong started running again.

He was slowly getting tired, but the suspicious smile on Jo Euishin made him relieved.

Support Ex-Rank