RE: Player again

315

[Chapter 101] [Even If You Mix Blood with Blood]

The Hoengseong County Camping Site Attack Incident.

The incident where middle school academy students were attacked by monsters during their final evaluation was an opportunity for the Fairy Im Gaeul to make a comeback.

Like giving up bones to gain flesh.

While the parents of the deceased students were unable to come to their senses, she drafted various regulations to weaken the forces they had built.

At the same time, she exposed their corruption in detail, pushing them mentally.

Public opinion was on the side of the Fairy government.

Since most of the deceased students were children of high-ranking officials, sympathy for them quickly turned around.

The Fairy government only needed to use the middle school academy as a shield and sacrifice parts of the government organization where the Fairy's influence didn't reach.

Thus, the Fairy government was able to reduce hostile forces and dispose of traitors hiding within the government at the cost of about 40 middle school academy students' lives and one instructor's life.

Even though it was only a small part.

Before the regression, the forces with antipathy towards the Fairy government were immeasurable.

They grew as much as they decreased. They emerged anew as much as they disappeared.

There were those who came forward to act openly, and those who moved behind the scenes without coming to the forefront.

Their forces were extremely wide and deeply rooted.

That's why the "Lone Wolf" experienced failure from them and met his death.

But this life would be different.

The one who experiences failure and meets death would never be himself.

☆

Hoengseong County in Gangwon Province was an administrative district where people didn't live.

To be precise, most had left.

The monsters that appeared at that time destroyed all the infrastructure in Hoengseong County and made their nests.

Dungeons appeared everywhere, and thick, tough undergrowth grew in the surrounding area due to the influence of dense mana. The environment had completely changed into a jungle.

As a result, transportation couldn't function.

Roads disappeared or were destroyed.

So the people living in Hoengseong County left their hometowns where they were born and raised.

And as time passed to the present, there was no longer anyone who had attachment to their hometown that had turned into a jungle.

Hoengseong County, where few people lived, thus became a hunting ground and camping site for players.

"From now on, we'll start preparing dinner! We'll distribute dinner differentially according to the magic stones collected today, so the prepared groups come forward first!"

Middle School Academy 2nd Year 1st Semester Final Evaluation.

The camping that took place in Hoengseong County, Gangwon Province for a week ended on the first night near Wonju Airport.

The students who became able to kill monsters in their second year had to walk on foot along the highway and kill monsters appearing here and there.

The students who had thoroughly practiced party play for this day still couldn't move their bodies properly as soon as they were put into actual combat.

"I heard Geonwoong's group got 11 magic stones! And they even have one 7th tier magic stone!"

"It seems Minho's group got even more magic stones? I heard earlier that they collected 13 today. And apparently 3 of them are 7th tier."

"Wow! Minho is really no joke!?"

"But I heard that's not that amazing. Eunhyeok's group also collected over 10, it seems?"

Last year, there was an incident where Slayers were kidn*pped.

As a result, the number of escort personnel doubled this year.

However, the students had to fight the monsters that popped up on the road without their help.

The duty of the players in charge of escorting was to block high-tier monsters from approaching for their protection, or to appropriately adjust the number of monsters to create an environment convenient for them to fight.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! The dinner for the first place group is Hanwoo beef produced in limited quantity in Hoengseong County!?"

"What!? This is crazy...! We have to eat curry without meat while they eat Hanwoo beef!? Isn't this too unfair?"

Thus, the students had to move around in groups pre-made by the instructor and take down monsters.

And now that evening had come and they arrived at Wonju Airport.

They were to receive dinner differentially according to the number of magic stones collected during the day.

Naturally, the students expressed dissatisfaction, but the instructor ignored them and announced the tallied results.

"...Fourth place gets hamburger sets. The representatives of the groups I call should come forward immediately to take their dinner. Bae Subin, Jung Hayang..."

Cheers and exclamations erupted here and there.

The fourth place groups had collected 10 magic stones.

Those who collected fewer magic stones automatically had to choose between cup ramen or curry without solid ingredients.

Bae Subin seems unsatisfied.

Meanwhile, Eunha was watching from a step back, not mixing with the groups.

Groups appropriately composed of 10 people by the instructor in charge.

However, in Eunha's case, his group could be said to consist of 9 people and 1 person in reality.

That's how isolated he was from his classmates.

No, he was voluntarily isolating himself.

"...Third place gets Kkanpunggi and sweet and sour pork sets! Jin Parang, Kim Geonwoong, and... who collected 11 magic stones."

At that moment, exclamations poured out again.

Players came out from behind the instructor announcing the results, carrying metal cases in both hands.

Those who had only eaten calorie bars for lunch could be forgiven for licking their dry lips.

Regardless, Jin Parang went to receive the prize, wagging his tail excitedly.

"Second place is pork! You guys eat moderately and leave some because we need to eat too! Representatives of the groups whose names are called, come forward quickly! Mok Minho, Choi Eunhyeok, Hoshimiya Kaede..."

While the students watched the representatives whose names were called receive their prizes, Eunha nodded slightly.

It was a somewhat expected result.

Of course, he hadn't considered the existence of Hoshimiya Kaede.

But he was satisfied.

He could somewhat gauge Hoshimiya Kaede's skills.

He was quite envious of her talent, achieving similar results to Eunhyeok, whom he was teaching, at this age.

Moreover, wasn't Hoshimiya Kaede a unique ranger?

Unlike rangers who use firearms, she was almost the only one who used a bow.

By the way, Eunhyeok...

What if you get overtaken by Minho too?

Eunha clicked his tongue as he watched Eunhyeok rejoicing after receiving pork.

In fact, Eunhyeok was doing well.

It was just that Mok Minho and Hoshimiya Kaede's potential abilities and growth rate were superior to Choi Eunhyeok's.

However, Eunha's standards, having taught him since childhood, had become quite high.

Moreover, his discernment had become quite high after meeting promising rookies since entering the middle school academy.

I need to train that one more...

Parang hyung is getting cocky, so it's time to break his pride again.

Therefore, even the remarkable growth of the two didn't satisfy Eunha's eyes. Surely if the two had heard this, they would have fainted on the spot.

"Then finally... I'll announce the grand first place!"

The students closed their mouths.

Then they gently rolled their eyes and searched for Eunha, who was far away from the hot atmosphere.

From the beginning, the students didn't try to covet Eunha's group.

Although they weren't pleased with Eunha's recent behavior, no one could match his performance.

Even active players openly stuck out their tongues at him.

One player approached him, saying he was a Lord of some clan and invited him to join.

That's how much skill he had shown.

Regardless of his personality, they couldn't help but acknowledge the skill he had demonstrated.

"—Noh Eunha's group, which collected 33 magic stones! I heard there were even two 6th tier monster magic stones among them? The representative, come quickly and receive your Hoengseong Hanwoo beef!"

No upset occurred.

First place was Eunha's group anyway.

Unlike when distributing pork, where the instructors scolded them to eat just a little, when distributing beef, they didn't look regretful.

Rather, they were waving at Eunha with faces that seemed to say eat more if you want more.

"...Eunha. Shouldn't you go up?"

The students' gazes concentrated.

Naturally, their gazes also gathered on the students who belonged to the same group as Eunha.

A group that was one group but in reality consisted of 1 person and 9 people.

The children who did almost nothing and just piggybacked were showing signs of discomfort under their gazes.

They seemed to have hurt pride.

They were pricked by conscience, despaired at seeing the talent gap directly before their eyes, and seemed burdened by receiving the envy of others.

The class president of Class 5, who was in the same class as Eunha last year, also had the same face as them.

"Why should I?"

"......"

The Class 5 president, who became the group representative just because he was acquainted with Eunha.

The Class 5 president, who spoke to Eunha on behalf of the group members, was flustered after hearing the brusque refusal.

Then he spoke to the group members waiting for his answer with annoyance mixed in.

"I killed all the monsters... shouldn't you at least bring that?"

"...Alright, I'll bring it."

"Yeah, please do, president."

The students swallowed their resentment in silence.

The Class 5 president, who at least knew Eunha's personality, sighed and answered.

Having realized the difference in talent early on, he didn't seem to be hurt at all by Eunha's attitude.

However, as the Class 5 president was walking to the instructor to receive the meat, he suddenly turned his body.

The president, who turned his bespectacled profile, opened his mouth to him.

"And my name isn't 'president'. I'm not even the president anymore."

At those words, Eunha blinked his eyes.

It was an unexpected statement.

If the president isn't the president, then what is he?

It seemed he would have to think of another nickname.

Seeing how much he disliked it.

"Well, I'll have to think about it while eating beef first."

It would be enough to just ask his name.

However, Eunha, who enjoyed others disliking things, didn't want to know what the president's name was.

He wasn't a recruitment target anyway.

Whatever that person's name was, to him, he was just one among many, many people.

☆

When Eunha returned from a walk around the neighborhood, the students belonging to the group had finished preparing to grill the meat.

The students didn't express any complaints even as he approached a chair that looked particularly good.

Because that was the only place for him.

Sitting down, he just had to quietly watch the group students grill the meat and only move his chopsticks.

But the meat didn't taste very good.

Well... have you ever grilled meat before?

Beef should only be flipped once.

To minimize the loss of meat juices.

However, students who had only eaten meat grilled by someone else until now couldn't possibly grill meat properly.

Skill was needed to time when to flip the meat.

I'll just have to eat mine myself.

With no other choice, Eunha leaned forward in his seat and placed the meat he would eat on the grill.

Sizzle—

The sound of flipping the meat was really appetizing.

Eunha slowly savored the meat that domestic gourmets had highly praised.

The meat that was chewy just before had now become a work of art that melted in his mouth.

A feeling of heat rising in his body.

His mana circulation temporarily sped up.

He didn't know he would see an effect comparable to a buff from eating a piece of meat.

Unfortunately, it would only last while eating the meat.

"Hey guys!! Let's trade our group's sweet and sour pork for your beef!"

That's when it happened.

Jin Parang, who could no longer stand the smell spreading across the airport runway, came with a plate of sweet and sour pork.

Jin Parang was panting heavily while wagging his tail vigorously.

He looked just like a large dog begging for food.

However, Eunha didn't soften.

"You only brought sweet and sour pork? Where's the Kkanpunggi?"

"Hey! Bring that right now! My friend says he wants to eat Kkanpunggi too!"

"Alright! I'll bring it!"

Parang quickly turned his head to his group member and shouted loudly.

The group member who stood up ran over and presented the Kkanpunggi in front of Eunha.

The right to the beef belonged only to Eunha.

Those who were lucky enough to be in his group could only wait for his answer.

"—Call. We don't have much meat either, so take a moderate amount."

"Okay! I really made one good friend!"

Parang excitedly shared out the food he brought and took the meat.

And starting with Parang, friends came one by one.

Mok Minho, who couldn't withstand Choi Gain's nagging, came with ungrilled pork.

Cha Eunwoo was smiling brightly beside him.

"Let's trade for pork."

"Eunha, you'll trade with us too, right?"

"Well... what should I do..."

Eunha deliberately teased.

While thoroughly enjoying the sight of Minho's eyebrows rising.

Minho, who had his lips pressed into a straight line, heaved a deep sigh.

"...I'll give you sausages too."

"We have rice cakes too!"

"Call. Where did those come from?"

"Eunwoo bought them from passing people earlier by paying extra."

"See? Buying was the right answer, wasn't it?"

Eunha stuck out his tongue.

There were merchants spreading mats by the roadside before entering Hoengseong County.

The merchants were even in areas where monsters appeared, having heard the news that academy students were coming from somewhere.

It seemed Eunwoo had bought sausages and rice cakes from some merchant.

He took them and passed them to the group members.

Now understanding his intention, they placed the rice cakes and sausages on the grill.

"Boss! We came to eat some beef too! We'll trade for pork..."

"I already agreed to trade with Eunwoo's group."

"Aish, you i***t. That's why I said we should go early!"

After Mok Minho came, Choi Eunhyeok came and tried to negotiate.

Having already obtained the pork he wanted, Eunhyeok's proposal didn't appeal to him.

In the end, Seona, who followed, severely scolded Eunhyeok.

Then she, with her triangular ears perked up, approached Eunha and—

"—You'll give us meat too, right?"

She said with a smile, raising the end of her words.

As if it were natural.

"You know how much I've helped you, Eunha. You're not really not going to give us any, are you?"

"...I was going to give you some from the start."

Seona was like a fox.

He had received a lot of help from Seona often.

Eunha instructed the group members to share the beef with a nod of his chin, with a sour face.

The group members didn't express any complaints even though they were handing over the beef without receiving anything in return.

It was because they were Eunha's friends, so they couldn't say anything.

Also because the share of the beef belonged to Eunha.

"Still, it feels too bad if we just take your beef, so we'll give you pork."

"Alright, then."

In that way, other friends came little by little.

Hayang and Subin came with their arms full of cola and french fries.