The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 40

The mood of the Association’s officials was surprisingly good.

“So what if he’s a master of the spear? The Kang family’s Bloodline Skill is a Skill that strengthens the power of the sword-drawing technique, not the spear.”

“That’s right. If the Kang family’s Bloodline Skill were so great, Kang Jae-Hyeok wouldn’t have bothered using a spear. He would’ve used his sword-drawing technique for a simple win, no matter the opponent.”

“Kang Jae-Hyeok’s performance was at the level of a child’s joke compared to Shinra Kyeong and Loren. Even if he uses the sword and spear well, he won’t be able to scratch Loren’s bone armor, and he won’t be able to get close to the gusts of wind created by Shinra Kyeong. What’s the point?”

“Right! The most important thing for players is the Skill, the Skill! Hahaha!”

As far as the officials from the Association were concerned, Kang Jae-Hyeok’s performance was great but not as great as they’d feared. In fact, it was a disappointment. Kang Jae-Hyeok had awakened with a Bloodline Skill, while his opponent had been a rash spearman with a mismatched Stealth Skill. Despite this, his performance had been far inferior to Shinra Kyeong and Loren’s.

The officials laughed as they left, causing the master of the Sun Guild, Geum Hae-Shin, to look at them as if they were pathetic.

Idiots.

He also agreed that Skills were the most important thing. However, martial arts and mana-control techniques that reached the peak had a value close to Skills.

Master’s words were true.

Around a month ago, the family head had sent a sword demon to attack the Kang family’s mansion before later claiming that Kang Jae-Hyeok killed the sword demon.

At first, Geum Hae-Shin had been skeptical.

Perhaps Kang Jae-Hyeok had a powerful Skill, and perhaps the sword demon was careless—but even then, it wasn’t so easy for a level 1 to kill a B-class player.

Geum Hae-Shin’s doubts became certainty after

Later, Geum Hae-Shin’s doubts became certainty after watching Kang Jae-Hyeok’s re-examination on the news. Jae-Hyeok couldn’t have killed the sword demon; for a level 1 player without an equipped Skill, killing a sword demon was in the realm of impossibility.

At that time, he’d been certain that someone else had intervened—probably the same force that was responsible for erasing the details surrounding the sword demon’s death.

But now, Geum Hae-Shin thought differently.

Kang Jae-Hyeok’s spear technique is real.

That would have been enough to properly counter a sword demon that only relied on a sword.

His stats must be high for his level as well.

Because Kang Jae-Hyeok had been level 1 at the time, his significant stats could only have come from before awakening. He’d earned each point steadily while honing his ability with both sword and spear.

On top of that, he’d even gained a Bloodline Skill.

By the time he graduated from Lion’s Castle, there was a possibility that he would be an A-class player.

The family head will be in a hurry.

Lion’s Castle... Perhaps this place would become a battlefield once again.

Geum Hae-Shin had a cold expression on his face while deep in thought.

A few masters from other guilds approached.

“Master Geum, isn’t this the first time you have observed the duel assessment for freshmen? Shinra Kyeong and Kang Jae-Hyeok’s popularity is great!”

A gentle smile appeared on Geum Hae-Shin’s face.

“They are obviously great, but aren’t there twelve more children who have the potential to be the pillars of the nation? I can’t help looking forward to it.”

“Haha, we have been focused on spotting talents for our guilds, while Master Geum has been weighing the future of the country. I am ashamed.”

“No matter what home they choose in the future, I will be happy as long as those children contribute to the development and well-being of the country. Many of the kids were greater than the rumors. I hope you find what you seek in them. I’m going.”

The guild masters relaxed after seeing Geum Hae-Shin leave. It was fortunate that the leader of one of the five major guilds hadn't entered the recruitment competition. Otherwise, it would have put them in an awkward position.

“Geum Hae-Shin is always committing himself to serving the country.”

“He is properly carrying out the will of the former generations of his family. It’s said that the Sun Guild was established to become a sun that brightens the future of South Korea. The people of the Geum family are all great people who deserve respect. I wonder if the Yaksha would’ve been like this if his temperament were gentle.”

***

-It seems that the Yaksha wasn’t just hype. I saw the Yaksha’s son today and thought that the Yaksha must’ve been very amazing.

└ Do you get it now?

└ Isn’t it only Koreans who underestimate the Yaksha?

└ I feel this every time, but I’m really disappointed with the Player Protection Act. If it weren’t for the ban on recording and distributing combat videos, the old Names wouldn’t be undervalued.

└ If there were no protection law, Earth would’ve been ruined due to 70% of players hiding their strength ㅋㅋ

-It doesn’t matter how great the Yaksha’s son is. He is for the Korean domestic market, so only Koreans are excited.

└ Uh. You should say it’s more the students of Lion’s Castle, not all Koreans.

└ To be exact, only the freshmen are excited. Even the students in the second year don’t pay much attention to Kang Jae-Hyeok.

└ Ah, as a freshman, we get excited easily. Even looking at an A-class player is enough to overwhelm us.

└ The fact is that even active duty players squirm when seeing A-class players.

-So how amazing was the Yaksha? Was he comparable to the American and British National Treasures?

└ Probably? He was the strongest in East Asia.

Smile.

“Good morning Jae-Hyeok～You were so cool yesterday!”

Grin.

“Yesterday, spectators kept shouting ‘Yaksha, Yaksha!’ I was curious and searched in the communities. I found out that your father was a pretty great person? Strangely, foreigners seem to know this better than us. Why didn’t I know about it?”

Beaming smile!

After the duel assessment, the smile never left Jae-Hyeok’s face. He was happy to hear other students mentioning the Kang Family and his father often.

“I’m scared.”

“He’s extra crazy today.”

The Class B students stared in shock as Jae-Hyeok smiled while cutting down a massive sandworm.

“By the way, don’t you think the gap in abilities is getting bigger?”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Class B had completed their desert adaptation training after only three days. Moving in the desert wasn’t as difficult as the swamp, and the lecture they’d received on mana control had helped them greatly.

Above all, everyone was working hard to be hit less by Kang Jae-Hyeok, so they quickly adapted to the desert.

According to Kim Jin-Myeong, it was the best record ever for Class B.

They were still lacking a lot compared to Class A, but it gave them hope that the gap could be narrowed in time.

The confidence of the Class B students was at its peak.

But that confidence plummeted as they watched Jae-Hyeok casually kill desert monsters like the sandworm, obsidian scorpion, human-faced macqueenish, massive kultarrs, spiders, mirage thieves, and cacti controlled by parasites in the oasis.

Still, that didn’t mean that they lost motivation.

In fact, their motivation burned brighter than ever...

Lee Jin-Seong, Du Bae-Su, and Cheon Hye-Ji barely crawled up from a wormhole and shouted with bloodshot eyes.

“Fuck! Kang Jae-Hyeok, you crazy bastard! How could you push someone down there? You almost got me eaten by the sandworms!”

“You think you’re the only one who’s going to be strong? Our level is lower than yours, so we’re growing much faster. Just you wait... Huh?”

“W-why are there no monsters?”

Lee Jin-Seong’s group had just defeated several sandworms, increasing both their level and enthusiasm. But now, they stood there with their mouths open in disbelief.

They left the wormhole after a fierce struggle, only to find that there was no one in their surroundings.

The other Class B students were running around in the distance, frantically slaughtering monsters with bloodshot eyes.

“All the kids went through something similar to you.”

“......”

At Kim Jin-Myeong’s words, they understand the situation instantly.

Kang Jae-Hyeok, that crazy guy.

He seemed to be in a good mood today, but he was doing the same thing as usual: killing more monsters than anyone else and tormenting everyone else relentlessly.

His method was so violent that it made people angry, but everyone in Class B was clearly aware that Jae-Hyeok was helping them grow.

“In any case, it is great.”

“Why is he helping us?”

No one else in the world would easily take care of others.

Meanwhile, Kang Jae-Hyeok guided the training for each of them during every training session.

In yesterday’s duel assessment, everyone from Class B had done well.

The Skills of the Class C students had felt weak after being beaten and trained by Jae-Hyeok. Even recalling it now, it still felt like a dream.

“As the saying goes, it’s natural for aristocrats to help people,” Kim Jin-Myeong said with a warm smile. Then—

"Ack!"

Lee Jin-Seong’s group screamed after being hit in the face by a volley of cacti that Jae-Hyeok had thrown.

Kim Jin-Myeong started sweating as he watched them rolling around in the sand, covered in thorns and groaning. “Jae-Hyeok is helping them, right?”

***

[Your level has risen.]

Name: Kang Jae-Hyeok.

Profession: Knight (Growth Type)

Level: 20

Mana: 1,020/1,020

[Strength: 102], [Stamina: 102], [Agility: 83], [Magic: 102], [Insight: 83]

Skills: [Noble Chivalry], [Empty], [Empty]

He finally reached level 20.

Jae-Hyeok became a D-class player less than ten days after awakening.

Had he set a world record for leveling speed? Regardless, Jae-Hyeok knew it was a record he should be proud of. Instead, all he felt was regret.

I would’ve reached level 20 long ago if another assassin had come to find me.

Unfortunately, no more assassins had come after Yoon Sang-Ho.

After making Yoon Sang-Ho disappear overnight, he supposed the other assassins were cautious. Still, cautious people could be lured all the same.

I laid the bait properly during the assessment. They will soon come forward.

Jae-Hyeok was confident, and the source of that confidence was another reason for his good mood today: he’d managed to hide his strength perfectly during the duel assessment. In particular, he was pleased Thunderbolt Sword hadn’t activated. He’d minimized the activation chance by attacking as few times as possible, but ultimately, he’d been lucky.

The assassins would analyze his duel and conclude that he hadn’t been the one to make Yoo Sang-Ho disappear.

Thinking of the duel, Jae-Hyeok thought, It also helped that Ha Kyeong-Su’s body was unexpectedly strong.

No matter how much he hit him, Ha Kyeong-Su kept getting up. Thanks to that, Jae-Hyeok’s stats seemed even lower than he intended.

Is the Ha family one of the enemies of my family? Jae-Hyeok’s eyes shone as he thought of Ha Kyeong-Su.

It’s indeed suspicious.

Ha Kyeong-Su had been more hostile toward him than necessary.

All Jae-Hyeok had done was make him get demerit points and beat him with a spear in front of a crowd. And neither outcome he’d chosen purposefully. It was Kim Jin-Myeong who gave the demerit points to Ha Kyeong-Su, and Jae-Hyeok had to beat him in front of a crowd because it was a duel assessment.

Yet he showed me excessive hostility. Maybe it’s a matter of family education? If the Ha family thought negatively of the Kang family, then Ha Kyeong-Su would naturally hate him.

Jae-Hyeok would have to wait and see. Seol Su-Ah, thank you. It was a good thing he’d entered Lion’s Castle; he was learning much about his enemies.

Kim Jin-Myeong came to Jae-Hyeok’s side after he finished caring for the students on the verge of fainting.

“Jae-Hyeok, do you want to take on a commission this weekend?”