Chapter 163

Chapter 163

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 163I'm afraid.

I'm afraid of that man.

A boy brought here by Grandmaster Kwak Chun-sik, who was no different from the heavens to us.

The boy, dressed in an Academy uniform and wearing an extremely bored expression, naturally sat beside Grandmaster Kwak Chun-sik.

Grandmaster Kwak Chun-sam on the right, and that boy on the left.

There was only one thing that sight could mean.‘That boy is Grandmaster Kwak Chun-sik's direct disciple

.’The masters' demonstrations began, and Grandmasters Kwak Chun-sik and Kwak Chun-sam observed them with serious eyes.

The same as always.

Right. With the experience and years the two of them possessed, that was only natural.

But just what was that boy? A boy watching the masters' demonstrations with eyes that didn't fall short at all compared to the other two.

The emotion rising from the sight of him looking down arrogantly as though he were watching insects was fear rather than anger.

If my body trembled this much just from him sitting still, there was no way he could be an ordinary child.

It was the kind of gaze one would expect only from a grandmaster of an era, yet it could be seen in that boy.

“...

Senior Brother.”

“You felt it too.”

The junior brother beside me grabbed my sleeve with trembling hands.

“Do you really have to be at that level to become the Grandmaster's disciple?”

But I couldn't exactly admit that I was frightened too in front of my scared junior brother.

“Who knows. We haven't actually seen anything with our own eyes yet.”

“That's... true, right?”

“Of course.”

All I could do.

Was pray in my heart.

Pray that boy was still weaker than us.

______________

‘Why is so much fear piling up?’Even though I was simply enjoying the demonstrations of Aura Style newly reinterpreted by representatives of countless branches according to their own individuality, for some reason fear began flowing toward me from the crowd.‘Is the person demonstrating martial arts over there that scary?’He certainly looked a little rough... but if his disciples felt fear from something this minor, just how terrifying was he normally? That thought crossed my mind.

“Eugene. What do you think?”

The Old Man, who had been quietly watching the demonstration, suddenly turned his head and asked me.

“You mean what he's demonstrating right now?”

“Yes. I'd like to hear your evaluation.”...

Was there even anything to evaluate?

“It just looks convenient.”

“Convenient?”

“Yes. Rather than firing aura like that, wouldn't extending it and striking be more lethal? Well, I suppose it'd be useful for ambushes or something.”

He blinked blankly after hearing me.

“Kahahahaha! Right. Exactly! You thought the same thing as me! Wahahahahaha!”

Apparently pleased with my answer, Kwak Chun-sik burst into loud laughter and nodded.

“Yes, just as you said. But you'd better keep in mind that only a few people in this world can do something like that. Kahaha!”

A little later, the instructor who had finished his demonstration bowed toward us in farewell.

“That concludes the demonstration by Lee Hee-seong, instructor of the Gwangju Branch!”

“Excellent. Continue to show even greater diligence in the future, Master Lee Hee-seong.”

“Thank you, Grandmaster!”

The technique he showed wasn't particularly amazing.

It was a technique that could be called a kind of Finger Flicking Skill, concentrating aura at the tips of the fingers and firing it.

However, I didn't need to hear anything to understand why Kwak Chun-sik's expression remained unchanged despite verbally praising him.

Releasing it after going through a process, and releasing it without any process.

In the face of overwhelming power and control, none of it mattered.

In short, if the body is bad, the brain suffers.

At the level of Old Man Kwak Chun-sik, it wasn't that he couldn't do it.

He had simply never bothered because there was no need.

“All right. Everyone worked hard.”

At that moment, Kwak Chun-sam rose from his seat and drew everyone's attention.

“With this, every branch has presented its achievements. Next, shall we watch the disciples spar among themselves? And as usual, the disciple who displays the greatest skill will receive an elixir prepared by Father, so please do your utmost.”

The masters' demonstrations were over, so now it was the disciples' turn.

Just as I was about to sigh while wondering how long I'd have to sit here, I felt a gaze from beside me.

When I turned my head, my eyes met Kwak Chun-sam's, who was looking at me.

“Uh... what is it?”

“Aren't you a disciple too? An Aura Style disciple.”

“Pardon? If we're being technical, yes, but... don't tell me you're saying I should go down there?”

I was clearly told I could just sit still and watch until someone challenged me.

I looked toward Kwak Chun-sik for help, and he nodded with a pleased smile.

“It's a good elixir. Why don't you try going for it?”

And he blinked twice.

That was a signal we'd established between us meaning to help each other when we were in trouble...

He's asking for my help just to make me go out there?

There had to be something going on.

“Then tell me just this. What kind of elixir is on the line for the disciples' spar?”

You know an ordinary elixir doesn't mean much to me.

That was the meaning contained in my reply. The one who answered my question was none other than Kwak Chun-sam.

“It's the antler of a Qilin that Father hunted in China long ago.”

“Qilin antler? You're giving away something that precious here?”

“Exactly. He treasured it so much before, yet a few days ago he suddenly said he'd put the antler up as the prize. Thanks to that, more people gathered than at any previous General Assembly.”

A few days ago?

That would have been around when the midterms ended...

Wait, did this old man call me here from the beginning just to give me this?

When I looked at the Old Man again, he was smiling brightly and giving me a thumbs-up below his body.

So, he's going to advertise me and give me the elixir too?

Normally, I would've asked why he was making such a huge fuss when he could've just given it to me...‘But if the prize is Qilin antler, then of course I'm grateful!’It was one of the top-tier elixirs that increased the durability of one's bones and muscles as well as mana affinity just by consuming it.

Even in the original game, to obtain it you had to either steal it from Kwak Chun-sik's safe or spend years rolling around as his chief disciple.

Being able to obtain it this way was no different from a great opportunity for me.

“So I just need to go down there and tussle a little with the other disciples?”

As I stood and rolled my wrists, Kwak Chun-sam smiled as though amused.

“Tussle? Though they may not look like it, some of them are B-rank heroes or masters of Aura Style.”B-rank, huh...

“It's fine. I've already eaten plenty.”

“Hm?”

For some reason, the fear I'd absorbed while sitting there was already overflowing.

With this much, I was confident I could more than hold my own.

“Ah, Eugene. Take this before you go down.”

As I started walking downward, Kwak Chun-sik grabbed my hand and placed a bracelet marked with the number [1]

into it.

“What's this?”

“You'll naturally find out once you put it on and go down.”...

It's not something weird, right?

I put on the bracelet he'd given me and slowly descended onto the stage, and the men in martial arts uniforms hesitantly backed away.

Normally, isn't this where someone spits out some despicable provocation like, ‘Who the hell are you to interfere?’ or ‘If you're just a brat, go home. What are you doing here?’

But for some reason, they weren't just refusing to speak to me.

They even seemed to avoid making eye contact.

If they're doing this on purpose, that's kind of hurtful.

It feels like I'm being ostracized.────Clang.

The gong rang once again.

“Disciples, listen! Before participating in this assembly, each of you should have received a numbered bracelet!”

At Kwak Chun-sam's booming voice, the others began rolling up their sleeves one by one and looking at the bracelets around their wrists.

So that's why the Old Man told me to take the bracelet.

“The sparring will consist of a total of five battles, and only one person who survives all of them will be able to claim the ‘Qilin Antler’! Numbers 1 through 100 to the left! Numbers 101 through 200 to the right! Disciples, take your positions!”

At the same time, the disciples immediately began moving.

I'm number 1, so I should go left?

Just as I was about to move.

“Ah, Senior Uncle!”

A familiar voice rang out.

“You guys are...?”

“Wow. We said we might see you here, and you really came!”

When I turned toward the voice, I saw the apprentices of the Blue Yaksha Workshop who had fought Fafnir together with me on Jeju Island.

“It's only been a few days. Still, it's nice to see familiar faces.”

“Indeed. Ah, our Workshop Master told us that if we met Senior Uncle, we absolutely had to pass along his regards.”

That meant Yoon Gwang-su hadn't been able to come here.

No wonder I hadn't seen him when the instructors were giving their demonstrations.

“Is work on Jeju Island that busy?”

“Haha. That's right. We've received a flood of commissions related to the restoration of Jeju Island. Ah, of course, if a request comes in from Senior Uncle, it'll be handled with the highest priority.”

The apprentices bowed as they spoke.

At that sight, whispers began coming from around us.‘Aren't those the lunatics from Jeju Island?’‘What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Why would those crazy bastards from Jeju be here── wait, it's really them?’‘That's the Grandmaster's disciple up front. Are they bowing to him right now?’‘He's talking down to them so naturally?’‘What kind of relationship do they have that those lunatics are bowing?’The rumors about the Blue Yaksha Workshop were famous, so every comment was negative.

They're actually fairly considerate once you experience them directly... they even serve water well.

But the apprentices, as though accustomed to it, simply smiled happily as though enjoying the attention.

“By the way, what numbers did you get?”

“Ahh, we're numbers 45 through 48.”

That meant they were on the same left side as me.

“Looks like we'll fight on the same team again this time.”

“Having Senior Uncle on the same team is reassuring. We'll definitely get through the first round. Hahahaha!”

Maybe because they'd personally witnessed the battle against Fafnir.

They were already smiling with expressions as though we'd won.

“You never know. Maybe they'll make us fight each other?”

I'd only said it as a joke, but the apprentices suddenly turned serious and trembled.

“Please don't say something so frightening!”

“If we're made to fight Senior Uncle, we'll surrender immediately.”

“I want to return alive...”

What kind of being am I inside these people's heads?

Hmm... thinking about it, I guess they had reason to be afraid.

After all, I was someone who had exchanged blows barehanded with the evil dragon Fafnir.

Absorbing a little fear value from them wasn't bad either.

At that moment.

“Disciples, prepare!”

Booooom─! Booooom─! Booooom─!

The tremendous sound of the gong thundered through the courtyard.

When I looked across, everyone was already assuming their own combat-ready stances.A fifty-versus-fifty spar.

Had I ever done something like this before?‘Nope.’Without realizing it, I found the idea amusing and wanted to take it seriously.

Crack── Crack──I tilted my neck from side to side and equipped Midas's Gloves, which had practically become another part of me, on both hands.

To them, I was probably more like an outsider who had suddenly appeared.

Rather than entering the enemy formation first, it would be more advantageous to defend against whoever charged at me.────Clang!

“Begin!”

At Kwak Chun-sam's shout, dozens of people simultaneously charged at one another.

Aura clashed against aura everywhere.

As I watched the terrifying spectacle, reminiscent of a wuxia novel, I also took a defensive stance.

“...

Hm?”

For some reason, I realized that not a single person was charging toward me.

Wait, why?[Trait: 【Human Totem】 activates.]

Ah, why are you activating again?