“He looks like a Gun Mage at a glance. How did he...?”
“Who is that bastard? He blocked this attack with nothing more than a gun? That is impossible.”
With another variable joining them after Seo Do-gyeom, the Villains wore deeply flustered expressions as they watched a man reload his gun. Instead, I shouted at them.
“You two floating in the air—! Are you the leaders of those bastards?”
“...”
The Villains said nothing. They looked at each other, exchanging unreadable glances. Then, one of them looked at me with an intensely curious expression and opened his mouth.
“Who in the world are you?”
“I am a teacher at this Academy.”
“A teacher? According to the information I received from Ji Geon-hyeong, I had never heard of anyone as skilled as you. This is unexpectedly surprising. First Seo Do-gyeom, and now you too have dealt us a blow.”
“That is what you get for listening to the words of an idiot who has already gone to the afterlife.”
“The afterlife? !!! Do not tell me Ji Geon-hyeong is dead?”
“Yeah~! I made a nice hole in his body with this gun and sent him to the afterlife.”
‘He killed Ji Geon-hyeong? Even if he was weaker than us, he was still capable of taking on most skilled people... That bastard smells dangerous.’
The arrival of Abel Guild’s members had already been enough, but now an Academy teacher who had killed Ji Geon-hyeong had appeared and effortlessly destroyed their attack. The Villains exchanged glances for some time, then appeared to finish their discussion. They nodded and let out heavy sighs.
“It seems we should end things here today. Everyone, withdraw.”
“!!! Y-yes, sir—!”
At the order to withdraw, Root’s Villains swiftly used teleportation scrolls and disappeared. They began vanishing one or two at a time. At last, the two men floating in the air glanced at Seo Do-gyeom before staring straight at me. They too unfurled scrolls and began using teleportation portals.
“Gun Mage—! We will make a special point of remembering you.”
Crackle—! Crumble—!
Once every Villain had disappeared through the portals, the surviving teachers and Academy cadets finally seemed to relax. They let out sighs of relief.
“Haa...”
“Phew... They left.”
As the tension drained away, everyone’s legs gave out, and they began collapsing onto the floor.
“Quickly check on the survivors! We did not bring many, but use whatever Healing Potions we have on those with severe injuries and save as many people as possible!”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
“Yes, Guildmaster.”
At the Guildmaster’s order, Seo Ha-yoon and Seok Jin-young promptly began checking the conditions of the surviving teachers and students one by one. Meanwhile, Seo Do-gyeom approached me from a distance.
“Would you happen to be Baek Seon-woo?”
“That is correct.”
“Really? You are Baek Seon-woo? Ha-ha—!”
As though he had met a welcome guest, Seo Do-gyeom extended his hand with a bright smile, entirely unlike the fearsome expression he had worn while dealing with the Villains earlier.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Seo Do-gyeom, the Guildmaster of Abel Guild—!”
***
Ares Academy Principal’s Office.
“What is the extent of the damage caused by the Villains’ attack?”
“Including all teachers and staff, there are forty-six dead and one hundred thirty-three injured.”
“What about the students?”
“Fortunately, the children have only suffered minor abrasions. No students have died.”
“At least it is fortunate that the children did not die or suffer serious injuries. We are already being criticized enough as it is. We nearly would have faced even greater criticism. Would you not agree, Principal Choi Hyeon-seok?”
“...That is correct.”
Principal Choi Hyeon-seok, his left shoulder and arm wrapped in bandages, sat in the principal’s chair and reported to Helios’s Seventh Elder. He looked intensely nervous, and cold sweat continued to run down his forehead.
“We plan to provide adequate compensation to the bereaved families of the teachers and staff who lost their loved ones. We have also already silenced the media to some extent, so it will not receive as much coverage as expected. We have spoken sufficiently with the cadets’ parents as well, so there should not be any further problems. Correct, Principal?”
“Y-yes. Helios has handled the aftermath to some extent, so we will take care of the rest on our side.”
“By the way, Principal Choi Hyeon-seok. There is something I am curious about.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“Why was the Academy’s Villain detection system deactivated? If only the detection system had been operating, it would not have taken even five minutes for our Elders to arrive.”
“W-well... I am wondering about that myself. I definitely checked that it was working this morning...”
“You do know that the authority over this system belongs only to the Guildmaster, our Elders, and you, the Principal?”
“I do.”
“The Guildmaster or our Elders could not possibly have done it. Hmm... Or perhaps not? In any case, if so, that leaves only you, Principal?”
‘!!!’
At the Seventh Elder’s suspicious gaze, Choi Hyeon-seok wore an expression of alarm as his entire body jolted. He then forced his uncomfortable body upright and began insisting on his innocence.
“H-how could that be possible? Do you think I would be insane enough to do something like this?! I have absolutely never done such a thing! I definitely checked it that morning! I have been with Helios Guild for more than ten years! How could I betray you?”
“Hmm... Well~ we will find out after looking into this matter further. We also have something we need to verify internally. In any case, I will personally investigate this incident again.”
“Y-you, Seventh Elder?”
“Why? Is there some problem with me doing it?”
“N-no. Of course someone of Elder rank should look into it.”
“Well~ that matter aside, I heard that Abel Guild was of great assistance to you this time?”
“Yes. We received the help of Abel Guild’s Guildmaster, Seo Do-gyeom; his granddaughter, Seo Ha-yoon; and Seok Jin-young, who serves as the head of their security corps.”
“Of all guilds, you had to receive help from Abel... What humiliation. Haa~!”
Helios’s Seventh Elder let out a deep sigh as he looked at Principal Choi Hyeon-seok. He seemed utterly dumbfounded that they had received help from Abel, one of the ten guilds that, alongside Helios, represented South Korea.
“I heard from Abel’s side that they came to thank Baek Seon-woo and encountered this situation. Is that correct?”
“That is correct. I do not know the details either, but Teacher Baek Seon-woo seemed to have some sort of connection with Abel Guild.”
“A connection with Abel Guild... Ever since last time, he has been an irritating yet intriguing fellow in many ways. I also heard that he killed Ji Geon-hyeong, the one who betrayed the Academy? Is that certain? Did Baek Seon-woo truly kill him?”
“T-that is correct. Teacher Park Chang-hu and the A- and D-Class students all witnessed the scene. I also saw with my own eyes that he countered the Villains’ attack.”
“Hoo... So a powerhouse has been hiding his strength all this time... Well, I did restrain my strength as much as possible, but he has blocked my attack before.”
As he flexed his fingers on the table and received the report on the Villain attack at Ares Academy, the Seventh Elder let out another deep sigh before rising from his seat.
“That will be all for the report.”
“Pardon? I-is that all? There is still the request for support in restoring the damage...”
“Send Helios a separate summary of that matter, and we will arrange the support.”
“A-all right.”
“And...”
“Yes?”
“Send all information on Baek Seon-woo to Helios.”
“Y-you mean information about Teacher Baek Seon-woo?”
“That is correct. It seems we need to check on our side as well.”
“B-but it would be a violation of national law for Helios to take information about teachers so freely...”
“A violation? Hah—! Since when did our Principal Choi obey the law so well?”
“!!! I-I apologize. I will organize everything and send you the information on Teacher Baek within a week.”
“Three days.”
“Pardon?”
“A week seems too long. Send it within three days.”
“A-all right.”
“Then I will take it that Principal Choi understands what I have said. I will be going now.”
“P-please take care.”
Creak—!
BAM—!
“Phew... He is gone. He is younger than I am, yet he speaks to me so casually? Ptooey—! That damn bastard is so ill-mannered! What an unpleasant son of a bitch!”
Once the Seventh Elder opened the door and left, Choi Hyeon-seok spat on the floor in anger, looking as though he found the man deeply unpleasant.
***
Meanwhile, after leaving the principal’s office, the Seventh Elder did not leave immediately. Instead, he stood there for a moment, deeply contemplating something.
‘I am one of the more obnoxious and ill-mannered Helios Elders, though. Well~ in any case, Principal Choi Hyeon-seok does not seem to have betrayed us. Abel Guild’s involvement is a ridiculous coincidence, but they do not appear to have any connection to Root either.’
The Seventh Elder had intentionally spoken to Choi Hyeon-seok in a half-polite manner to test him, but he concluded that the man was not a traitor. He began walking toward somewhere.
‘I have finished checking on the Principal, so shall I look into the other Elders next? !!! Huh? What is that? That is Seo Do-gyeom, the Guildmaster of Abel Guild. Why is that man still here? I thought he had already left?’
“My granddaughter told me. She said you were a great help in finding the Mandrake Fruit. Thanks to you, I was able to save my life—! Thank you again. I truly thank you.”
‘What? Mandrake Fruit? He says he saved his life? From the looks of it, his guard, Seok Jin-young, and his granddaughter, Seo Ha-yoon, have already returned to Abel Guild. It looks as though he and Baek Seon-woo are talking alone. Should I hide and eavesdrop on their conversation?’
“No. Thanks to your granddaughter’s help, I was also able to clear my name.”
“You are humble as well. I heard the entire story from my granddaughter. If it were not for you, I would have died without being able to cure my mana poisoning. And without a proper successor chosen in that situation, Abel Guild would have fallen apart in a great internal conflict and eventually disappeared.”
“No. You overcame mana poisoning because your will was strong, Guildmaster.”
“You are a very humble young man. And judging by your combat ability this time, you appear quite capable. From what I can see, you are a Gun Mage type. What is your Awakened Grade?”
“Mythic Grade.”
“!!! What? Mythic Grade? Heh-heh—! You seemed like a young man who only spoke serious words because of your humble manner, but you can make rather amusing jokes as well. Heh-heh—!”
‘I really am Mythic Grade... Then again, no Mythic Grade has officially appeared yet. Hero Grades are difficult enough to encounter, so of course he would not believe me. Even in my past life, when I was active as Cha Tae-seok, I did not officially register as a Hunter with the country and carried out my activities, so they did not seem to recognize me either.’
I told Seo Do-gyeom the truth, whether he chose to believe it or not, because he had shown me such favor. Yet he seemed to take it as a joke and only wore an amused expression.
“This old man is laughing for the first time in a long while. Heh-heh—!”
“By the way, why did you ask to see me separately?”
“Well, you see...”
When I asked why he had summoned me separately, Seo Do-gyeom looked at me with a satisfied smile. He lifted the teacup on the table, took a sip, and then opened his mouth with an intensely serious expression, entirely different from the playful look in his eyes earlier.
“Would you consider joining Abel Guild?”