Gong Cheonghwon was, without exaggeration, the incarnation of kindness in every aspect—his character, appearance, voice, and gait all radiated goodness.

Yet, the way Gong Cheonghwon expressed that kindness was sometimes extreme.

His overflowing zeal to impart knowledge to students sometimes manifested as brutally harsh exams, and he even struck down criminals threatening the world’s goodwill with words—literally, using language-based magic.

Eunho described Gong Cheonghwon’s “walk” as follows:

―Suppressing illegal item traffickers, tracking down the hideouts of Jin clan smugglers, or removing harmful psychic residues from the surface without safety gear hardly qualifies as a simple stroll.

Gong Cheonghwon undertook those acts alone, which sent chills through the Ho clan once they learned the details.

Even among the Ho clan, though they had come to recognize him as a rookie, they still had no memory of him, nor did he have the same power during the Gaekcheon myth, so their unease was understandable.

But in truth, the Ho clan’s own methods were as extreme as Gong Cheonghwon’s, so in essence, they were alike.

‘When the freshmen went to the youth retreat, he handled pests affected by psychic energy,’ they said.

Though aware that pests resist language magic, Gong Cheonghwon personally undertook pest control work for the students.

He also called that work a “walk.”

“Who did you beat this time? I’ve never seen anything survive your walks.”

“Jeokho!”

Though there were no curses, Cheongho’s sharp retort caused him to glare.

Standing nearby, Ungnyeo briefly judged whether Jeokho’s words were polite or not, and seeming to pass, she didn’t release her grip on Jeokho’s arm.

Gong Cheonghwon answered calmly.

“I didn’t beat anyone. I just couldn’t find anyone to beat.”

Though peaceful, the conditional implication—if he found someone, he would have beaten them—made it less so.

If Eunho had been here, she would have retorted sharply with a smile.

But only Ungnyeo holding the reins on Jeokho, Cheongho firmly siding with Gong Cheonghwon, a headache-looking Hwang Jiho, and the white tiger watching absentmindedly were present.

“You don’t have no thoughts.”

Seeing the white tiger answer my random musings made me certain he had none.

Anyway, I firmly agreed and listened to Gong Cheonghwon.

“A donation arrived at the Eunkwang Hanbit Orphanage for Chuseok. Most were holiday specialties safe for children to eat.”

Hwang Jiho looked toward Cheongho.

Until Cheongho returned, the orphanage had been managed by disciples of Hwang Jiho and Cheongho.

Now, full authority had passed to Cheongho, responsible for security and supplies.

Cheongho nodded once and spoke to Gong Cheonghwon.

“The donated items were double-checked. Since mercenary groups once targeted the orphanage and Namgung was involved, we had to carefully screen the goods. Most came from Hwangmyeong, so there should be nothing to worry about for the teacher.”

“Yes, the source and items themselves had no major issues. But there was something troubling.”

“What could bother you so much that you’d go walking again on such a good day, after fighting some knight or whatever?”

“Knights” was harsh wording from Ungnyeo’s perspective, so her gaze grew sharp.

Gong Cheonghwon calmly answered Jeokho’s rough words.

“Fighting that knight was the trigger. Perhaps due to encountering pure intellect, I became sensitive to it.”

Did Gong Cheonghwon gain such power?

No—he had it from the start, but only realized it now because of the fight.

“Thanks to that, I detected problems with specialties from certain regions. The problematic ones were imported products disguised as domestic.”

Excluding counterfeit domestic squid jerky, all were from Gangwon Province.

The demon realm scenario’s setting was Gangwon.

The mastermind, who mastered intellect manipulation like Namgung, had already laid hands on that land.

Gong Cheonghwon sensed this through the holiday gifts and set out on his walk.

I asked him,

“Gong Cheonghwon, did you achieve anything on your walk?”

“Not yet. But I want to look around more.”

He hadn’t found anything special but remained concerned.

Jeokho complained the rookie wasted time, and Cheongho lightly scolded Jeokho to stop.

Though opinions differed, I thought some progress was made.

‘Gong Cheonghwon became sensitive to intellect and took the trouble to walk—this matters.’

According to Lubowon, the brightest light descending from the sky casts shadows on the ground, and where shadows linger long, changes occur.

Before the demon realm scenario, the number of strategies we must prepare would increase.

During the remaining Chuseok holiday, I met many tigers.

Relatively young Jukho came with his disciple Kim Yuri to greet the elders.

That same day, Andain visited with the Ho clan couple.

It’s common to visit the main family during holidays, but staying at the Tiger Mansion made me the one receiving greetings, which felt awkward.

Especially since during the warm exchanges someone brought up my MVP in the exchange match, making me very embarrassed.

“Yi-shin, it was so cool I regretted not watching live. PlayerZ is said to represent players’ fights well, and seeing your game proved it.”

I felt overwhelmed by Andain’s sincere, kind words but suppressed it.

If not for the white tiger beside me preparing to tease me immediately, I might have expressed my feelings more openly.

“You’d be better if you played that game.”

“None could match Yi-shin. Suhyeok, watching with us, said the same.”

Joo Suhyeok said that?

The fact they saw my match belatedly was thanks to someone capturing their warm moment in a photo and posting it on the player community.

They hadn’t come to see my match due to responding to the Ministry of Defense incident.

But they did attend the afterparty, watching videos together and naturally sitting side by side.

That was great.

The problem was the photo’s composition.

‘...My face was close-up on the broadcast they were watching.’

Because of that, it looked like I was between them.

I want to believe it wasn’t intentional, but the comment included a slang word implying it was.

Anyway, I was on screen, and they spent cozy time outside the screen, so no big deal.

“Ah, Yi-shin, before dinner I want to consult with you!”

“I don’t know what, but if it’s a consultation I can handle, I’ll help.”

“Me too.”

When Kim Yuri spoke to me, the tigers in class 0 of second grade eagerly volunteered.

Even the white tiger watched quietly, seeming ready to help if needed.

Since Hwang Jiho or Cheongho would intervene, the white tiger’s help wouldn’t be needed anyway.

“Great! We need to coordinate schedules, and I think everyone’s not ready yet.”

“Ready?”

Kim Yuri reminded us of the schedule most of Eunkwang High had forgotten or tried to forget.

“The midterms are coming soon.”

“Ah!”

Eunho’s descendants playing with Heukho heard “midterms” and turned in shock, some even screamed.

Everyone had put their studies aside during the holidays, so they thought preparations were done, but apparently not.

After a joyful exchange and a warm holiday, a huge trial awaited Eunkwang High students.

When the Chuseok holiday ended and we returned to Eunkwang High, the school felt colder.

Partly due to the season’s shift into autumn, but mostly because of the looming exams that darkened everyone’s mood.

Maeng Hyo-don, one of the risk candidates for failing, seemed to have completely forgotten midterms and was shocked in class after talking about ribs eaten with Tak Geosan.

“Midterms? Didn’t we just start school? What exam?”

“Ah... midterms...”

Kwon Rena, who’d faced big troubles like the secret of her birth, trials with Lee Yeoreum, and reunion with family, was also shocked.

Maeng Hyo-don was distracted by food and martial arts, but even for Rena, preparing for midterms was difficult.

Kim Yuri and I considered this and started adjusting schedules and study plans toward the holiday’s end.

‘Others might complain but won’t fail. Risky ones are probably Rena, Maeng Hyo-don, and maybe Dokgo Miro who may have difficulty attending.’

Dokgo Miro, about to debut a single, was absent from class.

One of his selling points was being an active Eunkwang High student, well understood by him and his agency.

But being an active student wasn’t only advantageous.

He had no plans to drop out and wasn’t on vacation, so his activities would be less than other idols, rarely doing variety or events.

Still, he’d put full effort on stage, and pre-orders were accumulating.

‘Dokgo Miro wouldn’t want rumors that he failed because of idol activities. Hopefully, it’s fine.’

If real problems arose, the Overlord would ask us for help first.

For now, we comforted Rena and Maeng Hyo-don, already tired just hearing study group plans, and prepared for midterms.

“Guys, cheer up! After midterms, there’s the Eunkwang Festival. Let’s do well on exams and have fun!”

“...I want to play soon.”

“It looks hard for Sosaeng to prepare for the festival.”

Sawol Seyum, who usually slouched at the study café desk, looked incredulous at Jin Jeongmuk writing carefully with a brush.

Usually, preparing for exams by writing one by one with a brush pen would look harder.

“I already saw a junior preparing for the festival. Sosaeng lacks the right mindset.”

“Midterms aren’t over yet? Class 0?”

“Not class 0.”

At Guseulbi’s comment, Jin Jeongmuk denied it.

Who among non-class 0 juniors starts festival prep so early?

Normally, even sane kids lose their focus during exams.

But Jin Jeongmuk’s words showed this junior was unaffected by exams, though their behavior and festival plans made no sense.

“I saw first-year junior Cha Seokwon digging the ground. Definitely festival prep.”