I Become a Mafia in the Academy

"This is terrible."

The old man frowned as he studied the scenery before him.

"I've heard the tales of the shinroks. Wherever they walk, buds grow, and wherever they graze, turnips sprout, and wherever they drink water, the land around them becomes fertile."

This is a story that has been passed down because shinrok was a divine beast blessed by the forest.

"But I never thought they would catch shinroks and do this to them."

By sealing the shinroks, which aids in the growth of nearby plants, the elixir is forced to grow.

"……That's horrible."

It's a horrible sight to behold, but what about the kid?

"Mommy, get out of there……!"

Dulchan runs out crying at the sight of his family trapped in the crystal.

We approach slowly.

The crystal is transparent, like a pure ice crystal, not allowing for the slightest impurity, casting a brilliant blue light around it.

Normally, I would have suspected it was the work of a villain or another Awakened……….

"Eugene, did you feel it?"

"Yes, this much purity and this aura, it's……a spirit."

The crystal was too natural and pristine to be anything else, so the culprit had to be a spirit.

"Yes, only a spirit would make a crystal like this. What the hell is going on here is beyond me."

I was not the only one who didn't have a clue.

Even in the game, the DMZ and the other side of the border are not opened until late in the game.

The DMZ, which was released less than a year ago, was like an unknown space to me.

But is that why?

‘……Things are getting interesting.'

This situation only made me feel better about myself.

I walked over to Dulchan and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry too much. They were only sealed, not killed."

"What? Are they okay?"

"Yeah, for now."

Considering the time between his escape and now, the lives of the two sealed Shinroks were not yet in danger.

But

We don't know what will happen if he stays like that much longer. Their lives might be in danger.

"What?! Then we should break this thing right away!"

Changing back into his deer form, he leaped backwards, lowered his head, raised his antlers, and charged at the crystal.

Kwang──!

The attack sent out an enormous shockwave, but the crystal didn't even get a scratch.

However, as if he wasn't going to give up, he stepped back and tried to deliver a second blow.

The old man slowly approached him.

"A crystal of that size can’t be broken by physical impact."

The words sounded worried, but Dulchan didn't seem to mind, scratching at the ground and preparing for a second charge.

"Enough."

The old man, realizing the futility of the act, physically restrains him by reaching for his head.

He releases his transformation and returns to his human form.

"What can I do?"

"That's the way it is."

A normal person would probably offer words of comfort.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of it," or some other obvious phrase to comfort the target.

But the old man I know is not a great man to spit out such words.

"──Revenge."

"……Eh?"

"First we need to find the people who did this, and then we need to capture them and get information out of them. What they did, how to break this seal, and what their purpose is."

-Thump-thump-thump.

The old man craned his neck from side to side, then smiled as he slammed his fist into his palm.

"Then we'll smash them to pieces, thwart their purpose and make them pay for what they've done. We call it revenge."

At these words, the tears in Dulchan's eyes become clearer.

"Child, do you know what you need most for revenge?"

He shakes his head.

The old man placed his hand on top of his head and said.

"A cold heart that won't waver under any circumstances. Don't be swayed by emotions. You must be able to judge your strength and the situation objectively, and have the coldness to succeed in your revenge."

Only he could say something like that.

"Because that's how I got my revenge."

I smirked at the old man.

"Then what's the point? You went back to Gangwon province as soon as you got your revenge."

“This guy! It’s been a while since I wanted to say something nice!”

The old man takes the drip with relish, causing a smile to appear on Dulchan's face.

"I see……! I'm going to get revenge, I'm going to get revenge, I'm going to get revenge!"

"Yes, that's the mindset. Your family is probably safer that way, so let's leave it that way for now. Let's figure out what's going on first."

It was important to figure out what was going on, the old man said.

"Then there's the quickest way."

I took my hands out of my pockets and slowly walked toward the field.

"The quickest way?"

"Yes, because this way, someone is bound to come."

I walked into the center of the field and plucked one of the surrounding grasses.

[Name: Two-Hundred-Year Hashuo Grass]

[Rank: Rare]

[Type: Elixir]

[Description: Two Hundred Years Hashuo Grass that contains two hundred years worth of spiritual energy. It increases the ability of the eater by a small amount.]

"Hiya, it's ripe."

It doesn't seem like it's been long, but it's already contained two hundred years of spiritual energy, so the effect of the shinrok must have been great.

Then…….

"I'll eat it~"

After roughly brushing off the dirt on the outside, I popped it into my mouth and chewed it thoroughly.

The old man and the kid stare at me as if they don't know what I'm doing.

"What are you doing……?"

"This is something that was raised by your family, right? Are you going to give something so healthy to them? It's better for us to eat it, and……a facility of this size should have a proper surveillance system. If the elixir disappears in real time, why wouldn't they come and stop the thief?"

What a simple, perfect plan.

"Hmm, that's certainly plausible."

"Me too! I'll help!"

The old man also laughed at my intentions.

The two rushed over.

The younger one stuck his nose in and immediately chewed on the grass, while the older one plucked the grass around him and put it in his mouth.

"Mmm……but why does this taste weird?"

[Name: Weed]

[Rank: Common]

[Type: Common Item]

[Description: It's a weed.]

"That. It's just a weed."

"What? Ait tut tut!"

Unlike the old man who plucked the weeds, the kid instinctively picked out the elixirs and ate them.

The old man saw this and immediately started picking out the good-looking herbs.

"Hahaha, I never thought I'd be able to harvest other people's fields at my age, but it's been a while since I've done it, and it's delicious and fun!"

"They say that other people's food always tastes better. Oh, this one is two hundred and fifty years old?"

"Ah! If you're not going to eat that, pass it over here. I'll take this opportunity to treat myself!"

"Mmm~ Delicious."

How did he manage to eat more than half of the elixirs in the field?

Finally, the reaction started to come.

-What kind of bastards!?

A gravelly voice came from near the entrance to the cave we had entered.

I stopped for a moment and turned to see a human form approaching, followed by a rock golem, and then the earth elementals.

-Damned human bastards……how the hell did they know to come here!

Talking like a human, acting like a human but that voice and the instinctive sense from the aura was…….

"He must be a higher spirit."

"Aye. Looks like the plan worked."

The figure leading the golems formed a certain picture in my mind.

A picture that made me wonder if the situation so far had something to do with ‘it'.

"Old man, what do you think, do you want to take care of that too?"

"Son of a bitch! How much are you trying to use this old man? You deal with that. I'm going to take a break and finish eating my elixir."

……Considering all the herbs you've eaten so far, the aura you just used should have recovered long ago.

I sighed as the old man flopped down to the ground in annoyance, but I made sure my gloves were on properly.

"Alright, you can rest while I clean up."

He's still looking this way, fists clenched.

I walked over to him and pointed to the crystal behind him.

"Did you do that?"

-What? Ha! You think the likes of me can make a seal like that?

From the looks of it, he didn't do it.

-But you, I feel a familiar energy……What is it? Something unpleasant and irritating.

Then, as if he sensed something about me, he started saying strange things.

You feel a familiar energy from me? An annoying feeling?

‘Maybe?’

One item immediately popped into my head.

‘Could it be the Black Mist?’

Black Mist is an item crafted using the core of a higher spirit.

Given its familiarity, it was obvious that it was its aura that he was feeling.

"It's none of your business, so I'd like you to tell me who did that."

I decided to be nice and tell him since we were on speaking terms.

He grits his teeth and glares at me.

-I don't know what the hell you think you're doing but you’ll become fertilizer in this field, you damn human!

His shout caused the other earth spirits to roar and charge at me.

"Why do the spirits here hate humans so much?"

The spirits weren't normally this aggressive, but something was wrong.

-BURRRRRRRR!

Dozens of earth spirits rushed towards me.

Each one was heavy for a mid-tier spirit. If I were to be directly hit by one of their attacks, I'd surely take a lot of damage.

Moreover, due to their toughness, even electricity attributes don't work well against them.

That's why I chose to use…….

"As expected, when you're getting ganged up on, a gun is the best option."

As usual, I slammed as much Aura as I could in my gun and fired.

"Maybe it's because I just ate something delicious, but I'm full of energy."

The moment I recognized each spirit as an enemy, I triggered my ‘bloodline ability' and the Aura surged.

In an instant, red aura begins to form around me.

"Eugene, keep the higher spirit alive, we need information!"

"I'll try."

Well, the higher spirit can take care of himself.

Now, then.

──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──!

The sound of the Chicago typewriter fills the cave in an instant.

Was it because the opponent was not a human, or because I had a lot more Aura than usual? The spirits that rushed toward me immediately turned into a pile of sand and became one with the field.

Their bodies were too flabby for mid-level spirits, it was even strange.

-What is this──!

With his entire body tattered, he stood behind the hastily erected earth wall, staring at his surroundings in disbelief, as if he hadn't expected this to happen.

The aura spewing out of me was a bit disorienting.

Not to worry, though. I have plenty of ammo.

I immediately plucked out one of the Hashuo herbs from the ground and chewed on it.

Crunch!

[Name: Weed]

[Rank: Normal]

[Type: Common Item]

[Description: It's a weed.]

"Awww, tut tut!"

Why the hell is there a weed here?

I toss the weed aside and approach the higher spirit, chewing on a real Hashuo herb this time.

He's still cowering behind cover.

"Hey, buddy. We still have some things to discuss, don't we?"

It's time to get down to business.