The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 8



7 – It’s Okay to Be Criticized

Martial Arts Studies.

Literally, the study of martial arts.

The principle of Martial Arts Studies at Jerion Academy is simple.

“Kill the enemy before you die.”

Today, Professor Beganon Mercia, who is always hungover, yawned loudly in her shabby attire.

“That’s the basic stance for dealing with the apostles you face in the underground labyrinth.”

The underground labyrinth.

The apostles born from the evil there.

It is the role of the academy students to stop them before they come out of the underground labyrinth.

“After the upcoming mock battle, you will form teams according to your level and enter the labyrinth for the first time as second-year students.”

There were casualties in the first year.

Nevertheless, someone has to go into the labyrinth again.

If the apostles are not defeated, the surface becomes dangerous.

A world where the responsibility of the world is passed on to the children.

Therefore, the professors strive to help the children grow so they can face the apostles.

They, too, had once entered the labyrinth while attending the academy.

“Remember one thing.”

Beganon looked at the students and said.

“If you can’t kill them, run away.”

She looked back at the picture of the apostle displayed on the blackboard.

The apostles are strong.

Especially, the more they mutate, the stronger they become uncontrollably.

“If you survive, there is a next time.”

Many of those who died with Lucas were from the Martial Arts Studies department.

Beganon, who lives with alcohol every day, shows a figure soaked in alcohol.

She is also a professor who raises students.

She didn’t want any more of her students to die.

Especially on the day Lucas died.

She, who was always soaked in a hangover, visited Lucas and his companions’ graves without taking a sip of alcohol for a while.

The students, who felt her heart, had slightly moved faces.

“That’s it for today’s class.”

She turned off the magic blackboard.

Then she yawned long and turned around.

With her hands in the pockets of her wide, sagging pants that showed her underwear straps, she walked out sluggishly.

It’s amazing that she doesn’t get scolded for her poor attire.

‘She must be doing that even though she gets scolded.’

With the end of the class, I stood up from my seat.

The upcoming mock battle.

I must achieve good results here.

‘I must somehow get into the top ranks after the mock battle.’

I accidentally got a training opportunity with Aisha.

But that’s not enough.

This is the world after the bad ending where the protagonist Lucas died.

To proceed with the scenario without Lucas, I had to become a part of it somehow.

For that, I had to use any means necessary.

At that moment, I felt a gaze.

When I turned my head, there was Isabel glaring at me fiercely.

Instead of the shadows and gloom that had been there for a while.

Malice and anger were glaringly revealed.

It’s going well.

Moreover, the women who sided with Isabel were all looking at me very unpleasantly.

Now it’s the second day at the academy.

I’m starting to get used to receiving such gazes.

‘They say humans are creatures of adaptation.’

The sharper their eyes, the higher Isabel’s survival rate.

Thinking that way actually made me feel more at ease.

So that they would continue to look at me that way.

‘I should just do my work.’

It’s lunchtime now.

I needed to prepare for the upcoming mock battle.

It was at that moment when I stood up from my seat.

“Hey.”

I turned my head at the sound of someone calling me.

Several girls had surrounded me before I knew it.

They were all glaring at me with very sharp expressions.

I realized one thing belatedly.

These kids here are students of the martial arts department at the prestigious Jerion Academy.

Whether they are girls or boys.

Those who handle their bodies are fundamentally proud and have a nasty temper.

Someone in their group was slandered.

So what would happen?

“Come out for a moment.”

It’s a group lynching.

‘Damn it.’

Honestly, there was no other way to express it.

Even though I had worked out, these kids had been training with their lives on the line.

No matter what, if I get lynched by a group now, I’ll get beaten up like a dog.

Rattle-

But I am also a student of the martial arts department at Jerion Academy.

They wouldn’t be underestimating my skills.

So.

“What do you want?”

Let’s act tough.

During my workout days, if I showed fear on my face in a match, my opponent’s fist would inevitably land on it.

That’s why the former champion, the director, punched my stomach hundreds of times under the pretext of facial expression management.

The nightmare of that day still haunts me.

So, I could manage my expressions artistically.

Was my expression too indifferent?

The girls furrowed their brows fiercely.

Contempt filled their eyes.

“Go apologize to Isabel right now.”

The girl standing in the center of the group snapped at me.

Hearing her voice, I pressed the back of my neck to hide my cold sweat.

“Apologize for what?”

“For all the harsh things you said to Isabel! Apologize for all of it!”

“Look at her pretending not to know. It’s really disgusting.”

“I feel like throwing up.”

The girls behind her chimed in, shouting.

The atmosphere in the class quickly turned hostile.

Some watched with interest.

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Others, who didn’t like me, joined in.

Among them,

I had no allies.

Isabel, who was the center of the class, was attacked like that.

It was inevitable.

“Why should I apologize for stating the obvious?”

“Wow, are you out of your mind? I knew you were rude, but this is beyond that.”

“Trash.”

“Is that even a human?”

The insults were intense.

But if it was a battle of wills,

“At least if it were Isabel herself, I might understand. But why are you demanding an apology from me?”

I didn’t back down.

If they came just to demand an apology,

I had the responsibility to save Isabel’s life.

So, I absolutely couldn’t back down in this fight.

“Come on, Isabel is our friend! When a friend is in trouble, of course, we have to help!”

“Look at the nerve of this one.”

“Seems like someone who would never have a friend in their life.”

Who was that just now?

I never expected to be hit with such a critical blow all of a sudden.

How could there be such malicious slander?

I managed my expression again.

Almost, my expression almost crumbled.

“Ridiculous. The ones who couldn’t even take care of someone who looked like they were about to die are calling themselves friends.”

And before I knew it, there was an edge to my tone as well.

Among the things she said a moment ago.

The words about helping a friend in trouble touched my reverse scale.

In the end, none of them could help Isabel, and she committed suicide.

“What?”

The girls looked flustered, as if they didn’t expect me to say such a thing.

I took a step closer to the leader of the group of girls who had been glaring at me.

“Isn’t it? Isabel Luna, even someone like me who met her for the first time this time could see that she had been dying for a long time.”

There were various signs of suicide in Isabel.

Just looking at the shadows under her eyes and her much thinner body than before.

Anyone could see that Isabel’s condition was not normal.

It was evidence that death was tightening its grip on her neck.

She, who had no will to live, was slowly letting go of her life.

“It didn’t seem like her so-called friends were taking care of such things.”

“Don’t change the subject! Isabel was struggling, so we gave her some alone time…”

“That wasn’t giving her time, it was neglect.”

The leader’s body flinched.

“If she was in that state, it was obvious that Isabel would have followed that Lucas guy sooner or later.”

I, who met Isabel for the first time this time, know this fact.

But her so-called friends couldn’t even notice such things.

I was using this point to lash out at them.

If I had spoken vaguely, they would have protested in their own way.

But I spoke with conviction.

That conviction silenced them.

Isabel’s death is a certain future.

Therefore, my conviction carries even more weight.

“We, we also took care of Isabel!”

“Yes, you did at first. But as there was no sign of improvement, you got tired and just left her to end up like this.”

Everyone here is defending Isabel.

But in reality, Isabel suffered alone and eventually took her own life.

Just as they are glaring at me.

Contempt also filled my eyes.

It has been several months since Lucas’s death.

But Isabel still couldn’t get over Lucas’s death.

Those who helped her at first got tired of seeing her unchanged.

So, they only pretended to take care of her, but there was no sincerity left.

In fact, it’s not their fault.

Although they are not here, Isabel’s other close friends are still taking care of her.

The ones who followed Isabel out just now are such friends.

But even so, Isabel couldn’t get better.

At this point, there was no one to blame.

But except for her close friends.

It was hard to listen to the words of those who only stood by ambiguously.

“If you think about it, Isabel and you should be thanking me, shouldn’t you?”

I looked at the bewildered leader and sneered.

“As long as she’s angry like that, she won’t think about dying.”

The whole class fell silent.

Now, my words had clearly crossed the line.

But if you want to become an enemy, you can’t do it halfway.

I will make sure everyone here knows that I am Isabel’s enemy.

At that moment, the leader of the group of girls raised her hand.

My gaze instinctively followed her hand.

Smack-

Before I knew it, my outstretched wrist blocked the path of her wrist.

It was purely a reflexive move.

Her eyes widened, not expecting her wrist to be blocked.

“What the-!”

Whoosh!

As she swung her other hand in anger, I pulled my head back to avoid it.

It was a swift movement, like that of a flying squirrel.

‘Oh.’

I still got it, huh?

Anyway, the direction in which a hand can be swung at this distance is limited.

I could avoid it just by watching her movements.

“Ugh!”

She was furious, having failed to slap me twice.

I knew it too.

That was just a jab, and if she really attacked, I wouldn’t be able to dodge like this.

After all, she was also a student of the martial arts department at Jerion Academy.

But perhaps because too many eyes were on her.

Having resorted to violence, she seemed to feel pricked and slowly lowered her hand.

“Crazy b*stard…”

The leader of the group of girls turned away with a look of disgust, as if she had seen something horrible.

“Forget it. Don’t even talk to someone like that.”

“Let’s go. It’s not like we’re avoiding it because we’re scared of shit.”

“He’s not even worth dealing with.”

They turned away with faces full of disdain.

It was clear they didn’t want to exchange a single word with me.

The other kids were the same.

Even those who had been watching with interest now looked at me with cold eyes.

But among them.

Only the 3rd princess, Iris Hyserion, was staring at me blankly.

Those eyes are the scariest of all.

I decided to quickly leave the classroom.

‘How did I avoid the group lynching?’

Today, it seems they left because they were disgusted by the terrible things I said.

But there’s no guarantee that this won’t happen again in the future.

I should be prepared as well.

“Hey, King.”

At that moment, I felt a weight on the back of my neck.

It was a thick arm with tanned skin.

The owner of the arm was the scoundrel, Card Bellick.

It seems he finished his magic class a bit early today and dropped by.

The name he called me had changed at some point.

Even though he was a man, he was a big-hearted person who acknowledged what needed to be acknowledged.

“Already popular with the girls, huh? As expected of a king.”

Is he saying this after seeing everything?

He’s an amazing guy in many ways.

I pushed his arm away.

Card smacked his lips as if he was disappointed.

“Does this look like popularity to you?”

“If you think of it as a play, it’s not so bad.”

Playboys are amazing.

Even bullying can be enjoyed in a different way like this.

“There’s no benefit for you to hang out with me, you know?”

The eyes of the martial arts class students were also sharp towards Card, who was hanging out with me.

Card then smiled brightly.

“It’s okay. All the second-year girls hate me anyway!”

Given Card’s messy relationships with girls, it was a natural story.

The problem is that despite this, there are still victims who fall for Card’s coaxing.

He was quite something.

“And isn’t it okay to have at least one person you can be comfortable with?”

Card looked at me and smiled brightly.

It seemed that Card thought I had taken to heart what he said yesterday.

Unintentionally, I had gained Card’s favor.

Misunderstandings have their limits, though.

Seeing him made me feel a bit lighter.

“So, what about lunch?”

“I have something to do.”

I showed him the sandwich I had received in the morning.

I’m a busy person.

I don’t have time to sit face-to-face with a dark man for lunch.

“Well, that’s a shame. Let’s eat together next time.”

Card didn’t insist any further.

It seemed he really just needed someone to have lunch with.

I watched Card leave and then immediately started walking.

And at that moment, I didn’t know.

That Isabel had briefly returned to the class.