EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school - Chapter 13
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- Chapter 13 - Player Identity (4)
Translator: Hong | Editor: Darling, Aira
The royal lineage had several origins and sources
And depending on those origins, their title “rank” or “faction” was decided.
The hierarchy is generally vertical, but there were a few exceptions.
The most widely known ranks were the mythical, legendary, and folklore factions.
They refer to the source of life of a royal lineage; mythology, legend, or folklores.
‘In this world, the founding myth widely believed was the Gaechon Myth, not the Dangun Myth.’
Unlike the myth of Dangun, there were no bear tribes in the myth of Gaecheon.
Those of the myth of Gaecheon had taken over the Korean Peninsula — the sacred tigers that appeared with the blessing of heavens and ruled the country together with the Shinin (Son of God).
So, unlike the mythical Tiger Clan, the Bear Clan is only in legendary level.
I was able to make contact with the Ungnyeo (The Sad Bear Goddess) a part of the Bear Clan’s Eight Real Bears.
The moment I saw her at the Hwanmong Auction, I didn’t hesitate to hand her a nore.
It was a note inviting her to this place we were currently at, Muak-dong, the summit of Mt. An.
“Thank you for heeding to my invite.”
“It’s repayment for the entertainment you provided at that boring party. Now speak.”
Dressed in a black dress with a golden shawl, she smiled from the shadows.
She looked like a painting.
‘I need to stay calm….’
What I was about to say would enrage Ungnyeo.
But to ask for what I wanted, I needed to mention it anyway.
“The mythical… No, the now demoted-to-legendary tiger, Jeokho (Red Tiger) will die a year from now.”
Fwaaaa!
An overwhelming force exuded from Ungnyeo.
Even with Yeom Junyeol’s appearance, the strong and impactful force caused my hair to be blown around like crazy.
‘If I hadn’t put up a defense barrier, I would have lost a body part from that sheer force.”
I felt a chill on my spine after seeing a fire beacon far away from us being shaken.
“Everyone in the Korean Peninsula is well aware of the antagonism between the Tiger Clan and Bear Clan. Even if you knew of the Jeokho’s death what reason do you have to share that with me?
I did not answer.
The fact that one was demoted a rank down meant they had committed a crime worthy of such punishment.
Not only did I know that the Jeokho had been demoted, but I was also aware of the Ungnyeo’s involvement leading to the demotion.
The Tiger Clan had supremacy over the Korean peninsula and the blessing of the heavenly god.
The Tiger Clan had wished to come to a compromise and share the supremacy and reign over the peninsula together with the Bear Clan.
However, the Bear Clan became too ambitious and eventually, Ungnyeo betrayed the Jeokho and made him lose the grace of the Heavenly God.
With the wheedled saying….
‘Only when the graceof the Heavenly God disappears will the Tiger and Bear Clan be able to live fairly in the Korean peninsula’
After tricking Jeokho into commiting a sin, the Bear Clan caused a rebellion.
The Tiger Clan eventually suppressed the Bear Clan but it was only after the Heavenly God, feeling betrayed by Jeokho, had withdrawn most of his grace over the Korean peninsula and resulted in them losing many of their families.
In order to erase the shameful history, the Heavenly God, Shin-in (Son of God), and the Tiger Clan decided to erase Jeokho and the Bear Clan’s names from the myths.
And even after the age of myth came to an end, the antagonism between the Bear Clan and Tiger Clan continued on.
Even in the present, with the occurrence of otherworld collisions.
But the truth being told in this world’s present moment was,
‘The tiger and Bear Clan continue to be antagonistic. They are predicted to have been at odds with each other since the time of the myth of Gaecheon.’
That was all.
Because the story between Jeokho and Ungnyeo had been erased from history.
‘If I mention that now, I’m sure she would really hurt me or even kill me.’
I didn’t like the thought of getting hurt and disliked the thought of dying even more.
I hid the truth and changed the subject of the conversation.
“You, Ungnyeo, possess The Three-Eyed Cane of Truth. Please use it on me.”
“….Those that stand in front of the cane can not speak of any lie. Are you aware of that?
“Yes.”
The sad bear goddess gestured in the air, then a goosefoot cane with three red eyes embedded in it appeared.
The Three-Eyed Cane of Truth
With a person’s consent, the cane distinguishes the authenticity of answers to up to three questions.
It was one of the most popular SSR-rank items created by Ungnyeo herself.
I was determined to go through with this after seeing the sad bear goddess yield the cane.
“Is it true that you know the future of Jeokho?”
“Yes.”
One of the eyes on the cane closed, affirming that I was telling the truth.
The moment I speak a lie, instead of the red eyes closing, it would release a curse that would destroy my eyes.
“Will Jeokho die in a year?”
“Yes.”
Another eye on the cane closed.
Ungnyeo too closed her eyes.
For a few seconds, she remained silent before asking the last question.
“Can you save Jeokho?”
I was not sure of this myself.
But I was going to.
But I was not 100% sure if I could.
But in truth, there never is any future where we can be 100% sure.
‘If I answer “yes” here, that would be a lie.’
I kept my mouth shut.
Seeing how I refused to answer, she changed her question.
“Fine, let me change the question. Is there something you can do to prevent Jeokho from dying?”
There was no need to hesitate about this question.
“Yes.”
All the eyes on the cane closed.
The sad bear goddess made a graceful gesture with her arm once more and the cane disappeared.
“Speak. What do you want?”
Ungnyeo’s eyes were wet with tears.
The eyes that had seen 5000 years of rage and longing.
I observed those eyes as I answered.
“I need the three secret weapons that the Eight Real Bears created to harm the Heavenly God and his Son.”.
“What!?”
Shhhhaaa—
A tree within a 10m radius of Ungnyeo immediately shriveled up.
When people of royal lineage are enraged, the ground beneath them loses life and turns to the color of ash.
“Human child, do you even know what that means.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Are you aware that it was a failure?”
“Yes.”
The item that only existed with the game data.
The item I had come to know after seeing it on the setting home page.
One of my goals was not achievable without the use of this item.
The time before the collision of otherworlds.
It was the period when the royal lineage existed invisibly in the human world and did not interfere with their lives.
The Eight Real Bears had collaborated their wisdom and power to destroy the Heavenly God and Shin-in.
But during the process, two had lost their minds and three fell into a deep sleep, resulting in a failed attempt.
All that was left was the remainder of their failure.
Ungnyeo quietly closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, there were three cards in her hand.
“Remember this no matter what. If Jeokho dies before you meet the end of your short life, I, the sad bear goddess, swear upon my name that I will destroy you.”
<You have received ‘Wealth and Weight of Life’ from Ungnyeo.>
The shining item cards flew over from Ungnyeo to me.
The moment I held the cards in my hand, they disappeared into the item window.
Only then did I feel a sense of relief.
‘I’ve finished a huge milestone I needed to resolve before the start of my year at Eungwang High.”
Ungnyeo, who had passed the items, was now standing in front of me.
She observed me with eyes that were impossible to read.
“The next time we meet, it will be when you are in your real appearance. As long as you hold onto those failures of mine, there is no way that I wouldn’t be able to recognize you.”
She must have realized that I was under the disguise of Yeom Junyeol.
‘Don’t tell me the royal lineage can see through the Player Identity skill?’
My eyes went wide as I watched her defensively.
Then, as though all the rage that she’d shown until now had been a lie, she gave a mischievous smile.
“The Dragon Clan’s Small Hongryong. I have met him on several occasions. There is no way that you are that immature young boy.”
Ungnyeo smiled widely under the moon with her set of teeth on full display.
She leaned forward as though she could see Jo Eushin hidden behind the appearance of Yeom Junyeol.
‘….She truly was a royal lineage that had been able to seduce Jeokho.’
The bear goddess was alluring.
But at the same time, she triggered an immense fear within me.
Subconsciously, I took a step back.
“You appear to be a version of him from a very far away time, which is impossible for that young boy to achieve now.”
The bear goddess laughed.
When she turned her back to me and walked a step forward into the shadows, she disappeared immediately.
* * *
After taking a long nap on the first day of the year, it was already night time.
During that time, the mysterious Yeuido fire had been revealed as a large criminal gate.
‘Who knew they would have been able to find out within a day.’
The investigation had proceeded much faster than I had anticipated.
I opened the hologram window and read several articles on the fire.
[The missing rare player, accounts on human trafficking records found causing a shock.]
[How far were they involved, the Hwanmong Gate, hundreds of witnesses to be investigated.]
[Dream gate, main mastermind ‘Byun Soonhui’, human trafficking, violence, kidnapping, confinement, money laundering, breaking the laws of construction, and more with further criminal records being discovered….]
[Seoul Metropolitan Department, those bribed by Hwanmong Gate will be investigated and disclosed. Special investigation ongoing.]
[Player association Korean affiliated society, players present at the dream auction everlasting expulsion expected.]
‘Is this the power of Iron Arm Song Manseok…..?’
On that day, I had aimed not to only call the fire department and players who can help them.
My real objective was to call the “Han River Cycling Team”
The Han River Cycling Team.
A team established around 20 years ago by a pro player, and now their team master, Iron Arm Song Manseok, who had turned 72 years old this year.
50 years ago, Song Manseok had successfully become a professional player by defeating enemies with little to no battle strategy or items.
He survived with his bare hands.
Although he lost many comrades in battle, he saved far more people.
He had been a hero of the dawn and led an era as the great hero Iron Arm Song Manseok.
But even the great hero passed his forties, and then his fifties where his stamina decreased as compared to his days of youth, and he was soon forgotten well into his retirement.
After his retirement, he gathered his team of players and created the Han River Cycling Team that would soon become the Han River Cycling Committee.
The purpose of this committee was purely for group exercising.
The committee started its activities every weekend with a simple cycle around the cycling trail at the Han River.
Then one day.
The cycling committee came across a hundred boys, possessed by an evil demon enemy, attempting to commit suicide at the Yanghwa tower bridge.
The fatalities of this incident referred to as the “Yanghwa tower bridge group suicide case” totaled to zero.
It was thanks to the cycling club members, consisting of 15 retired players with their average ages at 54.
‘That was how the current Han River Cycling Team was born.’
After that incident, Song Mansuk and his committee members came together to create the Han River Cycling Team.
The minimum requirement to join the club was a player experience of a minimum of 30 years.
After the formation of this team, for the last 20 years they avoided the public and media’s attention and saved the lives of others just as the Iron Arm hero had for many years.
On average, the number of attempted suicides at the Han River is over a 1000.
Those who actually make the jump are around 400.
Then there were the evil enemies that sabotaged and lured the weakened hearts of these people into suicide.
However, these formless demon enemies were only compatible through the feelings and intentions of humans.
The Han River Cycling Team sought out these weakened and tired souls and convinced them out of the devil’s whispers.
‘The Han River Cycling Team works even on holidays.’
Fortunately, the convention center where the dream auction was held faced the Han River.
And if they saw the large fire?
No matter how late the hour, they were bound to call in their teams to assist the situation on-site.
Just as how when the Red Lion Team that Yeom Bangyeol led to attack the national assembly, there wasn’t even one civilian casualty all thanks to the hard work of the Han River Cycling Team.
‘The press mentioned that the Han River Cycling Team were present too.’
I made the assumption based on one line of headline I read on the hologram.
A veteran like Song Manseok would have been able to guess that Byun Soonhui had been hiding something else.
Song Manseok, the hero of justice, would not have been able to ignore the repeatedly disgusting events occurring at the dream auction.
‘Byun Soonhui mentioned that he had already bribed the police. But seeing how there was mention of a special investigation…Son Manseok must have confronted the head of the police department.’
Although the majority of the public had forgotten the existence of the Iron Arm hero, those from his age group who were now in their 50s and holding high jobs, cannot forget his heroism.
With just one call from him, the head of the Players’ Association – Korea would have flown over to meet him within ten minutes.
And as for me, after having wiped out the Hwanmong Auction, I received another title aside from “Nameless Supernova”
I’m confused what am I reading how did it get here
I was a bit confused. So…the Goddess have feeling for the red tiger? But also hatred because he came from the clan that caused damages to her predecessor? That’s why she want MC to save him so she can kill him with her own hand or smth? MC tried to save Red Tiger or else their war will involved a lot of innocent people, especially the son of the red dragon?
This is the con from time travel/transmigration story, honestly. You won’t know the reason why MC do this and that UNTIL the problem finally smack you in the face. Just look at The Novel’s Extra novel :/