Chapter 148: Why Is There a Thug at the Academy? (3)
Chapter 148: Why Is There a Thug at the Academy? (3)
Jillian was struck with horror.
The man was an nameless thug, but the single move he had just displayed was nothing short of astonishing.
It was a simple attack, yet the process between start and finish had been completely invisible. Jillian had only realized what happened after he’d been struck by the bottle and sent sprawling.
‘And that bottle...’
Normally, if you smash a glass bottle against someone’s head with that much force, the bottle should shatter. The fact that it remained intact meant the man had infused it with Aura to reinforce it the exact moment of impact.
How much delicate Aura control did it take to breathe power into a fragile glass bottle rather than a sturdy sword?
In other words, that fourth-year was…
‘A master.’
Jillian could reach no other conclusion.
And there was exactly one other person in that place who had reached the same conclusion as Jillian.
‘Where the hell did a guy like this come from?’
The mercenary butler named Servey.
He began to stealthily back away.
‘I don’t care who he is; this isn’t right.’
He had a strong gut feeling that this job wasn’t worth the risk. He intended to slip away quietly, but…
“Servey! Servey! Where do you think you’re going?”
The greenhorn named Yurian made things difficult for him. Yurian barked an order at the retreating Servey.
“Take that bastard down right now!”
“Young Master. The opponent is a fourth-year senior.”
“Shut up! Just do it!”
“Young Master, if you keep this up…”
“If you don’t do as I say, I’ll tell my father to make you spit back every cent of your advance!”
“……”
‘You goddamn brat.’
Servey bit his lip hard.
The opponent clearly wasn’t someone to be trifled with. Taking on an enemy whose strength he couldn’t even gauge went against every mercenary instinct he possessed, but this time, he had no choice.
‘I have to try…’
He stepped forward and addressed the man.
“If you back off now, we can pretend none of this ever happened.”
“What’re you yapping about, you gimp?”
“……”
The man had a remarkable talent for making people’s blood boil.
The thug tilted the bottle high. The bottom of the bottle pointed toward the sky, and the sound of liquid gulping down his throat echoed through the air. After draining it to the last drop, the thug wiped his lips with his sleeve.
Then, he beckoned Servey with a flick of his fingers.
“Bring it.”
“You arrogant brat!”
Infuriated by the blatant disrespect, Servey lunged forward, thrusting his longsword. In that instant, his blade split into five distinct streaks, all aiming for the opponent’s vitals.
It was a truly dazzling move.
It was a perfect execution, no less impressive than his heyday when he was known in the mercenary world as the "Mirage Sword" for his flamboyant swordsmanship.
‘Got him.’
In that moment, Servey was certain of his victory. The opponent hadn’t budged even as the attack reached point-blank range.
But then…
Whoosh!
Servey’s sword passed right through an afterimage.
Before he knew it, the opponent had evaded him, slipping completely out of his sensory range. Then, a voice whispered from right beside him.
“You done?”
“Urgh…!”
Servey hurriedly spun around. What met his eyes in that moment was…
Flash-flash-flash-flash!
Dozens—no, perhaps over a hundred—liquor bottles splitting the air.
“Gah?!”
He gasped in horror at the sight of the bottles filling his vision. It was a phantasmal technique that made his own five-fold illusion look like child’s play. And the man was performing it with a bottle, not even a sword.
‘He’s a monster.’
Servey realized it then. This was never an opponent he could have handled in the first place.
What followed was the sound of bottles exploding against his entire body.
Thwack! Crack! Bam! Thud!
“Aaaaaagh!”
Servey’s scream rang out alongside the agonizing pain.
Thump.
After being thoroughly pummeled by the bottle, Servey collapsed.
Only after seeing that did Yurian and his cronies realize that the situation had turned dire. But it was already too late. The thug before them was already glaring at his next targets.
“Now then, it’s judgment time.”
Seeing the thug walking toward them with a bottle in one hand and a creepy smile on his face, Yurian and his gang were seized by extreme terror.
“Wa-Wait, just calm down for a second, Senior.”
“Senior? You’re using honorifics now?”
“Please calm down, Senior!”
“Why should I?”
Yurian hurriedly shouted, “My name is Yurian Pereiro!”
“So what?”
“I don’t know who you are, but making an enemy of House Pereiro won’t end well for you. So…”
“So I should back off?”
“Yes! Exactly.”
For a moment, Yurian harbored a sliver of hope that the man might be reasoned with.
“And I should caaaaare?”
It was a vain hope.
Seeing the thug speak with a voice and expression that would make anyone’s blood pressure spike, Yurian shouted desperately.
“Do you truly intend to cross House Pereiro?”
“Sure, why not?”
“I don’t know who you are, but crossing our family—a powerful noble house in central politics—is a foolish move!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Don’t worry about me. Just focus on getting your ass kicked, Junior.”
Yurian’s face crumpled into a sob as the man approached as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Words didn’t work on him at all. He had never met someone like this in his entire life.
“Who the hell are you?!”
“Me? I’m Patrick Schneider.”
“Patrick Schneider… I’ll make sure you regret… regret…”
Yurian’s voice trailed off as his face froze. It wasn’t just Yurian; the expressions of the others turned identical.
They stared at the thug before them. He was definitely wearing a 4th-year badge. And he certainly looked monstrously strong. But even so…
“That total thug is Patrick Schneider?”
The one who spoke was Jillian, who was still lying on the ground.
Patrick grabbed the back of his neck as if it were stiff and cracked it from side to side.
“The freshmen are really pissing me off again this year.”
Patrick set the bottle down and cracked his knuckles.
“Fine. Let’s all die today, juniors.”
“Wa-Wait a second… Gack!”
“Wait for what? There is no waiting!”
And then, Patrick began to systematically stomp on Yurian and his gang.
“You disrespectful little shits who left your manners in the Great Forest! How dare you talk back to a senior who’s like the heavens to you? Huh?”
“We were wrong… Urgh!”
“You know you were wrong? Then die! Die and apologize!”
“Forgive… Aaaagh!”
“There’s no such word as forgiveness in my dictionary, you bastard! I tore that page out long ago!”
It was a scene of wretched, brutal carnage. Even Jillian, who had been beaten by Yurian’s gang and almost had his career as a swordsman ended, felt more terror than satisfaction.
After thoroughly wrecking Yurian and his cronies, Patrick spoke.
“Don’t let me catch you in the Academy ever again. If I see you, you’re dead.”
“……”
“Still got no manners, I see. Not going to answer? Want another round?”
“Yes! Yes, sir!”
“We understand!”
The half-dead boys answered frantically. Patrick’s violence had managed to resuscitate even those who looked ready for a coffin.
Having dealt with them, Patrick approached Jillian.
“Ah… Um… Senior. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Jillian forced himself to sit up. Though there were many shocking things about the man, the result was that this senior had saved him. Yes, the legendary Patrick Schneider himself had saved him.
As Jillian trembled with emotion, Patrick looked down at him and asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yes! I’m fine!”
“Ooh, tough guy, aren’t you?”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Then you’re fit enough to take a hit.”
“Tha—Wait, what?”
As Jillian blinked in confusion, Patrick said, “A moment ago, the one who said, ‘That total thug is Patrick Schneider?’… that was you, wasn’t it?”
“……”
Ah, so you heard that.
Hahaha. He heard it.
He definitely heard it.
WHAM!
*
The professors of the Knight Department gathered for a meeting.
The agenda was…
“We will now begin the 78th Patrick Schneider Countermeasure Meeting.”
As soon as the topic was announced, the professors let out a collective sigh and clutched their heads. They all knew Patrick by now. How could they not, after dealing with him for the past three years?
Sitting at the head of the table, Head Professor Late spoke.
“What kind of trouble did he cause this time?”
“He wrecked dozens of freshmen.”
“Dozens? The report I received yesterday said five.”
“The number of victims multiplied in just half a day.”
“Augh…”
Professor Late clutched the back of his neck, groaning in pain. In just half a day, the number of victims hadn’t just doubled; it had increased several times over. How was that even possible?
Well, he knew the answer.
“As expected of Patrick Schneider.”
“He’s a man who makes the impossible possible.”
“I really wish he wouldn’t…”
Indeed, the name Patrick Schneider was the answer itself.
“And what was his reason for the beatings?”
“Nineteen of them were acting insolent, relying on their family’s influence. Fifteen were caught trying to gang up on a minority. Three were broken after challenging Patrick directly.”
“The last three were quite brave.”
“I’m not sure if they were brave or just insane…”
“Never mind that. Any dropouts?”
“It looks like about twenty-three freshmen are planning to submit their withdrawal papers.”
“I suppose we should contact the waitlisted applicants.”
Professor Late sighed. This had happened last year, and the year before that. Whenever a freshman entered the Academy and started acting like a tyrant or crossed the line because of their family background, they were invariably met with Patrick’s retribution.
And those students would receive a warning from Patrick: Don’t let me see you inside the Academy.
In the same department, the meaning of "don't let me see you" was simple:
[Get lost.]
In fact, many freshmen had dropped out in previous years for this very reason.
‘Actually, this is quite convenient…’
From Professor Late’s perspective, this wasn’t entirely a bad thing. Every year, there were spoiled brats who disrupted the Academy’s discipline, believing their family background made them untouchable. Professor Late wanted to kick those rotten sprouts out himself.
However, doing so officially required a long, tedious investigation where both sides had to be heard. Moreover, powerful noble families would inevitably apply pressure during the process.
He could block pressure within the Academy, but he couldn't control what happened outside. If a powerful perpetrator’s family suppressed the victim’s family with brute force, there was nothing he could do. Consequently, the reality was often that both sides received light punishments, and the matter was swept under the rug.
But when Patrick Schneider stepped in, the story changed.
The brats who acted arrogant based on their family’s power? Patrick would wreck them at the start of the semester and chase them out of the Academy.
Normally, this should be followed by resentment toward Patrick and retaliation against the Schneider family, but…
‘There isn’t a family alive that would dare.’
The 7-Star Realm.
The winner of the Arcana.
The Princess’s fiancé.
How on earth could anyone retaliate against that?
In fact, among the families who held a grudge against Patrick was House Panola. But even Marquis Panola, the Captain of the Royal Guard, couldn't say a word to Patrick. The current Patrick was not someone a mere Marquis could touch.
So, it was good that Patrick filtered out the freshmen on his own. However…
“Isn’t he the one destroying the Academy’s discipline more than anyone else?”
Yes, that was the problem.
Professor Jordain, the strictest among the faculty, spoke up.
“Head Professor. The school rule violations and illegal acts committed by Mr. Schneider have already crossed the line.”
“Why bring that up now…”
“Excuse me?”
“No, nothing. Ahem… So, what exactly is the problem?”
Professor Jordain pulled out a prepared list and began to read.
“Countless acts of violence.”
“Well, the Knight Department can be a bit rough, can’t it?”
“Habitual drinking.”
“A man’s gotta have a drink now and then.”
“Skipping classes.”
“Honestly, what is there left for us to teach him?”
“Unauthorized outings.”
“A dog needs regular walks, or it’ll start causing trouble.”
“Is Mr. Schneider a dog?”
“Can you definitively say he isn’t?”
“……”
“……”
The conversation came to a temporary halt.