Chapter 174

(T/N: Some terms about the Bear Clan may be different from what you read in the s. I tried to use the names that the previous translators used, but some of them are a bit inaccurate. Let me know in the comments which translation of a name or term you prefer. Overall, I hope you enjoy this very exciting chapter! ^^)

Maeng Hyodon departed a bit late.

There was no one left in sight as soon as he came out of the tent.

He couldn’t even get a glimpse of the shadows of Hwang Jiho and Song Daesok who ran really quickly.

Hyodon hasn’t encountered any enemies yet, nor has he heard of a satellite alarm, but his guts tells him that something is terribly wrong.

He can sense that this place is dangerous and that a battle will begin soon.

“I can see a teacher over there. It’s okay! I’m going to be okay!”

When he reached the area where he saw the teacher, he raised his voice towards the teachers’ accommodation unknowingly.

“Teacher! It’s me, Maeng Hyodon! Ham Geunhyung professor! There’s an attack on this world!”

And then, the lights turned on immediately in the two faculty dorms.

The door opened and two people came out.

One was the 1st year Class One homeroom teacher, Kim Shinrok.

The other was the 1st year Class Two homeroom teacher, Noh Youngmi.

The two teachers looked at the hologram.

When they heard what Maeng Hyodon said, the two immediately went to check for satellite information, only to realize that the communication in the island was completely cut off.

“What’s going on? Please explain it right now.”

“Well, that… We were watching a movie when it suddenly cut off. When we tried to check and fix it, we saw that communication was cut off…”

Ahn Dain suddenly spoke while Hyodon was stumbling with his words as he was trying to explain the situation to Noh Youngmi.

“Hyodon, may I speak on your behalf?”

Ahn Dain appeared along with the other students of Class One, and coherently explained the situation.

Unlike Maeng Hyodon, who stuttered and couldn’t explain the points straight, it was calming to listen to Dain’s logical words.

‘Song Daesok was extremely fast. He was able to go all the way to Class One’s dorms and explain the situation quickly.’

As Maeng Hyodon was astonished, Dain quickly organized her words.

“…Sanghoon is near Giju Island, while Soohyuk is near Sangju Mountain. There’s another attack around Sangju Mountain, so I think we should join the defense there.”

“I see. Moon Saeron, vice president of Class Two, will not be in his dorm as he’s in charge of news coverage for tonight… If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have permitted it.”

Noh Youngmi contemplated after Ahn Dain finished explaining.

“Well then, I will lead Song Daesok and the female students of Class Two to Sangju Mountain. Kim Shinrok, you should go to Gijung Island first, and Dain should go to Sangju Mountain.

If we follow what Noh Youngmi said, there would be several troops in charge of Sangju Mountain; Noh Youngmi, Joo Soohyuk, and Ahn Dain.

Meanwhile, Gijung Island would have Km Shinrok and Yoo Sanghoon in charge.

As Maeng Hyodon was trying to grasp the situation, Kim Shinrok spoke suddenly.

“We’ll follow what Noh Youngmi said. Hyodon, what are you gonna do?”

Kim Shinrok asked gently.

“…What about Ham Geunhyung?”

“I think Geunhyung went back late last night too, so he may still be on patrol right now.”

“Then, I’ll go look for him!”

Hyodon shouted without any hesitation.

It won’t be easy to find and retrieve Geunhyung, but it’s going to be dangerous if they were to take action without completely knowing the situation.

“I don’t want to make an exclusive recommendation but…”

“There are two more students from my class who are staying in this building. I’ll go with them.”

“Teacher, there’s not much time left.”

Ahn Dain glanced towards the north side with nervous eyes.

As Ahn Dain said, there’s not much time to contemplate.

Kim Shinrok and Noh Youngmi looked at each other and nodded.

“Do you know Moon Saeron from our class?”

“I was interviewed by him once…”

“If you find Saeron, please move along with him.”

“Got it!”

As Ahn Dain ran after answering the teachers, she passed by Maeng Hyodon and said a word to him.

“Please take care of Yuri.”

Ahn Dain, the rival who fell in love with Joo Soohyuk, felt something odd.

“Yea, okay. You take care of Joo Soohyuk so he doesn’t overdo it!”

“Got it!”

It might be Maeng Hyodon’s imagination, but Ahn Dain seemed to be blushing for a while before she left.

Just like that, their conversation ended. They all moved according to what was planned.

Hyodon began to run up to the third floor of the building to search for the other female students of the class.

‘If it’s this noisy outside, don’t people usually go and check what’s going on?’

Kim Yuri was one of the best players of Eungwang High.

So it’s a bit odd that she never once opened her window to check the situation outside.

Hyodon continued up the stairs with this anxious thought.

Finally, he reached a hallway where only the emergency lights were turned on. He found a paper plaque with the names of the two people on it, and he knocked on their door.

Knock! Knock!

“Hey! Wake up!”

He felt like something was moving inside, but the door still remained shut.

‘… What our senior Class Zero students would do in this situation is act first then ask for permission later, right?”

Hyodon broke the door as he recalled the anecdotes of the past Class Zero students.

“Wait a minute!”

Maybe Hyodon sensed an energy wave because he heard a restrained voice from the other side and soon the door opened slowly.

‘The two of them are here!’

He felt relieved for a moment but immediately made a stern face.

The sight of Yuri, who was sitting down and shaking on top of the bed, caught his attention.

“I think Yuri had a nightmare. I was so nervous so I was about to call in a teacher… Uhm, hey Hyodon? What’s going on?”

Hyodon looked at Yuri as he reflected on the reasons why he departed late.

A Savior who saved himself from hell.

The suspicious vice president.

He said strange things before we left the tent.

— When something happens to Yuri, inform me immediately.

‘“When something happens to her”? The vice president spoke as if he knew what was going to happen!’

Kim Yuri, who looked like a disgruntled fly, discovered Hyodon’s presence belatedly. She waved her hand and stood up from her seat.

‘…For now, I’ll inform him of what happened.”

Hyodon collected his thoughts and began to relay the situation with his inefficient speech skills.

* * *

After he followed Min Geurin’s footsteps, Saeum of April triggered his own flight skill.

“I didn’t know Euishin was this fast! At this rate, it is possible to evacuate all the residents.”

April of Saeum tried to speak brightly, but he lowered his head and shut his mouth as if he realized that it wouldn’t be an easy feat.

“We won’t really have to evacuate all the residents, right? As long as we do what we can until more support comes… I hope everyone is okay.”

I didn’t answer Saeum, whose voice became smaller and smaller as he felt thirsty.

‘It’s enough that we’ve come this far.’

As I suddenly stopped running without a word, Saeum lowered his altitude and soon stood right next to me.

“Euishin?”

“We have to help with the evacuations. Especially all the residents on the coast of Maeum-ri on the southwest side of the island. They should be moved to the island’s central evacuation center.”

“What? But… The attack is on the north-side right?”

“Let’s look at the situation on the southwest side.”

By now, the enemies would have been flocking between Jumon Island and Jangbong Island – islands in the west and south of Seokmo.

It’s where the only player facility of this island “Player’s Lighthouse” is situated. Island guards and nearby private houses were also near that area.

“The shape of the ocean is a bit odd. Is that a wave? Or a boat? …Oh?”

Saeum squinted and looked beyond the horizon. He spoke in a shocked voice.

“Those… are those all enemies!?”

This island is now on the verge of a swarm of attacks from enemies.

Although the houses along the coast were lined up well, it was necessary to evacuate the residents there.

In particular, there’s a high possibility that an injured enemy would leave the battle and aim for the civilians in the vicinity instead.

“Oh no, what should we do? All the kids and the teachers are on the north side!”

“Calm down. If you look closely, the speed of the water is slow. Those enemies cannot move freely on water. They’re all being dragged into the island by some ‘subject’.

The enemies discovered by Saeum were from the royal lineage. They were called to perform their duties on this ground.

They don’t really turn weak on water, but they’re not strong there either.

“There’s time to evacuate people.”

“But still, there are hundreds of civilians even on just this part of the island! What should we do?!”

“Use your light skill”

Saeum looked at me with wide eyes.

It’s as if he couldn’t believe what I just said.

“M-my light skill….?”

“That’s right. I’m talking about the skill that only you, the successor of the April clan, can use.”

“Euishin, how did you know that…?”

“Send this message to the southwest side of the island: Head to the Central Shelter”

Whether I knew that enemies would come from the southwest, or that I knew about Saeum’s light skill, it looked like Saeum had many questions. The good-hearted Saeum of April decided to prioritize the safety of the islanders.

“…I’ll try it!”

Energy wave spread all around Saeum of April.

The energy wave in the form of bright warm lights wrapped him. Although the group of lights moved according to what his will…

His light skill couldn’t be activated.

The ‘specific conditions’ to activate the light skill were not met.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t think it worked! I’ll… I’ll try it again!”

Once, twice, three times…

All the attempts resulted in nothing.

Saeum of April repeatedly apologized with tears in his eyes.

‘I knew that this situation was likely, but I hoped it wouldn’t turn out this way.’

I held myself together, took a deep breath, and prepared to say something.

* * *

Kim Shinrok left with Ahn Dain, but they had to split ways in the middle due to a forked road.

He was surprised, but he’s not very worried about this odd situation.

The Yellow Tiger, head of the tiger clan, was on this island. There’s also Ham Geunhyung, who was on par and could take on most of the royal lineage.

‘It’s possible that some people would get injured, but I don’t think there won’t be any other problems.’

Was that kind of thinking the source of some problems?

Kim Shinrok was surrounded right before he reached his destination.

It was unexpected, and he didn’t sense any sign of an enemy prior to this moment.

The unpleasant sense of being captured as a prey took over his senses.

Kim Shinrok has been in this kind of situation several times within his long life.

“A witness should be killed, but a sacrifice should be captured and dragged. I thought long about what I should do. I made my preparations, but who made a mistake? Why are so many of the Eungwang High students moving around? Really, there are so many things to worry about in this world. Anyway, I’ve waited long enough to catch you alone.”

It is said that the heavens lost its patience and God released his wrath on Shinrok. But Kim Shinrok was born of the mythical Dragon Clan and Bear Clan.

The two beings, who were overwhelmed by the royal lineage, were the Bear Clan and the Dragon Clan.

And between the two, it was certain which one planned this kind of situation.

“…It’s the Bear Clan. The Bear Clan caused this situation!”

He remembered that moment when a trainer from the Bear Clan confronted him.

The same communication block was present during that time too.

‘This is bad.’

At that time, the phenomenon occurred at Eungwang High.

Unlike Eungwang High, this island has limited boundaries and facilities, which makes its defense against the royal lineage and the other world… way below normal level.

The duration of the communication block is also unknown.

‘I don’t think we can expect support from the Yellow Tiger.’

If the Yellow Tiger discovered the attack from the Bear Clan, the enemies would’ve all been dead by now.

It was clear that the Yellow Tiger was far from here.

Also, according to Dain, the Yellow Tiger headed to the retreat instructors’ dorms which were on the other side of the island.

“Who are you all? Reveal yourselves.”

He tried to actualize a weapon from an item card, but nothing happened.

Kim Shinrok, a descendant from the bear clan, realized that it’s not possible to even utilize a weapon.

Shinrok knew that fact but still felt miserable as he gazed at the card that didn’t budge.

“What should we do? Are you going to speak or not?”

“That would be up to you.”

“Keep the list of your worries short.”

A man and a woman appeared next to him and answered his questions while getting in a trance.

Shinrok tried to use the thumbtack hidden in his hand to attack the vital point of the enemies, but he could not take any motion to attack them.

They are from the Bear Clan.

The people surrounding Shinrok seemed to be inferior, but the Bear Clan descendant could not restrain himself.

“You’re going after the son of the Bear Clan Goddess. Do you expect me to be polite? No. Since we failed to achieve our purpose, and the head of the clan went crazy and almost dissolved our family, it won’t be necessary right? Even so, it seems like the clan is still standing. “

He continued to ramble even as his eyes blurred.

Bear Clan Goddess, the Bear of Hatred who acted as the clan’s head.

There is a common denominator between the two.

‘The Royal Bear…!’

As Shinrok finished contemplating, the bear started to introduce himself.

“That’s right. If I’m going to die anyway then there’s no use to telling you. This body that you’re looking at is the Bear of Agony. One of the three bears out of the Eight Royal Bears, who didn’t go crazy.

Kim Shinrok organized his thoughts quickly as the enemy introduced himself as the Bear of Agony.

The judgment was made by milking information obtained from torturing the Bear Clan.

‘…I can run away. I can resist. Or if I abandon my will to attack and just focus my energy into running away, I can use my skills and my light skill to get out of this situation!’

If he headed to where the Yellow Tiger was, he had a chance of winning.

Shinrok raised his hopes and tried to focus his strength on his legs to aim for a gap.

However, the two sensed Shinrok’s intention.

“If you run away, your students will die.”

“Let’s show him the hostages.”

A hologram was displayed.

It showed a male student from Class Zero, helplessly stumbling and trying to awaken the female students.

“I’ve hidden my authority somewhere around here. I don’t know about the male student who’s still standing, but there will be casualties among the female students.”

If Shinrok can overpower them quickly, then he can disable the authority’s effect.

However, he doesn’t have the ability to overpower these two Bear Clan people.

Despite the overwhelming disadvantage, Kim Shinrok spoke calmly.

“How can I believe that the students won’t die if I don’t run?”

“You can’t. It doesn’t matter.”

“We can weigh the value of your life and the value of the lives of your students.”

The energy wave between the two exuded in the air.

And then, a loud sound burst out of the hologram screen.

Boom! Boomm!

All the windows of the dorm were destroyed suddenly, and shattered glass poured into the dorm.

A male student was seen protecting the female students from the broken glass.

An enemy, surrounded with sinister light, can be seen beyond the window.

Kim Shinrok had no choice but to accept the fact that these people had the ability to harm his students at any moment.

‘… That male student is in the same class with the Yellow Tiger and the Savior. Also, that cool-headed teacher Noh Youngmi always praised the talents of the 1st Year Class Two students.’

He had finished weighing the value of life.

Kim Shinrok lost the strength from his body as he gave up on running away.

When he found out that he was an unwanted descendant, he thought that someday he would be killed in the hands of either the Bear Clan or the Dragon Clan.

In fact, he almost faced death at the hand of the Bear Clan.

That’s why Shinrok accepted the reality of the situation easily.

‘I wanted to die in the hands of the Dragon Clan though…’

The Bear of Agony raised his hand as was convinced that Shinrok wouldn’t run away.

An energy wave colored like dirty water started to move towards him.

“That’s…!”

Kim Shinrok doubted his eyes.

Between Kim Shinrok and the pouring energy wave was…

A red fog and a jade light which blocked his sight.

* * *

Saeum’s light skill has a special condition.

There should be a subject which Saeum values dearly, and he would convey the subject’s voice widely with affection.

It’s a light skill that was used by the descendants of the King’s messengers.

“I’m sorry, i-if we try again then maybe it will work!”

“Your light skill doesn’t work when you’re with just a student from the same class.”

“I value Eushin dearly as a classmate but…”

With his flight skill now being unusable, Saeum of April knelt and started to cry.

He tried with all his might to activate his light skill, but still, he failed.

‘…There really is no other choice.”

Saeum of April has the blood of the King’s Messenger.

It’s just the fact that Jo Euishin, a close friend and classmate, did not meet the requirement of being a ‘subject that was held dearly’.

After solidifying my resolve, I spoke to Saeum of April.

“… Are you having fun at our school?”

“Huh? Uhm, of course…”

“That’s a relief.”

“Why did you ask out of nowhere…?”

“Did you remember when I told you ‘I’ll see you at school’?”

Saeum of April turned speechless.

Instead, he looked at me, as I had the moon against my back, and seemed surprised.

Saeum of April blinked slowly and seemed to doubt whether he heard what I said correctly.

‘It’ll be easier to just show him’

Usually, I maintained my appearance as Jo Euishin when using this skill, but for now, I decided to borrow the appearance of a character whom Saeum held very dearly.

After seeing me change my appearance, Saeum of April’s eyes grew bigger and bigger.

Boom!

A huge fire dragon appeared through the surface and surrounded Saeum of April.

And, in the form of Yeom Junyeol, I spoke to Saeum.

“I am the Red Wall Thief.