Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 70

EP.70 Student Council Election Part 1

The dungeons they were clearing now were different from the ones they had cleared before. They were focused on quantity rather than quality, which meant that they could clear them much faster. On average, it took them between three and ten minutes to clear a dungeon.

‘Of course, the rewards are a bit underwhelming because of that.’

But the real purpose of clearing these dungeons was to rack up achievements, so it wasn’t a big deal. With that in mind, Jeong-hyeon focused entirely on clearing the dungeons as quickly as possible. However, Lucia, who had been casting buffs on him, collapsed to the ground, looking as if she couldn’t keep up any longer, her face twisted in distress.

“Ugh… I-I can’t… anymore…”

She made a gesture as if she was about to throw up. Jeong-hyeon gently patted her back and asked if she was okay. Lucia, still lying on the ground, nodded weakly as she spoke.

“I-I planned to stick with you until the end… b-but… ugh…”

It must have been very difficult for her because she was still shaking her body, even though she was lying face down and unable to move.

Seeing her in such a state, Jeong-hyeon thought it was better to let her rest. He patted her back once more and spoke.

“Then, rest here for a bit. I’ll handle the next one alone.”

“O-Okay…”

Having confirmed that Lucia understood, Jeong-hyeon quickly went to the next dungeon listed.

***

After three days of continuously clearing dungeons, they finally completed the Moon Dungeon, ending their campaign. Jeong-hyeon looked at the message that appeared in front of him:

[You have almost accumulated enough achievement points to level up.]

A slight sense of disappointment washed over him as he read the notification.

‘Honestly, shouldn’t they just let me level up at this point?’

He had cleared every dungeon listed on the stack of papers in his hand. Anyone with a conscience would have granted him a level-up by now. But instead, the message smugly told him there was more to do, leaving him to sigh in frustration.

Jeong-hyeon found the difficulty of leveling up a bit excessive. With nothing else to tackle, he began pondering his next steps.

‘Weird… there’s nothing left to do.’

Realizing that there really was nothing else on his plate, he raised an eyebrow in confusion.

‘Normally, this is when the main quest would progress.’

But ever since that day, there was no main quest available. Just as he was trying to make sense of the situation, something in the student newspaper that Miria had brought caught his attention.

[Starting from the 10th of this month, the school will resume events that had been postponed. Accordingly, the academic schedule will also be adjusted. For further details, please check the notice board within the school…]

Jeong-hyeon let out a small, cynical laugh at the mention of school events.

He hadn’t expected such a nostalgic, almost romantic, notion to still exist in this world.

‘Well, not like it matters to me.’

He barely had enough time to train and prepare for his revenge. He couldn’t afford to waste time on school activities, so he dismissed the thought.

Just below the event announcement, a bold headline caught Jeong-hyeon’s eye: “Regina, President of the Asiris Club, Announces Candidacy for Student Council President.”

‘… Oh?’

The name that immediately grabbed his attention was none other than Regina.

‘By now, most people would be holed up in their rooms, trembling in fear.’

But here she was, proudly standing tall, having survived his harsh interrogations and now even running for president. Jeong-hyeon found it almost touching.

As he thought it was about time to give Regina another dose of mental re-education, a thought crossed his mind.

‘… Wait a second. What if I just let her run?’

Wouldn’t it be more satisfying if she became president and then was forced to kneel before him? Maybe he could even rack up some achievement points that way.

As these thoughts swirled around in his head, several interesting scenarios began to form, each more tempting than the last. Amused by the possibilities, he decided to follow through with this new plan.

‘This could be fun.’

Jeong-hyeon started jotting down a list of potential achievement goals—most of which were closer to creating chaos—intending to use Regina as the perfect test subject.

‘Maybe I should stage some sort of incident during the election? No, that might make it harder for her to win.’

Perhaps he should wait until after she was elected to apply the pressure? He figured it wasn’t a bad idea and continued writing, but then another amusing thought struck him.

‘Oh, right. I haven’t sorted things out between Regina and Esich yet, have I?’

Since he still hadn’t found a use for Erie’s corpse, he figured now was the perfect time. Smiling to himself, Jeong-hyeon decided to exploit the situation to drag both Regina and Esich into ruin. Satisfied with his growing list of things to do, he continued making plans.

***

Just as he was deep into drafting his list, Hana suddenly woke up and clung to his leg. Wondering what was up, he patted her head, and she looked up at him with wide eyes, holding her arms out as if asking to be picked up.

‘She always does this…’

He couldn’t help but notice how much Hana’s behavior resembled Lucia’s. Smiling, he scooped her up, and Hana hugged him tightly, her small voice full of excitement.

“Daddy… today I had a sandwich with Mommy… it was really yummy… and I picked up a whole bunch of stones just for you! And… we played with dolls too…”

Because he had spent so much time clearing dungeons lately, they hadn’t had much time together. As if to keep him from leaving again, Hana kept chattering on, telling him all about her day. Unable to ignore her, Jeong-hyeon stopped what he was doing and listened attentively.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

‘Who could that be?’

It was unusual for Miria or Lucia to visit at this hour, so it had to be someone else. The problem was that with Hana in the room, he was reluctant to open the door. He briefly considered pretending they weren’t there, but then an unexpected voice called out.

“It’s me.”

It was the voice of the first princess, Charlotte.

Though he couldn’t quite understand why she had come, leaving the First Princess standing outside the men’s dormitory door for long was not an option. Jeong-hyeon quickly opened the door and let Charlotte inside.

“What brings you here at this hour?”

At his question, Charlotte responded with a somewhat serious expression.

“I have something to discuss.”

‘Right now?’

Patting Hana, who was still clinging to him to prevent him from leaving, Jeong-hyeon replied briefly.

“What is it?”

“Do you mind if I sit down? It’s going to take a while.”

Couldn’t she just keep it short and go? Although he wasn’t particularly thrilled, it felt awkward to turn away a princess who had come all the way here. He nodded and gestured toward a chair.

“Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you.”

As soon as she sat down, Charlotte dove straight into the heart of the matter.

“You’ve heard about the recent attack on the Second Princess, right?”

Since he was the one behind it, of course he knew. Jeong-hyeon nodded, indicating that he was aware. Charlotte sighed and continued.

“Because of that incident, the rule that had previously prevented the academy from allowing personal guards has been overturned, and now she can bring in a protection detail.”

Internally, Jeong-hyeon couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘Well, I did blow Marpe’s head off like a firecracker. It makes sense that they’d react like this.’

He had exposed Karina’s vulnerability to the entire academy. It was no surprise she’d take steps to protect herself.

‘And that measure is bringing in guards.’

Though they called them “guards,” it was obvious they were more like a small private army.

‘I don’t care, but at this point, it’s hard to say whether this is a place of learning or a place of conflict.’

Sure, he was mostly to blame for the chaos, but that was a small price to pay for getting his way.

‘In any case… I should focus on quickly racking up achievements, leveling up, and then…’

He would need to have a proper conversation with Karina to finish what they started. As Jeong-hyeon nodded, deciding on his next steps, Charlotte sighed again and spoke.

“As you know, when armed forces enter a closed space like this, there’s a high risk of things turning into a dictatorship. While this is an academy, and I doubt it will go that far, there’s still a chance…”

“Everything could start revolving around Karina.”

“Exactly. And once that atmosphere sets in, anyone who opposes her or isn’t on good terms with her will be oppressed under the guise of ‘order and management.’”

It was clear that Charlotte was referring to herself. At this point, Jeong-hyeon understood why Charlotte had come to visit him in the middle of the night.

“You’re asking me for help?”

At his words, Charlotte clenched her fists tightly and nodded calmly.

Hearing this, Jeong-hyeon fell into deep thought.

‘What’s the best way to handle this?’

While Jeong-hyeon considered staying out of it and keeping silent, he couldn’t help but feel a little conflicted. After all, Charlotte had helped him plenty of times without asking for anything in return. Moreover, the recent kingdom attack wouldn’t have been possible without her assistance. He figured helping her out once wouldn’t be too bad.

‘And besides, helping Charlotte is a way to get back at Karina.’

That alone made it seem worthwhile.

With his decision made, Jeong-hyeon asked Charlotte what exactly she wanted. Her response, however, took him by complete surprise.

“…Can you stage the same kind of attack you did at the castle? But this time, here at the academy?”

It was a demand he hadn’t expected at all.

***

Jeong-hyeon let out a small chuckle as he stared at the spot where Charlotte had been sitting. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that she would request an act of terrorism.

‘I thought she’d ask for guards or something simple like that…’

But instead, she had gone far beyond that. The absurdity of it was almost amusing.

As he mulled over how to carry out such an attack, a particularly interesting idea popped into his head.

‘The student council election.’

Since the student council election was a school-wide event involving the entire student body, if he staged an attack there…

‘I could make sure everyone in the academy witnesses Karina’s downfall.’

And as a bonus, he could also take down Esich and Regina. With no main quest to follow, Jeong-hyeon decided to set his own path. His new top priority: carrying out a grand act of terrorism during the student council election.

‘But first, I need to send Esich a little gift.’

Of course, it would be too cruel to send Erie’s corpse as-is. So, as a token of gratitude, Jeong-hyeon decided to attach the Flower of Life, the core of a corpse golem, to the body and use it to toy with Esich for a while.

Satisfied with his plan, he made up his mind to visit Esich the next day.