Duke’s Son: Re

Chapter 34

‘I’m glad I decided to stay in Class B after all.’

Kim Jinmyung had suggested to Jaehyuk that he transfer to Class A. The pace of the classes was determined by the average skill level of the students.

Jinmyung worried that Class B’s curriculum might hinder Jaehyuk’s progress. However, Jaehyuk had a different perspective.

‘The kids are still newbies, so there’s a lot of room for me to take advantage.’

Today’s practical session proved his point.

The students in Class B, with little actual experience, became significantly intimidated when facing monsters.

Most of them couldn’t perform to their full potential and ended up in disarray.

‘Maybe it’s because I bullied them too much, but anyway….’

Jaehyuk leveled up three times. Thanks to the panicked students accidentally herding monsters his way while screaming, Jaehyuk was able to easily slaughter the monsters and feasted on the experience points.

‘Am I the first in the world to gain three levels without breaking a sweat while hunting?’

He wasn’t joking. Even low-level players who get assistance have such low stats that they tire out during movement or break out into a nervous sweat. On the other hand, Jaehyuk comfortably devoured monsters in an ideal environment.

‘It would have been impossible to grow like this in Class A.’

The students in Class A were much more advanced. Their average level exceeded 20, and all of them had developed high to top-tier first skills. Notably, there were even two National Treasure candidates in this year’s freshman Class A. On the same hunting ground with them, he would spend more time searching for monsters than actually fighting them.

“It’s Kang Jaehyuk.”

“The rumor of securing the mad dog and the second spot among new students was true.”

“If they get the last member right, that team might become quite strong.”

After dinner, the gaze of students gathered on Jaehyuk’s group as they arrived at the training ground.

Most of the stares were mixed with disbelief or envy, but a few seemed investigative.

“Ugh….”

“Wow, Kang Jaehyuk is quite the superstar.”

Unlike Dahui, who was intimidated by the tense atmosphere, Dojin confidently headed for the weapons rack, unfazed by the surrounding attention.

The weapons, initially dull gray, were mage-engineered weapons that gained color and power when infused with mana.

These training tools were employed during sparring at the Lion’s Castle; they possessed the destructive power of real blades on objects, yet were configured not to cause significant harm to human bodies.

“It seems like there’s a lot of interest not just in Jaehyuk but in our team as a whole. Why is that?”

“Once you form a team, you’re obligated to participate in ranking battles. Our team is noteworthy enough to draw interest and precaution,”

Dojin replied to Dahui’s question.

“Ranking battles occur frequently, outside specific events. You can fight whenever you want, so it’ll be a lot of fun.”

“What do you gain from improving your rank?”

Being a freshman, Jaehyuk wasn’t fully aware of the intricacies either.

“You can skip the preliminaries for participating in various competitions.”

“Is that all?”

“Isn’t that impressive enough? For example, when there’s a competition against a foreign school, you automatically participate as a school representative. There’s also another benefit.”

Dojin wore a mischievous expression.

“During ranking battles, we usually place bets against the opposing team. Depending on the terms, you can win big by wagering against them.”

“You’re finally acting like a senior, Dojin!”

Dahui remarked with admiration towards Dojin’s precise response. To the extent that she slightly suspected whether he was a doppelgänger.

Jaehyuk, watching the two bickering, couldn’t help but smile broadly.

‘Winning ranking battles will make it easier to recruit people to stage my family’s training rituals.’

By putting all the students under Kang family training, it would elevate the family’s prestige and fulfill quests as well. Isn’t this idea akin to catching two birds with one stone?

“Shall we start with a 2 vs 1 from the start?”

While Jaehyuk was reveling in the hints towards solving the quest, Dojin brought up the idea of working together with Dahui without hesitation.

This acceptance of Jaehyuk’s skills being superior to his own was shared by Dahui. However, unlike Dojin, she had a sense of propriety.

“You’re going to spar with someone whose arm is in a cast?”

“Does it matter if an arm’s broken? Are you going to ask a monster for mercy because your arm’s broken?”

“Sparring is different! If I overexert myself during practice and get permanently injured, are you going to take responsibility, Dojin?”

“I’ll just take the pleasure while you take the responsibility. What? Why do you have those eyes?”

“I cannot condone this. You need to learn ‘noblesse oblige’.”

“I’m not even a noble, what nonsense… ouch!”

Jaehyuk barely had a chance to intervene.

The two had already started sparring.

/To compensate for his small and light physique, Dojin swung his greatsword with full strength at every move, while Dahui weakened the momentum of the greatsword with precise and swift thrusts before launching counterattacks.

“This pesky squirrel!”

As the greatsword was thrown off track after successive hits from her rapier, Dojin tried using Shunpo.

From how easily he got excited, his profession might have been a berserker.

Crash!!

Failing to set the coordinates for Shunpo properly, he ended up ramming his head into the wall and sliding down.

“Are you okay?”

“I knew you’d come!”

Dojin sprang up from the ground to swing his greatsword, predicting the approach of the soft-hearted Dahui, and turned it into a surprise attack.

Smash!

Dahui’s rapier bent as if it were about to snap under the force of Dojin’s heavy blow with the greatsword which had all his weight behind it.

“Hahahaha!!”

Dojin shifted his weight to the end of the greatsword, spinning like a windmill. His rapid consecutive attacks, unusual for a greatsword, aggressively cornered Dahui.

“Just let your body trust the weight of the greatsword.”

Following Jaehyuk’s advice, fresh in her mind due to being the second-ranked freshman, she swiftly grasped its meaning. Injecting mana into her rapier and striking it into the end of the greatsword, her body rebounded away from it.

Dojin frantically chased after her, but it was a mistake. Landing and crouching, she exploded with mana, propelling herself like an arrow.

“Ugh!”

Pierced in the solar plexus, Dojin couldn’t even let out a proper scream and lay sprawled on the ground.

“Why don’t you use Shunpo at crucial moments?”

“Because it is during crucial moments that I can’t. Using Shunpo recklessly to chase down prey that seems secured could backfire spectacularly if I fail.”

“So you didn’t use it and got beaten?”

“Ngh…”

“If you don’t trust your skills, what do you plan to do? Do you hesitate every time you try to use Shunpo, causing you to get nervous and not guide your mana accurately and quickly to the desired coordinates?”

“Me, nervous…? I don’t think so?”

“By not trusting yourself in critical moments, you lack confidence, and that unconsciously makes you tense.”

“Me?”

Dojin, like a puppet with severed strings, tilted his head sideways, his red hair almost appearing white for a moment.

“Did… Did Dojin-sunbae’s soul just leave his body?”

“… Not sure about his soul, but it seems like he’s in shock.”

Dojin’s strength often came from knowing no fear. His reckless fights earned him the nickname ‘mad dog’. Yet, it turned out he secretly tensed up, fearing the use of skills. A reality the mad dog’s pride couldn’t accept.

“Still, you’ve figured out the principle behind setting the coordinates for Shunpo. Just don’t be too hard on yourself as you are clearly progressing.”

“Um, should I give you a jelly?”

Dahui dug around in her pockets and pulled out some jelly. Now, Jaehyuk understood why her pants pockets were always so bulging.

“What the! What did you make me eat!? Is this poison? Is it poison?”

“It’s ginseng jelly. It’s a favorite snack of the great nation’s Grand Duke, ranked third.”

“Damn it! You eat this trash yourself!”

Suddenly awakened by the ginseng taste, Dojin and Dahui resumed their sparring. Stepping back a little, Jaehyuk took a seat on a nearby bench looking tired. Anyone could tell that his arm injury was quite serious.

***

“See you tomorrow!”

With both eyes bruised to resemble a panda, Dojin and Dahui parted ways with cheerful laughter. Despite fighting as if they were out to kill each other, there was no lingering tension between them.

When lying down in bed, they would probably fall asleep immediately.

‘It’s not just because they are simple-minded…’

They were focused on getting stronger to the point they couldn’t bother with trivial matters.

Dojin, who desired to defeat the National Treasure candidates, and Dahui, who aimed to succeed Yaksha’s will. They, like Jaehyuk, had their own difficult battles to fight.

Climbing the necromancer’s wall was as towering as a mountain, and the true path of a noble was akin to a thorn-strewn road.

‘Is it already starting? The cast has its benefits after all.’

After parting with his group, Jaehyuk chuckled while walking down a solitary path. Fifteen paces ahead stood a massive tree. Hidden in the shadows behind it, blending with the night darkness, was a presence.

The person had been trailing Jaehyuk since he left the training ground. They had decent skill at concealing their breath, but they chose a poor spot to ambush.

‘The breeze carries the scent of resin it brushed past on to your body.’

If it were him, Jaehyuk would have set an ambush at the valley three kilometers ahead.

‘It would’ve been wise to observe me for a few more days until you were sure about my routes.’

Step, step, step…

As Jaehyuk’s footsteps, maintaining a consistent pace, crunched on the dried earth fifteen times exactly—a silver flash shot from the tree’s shadow.

The target was Jaehyuk’s right shoulder, just as he had anticipated. He tilted his head to deflect the dagger’s blade with his casted left arm and drew his sword with his right hand.

“Gah…!”

A grimace escaped from the would-be assassin, who was taken aback after being cut by the black blade that appeared in their blind spot.

Evidently, they hadn’t expected their surprise attack to fail, nor to be countered so effectively.

“A mere… 10-level brat… How could they suddenly… Ugh!”

Even if it had been a bloodline skill, that could have been unexpected. However, Jaehyuk’s eyes didn’t emit a golden glow. They absorbed darkness deeper than night itself. The assassin was incredulous to the end client even after experiencing a fatal blow in one swift strike.

“Does level make that much difference?”

Jaehyuk asked with a blank expression.

“A stab means death just the same.”

The boy’s goal was to achieve revenge and restore the honor of his father and his family. His blade, swung over ten thousand times every day, had never set its targets among virtual enemies or monsters, but rather human beings.

Unlike ordinary players, he had honed a blade designed to kill humans. There was a significant skill disparity between Jaehyuk and the run-of-the-mill individuals who become assassins merely by obtaining a first-level assassination skill.