Chapter 79 — Mafia’s Rise In Strength

"It’s been two months since we last saw each other, and a lot has happened in that time."

Damian sat down in the instructor’s chair behind the desk, his blood-stained clothes and exhausted posture contrasting sharply with the authority in his voice.

"I went to the forest behind the Academy for training. It wasn’t planned, otherwise I would’ve dealt with these Noble bastards before disappearing for so long."

His crimson eyes swept across the faces of the thirty-two students gathered in the old shooting range.

"Now I come back and find that the Mafia has been reduced to just us. The same people who participated in the first mission in Tranquil City. Everyone else ran away the moment things got difficult, claiming we couldn’t protect them or provide resources."

Many of those present looked down at their feet, embarrassed. Among those who’d left were their friends, people they’d trained with and trusted.

It stung worse than any Noble insult.

Zavier felt it most acutely. He was from Section D, and not a single student from that section had remained in the Mafia. They’d been the weakest links, the easiest targets for the Noble Faction’s aggressive recruitment.

"But honestly? It’s actually a good thing they left."

Damian’s tone was matter-of-fact, almost casual.

"Anyone who can’t handle even a little bit of pressure has no place in my organization. The Mafia isn’t a fucking charity. You need to understand something fundamental here."

He leaned forward, his gaze intense.

"You all are the Mafia, and the Mafia is you. It doesn’t just depend on me alone. If a day comes when I find you all so incompetent that you can’t even handle basic adversity without me holding your hands, then I’ll disband this entire thing myself."

Heavy silence fell across the shooting range.

Even Edrin, Ronan, and Lysa adopted serious expressions, understanding the weight behind those words.

"I never planned to start building my organization here at the Academy first. You’re all just students, after all. But you have something that matters more than experience or resources."

Damian’s voice softened slightly.

"You have potential. The greatest potential in the entire Federation, concentrated right here in this Academy. And it’s that potential alone that made me decide to invest my time and effort into supporting you."

He paused, letting that sink in.

"Ever since I arrived at this Academy, everyone keeps saying the same thing. Commoners lack resources. Commoners can’t compete. Commoners will always be subordinates. Well, today I’m going to start fixing that problem."

Damian waved his hand, and a massive chunk of beast meat materialized on the desk from his spatial storage ring.

The meat was clearly high-quality, still fresh, radiating a faint Aura that everyone in the room could feel even from a distance.

Several students gasped.

"This is beast meat from the creatures living in that forest. All of you have demonstrated genuine loyalty and proven yourselves worthy to be called my brothers and sisters. So I’m not going to let you down either."

Damian’s voice carried conviction.

"This meat is extremely rich in Aura. It’s actually better than those expensive Aura-strengthening potions and supplements that Nobles were using to recruit our weaker members. The same resources their families pay thousands of coins for? This is the raw material it’s made from."

Excited murmurs spread through the crowd.

"You’ll all eat it right here, right now. And while you do, I’ll use my willpower to personally guide the Aura circulation inside your bodies. This is a rare opportunity, so pay close attention to the pathways I show you. I don’t usually have enough time or energy to spend guiding others like this."

His eyes swept across them all.

"Today, all of you are going to advance in rank. We can discuss everything else afterward."

"Woah! Boss is really going all out for us!"

"I heard rumors that those expensive Aura-strengthening potions were related to these beasts somehow."

"Those companies always claim their products are made purely through science and chemistry, so I never knew what to believe."

"Just try the meat! Boss wouldn’t give us anything harmful."

"Let me go first! I want to break through already!"

Damian allowed himself a small smile, watching their excited faces and genuine enthusiasm.

****

One by one, each student came forward while Damian guided their Aura circulation using his abnormally high willpower stat.

The process was mentally exhausting for him but incredibly effective for them.

Zavier volunteered to go first, practically bouncing with nervous excitement.

The moment he started eating the meat and followed the circulation pathway that Damian’s willpower was showing him, everything suddenly became crystal clear.

Nobody had ever guided him like this before. Not once in his entire life.

His breathing technique, which he’d always struggled with, became easier and faster thanks to the optimal path Damian was revealing to him.

The Aura from the meat flowed smoothly through his body, strengthening his core with each cycle.

BOOM.

A dull resonance reverberated inside Zavier’s chest as he broke through from E rank to E+ rank in a single session!

It was incredible! He wasn’t even an S-rank talent, and yet he’d achieved the same rank as Edrin and the others in just minutes.

Professor Seraphina had set E+ rank as the target goal for all Section A students to reach before entering their second year.

The difficulty of achieving that was enormous for normal students.

Don’t compare it to monsters like Damian, Micheal, and the other SS-rank freaks. They were abnormal outliers far above average.

For regular students, especially someone from Section D like Zavier who didn’t even have access to quality professors like Seraphina, this kind of breakthrough was almost miraculous.

"Thank you, Boss. I swear I’ll follow you for the rest of my life!"

Tears streamed down Zavier’s face as he suddenly dropped to his knees in front of Damian.

Only after consuming the meat and receiving Damian’s personal guidance did he truly understand the immense value of what he’d just been given.

Damian was caught off guard by the intensity of the reaction, but his expression softened into a genuine smile when he saw the pure sincerity and gratitude shining in Zavier’s tearful eyes.

"Get up. Stop being so melodramatic, Zav. No need for all this."

But Zavier’s reaction set the tone.

One by one, the other students came forward and received the same treatment. Each one experienced the same revelation that Zavier had.

The pathways Damian showed them were perfect for their individual bodies, optimized in ways they never could have discovered alone.

Every single student gathered managed to break through at least one minor rank!

Some of the weaker ones jumped two ranks with Damian’s guidance and the high-quality beast meat.

Only now did they truly comprehend the value of what Damian had given them so freely. This wasn’t just food or a simple boost.

This was the kind of personalized training that Noble heirs paid fortunes for and received only from their family’s best instructors.

When it was Ariana’s turn to step forward, she hesitated and shook her head.

"I think you should save this for yourself, Boss. Looking at everyone’s progress, it’s obvious this meat is extremely precious. I can’t take it in good conscience."

Her calm black eyes met his directly.

"Just help me with the Aura guidance if you want. That’s already more than enough."

Damian shook his head with a slight smile.

"Don’t worry about it. This meat doesn’t have much effect on my body anymore. My physical stats are already too high for it to make a significant difference. So I might as well use it to strengthen you all instead."

He pushed a chunk toward her.

"Now stop worrying over silly things and eat it."

Ariana knew he was lying. Anyone could feel the potent Aura radiating from the meat. Even someone as strong as Damian would benefit from consuming it.

But she also understood that arguing would be pointless and potentially disrespectful.

She ate the meat and followed his guidance, breaking through to E+ rank just like the others.

Everyone except Edrin, Ronan, and Lysa managed full breakthroughs. Those three were already at E+ rank and needed significantly more time and resources to push to the next level.

Their foundations were solid, but advancing from E+ to D- rank required both physical conditioning and core development.

Still, even they made progress. Their Aura cores advanced to D- rank. They just needed to continue training their bodies to match, and the full breakthrough would come naturally.

By the time Damian finished guiding the last person, sweat was pouring down his forehead and soaking through his already blood-stained clothes.

His breathing had become noticeably uneven, and his hands trembled slightly from mental exhaustion.

During his earlier fight with Micheal, Leonard, and Iris, Damian had remained completely relaxed.

He hadn’t even broken a sweat while dominating three Imperial heirs simultaneously.

But looking at his current condition made it painfully obvious just how much effort and mental energy guiding thirty-two people individually had cost him.

Using willpower to guide someone else’s Aura circulation was exponentially more difficult than controlling your own.

"Phew... All done. Now we can finally talk about how things are going with the Mafia operations in Tranquil City."

Damian wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve, his other hand rubbing his tired eyes.

He was clearly exhausted but trying to push through.

"..."

When no response came, Damian opened his eyes and was genuinely surprised to find every single member of the Mafia kneeling with their heads bowed low.

"Sigh... What are you all doing now? Stop this and get up. We’re supposed to be family here, not some feudal court."

Damian’s voice carried a note of exasperation.

Everyone stood up slowly, but nobody spoke.

The silence itself communicated volumes.

They would remember what Damian had done for them today. How much personal effort and energy he’d expended to help them grow stronger.

If previously they’d viewed Damian as their Boss, their leader in a criminal organization, now he felt like something more fundamental.

He has now become their guardian and teacher who cared about their development. Something like a... Godfather.

No professor had ever given them individual guidance like this. No senior student had spent their time helping commoners improve.

Nobody had ever invested this much personal effort into their growth.

They’d never even heard of a professor using their willpower to directly guide students through Aura circulation.

Maybe some did it for their own family members in private, but not for random students. Never with this level of personal attention and care.

It didn’t seem like a big deal to Damian, who was used to helping his Mafia members back in his previous life.

But for these students who’d experienced months of systematic oppression and realized just how cruel and unfair this world was toward commoners, what Damian had just done felt like the greatest blessing imaginable.

They’d memorized the circulation pathways his willpower had revealed in their bodies. Following those optimized routes would accelerate their training speed dramatically compared to before.

Everyone’s body was slightly different, with unique quirks and natural tendencies.

And yet Damian had found the most suitable pathway for each individual person, ensuring their breathing techniques would flow more naturally and efficiently.

Looking at their tearful eyes filled with gratitude and devotion, Damian understood what they were feeling.

But he was getting genuinely uncomfortable with all the emotional intensity, so he cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"Edrin, how much money has Marco been sending, and what’s the current progress on occupying the outer region of Tranquil City?"