Ex Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School

The head of the mountain goat floating in the air spotted Hwang Ji-ho.

The mountain goat, who was about to snap something at Hwang Ji-ho, froze when it saw me standing next to him.

Although this mountain goat head wasn't the real body but just a sculpture carrying Ineungpa, it seemed to be able to sense the presence of nightmares through this medium.

"Jo Yi-shin, don't worry. No matter what the Yang faction leader does, my friends and I will protect you."

Hwang Ji-ho spoke seriously, and Cheong Ho nodded firmly.

The Tigers weren't without a plan.

They had just prepared their strategy physically, not mentally.

[So, this is the esteemed guest from the Ho faction. I thought it would be Cheong Ho or Heuk Ho, but what is this? I wanted to hear the performance I've only heard rumors about. Where is Heuk Ho?]

"Why would you bring Heuk Ho when you knew something was going to happen? It's already well known that you bother excellent performers."

[Hey, I have my preferences too! If you listen to Heuk Ho's performance, you might think it's not that great!]

"Then we don't need to meet."

The Yang faction leader had been hoping for Heuk Ho to come after hearing rumors about the Ho faction, expecting a great performance.

In fact, Hwang Ji-ho seemed quite foolish at this moment. Not bringing Heuk Ho was actually commendable.

Even though Heuk Ho could perform, bringing him in front of the leader of the Jin faction, a possible hostile force, was nonsense.

'But the Yang faction leader isn't lying.'

I knew the Yang faction leader picked performers according to his tastes.

At first, Hwang Ji-ho had tried to bait the Yang faction leader with Gwon Je-in's performance but failed.

Thinking about how he had even visited Eungwang High with Jeong Hae-su, the Ineung gayageum player, to present an Ineung instrument as a gift, it seemed the Yang faction leader had quite a refined taste.

As Heuk Ho didn't come and Hwang Ji-ho hadn't planned to call him, the mountain goat head became even more agitated.

[If only that nightmare weren't here, I'd have put them all to sleep and kicked them out!]

"Go ahead. I want to see if the power that put the students of Sinyeok School to sleep works on me as well."

[If they fall asleep, the nightmare will come out! No way!]

Wait, does the Yang faction leader know that when I fall asleep, the nightmare will move?

I thought he was isolated and didn't know much, but he seemed to have more information than I thought.

It wasn't just me who thought so. Hwang Ji-ho's gaze became even more dangerous.

"I must hear your story. Come out, or let me send my people in."

"Yeah, we need to see it in person to talk."

[No, go away!]

The Tigers treated the Yang faction leader's broken promise like that of a thug, but at this point, I wasn't sure who the thug was.

While the mountain goat head was screeching, Hwang Ji-ho was calculating the level of attack that would not break the truce.

If left unchecked, physical conflict was inevitable.

Meanwhile, some were still calmly introducing themselves and exchanging greetings.

Hyeonmu and In Seon-oh were doing so.

Hyeonmu had probably expected this turn of events, so why was he just watching?

"Did you think it's strange that I didn't intervene?"

Hyeonmu, feeling my gaze, read my thoughts accurately and spoke.

The Jin faction members were all quick to pick up on things.

Hyeonmu spoke in his usual kind manner.

"Didn't you prepare? Show me your skills."

As someone with precognition, Hyeonmu was confident.

Though he mentioned preparation, it was more of a minor insurance.

Still, I decided to make the suggestion.

I nodded, and Hyeonmu smiled slightly, while In Seon-oh took a step back and continued observing the situation.

"My long-time friend, the Sheep of Slumber. This child wants to greet you. Be generous and let him perform his duty." S.am-pl.e+ fr!om My Vi$r*t-u*al L+i@b+ra^r#y+ E#m#pi#r%e—r&e&a*d m*or$e on M&#VL-EMPY&&R#.*

When Hyeonmu spoke gently, the mountain goat head's attitude softened.

If Hyeonmu had used force to confront the Tigers while trying to bring the nightmare into their territory, it might have seemed like a goddess in contrast.

Since Hyeonmu had opened the opportunity for conversation, I decided not to miss it.

"Hello. My apologies for the late introduction. I am Jo Yi-shin."

[Ah, still so polite. Fine, I got the greeting. Now go back carefully.]

As soon as the Yang faction leader received my greeting, he immediately tried to kick me out. The excited Tigers tried to stop him, but he waved them away.

As I stopped the Tigers, the mountain goat head seemed to calm down a bit.

Maybe it was reassuring to see someone holding back the Tigers.

When the mountain goat head finally stopped, I seized the moment to speak.

"I have a proposal."

Upon hearing this, even the Tigers noticeably calmed down, and Yong Je-gun's eyes lit up.

The Yang faction leader asked in an uninterested tone.

[What proposal? I just want you to leave quickly. Do you know what you're carrying?]

"Yes, I know. That's why I came here to learn more. But first, would you listen to this?"

I turned on my device and, making sure the mountain goat head could clearly see, I displayed a hologram and played a video.

The mountain goat head gasped.

The person in the video was Jeong Hae-su, the senior from Class 0 who had graduated, and the sub-leader who played the Ineung gayageum.

And in Jeong Hae-su's hands was the Ineung gayageum, the one that the Yang faction leader had gifted.

[That's what I gave! I've never heard it played with that one!]

This gayageum wasn't crafted by a master; it was a rare Ineung instrument dropped from another world.

Items from that world, depending on its type, sometimes have influences from the land they came from. It was said that this item appeared in a high rarity ruin-type world in the Manju-Yeoseo region.

The Yang faction leader had bought this rare item and presented it to Jeong Hae-su without any conditions.

Jeong Hae-su had rejected it several times, but eventually reluctantly took the Ineung gayageum. He had also turned down the Yang faction leader's invitation to his domain.

So, the Yang faction leader likely hadn't seen Jeong Hae-su perform with that instrument.

'Though Jeong Hae-su ignored the Yang faction leader's words, he was easily swayed by the Dokkomiro album that hadn't even been released yet.'

Dokkomiro had received an early copy of the album and even got it signed for me as a gift.

When I asked Dokkomiro if I could use this for a trade with Jeong Hae-su, the Pae-wang agreed casually.

Although I'd have to receive my copy of the album after its release, I couldn't miss the opportunity to use it to catch the Yang faction leader's attention.

Jeong Hae-su and his sibling Dokkomiro's fan, Jeong Heon, had also gotten involved, but I ignored that.

I played the video for about 10 seconds before stopping it.

[Ahhh! What's this?! Play more! I want to hear him play it with that!]

The mountain goat head screamed.

It seemed that Jeong Hae-su's Ineung gayageum performance, which couldn't be heard by the Yang faction leader, was something the leader had been desperately longing for.

Though the performance was good, to my ears, Heuk Ho or Gwon Je-in and Gwon Lena sounded far better. The Yang faction leader's taste was still hard to understand.

"Since you allowed my visit today and agreed to speak directly, I'll give you this video."

[Well, the video's tempting, but...]

"I could also invite Jeong Hae-su to Jeju to hear his performance in person."

[Aaaahhh...]

The mountain goat head seemed to lose strength and stagger.

After agonizing, the Yang faction leader looked at Hwang Ji-ho and said,

[He also wants to hear Heuk Ho play! If you promise, I'll agree!]

"Even if Heuk Ho doesn't come, I won't bring him here. If you come to hear it yourself, I'll consider it."

[Ughh... Fine! I'll wait!]

In the end, the Yang faction leader gave in.

The force that the Yang faction leader had added to the 12 Zodiac barrier swirled chaotically.

It seemed he was preparing to welcome guests.

'Soon, I'll have to bring the graduated primitives to Jeju for training. Then I can have Jeong Hae-su perform here, and I won't have to make excuses about muscle loss.'

When the 12 Zodiac alliance meeting was held, the Yang faction leader had arrogantly stated that nightmares couldn't enter his domain. To bring me in, he would need to prepare accordingly.

While the Yang faction leader prepared, Hyeonmu quietly approached and spoke.

"I believed in you."

But this time, it wasn't exactly due to my strength. The Yang faction leader was incredibly easy to handle, and I had a perfect bait in Jeong Hae-su, which made things easier.

I expressed this in a way that wouldn't make the Yang faction leader upset if he heard it, but Hyeonmu didn't accept my explanation.

"Such humility. Compared to the Ho faction, you dealt with the Sheep of Slumber very wisely."

"Hyeonmu, it's as if you're saying I didn't do anything. Heuk Ho's performance was part of the deal. Of course, I don't deny that things went smoothly because of Jo Yi-shin."

At that moment, part of the barrier opened, and the mountain goat head, which had been frozen like a decoration, opened its mouth.

[Come in. And once you're inside, send me the video right away. If you have more tracks, send them all. This is the device code.]

The mountain goat head immediately handed me the device code.

Among the 12 Zodiac leaders, the most secretive Jin faction leader had been difficult to deal with, but honestly, he was the easiest to manage.

[We'll allow you to come to Shinyeok, but you can't come inside the inner barrier.]

"This isn't /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ technically Yang faction's divine domain."

[Nightmare Insomnia is a higher existence, so a divine-level barrier is necessary! That's why it's temporarily my divine domain! Anyway, all the other Yang faction members are inside, and you'll only meet me and then leave!]

"Doesn't matter, I don't need to see anyone else."

[Ughh... Hurry up and speak, then leave!]

The place the mountain goat head guided us to was isolated by multiple barriers, and no other Yang faction energy could be felt.

Looking at the table and chairs crudely made from logs, it seemed that even if the Tigers rampaged and broke things, the furniture wouldn't be a problem.

In a hastily prepared space for a brief meeting with the Yang faction leader, someone wearing a sheep mask was waiting for us.

'That must be the Yang faction leader.'

The Yang faction leader, seemingly unwilling to show his face to me, didn't try to take off the mask.

Pointing to the log pieces, he spoke.

"I am the Sheep of Slumber, the leader of the Yang faction. I can't offer a welcome, but please sit down."

The Sheep of Slumber seemed displeased, but when I sent two videos of Jeong Hae-su, he checked them and trembled with joy.

Perhaps because of that, he seemed much calmer than when he was communicating through the mountain goat head.

The Sheep of Slumber looked around the room and then fixed his gaze on In Seon-oh.

"By the way, is that guy also your guest? He looks like one of the noisy ones who came to our domain before?"

"That's right. He seems to have something to ask about nightmares, so it's better to hear his story first."

"I've been wanting to hear from this child too."

Hwang Ji-ho seemed to want to extract information from In Seon-oh first.

'He didn't lose all his wisdom, even though he was rampaging today.'

It would be nearly impossible for In Seon-oh to avoid talking now.

The Sheep of Slumber directly asked, and Hwang Ji-ho made the suggestion, with Hyeonmu also chiming in. So, the answer had to come.

Silence could be maintained, but it would become much harder to make valuable statements.

"Hello, I'm In Seon-oh, a second-year student from Eungwang High, Class 0. And..."

In Seon-oh calmly finished his introduction.

"I am the companion of Nightmare Insomnia, a candidate for the incarnation of nightmares."