Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
66. Another candidate (6)
Gye Idam’s gaze was snatched by the afterimage[1] left by the pure white sword.
Feeling Gye Idam’s gaze, Baek-ho glared at him coldly.
While Gye Idam was so horrified he felt as if his spine froze and his body stiffened, Baek-ho entered the gym.
Gye Idam, who lost his soul for a moment, belatedly came back to his senses.
‘Why is the Myth category Ho tribe here? Did he appear in the tutorial? No, if he had come, they wouldn’t have been massacred!’
Excluding when a few female characters, including An Dain, appeared, Gye Idam didn’t read the script properly.
There were many times when he was slacking off while soullessly tapping on the screen.
Though Gye Idam especially roasted PMH’s tutorial, he actually couldn’t remember it properly.
He remembered ‘Baek Ho-gun’ as he was the last Playable Character to survive until the ending, but it took him a moment to become certain that he didn’t appear in the tutorial.
— Beeeep!
The warning about the Enemy approach sent by PlayerSAT-K rang on Gye Idam’s device.
Because the barrier was lifted, the Player’s Association’s satellite, which noticed an Enemy, belatedly sent the alarm to the smart devices near the Enemy.
Following the alarm, the subjugation complication notice was updated.
— The wanted Enemy, Rinoseron no. 13 had been subjugated.
— PlayerSAT-K successfully accessed recording devices in the corresponding area.
— PlayerSAT-K analyzes the content of the subjugation process.
Having no clue about the situation inside, Gye Idam assumed that the subjugation’s biggest contributor must be Baek-ho.
Not much time passed since Baek-ho entered inside, but with his skills, he could take down Rinoseron with one attack.
But Gye Idam’s predictions missed the mark.
— Subjugation’s biggest contributor: Jo■■ (unregistered civilian: information disclosure is restricted.)
Seeing the name ‘Jo■■’, Gye Idam had doubts.
No matter how he looked, it didn’t seem to be Baek-ho’s pseudonym.
‘When Jin people use fake identities, aren’t they usually registered as Players? It’s probably only not a case when they disguise themselves as someone below 17, but… then it wasn’t Baek-ho, who took it down?’
He had no time for long thoughts.
Gye Idam decided it would be better to leave the place for now and return again mixed among the other students.
What happened in the gym hung on his mind, but he decided to hide first.
‘Let’s leave this place first, the medical team… they’re coming here right now.’
The teachers and students, who saw the Enemy alarm, were flocking here.
Gye Idam hovered around the gym, and then mixed among them.
They discovered the injured, but all the people in the gym were rescued and Gye Idam sighed in relief.
‘I’m glad that teacher Kim Sinrok-nim is safe. The examinees also survived… that’s good.’
Once relived, his mind grew complicated again.
Finding the answer to the doubts and pain he harbored, enthusiasm surged in him, but he also felt confusion and fear at the same time.
‘Why am I in PMH’s world?! Ah, there’s so many games, why did have to be this crazy gamewreck of all things…!’
Even right now, Gye Idam wanted to flee.
Gye Idam, who played PMH only roughly, didn’t know much about its content, but he remembered the larger events.
The number of Playable Characters, including god-like characters, that were added over the course of the story, was around three digits.
He knew in general how that number reached 0.
Considering the final ending, it was in fact the same as if there was no place to escape, but it wasn’t that there were no ways if Gye Idam prepared to survive alone.
However, even though terrified, he couldn’t flee.
‘How can I leave those bastards and go!? They — they were all Playable Characters!’
The people who threw Gye Idam’s mind into the most disarray were all Playable Characters.
In the previous world, they were only characters he roughly saw the names of while skimming through the setting book looking for An Dain’s illustrations.
They were people who made an appearance in the dog-shit game wreck he spent his youth writing malicious comments about, but now that wasn’t the case.
They became Gye Idam’s teachers[2], seniors and colleagues.
What shook Gye Idam wasn’t just Playable Characters.
‘The Earthly Wings Council? What happened to them? It feels like they didn’t appear in the game…?’
He thought about the destruction of the dormitory autonomous organization with the trigger of the concrete collapse incident.
The Earthly Wings Council’s annihilation.
The moment those words came to his mind, he felt as if his vision was turning pitch black.
He felt his insides burn and revolt at the thought that they died so gruesomely and in vain, that it wasn’t even properly written about in the game.
‘… Siwan hyung and other Earthly Wings Council’s members will die at that time?’
It wasn’t just the Earthly Wings Council.
The people in the Guideline Club would all die.
Going mad at that thought, if it was just after he came to this world, Gye Idam would resolve not to do anything properly.
‘We should at least flee together. But I don’t think any of them will flee… then… we have to fight.’
Gye Idam decided not to run away.
The moment he made up his mind, he heard the system message he mistook for neighbor’s noises just before coming to this world.
〈The Other Dimension Future Suitable Modification Candidate ‘Gye Idam’s’ Support Program has been completed.〉
Gye Idam didn’t know what that voice was, but he felt it instinctively.
‘… That’s what sent me to this world!’
And thinking back, just before the entrance ceremony, he seemed to have heard something about a candidate and support program.
After the message about the complication of the support program, another message appeared.
〈Using ‘Gye Idam’s’ skill — Other Dimension Future Suitable Modification Candidate Privilege[3].〉
Candidate Privilege?
He didn’t know what that privilege was, but it was clear that it would be helpful in this situation.
Gye Idam nervously waited for something called privilege to appear.
〈Insufficient resources due to Support Program function.〉
〈Other Dimension Future Suitable Modification Candidate Privilege can’t be used.〉
Once those words ended, the message was cut off.
No matter how much he waited after that, nothing happened.
Gye Idam, who was a PMH user, figured out this situation right away.
“Doooogsssshitgamewreck! What privilege! Shouldn’t you throw me an equipment or skill and then give me a mission?! Both in the past and now, you operate like dogshit!”
It seemed that whatever should be given to Gye Idam was used up on that ‘Support Program’.
He didn’t know what the Support Program was referring to precisely, but wasn’t he notified that the Support Program was completed?
It was no different from throwing Gye Idam into this world naked.
Gye Idam despaired, but he didn’t give up.
There was still hope.
‘I didn’t do anything, but everyone in group 13 survived. There is clearly something going on here.’
Gye Idam guessed that was another key factor besides Baek-ho’s actions being different from original.
He realized what that other key factor was immediately.
‘Jo Uisin? Jo Uisin is in group 13?’
There was no Playable Character or NPC in PMH named Jo Uisin.
If there was, there would be no way Gye Idam would have forgotten it.
‘I’m the Suitable Candidate. Then Jo Uisin is the Suitable One…?’
Gye Idam guessed that Jo Uisin was the ‘Other Dimension Future Suitable Modification’ mentioned in the questionable system messages.
There was a chance that both Gye Idam and Jo Uisin were a candidate, but only Jo Uisin received the Candidate Privilege.
But considering the place and time Jo Uisin appeared in, he thought that Jo Uisin would be someone different than the candidate.
That certainty became even more certain as the time passed.
‘Jo Uisin started in the gym with the group 13. He must have become the ‘Unnamed supporting character’ from the ‘Tutorial of the unnamed supporting character’.’
The fact he recalled the memories of PMH the moment Jo Uisin took the practical exam.
The existence of ‘Red Wall Phantom Thief’, who used very similar powers to Yeom Junyeol.
Even if he thought only about those two facts, it looked like Jo Uisin’s position was more special than his.
‘… that stubborn game junkie is changing this world, huh?’
When thinking objectively, Jo Uisin had a good head and loved this world.
In addition, if he even received special abilities from the system, that was truly reassuring.
But Gye Idam couldn’t relax.
‘I’m fucked…’
How much did Gye Idam harass that clever and skilled stubborn-head?!
Eungwang School wasn’t a place where you could punch down using your age and rank like the army.
He could absolutely never let Jo Uisin find out his identity.
‘Should I apologize, even if only now? But my face has changed, so will he be able to recognize me?’
Gye Idam attended school as if walking on thin ice.
An Dain at last entered the school, but she was in the class next to class 0, where Jo Uisin was, and the two had personal exchanges, so he couldn’t easily approach.
When Seong Siwan introduced him to Jo Uisin, he freaked out, but as Jo Uisin was clearly doing something to save this world, he couldn’t not help.
Even so, he was lucky not to be found out until the 2nd semester.
But that luck ended today.
* * *
I wasn’t one bit curious about Gye Idam’s 1st year life.
But because I could hear the secret stories about my Playable Characters, that were mentioned in it, it was somewhat beneficial.
There was no guarantee that someone as personality bankrupt as Gye Idam spoke truth, but if he hid his temperament until now, it seemed he was honest about the memory loss.
Gye Idam said he didn’t know what precisely the Support Program was, but I had a vague guess from the position of a listener.
‘That ‘Support Program’ surely must refer to the 1st year Gye Idam spent here.’
The Transcendent Universe wasn’t omnipotent.
So it would bring even such a malicious commenter as a candidate.
During the one year it must have guided Gye Idam to rehabilitate and move for this world.
That would be the nature of the Support Program.
‘Though, because of that Support Program, he can’t use the privilege the Suitable Candidate is said to use, if he didn’t live through the 1st year, he would have abandoned Eungwang School and flee.’
The Privilege was a pity, but you shouldn’t give a great power to such a bastard.
The Gwangrim Gye Idam used was already extremely effective.
There were many Gwangrims that were no different from trash, so it was truly a pity.
With a regretful heart, I carried out military punishment.
“Roll forward, roll back.”
I told him to roll left, right, forward, back, and each time his movement slowed, I would kick him.
Gye Idam rolled according to my words to be hit less, if even for a moment, then his balance crumbled and he laid down.
“Why are you not rolling?”
“Keuk, I can’t use my arm, how can I roll back!”
“It’s for you to solve. Don’t bicker.”
“Ah, I answered right away to the things you asked a moment ago…”
“Don’t bicker.”
Peuk! Peeuk!
I hit Gye Idam with a resentful face.
It wasn’t that I talked nonsense because I forgot what I said to Gye Idam.
As a basis, grilling someone was never reasonable.
Whether you chose A or B, you had to prepare that you would be cursed as result.
A true grilling wasn’t simply to inflict physical pain, but also emotional one.
I beat and grilled Gye Idam to my heart’s content, while organizing my thoughts.
‘He doesn’t know anything and doesn’t have a Privilege as a candidate, so he has no usage. They thought about such a bastard as a friend? As expected, my Playable Characters are kind.’
No matter how I looked, my evaluation of Gye Idam amounted to that.
Around the time Gye Idam was so exhausted he couldn’t even show resentment and passed out, I started to slowly regret wasting my time on this bastard.
‘… Should I go meet with Baek Ho-gun?’
With Gye Idam in such a state, it would be difficult to talk with Seong Siwan about the secret society today.
I should ask for Seong Siwan’s understanding and postpone today’s meeting.
I was slightly bothered that I was going to visit the tiger mansion without prior appointment, but Baek Ho-gun said I could come to see Snare, so couldn’t I do as I like?
When I left Gye Idam on the sparring ground and came out.
“I guess Uisin-i has won!” [4]
“Oh, you worked hard.”
“Uisin-ah, are you hungry? I prepared snacks together with other kids.”
“I brought cups.” [5]
As I came outside, I found our class children, who were currently living at the dormitory.
Sawol Seeum, Maeng Hyodon, Han Yi, Kwon Lena, Mok Uram…
The sun has set, but I guess all the dormitory students waited for me.
After facing a trash like Gye Idam, my heart and soul was purified seeing our class children.
It wasn’t just the class children, who waited for me.
“Uisin-ah, hi. You’re not hurt anywhere, huh? I’m glad.”
Yeom Junyeol was here!
Why didn’t he go home and wait?
Was my disciple worried about me?
“Junyeol-i was very curious about this spar, so I waited with him. Do you plan to make the spar record public?”
Behind him was Yong Jegeon with an ecstatic expression.
But, to my regret, he wasn’t the only Jin here.
‘… Why are you here in this appearance?’
Appearing as the chairman Hwang Myeong-ho, Hwang Jiho was looking my way.
*~*~*
[1] afterimage — ‘trajectory’ was used here. Sadly, it doesn’t make sense in English.
[2] teachers — respectful ‘스승(seuseung)’ which I usually translate as ‘master’ was used here.
[3] privilege — besides special treatment/rules, it can also mean ‘special ceremony’, ‘special battle’ and ‘special information news, mainly from a delegation to a foreign country’.
[4] “I guess Uisin-i has won!” — Sawol Seeum’s sentence.
[5] “I brought cups.” — Mok Uram’s sentence.
Translator’s note: Gye Idam went through psychological horror as a therapy, and it somehow worked.
And happy new Gregorian calendar year!
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