Chapter 321
After capturing all the lords of the Elemental Realm, it was not difficult for Corleone to absorb the Elemental Realm.
In fact, it may have been inevitable. The three lords they had served had all died, and not just any death, but an eternal death.
For the spirits, eternal death is an unknown and terrifying prospect.
Believing themselves to be hopeless, the spirits have quietly agreed to do our bidding.
Of course, we did not coerce them by force alone.
This is the place where all the spirits are gathered, hence the name ‘Elemental Realm’.
Nothing we could do to them would benefit us.
It was clear that the members of the organization would continue their policy of assimilation, and they would naturally come down.
After all, their lives wouldn’t change much, except for a different leader.
No, maybe this was a good thing for them.
With all the modern technology and civilization that would come their way, their lives would be even more prosperous than they already were.
Yes, just like the dark spirits.
“I’m starting to get a headache.”
I put down my pen for a moment and rubbed the corners of my eyes with one hand.
Back in my room, I composed a report for my father and godfather, summarizing the events of the day.
Normally, I would have left this to someone else and gone to bed, but the magnitude of the situation meant that I felt it was best left to me.
“The biggest problem will be the dark spirits.”
The very reason they were driven out in the first place was because the other spirits feared them.
So to make them blend into the city naturally, new numbers were needed.
“I suppose this is the way it must be…….”
The dark spirits would not be part of the Elemental Realm, but of Corleone, and they would be entrusted with the world behind the Elemental Realm.
“When we start developing a new city, we’re going to have people from all over the world coming in to create new factions. For a while, blood may be spilled as they carve out their own territory and organize their factions.”
The idea is to use the Darkness to protect the general populace from them, and to eventually make it known that Corleone is the master of the city.
This will have two effects.
The fear of the dark spirits could be utilized for policing, so that differences are accepted rather than discriminated against.
And second, by showing that El Lata itself is run by spirits, we can reduce outside influence.
That would be better for the power of Corleone in the long run.
That was my plan, to slowly blend in.
“Ha, enough with the report.”
I sighed, closing the laptop on my desk.
I’ve finally gotten through one big case, so I deserve a break.
I glanced over at the calendar on my desk.
I’ll miss the Academy for mentoring, just when I should be focusing on life at the Academy.
Even the school trip was just around the corner, and there would be one new event after another.
“It was definitely Japan, right?”
The country with the most votes in our class was Japan.
At first, I thought we were just going to go to the country with the most votes, but according to Ji-hyun, there was something else going on.
“I didn’t realize it was just a discussion among the teachers.”
At that point, Ji-hyun proudly declared to the other teachers.
‘I’m going to run Japan! If you have any complaints, you’ll have to face me!’
None of the instructors in charge of the first-year students were stronger than Ji-hyun, so in the end, our class was decided to go to Japan.
Looking at this, I think it’s really……amazing.
“It’s going to be pretty busy there, too.”
Just off the top of my head, I can think of a few events……that make my mouth water.
I close my eyes quietly, thinking about what’s to come.
* * *
“What’s the matter, there’s no vacancy in our class?”𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒𝔀𝓮𝘣𝘯𝘰𝘷𝑒𝓵.𝒸𝑜𝘮
Ji-hyun walked into the class, looked around the room in surprise, and smiled.
The past events had kept our class really busy, both individually and as a group.
As a result, it was rare for everyone to show up at once.
It wasn’t all that strange.
We have more people than other classes, so there were a lot of kids who dropped out of mentoring and a lot of kids who were working on their own.
But today, all of those kids came together.
“Yeah, mentoring is great, but you need to be in school. Right, Se-ah?”
“Yeah, yeah!”
Of course, Se-ah, who has Ji-hyun as her mentor, hasn’t changed anything since then.
……In a way, I was both envious and pitied her.
“Those of you who came to the academy after a long time, do well in class, and don’t let the other instructors criticize you. What’s your first class today with?”
Young-jae replied to Ji-hyun’s question with a shake of his head.
“It’s Instructor Park Yunho’s class!”
“Oh, senior Yunho? Hehe……!”
After confirming the name, Ji-hyun suddenly looks over with a sinister smile.
Hmm, ominous.
“Cheer up……Don’t get hurt.”
With a smile on her face, Ji-hyun says mysteriously and leaves the class.
The children were puzzled by this behavior and began to ask questions.
“Isn’t the instructor’s reaction disturbing?”
Se-ah walks over to me and mumbles, to which Young-jae nods.
The question is directed at me.
“I don’t know.”
I had an idea, but it didn’t need to come out of my mouth, so I said I didn’t know for now.
Isn’t that what they say about not knowing?
“……What the hell, I should run away.”
Meanwhile, Jin-woo was seriously considering the option of running away from the academy.
I sighed and shook my head at the sight.
“I don’t think you need to worry too much, Jin-woo, because there hasn’t been a lesson in Instructor Park’s class that hasn’t been helpful.”
“Huh?”
“If you run away, I’ll catch you.”
“Hmph……You always do that to me.”
The words, “Because you’re the only one who talks shit like this all the time,” rose to the top of my throat, but I swallowed hard and ignored him.
I was more excited about Jin-woo if he reacted like that.
The ding, ding, ding of the alarm made everyone turn to their tablets.
“Huh? A class-wide announcement?”
“Today’s class it’s in the virtual battle room?”
“Ew! I almost got caught in there last time, and now we’re taking Instructor Park’s class there?”
Looks like he’s about to start that class.
I stood up, looked at the kids, and opened my mouth to play the role of class vice president for the first time in a long time.
“Did you all see the announcement on the tablet? Let’s get moving.”
I think this is going to be a fun class.
* * *
When we returned to the virtual battle room after a long time, it had changed quite a bit.
In particular, we noticed the rankings on the board.
[1st place: Class A]
[2nd: Class C]
[3rd: Class E]
……
…
Just as Ji-hyun said last time, our class was still in first place with an overwhelming record.
“Choi Yeon’s class is still below us? I thought it might be a little dangerous over there.”
Young-jae looked at the rankings and said with a proud expression.
“Choi Yeon is strong, but not everyone else is that strong, so our class must be special.”
Jin-woo chuckled as if he found Se-ah’s words amusing.
“That’s the way the instructor is, so who cares? Giggle!”
Certainly, our class had fewer strengths than other classes, but each of us had a clear specialty or strong specification.
We had high scores and high averages, so we were a minority.
I don’t know if Ji-hyun organized the class this way with this in mind, or if she was just really annoyed and wanted to reduce the number of people.
“Has everyone arrived?”
Just then, Mr. Park walked out of the administrative office and scanned the class.
“I’ve seen your records. I was just watching the video from that time, and it’s definitely good.”
The kids in the class bowed their heads in gratitude, although they were surprised that he was suddenly speaking in praise of our class.
“So, I’m going to give you a chance to top my class this time, too. How about that, does that sound interesting?”
……Yes, it is.
He meant he was basically giving us a daunting task and Jin-woo was the first to react to his words.
“Well, we’re not greedy for records, not even the first one. Can’t we just do something normal?!”
The first test is naturally hard.
It’s natural to feel more comfortable doing something later when you have more information.
Besides, Jin-woo was desperate because he felt some kind of anxiety.
He’s got good instincts, unfortunately, I don’t think it’s going to mean anything this time.
“Don’t worry. You won’t be penalized for being the first this time.”
“What?”
“Because you’ll all be at a disadvantage.”
He chuckles and snaps his fingers.
At the same time, the landscape around us changed, and a man’s figure rose from the ground.
A man clad in a crudely made garment of grass, commonly referred to as a ghillie suit.
In his hand was a massive gun the size of his upper body.
“The villain’s name is Silent Sniper. Do any of you know anything about him?”
Raising his hand, Kang Hyun answers the instructor’s question.
“I’ve heard that he used to be a mercenary and is skilled in stealth as well as long-range sniping. He’s currently a suspect in the assassination of an important person, and has been labeled as an important villain.”
Park Yoon-ho nodded, snapping his fingers in response.
“That’s correct. An Awakened rogue sniper with an artifact weapon, sniping from miles away. Even if a bullet hits from miles away, the sound is heard seconds later, hence the nickname Silent Sniper.”
──We call him an asshole.
He said that while frowning, then looked at us again and clapped his hands.
“I will not abandon you in the midst of countless spirits and monsters, as Master Ji-hyun did last time. Rather, I’m sending you to the middle of the mountains where it’s calm and healing.”
At the same time, the events of what was to come began to organize in my mind.
I quickly raised my hand and asked Mr. Park.
“Instructor, isn’t that too difficult?!”
Mr. Park nodded, looking as if I was stating the obvious.
“Isn’t that why I said at the beginning, I’ll give you a chance to be number one?”
……This guy. You were going to do this all along, weren’t you?
No matter what we said, Park Yunho looked at us and continued.
“There is only one person you have to deal with, the Silent Sniper here. Your goal is to kill him or survive for an hour and a half. Normally, you’d score points for survival, but I can guarantee you that your score for killing him will be higher than if your entire class survived. Good luck cadets of Class A.”
We’re told to either kill an A-class villain or run and hide in a forest, the terrain where he’s most confident.
Seriously, this academy is…….
“Sounds fun.”
You never disappoint.