Chapter 818

Facing the Imminent Assassination Scenario of Seong Guk-eon and Jeon Moo-young, I Was Confronted with Another Massive Crisis.

As soon as Sa Wol-seum saw me, he welcomed me with an urgent look on his face.

"Yi-shin, you're here! We've had to fight a tough battle while you were gone."

Sa Wol-seum led me to the Ziegghweigh Study Room.

Once I entered, I saw Kwon Re-na, with a pale face, and Mok Woo-ram, who was earnestly explaining something.

Turning my gaze to the corner of the room, I noticed something that looked like a leftover stone.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Maeng Hyo-don, collapsed from exhaustion after a fight with the math department.

The midterm exams were about to begin.

The First Midterms for First-Year Students at Eungwang High:

Most of the first-year students, preparing for their first midterms at Eungwang High, looked like they were on the verge of death.

As expected, though, there were exceptions.

"Yi-shin hyung, hello."

At the dormitory cafeteria, in the morning.

Eun-ho appeared as refreshed as ever.

Even with the midterm exams coming up, his routine hadn't changed, just like when Cheon Seong-heon was around.

When the exam period arrived, most people’s faces would turn pale, or they would dress in overly casual clothes, but Cheon Seong-heon had always been consistent.

Just like now.

"I heard that Yi-shin hyung is taking good care of the students in our class. The other class kids are even envious."

"I haven’t done anything."

"That’s not true. This isn't just my opinion, but what the first-year students have been saying."

Eun-ho smiled softly, emphasizing that it was the opinion of others, not his.

His tendency to exaggerate was still the same.

It seemed that even though I just did normal things, it was exaggerated because of the influence of seniors from Class 0 like Woo Gi-hwan and Geum Chan-wang-chan, who made ordinary actions look like something great.

‘Since I can’t visit the first-year area often, there’s not much opportunity to check on them.’

I see the first-year students from Class 0 and new members of the newspaper club and dormitory regularly, but that's about it.

They are all good kids, so I guess a few of them have said nice things about me.

Eun-ho continued speaking.

"Over the weekend, Seok-won went a few days without food and collapsed while doing experiments. He said he avoided a mishap by remembering the emergency food and electrolyte drink you gave him. He kept talking about it when I ran into him yesterday."

I never thought I’d get close to Chae Seok-won, who normally spends his free time glued to his experiments, but thanks to Eun-ho, I ended up opening up to him.

Considering Chae Seok-won’s behavior, I had prepared a few things for him, and it seems to have helped.

He almost collapsed in the end, so I couldn’t say my help was extraordinary.

My first concern was Chae Seok-won’s physical condition.

"Is he alright?"

"Yeah. Just to be safe, I suggested to the Ziegghweigh that they pay attention to the health of the dorm students. After all, one of them almost had a major incident in the dorm, so they should be keeping an eye on it."

I’m so glad that Eun-ho, who looks after others so well, was assigned to the room next to Chae Seok-won.

This year, Ziegghweigh’s management had been shaky due to a poorly elected president, but with Eun-ho among the dorm students, I felt I didn’t have to worry too much.

Eun-ho had made such a suggestion, but if there were no measures taken and a similar problem occurred again, it would just be the fault of the Ziegghweigh president, right?

I was relieved that there were other capable individuals like Park Seung-hyun among the dorm students, as I made my way to school.

‘The cherry blossoms are still in bloom this year.’

When Shin Su-ga wishes, the cherry blossoms bloom longer.

Last year, thanks to the angel’s miraculous powers, the cherry blossoms bloomed for an extended period, and it was a miracle that happened again.

Last year, the cherry blossoms stayed in bloom until the midterm exams were over, and it seemed like it would be the same this year.

Despite the brilliant color of the cherry blossoms, the students on their way to school had deathly expressions, staring at their holograms or muttering to themselves, making it feel like such a waste.

"Suspicious vice president, you seem too calm."

Moon Sae-ron, who had been taking pictures of the cherry blossoms, spotted me and spoke up.

Moon Sae-ron, too, seemed to be taking things easy, prioritizing interviews over studying for the exam.

Thanks to Moon Sae-ron’s diligence, people outside of Eungwang High would also be able to see the pictures of the cherry blossoms.

Since it had been a while, Moon Sae-ron walked over to me, suggesting we go to school together.

Then, suddenly, Moon Sae-ron lowered his voice.

It seemed like he was being cautious, scanning the surroundings as he continued speaking.

"Do you know that more people have started seeing Da-in’s parents? I’m talking about the real adoptive parents who resemble her. Not the ‘parents’ we saw tormenting her during Christmas."

Moon Sae-ron was aware of the existence of the family members who had financially tormented Da-in after Christmas.

He had also heard about the declaration made by Hwang Ji-ho.

The sudden declaration of the old tiger mentioned that Da-in was now a relative of the Hwangmyeong Group and had become an adopted daughter of Hwang Ji-ho’s family, living with them as a member of the family.

Knowing all this, Moon Sae-ron had immediately realized that Da-in’s family history was quite complicated.

‘The Hojok couple is training with Da-in at the school, and since they’ll be working with the Hwangmyeong Group, more and more witnesses are bound to appear.’

The Hojok couple had chosen to support Da-in without hiding their faces, and Hwang Ji-ho was helping them in this.

There was no problem with the Hojok couple becoming Da-in’s real family.

The problem, however, wasn’t that everyone knew and chose to protect her, but that not everyone was willing to look the other way despite knowing everything.

"Watch out, the class president and Da-in have some followers now. Lately, they’ve been getting close since they started training together, so you should be careful!"

Since Moon Sae-ron was an information broker, I didn’t take his warning lightly.

I made sure to take his warning seriously.

Da-in’s fandom was being well managed, and the class president’s followers were being kept in check, but you never knew when something might happen.

If a situation like that arose, the Hojok wouldn’t just stand by, but they would do everything they could to prevent it from happening.

As I made my way to the classroom, I exchanged information with Moon Sae-ron and kept my guard up.

2nd Year Class 0

When I arrived at the classroom, I noticed a few empty seats.

As expected, the students who didn’t usually attend school—the ones who had rejected coming to class—were missing, and the usual attention-seeking kids who had disappeared after leaving only their desks were gone as well.

However, Min Green was present, and someone raised a question about Song Dae-seok’s absence.

"So, is Dae-seok absent today?"

"Yeah, looks like something urgent came up. He went straight to the association."

Min Green answered Kwon Re-na’s question.

Even though the midterm exams were approaching, the association was in a desperate situation.

I had heard vaguely from Hong Gyu-bin about what happened.

‘They said there was a problem with the observation data because multiple forces were involved in the process of the Formor demon clan settling in Korea.’

Hong Gyu-bin had mentioned that Song Dae-seok was needed to recheck and adjust the observation values, as the elements caused by the Formor demons’ movement had to be excluded.

Although it wasn’t a problem that could only be solved by Song Dae-seok, Hong Gyu-bin had asked for him because he had created the algorithms for analyzing the observation data, and without him, the speed of the work would slow down significantly.

Song Dae-seok willingly answered the call of the association.

He wasn’t the type to study much during exam periods, only paying attention in class, so he probably didn’t hesitate to go when he was called.

‘In the replay, I had to borrow the powers of Song Man-seok and Seong Guk-eon to contact the satellite team.’

Now, the association had taken Song Dae-seok away instead.

Although I would miss seeing Song Dae-seok at school, considering the situation, this was definitely the better option.

Meanwhile, there was someone else in our class who had found themselves in a very different position from the replay.

"Wow, is this the exam range for Professor Gong Cheong-hwan’s subject? It’s really a lot. Even though I like the professor, I don’t think I could attend his classes."

"......"

Dok Go-mi-ro was looking at the syllabus for the subject "Otherworldly Environments and Enemy Ecosystem," which Han I had been studying.

Dok Go-mi-ro avoided any subjects that required a spirit of challenge when choosing his courses.

Wisely, he chose subjects where, apart from the common courses, he could score with his physical abilities and Ineung powers, so he wouldn’t struggle like Han I or Maeng Hyo-don.

From the perspective of his future as a player, it was a subtle choice, but Dok Go-mi-ro had a clear goal.

He spent his free time practicing dance and vocal training, focusing all his energy on his goals.

‘He’s so different from the lethargic person I saw in Plmago. He’s much more active in learning and moving now, so his skills as a player have definitely improved.’

Unlike Dok Go-mi-ro, there was a classmate who was making efforts that seemed somewhat meaningless.

In the darkest corner of the classroom, Jin Jeong-muk was awkwardly handling a brush pen.

"Hmm, Jeong-muk, would you like me to lend you a pen if you forgot yours?"

"It’s okay. I’m trying to get used to the brush."

Though Kim Yu-ri cautiously offered, Jin Jeong-muk shook his head.

Considering Jin Jeong-muk’s proficiency in Chinese characters and calligraphy, it seemed that even using a regular pen would make it hard to write the characters properly. But a brush pen?

I guess I should be thankful that he wasn’t using traditional brushes or grinding ink.

"I saw you were using a brush last time, but you’ve switched to a brush pen! That’s a relief. I was worried because it takes so long to grind the ink."

"A martial artist from the Jeolhyeokpungrim sent us a lot of brush pens."

From what Sa Wol-seum and Mok Woo-ram said, it seemed the situation had been even more serious before.

I thought Jeolhyeokpungrim had been completely consumed by the concept, but it seemed they still had the common sense to provide brush pens.

After hearing Sa Wol-seum and Mok Woo-ram, Jin Jeong-muk replied.

"I still prefer using a brush. But since the movements of the Black Sect have been unusual, I couldn’t ignore this gift from the seniors."

It seemed Jeolhyeokpungrim was busy dealing with the Formor demon clan.

Jin Jeong-muk appeared to prioritize exterminating the Black Sect over studying, but he was still diligently attending classes, unwilling to go against the wishes of his seniors.

I hoped that, given the situation, he would study hard with the brush pens.

"Vice President... I’m sorry..."

Suddenly, Maeng Hyo-don apologized.

The problem sheet he handed over was filled with mistakes and question marks.

It seemed he had a lot of questions.

"It’s okay. Explain how you tried to solve it."

"I thought I should use this formula for this problem..."

Maeng Hyo-don seemed to have really put a lot of thought into it.

Having experience tutoring, I could immediately tell whether a student had studied or not.

Maeng Hyo-don looked like he had truly done his best, almost like a stone grinding to dust.

It took a lot of time, but Maeng Hyo-don successfully understood my explanation.

"Ah... I don’t know why it’s not working. I’m really sorry..."

I praised Maeng Hyo-don for doing his best, but he just kept apologizing.

Since it took so long to work through the problems, I think he felt like he was wasting my time.

Seeing him apologize so much, I decided to give him a hint.

"If you’re sorry, make sure you set up an appointment for Teacher’s Day and go to Tanrae with me."

"Huh... on Teacher’s Day?"

"Yeah, we should give the teacher a carnation. We’re still in touch these days."

Honestly, right now, Maeng Hyo-don should be more concerned about his math grades.

But I decided to let him know in advance.

‘I wanted to go with him and say thank you, but it can’t be helped.’

I really wanted to accompany him on Teacher’s Day to make sure he didn’t lose focus, but I had an important commitment this year and couldn’t go.

Maeng Hyo-don hesitated but nodded.

‘It seems like he’ll manage to get through this midterm.’

In the worst case, Maeng Hyo-don might have to take a supplementary exam, but at this rate, with such effort, I don’t think he’ll fail.

The real problem wasn’t the midterm exam, though.

My playable character was facing a horrific and painful test.

‘Cheon Dong-ha is still challenging the former head of the Korean branch, I wonder if he’ll be alright?’

Cheon Dong-ha had been busy, trying to challenge the former head of the Korean branch, but he had made adjustments to his schedule.

‘I hope he doesn’t overdo it.’

I was worried about Cheon Dong-ha, but decided not to express it.

Wasn’t he trying to reassure me back then?

I decided to wait patiently and not rush him, thinking that he might be trying to hurry the strategy.

The weekend before the midterm exams, I finally received a message from Cheon Dong-ha.

[Cheon Dong-ha] Passed.

Cheon Dong-ha had successfully passed the former head of the Korean branch’s exam.

After congratulating him, I made a suggestion.

[Me] I’d like to introduce you to someone.

[Cheon Dong-ha] You’re not going to introduce another AI, are you?

Though it was related to the AI, this time I was planning to introduce a real human being.

There were still people who needed to check the information left behind by the former head of the Korean branch.

[Me] It’s his grandchild.

I’ll need to set up a meeting with Seong Guk-eon soon.