I Become a Mafia in the Academy

Chapter 64

After flying through the air, I landed on the ground, rolled, and immediately assumed a combat stance.

"Woof woof woof!!"

"Grrrrrrr!!"

The pack of kobolds pointed their weapons at me, growling fiercely.

Were there really this many with a count of 50?

As I was about to reach into the cube to pull out [Capone's Tommy], I remembered what Gwak Chunshik had told me.

'Clear them out without using a weapon.'

He had said not to use a weapon. In the end, I stopped activating the cube and, as soon as I landed in front of them, automatically ignited the aura of [Bloodline: Calione].

"It's good that there are so many!"

Perhaps because I was facing fifty enemies, an aura far greater than when I sparred with the elderly duo began to emanate from my body.

The kobolds recoiled and stepped back from the menacing aura.

"Anyway, I'll see you later, sir."

First, I left Gwak Chunshik, who was standing behind me with his arms crossed, and began to gather the overwhelming aura little by little, spreading it throughout my body.

If it ended here, my body would only be enhanced, but I took it a step further, releasing the aura through my fists to form a thin barrier.

As before, I tried to transform it into something like gloves or another form, but it felt like I was trying to shape water, and in the end, all I could do was let it flow through my hands.

Still, this should be enough to deal with those guys.

"Woof! Woof woof! Woof woof woof!"

"Grrrrr! Woof woof!"

The kobolds began to raise their weapons higher, perhaps realizing something unusual was happening right in front of their eyes.

If the kobolds attacked first, it could be disadvantageous to mix into the center of their formation and lead to a melee. I had to charge in right now, before their fear turned into madness.

Kkkkiiiik───

As soon as I heard the sound of a kobold loading a crossbow, I leaped into their group and smashed the face of the kobold in the front.

Ke──!

With this, they wouldn't even be able to attempt most of their prepared ranged attacks.

Shocked by my sudden charge, the kobold who was about to throw away his crossbow to draw a dagger had his jaw shattered first, and I began to crush the kobolds one by one.

With each kobold shattered, I could feel their fear growing.

And that fear was converted into power by the additional effect of my trait, [Successor of the Underworld], [Baby Boss], enhancing my body even further, spreading explosive power throughout me.

"Kkekekekekk!"

"Kkiking!"

The kobolds who were trying to surround me were blown back by the shockwave, and as I kicked those flying kobolds towards the ones hiding further back, they burst open like water balloons.

At the same time, a thick smell of wet dog mixed with blood spread heavily throughout the dungeon.

"...Phew."

Red steam rose from my body as if the blood was evaporating.

Thanks to the aura pushing away the blood, I narrowly avoided getting covered in it.

I pushed back my sweat-drenched hair and turned my head to look at Gwak Chunshik, who was still watching me from behind.

"Is this enough?"

In fact, the battle was practically over the moment I incapacitated most of the 50 kobolds within minutes.

But Gwak Chunshik's expression was strange.

If it were the Gwak Chunshik I knew, he would have said, 'Well, that's decent.' or 'I would have finished it faster.' But he was just staring at me blankly with his mouth wide open.

...Did I do something wrong?

"...Sir?"

* * *

That kid, is he Vito Calione's son?

I couldn't help but be astonished after watching the entire fight of a kid I had only considered a rookie.

When I threw him into the kobold pack, I didn't expect much.

Having seen his combat sense and style during the sparring, this time I wanted to see how he usually uses his aura.

I had seen countless aura users worthy of being called Aura Masters, and I knew the average growth rate better than anyone.

He awakened just a month ago... Then I have a rough idea.

Since controlling aura is difficult, he would fight by concentrating it on one part of his body.

To maintain it while moving, he would use more power than necessary, and in the end, he would collapse from exhaustion due to poor pace control.

But.

'Is that possible?'

He had already exceeded my expectations.

The aura fluttering aimlessly here and there was indeed like that of a rookie who had just awakened, but the rest of his performance...

'He's a genius.'

The reason he struggled with controlling his aura wasn't because it was difficult to control.

It was simply because he couldn't handle the overwhelming amount of aura.

An ordinary person would be unable to move in such a torrent of aura, but he was forcibly shaping it into a 'release' form.

And I had seen such a sight before in the past.

──Vito Calione.

The man now called 'Don' by everyone, the man who rules the night streets of the entire world.

In the past, the man who burned himself out at the forefront of the most discriminated and marginalized, trying to protect them.

With one punch, he could make countless monsters explode, and with one kick, he could knock down a giant beast, a man called the most brutal and strongest.

'Blood indeed tells.'

Through that kid, I saw the image of Vito Calione superimposed.

"...Sir?"

The kid called out to me. Despite creating such a brutal and gruesome scene, not a single drop of blood was on his body.

An aura dense enough to push away even the surrounding blood. It was ridiculous, even though it was right in front of my eyes.

Truly, it was an amount of aura that could be considered monstrous.

If it's this kid, if he has more aura than even Vito Calione, more than me...

"You... could do it."

"...Yes?"

Vito Calione, the technique I created to confront the man who would surpass me in the future.

The technique I created to surpass that man, which even I couldn't fully control.

I was sure this kid could master it.

* * *

"What do you mean, possible? What are you talking about?"

Here it comes.

The dialogue triggering Gwak Chunshik's old man gimmick.

My cheeks twitched with joy, but I held them tight.

I thought I would have to struggle for a while, but seeing the tears in his eyes, it seemed like I really triggered the gimmick condition.

Was there even a condition to be moved?

I just did what I usually do...

"...Let's talk about it later. Other guys will come soon, drawn by the smell of their comrades' blood."

"Anyway, wouldn't they all be swept away with just one gesture from you, sir?"

"You brat, does my aura come out of the ground? If it were a dungeon of this size, fine, but if I did it recklessly elsewhere, I'd die an untimely death."

Saying that, he clasped his hands behind his back and walked deeper into the dungeon.

"We'll walk slowly to the boss room, so you handle it."

"...Me? Isn't this your request, sir?"

"It's my request and your mentor's request. Did you come here to just learn and leave?"

Wow, he's making me out to be the bad guy here.

Just when I thought I raised my favorability a bit, his true colors came out.

But anyway, since the monsters that would come out of a dungeon like this could be dealt with using [Capone's Tommy], I sighed and pulled out the gun.

"Alright── Ack?!"

Suddenly, Gwak Chunshik struck my back.

"Sigh and you'll get cursed, you brat!"

Seriously, he's acting like an old man in the weirdest places.

In the end, I pulled out Tommy and followed Gwak Chunshik, taking down the approaching kobolds.

Seeing this, Gwak Chunshik looked at my Tommy with a curious expression.

"I wondered what you were pulling out a gun for, but it was an artifact. Does it shoot magic power as bullets?"

"Yes, sometimes aura mixes in here, and red bullets fly out."

"What? Aura, what... Right, if a guy like you who scatters aura all over the place is shooting, it's bound to affect the magic power too."

Huh?

"...Did I scatter aura all over the place?"

"Well, do you think you were fighting while controlling it? Watching from behind, I was so frustrated. I almost died of anger, not from the kobolds."

"Couldn't you have told me beforehand?"

"I was planning to do that anyway. Wait, stop here."

Suddenly, Gwak Chunshik stopped me and stepped forward, placing his hand on a dummy wall.

"Let's see~ It should be around here."

"...Yes?"

"Watch closely. You'll be able to do it too later."

At that moment.

────────────!!

An enormous explosion and dust filled the surroundings as the wall burst.

A long tunnel stretched out in a straight line, as if a bomb had been detonated.

Beyond it, a kobold larger and paler than the others was visible.

"Hehehe. As expected, my sense never fails."

Kobold Queen.

Without a doubt, it was the boss of this dungeon.

But what surprised me was not just Gwak Chunshik's skill in finding the Kobold Queen instantly.

The tunnel's appearance, where not a single stone fell despite the violent explosion, and the neat condition inside.

"Let's go."

I was curious to what extent one could control aura to perform such a feat.

As expected, this is the level required to be called a monster.

"Bark! Bark bark! Bark!"

As the Kobold Queen started barking upon spotting us, the kobolds in armor gathered around began to pick up their weapons and enter the tunnel.

Their armament was significantly different from the other kobolds.

Especially, the shields held by the two at the front seemed capable of deflecting any ranged attack or magic.

"Ugh, it's noisy. Keep it down since it echoes."

Muttering that, Gwak Chunshik spread his palm and scratched it in a straight line.

"Squeak?"

"Grunt?"

The kobold guards, puzzled by Gwak Chunshik's action, tried to advance with their shields again.

With a slicing sound, the upper parts of the shields they were holding fell to the ground.

The two kobold guards tilted their heads in confusion, then fell to the ground with a thud.

Blood spurted from the heads of the two who fell on either side.

"...Ha."

I was dumbfounded by his overwhelming presence.

If I were that kobold, could I have blocked it?

No, it would have been impossible with just my body or ordinary equipment.

Even if I tried to dodge, I would have been hit for sure if I was unaware.

"Yoojin. I thought of you as a rough gem at first, but you're already somewhat polished. What you need now is storytelling to enhance the value of your jewel."

As he said this, a sword made of blue mana rose from his hand.

"And I intend to teach you a technique that will help in your future legend."

Gwak Chunshik looked at the sword placed on his hand and pulled his right arm back as if it were a bowstring.

His expression remained incredibly calm and serene throughout.

Finally, having pulled his arm all the way back, he gently, almost shyly, extended it forward.

It was a kind of phenomenon.

Just by extending his arm, just by thrusting the sword.

At some point, his sword had already reached the neck of the Kobold Queen standing far away.

The Kobold Queen, pierced precisely through the throat, made no scream.

She just stood there, dazed, not understanding what had happened.

Thud.

The Kobold Queen's body touched the ground.

At this, all the kobolds nearby began to wail, scream, and cry out while beating the ground and clutching their heads.

And all this noise──

"Standing alone in the blue."

──vanished with his single word.

The blue sword, not yet retrieved from the Kobold Queen.

From there, countless branches emerged, taking over everything and claiming the lives of the intruders in its territory.

As Gwak Chunshik gently relaxed his right hand, the blue tree that had taken over the area melted away into the air as if its task was complete, and he turned back to me as if nothing had happened and said,

"Aura Technique. That's the skill you will learn from me."

Gwak Chunshik.

My mentor spoke with a warm smile.