The Return of the Talented Monopolist is Special

Jade’s Office.

Jade sat at the long desk, which stretched out vertically, with Clark and Sirius sitting on either side, each holding a piece of paper.

“Report the results.”

At Jade’s command, Clark began reading aloud.

“I will report on the recent Trial of the Lion. Out of 12 participants, 9 passed, and the eliminated candidates were instructed to return home.”

“Also, in the final Ice Cave, five of them chose to challenge themselves instead of immediately passing. Statistically, this suggests that the difficulty of this trial was balanced overall.”

“Who were the main figures?”

Clark quickly moved to the points that Jade would be interested in.

“Among the 9 who passed, 4 are not worth mentioning, but Rauler, Ains, Jaines, Eldora, and Eugene showed remarkable achievements.”

Sirius nodded and added to the discussion.

“Among them, Rauler seems to have gained insight into a new weapon, a spear, in the second stage of the Ice Cave.”

Sirius shrugged his shoulders and gave an understanding look as he continued.

“Of course, Penzel has gained fame as a master of swordsmanship, but if Rauler has a talent for spear fighting, it might be worth nurturing that ability as part of developing future talents.”

Clark silently chuckled to himself.

‘If it were my older brother, he’d probably be upset and insist on swords over anything else. But he probably doesn’t see Rauler as much of a competitor.’

Of course, that wasn’t something he could know for sure.

Jade nodded.

“Provide appropriate support. Sometimes flexibility is necessary.”

“Understood. And as for Ains and Jaines—”

At that moment, Clark interjected.

“Oh, Rauler mentioned that Eugene helped him discover his talent for spear fighting, and he seemed really grateful for that.”

“…I see.”

Jade smiled faintly, and Sirius, who had been about to speak about his sons, seemed to become a little uneasy.

“…”

“It’s a detail I couldn’t leave out, so I mentioned it. Haha.”

Clark smiled warmly at Sirius, and Sirius, despite his apparent discomfort, smiled back.

Of course, Clark knew what Sirius was thinking.

‘He must have realized that relentlessly criticizing and disparaging Eugene would only backfire on him. My older brother is much slower with his acting than I thought.’

That calm, compassionate smile was the face Sirius made when he was truly upset.

“Alright, continue.”

“Next, Ains and Jaines passed the third stage of the Ice Cave. They sustained a few injuries, but with the help of a priest, they should heal quickly.”

Clark also mentioned the accomplishments of the Ains brothers.

“The two of them definitely seem to become exponentially stronger when they work together. As you saw, their coordination in passing the trial was impressive.”

To this, Sirius surprisingly shook his head with a modest expression.

“Those two still need to roll with the punches. They were lucky, but honestly, I’m not impressed.”

It was surprising.

Sirius, who would usually get upset and furious whenever someone criticized or spoke ill of his sons, had changed his attitude like this.

Whether he was being sincere or just pretending again, Clark couldn’t tell for sure.

However, one thing Clark was certain of was this:

‘I can feel my brother grinding his teeth.’

Sirius had been showing a different side of himself lately, and it made Clark uneasy.

Jade spoke up.

“As you said, train the Ains brothers with increased intensity. I see potential in them.”

“Understood.”

While Sirius was inwardly pleased, Clark continued with the report.

“Are there no further details? Who passed first, how much time was spent, those sorts of things?”

Jade directly asked Sirius. The look in his eyes was one of impatience, as if asking why such details had been left out.

Sirius hesitated for a moment before reluctantly speaking up.

“Well… Ains and Jaines entered the trial first and passed after roughly 38 minutes. And…”

“Speak.”

“Eugene entered the trial around the same time as the Ains brothers and passed after about 26 minutes.”

“I see.”

“Yes, that’s quite fast compared to the other participants. It seems to have been a great motivation for the two of them.”

Sirius hated praising Eugene out loud, but he was putting on a generous front.

Clark could see through it, but what did Jade think?

That, he couldn’t know.

“Now, tell me about Eldora and Eugene’s trial.”

This was the last topic.

Though he didn’t show it, Jade clearly seemed most interested in hearing about Eldora and Eugene.

Clark gave a summary.

“Eldora proposed a joint trial with Eugene, and the two of them took on the special trial commanded by their father.”

“Move on quickly.”

“Ultimately, they succeeded.”

“However, it seems there were differences in their performances.”

“Yes, Eldora failed while casting the Reverse Sword technique and was essentially sidelined for most of the battle. Eugene took over the majority of the fighting.”

Clark was clearly upset about Eldora getting hurt, but he didn’t show it, knowing that this experience would help her grow.

Sirius added further details about the injuries.

“The time wasn’t too long. Eldora sustained a deep wound to her side and is being treated, while Eugene has a minor shoulder injury.”

“As for further details…”

Clark smiled faintly and continued.

“He saved Eldora from a dangerous situation. At the time, it was hard to see clearly from the crystal ball, but Eldora confirmed it afterward.”

This time, Jade’s smile reached his eyes, and fine wrinkles appeared around them.

“Haha, that boy is always around when you need him.”

It was a slightly ambiguous comment, but Clark and Sirius quickly understood.

Eugene had helped Rauler discover his talent for spear fighting.

He had inspired the Ains brothers.

He had saved Eldora’s life.

It seemed that anyone who met Eugene was inevitably influenced by him.

This meant that Eugene had exceptional abilities.

With a smile still on his face, Jade turned to Clark.

“Focus on Eldora’s treatment. And how do you assess Eugene’s martial prowess?”

Jade wasn’t asking this question out of ignorance.

He had already completed his analysis internally and was checking to see if anything had been missed or overlooked.

Since this was a follow-up question from the earlier Trial of the Lion, Clark quickly went over the key points.

“There are about four things that can be gained from this trial on the surface: improvement in cardiovascular capacity, expansion of one’s sense of Qi, ability to maintain body temperature, and increased agility and observation skills to avoid traps. However…”

Jade chuckled softly.

“That boy gained much more.”

“Yes. It seemed that he faced a crisis when dealing with the Lion Spirit, but Eugene seemed to experience an internal awakening. After that, he repeatedly traversed the trial area, intentionally facing traps.”

“He acquired the Ghost Blade.”

“Yes.”

Sirius, who had been awkwardly silent, reluctantly joined the conversation.

“He also managed to learn and imitate the basic swordsmanship used by the Ice Statues, and in the end, he even executed the Strike Pattern, leaving five traces. He did that… using sword energy.”

Jade, the one who had executed a Strike Pattern with three traces, of course, knew exactly what they were talking about.

“He used sword energy to create five traces. Hahaha! And all of that in just six hours.”

Sirius was momentarily shocked.

When had he ever seen his father laugh so heartily? Was it when the Ains brothers were born?

He couldn’t even recall clearly.

But seeing his father so joyful at Eugene’s achievements made him feel…

‘…Annoyed.’

Crack.

Sirius quietly gritted his teeth.

At first, it was just simple revenge for the way Eugene had knocked down the Ains brothers, but now, that feeling had grown sharper, darker.

Strangely, a feeling of ‘jealousy’ was creeping in as well.

The more this happened, the more Sirius worked to maintain a relaxed expression.

“He’s really an impressive kid. Hahaha.”

Clark added his thoughts.

“Also, the way he broke the Strike Pattern of the Hundred Ghosts using a traditional method seems to be thanks to his observation skills.”

Jade stood up and walked toward the window.

“I’ve heard something as well.”

“…?”

“The Lion Spirit told me.”

“What did it say?”

Jade’s smile revealed his white teeth as they glinted in the window’s reflection.

“It said his character is absolutely rotten. A merciless person.”

High-level aura, footwork, swordsmanship, observation skills—everything was good. But the aspect that Jade liked the most was something different.

It was Eugene’s personality and determination to achieve his goals by any means necessary.

“At this point, I think it’s enough. Good work. You may leave now.”

After Clark and Sirius bowed and exited the room, Jade spoke to himself.

“Eugene… I wonder if you can solve the mystery of that ring.”

The mysterious ring discovered in the ancient ruins of the Black Realm, which he had gone to on a mission during his younger years.

The only benefit he had figured out was the rapid accumulation of aura, but he kept the ring, suspecting there was a hidden secret still to be uncovered.

Since Eugene had passed the Lion Trial with such outstanding results, Jade believed he could unlock its secret, and he had prepared a gift for that purpose.

He couldn’t hide his anticipation to see how Eugene would unravel it.

***

Sirius returned to his room and gulped down a cold drink.

“Hahaha… Hahaha!”

He let out a laugh that sounded like he had lost his mind.

He could no longer hold it in.

“Thanks to that, those two kids have been greatly stimulated.”

Though he had minimized the explanation in front of Jade, Sirius knew exactly what the Ains brothers had said.

“That guy, though annoying… his body’s no joke… and his aura level was incredible…”

“He even sent us ahead of Rauler. His personality doesn’t seem as sharp as it looked… I really need to work harder.”

Even the Ains brothers, it seemed, were starting to look up to Eugene.

“You bastards, forgetting that you were knocked around and thrown on the ground! Stupid idiots!”

Crash!

Sirius smashed the cup he was holding into pieces, turning it into dust.

‘Even my father seems to have fallen for that kid. That damned old man…!’

This was no longer a simple issue.

Sirius had lived his life filling the empty space in his heart with ambition.

What had comforted him until now was the fact that he had the continent’s strongest knight, his father, backing him. And though they weren’t perfect, his two sons—good-looking, tall, and the center of everyone’s attention—had been his solace.

But now, those people who had once given him comfort were all focused on a twelve-year-old boy.

Rage surged up inside him.

‘They’re taking everything from me. Everything.’

In reality, nothing had been taken from him, but it felt as though those words were echoing in his mind.

Creek!

Sirius abruptly stood up and opened the door, giving an order to the guard.

“Ains, Janes, bring those two here. Right now.”

There were only two ways to fill the empty void in Sirius’s heart.

To kill, or to be killed.