Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Taming the Nobles
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"Everyone assemble under me."
At Kang Jae-hyeok's command, the Noble club members bristled.
'A kid younger than us.'
'He's just a first-year, isn't he?'
'Thinks being a duke's son makes him all that!'
"...Huh?"
It was a perfect mirror treatment.
The more they cursed Jae-hyeok, the more their consciences pricked them, and soon the Noble members fell silent.
Then they slowly edged toward him.
Through the sight of Cha Jo-ah still passed out with her eyes rolled back, they were reminded that fists—no, Jae-hyeok's sword—were far closer than the law.
'Today's humiliation... I'll pay it back for sure.'
Noble being trampled like this?
It was just a mishap.
In a day or two, it would be brushed off as nothing.
'If we pull strings from behind, covering up something like this is a piece of cake.'
While a noble's greatest strength was their martial prowess, the wealth and power built upon it were formidable too.
Today's incident wouldn't spread as rumor.
And soon, Kang Jae-hyeok and the Archery Club would face retribution.
Not some unexpected ambush like this time, but a fair and square fight—against the likes of the Archery Club, they could surely...
'...Just have the seniors and alumni handle that guy.'
The Noble members glared confidently at the Archery Club members, but flinched when their eyes met Jae-hyeok's, yearning for their seniors and alumni.
No Jun-yeop sneered at them, dismissing today's shocking event as a one-night nightmare.
"I can hear your scheming from here, you bastards. Then again, you wouldn't know his personality."
"?"
The Noble members looked baffled.
We don't know Kang Jae-hyeok's personality?
Damn it. We just got wrecked by him—how wouldn't we?
We've fully grasped that he's a mad bastard—
"Guess I'll have to spread the word far and wide starting today."
"...?"
The bristling Noble members glared daggers at No Jun-yeop as Jae-hyeok spoke up.
He wore an expression like he wanted to flick their foreheads.
"Noble got utterly crushed by the Archery Club."
"...!"
"W-what nonsense is that? When did we ever get crushed by the Archery Club!"
"Oh? Then should I spread it around that you got crushed by me? That the moment I told you to assemble, you all came scampering over like the dogs the janitor feeds or the cats the nurses on the ward take care of—make sure everyone knows?"
"When did we ever scamper over..."
"Whether you slunk over or scampered, does that even matter right now? Point is, you came when I called."
"......"
"And your president got hit by me, bawling snot and tears before passing out. Oh, she puked too, right?"
"...Damn it! You've been going on about face and reputation, but don't you have any? Resorting to such petty, low-class threats? Aren't you afraid of ruining your reputation in high society?"
"House Kang? They already call us traitors' spawn."
Jae-hyeok plopped down in the president's seat, still warm from Cha Jo-ah, and said flatly.
"Do traitors' spawn have any reputation left to lose?"
"......"
The Noble members finally shut their mouths.
The more they spoke, the more they realized they were digging their own graves.
"So, if you don't want to be total embarrassments, quit scheming behind my back and choose. Dissolve Noble right now, or get reformed under me from here on out."
"Damn it! I can't take this anymore!"
As Jae-hyeok's words dragged on, one hot-headed Noble member couldn't hold back and exploded.
His face was swollen like a steamed bun, his hair blond.
It was the boy who'd been beaten by Jae-hyeok before Cha Jo-ah.
Had he passed out and missed seeing her get wrecked?
The other Noble members stared at him in shock at his lack of judgment.
"With our seniors and alumni backing us from behind, how are we supposed to dissolve Noble? Your so-called choices are useless. We should just join you."
The blond boy declared it with utter confidence.
"......"
The Noble members' faces turned icy cold.
'He really can't think straight.'
'Must've taken a bad hit to the head.'
The blond boy looked at the murmuring group with pity.
"You all witnessed Young Lord Kang's skill just now, didn't you?"
"Just because he's skilled doesn't mean we should follow him—what kind of twisted logic is that..."
"Young Lord Kang's level was only 10 not long ago. Yet today, he easily took down me and the president back-to-back."
"That's just because he scarfed down elixirs like snacks..."
"Hmph. If high stats alone let anyone wield advanced swordsmanship, who would bother training their martial arts or honing skills?"
"......"
The surroundings fell eerily silent.
It was a fact they already knew.
But confronting the truth they'd turned a blind eye to for its sheer implausibility sent shivers down their spines.
Not just the Noble members—the Archery Club felt it too.
Kang Jae-hyeok's talent went beyond extraordinary.
Whatever personal feelings they held, they couldn't help but feel awe.
Gulp!
The Noble members straightened up, swallowing dryly.
The blond boy offered Jae-hyeok a courteous bow.
"Young Lord Kang, separately from Noble, we will follow you. Consider it an investment. We see high potential for you to become a great figure someday, so we're lightly grasping your line—not Noble's."
No grand declarations of sharing a path or pledging loyalty.
It was too early for that.
But their attitude was clear: they believed in his talent and saw it as worth investing in.
"......!"
The Archery Club members stirred like waves in a storm.
Nobles, united by pride, bowing their heads to a first-year junior?
Wasn't this too surreal?
'Kang Jae-hyeok...!'
Jang Yeon-ju and No Jun-yeop shot Jae-hyeok heated gazes too.
The boy on the verge of claiming not just the Archery Club, but Noble as well.
Were they witnessing a moment that would become legend in Lion's Castle?
As goosebumps prickled across their bodies.
"What're you talking about."
Jae-hyeok waved it off with a buzzkill expression.
"Who are you to grab my line? Planning to drag me down?"
"What? We're the ones yielding first, and you mock us...? That's too much!"
"Too much my ass. Bluntly, what makes me trust you lot enough to take you under my wing?"
"B-but just now, you told us to come under you yourself!"
"When? I said I'd reform you."
"We're not delinquents—what do you mean reform..."
"Wow, the guys who kidnapped, imprisoned, and assaulted someone are denying they're delinquents."
"R-right! How thick is your skin!? If this were society outside Lion's Castle, your seniors would've been thrown in jail!"
Chae Da-hee chimed in agreement.
"No, it wouldn't have—fuck!"
No Jun-yeop argued on behalf of the indignant Noble members, but it was pointless.
Baek Do-jin growled at them.
"Hey, Jae-hyeok. These punks are acting all wronged. Guess they don't realize how serious kidnapping is."
"Yeah."
Jae-hyeok smiled faintly and pulled out a pair of pristine white gloves, slipping them on.
His long fingers and elegant motions drew everyone's eyes naturally.
'Truly a noble among nobles.'
'House Kang. Fallen now, but one of only three ducal houses in Korea...'
Enthralled by Jae-hyeok's refined poise, the Noble members' minds seared with House Kang's name.
The way they looked at him began to shift subtly.
Loathing, hatred, distrust—those emotions faded, replaced by something akin to envy blooming in the nobles' eyes.
Of course, the change didn't last.
"From now on, quit embarrassing the nobles and live humbly, okay?"
"Huh?"
As Jae-hyeok approached with a bright smile, a brilliant light rose behind him.
A halo?
What, is he not human?
Too flustered for rational thought, just then—
Krarrr rumble!!
Lightning crashed down on them.
A clean punishment.
"I'll drop by occasionally."
Jae-hyeok laid Cha Jo-ah beside the charred group, left a note, and departed the scene.
"N-now, hurry! We're heading back too!"
"Let's go rest. I haven't slept a wink all night—I'm beat."
"If that idiot No Jun-yeop hadn't gotten kidnapped..."
"It worked out in the end, didn't it? We got a perfect excuse to smash Noble fair and square."
"Finally catch on? I got kidnapped on purpose for the Archery Club."
"Do-jin, shut No Jun-yeop up."
The team and Archery Club naturally followed behind the leading Jae-hyeok.
They seemed like people who'd been together for ages.
***
"Impressive. His growth speed defies common sense. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I never would've believed it."
Two white shadows flickered like mist near the Noble members.
White Shadow Unit.
They followed only White Night's orders, the most secretive group among Lion's Castle's martial forces.
"His Excellency ordered us to guard him for good reason. He'll surely become someone great—a treasure who'll aid His Excellency greatly one day."
"Calm down. In this brutal world where piling up the corpses of so-called geniuses could make a mountain, isn't it premature to get excited just because a kid stands out among students?"
It was a world swarming with freaks of strength and divinity.
Even now, countless Gates were spawning across Earth.
High-level Gates that even seasoned players couldn't touch abounded.
Reality was too harsh to get swept up over a young genius.
The middle-aged man sighed, steadying himself at his comrade's warning.
"I'm just clinging to a sliver of hope out of frustration. Look at Her Excellency these days—her state is pitiful. She's suffering alone."
"...Is that so."
The two gazed wistfully at the distant sky, their hearts heavy.
The sky the boy named Jae-hyeok had briefly cleared was already clouding over again.
It was as if the heavens were warning them to beware the approaching 91st East Asia Gate Exchange.
"...?!"
The White Shadow members, sighing repeatedly, suddenly gasped.
Glancing down at the presence they sensed, they saw Jae-hyeok had paused and was looking right at them.
'He sensed our presence?'
Impossible.
It had to be coincidence.
Unshaken in their conviction, their bodies remained cloaked in white mist.
Even top players struggled to read the mana flows that distorted the surroundings.
Yet Jae-hyeok seemed to...
A slight bow.
He dipped his gaze in acknowledgment, then turned away.
"......"
Frozen in place.
The White Shadow members stood motionless for a long while.