Ex Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School

When Baek Ho mentioned the word “nightmare,” Jeok Ho’s curses paused for a moment.
For beings that needed sleep for survival, especially those with a true name, the weight of a nightmare was significant.

Even the leaders of the 12 Zodiac Alliance’s true bloods would step back before nightmares, as Insomnium was an extraordinary entity.
Except for Baek Ho, the other three Hojo family members quickly recalled the information they had about nightmares and fell into thought.
‘The leaders of the two races said they could feel the nightmare beyond the magic circle. And each time, Jo Yi-shin was there…’

‘Insomnium hadn’t been active since about twenty years ago. Could it be that the nightmare is connected to that?’
‘With such a great secret, no wonder Baek Ho has lost his mind.’
Baek Ho’s words were hard to believe, but none of the Hojo family members doubted what he said itself.

Rather than questioning the words, they were suspicious of Baek Ho’s mental state.
The way Baek Ho, who usually remained silent and stoic, was now smiling and speaking at length made it somewhat understandable, as Jeok Ho had said, to believe Baek Ho had lost his mind.
Jeok Ho openly pointed this out.

“Why do you keep smiling like a madman, Baek Ho? Are we making you laugh? The only thing that’s funny is the contents inside Baek Ho’s head.”
“We’re probably not the reason you’re laughing.”
Eun Ho maintained a calm expression, even though he knew the big secret.

Jeok Ho and Hwang Ho found Eun Ho’s unwavering demeanor far more chilling than Baek Ho’s madness.
The room fell silent for a moment, and then Eun Ho spoke.
“Baek Ho hyung, you and Yi-shin hyung are connected by your true names. I guess you’re enjoying yourself after seeing Yi-shin hyung’s reaction.”

“You know me well. You’re a true younger brother.”
“Ha.”
Baek Ho casually responded to Eun Ho’s words, and once again the living room filled with curses from Jeok Ho.

Hwang Ho, who had been struggling to speak as if overloaded, quietly sighed in frustration.
Baek Ho’s shameless behavior, his talk of true names and nightmares, and the dangerous secrets linked with the Hojo family’s benefactor made his insides churn. He felt a disturbance in his energy as well.
Suddenly, Hwang Ho recalled a past event.
—Jo Yi-shin, do you need a blessing?

—No.
On the day the 12 Zodiac Alliance held their meeting, Hwang Ho had tried to give Jo Yi-shin a blessing.
At that time, Jo Yi-shin flatly refused, not even listening to what kind of blessing it was.

Since then, he had refused several times.
But it seemed that Jo Yi-shin had received Baek Ho’s true name as a blessing a long time ago.
‘When I tried to offer Jo Yi-shin a blessing, Baek Ho was right there next to him.’

This thought made Hwang Ho feel even more frustrated.
He glared at Baek Ho as a form of protest, but Baek Ho didn’t care at all.
Jeok Ho started to calm down, and Eun Ho spoke again.

“Baek Ho hyung, there’s something I need to confirm. Are you talking about the nightmare that Yi-shin hyung is facing, not just a bad dream, but the higher existence of nightmares, Insomnium?”
“That’s correct.”
“Are you saying Jo Yi-shin fought Insomnium?”

“That’s right. But it’s not exactly like that.”
Jeok Ho let out another stream of curses, which could be interpreted as “What do you mean it’s not exactly like that, you crazy bastard,” but Baek Ho’s expression remained unchanged.
In fact, it seemed to deepen into an even bigger smile.

“It’s not that Jo Yi-shin fought Insomnium. It’s more accurate to say that he is still fighting it.”
“Then Jo Yi-shin is still…!”
Jo Yi-shin was still facing Insomnium while asleep.

The Hojo family members present all realized this fact at once.
If they hadn’t known Jo Yi-shin for long, or if he hadn’t been their benefactor, they wouldn’t have thought to keep him in the mansion.
They would have immediately kicked out anyone who was dealing with nightmares and made sure the nightmare wouldn’t harm the Hojo family or the descendants.

But none of them thought like that.
Among the people here, the only one who thought Jo Yi-shin shouldn’t have stepped foot in the Hojo family’s territory was Jo Yi-shin himself.
Baek Ho, who had confirmed this with his own eyes, smirked slightly, and the Hojo family members glaring at him clearly saw it.

“Are you enjoying yourself by laughing alone?”
“Of course, I’m enjoying it. Jo Yi-shin planned to inform us about the nightmare and leave this mansion. He intended never to step foot here again. It’s so amusing to see his plans go awry.”
The Hojo family members were furious at Baek Ho’s words.

Since they couldn’t get angry at Jo Yi-shin, they vented their frustration on Baek Ho, who kept smiling, making their anger burn even more.
“If it’s Yi-shin hyung, I knew he’d do that.”
“No, are you telling me he was planning that while unconscious?”

“Jo Yi-shin…”
The Hojo family members who were speaking up suddenly realized something important.
It seemed that Jo Yi-shin couldn’t remember the nightmares while he was awake.

That’s why, while he was asleep, he had made these pointless plans through Baek Ho.
Had he known about the nightmare from the start, especially when his connection to the Hojo family was still weak, he would have quickly distanced himself from them before staying in the mansion.
“Yi-shin hyung has said he hasn’t dreamed since he was a child. It’s not that he’s never had dreams. He must have tried to forget the fact that he intentionally dreams to suppress the nightmares.”

Eun Ho, still looking at Baek Ho, muttered his thoughts.
Baek Ho didn’t deny Eun Ho’s words.
“But something must have happened for Yi-shin hyung to become aware of the nightmare while awake. Considering when Yi-shin hyung’s attitude toward you changed, it was probably during the time he was training at the Eunryeongwon?”

“That’s right.”
“It matches the time when Baek Ho’s usual silence started to fade. So that’s what happened when you kept talking, huh?”
“That’s right.”

Even with Eun Ho’s sarcastic remarks, Baek Ho answered promptly.
Jeok Ho, who was about to shoot another biting comment, was stopped by Eun Ho, who raised a hand in a gentle gesture.
Shocked by Eun Ho’s calmness, Jeok Ho suppressed his restless energy.

“There’s a lot to hear from Baek Ho hyung. Baek Ho hyung, please tell us about the first time you met Yi-shin hyung. What happened?”
Baek Ho recalled the moment he first met Jo Yi-shin, crossing into this world.
He remembered seeing the young Jo Yi-shin beyond the dreamlike, dark night sky.

The collision between worlds.
After that, the laws of the world had changed.
Only a few chosen individuals, those who encountered the mysteries or were tied to the impossible, could use the mysterious power known as “inability.”

Humans, as well as higher beings, true bloods, and descendants, could now perceive existence, and even ordinary humans, who had never been tied to any unknown force, could now wield power as players.
Baek Ho, along with several other powerful true bloods, had sensed the impending collision of worlds and used it to search for Eun Ho.
Baek Ho had finally managed to track Eun Ho’s presence, but because there was no connection to that world, he couldn’t stay long.

So, Baek Ho left his true name in that world.
It was a costly decision, but Baek Ho wasn’t about to abandon his younger brother.
But this price was not something Baek Ho carried alone.

“Heavenly God, I will become the protector of the sacred land and watch over and protect Baek Ho. As the leader of the Hojo family, I will shoulder Baek Ho’s arrogance and sin.”
Baek Ho had become a true blood, obtaining his true name when the Heavenly God bestowed it upon him.
Just as the dragon people served the Dragon King God, the Hojo family served the Heavenly God.

Though Baek Ho, along with a few others in the Hojo family, might have become a mythical being on their own, they never forgot the grace the Heavenly God had given to the entire family.
However, Baek Ho arrogantly claimed that he had used the true name the Heavenly God granted for his own amusement, and refused the help of the Heavenly God.
The Heavenly God, enraged, made Baek Ho into a beast of the sacred land, and Hwang Ho volunteered to be the protector of the sacred land.

Thus, part of Hwang Ho’s avatars remained bound to the sacred land.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than .net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
“Hwang Ho, you didn’t have to shoulder my sins.”

“Who else could monitor you but me? Only by volunteering would the Heavenly God calm down.”
When the Heavenly God withdrew, Baek Ho spoke to the youthful Hwang Ho.
Though they had become the beast and the protector, Hwang Ho still treated Baek Ho as a close friend.

Hwang Ho, who had taken the Heavenly God’s wrath upon himself, supported the battered Baek Ho as he said.
“If you ever realize what caused you to lose your true name, and if you feel like seeking forgiveness, come find me. You should rest in the sacred land.”
Hwang Ho didn’t ask anything further.

He assumed that if Baek Ho couldn’t tell the Heavenly God, he couldn’t tell Hwang Ho either.
But Baek Ho had a different intention.
‘I can’t leave Eun Ho’s matter to the Heavenly God. The Heavenly God has no intention or power to bring Eun Ho here. Even if it angers the Heavenly God, I must handle it.’

Even though most of his abilities were sealed by becoming a beast, Baek Ho still harbored the arrogant thought of crossing the boundaries of the world beyond dreams.
Baek Ho, without his true name, was still strong enough to cross into another world using dreams, even without the power the Heavenly God had granted.
And when he finally found the trace of his true name, Baek Ho felt the presence of something.

‘There’s a being this dark and cold…!’
It was a sensation he hadn’t felt even when he confronted foreign invaders in the dark thousands of years ago.
Baek Ho steadied his trembling body and pressed forward.

There was such a terrifying presence in the world where his younger brother resided, and he couldn’t just leave it unattended.
He was ready to face whatever it was.
‘The only darkness that could emit such a presence in a dream would be Insomnium. Since it moves through dreams, it wouldn’t be strange for it to be here.’

As he advanced, the darkness scattered throughout the dream tried to choke the life out of him, and Baek A had to swing his sword several times.
The darkness surrounding him sometimes felt like smoke, sometimes like a swamp, and at times like vines.
That darkness tried to steal his breath again and again.

‘This is strange. There’s less resistance than I expected. It should have noticed my approach.’
Though puzzled, Baek Ho didn’t hesitate when facing a nightmare.
He advanced, slicing through the dark energy with his sword, Baek A, and finally reached the nightmare.

Baek Ho expected something even more terrifying, but his expectation was wrong.
Beyond the darkness, there were stars.
The space that had seemed dark and cold now felt completely different.

‘It’s like the night sky just before dawn.’
And under the night sky, there was someone.
The surroundings were dark, but that person was like a star, faintly glowing.

It seemed as though this
being had filled the darkness called by the nightmare with starlight.
The person appeared to be a child, no more than ten years old.

The child wore thick, horn-rimmed glasses for vision protection and held a chess piece in hand.
Beyond the child’s gaze, there was a massive chessboard.
In that moment, Baek Ho realized.

‘No way… is this child playing chess against the nightmare?’
The reason the nightmare had allowed Baek Ho to approach so easily seemed to be because this child was holding it back.
To think that such a small child could restrain the huge and dark nightmare—Baek Ho couldn’t believe it.

As Baek Ho couldn’t take his eyes off the star-like child, the child turned and looked at him.
The child, covered in the marks of battle, gazed quietly at Baek Ho.
The child spoke first, before Baek Ho could say anything.

“What are you looking at?”
The child, like a morning star, was sharp and prickly.