The Lu Bu Versus Five Operation
Before the sun had fully risen, I returned home and closely examined the gem that wasn't reflecting the light but rather absorbing it.
◈ The essence of a dark spirit that should have been immortal but has returned to nothingness. Just gazing upon it seems to evoke an endless darkness.
"I managed to get it, but..."
The highest-grade material item infused with that guy's power. Essence of the Upper Dark Spirit. In the game, it was used as reinforcement material for items.
Of course, I'd gathered quite a pile of stuff from his hideout besides this... but...
'Most of it was junk used for traps. That's the regrettable part.'
The other usable things were just items for reinforcing spirits or the sword he wielded—nothing impressive.
But.
"This will be enough."
Not an elixir or a weapon, but this 'essence' was an item that would bring me another opportunity.
I walked to my desk and reviewed the remaining events of the first semester.
The most urgent event was the academy's final exams. Honestly, no big worries there. High school-level tests could be handled easily with my smart lenses and experience.
The real important event was this one.
"The mid-semester club evaluation."
It was one of the major events in the academy route, checking what achievements clubs had made over the past semester.
Production, arts, or economy clubs like Haru's could pass by submitting works or performance reports... but the problem was that Familia was a 'combat' club.
And combat clubs inevitably had to prove their achievements by demonstrating their skills.
And that's where it came into play...
-Young master. Are you awake?
Right on time for breakfast, Alesia entered to wake me.
"I'll be out soon."
Food first, anyway. I was starving after chasing that guy since dawn.
* * *
"We did iiiit! We passed! See? Can you seeeee it?! Suuuuuper high score!"
Jinwoo was roaring excitedly in the afternoon, making a racket. Sea-a sighed and shook her head at the sight.
"I don't get why he's so thrilled over barely scraping by without failing."
"Still, Jinwoo worked hard for his level. He even completed all the homework we assigned without fail."
Youngje smiled proudly as he watched.
Jinwoo, looking even more pumped, started doing some mysterious dance.
"Ha, this isn't the time to celebrate like that. You all know we have the club mid-semester evaluation next week, right?"
Sea-a was the first to bring up the club evaluation.
"Our current level could wipe out any average bronze club, sure... but as a silver club, we can't afford to get complacent."
She looked worried, clearly having thought it through.
Jinwoo blinked, as if wondering what the fuss was about.
"Eh, don't be such a scaredy-cat. It's just a club evaluation. Not to brag, but... we're not exactly weak, right?"
As Jinwoo chuckled, he was right—our club was already at the level of a solid mid-tier group. Familia had transcended a single club to become a proper alliance.
The issue was that among those alliances, we were the only real combat club.
And if I were an enemy of Familia, I'd definitely target that weakness to strangle us.
'No way it'll proceed normally.'
Just like Sea-a said, complacency was forbidden.
"You all worked hard on finals. I'd love to let everyone rest, but... as Sea-a said, the club's still here. Let's give it our all for the rest of the semester. Vacation's coming soon anyway."
During break, we'd at least catch a breather from Familia duties.
With that thought, I arrived at the Familia club room to prepare for the evaluation.
An emergency signal from Yulli. If memory served, SD meant S-rank crisis (Dangerous). The abbreviation suggested a sudden situation he couldn't handle alone.
And the one who could pull this off...
"It's starting, huh?"
Ray Pendragon. That meant he'd made his move.
The moment that thought crossed my mind.
"President Eugene! Presiiiident! E-emergency! Emergency!"
"Junior Eugene! Junior Euguuune! Save us!"
Screams came from outside the club room.
Jinwoo, wondering what was up, opened the sub-room door.
"Huh? Board Game Club senior? And... President Seri?"
Far off, two people were panting as they ran toward us. Behind them, a crowd poured in.
Most were familiar faces—either affiliated with our Familia or participating in club support programs through us.
"Boss, looks like an emergency."
...Yeah, as Jinwoo said. Something was happening.
* * *
"What the hell did we do to deserve this?"
"Ob-obviously, it's people trying to check us doing this! Wh-what do we do?! We were on track to go viral on Viewtube... This is baaad."
The reason the Familia sub-room was packed was simple: those who'd entrusted their safety to us now felt threatened.
"So, let me sum up. Everyone here—all the clubs—has been challenged to club battles?"
The crowd nodded in unison.
It wasn't hard to guess why.
"Ray Pendragon. The student council president made his move."
Youngje spoke first.
"Before our mid-semester evaluation. He's clearly trying to weaken our forces. Why else target only clubs contracted with us?"
Probably just like Youngje said. It was downright malicious.
"Interesting. Did he come for revenge after I gave him a slap on the wrist last time?"
We'd even handed him a commendation, but who knew he'd lob a work bomb like this.
"Everyone, calm down. Per our contracts, we'll participate as proxies in your club battles."
I stood, soothing the distressed club presidents, and counted the groups present.
"Five clubs in total."
'Recipe Development Club'
'Board Game Club'
'Indoor Fishing Club'
'Tarot Club'
'Patissier Club'
All clubs with basically zero combat power.
The key point: we couldn't fight for all five at once. They'd cleverly overlapped the times.
But we weren't out of options.
"Since they challenged you to club battles, their ranks are probably low. Sea-a, head to the cafe quick and ask Latte for info on these guys. Mention it's my order—she'll prep it right away."
"Y-yes!"
As I'd predicted, this scheme wasn't about winning—it was to drain our strength.
Beating them would be a given, but it might play right into another trap they'd set.
Moments later, Sea-a rushed back with a bundle of papers crammed with info.
"Latte said to give you this."
"Thanks."
Our Familia intel agent, as expected. Everything we needed was neatly compiled.
And the contents...
"Just as I thought."
The opposing clubs were all classified as weaklings. Stronger than these production/hobby clubs, sure, but way below students prepping to be pro heroes.
They hadn't challenged expecting to win.
Meaning the student council offered compensation beyond just battle losses.
"This might actually make things easier than expected?"
They clearly lacked intel on us. Our recent activities? Tea parties and muscle training. Not much to investigate...
Our kids grew more from mentor sessions than club activities anyway.
Crucially, their growth exceeded imagination.
"Everyone, please head back for now. I need to discuss countermeasures with the Familia members. For security—sorry about this."
Even so, spilling plans in front of this crowd was too risky, so I sent most back to their rooms.
Now just the four of us Familia members remained.
"Hi. Sorry I'm late."
Make that five, with Choi Yeon arriving.
"So, boss. What's the brilliant plan that made you clear everyone out?"
Jinwoo spoke first in the president's office.
"From the info you showed, they're total nobodies swarming us. Why not just dunk on them one by one in club battles?"
"You think the student council will sit idly by? They'll use it as an excuse to slap us with sanctions."
Youngje nodded at Sea-a's words.
"Exactly. Any misstep here hands them ammo. We need a fresh, upfront approach."
A fresh, upfront approach.
"That's exactly what I had in mind. A fresh, upfront approach. That's what clicked for me."
All eyes turned to me.
"What? Overwhelming them one at a time?"
"Would Eugene do that? Or maybe buy them off and flip them back to our side."
"Nah, the president wouldn't. Unless he tours solo and smashes them all."
...What did they think I was?
"Eugene could pull off anything. Maybe he's agonizing over it."
Even Choi Yeon chimed in.
I'd considered their ideas... but not seriously.
Really.
"Let me say this flat out. This is our chance."
"Chance?"
They all looked puzzled.
I grinned at them and continued.
"We've got no battle record since starting the club."
"Huh...? Aren't we doing support programs? Top in school, even."
"That's internal and financial. I'm talking ranks."
"Oh! We haven't done ranking battles since the all-out war!"
Sea-a clapped, like she'd made a breakthrough.
Yes. The system for combat clubs: intramural rankings.
"Couldn't be helped. Jumped straight to silver, handled big incidents, ran businesses. But we need records."
That was our shortfall, willing or not.
"What looks like a crisis is actually an opportunity. Facing five clubs at once. You'll like the plan, I bet?"
"...A plan we'll like?"
Choi Yeon tilted her head.
I looked at them all, ready to reveal the 'fresh, upfront approach.'
"One each. Assign one club per person. Wipe them out."
"Too good."
See? Told you they'd like it.
What they called the
'Lu Bu Versus Five Operation.'