Chapter 50

Chapter 50

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 50As expected, I couldn't help thinking that the old saying about the rod being the best medicine was never wrong.

You could tell just by looking at Jin-woo, who was wearing a triumphant smile in front of me right now.

Just moments ago, he'd been floundering because he had no idea what to do, and now he was smiling as though he thought he could pull it off.

The kids were growing little by little.

“Then come at me.”

“You don't have to tell me!”

The moment Jin-woo shouted that, the wind around the space we stood in began changing in an unnatural way.

“Se-ah!”

“Let's give it a try!”

At the same time, purple footholds appeared in midair without any warning.

Even though Jin-woo hadn't seen every single foothold with his own eyes, he stepped on them as though he naturally knew they were there and charged toward me.

Even though it was a method I'd come up with, I thought it was a genuinely interesting application.

Just having Se-ah support him had effectively transformed his two-dimensional attacks into three-dimensional ones.

More importantly, the footholds weren't being created by Jin-woo, but by Se-ah, a spatial mage.

As someone who used spatial magic rather than being an ordinary person, she would be able to create paths along routes more certain and unexpected than anyone else's.

And in fact, Jin-woo's movements right now exceeded my imagination.

“...

He's sensing them through the wind.”

I figured out the nature of the strange wind.

Right now, Jin-woo was reading the wind.

He seemed to be taking control of and sensing the surrounding wind, predicting that there was a foothold wherever the airflow was blocked, and stepping there.

I'd only given him a small hint, yet seeing him make use of his ability like this, it seemed the <​Character Encyclopedia> had been right in saying that he possessed the qualities of an outstanding hitman.

Still, all it did was allow him to make more irregular attacks. His movements weren't beyond what my eyes could follow.

I threw a punch toward Jin-woo as he charged at me.

I aimed for his jaw. Since I'd already seen enough potential from him, I figured there was no harm in ending the spar, and threw the punch, but for some reason, my fist felt heavy.

“Ha. Interesting.”

Before I knew it, the blue magic that had been wrapped around my body had disappeared and was now covering only my fist.‘Adagissimo.’ Judging by the word he'd used, it seemed to be magic that slowed its target.

Even though it couldn't stop me from throwing my punch altogether, by concentrating it all in one place like this, it threw off the timing of my punch.

“Uaaaaah!!”

I twisted my body and dodged Jin-woo's dagger.

At the same time, I raised my leg to strike him through the opening, but Jin-woo stepped on another foothold that appeared in midair, twisted his body, and launched a second attack.

I gave up on blocking with my heavy right arm and extended my left arm to block Jin-woo's attack again. Thanks to [Midas's Gloves], there was no chance of being cut by the dagger, but I couldn't avoid the stinging sensation in my palm from the impact.

In that case.

I tried to grab Jin-woo's dagger just like before, but perhaps sensing something was wrong, he flinched for an instant, quickly pulled the dagger back, and retreated.‘So you won't fall for it twice?’Not a bad reaction.

Perhaps because he'd forced his body to move in sync with Se-ah's magic, Jin-woo was breathing much more heavily than usual.

Their coordination had definitely improved, and so had the way they applied their abilities.

Not bad. No, it was quite good. Good enough that I was becoming convinced they wouldn't lose to just anyone anymore.

But.

“You're still too sloppy!”

I didn't miss the opening while he was catching his breath and charged toward Young-je, who was standing apart from the other two, throwing a punch.

“You're targeting me here?”

“Because your positioning was that bad.”

It was the same in actual games.

A mage standing far away from the frontline was exactly the kind of target you took out first.

Of course, the ice shield appeared again to block my fist──“As expected.”

I was glad I'd thrown the punch without holding back.

With a cracking sound, the shield shattered into pieces, and Young-je's body bent into a C-shape.

Judging by his eyes, he wasn't unconscious yet. Just as I was about to follow up and finish him off.

“Jin-woo! Now!”

“Glasses! Hold on!”

My fist grazed Young-je's cheek instead of striking his jaw.

Had they refused to give up until the very end?

Apparently, Se-ah had made my attack miss.

Jin-woo used the opening to charge at me, seemingly trying to force me away from Young-je, but...

“Unfortunately, the difference in physical ability is too large.”

A kick from Jin-woo was nowhere near enough to move my body.

I bent the arm that had grazed Young-je's cheek and struck his face with my elbow. His pupils immediately went unfocused, and Young-je collapsed to the ground.

Then, without releasing the strength in the arm I'd used to strike Young-je, I grabbed Jin-woo's face as he tried to attack me and slammed him toward the ground.

“Jin-woo!”

Jin-woo planted both hands on the ground and avoided smashing face-first into it. Then, in an attempt to somehow hook my leg and knock me down, he swept at my legs with a movement resembling capoeira, but.

“I told you.”

My body didn't budge.

Maybe if he'd caught me off guard, but when I was prepared for the attack in advance, Jin-woo's strike was far too weak to knock me over.

“The difference in our physical abilities is too large.”

“Ah... gently──.”

I dropped my fist onto the head of Jin-woo, who was sprawled on the ground.

Baaaaaang!!

Jin-woo immediately foamed at the mouth and passed out.

With that, only Se-ah remained.

“Ugh... c-could you spare me, Eugene?”

Maybe because she'd personally watched the other two get punched unconscious, Se-ah trembled and backed away.

“We have to see the spar through to the end, so there's nothing I can do.”

Of course, I planned to knock her out more gently than Jin-woo or Young-je.

“If you're really that scared, you can just surrender.”

At my words, Se-ah stopped trembling. Then she shook her head.

“Instructor Ji Su-hyeon said this last time. That it would've been better if I'd struggled until the very end.”

Had she made up her mind after hearing Ji Su-hyeon's words during the previous spar?

Or had watching the other two try something until the very last second caused her to think differently?

Maybe it was both.

Anyway, despite being in a hopeless situation from her perspective, she refused to give up and spread both hands, equipped with her unique weapons, as she stared at me.

“So... I'm going to struggle until the very end... Huh?!”

I swung my fist with all my strength toward Kim Se-ah's face as she confidently steeled herself in front of me.

I stopped my fist right in front of her face, and the wind pressure sweeping past her features sent her hair flying into disarray. At the same time, her eyes rolled back, and Kim Se-ah's body collapsed limply.

“You shouldn't be standing there psyching yourself up in front of an enemy. An enemy isn't going to wait until you finish awakening.”

With that, all three were out.

The forest where the four of us had fought looked like a battlefield.

Broken trees lay everywhere, and the ground was cratered in multiple places.

If this had been outside, I would've had to worry about how to restore it, but fortunately, this was an Academy sparring arena.

The instant the situation ended, the forest surrounding us began to distort and returned to the original appearance of the sparring arena.

“Wow, even though this was supposed to be training for your club members, I thought you'd go a little easy on them. You took them out without mercy.”

Once the field returned to normal, Ji Su-hyeon opened the sparring arena door and entered.

Despite what she said, she was grinning as though she'd had the time of her life.

“I went plenty easy on them.”

Hearing that, Ji Su-hyeon nodded and walked toward where the kids had collapsed.

“Yeah, I figured. I heard you giving every one of them advice too.”

Ji Su-hyeon stepped into the middle of the three fallen students and snapped her fingers, causing their bodies to disappear instantly.

When I glanced aside, I saw that all three had been moved outside the sparring arena.

“So why did you go easy on them like that, then show them the gap at the end before knocking them out? Was it supposed to be some kind of ‘look at this and despair’ lesson?”

“...

I just wanted them to look at me and feel motivated.”

This is how strong your president is. Work hard. If you want to beat me, work even harder.

I thought this was the best way to hammer that message into them.

“Hmmm, really? If that's what you were going for, I'd say it worked. Even Kim Se-ah refused to give up until the very end. I was impressed without even realizing it.”

I agreed with her on that point.

“Ah, and what you wanted from this match was their teamwork, right? I never expected spatial magic to be used like that... Have you always been thinking about things like that?”

Apparently Ji Su-hyeon had also heard the advice I'd given Se-ah and Jin-woo during the spar.

“I simply thought that recognizing the potential of one's club members was also part of a president's job.”

To be honest, I'd merely taught the kids methods I often used while playing games, but apparently they were fairly innovative in this world.

“You really know how to talk. I moved all the kids onto the chairs in the sparring room, so once they wake up, you can take them with you or whatever. And... thanks for the entertaining show.”

“It was a deal.”

While we had been sparring inside the arena, Ji Su-hyeon had been blocking the sparring situation from the surroundings so our strength wouldn't leak out.

That was the deal I'd made with Ji Su-hyeon today.

As the club advisor, she'd done it because I, the president, had personally asked her.

I had judged that revealing our strength when we were about to enter a battle wouldn't be a particularly good idea.

“The other kids should learn from you guys. The sparring arena being empty on a Monday morning... Does that even make sense?”

Ji Su-hyeon clicked her tongue and turned away...

Who could possibly stop that battle maniac?

“Ranger Club. Are you confident you can make the kids from ‘Familia’ strong enough to beat them by next week?”

She asked me with her back turned.

“Yes, I'm confident.”

And I was certain.

“Really? Is that so... Well, if it's you, I guess it doesn't sound impossible. If something interesting happens again, or you need a favor, contact me.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

With those final words, Ji Su-hyeon left the sparring arena.

Then I turned my head and looked at the three people slumped side by side over the chairs.

Jin-woo, Se-ah, Young-je.

Despite it being only a single spar, all three had shown more than I'd expected.

But even so, there were still many things they lacked.

Especially the basics, such as stamina and judgment.

But that was fine.

“They just need to get stronger from now on.”

I would make that happen and grow the club, my Familia.

Ding-!

At that moment, a notification appeared before my eyes informing me that a message had arrived.[Parnello: One mission at dawn today.]

“...

No mercy the moment my vacation ends. A mission right away.”

Right. I couldn't forget.

Before I was the president of ‘Familia,’ I was the successor of Calione.

For now, I decided to send the kids home first, then head back to the mansion myself.

________________

The moment I arrived home, Parnello, who had already come out to greet me, immediately took me to the conference room and began explaining this mission.

“This mission is to subdue and discipline a certain group.”

A briefing the moment I arrive... No, why is he telling me about the mission so urgently?

“Subdue and discipline a group? Did they do something?”

At my question as I raised my hand, Parnello frowned and spoke again.

“That is... They commissioned an assault on you, Young Master.”

“...

Hm? Me?”

Out of nowhere?