I Become a Mafia in the Academy

Chapter 50

As expected, the old saying that hawks are weak rang true in my mind.

Just looking at Jinwoo, who was now smiling triumphantly before me, confirmed it.

Just moments ago, he was fumbling around, not knowing what to do, but now he's smiling as if he could handle it.

The kids are growing, little by little.

"Then come at me."

"I'll do it even if you don't tell me!"

As Jinwoo shouted, the wind in the space where we stood began to change unnaturally.

"Seah!"

"Let's give it a try!"

Simultaneously, purple platforms appeared in the air without any warning.

Even though Jinwoo didn't see all the platforms with his eyes, he stepped on them as if it were obvious that they were there and charged towards me.

It was an interesting application, even though it was a method I had thought of.

Just with Seah's support, the attack had become three-dimensional instead of two-dimensional.

More importantly, the platforms were created by Seah, the spatial magician, not Jinwoo.

If it was her, a user of spatial magic, she could surely create paths in the most unexpected and certain ways.

In fact, Jinwoo's movements now were beyond my imagination.

"...Are you detecting it with the wind?"

I figured out the nature of the unnatural wind.

Jinwoo was reading the wind.

It seemed he was dominating and feeling the wind around him, predicting the presence of platforms where the wind was blocked, and stepping on them.

With just a hint given to him, seeing him utilize his abilities like this, it seemed the description in the about him being a promising hitman was true.

However, it only made more varied attacks possible; it wasn't to the extent that I couldn't follow with my eyes.

I threw a punch towards Jinwoo, who was charging at me.

My target was his jaw. Since I saw enough potential, I thought it would be okay to end the spar, but for some reason, my punch felt heavy.

"Ha. Interesting."

Before I knew it, the blue magic of Youngje that had been enveloping my body had disappeared, leaving only my fist encased.

'Adagissimo' was the spell, it seems, that slows down the target.

Although it couldn't stop me from swinging my fist, focusing on one spot like this threw off the timing of my punch.

"Aaaaaaaah!!"

I twisted my body to dodge Jinwoo's dagger.

At the same time, not missing the opening, I tried to strike Jinwoo by lifting my foot, but Jinwoo stepped on another platform in the air, turning his body to launch a second attack.

Giving up on defending with my heavy right arm, I extended my left arm to block Jinwoo's attack again.

Thanks to [Midas's Gloves], I wasn't cut by the dagger, but the impact left my palm numb.

Then.

Trying to grab Jinwoo's dagger like before, he seemed to sense something odd, flinched, and quickly withdrew his dagger while backing away.

'You won't fall for it twice?'

It wasn't a bad reaction.

Perhaps because he forced his body to move according to Seah's magic, Jinwoo was breathing more heavily than usual.

Definitely an improved coordination and application of skills.

Not bad. No, quite good. It was enough to give me the confidence that I wouldn't be caught off guard.

But.

"You're still clumsy!"

Without missing the moment he was catching his breath, I dashed towards Youngje, who was standing apart from the two, and threw a punch.

"Are you targeting me here?"

"Your position was a mess."

It was the same in actual games.

A mage far from the front line, that's practically the first target to take out, isn't it?

Of course, this time too, an ice shield appeared to block my punch, but──

"As expected."

I was glad I didn't hold back my punch.

With a crunch, the shield shattered into pieces, and Youngje's body bent into a C-shape.

Judging by his eyes, it seemed he didn't lose consciousness. As I tried to deliver a finishing blow for a sure end.

"Mr. Jinwoo! Now!"

"Hang in there, Glasses!"

My fist grazed Youngje's cheek instead of his jaw.

Did you not give up until the end?

It seemed Seah had made my attack miss.

It looked like Jinwoo was trying to pull me away from Youngje by charging at me, but...

"Unfortunately, there's too big a difference in physical abilities."

Jinwoo's kick was far too weak to push me away.

I bent the arm that had grazed Youngje's cheek and struck his face with my elbow. At the same time, his pupils dilated, and Youngje collapsed to the ground.

Without loosening the strength in the arm that had hit Youngje, I grabbed Jinwoo's face, who was trying to attack me, and slammed it to the ground.

"Mr. Jinwoo!"

Jinwoo, who had managed to avoid face-planting by bracing himself with his hands, tried to trip me with a capoeira-like move, but.

"I told you."

My body didn't even budge.

Maybe if I had been caught off guard, but with my body prepared for the attack, Jinwoo's strike was far too weak to knock me down.

"The difference in physical abilities is just too great."

"Ah... gently──."

I dropped my fist onto Jinwoo's head as he lay there.

BOOM!!!

And with that, Jinwoo, foaming at the mouth, passed out.

Now only Seah was left.

"Uh... Can't you spare me, Mr. Yoojin?"

Perhaps because she had seen the two before her knocked out by my punches, Seah was trembling and backing away.

"We have to see the end of the spar, so there's no other way."

Of course, I intended to knock her out gently, less harshly than I did with Jinwoo or Youngje.

"If you're that scared, you could just forfeit."

Seah stopped trembling upon hearing my words. Then she shook her head.

"Instructor Ji Soohyun said last time that it's better to struggle until the end."

Had she gained resolve from hearing Ji Soohyun's words during the last spar?

Or maybe seeing the two trying something until the very end just now changed her mind. Perhaps it was both.

In any case, despite the desperate situation, she didn't give up, spreading her hands equipped with her unique armament and looking at me.

"So... I'll struggle until the end... Eek?!"

I swung my fist hard at Kim Seah's face as she confidently steeled herself in front of me.

As I stopped the punch just in front of her face, the air pressure swept over her, disorienting her, and at the same time, her eyes rolled back and Kim Seah collapsed.

"What good does it do to steel yourself when the enemy won't wait for you to get ready?"

With that, all three were out of the fight.

The forest where our battle took place looked like a battlefield.

Broken trees and craters dotted the landscape.

If this had been outside, I would have been worrying about how to restore it, but fortunately, this was the Academy's sparring ground.

As the situation ended, the forest's form started to distort and returned to the original sparring ground.

"Wow, I thought you'd go a bit easier since it's a team training, but you took them out mercilessly, huh?"

As the field returned to its original state, the door to the sparring ground opened and Ji Soohyun entered.

Even though she said that, she was grinning as if she was having a blast.

"I did go easy on them."

After hearing my story, Ji Soohyun nodded and approached where the kids were lying.

"Yeah, I guess so. I heard all the advice you gave to each of them."

When Ji Soohyun snapped her fingers in the middle of the three fallen, their bodies disappeared in an instant.

Glancing over, I could see that all three had been moved outside the sparring ground.

"So, you went easy on them and then made them feel the gap before knocking them out. What was the reason for that? Was it to show them despair and make them give up?"

"......I just wanted them to feel motivated when they saw me."

Your club president is at this level. Try hard. If you want to beat me, you need to work even harder.

I thought this was the best way to firmly instill that message in them.

"Hmm, really? If that was the case, it definitely had an effect. Even Kim Seah didn't give up until the end. I was impressed without even realizing it."

I agreed with that part as well.

"Oh, and what you wanted from this match was the kids' teamwork, right? I didn't expect you to use spatial magic like that... Were you thinking about it all along?"

It seems Ji Soohyun heard the advice I gave to Seah and Jinwoo during the sparring.

"I just thought it was part of the president's role to assess the potential of club members."

To be honest, I just taught them the method I usually use in games, but it seemed quite innovative here.

"You have a way with words. I moved all the kids to the chairs in the sparring room, so you can take them when they wake up. And... thanks for the entertaining show?"

"It was a deal, after all."

While we were sparring in the sparring ground, Ji Soohyun was blocking the situation from leaking out to the surroundings.

That was the deal I made with Ji Soohyun today.

It was also something I asked for as the club president.

I thought it wouldn't be good to show our strength in a situation like this, just before a battle.

"The others should follow your example. It's ridiculous that the sparring ground is empty from Monday morning..."

Ji Soohyun clicked her tongue and turned away.

......Who can stop that battle maniac?

"Ranger Club. Can you make the 'Familia' kids win by next week?"

She asked me as she turned her back.

"Yes, I'm confident."

And, I was sure of it.

"Really? Is that so... Well, if it's you, it doesn't seem impossible. Contact me if you have anything interesting to watch or if you need a favor."

"Yes. Thank you."

With those words, Ji Soohyun left the sparring ground.

And I turned my head to look at the three people lying side by side on the chairs.

Jinwoo, Seah, Youngje.

Despite it being just one sparring session, they showed more than I expected.

However, there were still many areas where they fell short.

Especially in terms of stamina and judgment, their basics were lacking.

But it's okay.

"They can get stronger from now on."

I will definitely make them grow, my club, my Familia.

Ding-!

At that moment, an alarm popped up notifying me of a new message.

[Parnello: One mission at dawn today.]

"......No rest right after vacation. A mission right away."

Yes, I mustn't forget. Before being the president of 'Familia', I am the successor of Calione.

Today, I planned to send the kids home first and then head to the mansion myself.

* * *

As soon as I arrived home, Parnello, who had come out to meet me, took me straight to the conference room and immediately began explaining the details of the mission.

"This mission involves subduing and educating a certain group."

A briefing right after I arrived... Why are they rushing to tell me about the mission?

"Subduing and educating a group? Did they do something?"

In response to my question, Parnello grimaced and opened his mouth again.

"That is... they were inciting an assault on the young master."

"......Huh? Me?"

Suddenly?