EX rank supporting role's replay in a prestigious school

Chapter 852

After confirming that Maeng Hyo-don had safely landed, Jo Su-hyeok used his Cheonlian to check if Ham Geun-hyeong was nearby.

The fatigue from the energy lingering in the Garden made his eyes strain.

Suppressing the discomfort, he widened his field of vision and, after a careful scan, spotted Ham Geun-hyeong running toward Maeng Hyo-don.

‘There he is, Ham Geun-hyeong. He'll be fine.’

Jo Su-hyeok had tracked Ham Geun-hyeong’s movements to get involved in this incident.

He suspected Jo Ui-shin would have moved Ham Geun-hyeong to protect Maeng Hyo-don.

Coincidentally, Ham Geun-hyeong was in the position of student body director and an advisor to the disciplinary committee.

As such, Jo Su-hyeok, who was affiliated with the disciplinary committee, had access to some of Ham Geun-hyeong's public schedule, making the investigation relatively easy.

Once Jo Su-hyeok confirmed that Ham Geun-hyeong was preparing for battle and heading to Tanrae Middle School, he was able to get ready and jump into the Garden.

‘It’s a shame I couldn’t join right after the Transference, keeping a distance from Ham Geun-hyeong, but I still gained something from acting separately.’

Thanks to his independent movement, Jo Su-hyeok had gained an advantage.

The one manipulating the Garden had tried to separate Jo Su-hyeok and his group from Maeng Hyo-don, but they had not detected Ham Geun-hyeong’s presence.

"Ham Geun-hyeong is moving toward Hyo-don. They’ll meet soon."

"You're talking about Hyo-don’s homeroom teacher, Chang Cheon-myeong, right?"

"Yes. That person was also nearby to help Hyo-don."

When Ham Geun-hyeong’s name was mentioned, Maeng Hyo-don’s middle school teacher breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

The reputation of Chang Cheon-myeong was well-known even outside of players.

Tak Geo-san, who was listening, asked.

"Did that kid call for Geun-hyeong?"

"Probably."

Jo Su-hyeok didn’t need to confirm further; he knew the "kid" referred to Jo Ui-shin.

Jo Su-hyeok confirmed that Maeng Hyo-don’s two teachers had fully regained their composure and spoke up.

"Hyo-don will be fine. Let’s focus on attacking the Garden. We need to drain the energy accumulated there to lessen the pressure on Hyo-don."

"Alright, let’s hurry."

The four of them moved toward the cloud-filled Garden.

During their move, Jo Su-hyeok instructed Kim Cheol to focus on guarding the teacher and dedicated himself to fighting alongside Tak Geo-san.

As Jo Su-hyeok led the way, fighting overwhelmingly, his morale increased.

At first glance, Jo Su-hyeok appeared to move boldly forward, but he was actually analyzing the Garden and enemies carefully, acting cautiously.

‘This is weaker than the Floor Master we fought before. To stop us, they should send out stronger enemies.’

Jo Su-hyeok’s group fought several rounds against enemies but won without any obstacles.

Since the primary enemies in this Garden were intangible types, Jo Su-hyeok could annihilate them within seconds by activating his Gwanglim.

He dispatched enemies so quickly that his Gwanglim time wasn’t wasted.

Although everything was going well, Jo Su-hyeok felt uneasy.

He didn’t get the impression that the enemy was making a real effort to destroy them.

‘They won’t just let us go. There’s something else going on.’

Jo Su-hyeok had two possibilities in mind.

First, they were gathering strength for a decisive blow.

Second, they were focusing their energy elsewhere.

‘Or maybe it’s both. They could be gathering strength to take down someone else swiftly.’

Jo Su-hyeok sensed that the structure of the Garden was changing.

After each battle, he used his Cheonlian to check on Maeng Hyo-don’s progress.

Maeng Hyo-don was teaming up with Ham Geun-hyeong, defeating the Floor Master and continuing to move.

They were both in motion, but the thick clouds and mist obstructed their sight, making it difficult to see them even with Cheonlian.

Moreover, the entire structure of the Garden was warping, making it hard to use Cheonlian effectively.

Suddenly, Jo Su-hyeok withdrew his Cheonlian when Tak Geo-san gestured for him to stop.

Tak Geo-san, with his eyes shifting, fixed his gaze on a corner.

Jo Su-hyeok used Cheonlian to scan the area Tak Geo-san was observing.

Though there was the option not to follow, Jo Su-hyeok suggested.

"We can’t risk angering him and increasing the number of enemies. Hyo-don’s safety is secured, so maybe we should delay joining him for a while?"

"Even so, if it drags on, it’d be better to act separately."

"He said it won’t take long, so it should be fine."

Heukma stopped at a certain point.

The area was heavier and dimmer than other parts.

The fog and clouds created by the Garden were especially thick in this area.

"The power of death helped me find this. Extracting it won’t be hard."

Heukma raised one hand, and the energy fluctuated.

A powerful force gathered around the back of his dark-skinned hand.

Whiiii...

A chilling wind swept around Heukma.

He had just mentioned the power of death, and it seemed like he was summoning death to this place.

"Perhaps I passed by it carelessly, maybe even stepped on it. Whoever buried it here truly has bad taste."

With a single wave of his hand, Heukma shifted the energy gathered on his hand to his palm.

It seemed like he was about to do something.

Jo Su-hyeok and Tak Geo-san prepared to envelop themselves in Gwanglim, and Kim Cheol silently stood in front of the target.

Bang!

Heukma poured the power in his palm downward.

The energy devoured the fog covering the ground and dug through the solid earth.

The spot Heukma was targeting was particularly firm, so it took several tens of seconds to complete the task.

Finally, what Heukma had been searching for emerged into the air.

It was a massive box.

‘It looks like a box. No, it’s more...’

The box was intricately engraved with a jin (阵) formation.

Seeing the thick energy flowing over it, Heukma furrowed his brow and disrupted the formation, halting it.

Then, Heukma destroyed the pipes connected to the box and pulled it up from the ground.

‘It looks like a coffin.’

When the box fully revealed itself, Jo Su-hyeok’s impression became clear.

To Jo Su-hyeok, it resembled a coffin, though not due to the design but because of the aura surrounding it.

"I found it. It’s as big as I thought."

Despite using significant strength, Heukma still seemed relaxed.

While adjusting his slightly wrinkled jacket sleeve, Tak Geo-san asked.

"What do you plan to do with this? Is it related to what you just found?"

"I was thinking of having it transported. It’d be a hassle to carry it myself."

Crack!

Thanks to Heukma’s strength, the sealed box easily opened.

Inside, Jo Su-hyeok saw someone lying inside.

Behind Kim Cheol, the teacher gasped.

At first glance, the person inside the box seemed to be merely sleeping with their eyes closed. But their skin had turned pale, and the surrounding air was heavy with death, making it immediately clear they were a corpse.

‘...Seong Guk-eon, the congressman?’

Jo Su-hyeok’s first thought was that the body was Seong Guk-eon.

The person inside resembled Seong Guk-eon very closely.

But upon closer inspection, there were differences in their physique and face.

‘Then who is this?’

Tak Geo-san knew the answer.

"Seong-hyeong..."

Tak Geo-san stared at the corpse in disbelief.