Ex Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School

It looked like an impromptu event.

If this had been planned in advance, surely those two would have already invited their acquaintances.

Yoo Sanghun would have roughly said “Come watch me fight someone from your class,” and In Seon-oh would have pre-emptively asked the attention-seeking types who’d be upset if they weren’t invited.

Yet, no matter how I looked around, Guseulbi and Ong Gildong were nowhere to be seen.

Instead, I ran into others.

Jang Namuk greeted me with a long opening spiel.

“Eui-shin, you came too. Good timing. I know you’ve been busy, but since it’s Sanghun versus someone from Class 0, I thought it’d be better to invite you. Both of them are your friends and skilled players. While I was hesitating, Si-hu drafted a message and sent it to you—did you see that and come?”

“Hi! It hadn’t shown as read, but you sent it, and I came!”

I admitted honestly that I rarely checked the group chat where Do Si-hu was, so I hadn’t noticed the message. His shoulders slumped, but as the two took their seats on the stage and the crowd began to cheer, he brightened up again.

“How did those two end up on stage?”

“Eun-gwang Z asked them to come anytime they were free, and by chance their schedules matched. The PlayerZ demo area happened to be empty, so we suggested they have a match—and they accepted.”

Jang Namuk, who always talked at length, sounded somewhat excited. Do Si-hu, sending device codes left and right, was the same.

Those two had fought side by side in the Dragonkin Hidden Quest and faced each other as opponents in the interschool match, so everyone knew how skilled both the Shieldbearer and the Duskbringer were.

“Interesting. Come to think of it, they’ve never met as opponents in an official match. In Seon-oh didn’t enter the singles, and Yoo Sanghun’s team was eliminated before facing them in the team event.”

“......”

The two tigers who had followed me glanced up at the stage in agreement. The two cadets from the academy shot the pair, who were openly enjoying the festival, a sidelong look.

Through various incidents, Hwang Ji-ho’s identity was known to them, and the white tiger using the ridiculous name “White Tiger” was likewise uncovered. Yet Jang Namuk completely let his guard down around Hwang Ji-ho, and Do Si-hu treated the Great Saint of Jecheon as a close friend—so they treated both of them without hesitation.

Watching them exchange greetings and device codes made me think a lot, but it was better than everyone being awkward around each other.

Meanwhile, on stage, Yoo Sanghun had finished donning his headgear, and In Seon-oh adjusted the hologram’s position before signaling the staff.

“So, the match will follow the singles rules?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

The students from Eun-gwang Z acting as MCs hurriedly checked their script and recited the rules.

Basically, they’d adopt the PlayerZ World Championship singles format, with maps and missions randomly selected by the organizers. And the match would be a single round—one fight to decide the winner.

Some in the audience, hoping for a best-of-three, jeered in disappointment, but the MC seemed so thrilled just to be holding such a match that he didn’t care.

“Eun-gwang High’s top dealer versus its top tank! Let their battle begin now!”

Though paradoxical, it wasn’t wrong. But if you said “spear and shield,” you’d normally pair the Spearmaster and the Shieldbearer—yet by PlayerZ standards the spear’s performance lagged, making that pairing awkward. Do Si-hu’s lips twitched as if he was about to crack a pun, but I stopped him.

“Don’t.”

“...Okay.”

It was the first time I’d ever stopped Do Si-hu’s nonsense. I wished Yoo Sanghun could share in this joyful moment, but unfortunately he had no idea what was happening offstage. Ah, though he had waved his hand just before putting on the headgear to acknowledge our arrival.

“Now, according to the PlayerZ competitive template, we’ll randomly select the map!”

PlayerZ’s management was as god-tier as the game itself, offering all sorts of support to encourage user participation. Eun-gwang Z even had something prepared in advance for today’s demo. Had there been prize money, they’d have needed prior screening—but since this was just a pre-event with nothing at stake, no screening was required. That allowed them to start immediately under official rules.

‘The only difference from an actual official match is that they’d use analog map-drawing to avoid manipulation controversies: players draw cards themselves, and any undrawn cards are revealed on the spot. But for an impromptu match, they can’t prepare physical cards.’

They couldn’t just rip paper into makeshift cards. In official matches they used interdimensional paper to thwart players’ Insight skills and installed psychic-wave detectors around the venue. But being an exhibition match, they’d simply use PlayerZ’s built-in random selection feature. With grand BGM, a large hologram rose at center stage to announce the result.

[Land of the Fanatics]

As soon as the map name was declared, murmurs rippled through the crowd. Everyone here liked PlayerZ, yet many hadn’t heard of this map. Even Do Si-hu looked puzzled.

“I’ve never heard of this map.”

“It’s a newly updated map. Like how they ran a big main story during summer break, they’ll open a new continent next winter vacation. This is like a teaser map.”

Just as Jang Namuk explained. Before the break, the game developers planned another massive update. The Land of the Fanatics was the link to the new continent, but its difficulty was brutal, driving users to grind specs while gasping in agony. If you couldn’t clear it, you couldn’t enter the new continent—an operation-side favor to push players to prepare.

The problem was that Yoo Sanghun hadn’t cleared this map yet.

‘Because the game has expanded so much, Sanghun’s beta-era experience is now useless. The upcoming continent is unfamiliar even to him, so he’s been holding off on the main story until he can keep pace with us.’

Yoo Sanghun planned to tackle the new content while progressing the main story in a party with us. With finals over, we’d set aside a day to enjoy it together—so he still hadn’t stepped into the Land of the Fanatics. He seemed unfazed even knowing an unknown map had been drawn. In contrast, In Seon-oh’s lips curled upward slightly. It was rare to see him wear such an easy-to-read expression.

‘Is he smiling because he’s confident of victory? No, it feels slightly different.’

At the start signal, both entered the Zeta world to begin their run. The mission: reclaim the Fanatic’s Treasure. Whether by stealth or assault, knowledge of the land was essential. And with only one treasure, eliminating the competitor was a viable strategy.

“Yoo Sanghun is methodically exploring the map. By contrast, In Seon-oh is acting boldly. Did he already know this land well?”

“Yes, I agree with Ji-ho. The Duskbringer’s chosen class has strong firepower but isn’t great at exploration. Even with Insight skills, finding a safe zone that fast is tough. And since his psychic-wave meter barely moved, he probably hasn’t used any skills.”

On the surface, the Shieldbearer was at a disadvantage—but no one lost hope. On Zeta, the Shieldbearer had wrought countless miracles and etched his name into doorways, but his adventures weren’t always smooth. Sometimes he’d grind away time and willpower to achieve his goal, and other times he’d retreat empty-handed.

The match leaned early, yet everyone watched with excitement.

“Yes, Shieldbearer! He’s succeeded in persuading the captive fanatic! The map just lit up instantly. See? It’s different before and after he held their hand!”

The MC shouted excitedly. Yoo Sanghun, after thorough exploration, rescued the sole surviving captive in the abandoned fanatic temple’s remote tower. The captive suspected him of being in league with the cult, but when Sanghun presented the key item “Doll of Memories” found during his search, the captive, having lost those memories, took his hand. Armed with that information and the captive’s eyes, Sanghun pressed forward with ferocious momentum.

‘But In Seon-oh wasn’t idling either.’

Rather than exploration, In Seon-oh focused on leveling up and firepower. Those who’d seen the Duskbringer’s exploits in the raid were surprised. Even in favorable circumstances, he sought the optimal solution through game knowledge and exploration results. Still, recalling his battles in the Dragonkin Hidden Quest, it wasn’t out of character.

‘Back then too, he drove his character to the brink of death to lure out the enemy.’

While Yoo Sanghun infiltrated the stronghold to search for the treasure, In Seon-oh amassed experience and healing items to the limit before launching a frontal assault. The MC busied himself praising In Seon-oh’s bold play and recounting the Duskbringer’s madcap antics in raids—rivaling the exploits of PlayerZ’s famed berserker dealer. As In Seon-oh slaughtered fanatics at the main gate, the stronghold erupted in chaos, making Sanghun’s search easier. Some questioned whether it was foolish, given In Seon-oh’s advantage. But my thoughts differed.

“The Duskbringer will win.”

“White Tiger? Ah, forget it. That must be Jo Eui-shin’s opinion.”

The white tiger read my mind and chattered away. Jang Namuk, who’d been clenching his fists to cheer Yoo Sanghun, whipped his head around.

“Eui-shin, is that really your opinion? Just because you’re in the same class? Sanghun will be upset. He’s got the upper hand now.”

“I didn’t reach that conclusion just because we share a class.”

In Seon-oh, heedless of side effects, continued his relentless charge, using healing items without restraint. The player-level guards couldn’t stop him, so eventually the archpriest boss of this zone appeared. In Seon-oh managed to bring down the archpriest too. Meanwhile, Yoo Sanghun succeeded in infiltrating the deepest part of the stronghold.

“Haven’t you found the treasure yet, Sanghun? If it’s not there, where could it be?”

“Wait, look at Duskbringer’s screen!”

Do Si-hu pointed to In Seon-oh’s display. On the hologram, the Duskbringer, expressionless, sliced the archpriest’s heart and then withdrew something. In his hand was the long-sought treasure: their sacred ring. There was no doubt.

“It’s over, the winner is the Duskbringer!”

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