ReLife Player

Unlocked chapter (3/13)

[When the Fox Rain Stops (10)]

«Write your names here!»

«I need your names!»

The school was chaotic.

On the one hand, kids who opposed Seona’s expulsion went around during recess asking for signatures.

«Hey! Did you hear that? Yesterday at school, Yeom Jae-jin and Cho Yeona….»

«Did also you hear that? Yeom Jae-jin was swearing at our class. I’m not allowed to say anything about it, but only to you….»

«Hyung, do you know this? Cho Yeona told the girls not to be close to you. Did you fight with her? You’re not the one to do that….»

«Do you know Ham Chan-wook? He’s a 5th grader, and he been swearing a lot lately. I can’t believe I heard that….»

On the other side, kids from different grades spread baseless rumors and made specific individuals public enemies.

Eunha’s rumors were also circulating here and there.

However, he was oblivious to the rumors circulating about him.

Yoo ha deliberately didn’t say anything.

«Did you see Yoo ha again?»

«I wanted to check how much the rumors have spread. Within a few days, it spread like wildfire.»

The signature campaign was reaching its final stages.

Eunhyuk went around with Hyun-yul and the alchemy duo, looking for kids who hadn’t signed.

He was enthusiastic about getting signatures from the entire school.

Minji, on the other hand, was focused on collecting signatures and creating positive publicity for Seona.

«But why do I have to do this? The kids would be scared and wouldn’t come near me…»

«But you have to do something, right?»

Minji shrugged.

She, too, was aware of the spread of Eunha’s rumors in the school.

The fear of him was fading, if only slightly.

She had to use this time to restore his standing.

Of course, Eunha wouldn’t want that.

That was why she and his friends didn’t say anything out of the ordinary.

«Jung Hayang, when did she go to negotiate with Han Seohyun behind my back….»

Eunha leaned against the railing as she watched Minji hand out flyers.

From the building across the street, he could see Hayang walking past with a group of children.

Some of the children belonged to the Sirius affiliate.

Currently, she was working on turning some children into public enemies.

I never thought that Hayang, who I thought was a good and innocent girl, would do something like this.

When she told me that she had decided to join hands with Seohyun, I was stunned.

This led to him being scolded by Seohyun.

‘Why haven’t you called me this month?’

‘Seohyun, it’s not even May yet, and is there any reason why I have to call you once a month?’

‘There’s no particular reason.

If you don’t call me, I might end up calling you once a day.’

‘Did you forget that this is my mom’s phone, not mine? Well, if you want to talk to her, you can….’

‘Enough with the jokes…, No Eunha, why didn’t you tell me? Why should I have to hear about it from someone else?’

Eunha had to listen to the nagging for over an hour.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about getting help from Sirius Group.

He’d come under Han Seohyun’s shadow, albeit unintentionally.

But he decided it would be more effective to maneuver the Eternity Group.

There would be limits to the power he could borrow from Sirius.

«I didn’t expect it to come out of Sirius like this either.»

But the Sirius group was actively wielding power in a way he hadn’t expected.

Externally, they restrained the Dangun Group, and internally, they used the children to disrupt the school.

The school was in utter chaos.

Rumors were flying around, and slander was everywhere.

And yet, the staff at Doan Elementary School didn’t touch the children who were tearing each other apart.

Is it because of Alice’s chairman?

Alice Group Chairman Min Jun-sik was one of the influential backers of Doan Elementary School.

Eunha suspected that maybe he had given the order to leave the school as it was.

«No Eunha, don’t just stand there, help me circulate the signatures.»

Minji called out.

Eunha handed out the signatures to the passing children as instructed by her.

Then he noticed the kids walking almost up to the wall, avoiding his gaze.

It was Yeom Jae-jin’s group, who had been turned into public enemies by the children within days.

The children were still wearing band-aids on their wounds.

«»…Ah…!!!»»

Their eyes met.

When they saw him, they were frightened and tried to move away.

«What? Isn’t that Yeom Jae-jin? They should be going to school quietly, not making so much noise…, Hey! Why are you giving me this?»

«You do this, I’ll go do something else.»

Watching them flee, Eunha remembered what he needed to do.

These kids hadn’t properly paid for what they did to Seona. He had been putting it off until now.

Passing the papers to Minji, he started running in the direction they’d disappeared.

«Hey, No Eunha, recess is over! If you have anything to do, you can do it later!»

«Don’t worry, I’ll be back in time.»

At first, he hesitated a few times.

He wondered what to do with the people who bullied Seona.

He even considered killing them.

What the children of the Dangun group had done was enough to piss him off.

He just didn’t think the risk of killing them, or the value of what he would gain from it, was worth it.

It was better to break their minds.

I soon abandoned that idea.

I didn’t know what Hayang was thinking, but if she was going to turn them into public enemies, he couldn’t have their minds shattered.

«No Eunha didn’t follow us, did he?»

«Why would he follow us?»

«Exactly. We’re already dead, so what reason would he have to look for us?»

The bell rang.

They were chattering amongst themselves on the stairs between the third and fourth floors.

They didn’t even realize he was so close.

«-Eh?»

Ham Chan-wook turned around.

The gazes of the children with him also turned toward Eunha.

Stygian Eye.

The conclusion he had come to after much deliberation was to disintegrate their minds sequentially.

To provide enough grounds for the rumors circulating around the school.

«Mo, it’s a monster-!»

«Aaaah! Over there, over there, over there!»

The kids panicked.

Ensnared by empty fear, they lashed out, shoving aside the kids they were with.

«What, what’s wrong with you guys!?»

There was still one kid who hadn’t been caught.

It was Yeom Jaejin.

He seemed to have an artifact resistant to magic.

Eunha scanned Yeom Jae-jin, who had been hit on the face and was falling away from Ham Chanwook’s elbow.

He found it.

«Uh, uh…! That’s my…!»

Eunha reached out and grabbed the necklace from Yeom Jae-jin.

It was an insignificant artifact.

He smashed the necklace against the floor of the room.

Jae-jin’s face cracked.

«You know what?»

«…Huh?»

The children were in a frenzy.

Any minute now, the teachers will hear the commotion and come running to find out what’s going on.

It’s best to finish before then.

Checking both sides of the corridor, Eunha grinned wickedly and spoke.

«If it’s the stairwell, the CCTV won’t record it.»

«What…?»

What does that mean?

Jae-jin’s eyes widened.

Eunha pushed him in the chest.

Lightly, like a flick.

His floating body was pushed backward.

His feet didn’t touch the floor.

His body tilted.

His vision widened.

Yet, from above the stairs, Eunha’s presence did not diminish.

The gaze that seemed to consider him insignificant remained.

Then his lips moved.

What did he say?

It was hard to hear.

But he read his lips, word by word, with a sensation that made a split of second feel like an eternity.

Good

Dreams.

The moment his lips closed, his vision darkened with pain.

«Kyaahh!! Jae jin-ah! What’s happening!?»

«Someone come here! Jae jin fell down the stairs!»

«Hurry, take him to the infirmary!»

☆

I had a dream.

I couldn’t remember what the dream was about.

I just woke up feeling damp with sweat on the bed.

«Where am I…?»

The ceiling was unfamiliar.

It smelled like medical supplies.

For a moment, his head throbbed.

Placing a hand on the back of his head, he pulled back the curtains that covered his surroundings.

«Ah, you’re awake.»

«Nurse?»

«You fell down the stairs and blacked out. Do you feel ill?»

«…No, I don’t.»

Fallen down the stairs?

I couldn’t remember the details.

I felt like I was stumbling through a fog, unable to see.

The more I thought about the fall, the more my head pounded.

«Are you okay? If it hurts a lot, do you want to go home?»

«…Yeah, I’ll do that.»

I nodded as I slid off the bed.

Anyway, the school kids didn’t view me and my friends favorably.

Even if I returned to the classroom, there would be no one among them who cared.

I might as well leave early.

The bag was in the classroom.

But I didn’t want to go to the classroom.

I decided to leave it there.

I only had my writing utensils in it anyway.

«Thank you, nurse, I’m going to go now….»

«Okay. If you still feel sick when you get home, make sure you go to the hospital. You shouldn’t fall down the stairs like you did today, ok?»

«…….»

I doubted my eyes.

The nurse had suddenly transformed into a frog.

I rubbed my eyes.

The frog was rolling its bulging eyes, typical of amphibians.

«What’s wrong?»

«Uhhhhh!!!»

The frog stood up.

Its long tongue approached me.

Startled, I shouted loudly and ran out of the nurse’s office.

The school nurse was a monster!

I had to tell someone else about this fact!

I ran down the corridor, intending to inform someone I met.

Just then, the school bell rang.

Kids were coming out of their classrooms.

I grabbed the wrist of the kid passing right next to me.

«Ouch! What’s wrong!»

«Something terrible happened! There’s a monster in the nurse’s office!No! The school nurse was a monster! We need to tell the other teachers quickly!»

«Huh? Hyung, what are you talking about? The school nurse being a monster? What are you saying?»

«….»

I was definitely holding the wrist.

I felt a slippery sensation in my grip.

I looked down at the wrist I was holding.

Something resembling a sea cucumber was wriggling, making dozens of holes in its skin.

Slime dripped from there.

«….»

«Why?»

He lifted his head.

The person he was talking to wasn’t a boy but a monster that looked like a snail.

«What’s happeningggg!»

«Hyung, why suddenly… Aaaah!»

I had to survive from the monster!

He mustered all his strength and struck the monster as hard as he could after letting go of the slime.

The monster crumpled to the floor.

He ran through the hallway, ignoring the sounds of the monster’s cries to survive.

What on earth was this?

Why were monsters here!

Among the kids who came out into the corridor, there were monsters mixed in.

The kids were talking to the monsters without realizing what they were.

He saw a familiar face among them.

«Ack! Hey, why are you suddenly like this!»

«The kid you were talking to just now! It’s a monster! Can’t you see it?»

«What are you talking about? Where’s the monster here… Aaah!»

«You were a monster too! You’ve been deceiving me all this time!?»

As he ran, holding the girl’s hand, he suddenly felt a chill and turned around.

A completely white monster with a long tongue was following them.

He punched the monster in the face.

«Hey! What are you doing!»

«Who’s that guy?»

«I don’t know. He looks like a senior?»

The monster fell to the ground.

Teachers and kids gathered to watch the fallen monster.

There were monsters among them too.

«Move aside, everyone! He’s a monster! Can’t you see that!?»

The kids seemed crazy.

He reached for the fire extinguisher urgently.

Frantically pulling out the safety pin, he aimed the nozzle at the monsters mixed among the kids.

«Run away, everyone! We need to call the players quickly!»

The kids screamed.

There was no doubt that they were being attacked by monsters.

He turned the hose in the direction of the screams.

Then, he heard an even louder scream.

It seemed to connect with the monsters.

He shook the hose back and forth until the powder ran out.

The powder ran out.

Yet the monsters were still intact.

He threw the fire extinguisher at the largest monster.

«We need to get out of the school quickly!»

Not now.

He started moving towards the exit while the monster hit by the fire extinguisher bled and writhed in pain.

Finally, the exit!

If he went out this door, he could escape from the monsters.

He thought so, but–

«–What is this…?»

Monsters with gruesome forms were wriggling on the playground.

The monsters mixed among the kids stared at him and roared.

«This… what…?»

How could he survive from those monsters?

His legs trembled.

He dropped to his knees.

It was all over.

The world had ended.

Even the remaining kids were transforming into monsters.

Suddenly, his hands were transforming into something strange.

«…Huh?»

His hands returned to normal.

And something appeared before his eyes.

[The tutorial has started].

[Congratulations! You have awakened as the first SSS-grade player in South Korea!]

☆

«Did you hear that? Yeom Jae jin hit the kids and threw a fire extinguisher at the teacher.»

«Really?»

«What did you do?»

«Why are you like this? What did I do.»

Minji demanded an answer with suspicious eyes.

Eunha shook his head.

He had no intention of telling her.

He had merely planted the terror that made visible things look like monsters.

The magic he obtained from the Stygian Eye was extremely well-matched.

If the magic left by the Lizard King could only enchant blades with venom, the magic left by the Stigian Eye was more versatile.

The Stygian Eye could not merely conjure up primal fears, but inscribe any fear he wished.

If he could completely subdue an opponent, he could break their minds.

Perhaps he could even break their minds and turn them into puppets that would do his bidding.

That is, assuming he could completely subdue his opponent.

The mana cost isn’t too bad, so it’s easy to use.

The problem is that if your opponent resists, you’ve just wasted your mana.

Nevertheless, it’s still a useful spell.

There were probably possibilities he hadn’t discovered yet.

He would have to keep practicing and researching.

«Guys, we’re going to visit Seona today!»

The afternoon class was over.

Eunhyuk jumped up from his seat and shouted to the students as they packed their bags.

The response from the students of Class 3 in the 5th grade was already predetermined.

«»»Agreed!»»