Villain Takes Over The Academy

Chapter 25

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[Translator - Peptobismal]

[Proofreader - Max]

Chapter 25

“Congratulations, sir!”

“Congratulations, sir!”

“This autobiography is so touching!”

As Seo Su-kyung arrived at the banquet hall, all sorts of people were gathered around Seo Jin-chul, offering their congratulations.

Each person brought up a part of the autobiography that had impressed them, praising Seo Jin-chul.

'...Tsk, idiots.'

Seo Su-kyung looked at them with disdain, seeing them flatter him to gain something.

But she couldn't laugh at them. She was in the same boat.

“Grandpa, we're here.”

As Seo Tae-hee pushed through the crowd and greeted him, gasps were heard from those around them. Not only were the mother and daughter incredibly beautiful, but the sight of Seo Su-kyung, a great talent, was deeply moving.

“So that's the Sword Saint...!”

“Look at the powerful aura emanating from that small body!”

“She's a top student at that Masterclass, isn't she?”

“I hear that high-ranking units are already lobbying to recruit her...”

“As expected of the bloodline of the Seo family...!”

The whispers about Seo Su-kyung quickly filled the banquet hall with commotion.

However, Seo Jin-chul, as if he couldn't hear any of it, greeted his granddaughter with an indifferent expression.

“So, are you doing well at the academy?”

“Yes, thanks to you, Grandpa.”

“That's good. Masterclass is quite a prestigious academy. What was your ranking last semester?”

Seo Su-kyung's lips hesitated for a moment.

Seo Tae-hee quickly interjected,

“She's 5th, father. She was 4th before.”

“Hmm... 5th.”

“Her ranking dropped slightly because she took a sabbatical. But she has a perfect plan to rise higher this semester, and there will be no problem until graduation...”

“Well, with those grades, she can get into a decent unit. Anyway, work hard.”

Seo Jin-chul's reply, without even listening to the end of Seo Tae-hee's words, seemed unimpressed.

'...Decent?'

Seo Su-kyung couldn't help but be shocked by Seo Jin-chul's words.

‘A decent unit?!’

A student council member of Masterclass had grades good enough to choose from the top units. She had never seen anyone dismiss such grades as if they were nothing.

'Do you even know what you're talking about? Grandpa, your other grandchildren couldn't get these grades even if they died and were reborn a hundred times...!'

...Such a shout rose to her throat, but Seo Su-kyung couldn't bring herself to say it.

While Seo Su-kyung was trembling, unable to speak, Seo Su-cheon and others started pushing past her.

“Grandpa, we're here too.”

“Oh! Our eldest grandson, Su-cheon! You've come a long way!”

“Of course, I had to come. On such a meaningful day.”

“Grandpa! Congratulations! I cried a lot reading your autobiography!”

“Hahaha! Is that so? This old man's writing is too good for his own good!”

Starting with Seo Su-cheon, other grandchildren appeared one after another and began to greet him. A bright smile quickly blossomed on Seo Jin-chul's as he watched his grandchildren hug him.

Seo Su-kyung could only watch Seo Jin-chul's smile. He had never shown her such a smile.

'...Even though he never welcomed me like that, no matter what report card I brought.'

She knew.

That no matter how much she raised her grades, no matter how much she was recognized for her abilities, she could never win Seo Jin-chul's favor.

Because Seo Su-kyung was nothing more than a stranger to Seo Jin-chul. Despite the title of grandfather, Seo Jin-chul had never once called Seo Su-kyung his granddaughter.

'...I shouldn't have come to this place.'

She felt as if she had come to a place she wasn't invited to, as if she were stranded on a deserted island.

Seo Su-kyung, feeling suddenly insignificant, quickly turned and left the banquet hall.

Seo Su-cheon watched her leave with meaningful eyes.

***

Splash-! Splash-!

In the restroom located in a corner of the convention center.

Seo Su-kyung turned on the cold water and splashed it on her face without hesitation. She didn't care that her makeup was smudged and her dress was soaked.

She felt that disgusted.

"...Damn it."

"Oh my, how scary."

Seo Su-kyung, who had unconsciously cursed, was startled by the voice and turned around.

Seo Su-cheon was standing at the door, as if he had been there all along.

"Are you crazy? This is the women's restroom."

"That's hurtful. Why are you separating us by gender, cousin? We've seen everything there is to see when we were young."

Seo Su-cheon approached with a sly grin and grabbed her wrist.

Seo Su-kyung glared at him with a venomous look.

"Let go of me now, before I cut off your hand."

"Oh my, I'm scared. Are you sure? You worked so hard to get into the student council,” Seo Su-cheon said leisurely.

But Seo Su-kyung couldn't resist.

He was right. If she caused a bloodbath here, everything she had painstakingly built would crumble.

"You should aim for first place in the overall rankings. Only then will grandfather acknowledge you."

"First place...?"

Seo Su-kyung gulped at his words.

First place in the Masterclass rankings.

It was such a high position that Seo Su-kyung didn't even dare to dream of reaching it.

'But if I really get first place, maybe grandfather will...'

Perhaps it was only natural that Seo Jin-chul, the head of the International Group, which competed for the top spot in the business world, wouldn't be impressed by a vague top-tier ranking.

But what if she really got first place in Masterclass?

"Pfft! Hahahahaha!"

Seo Su-cheon burst into laughter, unable to contain himself.

He giggled, tears welling up in his eyes, mocking Seo Su-kyung.

"Are you serious? You're really hopeless."

"...What?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. You're not one of us. Your DNA is different, you know? No matter how hard you try, you can't become a member of the Seo family."

As if to tell her to come to her senses, as if he was utterly disappointed in her, Seo Su-cheon spoke with a pitiful expression.

Seo Su-kyung had no words to refute him.

Because it was true.

Neither Seo Jin-chul, Seo Tae-hee, nor anyone else in this family shared a single drop of blood with Seo Su-kyung.

She was an orphan who didn’t even know who her biological parents were.

“You’re just like a stray dog Aunt Tae-hee picked up from the street. So bark when you’re told to bark, and offer your paw when it’s asked for. That’s your role in this house, isn’t it? Wag your tail nicely~ like that. Hmm?”

Seo Su-cheon grabbed Seo Su-kyung’s wrist with one hand and started stroking her hair with the other.

His hand slid down smoothly, grazing her skin like a snake.

Locking eyes with Seo Su-kyung, who stood frozen like ice, he gave a sly smirk.

“This reminds me of the old days. Back then, you were so obedient and cute... Well, not that you’re bad now. That bit of defiance is kind of charming, too...”

As his hand traveled from her ear down her neck to her nape—

“Argh!”

Seo Su-kyung suddenly seized his hand and twisted it.

Before Seo Su-cheon could even process what was happening, his wrist was wrenched with blinding speed, leaving him unable to react.

“...You call me a stray dog? Then what does that make you, someone worse than that stray?”

“You, you mutt! Do you even realize who you’re messing with—Aagh!”

Crack-!

This time, Seo Su-kyung’s heel struck his knee with surgical precision, forcing another scream out of him.

Kneeling and utterly powerless, Seo Su-cheon couldn’t offer any resistance.

-Partially successful in identifying the curse.

Finally, Caesar's voice rang out after an anxious wait. At the same time, detailed information appeared on the monocle.

-Curse Name: Curse of the Imugi.

-Level: A.

-Duration: ???

-Required Items for Removal: Heart of a Devil, ????, ????

As reported, there were question marks mixed in due to the partial success, but fortunately, the most crucial information was successfully diagnosed.

"Heart of a Devil..."

The only item revealed among the required items for curse removal.

I felt relieved that I had figured out the item needed to lift the curse, but I also felt troubled that it had to be a Devil's Heart.

"Of all the items, it had to be this."

The Heart of a Devil was not an easy item to obtain. In Military Chronicle, 'devils' referred to the demons of the abyss. If villains were the enemies of humanity, devils were the enemies of the world.

They lived to taint the entire world with evil.

Although they possessed powerful strength, fortunately, their numbers were few, so they didn't pose a significant threat to the world.

"No... I can't say it's fortunate for me."

It certainly wasn't fortunate in my current situation.

To encounter a devil through normal means, the story had to progress to at least Chapter 2.

Currently, it was still Chapter 1, making it difficult to even encounter a devil, let alone capture one.

But I couldn't live with this curse until Chapter 2...

"...Wait, come to think of it, isn't the practical training in a few days?"

While looking at the calendar and calculating the days left until Chapter 2, I suddenly remembered.

The so-called Villain Field Training.

At Masterclass, field training was conducted when villains appeared in the city so that students could gain practical experience.

If I remember correctly, the villain that appears in the first field training of the new semester has the same traits as a devil.

"It's not a complete devil, but... I can expect a similar effect from its heart."

As a clue suddenly came to mind, I started to see hope.

I had only experienced the first field training once in the game, but it was such a big event that I still remember it.

A city is destroyed by a sudden appearance of a B++ rank villain, and Masterclass, under the guidance of professors, sends students into battle.

Although they win the battle, the main storyline is that the player, who fails to capture the villain, realizes their power through this training.

"There's also a route where you kill the villain on the spot."

However, that route was only possible if the player's combat ability was exceptionally high.

In other words, it was something only a handful of players who had spent tens of millions of won on cash items from Chapter 1 could do.

But it wasn't entirely impossible for me now. Through the experiences of previous playthroughs, I had a rough idea of how to deal with devils.

However, the problem was that I was cursed with something that could activate at any time...

"If the curse activates while I'm facing the villain..."

Then it would undoubtedly mean death. I was lucky that Shin A-sol appeared and saved me from the crisis at Yongmun Mountain, but I couldn't expect such coincidences to happen consecutively.

I needed a definite countermeasure against the curse.

“...It would be nice to have a comrade in times like this.”

I suddenly felt the lack of a comrade.

In Military Chronicle, if you continuously increase a character's favorability, you can become "comrades." Becoming comrades has various effects, the biggest one being that they protect the player on the battlefield.

Like bodyguards.

"There's nothing more reassuring than having many comrades on the battlefield."

In previous playthroughs, the comrades I made were Nachal and Jeokho.

Villains with the best synergy with me, a Blood Demon.

When the three of us were together, there was nothing to fear.

That's why Seo Su-kyung and the Military tried so hard to separate us...

"Anyway, I need at least one comrade."

I pondered the candidates for comradeship.

To become comrades, you had to raise the other person's favorability to the "Trusted" level.

"Trusted" was the highest level in the relationship system.

Building a relationship to that level required considerable time and effort.

"Currently, the one with the highest favorability towards me is... Gianluca, I guess?"

While completing the hidden quest, my relationship with Arche had progressed to "Close."

There were two more levels to go before reaching the "Trusted" level required for comradeship.

"The field training is in a week... It will be tight to raise her favorability by two levels."

But it was a task worth the effort. Gianluca, the Dragon Mage’s, potential had already been proven, and if such a summoner became my comrade, there wouldn't be any major problems even if the curse activated.

"More importantly, Gianluca came all the way to Yongmun Mountain because she was worried about me."

Even with a "Close" relationship, that didn't happen often. It meant that we had good synergy.

The better the synergy with a character, the easier it was to raise their favorability. It meant that with Arche, I could aim for a relationship beyond "Trusted."

"Gianluca... what would be a good way?"

There were many ways to increase favorability, but usually, it was done by helping with their personal story quests.

Originally, Arche's personal story was to join the rebel army at the beginning of the semester, but...

"That story disappeared when I solved the Phantom Thief quest."

It would probably be changed to a different personal story, but I didn't know what it was yet.

Then the remaining method was...

Beep-beep-!

Just then, my phone suddenly rang with a notification. It was a text message from someone.

"This is...?"

I couldn't help but be surprised when I saw the sender's name.

It was a message from Arche.

-I have something to tell you, Professor. Please come to the classroom now. - Arche.

"...What a strange coincidence."

To receive a message from the person herself while I was thinking about how to raise Arche's favorability.

Anyway, it was a good thing. Perhaps this would trigger another personal quest.

With anticipation for what awaited me, I hurried to the classroom.

***

But what is it that she wants to tell me?’

I became curious on my way to the classroom.

At Yongmun Mountain, Arche had left those meaningful words and gone down the mountain first.

Given that she sent me this sudden message, I had a feeling it would be something important, although I didn't know what it was.

"...It seems quieter than usual today."

The building where the Deconstructionist Department classroom was located was near the main academy building, so there were usually quite a few people walking around even at night.

But for some reason, there were few people in the building today.

"And this smell..."

There was one more thing that bothered me as I entered the building.

The smell of blood.

The smell of blood flowing from somewhere in the building was stimulating my sensitive Blood Demon sense of smell.

"Is there an experiment going on?"

There were several laboratories in the building, so the smell of blood itself wasn't strange.

But what was concerning was that the smell got stronger as I got closer to the Deconstructionist Department classroom...

Slide-!

I opened the door and entered the classroom, but it was pitch black with all the lights off.

Although Blood Demons could see in the dark with the [Night Clan] trait, I still immediately flipped the light switch.

Because the moment I opened the door, I saw something collapsed in front of the platform.

No way, it couldn't be.

With the thought that I must be mistaken, I took a step, then another.

But it wasn't a mistake, and I wasn't seeing things.

"...Gianluca."

It was Arche who was collapsed next to the platform.

With her eyes wide open, bleeding profusely from her chest.

Arche was dead.

-

[Translator - Peptobismal]

[Proofreader - Max]