Chapter 17
How could he do that?
On the way back to the dormitory, Chae Da-Hee was still stunned.
Loren was a man who had the Bloodline Skill of the Baus family. He was a National Treasure candidate, so even the grading classification was meaningless to him because his potential was beyond its measure. So long as he leveled up, he would naturally become the National Treasure of his country.
Even advanced players would be reluctant to go head-to-head against Loren. And yet, Jae-Hyeok stood tall and firm against him.
Didn’t Jae-Hyeok know how powerful the Baus family’s Bloodline Skills were? No, he had to know. Jae-Hyeok was the son of a duke. He probably understood the significance of Loren’s Skill more than anyone there, yet still went out alone to protect Do-Jin, not retreating even when surrounded by dozens of other students. It was as if it was something he had to do.
Was it because he didn’t know fear? Da-Hee shook her head. That wasn’t it. She had seen him up close, had seen him shaking slightly.
Is he… like his father?
***
“Wow, this is beyond what I imagined… ”
Jae-Hyeok had visited the infirmary nine times today. Do-Jin didn’t hesitate to use Flash Steps, no matter how many cuts and broken bones it earned him. Nine times during their training, Jae-Hyeok had been convinced Do-Jin would be disabled without immediate treatment, so he’d been forced to carry Do-Jin back and forth to the infirmary.
He’s fearless to the point of blindness.
To Jae-Hyeok’s eyes, it seemed like Do-Jin wouldn’t be fazed even if his limbs were cut off—in which case, he would probably use his teeth to attack his opponent. Every time Do-Jin was beaten back, he lashed out with Flash Steps and charged forward like an angry bull.
Jae-Hyeok sighed appreciatively, Flash Steps has met a good master.
Skills only revealed their true power after endless practice and use. Mastery was essential, especially regarding a player’s Initial Skill, which couldn’t be changed. In that sense, a high-risk Skill like Flash Steps was considered a double-edged sword. Teleporting with Flash Step had unpredictable results, so the user was equally likely to harm themself. That was why no normal person would be willing to use the Skill enough to master it. Do-jin’s fearlessness toward bodily harm was abnormal. It was why he had no qualms about using Flash Steps repeatedly, and it made him the perfect candidate to inherit the Skill.
It’s inevitable for him to become strong, Jae-Hyeok thought.
Jae-Hyeok had made Do-Jin a member of his team precisely because he was fascinated by Do-Jin’s temperament.
A spirit that would never be extinguished until he achieved his goals. Persistence, cleverness—always figuring out the best course of action, even when fighting enemies stronger than him.
This was a person Jae-Hyeok was convinced would rise to great heights.
Later on, Jae-Hyeok had also learned that Do-Jin’s Initial Skill was high grade and even boasted a perfect match for his temperament.
The team Jae-Hyeok was building was turning out much stronger than he’d expected.
And best of all...
Sparring with Do-Jin is a big help for me.
Do-Jin was never intimidated, and he made breakthroughs in real time. His movements were great, and he was a fantastic opponent for Jae-Hyeok, who had little experience in actual combat.
It felt like Jae-Hyeok was being constantly caught off guard. Every time he fought Do-Jin, he gained practical combat experience that strengthened both his body and mind.
The only question now is who to put in the last spot on my team. He only needed one more person to create a team now that Baek Do-Jin and Chae Da-Hee had joined—well, Da-Hee hadn’t directly agreed to join, but seeing that she’d helped them earlier, wasn’t it basically like agreeing?
However, he couldn’t think of anyone to fill the last spot with.
Originally, he would’ve filled it with anyone. But he couldn’t do that now, knowing the Shinra and Baus successors were also students.
Bloodline Skills...
The great thing about Bloodline Skills was that they were inherited—studied and honed further with each generation. Descendants benefited from this accumulated knowledge and would quickly become experts in their Bloodline Skill.
They were Skills that were already older than any individual player.
The same was true of the Kang family’s Bloodline Skill.
If Jae-Hyeok had equipped his Bloodline Skill in the Initial Skill slot to awaken, then based on his father’s battle record, he would’ve been a formidable player from level 1.
Then, I would be proudly called a National Treasure candidate. The protesters that had been surrounding his home would’ve retreated in a hurry, and the whole country would be holding up Kang Jae-Hyeok as the new future of South Korea. Others would no longer be able to put pressure on the Kang family.
Jae-Hyeok knew this was an obvious path, but… he refused to use the Bloodline Skill.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t suited for the Skill. He was; Jae-Hyeok had trained his whole life while remembering his father’s back. He was confident he could wield the Kang family’s Bloodline Skill better than anyone else.
The issue was the Bloodline Skill itself. Jae-Hyeok didn’t think it was good enough. The Kang family’s Bloodline Skill had allowed his father to become the strongest in South Korea, but it hadn’t allowed his father to become the strongest in the world.
It might be faster, has a large range, and is more powerful, but it’s ultimately still a sword-drawing technique.
The Kang family’s sword-drawing technique had already been perfected. It was fast enough, powerful enough, and stealthy enough. Was there any need to obsess over a Bloodline Skill that increased the Kang family’s technique further?
Jae-Hyeok didn’t think so.
No matter how I think about it, I need a mastery-type Skill.
Since a mastery-type skill was a passive skill, it wasn’t readily apparent on the surface, so actual cases of it hadn’t been clearly proven.
Nevertheless, Jae-Hyeok believed that they definitely existed.
He firmly believed the hypothesis that the swordsmanship of the United States’ Sword Saint family had reached an extraordinary level because they had the Sword Mastery passive Skill.
It doesn’t have to be Sword Mastery. I’ll awaken as soon as I get a mastery Skill of any type.
Jae-Hyeok didn’t claim to be a swordsman. For him, even the Kang family’s sword-drawing technique was but one of the means to become stronger. Even if it meant incurring the wrath of his ancestors, he had no intention of being tied to a single weapon.
“Have the pigs arrived?” He still had physical strength left over after Do-Jin fainted. There was also the regret of not being able to fight against Loren. Therefore, Jae-Hyeok swung his sword hard in front of the stone lion’s head until his guests arrived.
Grrr....
It was a group of orcs.
He’d been seeing them every night for a few days now, and Jae-Hyeok had noticed something interesting.
After the first day, he noticed that the orcs had steadily increased by one each day since.
And every day, the orc warrior appeared alongside its subordinates. It was the same orc that Jae-Hyeok had met the first time. He could tell based on the orc warrior’s scars.
“Is it because I keep sparing you rather than killing you that you keep returning? Isn’t it becoming a relationship at this point?” Jae-Hyeok asked the orc warrior. Of course, it was impossible to communicate with monsters. The orc warrior greeted him with a shout.
“Kuweeeeeek!”
Whatever it said caused five orcs to raise their stone axes and rush in unison.
Jae-Hyeok swung his scabbard while clicking his tongue, “Even a beast knows how to repay favors. Why don’t you?”
An orc was hit on the head and collapsed, bleeding profusely.
Jae-Hyeok was stunned. Did he do that? Oh no, his stats had probably gone up again without him noticing. Staring at the critically wounded orc, Jae-Hyeok became flustered.
“Hey! Wake up! You can’t die!” He rushed to the orc’s side, tore off his shirt, and wrapped it around the orc’s head. “Don’t die! You have to live! Think of your family! You must have a pig-like wife and children!”
“K-kuweeek… ”
To Jae-Hyeok’s dismay, a thin guizer of blood continued to spring out from the orc’s head. He hadn’t wrapped the wound properly. Panicked, Jae-Hyeok rushed to grab his jacket and wrap it tightly about the orc’s head. He even cut a hole in his jacket near the orc’s nostrils so that it could breathe.
“...Have we passed the critical point? Phew, damn. Now I’m even learning first aid because of orcs.” Jae-Hyeok wiped away his sweat and sighed with relief before looking at the group of orcs.
“......”
Grrr....
The orcs were still angry and tried to swing their axes at Jae-Hyeok, but the orc warrior stretched out its arm and held them back.
Huh? Does it have intelligence?
Was that why it didn’t rush in to attack but waited for Jae-Hyeok to heal its subordinates?
He’d heard in class that elite monsters in charge of other monsters were exceptionally clever, but... Nevertheless, wasn’t it just an orc warrior?
Jae-Hyeok tilted his head, but he was roughly convinced. I guess even a D-class monster has some learning ability.
The orc warrior had been challenging Jae-Hyeok for days, only to be repeatedly beaten and knocked back. Despite this, it hadn’t understood why it survived every time. Finally, it seemed that the orc warrior understood after seeing Jae-Hyeok treating the orc.
Kuwek! Kuweek!
The orc warrior took turns examining the mummified orc and Jae-Hyeok. Finally, it yelled something at Jae-Hyeok.
Jae-Hyeok’s ears could only hear the sound of a pig grunting, but he could feel no hostility coming from the orc warrior.
The orcs put down their stone axes, took their wounded comrade, and disappeared into the bushes.
There was a reason orcs were known as monsters with a strong sense of camaraderie.
Kuweek...
The orc warrior, who was staring at Jae-Hyeok with crossed arms, shook its curved blade and left.
“What’s with that attitude?”
It wouldn’t be enough even if it bowed in gratitude, but the orc warrior actually waved a weapon at him?
Jae-Hyeok was so angry that he considered throwing a stone, but he shook his head instead.
‘I’m the only one who will lose out if I get angry at a pig.” Not to mention, Jae-Hyeok wasn’t in a position to kill the orc warrior anyway, not unless he wanted to awaken. There was no need to make things worse. Jae-Hyeok calmed down and returned to his training.
He was able to concentrate peacefully thanks to the orcs’ obedient retreat.
[The will of the Lion’s Castle is bewildered to see the relationship between you and the orcs.]
[The hidden reward has increased. Additional stat points added.]
The lion at the gate watched Jae-Hyeok with interest.
Swish!
Jae-Hyeok quickly turned and looked toward the lion’s head. He stared straight into those moss-covered, grey eyes.
Just then, he’d felt a presence from the stone head.
Most likely, his Insight stat had increased at some point and enhanced his senses. The increase didn’t surprise him as much as it used to. His stats had risen almost every day since entering Lion’s Castle. Although he couldn’t see his stat window, he’d felt the changes in his body.
Jae-Hyeok continued to stare at the Stone Lion’s head. “Just what are you?”
“......”
Comments
Top