RE: Player again

351

[Chapter 105] [Catch Your Player (8)]

The mission for students aspiring to be dealers

was to fight a giant snake summoned by Kwak Woohyuk in the academy lake.

Caster Kwak Woohyuk's Gift had the power to create internal mana like a living snake.

The snake that rose above the water surface was making viewers recall fear just by its appearance.

Students gathered in front of the lakeshore were looking at the giant snake with their mouths almost open.

And Kwak Woohyuk was raising his nose towards the camera in the center of the lake.

"Actually, this snake is my creation that even players are somewhat reluctant to face. I won't actively control it, but it may still be difficult for you rookie players.

So even if you can't defeat it, I hope you won't be too disappointed. It's not that you're weak, but that my snake is strong. Hahaha!"

Kwak Woohyuk giving an interview while saying nonsense.

Students who heard him rambling from afar made sour expressions.

Even Eunha mixed among them couldn't hide his expression like he ate a bug.

However, Ryu Yeonhwa standing beside him maintained an expressionless face throughout. She didn't show signs of fear unlike other students even when first looking up at the snake.

The same was true for Eunha.

But why does this hyung keep calling?

Moreover, his attention was on the smartphone in his pocket.

When he briefly checked earlier, the calls were coming from Han Changjin.

"HCJ": Eunha please call me when you see this!! ㅠㅠ (4:34 PM)

There was no time to answer calls.

It wasn't a situation where he could answer calls due to filming either.

But after ignoring several calls, now Han Changjin desperately sent a text message.

Eunha naturally ignored this message too.

"Then we'll show you a junior from middle school academy directly performing the mission on behalf of rookie players! Now, student Noh Eunha please come this way!"

The MC who saw the player's magic up close realized the production team's signal and hurriedly raised his voice.

Behind the MC, the snake floating on the water surface was writhing making its unique sound.

Eyes that intimidate viewers. However, unlike others, Eunha came to the front of the lakeshore crossing through the crowd with a calm face.

Swoosh

The snake stretched out its long neck and flicked its long tongue.

The startled MC stepped back and quickly introduced Eunha.

Eunha ignored the staff chattering behind him and took out the black thorn he brought from the dormitory.

He expanded the blade by infusing internal mana into the device.

It reminds me of the old days.

There was something like this when I shattered that bastard's legs too.

The bridge crossing the lake in an X shape.

Eunha didn't go towards the bridge, but went down the hill path and stepped onto the water surface.

The ripples spreading from his foot stepping on the water surface were brief.

When he completely put both feet on the water surface, the ripples disappeared like a lie.

He's a 2nd year middle school academy student?

He's doing water walking so cleanly?

No way. That's such a precise control technique...

Students whispered behind him.

Eunha didn't mind. It wasn't the first time he'd been the center of attention since entering the academy.

It seemed the name Noh Eunha was now well known in middle school academy, but it seemed to have spread as mere rumors in high school academy.

But now those rumors would solidify into facts.

"You're student Noh Eunha, right? If you're scared, it's okay to just give up. It's natural to be scared."

Then Kwak Woohyuk standing behind the snake called out to him.

Eunha looked at him acting arrogant and burst out laughing.

"No. It's okay. I'm not scared at all? Rather, it looks cute."

"......"

In his previous life, he didn't like Kwak Woohyuk.

He who was selected as a 2nd generation Twelve Seats often picked fights with the Fog Flower Party.

In the 2nd Uijeongbu Recapture War, Kwak Woohyuk pushed difficult tasks onto the Fog Flower Party and tormented him and his comrades.

Above all─

─It's my fault, my sin for not properly paying attention.

Ha Baekryeon who was designated as the next Seonnyeo.

Kwak Woohyuk acted as her teacher despite having no standing and being young, and abused her.

Eunha who belatedly realized that fact got furiously angry and shattered Kwak Woohyuk's legs.

If only he had power back then.

Ha Baekryeon wouldn't have had to stubbornly endure the abuse.

And there wouldn't have been a need to bow his head and apologize to Changhae Clan for the crime of shattering his legs.

So this time─

"As your industry senior, I'm telling you it's better not to be too arrogant. There are plenty of talented people like you in the industry..."

"─You're extremely slow?"

Mana Crasher

The large snake that suddenly rushed in.

Eunha immediately struck its head with open jaws with his mana-infused blade.

The black thorn tore through its neck and dropped it below the water surface.

As if falling onto an asphalt floor.

With a sound of flesh being crushed, a fountain sprayed up as much as the snake's volume.

"...Cough...!"

Kwak Woohyuk forgot to even defend against the water pouring down from the sky.

He who was soaked all over as if he fell in the water couldn't properly organize his hair covering his face and gasped for breath.

Then he coughed up blood.

The snake wasn't dead yet, but it was because it received such a powerful strike.

He whose feet were half submerged below the water surface shivered while dripping water.

"Snake meat is unexpectedly edible."

Kwak Woohyuk organizing his mana circuits.

Eunha spoke to him while waiting for the snake to come up from underwater.

He who raised the corners of his mouth sang a song about snakes being good for the body and tasty as if mocking.

A song with neither correct pitch nor rhythm.

And that song was all recorded through the microphone attached to his collar.

☆

The highlight filming in this mission was the thrilling battles of students aspiring to be dealers.

For this, the production team planned to film dynamic battles up close using drones.

"Damn it, who said not to control the drone!?"

"The director said so..."

"Hey, then you should have stopped him! Ugh, why can't we film this! Hey, activate the drone even now!"

But the production team only thought about filming focusing on students classified as promising rookies with the drones.

Thanks to that, they didn't activate drones when filming Eunha who came out to demonstrate.

Even though they heard from the main PD and writer in advance to take good care of Eunha.

They overlooked it thinking it was just because he was Euna's younger brother, and ended up blowing the chance to film the battle unfolding on the lake.

They belatedly moved the drones, but couldn't move them deep inside due to water fountains spraying up frequently.

Meanwhile, Eunha was still battling the giant snake.

Like filming a movie.

"Is that kid really 15 years old? Or is Player Kwak Woohyuk going easy on him because he's young, what is this?"

"...It doesn't seem that way. No matter how much he goes easy, what would he gain by showing himself getting crushed like this?"

The staff gathered in front of cameras and whispered among themselves.

Whether Eunha overwhelming the giant snake was really that strong.

Or if Kwak Woohyuk was going easy on him.

To their eyes, Eunha seemed to be playing with the snake like a toy.

The snake that first fell below the water surface showed an angry appearance towards Eunha, but now looked visibly tired every time it came up above the water surface.

Like bloated ramen noodles.

The snake coming up completely soaked in water seemed to be swelling up more and more.

"It doesn't seem like they're in cahoots. Even if they were in cahoots, they'd only get criticized for being so blatant about it."

"...Find out what Player Kwak Woohyuk is doing now."

"I've been looking for him since earlier, but the drone just can't find him."

"Then raise it higher in the sky!"

If water fountains weren't blocking the view, they could have made quite a cool video.

The camera director who clicked his tongue in regret decided to find Kwak Woohyuk who would be somewhat away from the battle instead.

Although he didn't like Kwak Woohyuk's conduct while filming Catch Your Player, he had to capture him in this situation.

"...What's with this bastard? What is he touching now?"

"Why is he scratching his crotch? Can this be shown on broadcast?"

They finally found Kwak Woohyuk after raising the drone high in the sky.

The staff frowned deeply.

Kwak Woohyuk was doing all sorts of strange things.

Suddenly falling below the water surface, somehow coming up above the water surface then suddenly scratching his body vigorously.

Then taking off his top, undoing his belt buckle and even putting his hand inside his pants.

It was absolutely not something that could be shown on broadcast.

"...All sorts of crazy bastards. That's why I said we should cast Player Hwang Sangun from KK Clan instead of a snake-like caster..."

"What power do we have? But that bastard Kwak Woohyuk is making a V sign while drooling now?"

"Damn, my eyes are ruined. Turn the drone around."

As if he took some drug.

In the zoomed-in footage, Kwak Woohyuk was lying sprawled on the water surface suddenly drooling and making V signs with both hands.

The staff decided to turn their eyes to Eunha's battle to wash their eyes.

"This is really amazing. How are such movements possible in this situation?"

"We called a guest to cheer them on, but it turned into rookie players cheering instead."

"But it seems Player Kwak Woohyuk can't proceed with the mission like that, what should we do?"

Noh Eunha beating the snake while handling his sword almost like a blunt weapon.

The song he sang while catching the snake had neither correct pitch nor rhythm, but was strangely addictive.

The director who was unconsciously humming "Snakes good for Noh Eunha's body" came to his senses at the staff's words.

Kwak Woohyuk who delayed filming by going into shock several times today.

They couldn't delay filming any more.

The video director decided to file a complaint to Dangun Clan through the production committee while racking his brains to fill the hole Kwak Woohyuk created.

"Immediately call this writer and PD Kim... Find out if there's any instructor who can perform the caster role among the academy instructors."

"Um... How about Player Shin Seoyoung? I'm saying this because I'm a fan of Player Shin Seoyoung, but I can confidently say her skills haven't gone anywhere even now."

"Player Shin Seoyoung? Hmm..."

The video director quickly reached a conclusion looking at Kwak Woohyuk lying sprawled while grinning.

He directly called the main PD to contact about whether they should cast Player Shin Seoyoung.

It seemed the production headquarters that received the contact had the same thoughts.

He heard that the main writer was currently directly proposing an appearance to Shin Seoyoung.

Fortunately, it seemed Player Shin Seoyoung was cooperative with filming.

"And we may need to compose the mission centered on Player Shin Seoyoung, so filming time will probably be longer... Those kids might not even be able to appear, so at least get interviews."

"Interviews?"

"They're all from the same academy, right? Have them directly say what kind of person that Noh Eunha is. Ah, didn't they say he's close with Ryu Yeonhwa? Great, feature Ryu Yeonhwa as the main."

"Um... But there's a bit of a problem. Ryu Yeonhwa gets nervous when she stands alone in front of cameras..."

"Can't you see that?"

The video director pointed at the students to the troubled staff.

Blue-green hair particularly noticeable among the students.

Ryu Yeonhwa with her long hair tied once was intently watching Eunha's battle.

"Honey is practically dripping from her eyes. Go ask her once. If she can do an interview now."

"Ah... Yes."

The video director sent the bewildered staff to Ryu Yeonhwa, then looked into the cameras filming again.

The battle was almost over.

The mana composing the snake's body was gradually dispersing into the atmosphere.

On the other hand, Noh Eunha moving while tracing trajectories still looked fine.

Man, what a character. A real character.

But... Huh?

The program introducing students entering society next year might end up promoting a middle school academy student if we're not careful.

The video director smiled bitterly but couldn't take his eyes off the splendid footage.

Then he captured Eunha suddenly taking out his smartphone from his pocket while facing the snake.

What is he doing now?

The video director tried to zoom in on the screen in bewilderment.

But water spray suddenly rose up and hid Eunha's appearance.

So he couldn't capture Eunha's action of trying to turn off his smartphone.

In the end, the director who clicked his tongue in regret had to be satisfied with filming the snake being shattered by Eunha.

"...I'm so busy but calls keep coming."

Meanwhile, Eunha who confirmed the snake disappearing turned his head towards Kwak Woohyuk while being irritable.

He who unconsciously broke down Kwak Woohyuk's mana resistance every time the snake was attacked tormented Kwak Woohyuk's mind with Phantom Eye and Stygian Eye.

When he regains consciousness and wakes up, Kwak Woohyuk will surely feel shame for what he did.

That was what Eunha wanted.

It's a shame I can't kill him.

A player who only interfered at every turn as one of the Twelve Seats in his previous life.

But in this life, Kwak Woohyuk was just a kite with a broken string.

Eunha wanted to kill him badly, but decided to restrain himself since there were many watching eyes.

Well, his life as a player is already over for all intents and purposes.

Eunha turned his body as is.

He had no intention whatsoever of rescuing Kwak Woohyuk floating on the lakeshore.

The staff would take care of it.

And the staff would spread rumors about Kwak Woohyuk's state all over the place.

The player industry was small, so rumors spread very well.

☆

Meanwhile, students aspiring to be hunters were proceeding with filming outside the academy.

Unlike other divisions, the mission divided into several parts only ended by evening.

However, there was still exactly one person whose mission hadn't ended.

"Eunha... Please answer the phone."

Han Changjin sighed deeply in the middle of Yeouido Park.

Staff were gathered around him.

"Rookie Han Changjin. Are there no other friends by any chance?"

"......"

The PD's question carrying a camera.

Han Changjin with his mouth covered by a bandana soon nodded heavily.

Why did such a mission come out?

Han Changjin sighed.

The last mission was random. Calling a friend and making them come out to the filming site.

Excluding him, the other students succeeded in calling friends in just one try.

But Han Changjin couldn't even make a call until the sun set.

"Eunha... Please answer."

Unfortunately, he only had two friends he usually contacted.

Ryu Yeonhwa and Noh Euna.

Even that was just chatting in a group chat room.

He didn't even exchange individual chats with Ryu Yeonha

Except when I had something to say, I never exchanged private messages with Ryu Yeon-hwa.

The person he kept in contact with the most was Noh Eun-ah.

The problem is that neither Ryu Yeon-hwa nor Noh Eun-ah are currently filming, so they cannot answer the phone.

Naturally, Han Chang-jin had to call the people he was close to in the phone book.

Why haven't you replied even though you read it?

Eun-ha Noh, Eun-ah Noh's younger sister.

Han Chang-jin really liked Eun-ha.

How much brainwashing had he received from hearing his story from Eun-ah?

So I took it for granted that I was close to Eunha.

On the other hand, deep down, I was thinking about becoming close to Eunha.

“Han Chang-jin, you’re a freshman. If you keep doing this, you might end up sleeping outside. Don’t you want to go home?”

“… PD, please send me home.”

“Then I should call my friend.”

“… What should I do if I don’t have any friends… .”

Galaxy that doesn't respond no matter how much you call.

In the end, Han Chang-jin was caught on camera, looking like he was dying, while being filmed by other students.

That day, he had to realize how narrow his network was