Chapter 146

Chapter 146

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 146“Good morning~ Hm? President. You don't look so good?”

Young-je arrived at the Academy with his usual smile, then flinched when he saw me.

“Ah, just had a lot happen over the weekend.”

I dealt with Jeju Island's four major factions. Killed a dragon, saved Jeju Island from an evil dragon, strengthened my body...

Yeah, a lot really did happen.

“You really do look pretty exhausted right now. By the way, did you hear about that?”

“That?”

“That communications were restored on Jeju Island this time. Apparently someone defeated Fafnir?”

Maybe because two-way communication had become possible with Jeju Island, which had remained firmly closed off until now.

The fact that Jeju Island had been liberated seemed to have quickly spread throughout the Korean Peninsula.

I immediately went online and looked through articles related to Jeju Island.[(Breaking) Jeju Island Liberated. Beautiful Jeju Again?...][Jeju Island. Most of the Land Revealed to Have Been Purchased by an Unidentified Man...][Ministry of Land. Sale of Jeju Island Territory Followed Lawful Procedures and Results...][Fafnir Who Devoured Jeju Island. Where Is the Corpse Now? In-Depth Report...][Bishop Augustus of the Halla Diocese. The Result Guided by the Lord...][Japan Shocked and China Horrified by Jeju Island's Recapture. International Reactions?...]

Looking through them, all the articles talked only about the other events from yesterday while completely omitting anything about me.

Judging by the fact that the organization hadn't contacted me separately, it seemed even the government still hadn't realized that we were the ones who took Fafnir.

Well, if Halla Cathedral or members of the Blue Yaksha spoke up, it would be exposed immediately... but knowing them, it should remain safe for the time being.

“By the way, President. I couldn't reach you over the weekend. Did something happen?”

“Hm? I went somewhere for a bit and left my phone behind. Was something going on?”

Young-je shook his head at my question.

“No, we were supposed to get together with the others and study over the weekend, remember? But only Boss couldn't be reached, so I wondered if something happened.”

“Ah.”

So it was nothing serious.

Then──“This is you, Boss! This is you, Boss! This is you, Boss!”

At that moment, Jin-woo, who had unusually arrived at school early, came charging toward me while shouting noisily.

“What exactly is supposed to be me?”

“This! It's Boss!”

What he showed me while shouting was the Jeju Island article I'd just been looking through.

“Why is this guy talking nonsense again? Why would I go to Jeju Island?”

It was obvious he'd just thrown out a guess, so I answered in an indifferent voice.

Then he tilted his head.

“Really? I thought Boss stormed Jeju Island to compete for the title of strongest on Earth and chopped Fafnir's head clean off.”

Just what kind of image of me existed inside this guy's brain?

It's not like I'm some weirdo aiming to become the strongest man on Earth.

And chopping Fafnir's head clean off...

Well, it wasn't exactly wrong.

Seriously, he had strangely good instincts about the weirdest things.

“Even for me, does it make sense to hunt a dragon? I just met one of Old Man Kwak Chun-sik's acquaintances and went to church.”

“Church? Ah, Boss was Catholic, right. That's a shame. I believed Boss would become a Dragon Slayer.”

“Is that so.”

In the end, Jin-woo accepted my explanation and sat down.

“By the way, Boss. What's that on your arm? An arm sleeve?”

Then he noticed the flesh-colored sleeve covering my arm and tilted his head again.

“The weather isn't even that cold, so why are you wearing an arm sleeve? Did Boss always wear those?”

“...

I'm wearing it for reasons I can't talk about, so don't ask.”

“Then I'm even more curious.”

“If I tell you not to ask, then just don't ask, bastard.”

“Okay.”

Apparently he'd finally understood.

He silently began taking books out of his bag one by one and placing them on his desk.

Still, seeing the kids carrying all kinds of workbooks because it was exam season made me smile without realizing it.

Because...‘The Academy exams are high-school level.’Which meant I'd already studied this material years ago.

So as long as I performed reasonably well in the sparring portion, maintaining a top ranking shouldn't be too difficult.

“Hmm... Glasses. Can you explain this to me?”

“What is it?”

Jin-woo was concentrating hard on his workbook, and Young-je approached when he heard the request for help.

“...

This. It's really easy.”

“Ah, what! What! My old man said he won't give me any allowance if I don't rank near the top this time, so I have no choice but to study, okay?”

So that was why he'd suddenly decided to study.

Curious what sort of problem he was struggling with, I glanced over at his workbook.[Something about x and something about z.]

Hmm...‘Should I study too?’For some reason, even though it was definitely something I'd learned before, I couldn't understand what it was saying at all.

Maybe it'd be better to take first place in sparring and secure an overwhelming overall first place?

To do that, I'd have to beat Choi Yeon one more time...

“Hm?”

“What is it?”

While I was thinking that, the classroom suddenly began growing noisy.

Even Young-je and Jin-woo, who had been solving problems beside me, were staring somewhere as though mesmerized.

Wondering what was making them react like that, I turned my head too.

“Hm?”

I thought I understood why the atmosphere in the classroom had changed.

“...

Was my seat here?”

A completely worn-out school uniform, patchy stubble along his jaw, long unkempt hair, a face tanned pitch-black, and an Academy uniform that looked ready to burst at any moment.

“It's cold.”

Choi Kang-hyun.

He had returned after leaving for Busan for mentoring.

It wasn't difficult to guess why he'd returned to the Academy from Busan.

Midterms.

No matter how little he'd attended the Academy because of his mentor, this was an event every student was required to participate in, so he had no choice but to return.‘And his goal is definitely first place in the sparring rankings.’Since his written grades weren't very good, sparring was the only way for him to raise his ranking.

“Everyone, good morni── huh? Choi Kang-hyun? This person came back?”

The tense atmosphere in the classroom gradually loosened with Se-ah's arrival.

Looking surprised, Se-ah glanced repeatedly at Choi Kang-hyun as she approached us.

“That person. He came back?”

Young-je nodded at Se-ah's whispered question as she covered her mouth.

“Seems so? He definitely looks like he's changed a lot.”

Just as Young-je said, many things about him had changed.

And what had changed the most was the overwhelming mana I could feel from him.

“...

That's beyond what I expected.”

Maybe because he'd spent such a long time being taught by Young Hoem, unlike when I'd first seen him, mana wrapped around his whole body with remarkable stability, like watching a flowing river.

Looks like it's about time to harvest.

______________

“First of all, the review should pass without much trouble. Should I congratulate you in advance?”

Inside Familia's president's office.

Yuli, now accustomed to coming here in bat form, had arrived once again.

She naturally leaned back against the sofa and placed a document envelope on the table.

“Here. These are the things the president and the other executives did to interfere with you. But why did you ask me to organize all this? In the end, you stopped them.”

After checking the contents of the envelope she'd handed me, I shook my head and answered.

“Even so, they still tried to bare their fangs at me. We only avoided getting hit because we prepared beforehand. If we'd done nothing, we would've been helpless, so revenge should be thorough.”

The contents written on the papers were extremely varied.[Accidentally omitting submissions][Claiming the number of cases was exaggerated][Using other clubs to keep them in check]...

“They're really dirty bastards.”

If someone else saw it, they might say there was no way the student council would do things like this.

Yet the pages were packed with exactly those sorts of details.

“You've helped me a great deal, Senior. Thank you.”

“Don't mention it. I don't exactly like what the president has been doing lately either... So, you're about to become a Silver Club. Do you have any plans for afterward?”

“Plans?”

I'd already prepared enough plans to fill an entire book.

The timing simply wasn't right yet.

“First, I'm planning to start things one by one after midterms are over.”

“Ah. Right. Midterms. They're really annoying me too. Would you believe I even have people tailing me on the way home because they're trying to find my weaknesses?”That was probably because she ranked among the very top of the third-years.

Even I had noticed that the number of eyes on me had increased drastically today.

“I can relate somehow.”

“You were second-ranked too, right? So what did you do?”

“Nothing.”

“Hm?”

“I didn't do anything.”

Because the ring I'd obtained this time had solved it quickly.

The ‘Ancient Berserker's Ring(True)’ currently on my hand.

Thanks to its effect of making those nearby feel fear, I didn't particularly keep sensing people staring at me.

Of course, the effect seemed minimal against people with stronger mana than me like Yuli or those carrying special items.

“Hm?”

At that moment, Yuli flinched and stared blankly at the smartphone in her hand.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, the president sent a message saying there's an emergency meeting. I think I need to get going. Then I'll head out first, Junior?”

Yuli flew out through the small window, leaving me alone.

“An emergency meeting from Ray before midterms...?”

Could it be because of that?

At that moment, someone knocked on the door outside.

-Eugene. Can I come in?

A familiar voice.

It belonged to Choi Yeon, who had joined Familia not long ago.

“What is it?”

When I opened the door, Choi Yeon stood there with her usual blank expression.

“Ah. Hi.”

“...

Yeah, hi. Why are you at the president's office?”

“No reason. I don't have business with the president's office.”

“Hm? Then?”

“Hold on.”

Saying that, Choi Yeon slipped a hand into the small pouch she wore and began rummaging around for something.

“Ah. Found it.”

At the same time, something long slid out.

“This. It's finished.”

What she held out toward me was a long hwando that gave off an almost pure-white color.

“...

What's this?”

“My new sword made from what you gave me. I thought I should show it to you... want to see?”

She was willing to show me something that might become her main weapon.

Confidence?

No, knowing her, she had probably just shown it to me without thinking much about it.

“Sure.”

If I wanted a fair fight, normally I shouldn't look...

But how could I pass up the chance to see a sword made from a fragment of a holy sword?‘I can't resist a new item that never existed in the game.’The moment I received the sword from her, its information appeared before my eyes.

“Oh.”

The blade's abilities exceeded my expectations.[Name: Illusory White Holy Blade][Rank: Semi-Mythic][Type: Hwando][Description: A hwando made from a fragment of the mythical sword Excalibur. Influenced by Excalibur, it contains Divinity

and is ready at any moment to write a new myth together with its owner.

Because of its Divinity, it deals additional damage to enemies with the Evil

attribute.

Having reached Semi-Mythic rank, this sword does not wear down or break and maintains the highest level of sharpness.

It can cure status abnormalities three times per day and grants the user powerful magic resistance.

Greatly increases the user's healing power.]

Stats truly befitting the term holy sword.

Among them, what stood out most was the line saying it was ready to write a new myth.

In other words, it still held the potential to grow at any time.

“You got a good blade.”

Even I was satisfied with its abilities, and when I returned it to her and spoke, Choi Yeon nodded.

“Yeah. I think it's a good sword.”

Already treating it as a beloved weapon, she hugged the hwando against herself and nodded.

“Be nervous. During this midterm, what happened last time won't happen again.”

Apparently remembering how she'd lost when her sword broke last time, she looked at me and declared it.

“Of course. I haven't exactly been sitting around doing nothing either.”

I nodded at her words and glanced at my right arm beneath my shirt and sleeve.

The Narrative Engraving I'd newly obtained this time.

Remembering what happened with Parnello last night, a faint smile formed on my lips.