Bracket Matches
[Seong Ah-rin] VS [Hong Bi-yeon]
[Yoon Se-ah] VS [Lee Seo-yoon]
…
…
[Ecclesia] VS [Park Su-jin]
[No Un-hyeon] VS [Yoo Eun-ha]
That’s bad.
[Seong Ah-rin] VS [Hong Bi-yeon]
[Kang Ayul] VS [Choi Si-ra]
[Seo Ji-an] VS [Lee Myeong-bok]
This is really bad.
‘Why in the world did I ever agree to randomize the bracket matches…?’
Until last year, to prevent the unfortunate incidents where first-year students met upperclassmen and got eliminated early, the student council would manually match participants based on their rankings, ensuring the competition stayed balanced.
Show appropriate potential but don’t overshadow the seats held by second and third years.
‘Really, I’m going insane.’
Still, it was tedious handling everything, and with most of the main characters gathered together, randomly deciding matchups for the rest seemed fine at the time. I even pushed the idea to avoid scrutiny from the student council members. Now, I regret it. If I could turn back time, I’d slap my past self.
‘Thankfully, Kang Ayul is in the opposite bracket, at least.’
Looking at Kang Ayul’s and Seo Ji-an’s matchups, they are set to meet in the semifinals.
If I decide not to forfeit and aim for a second consecutive term as Student Council President… that means I need to reach the semifinals.
Kang Ayul, as the second-ranked second-year and vice president of the current student council, will no doubt reach the semifinals… and as for the protagonist, Seo Ji-an, unless something absurd like getting slashed in their sleep happens, they’ll likely reach the semifinals too.
‘Who will win their semifinal match…?’
Still, will Seo Ji-an, the protagonist, win? No, judging by their recent growth, it’s possible.
Setting aside that match, the real concern is my match with Seo Ji-an.
‘First off, the protagonist—Seo Ji-an—has likely chosen the Striker path. That means…’
‘They are a worst-case matchup for me, a Magician.’
Even if I were to launch magical attacks, the protagonist would likely evade them to some extent. I’d have to prepare for a close-range fight anyway…
‘However, if it were to be Seo Ji-an vs. Kang Ayul, that means Kang Ayul excels at close combat too.’
Since both are Strikers preferring close-range battles, their winner would be the stronger in close combat.
Kang Ayul, with her experience and likable demeanor, seems poised to win. However, if she were to lose…
Could I win against Seo Ji-an, who overpowered Kang Ayul in close combat?
My head is already in knots.
“Ugh… this feels like I’m getting paired with too strong opponents starting from the round of 256.”
“Indeed. And wouldn’t you know it, I’m already matched against Yoon Se-ah from the start.”
Somewhere along the line, Lee Seo-yoon had approached me, her jaw resting on her hand as she sighed.
‘Right…’
Thinking about it, my own matchup in the round of 256 is against someone unexpectedly strong.
‘Lee Seo-yoon… to be honest, it seems like she’s hiding her true strength.’
Even without a growth cheat or anything like that, she’s managed to win against Kang Ayul, the current second-best of Raon Academy, even when still recovering from injuries.
Of course, Kang Ayul is far from being fully developed… but the same applies to elections where Kang Ayul may not show her full potential. Still, to me, personally, the best matchup among the main characters seemed to be between Seo Ji-an and Lee Seo-yoon. Who would have thought the protagonist’s place would be taken by me?
While everyone around is trying to gather information about their opponents, Lee Seo-yoon and I remain silent, merely staring at each other.
‘Her gaze… it’s changed.’
Until just a moment ago, her worried tone and actions fit the situation. Now, it’s something else.
“…”
‘This feeling… it’s like being scrutinized entirely.’
Her gaze is like that of a venomous snake, persistently searching for an opening.
‘I’m so uncomfortable; it raises the hairs on my skin.’
If I show a weakness, it will feel like being bitten by the snake’s fangs, leading to a fatal strike around my neck.
-Go-o-o-o-o…….
“Miss Seo-yoon, your gaze is a bit too intense.”
“It’s just that you aren’t showing any openings despite my intense stare.”
I quickly turned my head aside.
‘I’m not that skilled with psychology.’
People who are experts in psychology or highly adept at reading others’ minds can predict their psychology and next actions through even the slightest behaviors. I’ve heard this somewhere.
In situations like this, not showing anything is a good way to endure psychological warfare.
“Hey, Seo-yoon, turning away like that is rather inconvenient.”
“Miss Seo-yoon is strong, so I figured I need to be careful.”
And with that, I walked away, heading towards the dormitory.
It wasn’t out of fear, I swear.
…
…
…
-Boom!
-BOOM! BOOM!
“…”
From somewhere overhead, a significant noise is heard, probably from people walking to take seats in the audience stands.
The problem is that there are quite a lot of them.
“Comrade, why are you doing this? You look like you’re rather troubled by the noise.”
“Be quiet, unless you want to be annihilated, dissolve your crystallized form.”
“Hmm…….Alright, then.”
Just as Azathoth asked about why he suddenly manifested, the reason was clear.
I need to announce the beginning of this year’s student council president election. I’m waiting in a waiting room located below the stands for the announcement.
“Why make the waiting room below the stands?”
Last year’s student council president must’ve waited here, and I feel sorry for them just thinking about it.
“Still, this is where the main story begins now.”
From here, what seemed like a normal academy story with bright futures ahead will reveal illegal drugs circulating, with Hong Bi-yeon turning into a lower-grade demon due to side effects and wreaking havoc inside the arena.
Though weaker than the seven demons I’ve dealt with so far, the lower-grade demons have unrestricted strength, making them as powerful as B-rank heroes, unlike the heavily restrained seven demons.
“I’ll have to handle it well.”
Based on the TorneMond system, student council president elections take place after school hours to minimize audience involvement, mainly from guild members or parents of students. This led to the creation of a week-long period termed the “Student Council President Election Period.”
During the week, all classes are suspended, giving students a short break.
During this period, students go home to train or explore dungeons.
“Ah, those kinds of students would already be participating in the election. Scratch that. Most will likely rest in the dorms or read in the library.”
“Anyway, whenever there were sports meets, I often avoided playing soccer and retreated to the library. Admittedly, I always ended up dragged into the games.”
Thus, there aren’t many things for students to do outside of matches.
“Who’s in today’s matches?”
“First up will be the freshman top-ranked student, Seo Ji-an, against the former top-ranked student from the opening ceremony, Seong Ah-rin. Nothing much aside from that.”
That’s how most people spend their time, either watching matches at the arena or watching through their phones.
“Of course, I’m still in the waiting room.”
The Demon Incident occurs midway through the match when Hong Bi-yeon infiltrates with drugs during Seong Ah-rin’s match, requiring me to save everyone inside the packed arena.
“Mr. President, it’s time to go out.”
“Thank you.”
“I believe you’ll win this election!”
“Thank you.”
Encouraged by the Student Council members, I stepped outside to see many people cheering for me in the Coliseum.
“Let’s see… all the major guilds in Korea are present.”
Total Cloud, Spiral, Gold, Divine Sword, Sun, Gear, Kumihoho, Black Tiger… and why are the Vultures here?
“SIS! Look at me!”
“Master… it’s too loud!”
“Phew, this is loud here; I wonder how loud it will be in the seats.”
Looking at the stands, I saw Thomas Andrea waving enthusiastically in my direction.
‘Hmm…this woman is quite formidable. Even without my constraints, I could fight her on equal terms.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, this level of strength… it’s been so long. Instead of chasing after your energy that day, I should have gone to her.’
“Same here, why did you come this way and get killed by Miss Yoo Eun-ha?”
I was well aware that she was an S-Rank Hunter, capable of single-handedly tackling an S-rank dungeon and was incredibly strong even before her corruption.
“Wow, you’ve got good connections.”
Currently, the Vultures rank third in potion purchases behind Total Cloud Guild and Spiral Guild, surpassing many average local guilds.
After lightly waving back, I climbed the podium with the microphone I had taken out from my pocket.
“Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us for the Raon Academy Student Council President elections.”
Please, let this be my last duty as the student council president.
