‘It’s even more amazing when you see it in person.’

I’ve only seen the Mass Games led by Jang Nam-wook on video, but it felt even more intense when I saw it in person.

Thanks to the advancement of technology, it’s now possible to create videos that are similar to the Mass Games.

However, it couldn’t replicate the excitement and power of a scene where real people train and work hard to direct.

‘The White Tiger was finally selected as a player, but I can’t see it in person.’

Come to think of it, there were several ways to prevent the assassination attempt on Do Won-woo using Do-shi-hu at the opening ceremony last year.

One of those ways was to have the White Tiger perform a wall ritual that I had strengthened with my own power.

I performed last year, but this year I couldn’t even attend and was relegated to a substitute rather than a main player, which was a shame.

In fact, the White Tiger had the skills to be selected as a main player, not a substitute, but because he was a prisoner, he was demoted to a substitute due to the huge disqualification of not being able to leave Eun-gwang-gu.

If that was the case, I wondered why he came out, but the shameless white tiger was acting like, ‘I wanted to come out, so what can I do?’

As I was complaining to the white tiger so that it would be heard, Yoo Sang-hoon, who was next to me, spoke up.

“When are Jang Nam-wook and Do-shi-hoo coming?”

“They told me in the message room earlier that they would be late and told me to eat first.”

“Oh, then let’s go quickly.”

After the opening ceremony, we had lunch before the first game in the afternoon.

As expected of an exchange game, the Eun Kwang-go students decided to eat with the cadets, but usually, those who had competed in the same event last year and become close friends would eat together.

I had made an appointment with Jang Nam-wook and Do-shi-hoo before that policy was decided.

However, since the higher-ups suddenly called Jang Nam-wook and Do-shi-hoo, it seemed like it would be difficult to have lunch together today.

‘You both stood out at the opening ceremony. He led such a neat mass game and is the next president and vice president of the cadet council, so the generals will want to greet him.’

The path from the parade ground to the dining hall was indeed decorated like a military facility.

Thanks to the long history and the free-spirited students who passed through, the military academy had a neat and restrained feel, unlike the landscaping of Eun Gwang-go, which was modernly finished with Hwang Ji-ho’s aesthetic sense despite the various genres and eras mixed in.

It was an ordinary landscape that would come up in many public facilities with a similar feel, but the memorial monuments, cenotaphs, and statues and busts of patriotic martyrs placed here and there let people know that this was a military academy.

The names engraved were all those of players who were active in the dark ages.

Recently, due to the political movement to erase the achievements of players, there have been more and more people who do not know what the dark ages were or who players like former Korean branch manager Seong Hyeong-woo and Iron-arm Song Man-seok were, but traces still remain here.

‘The Player Military Academy principal, who was scheduled to retire last year, must have had less influence here.’

The Player Military Academy principal is a three-star lieutenant general, just like the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies.

The current principal, who is close to Hong Kyung-bok, who volunteered for the military during the Dark Ages, once saved Jang Nam-wook, who was being bullied by a disciplinary officer and was having a hard time.

I don’t know if that was the trigger, but it was fortunate that the general, who was articulate and cared about the young Player, reversed his retirement and stayed in his position.

In addition, this opportunity was created thanks to the current Player Military Academy principal’s willingness to actively interact with Eun Kwang High School.

The current student council president, Yeom Jun-yeol, has become close enough to the current Player Military Academy cadet president to have lunch together, and it seemed that the exchange between the Eun Kwang High School student council and the military academy cadet council would deepen even more next year.

‘The next student council president, Andain, and the next cadet council president, Jang Nam-wook, are already acquaintances. It will be easier to communicate with the military academy in the future.’

Andain will not participate in this exchange as a player, but will be a member of the cheering squad.

Last year, it was overwhelming just to cheer with Andain in the audience, but now that I think about being cheered on by Andain when I go out as a player, I feel very touched.

“Why are you making that face while you’re eating? It doesn’t taste good.”

I came to my senses at Yoo Sang-hoon’s words.

But isn’t that too blatant?

The military academy’s meals were famous for being tasteless, but I could see that they were conscious of the fact that the Eun Kwang-goers were coming, so they put in a lot of effort.

Compared to the pictures of the meals that ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) Jang Nam-wook or Do Si-hoo usually showed me, it was very good.

Although the beef soup was so bad that I couldn’t even put a spoon in it, the main side dish, spicy pork ribs, was seasoned well and cooked just right.

“Is it edible?”

“It’s not as tasty as our school’s meals.”

Of course, since the gourmet Hwang Ji-ho was the chairman and a student, and checked the food every day, Eun Gwang High School’s meals had to be the best.

Of course, since there were many Eun Gwang High School students, there were practical issues that limited the quality of the taste, but it was so good that it was embarrassing to compare it to other schools’ meals.

“Do you know what they call it when radish cries?”

Doshi-hoo suddenly interjected after seeing the radish pieces on my spoon.

I regretted not accepting this soup, but it was already too late.

“Clumsy! The radish is shedding tears, hahaha!”

Ah... ... .

Instead of talking to Doshi-hoo, Yoo Sang-hoon and I talked to Jang Nam-wook, who was next to him.

“Are you here?”

“You came earlier than I thought. The soup wasn’t that great, so just get some rice and side dishes.”

“Yeah, sorry I’m late. Si-hoo. Let’s go.”

“Uh.......”

The ignored Doshihu was dragged to Jang Nam-wook with a sullen expression, but soon he tried to make a bright and empty joke, saying that the food was delicious today.

Although he let slip some nonsense that was either a joke or not, Doshihu wasn't just talking nonsense.

"The generals who attended today all knew Nam-wook's name."

General refers to a brigadier general, major general, lieutenant general, or general.

Since the head of the military academy is usually a lieutenant general, the cadets are actually always with the stars, but since they rarely meet in everyday life, they would be nervous even if they were called for something good.

Doshihu's liver was swollen, so he didn't seem to have any special thoughts since long ago, but when Jang Nam-wook was called by the generals before, he froze and barely said hello, and after that, he was completely frozen.

But today, he looked a little different.

"Your path to success has opened. Congratulations."

“Thank you, Sanghoon. I’ll take it as a compliment. They are people in high positions, but they were impressed by the opening ceremony today and gave friendly words of encouragement. They were good words that I wanted to hear along with the other cadets who prepared for this mass game.”

Jang Namwook answered long without getting tired of Yoo Sanghoon’s joke or freezing.

Jang Namwook was smiling leisurely behind his glasses.

Yoo Sanghoon and I were surprised by that appearance.

I don’t know if he’s gotten used to it now or he’s grown more courageous, but he showed a different side.

But he still kept nagging.

“Since Uishin and Sanghoon are competing in two events, they need to take care of their physical strength. So wouldn’t it be better to eat everything without being picky? It would be better to consume it directly through food rather than taking supplements. Even Sanghee is worried that Sanghoon doesn’t eat well these days because he’s playing basketball and games.”

“It’s long.”

“Don’t just eat meat, eat a lot of everything.”

“No.”

There was a lot of useless conversation during the meal, but there was also some useful content.

Since all four of us here were PlayerZ players, we were able to explore each other’s backgrounds.

After the meal, while we were still talking about games for a while, Yoo Sang-hoon asked.

“Isn’t he coming out?”

“I don’t know who he’s talking about, Sang-hoon. Sang-hoon skips a lot when he talks, so I think it would be good to fix that habit.”

“The kid from the military academy who was my temporary manager when I was on air.”

“Oh, that’s what Gyu-yeon is talking about!”

When Yoo Sang-hoon finally put the subject in, Do-shi-hoo answered.

Since Yoo Sang-hoon specifically asked, he must have been impressed by his understanding of the flow of the game when he was a temporary manager on a live broadcast.

“He seems to know the game well. Why isn’t he coming out?”

“I wanted Gyu-yeon to come out too, but she’s busy.”

“Are you busy? He used to be a manager for some kind of broadcasting station, but he’s not on any broadcasts anymore.”

Namgung Gyu-yeon was said to be the manager of a streamer named Pyeonsa, which is an abbreviation for ‘Player-almost-a-player.’

Pyeonsa lost his ability after attending a youth aspiring player support center, and when the whole story was revealed, he was shocked and still quit broadcasting.

Doshi-hoo answered without hesitation, knowing Namgung Gyu-yeon’s circumstances well.

“I guess he’s busy with something else. He must have gone right after the congratulatory flight for the opening ceremony today. I think he’s getting busier these days.”

“Is that so?”

It would be understandable to be concerned that he’s so busy that he can’t even watch a big event, but Yoo Sang-hoon’s interest seemed to end there.

However, Doshi-hoo continued talking, not wanting to change the subject, and Jang Nam-wook didn’t stop him.

It seemed like he wanted to tell Namgung Gyu-yeon’s situation.

Not Yoo Sang-hoon, but me.

“Kyu-yeon is good at handling machines to the point where he can control almost any aircraft or ground weapon that can be mobilized at the military academy. He doesn’t just control them, but he also understands their operating principles perfectly, so he even does maintenance himself. On top of that, he has a special ability.”

I could immediately tell what the special ability meant.

The resentment of Mujigi, who had just awakened, was directed at Doshi-hu, and the moment the power of water was about to swallow Doshi-hu, it was Namgung Gyu-yeon who stopped it.

It was done with the energy of the earth, which is in a conflicting relationship among the five elements, but it also meant that Namgung Gyu-yeon used the power of the earth to the extent of blocking Mujigi’s attack.

‘A child of the Namgung Group who is good at understanding and handling weapons and using the power of the earth.’

What’s more, the family is so negative about their children becoming players that they even sold Hong Gyu-bin’s family register.

It is possible that they reflected on the Hong Gyu-bin incident and gave Namgung Gyu-yeon freedom, but there was something that bothered them.

That's why I felt like I had to tell you about Namgung Gyuyeon even now.

"It's a shame I couldn't participate this time. If there's anything I can do to help, I'll help."

"Okay! Thank you, Yishin!”

I told Namgung Gyu-yeon to consult me ​​if anything happened, and it seemed to have been conveyed well.

Doshi-hu’s face brightened up and Jang Nam-wook also answered with a bright face.

The two of them were worried about Namgung Gyu-yeon, but they still didn’t know what had happened, so it seemed like it was ambiguous to ask for help.

‘There is a possibility that Namgung Gyu-yeon is involved in the scenario of the four major conglomerates’ secret fight that will take place next year. If they plan to use Namgung Gyu-yeon as a means of communication, they must be slowly laying the groundwork.’

The first game in the afternoon was a ball game, with soccer, basketball, and American football being the first games.

The three of us, excluding me, left first to warm up because we were going to play basketball.

When we were about to move to join the kids in the class we had decided to cheer with, an unexpected combination caught our eye.

‘Jegal Jae-geol and Im Yeon-hwa?’

The two head teachers that Eun Kwang-gwang was proud of were quietly heading somewhere without making a sound.