I Became a Mafia in the Academy

Chapter 260

The night sky was darker than usual.

With fewer people than during the day, the Budokan was deserted except for the officers on duty and those who lived there.

"What kind of person would wake up an old man in the middle of the night to consume an elixir?"

And then there are the claustrophobic confines of the Budokan.

To be more precise, in the area used for training in the closed hall, I and the elderly Kwak Chun-sik, dressed in comfortable clothes, were preparing to take the elixir.

"You're the one who told me to tell you when I'm ready, and you're the one who asked me to come here in the first place, right?"

Taking a seat in the center of the room, I responded to the old man's grumbling with a laugh.

Would you take an elixir like this that makes you feel intoxicated just by looking at it in broad daylight? ‘I ate something expensive~’ Do you want to spread the word around the neighborhood? It’s best to eat this kind of food secretly in a quiet place without people.”

I don't know what the big deal is about taking just one elixir, but he's got a lot more experience than I do when it comes to taking nutritional supplements, so I decided to follow his advice.

"So, can I just sit down right now?"

"Yes, and take out the elixir you said you had prepared."

At his words, I take out the golden tangerine pie from the cube and place it in front of me.

"Huh, you bring the elixir in a cube like this? Is it a lunch box?"

"Well, I can't just pack it in a bag somewhere."

"That's true, but……doesn't seem to be a normal lunch box. Did your girlfriend pack it for you?"

"No such thing."

Anyway, the repertoire of old people in this age group is similar.

I gave him a quick glare for his remark and returned my attention to the elixir.

I lift the lid of the lunch box, and a glow begins to fill the darkened chamber.

Golden tangerines glisten on the golden brown pastry dough.

They look like they've just been baked, and the sight of them emitting golden brown steam is mouth-watering.

"By the way, is this how everyone eats elixirs these days?"

"…… I'm probably the first in the world."

"Right? Whatever. The world has gotten so much better, so is this……a golden tangerine?"

He walks over, sniffs it, and immediately realizes it's a pie.

"Yep. It's a pie made with golden tangerines, and they say that cooking them like this can amplify their effects or create new ones."

"Hehe. I see you have a child with interesting abilities, you'll have to give me her contact information later. My little girl doesn't want to take elixirs, so I'll ask her for a favor."

Well, I guess it could be used for that.

I mean, it's like making a burger for a kid who refuses to eat their side dish of bell peppers or carrots.

"I'll text you later."

Slowly, I pull a palm-sized pie out of the cupboard.

I wonder if I could somehow eat it in one bite if I wanted to but I break it in half anyway.

Waves of brilliant scarlet glow from the opening, the inside still had a honeyed, rustic flavor, as if it had been freshly made and was still moist.

"So, do you eat it?"

"I've eaten them before, but they're good."

For some reason, he didn't even ask for a bite, so I wondered if he had already eaten it in the past.

If Kwak Chun-sik, who is a picky eater, could say something like that, I was already looking forward to how delicious this food would be.

"Yum."

I immediately popped half of it into my mouth and started chewing.

Simultaneously.

-Crunch.

The pastry dough cracks in my mouth, bursts open, and the golden tangerine juice trapped inside begins to coat my tongue, completely enveloping it.

And then,

-Poof!

A refreshing, sweet aroma that immediately fills my mouth and even my nose.

It's like chewing on a raw fruit.

The juicy juice bursts out and soaks the dough, turning it from stiff to soft.

I’m savoring the flavor as I take my next bite and a new system window pops up in front of me.

[You have consumed a new elixir!]

[‘Golden Tangerine Pie']

[This Elixir has had its effects amplified by a recipe]

[Increases your overall attribute resistance by 10%]

[This elixir is filled with the energy of the Wood element]

[Adds an additional 10% to resistance to Electricity and Water]

[Amplifies the consumer's aura]

[Consumed food that opens new horizons of taste]

[Acquires the new Talent [Gourmet]]

[Gourmet]

[1.Epicurean – Those who explore gastronomy gain new powers from consuming delicious foods. Epicureans can determine the taste rating of foods and temporarily gain additional stats based on their rating]

"……."

A new talent for eating a pie was a reward beyond my wildest dreams.

[The [Gourmet] has consumed some delicious food]

[Golden Tangerine Pie (A+)]

[Temporarily increases the eater's resistance to [Electricity] and [Water] by an additional 30%]

"Huh?"

Wait. So by simple math, the resistance raised by this is now…….50%?

So I'm going to take half the damage from electric or water attacks?

"Yeah, how about that? Looks like you've got the ingestion right."

Kwak Chun-sik, who was sitting in the back just in case, saw my eyes widen and spoke up.

"Yes. I was just admiring the effectiveness of the product. Shall we go straight to the antler?"

"Yes, let's eat it quickly before my throat aura subsides."

Okay, amazing, but that's just the warm-up. The real work of the day was yet to come.

The Dragon King's Deer Antler was right in front of me.

"So, shall we begin?"

"I'll be watching you, so don't worry."

Looking at the deer antler-shaped elixir in front of me, I wondered if I should chew it like the Kirin's antler.

At the same time, my palm began to tingle.

It was as if it knew it was about to be eaten. The dragon king antler, which had been innocent until now, began to leak blue electricity.

"That looks disgusting. Why didn't you ask your friend to cook that?"

"Because it would have taken……quite a bit of time to make the recipe. The golden tangerine is a natural fruit, so at least it was quick, but I can't imagine how long it would take to make a dish with the dragon king antler."

"That's a shame. Still, it must be quite painful to see them run off as soon as you get them."

"Still, I can't not eat it, so I'll……eat it."

I took a deep breath and shoved the dragon king antler into my mouth.

As soon as it was in my mouth, the antler melted and disappeared like cotton candy in water.

Thankfully, it didn't take me long to get all the big ones in my mouth.

──! ──!

My mouth feels like it's full of something popping, like I've just poured a bunch of popping candy into my mouth.

My cheeks and the roof of my mouth were constantly stinging, as if a very strong carbonated drink had filled my mouth.

‘I need to swallow……!’

I strained my throat and gulped down the completely dissolved antler.

At the same time,

Qua-ling──!

A thunderous sound rang out, and a powerful electric current began to envelope my entire body.

"Gulp!"

My muscles stiffened as if I had been electrocuted.

"It seems that the elixir was even better than I thought."

I felt Kwak Chun-sik's hand on my back, who had prepared for this situation in advance, and my body began to relax.

"Don't stop breathing, even though your body is stiff, just take it all in."

I followed his voice, breathing hard and deep, trying to calm my body somehow, with the sole intention of somehow making this current my own.

And then,

"……?"

Suddenly, I could feel the current rushing toward my heart.

Wait a minute, if this much current is rushing into my heart at once, I'm going to die……!

"Focus, I'll protect your heart!"

I felt an uncomfortable sensation in my heart, but realizing that this was Kwak Chun-sik's aura, I began to control the current more actively.

I thought back to when I was using the Black Mist.

How did I control the current?

Obviously…… the heart…….

A sudden realization hit me.

I slowly opened my tightly closed mouth and called out to Kwak Chun-sik behind me.

"Old man……! The heart……aura……must be released……!"

"What, you want me to release the aura guarding your heart?"

"You need to release……!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I…… believe you!"

The aura surrounding my heart was lifted, and the electric currents that had been circling around the heart until now began to rush into the heart all at once.

A tremendous pain rushed through me in an instant.

It was as if they were going to tear my heart out. The frantic currents began to gather and settle inside the heart.

If this was this much pain despite my 50% all-attribute resistance enhanced by tangerine pie, I wondered what would happen if I had no resistance.

But all that speculation was pointless. The real me was orchestrating it all, looking down on it all.

And I'm spreading all of my energy, like I'm carving it into every capillary.

Fazizik-!

A flash of light flashes in my half-opened eyes as a calm settles over me, like the sea after a storm, and every nerve and muscle begins to relax.

The system window pops up in front of me, announcing the end of this long and short battle.

[You have consumed a new elixir!]

[‘Dragon King's Antler']

[The ‘antler' containing the essence of the dragon king who once guarded the East Sea]

[You've absorbed a powerful electricity elixir]

[Absorbed a powerful Water elixir]

[Grants an additional 10% resistance to Electricity and Water]

[When using Aura in the future, you can grant it the Lightning element]

[Explosively boosts the total amount of aura in the eater]

Oh……the moment I realize what I've been thinking.

[An unknown power has settled within your heart; when the time is right, this power will blossom]

[Obtained the new quest "Dragon King"]

[Hidden Quest]

[Dragon King]

[There are countless dragon kings everywhere in this world, in the sky, in the sea, even in the mountains and rocks. Will you be able to defeat them and become a true Dragon King?]

[The East Sea Dragon King's Mantle (Unfinished) turns into a Mantle (1/7)]

[Objective: Complete the Dragon King's Mantle]

[Reward]

1: Acquire the attribute "Dragon King".

2: ??

3: ??

4: ??

5: ??

6: ??

7: ??

【Dragon King】

[1.Dragon King – A title that signifies that you are one of the seven true dragon king candidates in the world. You will find it easier to gain favor with the dragon people, and beings of lesser rank will fear you. (There are abilities that have yet to be unlocked.)]

"Eh……?"

"Are you hurt?"

No, this was not a matter of being hurt.

This was an unexpected quest.

‘Dragon King Quest has appeared……!’