<The Demon Lord of the Swordsmanship Family Chapter 30>
To cut to the conclusion, the deal between me and Cheon Su-man went through.
Why? Didn’t I come out making big, loud boasts?
That’s right.
I live the way I want!
After putting on a show, I stormed out of the Dean’s Office.
But just because I managed to boost my pride a little doesn’t mean I’ve lost touch with reality.
If I get my way, then the other side gets theirs as well.
I’m clearly a member of this academy, and Cheon Su-man is the dean of the academy. In terms of discretionary power within the academy, the other side holds a crushing advantage.
I’m not in a position to stubbornly hold out.
Still, maybe it’s because I made such a scene at the start. The negotiations that followed progressed relatively smoothly.
This is the result.
Tuesday, 11:38 AM.
Under normal circumstances, I’d be heading to the cafeteria for lunch right now. However, we’re climbing an unnamed mountain in Gangwon-do.
“Hmm~ It’s refreshing and great.”
“Huh, refreshing? Is this refreshing?”
“It’s drizzling too.”
“Drizzling?! Are you serious?! My raincoat is soaked too! How on earth is this drizzling? Aaah-!”
Thump.
Merhem trips over a tree branch and falls.
Splash.
The mud soaked by the rain dirties Merhem’s designer track suit.
Ordinarily, I’d be eagerly mocking the shaman for tripping over a mere branch.
But I deliberately averted my gaze.
“Hmm, the grass smells nice.”
“Ha ha! This is infuriating! Why is today of all days?! The helicopter I ordered is supposed to arrive next week!!”
“Just bear with it a little longer. We’re almost there.”
“Are you enjoying this situation, Joon-woo? That’s nice then, huh? Since you’ll get all the live fighting you desire, huh? You must love it.”
“Don’t blame this on me. I’m not the culprit.”
“Hmph… You’re right. That’s true. Joon-woo is right. The culprit is someone else.”
Meri glares at me with daggers in her eyes.
“You look like you’re about to bore a hole through me.”
“I wish you would.”
“Dear, our Meri has become so aggressive.”
“Stop wasting time. Give me a proper explanation. Why did it come to this? Why are we climbing a mountain during class time? I was assured everything was resolved with the dean.”
“Hmm, well, it’s like this…”
The negotiating table that Cheon Su-man and I faced again.
Though it wasn’t explicitly stated, we both anticipated this would be our last negotiation, so we approached the deal with great caution.
“Cheon Su-man merely seeks balance; in simpler terms, it means not interfering with the students’ activities.”
“Indeed, your involvement renders the competition meaningless.”
“Shh, Joon-woo. Stop interrupting. Kyu-hyuk, continue.”
Right, we understood what Cheon Su-man wanted.
The problem was that I truly had no specific desires. The fundamental principle of a deal involves both parties bringing out what the other needs, but in this case, our deal was overwhelmingly one-sided.
Then, what exactly do I need? I was deep in thought when a counselor appeared.
The parent of two children who graduated first in their class, Mr. Bae Tae-rang.
The arrival of Lady Kim Yeon-hee.
“Did Cheon Su-man truly say that? Pfft. He must be desperate. You’ve made him quite uncomfortable.”
“In my opinion, you two don’t need to attend class at all, do you? Why not focus on gaining practical experience instead? Like third-year students tackling gate missions for credits.”
“Do you want any specific lectures? Ah, Positioning! Wouldn’t that be good? Request the lecture via video. What’s the problem? Say what you desire. Once Cheon Su-man agrees, this deal becomes overwhelmingly favorable.”
And once again, the mother’s prediction hit the mark.
Cheon Su-man accepted every condition in my deal without a single objection.
“Wait a moment. Does that mean that appointing the ‘Top 10 Academics’ this time…?”
“That’s correct. It’s because of our group.”
Top Academic.
A term used to describe students in each cohort who achieve excellent grades, possess good conduct, and serve as role models for others.
That being said, this term is more widely known as a “Free Pass.”
Because, they don’t need to attend classes.
Top academics are essentially students whom the professors officially acknowledge as having nothing left to teach them.
Thus, this system allows top academics to be recognized for their credits if their external activities through institutions like Agents or Associations are approved, eliminating the need for class attendance.
“Of course, theoretically speaking.”
However, the Korean Academy’s focus is group activities.
Well known to all, group activities are mandatory “core subject” classes. For example, my favorite course, ‘Understanding and Application of Positioning,’ requires joint evaluations for all group members.
This means that, even if one is a top academic, participation in these subject-specific group activities is mandatory for the sake of group members.
Therefore, the system of top academics known as the “Free Pass,” until yesterday, was evaluated merely as a petty scholarship for skipping trivial liberal arts courses.
Until yesterday.
“…In making this judgment, this Dean selected the top 10 students within the mid-term exams as outstanding scholarship recipients.”
Cheon Su-man chose the top 10 students from the mid-term exams, with Meri in 9th place, Joon-woo in 3rd, and I topped the list as first. Hence, our group became entirely composed of top academics.
What does this mean? Now, our group is officially exempt from attending classes.
“We’re free!”
“Free?! What nonsense!”
Whack!
Meri’s palm struck the back of my head.
“You’re calling it a request?! Now we’re constantly going out on jobs. What kind of freedom is this?!”
“Oh come on, it’s just an excuse.”
“Are you kidding me?! Is this something to brag about?! While others are comfortably attending school, here we are climbing mountains soaked to the bone in rain. Is this really ideal?!”
The frenzied Meri.
But alas, there is no one around who can empathize with her rage.
“Hmm… it’s great, heavenly.”
“Great… heavenly?”
“Hunting is always right.”
“Right…?”
As much as classes are excellent, battles still feel better to me and Joon-woo, who enjoys combat just as much.
Our sincere enthusiasm toward battle ensures Meri’s appeals will likely fall on deaf ears.
“Hmph… I’m fuming with anger, I can’t walk anymore.”
“Shall I carry you?”
“Please do.”
I swiftly picked Meri up.
“How’s the ride going?”
“Quit talking and keep walking.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Thus, we ascended the mountain through the rain for a while.
In the distance, the blue gate was visible.
“We’re here.”
“That’s right. I see it.”
“Is it true that hunting orcs at this location will let us acquire ‘Psychic Stones’?”
“Yeah.”
Today, our destination gate is the ‘Hatchet Hand Orc Tribe.’
Orcs who, since birth, sacrifice one of their eyes as an offering, thereby gaining the ability to use ‘Psychic Power.’
Our first mission is to retrieve a Psychic Stone from this orc tribe.
“Let’s go.”
“Got it.”
“Psst, put me down gently wherever you’re about to change positions. Don’t even think about dreaming of anything else.”
“I’m just swapping arms, alright?”
Clomp, clomp.
A man with sunglasses moved his steps.
“Hahahaha! Full house! It exploded!!”
“No, it’s impossible! This is cheating! My money, my honor!”
“Hands off, you bastards! Call your supervisor here! Do you know who I am? Police Chief… ”
As ever, an illegal casino packed with people emerged.
Even during a weekday afternoon, men drunk on alcohol extend cards toward each other.
Sharing the same air as these subhuman sc*m is utterly repulsive.
The man’s expression behind the sunglasses briefly twisted, then returned to its blank slate.
“Have you arrived, Head?”
“Where’s the boss?”
“He’s inside.”
A short while later, the door opened, and with the guards’ greetings, the man entered.
Inside, a male puffing cigarettes in a room.
This man is the general manager of that place, boss Kim, whom the sunglasses-wearing man serves.
“You’re here? Work?”
“It’s done.”
“Good job. Have a smoke.”
“Thank you.”
Chik-
Boss Kim personally lit a cigarette for the man and set it aflame, his own way of delivering praise.
“Alright, what’s the scoop? Why did the ‘shipment’ suddenly collapse?”
“One of the rookies, lacking awareness, ‘reclaimed’ the Inspector General’s grandson. This led to the sudden surge in quantity, leaving no time for prior investigation.”
“Good grief, irresponsible young ones. How could they swallow such a dangerous task regardless of the urgency. The Inspector was so incensed that he mobilized the entire police force, creating chaos. Through our connections, we handed over the child and one facility to bring it to an end.”
“d*mn, those fools, how on earth do they handle the situation? After all, it’s not the first time they’re conducting business. Hmph, good job enduring everything.”
“Not a problem.”
Boss Kim extinguished the cigarette b*tt that was almost completely smoked and began another conversation.
“What about the investigation?”
“It seems we won’t be able to approach Park Gi-hyuk for the moment. The focus on him has become too intense.”
“When I saw him, he didn’t seem ordinary from his countenance. He’s gained too much fame now. Wasn’t he known as Apocalypse…? I joked about him being some sort of tiger sorcerer using magical power, but the truth is astonishing.”
“Our members are currently studying.”
“Shame, if only I had the time, I’d help look into the matter… Increase resources. Just in case, the research might aid our work.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Hey, almost forgot. Is the ‘Psychic Stone’ operation progressing as planned?”
“It’s going smoothly without any issues.”
“Mobilize all the funds available. Collect as much as you can. You also, if you have money, save some. Hard work deserves a bonus, after all.”
“Thank you.”
“Alright, let’s go get some food.”
The Psychic Stone.
A magic gem marked with the ‘Physical’ attribute.
In summary, Psychic Stones are unpopular materials on Earth.
They trade at a price much less than half of half the value of an equivalent pure magic gem.
The reason being, once an attribute is inscribed, the purposes for its use become limited.
The essential fuel of this era is the magic gem. Utilizing magic gems to generate electricity, cars function, and the world keeps moving. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the world revolves around magic gems.
However, once a magic gem has an attribute attached, it loses its value as fuel.
The scope for its application becomes drastically limited.
Moreover, with regard to the physical force attribute of the Psychic Stones compared to other typical attributes—like fire, water, earth—its utility is far inferior.
Under such circumstances, the price of Psychic Stones has plummeted to almost nothing.
As a result, the gates where Psychic Stones could naturally be procured have effectively become unpopular hunting grounds.
So far, this has been the evaluation of Psychic Stones on Earth.
Why am I suddenly talking about Psychic Stones?
Because of the pitiful bunch groveling at my feet.
“Please save us.”
“Please give us one more chance.”
“We know nothing.”
They claimed to be from the ‘White Tiger Sect.’
Hang on, thinking about it, it’s making me furious.
“Hey, change your names.”
“Huh?”
“Change them. No White Tiger Sect, or any similar names related to mountains or tigers. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”
“At once, we’ll change it.”
“We’ll disband.”
“We’ll live decently.”
Anyway, these inadequate ones interrupted us about 10 minutes ago.
We were just about to gather and head out hunting.
“Oi, what’s the problem? There are annoying pests around today. Hey, why are you here?”
“Why are you picking on children? Send them away politely.”
“This is our ‘White Tiger Sect’s spot. Leave immediately.”
First, by revealing themselves without knowing the opponent’s strength, these guys instantly qualified as either brainwashed or intellectually challenged ‘incompetents.’
Moreover, I was already stressed from being tormented by Meri all day. Consequently, I personally took it upon myself to gently persuade them—with ‘physical persuasion.’
In the middle of this physical persuasion, these folks suddenly blurted out something strange.
“Please save us. We were just following orders.”
“They only wanted to scare us off and send us away. It’s the truth! We were hired as well.”
“I don’t know much… Ahhh! No! I do know! They said they’re collecting Psychic Stones! They mentioned that hitting the ‘quota’ by tomorrow will be tough and advised not to send anyone in, please don’t hit me!”
They’re collecting Psychic Stones.
And they’ve set a quota, intending to monopolize them.
“Are you really unaware of why they’re collecting them?”
“We don’t know!”
“Come on, you have some common sense. You’re guys who live off common sense.”
“It’s a big task. We aren’t allowed into designated areas.”
“We don’t see our client’s faces except when collecting money. Others are likely in the same situation.”
“They told us not to ask questions and warned us that we’ll get hurt if we get involved.”
“…Hmm.”
Truthfully, gate monopolization for gathering materials is a common occurrence.
What puzzled me was:
‘Why use these dumb ones as intermediaries?’
‘Is the Psychic Stone valuable enough to warrant such complex monopoly schemes?’
“…You guys, go ahead and leave.”
“Ser… Are you sparing our lives?”
“That’s right, leave before I change my mind. Change your names. Be… decent on your own. But remember this: with your skills, if you continue causing trouble, you’ll eventually wind up in hell.”
“Yes! Thank you so much!”
The lot hastily disappeared.
Even their fleeing was pitiful.
Sigh, what kind of evil things could they possibly do with their pathetic skills… It’s beyond laughable and rather pitiable.
“…That was unexpected. Really letting them go?”
“Agreed.”
“What was unexpected?”
“I thought Kyu-hyuk would beat them up thoroughly.”
“Beat them up? What are you talking about? Where did you learn that?”
“From movies where they say, ‘You caused me insult,’ while making those cool sounds! It was such an epic scene! But why did you spare them? Kyu-hyuk usually shows no mercy towards such people.”
“I’m curious.”
“Because… they were too incompetent.”
“Yeah.”
“…They were pitiful.”
In reality, it’s because their souls were clean.
Even if the person is evil, even if the purpose is for justice, human beings who k*ll other humans leave wounds on their souls.
In that sense, these incompetents were too clean. So clean they were almost laughable.
“But these pathetic ones said they’re collecting Psychic Stones, right? Why, I wonder? My point is, why go to such lengths to engage in territorial battles for monopolization?”
“I’m curious too. Kyu-hyuk, do you know?”
“Hmm….”
There is something that comes to mind…
In the empire, Psychic Stones are called ‘Magnetic Stones.’
True to the ambiguous nature of the ‘Physical’ attribute, even regular sorcerers ignore Psychic Stones.
However, there is one field, and only one, that finds them extremely useful, to the point where they’re irreplaceable.
Magic in the Void world that uses souls as collateral to manifest existence.
‘…Black Magic.’
It seems I’m entangled with something ridiculous.
