Chapter 21
The competition center on the other side of the massive building was much larger than the one where we competed yesterday.
No wonder. This was not just a one-on-one duel, but a large-scale battle.
At the front of the arena, I see the members of the Fund Investment Club warming up first.
“Let’s get started, this shouldn’t take long.”
I turn my shoulder and say that as I enter after a quick stretch outside, and the other club members smirk and taunt me.
“What, you didn’t bring your own weapon, did you leave it at home or didn’t have the money to get one?”
Of course, that’s not possible.
“Why use a sword to catch a chicken?”
“What?”
“I’m saying that I can take care of you without that.”
“We’ll see how long you …… can keep that attitude.”
He turns and walks back to his colleagues, apparently realizing he has nothing to gain by arguing with me.
At least he’s noticing.
“Boss, are you okay?”
Jin-woo asks me with concern, taking my jacket from me.
“There’s no reason to be scared of these guys, they’re no better than goblins.”
“Right?”
“Yeah, so keep your eyes peeled for what happens next.”
As I was warming up the door to the training center opens and a man I don’t recognize walks in.
He was a man with barking dark circles and black horn-rimmed glasses. Judging by the necklace and ID card around his neck, he was an instructor.
“You challenged when I’m on duty……bother.”
The instructor scratched his head and stood in front of the arena.
“Um…… the new student you signed up for a challenge?”
He looks at me, pushes his glasses up and furrows his brow in confusion, then looks at the members of the Fund Investment Club.
“You’re……really a freshman. Are you guys really going to duel with those guys?”
“He’s the one who ignored the Fund Investment Club, so how can we leave him alone?”
“He’s the one who challenged us, so it’s not our fault.”
After listening to them, the instructor turned his attention back to me and looked at me carefully.
“What the hell are you doing, challenging seniors when you haven’t even been in the academy for a week?”
“Because I want to make my life at the academy a little easier.”
“……What are you talking about?”
Picking the fund investment club wasn’t just a whim or a spontaneous choice.
There are reasons why I need to get them out of the way early on if I want to have a smooth academy life in the future.
First, the recruitment of Haru.
After losing a club competition, Haru takes the blame and is kicked out of the International Trade Club she created.
She’s also no longer allowed to be active in her family.
Although she had support, Haru was the only one who could raise the International Trade Club to Silver status so I can’t let her go just because of these guys.
The second reason is to maintain the status quo of the International Trade Club.
The International Trade Club is the shop where I can get the best goods in the academy.
Handing it over to the Funds Investment Club would mean that the quality of the store would suffer and I would no longer be able to see anything valuable.
The third reason was not very important.
I just don’t like these guys hiding behind the scenes.
“I don’t know why you’re trying to pick a fight with them, but…… you’d better clean up after yourself, freshman. The other guys in the Fund Investment Club tend to kick hard.”
Despite what the instructor said, I didn’t have to worry about the aftermath.
“Yeah, thanks for the advice.”
I replied and tried to turn away.
“Don’t be such a creep to intimidate a freshman.”
A familiar voice called out from behind me.
“Eugene, I’m here!”
“‘You called for the instructor. How cocky are you?”
Kim Se-ah is breathing heavily, and Ji-hyun is looking at me with wide-eyed curiosity.
“Uh-huh. Senior?”
The male instructor’s expression stiffens when he sees Ji-hyun.
“Bastard, I was wondering why you weren’t in the staff room, so I guess you were in charge of the training grounds today?”
“I just got caught up, but what are you doing here, senior?”
“I heard there was a duel between a first-year and four second-years, so I came to watch, but what were you thinking allowing this duel?”
As Ji-hyun stood in front of the male instructor with her hands in her pockets, he waved both his hands and said urgently.
“Who am I to stop him who ‘challenged’ a senior, and if it’s within the school rules, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Despite being much taller than Ji-hyun, the male instructor looked much smaller.
Ji-hyun stretched out her hand toward him and put her arms around his neck.
“There’s no problem with the school rules, so you allowed a one-on-one duel between a freshman and a senior student, is that what you’re going to say?”
“Isn’t he the one who was admitted as the runner-up this time? I thought he had something on his mind and asked the seniors to teach him!”
“Well, since you put it like that……I don’t have anything to say. So instead, if there’s an accident, you’ll be responsible?”
“What? I’m responsible?”
“Then, asshole, you’re the observer, but I’m responsible?”
Ji-hyun makes a fist with her hand, which is still in her pocket, and makes a gesture of squeezing it.
“Oh, I see! It’s not like there’s going to be a big accident anyway. By the way, do you have any relationship with him? You seem to have a different look in your eyes than usual.”
“Huh? Oh, he’s the vice president of my class.”
“……?”
“The first graders want to start a club, and as a homeroom teacher, I can help them with that. By the way, Eugene!”
Ji-hyun suddenly called his name and pointed to the area around my neck.
“Are you going to use that?”
It was obvious what it was. She must mean my unique weapon.
“No way.”
I replied, throwing my hands up in the air.
“My bare hands are good enough.”
Once I nodded, Ji-hyun grinned.
“This should be fun.”
Satisfied with my answer, she removed her arm from around the male instructor’s neck and looked around, clapping her hands.
“Alright, then, let’s all head into the training grounds, and don’t worry about dying, because this guy here and I will be observing. Okay?”
With Ji-hyun’s order, my opponent and I entered the arena.
They were expressing anger with their eyes as if they wanted to kill me.
“Cute.”
To me, who was at war with the real mafia not too long ago, such a look is nothing more than a child’s complaint.
I crack my neck and knuckles to warm up, then step over the white line in the center.
At the same time, the air around us vibrated briefly, emitting a blue light.
My entire body feels awkward, as if the weight of the air has changed, but then it returns to normal.
It was a sign that the field had been activated to protect the students.
As we are facing each other, Ji-hyun’s voice rings out from the speakers inside the arena.
[Now, both sides…… run wild]
“You’re dead, freshman────?!”
I reach for the face of the first person to lunge at me as I start, and punch him with all my might.
With a loud thud, he falls to the floor of the arena.
Judging by the way his body sagged as he hit the ground, he must have passed out.
“One.”
I stood up and looked around while the other three stared at me, unable to comprehend what had happened.
I look at them, frozen in place despite the fact that I’ve boldly entered the center of their camp, and shrug.
“I’ll accept your surrender at this point.”
“You crazy bastard ────.”
The second one lunges at me.
Is he still a sophomore? Perhaps wary of the blow his friend just took, he raises his guard with both arms and ducks down, trying to get close to me.
Nice try, but…….
“Your side is open.”
Grabbing the arm of the guy who’s trying to sneak in while restricting his vision by blocking his face, I bring my knee up towards him.
“Two.”
The guys flinch at my count.
“This isn’t fun if you’re already down.”
The two guys take a step back at the sight of me.
“Dude, in the blink of an eye, two people…….”
“Get a grip, this is all because they let their guard down!”
The two guys were stunned as they watched their colleague get crushed right in front of their eyes and glared at me, looking even more nervous than when they first saw me.
“Ho-ho.”
They weren’t going to take it lying down anymore so I was thinking about how to crush them this time, when───
“Overrun!”
Having succeeded in surrounding me by moving slightly, they all charge at me at the same time.
I didn’t expect them to come in from the other side.
“That’s funny.”
“……?”
I grab the wrist of the first one to swing a punch at me and pull him toward me.
“Now, wait──.”
I bring my palm up from the bottom and slam it into his jaw, and his knees buckle and he tries to roll over, but I don’t let go and flail him to the ground.
“Three.”
It’s been less than three minutes since we started, and already three men are down.
It’s already over. About 40 seconds…… as expected.
But what now? I wasn’t going to end it here.
“No, I came here because you said you had a ‘challenge’ for the first time in a long time, what is this?”
“I came as soon as I heard, is it over?”
The guys turn at the sound of voices from outside the training room.
“……What the hell is that?”
Their eyes widen at the sudden appearance of the onlookers.
“Aaaahhhh! We’re in the Fund Investment Club, what the hell is that?!”
“There’s the black sheep who’s still ruling the roost. Gambling is a badge of honor, freshman Kazuya!”
“I bet my entire fortune on you!”
The students were either gasping or panicking as soon as they saw the situation in the arena.
“You, what the hell did you do……?”
“You mean those people outside?
The basketball club, the literature club, the tea ceremony club……a huge crowd of people from all walks of life.
Some of them were even picketing, like they were recruiting new students.
Why did they go to such lengths to be here? It was…….
“Yes, that’s right. I called them.”
It was all to set up this situation.
“A freshman ‘challenge’ is a big deal, isn’t it? Even one between me and a club. I’m not going to just stand there and duel without knowing what you’re going to do to me afterward, I should have some kind of insurance.”
I spread my arms and point to the people watching us.
“Don’t you think you’ve got to have eyes like this to make sure the Fund Investing Club doesn’t humiliate itself?”
They scowl at my smirk.
“Why the hell……are you doing this to us, why the hell!”
“Because you ──touched it.”
“……what?”
“The ‘International Trade Club’ is mine. By the way, aren’t you guys working on hitting ‘International Trade Club’ from behind?”
“How the hell do you know that…….?”
“Does it matter, the more important thing is how much longer you seniors can hold out, so…….”
With that, I turned and looked at the crowd outside the arena.
“Fund Investment Club leader, if you don’t want to get your ass kicked, get in here, asshole.”
Now for the real highlight.
