Chapter 86

“Did Chairman Seol level up by any chance? It looks like they were struck by thunder tribulation.” After examining the trio, the doctor applied burn medicine and injected mana. Their charred skin started to regenerate slowly. Seeing them recover, Jae-Hyeok was inwardly relieved. Laughing awkwardly, he replied, “That’s impossible.” “Yes, there would’ve been an uproar in the press if it were time for her to level up. There is no way I wouldn’t have known about it. Then, what? Did you meet some thunder-breath killer whales?” Thunder-breath killer whales were A-class elite monsters that often appeared at the coast. Jae-Hyeok worked hard to avoid them whenever he went tuna hunting. “Of course not. We aren’t stupid enough to step into a danger zone,” he lied, conscious of his grades. “Hmm, are you telling me lightning struck from a clear sky?” “Yes.” “Really? I see.” The doctor looked incredulous while penning a note on the chart he held. The chart would be delivered to the teacher’s office, but Jae-Hyeok wasn’t particularly worried. The security forces would’ve reacted swiftly if there had been a real thunder tribulation at Lion’s Castle. In addition, it was impossible for students who encountered a thunder-breath killer whale to survive. People might doubt Jae-Hyeok’s words, but they would be forced to believe it. However, it can’t happen again. If it did, suspicions would grow, the faculty would be on alert, and it would become bothersome in many ways. At this point, it would be foolish to force the team to train their thunderbolt reactions. He first had to get them enough lightning resistance to avoid returning to the infirmary. “Okay, you can leave now,” the doctor said. “What about them?” “They will sleep here for the rest of the day. The first aid you performed did much, so their injuries aren’t too severe. However, their mana circuits have been strained, and the mental shock was also great. Most likely, they won’t be opening their eyes in the next few hours.” “...Then, please take care of them.” “Yes, don’t worry.” Jae-Hyeok was a little shaken. He couldn’t believe it would take them hours to wake up after being struck once by a fake tribulation. I was too hard on them. He realized that he had been thinking too positively. They were still fragile. Feeling faintly guilty, Jae-Hyeok said goodbye to the doctor and left the room. The doctor, left alone, muttered to himself, “These guys... perhaps... ” *** “Seeing how quiet it is, I guess everyone survived.” Kim Jin-Rae, who had been waiting impatiently for Jae-Hyeok in front of the infirmary, was relieved. Previously, when he’d met Jae-Hyeok carrying three charred people and had been told to follow, Kim Jin-Rae was nervous because he thought Jae-Hyeok was going to bury the bodies. Thankfully, however, the place they’d come to was the infirmary, not a nearby hill. I’m really glad. Although the Shooting Club members had done a terrible thing, and he hated them for making his father a victim, their crime wasn’t worthy of death. Moreover, he didn’t want Jae-Hyeok to become a murderer because of him. Jae-Hyeok stared at the relieved Jin-Rae and sat down on a nearby bench. “Tell me what happened.” “Yes. Jae-Hyeok, you already know a lot but... ” Jin-Rae’s story was simple. He explained how Ocean Shipping’s chain-store business suffered great damage due to the distribution of black tuna to a nearby restaurant, which put his father in a difficult position at work. “In the first place, isn’t it wrong to set up a chain store in front of a local sushi restaurant?” Jae-Hyeok replied seriously. He’d never thought his classmate’s father would be involved in this incident, but he didn’t feel sorry. “Uh? Was that sushi restaurant there first?” “Yeah, it’s not some new store. It’s a long-established restaurant that has been doing business in the same place for over fifty years.” “R-really?” Jin-Rae was shocked. He had heard about this incident from his father’s position—no, to be precise, from the position of Ocean Shipping. It seemed he hadn’t fully grasped the essence of the incident. Now, he realized something was wrong. Jae-Hyeok read the concern for right and wrong in Kim Jin-Rae’s innocent reaction and softened his tone, “Is your father an executive at Ocean Shipping?” “N-no.” “When you got the call from your father, did anything feel different from usual?” “Hmm... Everything was different from usual. This was the first time my father told me about the company’s situation. Ever since I entered Lion’s Castle, he had never called me so abruptly before, afraid of disturbing my classes. That’s why I’m so worried.” A question-and-answer session followed. Jae-Hyeok asked about everything from the date and time Jin-Rae was contacted to the exact content of the call, and Jin-Rae answered honestly. The company forced it. Kim Jin-Rae’s father had risen to become the department manager of Ocean Shipping, a small company, so there was no way he was a fool. He wouldn’t have expected his son, a freshman, to exert influence over a club. Knowing his son would be in an embarrassing situation, why had he given him such a tough assignment? Clearly, he hadn’t had a choice. Well, they would’ve discovered us soon either way. Jae-Hyeok gestured with his chin at Jin-Rae. “Call your father and tell him that the Shooting Club is the culprit. Add that the manager of the Shooting Club, Roh Jun-Yeop, has such a bad personality that your request didn’t work at all.” “But... it sounds like Ocean Shipping is the one at fault for setting up a chain store in front of a long-established restaurant. Is it right to report the Shooting Club? If Ocean Shipping makes a move... what if it causes a big problem for the Shooting Club? In particular, this senior Roh Jun-Yeop didn’t do anything wrong. We shouldn’t frame him... ” “Don’t worry. Thanks to you, I know that Ocean Shipping is targeting the Shooting Club. It’s enough to be prepared. Also, Roh Jun-Yeop’s reputation is so bad that he’s a good excuse.” “Ah, I see... By the way, what do you have to do with the Shooting Club?” Jae-Hyeok laughed. “Who knows? Perhaps we share a fateful relationship?” The parent organization of Ocean Shipping was the Ocean Guild; Yeon Ho-Ryeong... Jae-Hyeok’s eyes gradually turned cold as he thought of the old monster who founded the Ocean Guild. *** “Department Manager Kim, your son found them.” The president of Ocean Shipping, Yeon Ho-Rang, smiled widely. The Shooting Club was the culprit. Now that he knew the identity of those who dared to go against him, he felt like he’d pulled out the cavity that had plagued him all his life. “That... my son couldn’t convince them.” “Ah, I guess so. But I wasn’t expecting much in the first place. What can a first-year student do against a club?” Yeon Ho-Rang responded indifferently to the cautious Department Manager Kim. Department Manager Kim was inwardly depressed. This person had known his son’s plight but still forced him? “How dare you grind your teeth at me?” Yeon Ho-Rang shouted. Of course, it wasn’t true. There was no way that Department Manager Kim couldn’t manage his facial expressions in front of his boss after working for twenty years. But Yeon Ho-Rang had guessed Department Manager Kim’s thoughts and threw a nameplate at him. “Ack!” Department Manager Kim fell back, bleeding from a sharp cut to his forehead. Yeon Ho-Rang casually tossed a check to him. Then he asked the executive beside him, “Is there any way to draw those cocky kids out of the school?” “Why do we need to draw them out? Let’s use the people inside Lion’s Castle.” As a large guild, the Ocean Guild held a significant share in Lion’s Castle and had more than one spy inside the school. From the executive’s point of view, it made sense to use them. The veins on Yeon Ho-Rang’s forehead bulged. “Hey, you stupid bastard! If I were going to borrow the guild’s power, I would’ve borrowed it from the beginning. Why would I have involved an insignificant boy?” A few chain stores were ruined. But from the perspective of the Ocean Guild, Ocean Shipping's mishap with the Shooting Club was trivial. How could he ask the guild for help over something so insignificant? That would only reveal Yeon Ho-Rang’s incompetence. No, he needed to keep this incident as quiet as possible. “President, have you heard the rumor that the Gugang International Hotel is in trouble recently?” “I’m your boss. How can I not know?” Recently, there had been signs of an imminent gate appearance inside the Gugang International Hotel. Ocean Shipping operated a Japanese fine-dining restaurant nearby, so he knew this information. “Perhaps grasping at straws, the Gugang Group said they entrusted the Shooting Club of Lion’s Castle with the commission, but it was rejected.” “Oh...?” The executive’s explanation interested Yeon Ho-Rang. “Why? Did they pay too little?” “It seems so. I’m sure they thought the other party would be easy since they’re students.” “I see... so if we give them some money, we could easily turn things in our favor.” “Exactly, we even have the justification of protecting our fine-dining restaurant. I don’t think the Gugang Group will doubt our intentions.” “Okay. Let’s proceed right now. I want to see those brats’ faces.” The ones who gave the black tuna to his competitor almost for free... What were their intentions? Even if they had done it without thinking, they should be held accountable. I will let you know just how scary the real world is. A sharp aura rose from Yeon Ho-Rang’s sinister-looking body. *** [Request to prevent a gate appearance at Gugang International Hotel.] There was turmoil in the Shooting Club. “How many zeros is that?” The request they had rejected the day before had once again arrived on the Shooting Club manager’s desk. However, the commission reward was nearly six times greater. Usually, only A-class players were paid so much. “D-don’t be deceived. This is still peanuts if they plan to lure in the Bow Saint!” “But look here, they added a clause promising not to involve the Bow Saint?” “You believe that? I’m sure they’ll spread rumors to provoke the Bow Saint into action.” Should they accept it or not? The Shooting Club members argued heatedly. After some time, realizing neither side was making progress, the club members started sneaking glances at one particular person. Of course, it wasn’t Baek Do-Jin but Kang Jae-Hyeok sitting beside him. Roh Jun-Yeop asked, “Hey, Jae-Hyeok. Are you going to refuse this time? The amount seems too big to refuse.” “Do you have the ability to clear the request?” “......” In response to Jae-Hyeok’s question, Roh Jun-Yeop and the other club members fell silent. Was he refusing after all? The members read the intention behind Jae-Hyeok’s words and sighed in disappointment. The members opposing it were the same. Although they believed it was for the best, they still regretted having to let such a huge commission slip away..com Jae-Hyeok slowly stood up from the sofa and pulled out a mask and sunglasses. “Well, I think it will be okay if Roh Jun-Yeop and I join forces.” “Uh?” “J-Jae-Hyeok!” “Waaaaah!” All the members cheered. The entire Shooting Club was abuzz from one freshman’s decision to go out.