Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Bonds and Resolve
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‘They went to the trouble of escaping, only to die anyway.’
Jae-hyeok’s gaze lingered on the team leaders’ corpses.
Ugly bastards.
He had sniped the vanished team leaders and condemned them.
He overlapped them with those who had turned their backs on House Kang after abandoning their comrades and fleeing.
‘What will become of you?’
The boy’s eyes, recalling the faces of those he had relied on in his childhood, were pitch black. They were like abyssal depths filled with intense hatred, rage, and murderous intent.
“…You’ve all been through a lot.”
Shaking off his thoughts with effort, Jae-hyeok finally tore his eyes from the bodies and greeted the others.
The Jae Kyung Yeak employees and Song Se-yeong.
They looked utterly pitiful.
It was clear how desperately they had fought against the orc legion.
“You’ve been through far more than us. We survived thanks to you.”
“Th-thank you… and sorry.”
The others didn’t show their exhaustion.
He was the boy who had held back the ogre alone to save them.
They feared making him feel some undue sense of responsibility by worrying him unnecessarily.
Reading their consideration, Jae-hyeok smiled faintly.
Beautiful people.
In a life-or-death situation, they had lured the orcs and fought on, relying on each other to the end. They had deeply moved him.
That was why he worried.
“If something like this happens again, don’t look back—just run. What made you think dragging those orcs along wouldn’t cause this mess?”
“You need to take it easy yourself.”
Manager Gu clicked his tongue.
“We saw you not only shake off the ogre but massacre the orc legion, so we know you’re strong. But there are monsters out there far scarier than ogres or orcs.”
He glanced at the team leaders’ corpses.
“And humans more dangerous than monsters are as common as roadside pebbles. If you rely only on your skills and play the hero, you’ll get hurt badly one day.”
Manager Gu pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.
Thanks to the highest-grade potion Jae-hyeok had given him, his lungs felt healthier than before, fully recovered.
“…Well, an unqualified guy like me lecturing you just because I’m older probably sounds like nonsense, so feel free to ignore it. I’ll definitely repay you for the potion, so don’t worry. Damn, the more I think about it, the weirder you are. Why on earth did you stand up to the ogre to protect us and hand over a highest-grade potion so readily? Are you insane…?”
In the end, Manager Gu couldn’t light the cigarette.
The more he recalled Jae-hyeok’s actions, the more absurd it felt, leaving his head spinning.
He even forgot the intense craving for nicotine he’d felt just moments ago.
Jae-hyeok gave a gentle smile to the man muttering to himself nonstop.
“Thanks for the advice. Now let’s go find Seong-hyeon hyung.”
Grateful for the fortunate bonds he had gained.
Jae-hyeok hurried along with the others.
***
“So, what’s your deal with the Yaksha’s son?”
Only after traveling some distance with Jo Seong-hyeon in tow did Yi So-young finally stop and ask.
Mana Studies professor.
Her senses for detecting and handling mana were exceptional.
Within Lion’s Castle, she was second only to Seol Su-ah.
That was why she had appeared at the scene.
Having sensed the mana of an ogre that shouldn’t have been anywhere nearby, she had rushed to assess the situation.
And she was shocked.
She had sensed Kang Jae-hyeok’s mana—the same mana she had seen during the first-year special lecture.
It happened right after the ogre’s mana had vanished.
It gave her chills.
It meant the boy, who had been so weak just a few months ago, had grown to the point of devouring an ogre.
‘That’s not human.’
He took after his father exactly.
The thought that his personality matched too made her want nothing to do with him for life.
“Young Lord Jae-hyeok? He’s done me a huge favor.”
“…A favor? You’ve already been gaslit.”
“Haha! Professor, what kind of joke is that? Young Lord Jae-hyeok has saved my life twice already and even given me martial enlightenment.”
Jo Seong-hyeon explained everything that had happened in detail.
Yi So-young’s head tilted repeatedly as she listened.
“He helped you without any conditions? And he’s that sociable?”
“Yes. He’s a noble in the truest sense.”
“But in the end, you handed over two highest-grade potions? You’re clearly being played… Never mind. Let’s drop the topic of that kid.”
Yi So-young focused on the fact that someone in the school was targeting Jo Seong-hyeon.
‘Of all things, using a tamed monster.’
Taming monsters was a common skill.
Popular among players with high mana stats since it could be learned from skillbooks.
Pinpointing the culprit from a single tamed monster was extremely difficult.
‘I’ll have to investigate myself.’
There was a way to track the caster using the mana residue left on the monster’s corpse.
Something only Grandmaster Yi So-young, who had invented and mastered dozens of mana operation methods, could do.
“I’m heading out. Don’t come to school until I contact you, and take good care of yourself.”
“Yes, please contact me.”
After parting with Yi So-young.
Jo Seong-hyeon soon reunited with welcome faces.
“Young Lord Jae-hyeok! Everyone!”
Kang Jae-hyeok, Song Se-yeong, and the employees.
Most were unharmed.
Jae-hyeok especially looked pristine, as if he hadn’t been injured at all—not healed by potions, but like he’d never been hurt.
Jo Seong-hyeon hugged him tightly.
“Young Lord! Thank goodness! Really, thank goodness…!”
“…Glad you’re safe too, hyung.”
He hadn’t expected a hug.
Though flustered by the sudden closeness, Jae-hyeok didn’t pull away.
It felt pretty good.
Thinking back, it was the first time since his mother passed that he’d been held in someone’s arms.
“But I don’t see the team leaders?”
“I’ll explain.”
Manager Gu recounted everything that had happened truthfully.
Jo Seong-hyeon’s expression darkened gradually.
Even though the team leaders had betrayed the employees, hearing of their deaths filled him with pity.
“We shouldn’t mourn them—we should worry about your position, Young Master.”
Manager Gu warned the silently grieving Jo Seong-hyeon.
“The team leaders’ deaths are a huge loss for the company from their perspective. Plenty of people will try to pin the blame on you.”
As his title of manager implied.
Jo Seong-hyeon’s standing in the company wasn’t comparable to his brothers’.
Even Manager Gu didn’t particularly respect him, so anyone and everyone would pick fights.
“I’ll handle it.”
“You’re taking it too lightly. Are you still indifferent to company matters? You don’t care if you can’t rise up?”
Manager Gu didn’t like Jo Seong-hyeon much.
Nice guy but no ambition—honestly, he found him pathetic.
‘People really don’t change easily.’
To Manager Gu, disappointed once more.
“No. From now on, I plan to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with my brothers.”
Jo Seong-hyeon declared with a serious face.
“I learned a lot watching Jae-hyeok today.”
I’ll prove it too.
That I have what it takes to lead Jae Kyung Yeak.
“I’ll overcome any obstacles.”
Jo Seong-hyeon’s fervent gaze turned to Jae-hyeok.
“Young Lord, next time we meet, I’ll be a more confident man than I am now.”
Someone who can repay your kindness.
Reading the aspiration in his eyes, Jae-hyeok offered a handshake.
“I’ll be cheering for you.”
***
“Hmm…? This is interesting.”
After Jo Seong-hyeon, found safe and sound, left Lion’s Castle.
A man sifting through incident reports for his write-up licked his lips.
Kang Jae-hyeok.
Coincidentally, he discovered the student involved in the troll lord incident was tangled up in this one too.
“The Yaksha’s son, huh.”
Bae Eujin, section chief of Raid Squad 2, Team 3.
Famous for his sharp instincts, he took an interest in Kang Jae-hyeok.
***
A new week began.
Students’ steps were heavy, still lingering from the short weekend.
In contrast, the archery range buzzed with energy from morning.
Startled by sudden shouts, passing students snapped to attention and felt invigorated.
“Huh…? Why are there shouts from the archery range?”
“Shouts? Sounds more like screams…”
No Jun-yeop that delinquent must be at it again.
Nodding in understanding, the students hurried past, pitying the Archery Club members.
Meanwhile, inside the archery range.
“W-wait! No! I don’t want to! Let go… Aaaagh!!”
Baek Do-jin, arms pinned by Jae-hyeok and pale as a ghost, screamed and thrashed.
Da-hee wore a teary face too.
Poke, poke.
Crouched down, Hae-rin prodded the charred, spreadeagled No Jun-yeop’s back with her sword sheath.
“No reaction….”
Hae-rin muttered in shock.
Hearing her clearly, Baek Do-jin shivered.
“Getting struck by lightning as training? Do you know how much it hurt last time? I’ll die! I’ll really die!”
“You won’t die, so don’t worry.”
Jae-hyeok tried to calm his teammates.
Just then, the Archery Club members arrived amid the commotion.
All clutching boxes.
Seeing the glass vials clinking inside, Da-hee gasped.
“P-po-potions? All of those are potions?”
Thousands of them at least.
More than an average player would use in a lifetime.
“How much did that cost…?”
“I prepared them for you all. Use them well, considering my sincerity.”
Jae-hyeok had originally planned to buy the potions legitimately.
But Jo Seong-hyeon had flatly refused payment.
He’d even promised steady potion supplies going forward.
‘And I got extra highest-grade ones on top.’
Who knew getting chummy with a chaebol would be this convenient.
“Special training every day from today.”
This wasn’t just for his teammates.
Through this incident, Jae-hyeok had learned to trust bonds.
He included the Archery Club members in the brain zap reflex training without a shred of doubt.
Beaming.
To the students, the boy grinning brightly beside the (dead?) flame-roasted No Jun-yeop looked like a devil.