Chapter 57

Chapter 57

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 57“Today, there will be a ‘Class Ranking Match’ involving every class in the Academy.”

Ji Su-hyeon's bombshell announcement dropped on the classroom from the morning homeroom period.

At that, bewilderment appeared on the students' faces.

“No, it hasn't even been two weeks since we enrolled, and we're already having a Class Ranking Match?”

Looking at the cases of every previous class except this year's, most Class Ranking Matches were usually held before the midterms.

But a Class Ranking Match when it hadn't even been two weeks since entering the Academy?

Perhaps it was only natural for the kids to be bewildered.

“How would I know? The higher-ups decided it. Apparently, they think there are a lot of interesting kids in this year's class, so it'd be better to establish the rankings quickly.”

More precisely, it was also because of the game's setting.

Since the year the player enrolled had to include various stories and events, it was only natural that many special kids would enter.

And that meant several events had to be crammed into a short period of time. You could call it circumstances on the adults' side.

“Well, they call it a Class Ranking Match, but all you're doing is entering a dungeon and hunting monsters, so don't get too scared~”

After saying everything she had to deliver, Ji Su-hyeon turned as though she were about to leave the classroom, then stopped.

“Ah, I almost forgot. The dean said the classes that place first and second in this ‘Class Ranking Match’ will receive some kind of special benefit, so you'd better work hard. ──That's all for the announcements. And if I were to add something personally... if you don't get first place, you're all dead, got it?”

Ji Su-hyeon smiled brightly as she said that, then immediately left.

A cold chill swept through the classroom at the sight.

“We're dead if we don't get first?”

“No, she only tells us today?”

Once only the students remained, the classroom instantly began buzzing.‘Class Ranking Match’ was also a major event that could determine the environment for an entire semester, so perhaps it was only natural for the other kids to take interest.

And even among those kids, there were three who were unusually calm.

“...

I'm fine as long as there aren't any bugs.”

“...

I'm fine as long as there aren't bugs.”

“...

I just hope there aren't any bugs.”

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

To the three who had followed me into the dungeon beneath the club room, a dungeon was nothing more than a place for training.

“It's nothing serious, but everyone's really making a fuss over nothing.”

All of that worry is useless. They don't even know...

Since I already knew where we'd be going this time, I put my head down on the desk and tried to sleep so I could conserve even a little stamina before entering the dungeon.

______________

Normally, this would have been the time for first period to begin.

Every first-year class had gathered on the Academy's athletic field.

And there was an instructor commanding all of them...[You little bastards! I said don't move! I won't take responsibility if you move around however you want and lose an arm or a leg!]

Unable to accept the fate of having to teleport the entire first year in a little while, Ji Su-hyeon was shouting at the top of her lungs while looking at the students gathered on the field.

“...

Calm down. Instructor Ji Su-hyeon, what if you make a mistake because you got angry for no reason?”

And beside Ji Su-hyeon stood a male instructor trying to calm her down.

It was Park Yoon-ho, the first-year head instructor who had taught us Villain Studies not long ago.

“Let me borrow the microphone for a moment.”

Park Yoon-ho half-forcibly took the microphone from Ji Su-hyeon and brought it to his mouth.[Testing, testing. Hmm, it works. First-year cadets, you will now be moved to a dungeon. Of course, the difficulty of the selected dungeon has been adjusted to the level of first-years, so there is no need to worry too much.]

At Instructor Park Yoon-ho's words, several kids let out sighs of relief.

Some of the students were extremely nervous because this would be their first dungeon experience.[And the entire first-year faculty will continuously monitor the inside of the dungeon for the cadets' safety. Naturally, you will also be evaluated during that process. May good fortune be with all of you. Be careful out there.]

At Park Yoon-ho's words, some swallowed nervously, some clenched their fists, and others looked toward the companions they would be conquering the dungeon with.

That was how much the experience of ‘real combat’ was an event that couldn't help but make them nervous.

At the same time, a purple light swallowed the athletic field where we stood, and the familiar sensation I had experienced in the past enveloped our bodies.

Space shifted in an instant.

As our vision, obscured by the light, returned, what appeared in front of us was a strange space that looked like a cave.

“...

Something about this feels familiar.”

At the scenery resembling the dungeon beneath the club room, Jin-woo hugged himself and shuddered.

The other kids were also extremely tense at the sight of the dark dungeon.

At that moment, Young-je, the class president, was the first to illuminate the dungeon with magic and spoke.

“Everyone who can use Light magic, cast Light!”

The kids snapped out of it at Young-je's shout, and one by one they turned on lights or drew their weapons while looking around.

Then.

Tap. Tap.

“Wait, everyone be quiet!”

At the sound coming from somewhere, Young-je warned everyone and lowered his body.

Everyone instantly quieted down and listened together.

Tap tap tap.

The sound was approaching at a steady pace.

And its direction... was clearly toward us.

Tap. Tap. Tap tap. Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap tap.

At the sound as though something were walking toward them, the kids stared into the darkness with tense eyes.

Gulp─!

The silence was so deep that even the sound of someone swallowing could be heard clearly.

Little by little, very slowly, the sound drew closer, and at last, the owner of the footsteps revealed itself.

“Kirik?”

It was...

“A-a goblin?”

“A goblin?”

“It's seriously a goblin?”

The kids in the class froze at the appearance of a monster they'd never expected.

But then.

“Pfft!”

“Pwahahahahaha!”

“A goblin! This was a goblin dungeon!”

After confirming that it was a goblin, the kids began trembling one by one before bursting into laughter.

“Haaah! What the heck! I got scared for nothing!”

“They went through all that trouble just to send us to a goblin dungeon?”

At the sight, I lightly shook my head.

“That's why I said it was nothing.”

Sending us to a goblin dungeon for the Class Ranking Match was, if anything, completely natural.

Even if they were Awakened chosen by the Academy, most of them were still rookies who had only just enrolled.

There was no way they'd send them somewhere harsh from the very beginning.

The community's analysis was that it was probably meant to give them firsthand experience killing monsters in their first dungeon. I thought that was correct too.

Of course, that didn't mean the kids' reaction was normal.

Even if it was only a low-ranking monster, the opponent was still a monster capable of killing an adult man.

It was an enemy against which at least a minimum level of caution should be maintained. In its own way, it was a properly balanced opponent selected by the Academy.

And yet the reason the kids could laugh like this was probably because of their experience on the first day of the Academy, when Ji Su-hyeon had sent them to an uninhabited island.

Just how difficult had that day been for them?

When they were told they needed magic stones to obtain enough mana to return home.

The kids had already experienced killing monsters for the first time, and after hearing that magic stones could be exchanged for money, they ended up exterminating every goblin on the island.

And in front of those kids.

Another goblin appeared.

“Kirik?”

“...

Kill it. Kill that fucking gobliiiiiin!!”

“Our class is taking first place in the Academy!”

“Kill the goblins and rip out their magic stones!!”

After identifying the enemy, the kids in the class became wildly excited and charged forward.

From what I'd heard while doing club activities, the kids in our class had swept away every goblin on that island, practically turning every single one of them into a goblin slayer.

If so, conquering the dungeon shouldn't be a problem.‘Familia's’ members also confirmed it was a goblin and ran off with extremely excited expressions.

Apparently they had concluded there was no danger here, because everyone looked excited...

To the point that they'd completely stopped paying attention to me.

And so, I was left alone at the entrance.

Yeah, this is actually much better.

After confirming no one was around, I looked around, found a strangely protruding section of stone, and pressed it firmly with my hand.

_______________

The students of Class A, who had already experienced a goblin dungeon on the island, were practically like fish in water.

“Hey, hey! That goblin bastard is throwing rocks!”

“Mages! Block the rocks and arrows!”

It seemed the experience of killing nearly a hundred goblins in order to escape the deserted island quickly was finally shining through.

And among them, there were several kids whose skills stood out most of all...

“If I can get just ten magic stones, I can eat meat with my younger siblings today!”

Se-ah, who immediately intercepted goblins while locating their positions.

“If we get first place, they're putting a dessert bar in our classroom, right? There's no way I'm losing!”

Jin-woo, who ran along the cave walls and slit goblin throats.

“Group A should explore the right side, and Group B should explore the left. If anything happens, I'll come running right away, so don't worry.”

Young-je, who fulfilled his duties as class president by commanding the kids.

And...

“Looks like I'll be able to go home smiling today.”

Choi Kang-hyun, who had returned to the classroom in second place behind Eugene in the past.

For Kang-hyun, who hadn't had any chance to show off his strength until now, this ‘Class Ranking Match’ was a tremendous opportunity.

If he took first place in this ranking match, he would receive not only Academy support but also higher-grade requests from guilds later on, so Choi Kang-hyun was even pouring out all the seawater inside the bottle he'd brought and filling the goblins' lungs with seawater.

“Glasses, at this rate, isn't our class going to take first place?”

Jin-woo, who was dissecting a goblin's chest, glanced up and asked Young-je.

“You can't necessarily say that. The other classes have the top-ranked student, and there's also the guy who entered in third place.”

“Ah, that fak── the Police Commissioner General's son or whatever? Come on, no matter what, we have Boss, so there's no way we'd lose... Hm?”

As though suddenly realizing something, Jin-woo sprang to his feet and looked around.

“Where'd Boss go?”

“Hm?”

Only after hearing Jin-woo did Young-je look around to locate Eugene.

But Eugene was nowhere to be seen.

“...

Seriously, where did he go? Se-ah! Can you locate the president?”

At that, Young-je asked Se-ah, who was being guarded in the middle of the group while locating the goblins.

“Huh? Eugene? Just a moment!”

Since Se-ah had already fought alongside Eugene several times and knew his mana signature, locating Eugene in a dungeon of this size wasn't particularly difficult.

However, when Se-ah realized the location was somewhere she'd never expected, her eyes widened.

“Uh... He's below us?”

“...

Below?”

“Yes, really far below. It looks like he's going somewhere alone.”

“Really? Then there's no problem.”

At Se-ah's words, Young-je shrugged as though it were nothing, and Jin-woo also nodded in understanding before returning to extracting the goblin's magic stone.

“Boss probably has something in mind. He's the guy who was crushing goblin skulls with his fists from the very first day. What could possibly happen to him?”

At Jin-woo's muttering, the other kids nearby also nodded.

That was how strongly the memories of that day had been engraved into their minds.

“Alright, then let's hurry up and do our own jobs too. We can't fall behind, right?”

At Young-je's words, the kids began moving again and continued conquering the dungeon.

All while thinking that now that Eugene had started moving alone, something was bound to happen.