CHAPTER 242: THE ART OF BLACKMAIL [PART 2]

Alex’s proposal was, well, ridiculous. There was no other way to put it. The disbelief on Caspian’s face soon gave way to anger and frustration.

"No!" Caspian immediately vetoed the idea as his face reddened with rage. "We can’t give you that much. Also, these two guys are not part of our club. Why should we be responsible for what they have decided to do in their own time?"

"Sir Rizz, you can’t do this to us!" one of the Fourth Years exclaimed.

"We only followed your orders!" the second Fourth Year added in horror. "Otherwise, we wouldn’t have done such a thing!"

"Shut up!" Caspian shouted back. "We only met today, so don’t act like we are friends or something!"

Caspian glared at the Fourth Years to let them know they should allow themselves to be punished if they didn’t want the entirety of the Lionheart Society to become their enemy!

"Oh dear? Are you trying to say that you’re not part of this incident?" Alex asked, looking a little troubled.

"That’s right," Caspian huffed. "We played no part in this. If you want to punish anyone, punish those who are responsible. Punish those two!"

The Officer of the Lionheart Society nodded in satisfaction, seeing Caspian handle things the way he should.

With this, the two Fourth Years would become the scapegoats, leaving the image of their club intact.

"Did you hear that, Professor?" Alex asked. "I guess we have little choice but to take this to the Headmaster. We can ask him to visit the Lionheart Society and investigate. If the Headmaster uses his power to dig around, I’m sure many interesting things can be found."

To Caspian’s shock, Professor Gareth actually appeared agreeable to this suggestion!

"By the way," Alex continued loudly, "once the Headmaster gets involved, the Lionheart Society might lose its position as a Crest Club, you know? I’m sure the alumni of the Lionheart Society will be veeeeeeeeeeeeery happy once they hear that you guys... f*cked up."

The Lionheart Society members now looked like ants on a hot pan. But Alex wasn’t done yet.

"Ah, that’s right! Isn’t Prince Edward the current Vice President of the Club?" Alex’s smile was positively diabolical even as his tone remained innocent. "I’m sure he will be more than open to a conversation with us. Professor Gareth, please accompany me to the Lionheart Society’s club room. I’d like to talk to the higher-ups about this.

"Just a little fun fact about myself—I have this crippling habit of escalating things. It’s so exciting, just thinking about blowing this incident up till everyone in the capital knows about this! Even the grandpas and the grandmas in the streets will be talking about it."

"Kukuku!" Dim Dim chuckled evilly.

The Dim Sum God was a very innocent soul, but Alex was teaching it firsthand the Art of Blackmail.

"Your name is Alex, right?" the Officer, who was a Third Year student, finally said something. "Very well. We will compensate you with 50,000 Academy Points. I just hope that you will, as you have promised, forget about this matter completely."

"Hmmm? Were we talking about something?" Alex tilted his head. "I honestly forgot why I’m even here."

While Professor Gareth could see through Alex’s acting, he didn’t interfere. He didn’t mind how Alex did things as long as the case could be satisfactorily resolved.

He could also tell that this was the Crest Club’s way of trying to intimidate Alex and, by extension, Endless Horizon, since they had been gaining more popularity among students.

The Professor was already used to such scenes. He had seen similar situations many times in the past. But this was the first time he saw a club with enough backbone to not back down when facing a Crest Club.

Usually, most clubs would be intimidated to even raise their heads. In fact, they would go out of their way to avoid offending any of the Crest Clubs.

’Alex is built differently,’ Professor Gareth mused as he listened to the conversation between the students.

"I will send the compensation directly to your account within an hour," the Officer said. "But if news of this leaks out—"

"Then it will be your side which has done the leaking," Alex interrupted. "I’m a man of my word, you know? My lips are sealed. Isn’t that right, Dim Dim?"

The Dim Sum God didn’t reply. It simply made an act of zipping its lips to tell everyone that it could be trusted to keep a secret.

"Okay, the two of you, come here." Alex beckoned to the two Fourth Years, who had thought that they were already off the hook. "You guys and I have many things to talk about."

The two Fourth Years understood that Alex held the power to decide whether they would graduate from the academy or not.

Alex didn’t forget to thank Professor Gareth for his help in resolving the issue before taking the two Fourth Years to the clock tower.

They only entered the ground floor and didn’t go up to the main club room.

"Don’t worry, I have a proposal for the two of you," Alex said with a smile. "Of course, I will pay both of you properly. How about I give you ten thousand academy points each?"

Upon hearing the young man’s words, the expression of the two Fourth Years turned serious. They really needed academy points right now, but Alex’s offer sounded like it came with caveats.

"We will do what you want as long as it will not endanger our graduation from the academy," the Fourth Year, who went by the name, Mark, replied.

He was slightly chubby, proving that he was well off when it came to many things.

"As long as what you ask of us doesn’t go past my bottom line, I will agree to it," his friend, Spencer, stated.

Unlike Mark, Spencer was quite muscular and seemed to be a warrior of some sort.

Both of them were Rank 4, which was a good Rank for their age.

They were not exceptional, but they weren’t lacking either.

Both of them were just average.

But that was something that Alex needed right now.

"Of course," Alex said, pretending to be scandalized by their implication. "Seniors, I won’t do anything that might get you expelled. I’m not like Caspian, who will happily throw you away like rags and use you as scapegoats."

The two Fourth Years couldn’t help but feel angry after being reminded of what had transpired earlier.

If they had known that Caspian was such a slimy bastard, they wouldn’t have agreed to follow his orders, which had almost gotten them punished by Professor Gareth.

"Now, listen closely." Alex smirked. "What I want the two of you to do for me is..."

The more Mark and Spencer listened to Alex’s proposal, the more the two thought that their junior was out of his mind.

But in the end, they agreed to his request. No matter how absurd it was, at the least they would no longer be expelled. Most importantly, it wouldn’t affect their graduation and compensation was promised for their efforts.

"I look forward to working with the two of you, Mark and Spencer." Alex shook their hands, as if telling them that they were on the same side.

Truth be told, the young man recognized the two Fourth Years, who were considered "recruitable side characters" in the game.

In the game, the player could recruit any student in the academy to aid them with their quest.

Among the many options, two side characters were mentioned in the ELO Forums as seriously underrated characters.

While they might not be geniuses, the two of them were linked to a certain side quest where a Legendary Location could be unlocked before they graduated.

Getting their help now would allow Alex to visit that place with his Club Members so that at least one of them could gain a Legendary Weapon, Artifact, or Skill, that was only accessible in that particular location.