Chapter 201
The student council room was more serious than usual.
The entire student council executive was seated around a round table, including Ray.
“Secretary. What’s the situation?”
“Yes, President. As expected, we’ve confirmed that the targets went straight to Familia. They all came out not long after they went in, so I’m guessing……cut their losses when things got complicated.”
Ray shook his head at the secretary’s report.
“That can’t be right, he’d rather fight for others, he’s not a man who would abandon others……The secretary should keep someone on that side to check.”
“Yes, sir.”
At that moment, Julie, who was sitting next to Ray, stood up from her seat.
“President, I have something to tell you.”
“Ah, yes. Vice President. Anything new?”
It was a very gentle and kind voice but Julie could feel the simmering anger in it.
“Why, why, why didn’t I know about this?”
“Um, what do you mean?”
“The topic of today’s meeting. The operation the President has been conducting against Familia. How come I don’t know what the secretary knows?”
The others bow their heads or swallow hard at her unfamiliar anger.
“Oh, is that so, I’m sorry. It’s a classified operation, so only me and the secretary knew. I forgot to tell you, didn’t I, Secretary?”
Ray smiles coolly at Julie’s reaction, and the secretary nods in agreement.
“Yeah. I guess it was a rush job. I’m really sorry, Vice President.”
But there’s nothing Julie can do now that they’ve spoken.
All she could do was bite her lip and sit back down.
“Come on. The secretary says he’s sorry, too. We apologize. Will you accept it? Vice President Julie Rodman.”
Julie finally nods, and Ray claps his hands together.
“So, are we reconciled now?”
──You and us.
“──From now on, let’s bury the hatchet, okay?”
He said in a flat tone, without a hint of emotion.
But why? Julie felt like she was breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Now, then, shall we continue with the meeting, Club Director? How will Familia react to our covert operation, and will it violate Academy rules?”
The meeting resumed.
After hearing Ray’s question, the Club Director, Seo Yeon-soo, gets up from her seat.
“It’s unlikely. The clubs and societies that participated in the club war are the lowest ranked among the Bronze, so the faculty probably won’t say anything.”
“So the plan worked after all. In that case, we’ll just have to wait and see how they turn out~”
Saying that, Ray stood up from his seat and his eyes were filled with anticipation.
“Well, then. Let’s wait and see how Familia acts.”
* * *
“Let’s wipe out one club each, is that it?”
Hearing my suggestion, Se-ah jumps to her feet in anger, and Jin-woo leans back as if it’s no big deal.
“Why not? You know they’re all just a bunch of idiots except for the martial arts club.”
“Of course I’m aware of that, but there are seniors in the mix. Could we get caught off guard?”
“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that.”
I said, closing the intelligence document from Latte.
“We haven’t been out much, so they won’t know the full extent of our power, and if I’m right, we shouldn’t have too much trouble.”
“Do you think so?”
Se-ah shrugs and sits back in her seat, perhaps because of the conviction in my tone.
Choi Yeon nods in agreement.
“Yeah. If it’s too much trouble, I’ll just wipe them all out myself. I can do it myself if I have the time.”
“No, because the more you take out the clubs, the more they know about you, and they might come up with new ways to target you.”
That’s why I’m sending one person per club.
“First of all, I think you have a point……Did I mention that the fastest club war is tomorrow, so who do you think should go tomorrow?”
“Se-ah.”
“Eek! Me?!”
Se-ah shouted, jumping to her feet when her name was called.
“Zee, you really want me to be the first one out?”
She asks in disbelief, pointing to herself and holding out a slip of paper with information.
“Magic Kid Magicians Club. It’s a club made up entirely of wizards who don’t have magical talent, so they use it to perform magic tricks.”
And here’s the kicker.
“They’re all mages of a lower level than you. It’s a perfect match for someone like you, who can interfere with their spells, right?”
She nodded.
“Certainly, the first time you experience a change in the trajectory of magic is frightening. I was pretty freaked out myself.”
“Uh……that, do you think?”
Se-ah’s expression gradually begins to relax.
“That’s right. You’re learning magic from your homeroom teacher, don’t you think it’ll be over quickly if you use spatial magic?”
Se-ah’s face turns completely pale at Jin-woo’s words.
“Hehe……Is that so~ I guess so~”
It might seem like I was teasing, given the circumstances, but I genuinely believed that Se-ah would be able to clear them out on her own.
Of course, changing the trajectory of other people’s spells and interfering with the casting was one thing, but the real thing was the ‘it’ that Jin-woo was talking about.
Ji-hyun’s specialty was teleportation and close combat.
She’s raising a child to be her apprentice and not teaching her that?
‘Of course not.’
It hasn’t been not a long time since she started learning, so it’s a matter of how much she got used to it, but as someone who knows its utility better than anyone else, I can’t help but feel reassured.
‘Apparently, in the future, it’s called CTC (Close teleportation combat).’
Even in-game, it had a cult following for its flashy mechanics and unorthodox difficulty, making it a devastating skill to master.
‘To be honest, I’m looking forward to it.’
Knowing how to use CTC means you’ve broken through the CS ranks so I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to see CTC in action.
“Everyone else better start practicing for multiplayer matches for a while, and keep your cell phones close to you in case you get an emergency call from a client.”
Now all that remains is to wait for tomorrow’s club competition.
* * *
Mornings at the academy are as exciting as ever, especially after exams.
‘I heard Familia is having a club war again?’
‘Isn’t the club war really just a way for us to have fun right after exams?’
And in such a lighthearted atmosphere, there was a figure who was fidgeting alone…….
“What should I do, what should I do, what should I do, what should I do, I’m so nervous!”
It was Se-ah, who had a club war today.
“Ai, don’t be nervous. Sit down.”
“Shut up! I’m competing today!”
Jin-woo clamped his mouth shut at her reaction, which was much more sensitive than usual.
Young-jae looks at him as if he’s amused, and Jin-woo gives him a fierce look, as if he’s still nervous.
“Don’t worry too much, you’ll be fine. The time was definitely after lunch, right?”
Se-ah nods at my carefully worded question.
“Yes, it was. First of all, Instructor Ji-hyun told me not to eat lunch and to stay as sharp as possible. It would be better if I did…….”
“It’s better to follow the instructor’s advice, a proper empty stomach can reduce tension. Young-jae, what about the other side’s movements? Anything special?”
Young-jae shakes his head at my question.
“No. It sounds like it’s the same, so we’ll just have to stick to our game plan.”
“……Yes.”
So all that was left was to compare whose numbers were more efficient and reliable.
Contrary to my initial fears, Se-ah’s expression begins to grow more serious as time passes.
It’s not until we reach the training room that her expression is fully formed.
On the other side of the room, the Magic Kid Magicians Club, which is also participating in this tournament, is looking over.
They were probably puzzled by the sight of Se-ah preparing alone but no matter how they look at it, there’s no point in us going out anyway.
After all, they were destined to be cleaned up by our club’s Space Wizard.
“Bye.”
“Kim Se-ah! Kill them all!”
“Go, Kim Se-ah!”
“……wah.”
Each of them, in their own way, cheers for Se-ah as she heads to the arena.
In response, she nods and waves.
“Okay. Bye.”
All of her troubles seem to be behind her, and there’s not a hint of fear in her step.
Soon, her image appears on the screen as she enters the arena, and the other faction begins to appear on the screen as well.
-Greetings, everyone. One of the Academy’s most popular instructors. This is Fadoyun, and today I’ll be overseeing and commentating on the Tarot Club and the Magic Kid Magicians Club match! Ah! The combatants from both clubs are now entering!
Ah, there’s definitely an instructor like that.
Instructor Fadoyun, whose so-called commentary included all of his stats.
This club battle was going to be quite the spectacle.
“A mercenary from the Tarot Club! An A-class student at the Seoul Hero Academy and a mage from the Familia! Kim Se-ah will face off against the three members of the Magic Kid Magicians Club! Is this real? The members of the club are leaving one by one? The competing member of the Tarot Club is Kim Se-ah, and she’s the only one!”
The instructor starts shouting in excitement because he didn’t expect Se-ah to be the only one participating.
Now it’s Se-ah’s turn to perform. Sitting in the waiting area with my arms crossed, I decided to watch the screen to see what would happen next.
* * *
Donning her unique weapon, her gloves, the Dimension Designers, Se-ah looked at the three men in front of her.
They were members of the Magic Kid Magicians Club, wearing outlandish hats, outfits, and mustaches.
Eugene had heard of them beforehand, but to the untrained eye, they looked like something someone would wear to provoke an opponent.
‘I’m sure he said they were all unique weapons or magic items.’
She had a general idea of what they had and what they were capable of.
Now it’s all about her skills.
The battle between the first and second years, the new goddess Familia and the still-dead Magic Kid’s Magicians Club, right here, right now! Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Familia, I’ve got you covered!
“A first year can’t do this alone! Show me your true colors, magicians!”
The crowd is already getting rowdy.
@Magicians────!!
But as if to drown them out, the buzzer sounds, signaling the start of the duel, cutting off the sounds from outside.
All that remains is the battle between the two factions.
The battle between the mages was uneventful.
“Pour it on!”
“Fireball!”
“Peacemaker!”
Each side would first cast a barrier spell to see what their opponent was capable of, and then they would realize their differences and work to fill them in.
They would slowly tilt the balance of power in their favor by creating a careful plan.
The magic used by the Magic Kid Magicians began to fly towards Se-ah.
A fireball the size of a man’s head and a pigeon with a sharp beak swooping down to peck at the opponent.
Se-ah chuckled at the sight of the magic that was so obviously a club concept, and stretched out her hand in front of her.
“Orbit control.”
Familia’s space mage was about to break through a new barrier.
