Ex Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School

At the hotel where the Japanese team is staying, on the top floor.
Kozuka Yashiro gazed out the window.
In the nightscape of Eungwang District, two buildings stood out.

One was Huangmyeong Tower, the only skyscraper in Eungwang District, and the other was Eungwang Global Stadium.
Despite the late hour, the lights of Eungwang Global Stadium shone brightly, illuminating the city.
Hwang Ho, under the name of Hwangmyeong Ho, the chairman of the board, declared that during the exchange match, he would use the power of the Hojo family to keep the stadium's lights on, representing the unyielding will of the youth players.

While this was framed as a display of willpower, it was nothing more than a flexing of the Hojo family’s power.
Because of this, Kozuka Yashiro felt the overwhelming influence of the Hojo family every time he looked out the window, and an unnecessary pressure weighed on him.
Of course, Hwang Ho had done this on purpose.

‘The nameless supernova must have awakened by now. Considering how they selected the event, by now, there’s likely time to check the message.’
Kozuka Yashiro focused on the hologram projected from the device.
The hologram displayed a message window, confirming that the message sent to Jo Yi-shin had not yet been read.

Kozuka Yashiro, still staring at the hologram, recalled the moment when the Korean team selected their event after the second round.
With the points of the Korean, Chinese, and Japanese teams tied, it was only natural for the Korean team to choose an advantageous event, just like the Japanese team had done.
For example, the simulation designed in Korea was one such event.

‘I thought they would choose "Treasure Hunt," designed by Shin-tan’s sharpshooter, but it was an unexpected choice.’
During the Eungwang High Festival last year, the first-year students of Class 1, including Ahn Da-in, had created a simulation for the purpose of defeating Yongje-geon.
The simulation, titled “Treasure Hunt,” was a reinterpretation of interdimensional strategies in the form of a battle game.

At the time, Hwang Ho and the faculty members who observed it thought it could be a useful educational tool, so they went through the proper procedures to include it in the official curriculum. Eungwang High's skilled teachers even registered it in the international curriculum.
Since Ahn Da-in was involved in its creation, both the Japanese and Chinese teams thoroughly practiced "Treasure Hunt." Kozuka Yashiro and those who joined forces with him had prepared to spread malicious comments and rumors about the biased nature of the event.
However, all their efforts were in vain.
"Hello, this is the representative of the Korean team, Yeom Jun-yeol. I will announce the third event."
 

Just after the second match ended, Yeom Jun-yeol took the stage.
In the replay simulation, he had managed to perform decently, such as scouting with a Hongryong and moving a supporter to the center of the contaminated area, but he had not accumulated notable results to be considered a star player.
Therefore, Kozuka Yashiro had expected that a descendant of the dragon tribe, accustomed to indulging in their antics, would have felt nervous or discouraged, but Yeom Jun-yeol simply smiled as if responding to the support of the fans.

And then Yeom Jun-yeol confidently declared, despite the advantageous events for the Korean team being set aside:
"The final event is a 2v2 tag match. The detailed rules will be explained later, but the general outline is as follows: Players from each team will fight in pairs in a confined space."
 
A loud cheer erupted from the audience.

The previous event, the random interdimensional conquest, had failed to broadcast the appearance of the raid party, and the replay simulation had been uninteresting, so there had been some disappointed spectators.
But this upcoming match was simple, without any complicated rules or intricate simulations.

All they had to do was fight 2v2.

In essence, it became a pure battle of strength, without the need to consider who had the advantage.
Fans of specific players who had lamented their favorites not being able to show their full potential in the previous events were especially excited.
While the Chinese and Japanese teams, who had expected an unfavorable event, were puzzled but welcoming, Yeom Jun-yeol continued.

Yeom Jun-yeol, looking directly at the camera filming him, spoke:
"The first two players to participate from the Korean team are the nameless supernova Jo Yi-shin and Shin-tan’s sharpshooter Ahn Da-in. Thank you."
Yeom Jun-yeol’s words were filled with confidence, and the cheers grew louder.
The Chinese and Japanese teams, who had just been delighted by their luck, felt uneasy upon realizing that the Korean team had revealed their cards.

Although Yeom Jun-yeol’s attitude was polite, his statement felt almost like a declaration of, "No matter what you do, these two will win."
In reality, Yeom Jun-yeol spoke with such intent, and there was a hint of a warning in his words.
While Jo Yi-shin was not present at that moment, in the first match, he had said, "If any of you are okay with the raid team being revealed in advance, then please support me." The Korean team had remembered this statement well.

‘From a strategic standpoint, the actions of the descendants of the dragon tribe were foolish. They are two well-known players in Korea, so it's easy to study their key skills and attack patterns. But Sohong-ryong is not a foolish dragon.’
The fact that Yeom Jun-yeol made that statement was, beyond just a countermeasure, almost a warning.
If someone intended to sow discord between the two people Yeom Jun-yeol cared for, the dragon tribe would certainly rally to help them.

In fact, Jo Yi-shin was not just a junior but also Yeom Jun-yeol’s mentor and the benefactor of the dragon tribe. If he hadn’t declined personally, the dragon tribe would have already stepped in.
Kozuka Yashiro, who was unaware of this, began to grow cautious.
‘This can’t drag on any longer. The nameless supernova must have been hesitating. And now, to think he's been unreachable due to an injury...’

Although Jo Yi-shin was reported to have missed the second round due to an injury, Kozuka Yashiro was suspicious.
When Jo Yi-shin had left the stadium, he seemed a bit tired, but it didn’t appear to be an injury severe enough to incapacitate him for several days.
Thus, Kozuka Yashiro suspected there was another reason for Jo Yi-shin’s absence.

From the Hojo family's perspective, it was clear that they wouldn’t be pleased if Jo Yi-shin became the greatest contributor.
So, Kozuka Yashiro speculated that the Hojo family might have detained Jo Yi-shin to prevent him from contributing during the second round.
‘To elevate Ahn Da-in, they must have removed Yeom Jun-yeol from the equation. To keep Yeom Jun-yeol in check, they could have placed the nameless supernova in the same group... But although they succeeded in holding Yeom Jun-yeol in check, they made too much of a spectacle of themselves. They couldn’t even stop Dokgo Miro.’

Kozuka Yashiro, who was crafty and sly, couldn’t fathom the concept of pure goodwill.
So, she couldn’t even imagine that a teenager might throw away their honor, sacrifice their stamina and powers for the Hojo family, or for a friend.
Her thinking was entirely flawed, and her assumptions went in the wrong direction, but there was no one to correct her.

As her thoughts continued to spiral in the wrong direction, Kozuka Yashiro decided to act immediately.
"Kozuka-san!"
At that moment, a bright voice rang out.

Kozuka Yashiro minimized the hologram and turned her head.
A young man, dressed in a hooded jumper, appeared from what seemed like an empty corridor.
The hood was pulled low, making it hard to see his eyes, but his sharp, gaunt jawline made it easy to identify him.

"It's been a long time since I've seen your face."

"I've always been busy!"
"I've always been indebted to you."

Kozuka Yashiro offered words of gratitude, but in her mind, she didn’t mean it.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than .net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
This person was called "The Manipulator." He thrived on stirring up opinions online, riding the constantly shifting waves of public sentiment, meaningless conflicts, and emotional draining.

Whether the Manipulator wanted to test his power, satisfy his desires, or just attack Ahn Da-in or Jo Yi-shin, he had allied with Kozuka Yashiro for mutual gain.
As it happened, Kozuka Yashiro ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) had wanted to remove obstacles from Renzo-in Karen's path, so this worked out well.
"Have you dealt with that interfering person? I heard it's been quiet for a while."

At Kozuka Yashiro's question, the Manipulator's mouth twitched in annoyance.
The Manipulator had won many battles in the virtual world, but there had been a few cases where things didn’t go as planned.
The most notable ones were:

One was Eungwang High’s general bulletin board.
The Manipulator had tried to prevent the Hojo family from catching onto him by finding a few trolls with malicious intent and deploying them on the bulletin board, but the public opinion didn’t go his way.
Another was the infamous troll who seemed to be indebted to Shin-tan’s sharpshooter.

"Before the competition, they spread rumors about the nameless supernova and Shin-tan’s sharpshooter, but during the tournament, they went silent. Recently, they’ve been showing support for the nameless supernova, though. Do you think it’s all from one person?"
"Ah! It’s one person. I don’t have evidence, but anyone who’s spent as much time following trolls as I have would know! This one person is using multiple accounts."
The Manipulator had tried every trick in the book to catch this troll, but unfortunately, he had failed.

The Manipulator had even planned to raid the server rooms of the communities where the troll operated but was stopped by higher-ups.
Kozuka Yashiro half-believed the Manipulator’s words.
‘Could this manipulator be right? There’s no one more stubborn than him.’

In truth, the Manipulator’s instincts were correct.
Behind the anonymous sea, the true malicious troll, Gye I-dam, who had a vendetta against Ahn Da-in, was fighting an invisible battle with the Manipulator.
The Manipulator had tried every possible measure to get rid of Gye I-dam.

He increased his activity hours randomly to exhaust him and even resorted to personal attacks, but Gye I-dam fought back using similar methods, rendering the blows ineffective.
The two were aware of each other’s existence but fought desperately without any evidence to back it up.
"Are you still fighting that troll, or are you wasting time chatting with me?"

"Ah! Yeah, chatting with you is a waste of time, but 'that person'..."
Ding dong.
At that moment, the minimized hologram flashed and expanded.

It was a reply from Jo Yi-shin.
The Manipulator, without even checking the hologram, guessed the sender.
"Is that a message from the nameless supernova?"

"Yes, looks like it."
"Good. It’s from the nameless supernova."
After a brief exchange between Kozuka Yashiro and the Manipulator, they left the room.

As they disappeared, one of the decorations the Japanese team had brought flickered softly.
It was a vase decorated with a lotus flower, lit by Renzo-in Karen.