Chapter 98
In the past, I’ve seen this in the community.
[Title: Jeju Island mango blown away by typhoon.gif]
[Title: I apologize. I aggro-dragged this to show you Corleone, Sword saint, and Police Department Alliance Levels lol…Is this a true story? This is a real world alliance of the strongest players. Not long after I started the game, I bombed the academy and all these crazy people suddenly formed an alliance and hunted me down and killed me. I was just wondering what would happen if I killed the main characters, but they stopped me like this.]
[hotdogkuldog : Why did you blow up the academy you crazy nerd]
[ㅇㅇ : Is he crazy ㅋㅋㅋ ㅋㅋㅋ It’s not even the Villain Alliance, why did you blow there from the beginning ㅋㅋㅋ]
[ㅇㅇ : I saw this and tried to follow along, but what alliance? Sword Saint came by himself and killed me.]
[└YoriKingAssassinKing : ㅋㅋㅋ ㅋㅋㅋ Why are you following that?]
[└ : So where’s the foal?]
I couldn’t believe it when I saw this either.
Even so, the three of them formed an alliance. Is that even realistically possible?
I, too, have been blowing up bombs since the beginning of the game, stealing nuclear warheads and detonating them, and doing all sorts of things, but they didn’t form an alliance.
But…….
“We’ll be in touch with you later.”
“Waiting for you.”
Sword Saint and Consigliere shake hands.
Is this really the same group of people who were so eager to eat each other on exam day?
I didn’t think this was going to be real.
“I think the……story went well, right?”
An empty running track after all the grown-ups had finished talking.
While I was still dazed by the reality that my brain wasn’t catching up, Choi Yeon, who was running next to me, said.
“Yeah, it should be good, but……still feels like my brain isn’t catching up.”
“Isn’t it……your grandfather and my father, they seemed to get along.”
“Really?”
They really seemed to get along after all that sparking on the day of my entrance ceremony?
I mean, it’s not like it doesn’t make perfect sense, because they say fighting makes you friendly, but…….
“That’s hard.”
“Yeah. ……Yes. That’s hard.”
Once…… the immediate fire was taken care of, it seemed like we should probably head back to the academy since things ended well.
* * *
When Choi Yeon and I returned to the academy, we found that most of the situation had been cleared up, and the students gathered on the playground were nowhere to be seen.
“Did everyone go home?”
“No, they didn’t send them home right away.”
I checked my messages just in case, and a message from Young-jae had arrived in the club’s chat room.
[Young-jae: Everyone is in class now, so you can come to class.]
“I think everyone has gone back to class. We can go back to class too.”
“Back to class?”
She scratches her head.
I didn’t understand why they were gathering the students back in class at this point either, but…….
What the hell.
We’re students of the academy.
“Let’s just……go to our classes. I’ll call you later if you need to talk about something.”
“Do you have my number?”
“Didn’t we exchange numbers last time?”
“Uh, yeah.”
I’d realized from the beginning of my CS career that there was something about……that made her a bit of a jerk.
Well, maybe that’s why she was so popular.
“Well, I’ll go first.”
“Yeah. See you later.”
We split up into our respective classes, and when I got to class A.
“There he is, the hero of the academy. Eugene Han.”
I could see Ji-hyun looking at me with a smile on her face.
“……What is it,” I said, suddenly looking anxious.
“Do you have any idea how I felt when I heard that you suddenly left the academy?”
“Ah.”
Was that it?
I’m sorry about that but I had more important things to do.
It was a necessary sacrifice.
“Anyway, the other kids told me what happened inside. They said that you, Familia, and Choi Yeon took down all the ringleaders and captured the dungeon.”
Was that the extent of the report?
There was no mistaking it, so I nodded.
“That’s right. Did you capture the villains?”
“They’re currently in restraints in a cell inside the academy, but we’ll turn them over to the Association when they get here.”
“……That’s good to know.”
They’d be going back into Niflheim anyway, but in an area with even stronger restrictions than the one they were in.
“And……now that the situation is largely cleared up, we’ll have to do what we have to do.”
“What?”
Do what?
I didn’t understand what she was talking about when suddenly, Ji-hyun bowed to me.
“Thank you.”
“…… Yes?”
For a moment, my brain’s circuitry froze at the sight of Ji-hyun suddenly thanking me but she continued.
“Thanks to you, we’ll be able to resolve this quickly and without fatalities. I know I can’t speak for the entire Academy, but on behalf of Class A, I thank you.”
At the same time, the sound of a chair being dragged out from behind her.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s all thanks to you. Thank you.”
I look behind me and see a group of kids thanking me.
……This is embarrassing.
Luckily, Ji-hyun looks up immediately, and she giggles.
“You’re embarrassed.”
“……You did it knowing.”
“I’m glad it’s over, because do you have any idea how surprised I was to hear from the other guys that you went one-on-one with Miner without thinking?”
I’m pretty sure they were like, “Oh, he sure knows how to be tough.”
“You have a funny look on your face.”
“It’s……my mood.”
“Anyway, the whole class thanked you, and the dean……wants to thank you, too.”
“You mean the dean?”
Ji-hyun nods at my words.
“Because you won first place in the class ranking contest last time, and because the other kids said that you were the one who resolved the situation, the dean wants to take this opportunity to meet you in person.”
……Now that I think about it, he also said that if I win the class ranking competition, I’ll get a special gift from the dean.
“Right now?”
“He told me to tell you as soon as you get back, right? If you don’t go to the dean’s office, you’ll be stuck here anyway, because there’s a government letter telling us to keep students in their classrooms for post-attack measures and investigations.”
The only reason I could think of was why all the kids were back in class instead of going home. ……
Surely it would be better to go see the dean than to waste time in the classroom.
“Can I go straight to the dean office?”
“Sure. I’ll make the call, and you can just walk slowly.”
“Okay.”
I bowed to Ji-hyun and started walking.
The corridors of the academy were still cluttered with the aftermath of the attack.
Due to the nature of the game, I had memorized the way to the dean’s office, so it wasn’t too difficult to find it.
Arriving at the dean office, I knocked casually and spoke up.
“I’m Eugene Han, class A, first year.”
A moment later, I heard a deep voice from inside.
[Yes, please come in]
I opened the door and saw an old man with a kind smile on his face.
That man is the Dean of the Seoul Hero Academy.
[A new person is added to the <Personality Book>!]
<Personality Book (N) >
[Name: Heo Seok-ki]
[Affiliation : South Korea, Hero Association, Seoul Hero Academy]
[Age : 54 years old]
[Specialty : Sniping, Concealment, Magic]
[Description: The best marksman in Korea, formerly known as Silent, is now retired from active duty and serves as the Dean of the Seoul Hero Academy]
Although he appears to be a very gentle old man, he is anything but that.
Named Silent for the fact that anyone who is hit by an arrow from him dies instantly without saying a word, the number of Awakened he has killed in the past is in the triple digits.
“This is the first time we’ve met student Eugene Han. I’m Heo Seok-ki.”
And of course, he knew my identity.
“Nice to meet you.”
As I closed the door and bowed, the dean stood up, smiling.
“Hehe, please have a seat here, you know why I called you, right?”
“Yes, for placing first in the class ranking match, and……for stopping this terrorist attack, I hear.”
The dean smiles and nods as he listens to my words.
“Yes, those are some of the reasons as well. I suppose I should formally thank you for this. Thank you so much for protecting our academy Eugene.”
The Dean lowers his head, bowing as if it’s the natural thing to do.
“I was only doing what ……I was supposed to do.”
“Your humility makes me proud to be your Dean.”
The dean raises his head again and looks at me with a wry smile but for some reason, even though he’s smiling, a tension seems to be creeping into his body.
……That’s the Silence of Korea.
However, something was still bothering me, so I cautiously opened my mouth.
“You said that’s one reason, but is there another?”
“Yes, there is another reason, and that is because Eugene is the son of a friend of mine.”
……You’re mentioning my father here, too?
“Did you know my father?”
“I wonder if there are any heroes as old as me who don’t know Eugene’s father. We recently met in connection with Eugene’s admission to the Academy.”
From the sounds of it, my father was the one who talked with the dean when I entered the academy, allowing me to attend under my current pseudonym.
“It’s not enough to repay him, but it’s nice to be able to give back, even if I’ve been more blessed lately.”
“So,” he said, and then continued.
“To show my appreciation and reciprocate, I have a gift for you.”
“You mean a……gift?”
The dean nods at my question.
“Yes, this is the situation, but that’s why I have to give you more.”
Saying that, he waves his hand, and the black mist from his fingertips coalesces in his hand and begins to take the form of something.
“Originally, the student who took first place in the ‘Class Ranking Battle’ was supposed to be given an elixir befitting of him, but…… no matter how I think about it, an elixir just doesn’t seem to be enough of a reward, so I’m going to give you this in return.”
As he said this, he placed an unadorned black box on the table.
“This is …….”
“Open it.”
Slowly, I brought my hand to the box and opened it, revealing a pair of jet-black shoes neatly packed inside.
“Are these……?”
“These are the shoes I used to wear.”
I hit the jackpot.
