EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school - Chapter 11
Translator: Hong | Editor: Darling, Aira
Ex rank supporting role
Ch. 11 Player Identity (2)
No matter where you are in the world, there would always be people unsatisfied with their positions even though they’re already part of the elite.
To be specific, those kind of people come from the B-list or C-list categories.
Those people have deep ambitions and rage in them.
The easiest way to vent these feelings was to take it out on the weak.
For that very purpose, they had organized the auction called “Hwanmong (Fantasy) Auction” which was the main event of the night.
‘I strategized how to go about this quest in the game using different routes in the building map so I remember where the secret passageway is.’
Refreshing my memory, I easily found the secret passageway I knew from the game.
Shortly after, I arrived at my destination — the backstage of the banquet hall.
Every individual item card was packaged on a golden box waiting to go on stage.
‘These items aren’t so bad.’
They didn’t look like they were above SR rarity but there were SR- and R+++ -rank items.
They were sufficiently rare.
Seeing how there were a few large boxes in the backstage, there seemed to be a few items for action that weren’t convertible into item cards.
In terms of cost, these items were worth thousands and millions.
But of all the one that caught my attention was the gold plated birdcage.
‘What bad taste…..’
The dress code for the party was Vegas gold.
And inside the birdcage, there was a boy wearing an angel costume made out of gold.
That boy was my playable character.
< Viewing character information.>
[Name] Saeum of April
[Title] Last descendant of the royal family’s messengers
[Order] None
[Light skill] (Sealed)
[Status] Sealed for sale applied – those sealed are preconditioned to level 1
[Overall skill] Lv.1
[Skill]
Messenger Lv.1
Flying Lv.1
Wind Lv.1
[Explanation]
The last descendant of the royal family’s messengers.
The last king of the royal lineage had said “Even though the saying goes that people’s ranks are decided from birth, for me, all people are equal.”
The king had dissolved the rule of slavery for 66 thousand slaves and liberated his messengers who had no name or identity.
The messenger had been born in April so his surname became “April”, which is carried by his lineage.
The April family, who had been in the shadows in no name or identity, served to deliver the ‘words of the king that should not have been recorded in history.’
Those of the April family had the ability to display the power of what had only been heard as a myth since the collision of the world.
The known abilities of the messengers were ‘messenger skills’, ‘flying’, and ‘wind skill’.
From the April family, only Saeum of April had all three.
And now, the great Saeum of April is locked up in a birdcage, with a blindfold over his eyes and cuffs around his wrist.
Saeum of April, who had been breathing softly, must’ve noticed my presence.
“Who are you….?”
Saeum of April was a prized item.
They would not have used violence or treated him poorly since that might make his value drop.
Yet Saeum of April had sunken cheeks and dry lips.
He looked small and weak enough that some people might even mistake him for an elementary school student.
“How long has it been since you’ve been here.”
“A week..a month…?”’
He seemed to have lost his sense of time.
In the game, the kidnap of Saeum of April had been straight after the Eungwang High entrance exam.
His disappearance was reported to the police, but due to the death of one professor and four middle school kids at the practical exam, his disappearance had been buried.
And now, in this world where those death’s didn’t happen, Son Minki’s controversy seemed to have buried the news of his disappearance even more.
‘Even those of the April family were not in the state to actively search for his disappearance. They must have had no choice.’
The lineage of the king’s messengers lived a secluded life for a long time.
After 100y ears of concealement, they finally decided to come out.
The first step they made was to enroll Saeum of April to Eungwang High.
‘The April family wanted to avoid exposing Saeum of April to the world but….’
He had finished his primary, secondary education e and wanted to go to Eungwang high for his high school education.
Because of Saeum of April’s determination, his family allowed him to do so.
‘But he happened to be identified by the last king’s enemy’s descendant…;’
It was the professor in charge of processing his documents that recognized Saeum of April.
The moment the professor saw the family name “April”, he knew who it was.
The professor set up a trap to kidnap Saeum of April, and then he sold him off to be auctioned.
‘In the game’s storyline, Saeum of April is only rescued two years from now.’
It was when the main character and his team infiltrated the auction to resolve the issue of the stolen cultural heritage theft case.
The first item for sale was Saeum of April, who had been seen for the first time in two years.
The owner of Saeum of April laughed and unveiled the cage as he described his item as ‘Messengers are birds, no?’
That was when the main character and his team saw him.
Saeum of April, with wings of the barbaric Grifagnas forcibly attached to his scrawny back.
I did not want to see such a future.
“I came to save you. Let’s go.”
“Bu…But…my uncle Saemin is captured….”
Saeum of April’s uncle….
He was the one who had searched for Saeum and was eventually turned into an enemy after being caught by a sadistic commander.
Was he supposed to be caught already?
“They said he would be used as a sacrificial lamb at today’s opening show…”
Saeum of April burst into tears.
He must have known that making a noise would attract unwanted attention so he tried his best to stay quiet, pressing his mouth to his shoulder to not make a sound.
“I will unlock the cuffs. But pretend they’re locked. I will save your uncle too.”
The presence of his uncle was an unexpected turn of events, but it wouldn’t be too big of an issue.
“O-okay… thank you….I am okay so please…save my uncle.”
“Okay. Stop crying or you’ll lose your strength. Save it for later.”
I felt uneasy about leaving Saeum behind alone when he looked as though he was about to pass out, but I had no choice.
***
Putting up the entirety of my status window made my head feel like it was about to crack.
I tried to get information of alll the participants in the party at once, but I gave up after a few seconds.
‘I found the character I wanted so that’s enough.’
I started to greet the participants slowly.
There was no need to be overly friendly.
They tried to start a conversation just because I was disguised as Yeom Junyeol, the only son of Yeom Bangyeol, the master of the Red Lion team.
Yeom Junyeol himself was also a star player.
For the B and C group elites, he was a tempting network to have.
“Hello, it’s my first time here. Did you all receive acoin? This is my first time seeing such an item.”
“Yes. Of course, it is an SR+++ rarity item given from a royal lineage.”
These people held on fiercely to the coins and brought it up during their conversation to flaunt it proudly.
Afterall an SR+++ item was something most people couldn’t even dream of holding.
‘They must want to savor the feeling of holding it since it is only a prop and will soon disappear.’
There were some who intentionally avoided me, but every one of them was the same when it came to the coin.
Even if they didn’t engage in greetings, they were all holding on tightly to the coin.
Only after I had made one full round of the party hall did I feel at ease.
I moved away from the crowd and went to the window after excusing myself.
‘What a shit hole.’
The lights reflected by the chandelier and the gold velvet curtains got on my nerves.
I suddenly had the urge to pour the non-alcoholic champagne on the curtain.
I was frowning when someone approached me.
“Hello, Yeom Junyeol sunbaenim. I am Lee Lena, I just entered Eungwang High this year.”
“Oh, I see. Hi.”
The girl who greeted me had a Vegas gold ribbon bow on her head.
Half her hair was tied up in a ribbon, and she wore a sequin embroidered dress that suited her.
‘Lee Lena was a playable character too. Next year she would join the enemy before she is appeased by the title hero and joins…’
I was about to open the status window using the exclusive menu skill, but my head was aching so bad.
I still have to use my light skill later on.
I wasn’t confident to use any more of my mental capacity.
‘Lee Lena is not a dangerous character yet so let’s wait and see.’
If I lost my energy here and failed to rescue both Saeum and Semin of April, I’d end up getting caught and that would be the end.
“I actually, saw you on TV before, Yeom Junyeol sunbaenim.”
“Is that so?”
“For someone of your caliber…you probably don’t need to come to such a place.”
“Such a place?”
Lee Lena seemed taken aback by my sudden question.
She blinked her unusually round eyes and covered her mouth.
I think that was one of the effects of the coin’s oath.
‘Had she already taken the oath? The auction hadn’t even started.’
Lee Lena gave up trying to talk and folded her hands together to her heart.
In between her fingers, I could see the silver coin.
The coin was a prop.
The moment a person takes the oath, the user is bound and the coin is supposed to disappear.
Seeing that Lee Lena still has her coin but it seemed to have an effect on her, she must’ve taken the oath the previous year too.
‘Why would Lee Lena’s parents bring a 16-year-old child to such a place?’
Lee Lena was the same age as Jo Eushin, me, of this world
If she had come last year she must’ve been around 16 years old.
No, it was even possible that she came when she was younger.
“Uh, well, I was told it would help to memorize the faces of the people here for the future.”
Lee Lena seemed uncomfortable.
I could only guess about her feelings and the situation she is in, but I could sense that she was trying to warn me to the best of her ability.
“….It’s very late so why don’t you go back home? Your parents don’t seem to be here, so wouldn’t they be worried?”
“Yes. My parents would be worried.”
“Yes. I heard the ‘red lion’ team master was a fool for his son…no, I mean, he doted on his only son after all.”
I knew that.
When Yemo Junyeol died at the age of 19, the Red King Yeom Bangyeol led the whole Red Lion Team and Dragon Clan that cherished Yeom Junyeol to attack the National Assembly which turned the city of Yeouido into a sea of flames.
‘What a stark difference.’
There were the kind of fathers who would risk everything they had to avenge their son’s death like Yeom Bangyeol.
But there were parents like Lee Lena’s who would push their child into the pits of hell for their own gratification.
“You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Sorry?”
I wished Lena would worry more for herself than Yeom Junyeol.
“Before school starts, apply for a dormitory at Eungwang high.”
Lee Lena should be distanced from her parents as much as possible.
“Once the host of the event goes up on stage, throw that coin away. I have to go for now.”
Just as Lena had shared a piece of advice, I returned the favor.
I left the girl looking surprised before disappearing back into the crowd.
* * *
“Ladies and gentlemen. May I have your attention, please! I, Byeon Soonhui, the organizer and host for tonight’s party of dreams, announce that it is already 2 o’clock. We will kick off the first fantasy and dream of this year! With this, I announce that the Hwanmong Auction officially begins!”
His exaggerated voice filled the hall.
The lights went off and the stage soon flowed the contents of dry ice.
“Wow!”
“Woah!”
Then, one by one, the lights started to turn on and people cheered at each spotlight.
The golden spotlight highlighted gold-framed acrylic cases containing an item card.
‘Saeum of April….’
The last item to be shown was the birdcage at the center of the stage, the one entrapping Saeum of April.
Saeum of April’s blindfold had been removed and his eyes looked bloodshot.
“Huhu, I heard of it. Apparently, he is the last descendant of the last king’s family of messengers. How rare.”
“Oh my, how shabby. I want to take him home and teach him some manners.”
“I want to ask someone from royal lineage for a favor to release him in a ‘garden’ to see how many days he can survive.”
Saeum of April’s face turned pale at the words of the audience.
He pressed his lips tightly and looked around the room.
He must be looking for me.
Although, he had never seen my face since he was blindfolded earlier.
“Before I start the auction proper, I have a surprise.”
Clap!
Byun Soonhui lightly clapped his hands.
“We captured this little rat and his accomplice that fearlessly tried to reclaim the captured bird!”
It seemed like it wasn’t only Saemin of April who was caught.
Speaking of which, how would Saemin of April, who had no almost no connections, have found his way here?
‘Someone at this party, or more clearly someone involved with the organizer must have slipped the news to Semin.’
The security guards pulled a man and a woman who looked like a wreck and threw them to the center of the stage.
The man, assuming he was Semin of April, was covered in blood, unconscious.
The woman, who was dressed in the same uniform as the guards, was covered in injuries but still conscious.
She glared with murderous eyes at Byun Soonhui.
“Now, how’s this. Why don’t you take the coin of silent oath, and return to….”
“Shut your trap.”
The woman cut Byun Soonhui’s words off.
She must have been beaten up while being dragged over as her black earring was smashed and her face was covered with blood and scars.
She didn’t back down.
“Had I known that this was such a horrid job I would have chosen to be jobless. You are worth less than enemies, you scum!”
“Oh my!”
“Ha.”
“So vulgar!
“This is why they’re like rats that aren’t taught any manners.”
Whumpf!
Byun Soonhui took matters to himself as he kicked the woman in the stomach.
The woman, who couldn’t even seem to breathe properly, didn’t scream.
Saeum of April started shedding tears as though his eyes could melt away.
“I shall leave it to the audience to decide the fate of this traitor. The first auctionable for tonight are these rats.”
Byun Soonhui lifted the silver coin in the air.
“Now, can all of you hold your coin of oath, please? Please swear an oath that you will be a silent spectator for all that is about to happen. Only those who swear the oath can participate in the auction!”
Those in the party hall held their coins with eager eyes.
Except for me.
I chose not to lift my coin and instead ask Byun Soonhui something.
“I have a question.”
“Yes? Small…No, Hongryong Yeom Junyeol-nim. Please ask anything you wish!”
Byun Soonhui seemed taken aback by the sudden intrusion, but he was not in a position to ignore Yeom Junyeol.
I tried to replicate Yeom Junyeol’s tone and nuance as much as I could.
“Do you know that the melting of silver is higher than copper?”
“I beg your pardon…?”
<Using character’s light skill Targeted Ignition>
The moment I stunned everyone with my unexpected question…
The hundreds of silver coins that had hidden flames started to burn collectively.
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Hmmm I know he want to save those guys, but using someone else face is going to incriminate the real person instead. Poor him ?