Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: The Beastkin on the Stairs
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“…Are the two of them moving together?”
Ban Hui-yeol signaled the following Student Council students to halt and unfurled his fan.
It was to hide the dismay on his face.
The stairs descending to the seventh floor.
There, they encountered two bald-headed figures at once.
Of course, being bald didn’t necessarily mean they were beastkin.
Ordinary beastkin tended to have fur covering their bodies, after all.
But given the circumstances, the odds were high that these bald ones were beastkin.
‘I didn’t expect them to come up here of all places.’
The beastkin had deliberately caused a loud explosion.
It seemed intended to lure the Martial Force to the blast site, buying time for Moo-dal to escape.
‘The guys who should be facing the Martial Force are heading upstairs?’
Ban Hui-yeol snapped his fan shut against his palm with a sharp smack and let out a hollow laugh.
“You lot aren’t planning to escape from here, are you? Even if you reach the rooftop, some avian beastkin will be waiting to greet you? Dream on. The Martial Force will have you by the scruff before you even get there.”
“…….”
The beastkin made no reply.
Unlike Moo-dal’s free-talking nature, they were cautious.
Their lower status likely imposed restrictions on their demeanor.
In truth, they didn’t seem all that strong compared to Moo-dal.
Right, compared to Moo-dal.
They were still opponents too much for students to handle.
Ban Hui-yeol whispered to the general affairs girl.
“Take the kids who aren’t used to fighting and fall back.”
He judged his own role to be crucial.
The moment the general affairs girl turned around, he swung his fan toward the beastkin.
“Forget linking up with the monster on the tenth floor. Ban Family’s Hui-yeol won’t allow it.”
Whiiiiiish!
An indigo gale shot forth.
But the beastkin were incredibly agile.
Even in the tight space, they twisted their bodies, scaled the walls, and barely dodged his attack with their nimbleness.
“Unlike Moo-dal, we have no intention of making a big scene. Get lost before the monster at the top devours you all.”
One of the hitherto silent beastkin finally spoke.
Their goal was to secure the whereabouts of Master Song, the craftsman.
It was a simple mission: grab No Jun-yeop and Jang Yeon-ju and go.
Unlike Moo-dal, who planned to kill any interferers, they were moderate.
“You destroy my building—no, the Student Council’s building—and claim you’re not trying to make a big deal? That’s hardly convincing…”
Ban Hui-yeol trailed off mid-sneer.
The arriving Martial Force would inspect the explosion site on the lower floors first.
These beastkin surely knew that.
Yet they were abandoning the scene to head upstairs.
‘They’ve set a trap?’
Perhaps something that would tie up the Martial Force the moment they reached the blast site…
It was obvious.
These beastkin seemed rational at a glance.
They weren’t the type to do something foolish.
They had some ace up their sleeve, which was why they were going up.
‘And that ace is…’
-Unlike Moo-dal, we have no intention of making a big scene. Get lost before the monster at the top devours you all.
“…!”
Replaying the beastkin’s words, Ban Hui-yeol felt a chill run down his spine.
The beastkin had said there was a monster at the “top.”
Not the tenth floor where Moo-dal was, but the thirteenth.
‘Someone even stronger than Moo-dal came along?’
Strong enough to repel the Martial Force and clear a path?
It was entirely possible.
The world was full of powerhouses.
The problem was…
‘Why hasn’t Professor Yi noticed such a formidable presence?’
Even while fighting Moo-dal, he had precisely pinpointed the explosion’s location and cause inside the building.
It was odd that he hadn’t properly gauged the beastkin’s capabilities.
As Ban Hui-yeol pondered, one beastkin kindly explained, as if to frighten him.
“Berserker. The monster at the top grows stronger the more it fights, the more blood it sees. Even if the Martial Force deploys now, they won’t send anyone above squad leader rank from the start… They’ll just become fodder that makes the monster even stronger.”
“Hmm…”
Ban Hui-yeol swallowed hard.
Berserker.
The pinnacle class among combat types.
It possessed numerous passive skills that could turn even a five-year-old child into a monster of superhuman strength.
The drawback was the severe aftereffects from forcing power beyond the body’s limits, but a beastkin’s superior physique would synergize perfectly with the Berserker class.
“Back off quietly. Dragging rookies like you into a massacre is a hassle for us too. Let’s part on good terms.”
“…….”
Despite the beastkin’s threats.
The Student Council students didn’t budge.
They kept their skills trained on the beastkin with impassive expressions.
Were they too stupid to grasp the gravity of the situation?
No.
It was because they were the Student Council.
“This is embarrassing.”
Ban Hui-yeol glanced at his comrades’ reactions and slowly removed his gat.
All traces of his earlier tension vanished.
“I shouldn’t be the one worrying about you.”
The Student Council students were still competing even now.
A significant number of the dozens gathered here, though not showing it outwardly, were vying for the next president position just like Ban Hui-yeol.
That was right.
Ban Hui-yeol could set aside his concerns.
These weren’t ordinary students.
They were elites among elites, capable of relying on each other and fighting together.
“You’re really going to fight seriously? The monster at the top is already coming down the stairs. You want to get ambushed from behind and slaughtered?”
“Why the peak?”
“?”
A disjointed remark.
The beastkin, mid-threat, tilted its head.
Ban Hui-yeol stared straight at it.
“The highest point in this building holds our goal.”
Why did Lion’s Castle guarantee the Student Council’s autonomy?
Fundamentally, to protect students’ rights and foster independence.
Since Student Council officers were elected by student vote, the Council represented the students’ will, and Lion’s Castle made every effort to respect that.
Of course, that was just the surface reason.
Lion’s Castle knew full well that votes weren’t always fair and that the Council and students often clashed.
Yet they respected the Council because.
“President.”
The Student Council president existed.
A figure revered by the entire student body.
Every past Lion’s Castle president had been exceptional.
They possessed qualities that forced even the prideful thousands of students to acknowledge them.
And the most straightforward way for Lion’s Castle students to earn recognition was, without doubt, overwhelming force.
“Berserker. The monster that grows ‘stronger with battle’ cannot surpass our peak.”
A flinch.
The beastkin shrank back slightly.
Ever since the talk of the peak began.
Ban Hui-yeol and the Student Council students’ auras had surged dramatically.
The rookies’ faces transformed into those of fearless warriors.
“By the time you arrive, it’ll already be a corpse.”
“Insolent brats…!”
The beastkin abandoned their composure.
Sensing ill omens, they unleashed attacks.
Clang! Clang-clang-clang!!
A fierce melee on the narrow stairs.
The students were at a disadvantage.
Their attacks snagged on walls and railings, losing power, while the agile beastkin slithered through tight gaps like loaches.
After swinging his fan from the front and taking a hard blow to the gut, Ban Hui-yeol subtly retreated.
He ignored the few stinging glares.
His specialty was ranged attacks.
He shone when someone tanked for him.
“I hate standing out.”
With all his comrades as tanks, Ban Hui-yeol unleashed indigo gales.
[Blade Wind]
Fwooooosh!!
Blood began spurting from the beastkin’s bodies.
But their tough hides and regeneration made it hard to call the wounds severe.
Sensing it would be a prolonged fight, Ban Hui-yeol clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘President, I truly believe you’ll be fine.’
-You’re running for election next year? Good idea. If there are idiots who vote for you, they’ll end up as traitors selling out the country someday. Better to identify them early and strip their voting rights.
‘…You have to stay alive and safe to witness my ascension as president.’
Lost in past memories, Ban Hui-yeol’s temple throbbed.
Even a Student Council president—could they really handle a Berserker that even these powerful beastkin called a monster?
Frankly, he had doubts.
At the same time, in the Student Council president’s office.
“The timing couldn’t be worse.”
Large eyes full of spirit, thick brows.
A boy with an imposing build—the very picture of a majestic youth—tossed aside his uniform jacket, soaked in blood and sweat.
Crackle!
The embedded protective magic in the jacket fully dissipated, emitting a sound like shattering ice.
“That all you got? I heard the Student Council president is stronger than a regular Martial Force member.”
A beautiful woman perched seductively on the window frame with a sultry motion.
She was the one who had fallen from the ceiling during the earlier explosion.
The boy furrowed his brow.
“You knew that and still chose the president’s office as your infiltration route?”
“I was hoping. I’m the type who heats up faster against strong opponents.”
“You monster…!”
Unable to listen further, the boy readjusted his broken sword.
In an instant, he assumed his stance, honed over more than ten years, and launched an attack.
But the woman blocked it effortlessly.
Still leaning against the window frame, she merely extended her leg and crushed the boy’s wrist.
Clang!
The broken sword fell from the groaning boy’s hand.
The metallic clatter as it rolled pathetically across the floor sounded like a sorrowful wail.
The woman noticed.
“You’re not the president, are you?”
“Of course not. Took you long enough.”
“What a shame. No need to waste time here, then.”
Bzzzz!
A buzzing like swarming bees emanated from the woman’s sword as it slowly drew from its sheath.
It was the phenomenon of mana boiling along the blade.
Upon seeing the jet-black mana erupting from her sword, the boy sensed death.
‘At least the president isn’t here.’
If he were, they’d just die together.
Her overwhelming power evoked such thoughts.
“May you spill much blood.”
The moment the woman, lips curled, dropped her sword toward the boy’s crown.
“If it’s a wish, I’ll grant it.”
An unfamiliar voice rang out.
The boy, staring blankly at the woman close by as he accepted death, and the woman, who smirked in anticipation of bisecting him spectacularly.
Neither properly heard the words.
Creeeeeenng!!
A deafening metallic clash swallowed the stranger’s voice.
A jet-black blade now hovered at the woman’s nape.
It was blindingly swift quick draw.
The woman, hastily retrieving her falling sword to guard her neck, wore an expression of rapture.
“You’re the president? Glad you arrived just in time.”
“Shut up.”
The black-haired boy cut her off.
His breathing was ragged. He yanked off his tie as if it choked him.
It was a red tie signifying a first-year.
“…?”
The boy who had just escaped death’s door, and the mysterious woman.
Both widened their eyes in shock at the intruder being a mere first-year student.