A selection competition was held across various campuses of Eungwang High to choose the representatives for the military academy exchange tournament.

In the Korea-China-Japan exchange tournament held during the summer vacation, there was the pressure of representing the country and appealing to the professional player teams.

However, this time, the competition was about sports, not abilities, so it was more of a personal interest rather than a matter of high stakes.

With a large number of events and a focus on enjoyment, the number of participants was high, and the selection process was intensely competitive.

Jin Jeong-muk accompanied his classmates as they encouraged him to attend various selection matches.

As a swordsman who sharpened his sword to eradicate the demonic sect, Jin Jeong-muk’s focus was extremely narrow, so seeing various individuals competing in different fields was a huge inspiration for him.

'Despite encountering so many different things since that day, I can’t forget that moment.'

Jin Jeong-muk thought back to the chess match between Jo Yi-shin and Eun Ho.

The scene where they exchanged moves and their smiling faces after the game’s outcome had left a deep impression on him.

However, Jin Jeong-muk was a swordsman, not a knight, so when the pure white sword cut through the boundary of the incantation, he couldn't help but be mesmerized.

'It was the sharpest, most refined, and intense sword I had ever seen. It wasn’t a sword in hand, but it was a sword.'

If he had spoken these thoughts out loud and if his classmates had heard them, they might have responded like this: 'That wasn’t a sword, it was the star-shaped baton symbolizing our partner,' or 'Jeong-muk is saying something hard to understand! Could someone interpret it for us?' and 'It doesn’t seem like an important point, so let’s just ignore it.'

But in the early morning at the training hall of Jeolheukpunglim, it was just Jin Jeong-muk alone, and since it was a period of meditation, he didn’t speak.

He sat down in a cross-legged position, closed his eyes, and recalled the movement of the White Tiger.

To others, it might have seemed like the barrier suddenly broke, and the White Tiger was holding a cheerleading baton, but to Jin Jeong-muk, who was a skilled swordsman, he saw it differently.

He remembered the brief moment when the White Tiger adjusted the star-shaped baton and infused it with ability before shaping it into a sword-like form, then gauging the distance between the sword and its target, as well as the solidity of the barrier.

'If it had been a sword, it would have split the barrier more precisely and faster.'

Jin Jeong-muk imagined using his own sword to break through the barrier of Jeoljeongjaegeol.

At that time, Jeoljeongjaegeol’s barrier was meant for soundproofing, so its durability wasn’t very high.

However, simply breaking it wasn’t meaningful.

To leave the sound but break through the barrier without leaving any trace was something Jin Jeong-muk couldn’t accomplish no matter what he did.

'I cannot perform such a divine technique even with my cherished sword!'

Jin Jeong-muk thought of the flexible form of his sword, wrapped around his waist like a belt.

In truth, he wasn’t very compatible with swords.

Although he had managed to handle the whip sword in a way that was different from a normal sword and had reached the level of fighting demons, seeing the White Tiger made him feel how lacking he was.

Moreover, not only the White Tiger, but Eungwang High had many skilled individuals.

For instance, the ones who had defeated Jin Jeong-muk, such as Yeokgwang’s Narae and Joo Su-hyuk, were good examples.

'Both of them have a different level of power, even though they attend the same academy as me.'

Of course, one of them was too old to be considered just a schoolmate, but Jin Jeong-muk didn’t mind.

The White Tiger had reached such a high level that even a cheerleading baton could be handled like a sword, and Joo Su-hyuk had the power to imbue any energy into a sword.

'I cannot forget the pact and defeat I experienced with Joo Su-hyuk.'

The memory of defeat was bitter, but Jin Jeong-muk, after joining Jeolheukpunglim and facing countless masters, wasn’t suddenly overwhelmed by feelings of inferiority or defeat.

Yet, strangely, the more he thought about their swords, the more his thoughts deepened and grew complicated.

Jin Jeong-muk had other concerns, besides the fact that his ability wasn’t aligned with the color of the sword, and perhaps he could gain a significant insight from their swords.

Bang!

When Jin Jeong-muk and the martial artists of Jeolheukpunglim completed their meditation, known as ungi-josik, and opened their eyes, his master, the swordsman of Heuklim, was entering the training hall.

The Heuklim swordsman had been dressed in black martial attire, a belt, and shoes from early morning, and from a distance, he appeared to be a dark pillar. However, Jin Jeong-muk truly found this look cool.

He bowed deeply, filled with respect and reverence.

“I apologize for the late greeting. It is an honor to see you, master.”

Though no one else was around to witness, both maintained the concept of martial artists.

The Heuklim swordsman, who treated Jin Jeong-muk like family, felt a slight sense of loneliness seeing his disciple greet him with excessive formality but didn’t show it, as befitting of a grand master.

After receiving the greeting, the Heuklim swordsman began the conversation.

“There is something I must inform you of.”

“Please, speak.”

“It’s information we obtained from the noble clan.”

At the mention of the noble clan, Jin Jeong-muk’s eyes became sharp.

Though Jin Jeong-muk attended a school established by the noble clan, Jeolheukpunglim and the noble clan were involved together to oppose the demonic sect.

If the noble clan had information to share with Jeolheukpunglim, it was certainly related to the demons.

“Have you heard about the incident that happened recently in Jeju Island?”

“Yes, I heard. I was told a senior from the school had a serious ordeal.”

“There were demonic sect members involved.”

At the mention of the demonic sect, Jin Jeong-muk clenched his fists tightly.

When he heard that they had interfered with Eungwang High’s school trip, he steeled his resolve, knowing the demonic sect’s evil plans were growing closer.

The Heuklim swordsman, pleased that Jin Jeong-muk was not fearful but rather ignited with fighting spirit, continued speaking.

“The noble clan and its allies managed to capture the demonic sect members involved in that atrocity. They successfully learned of their plans.”

Recently, the noble clan’s torturer, Jeho, had been commuting between Yonggung to care for Yongje, and Qingho had taken over in his stead.

Qingho was rough in his methods compared to Jeho, but they were highly effective on certain individuals.

Luckily, the captured demon quickly spilled some information after Qingho’s harsh physical treatment.

“There will come a time when the swords of Jeolheukpunglim will be needed.”

Jin Jeong-muk listened to the information being relayed and declared without hesitation that he would wield a sword.

There was no hesitation about engaging in battle with the demonic sect, but an uncomfortable feeling lingered in his heart.

This was because the pieces of the insights he had gained from living at the academy and facing masters had yet to take a proper form.

'To reach the next level, I must gain enlightenment. Until that day comes, I will stay at the academy.'

Jin Jeong-muk, after finishing the grueling morning training with the Heuklim swordsman, went to school at Eungwang High.

Though a great battle lay ahead, Jin Jeong-muk was certain that what he needed was at Eungwang High.

Naturally, this mindset was not outwardly visible, and to anyone else, his appearance going to school was that of an ordinary student in Class 0, merely mimicking the ways of a martial artist.

The student representative election proceeded in the following steps:

Candidate registration.

Campaign period.

Voting and counting.

At this point, the candidate registration was complete, and the campaign period had begun. Due to the overlap with the military academy exchange ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) preparation, the atmosphere was livelier than usual.

The outdoor bulletin board and the hallway walls of the building were filled with posters of candidates and announcements about the exchange tournament training schedule.

Among them was also an announcement for the PlayerZ practice match demonstration.

Yu Sang-hoon spoke with a somewhat indifferent tone.

“Won’t broadcasting it online expose our strategies?”

I agreed with Yu Sang-hoon’s words, but I knew that if we didn’t do this, the fans of Yu Sang-hoon, who didn’t make the selection, would continue to be annoying and persistent.

After consulting with the other selected team members, we decided to reveal parts of the practice that wouldn’t expose our strategies.

“It should be fine. Even though my play and the shield’s play are exposed to various media, not many users can handle it.”

As the representative of PlayerZ, In Seon-oh had no issues with revealing the entire practice process.

In Seon-oh, after leading numerous raids, had shared the strategies through videos and articles, knowing well that even if it was made public, few teams could execute it successfully.

Considering the rules of the upcoming exchange tournament, it seemed there wouldn’t be any major issues with revealing the practice process.

'With Yu Sang-hoon and In Seon-oh, I don’t think we’ll lose. The problem is the few variables.'

The first variable was that neither I nor Yu Sang-hoon could attend every practice session.

I was participating as the chess representative, and Yu Sang-hoon as the basketball representative.

So, we couldn’t dedicate all our time to PlayerZ.

Additionally, it wasn’t summer vacation, and the mid-term exams were approaching. Skipping class to practice wasn’t an option, so there was a time constraint.

Given the situation, it was natural that In Seon-oh, rather than Yu Sang-hoon, would become the team’s representative.

Without even needing a vote, In Seon-oh agreed without hesitation.

“Got it. I’ll take command.”

Thus, In Seon-oh became the commander of the Eungwang High PlayerZ team.

The commander, skilled and experienced, would lead the team, but there was still a variable left.

In Seon-oh, aware of this, openly acknowledged the challenge of leading the team.

“With so many people and different circumstances, adjusting the practice schedule will be difficult. I think we’ll end up practicing individually or in small groups.”

The second variable was the large number of players assigned to this game.

This was due to the imbalance in power brought by the presence of shield soldiers and the Gokgomi, and it was a rule coordinated between Eungwang High and the military academy.

This time, there were twenty-eight players in total across all teams.

Given that four players formed a party, that meant each team had seven parties.

'As the number of people increases, it will be harder for shield soldiers or Gokgomi to carry the team alone.'

To put it simply, if a professional soccer player played one-on-one against a regular person, the possibility of the regular person winning would be almost zero, but when the numbers increased, it was different.

Even if a professional player joined a team of eleven, there was no guarantee they would win.

Yu Sang-hoon just wanted everyone to enjoy PlayerZ, so he accepted without considering whether it was advantageous or not.

He seemed happy to have the opportunity to play with the schoolmates and match the team’s play.

'But the burden of leading such a large team will fall on the commander.'

Recognizing my concern, In Seon-oh added with a smile.

“I’ll lead the team well as the commander. Oh, and I’m looking forward to Yi-shin’s chess and Sang-hoon’s basketball. Practice hard.”

Thanks to In Seon-oh’s consideration, I felt a sense of relief, but other issues arose aside from practice.

“Yi-shin, I have a request for you as a candidate for student council president.”

I was ready to do anything for Andain’s request.

If Andain, who had thrown her hat into the ring as a candidate for student council president, needed anything, I was willing to do it.

As I nodded enthusiastically, Andain smiled brightly and said.

“I want you to give a speech of support for me.”