Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Baek Do-jin's Rage
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“Hey, isn’t that a real sword?”
“Hey! Baek Do-jin! What are you doing, you lunatic!”
The students whipped their heads around at the sudden outburst and gasped in shock.
The sight of him charging at another student with a live blade drawn was unbelievable.
Even considering Baek Do-jin’s reputation, it was hard to accept.
“Damn it!”
A few of Do-jin’s classmates reacted swiftly, jumping between the unfamiliar green-haired boy and Do-jin.
To stop their year-long comrade from crossing a line he couldn’t come back from, they aimed their training [Magic Engineering Weapons] at Do-jin.
“Baek Do-jin! Calm down!”
“Get lost!!”
Do-jin’s small frame blurred for a moment, then vanished like a lie.
[Flash Step]
It was the boy’s first skill.
A top-tier movement technique with spatial teleportation properties, but hampered by its short range and inability to fix coordinates.
Crash! Thud!!
Do-jin reappeared behind the students, his body bouncing like a ball several times. His Flash Step had landed him on the ground at an angle, slamming his face-first into the dirt.
“Loooreeeen!!”
Even if a few bones had shattered, it wouldn’t have been surprising, yet Do-jin sprang right back up. His blazing eyes locked on Loren as he swung his greatsword with resolve.
“Ah...!”
The students groaned in dismay.
That madman had crossed the point of no return.
The green-haired boy.
He seemed like a freshman given his unfamiliar face, and whatever history lay between them, the school wouldn’t care.
For swinging a real sword at someone over personal reasons and causing injury, punishment was inevitable.
Boom!!
Blood sprayed into the air.
But it wasn’t from the green-haired boy being sliced—it was the nosebleed Do-jin had been gushing since he face-planted.
Loren, floating a round object in midair, effortlessly blocked the massive greatsword. Its color and shape were distinctly different from a magic-based [Shield] skill.
“...Bones?”
The identity of the near-perfect circular barrier was astonishing: a mass of bones. More precisely, vertebrae coiled into a ring.
Students who recognized what it evoked scrutinized Loren’s face.
And they confirmed it.
The boy’s eyes were tinged with gold.
“Bloodline Skill!”
“The real Austria...!”
Whoosh!!
Amid the cries of alarm, the whip-like spine unfurled and wrapped around Do-jin’s greatsword.
“Do-jin, your temper is as hot-headed as ever. How could you swing a blade first at an old friend you haven’t seen in ages?”
“Shut up...! Please! Just shut the hell up, you bastard!!”
With his sword immobilized by the spine, Do-jin used the hilt as leverage to launch his body upward. He rocketed toward Loren’s jaw, driving his knee up.
Judgment and execution at supersonic speeds.
That sharp intellect was exactly why Jae-hyeok saw such immense potential in Do-jin.
But Loren seemed to know Do-jin’s strengths just as well.
The moment Do-jin leaped, he yanked back the greatsword.
The sudden pull on the hilt disrupted Do-jin’s pivot in midair, and his knee met Loren’s elbow instead of his chin.
“We should get along nicely. Have you forgotten our parents’ wishes?”
“Uwaaaaaah!!”
The roar tearing from Do-jin’s throat was different from his usual.
It was like a scream, laced with such deep resentment and rage that it made the hearts of students who knew nothing of the circumstances sink.
Thud, thud, thud!
Do-jin’s relentless fists were all blocked by the bone shield.
“...”
A heavy silence fell over the training grounds.
Do-jin’s punches, which had only grown stronger as his skin tore, began to weaken noticeably at some point. His massively swollen fists suggested broken bones.
Thud, thud, thud...
Yet Do-jin didn’t stop.
It was pathetic and infuriating, how weak he was. The sight of the small boy sobbing quietly while holding back tears was heartbreaking.
Finally, when Do-jin’s fists came to a complete halt.
“Have you cooled off at last? Let’s get you treated first. I’ll take care of you, so rest easy.”
Loren scooped Do-jin into his arms and whispered. The gold faded from his eyes as he withdrew the bones.
The students buzzed in confusion at the bewildering turn of events.
“...”
Loren halted abruptly while supporting Do-jin.
A boy was leaning casually against the training ground entrance, deliberately blocking the way with his long legs.
“Why is the heir of Austria’s Ducal House here?”
“The Lion’s Castle administration granted me courtesy as an exchange student. Step aside.”
“Exchange student? The chairman’s nosiness is legendary, but this is beyond imagination. A national institution taking in foreigners, of all things.”
“That’s not for a mere student to debate.”
“Yeah, well. Probably some deal between big shots.”
“...Why are you still blocking the way? Can’t you see my exhausted friend’s wounds? Enough—move.”
“You’ve got a weird way of talking, but your Korean’s damn good. Did you grow up with Baek Do-jin or something?”
“Correct. Do-jin and I are childhood friends.”
“Figures Baek Do-jin never learned German properly, so you picked up Korean instead. He’s smart, but probably no good at studying.”
“What an odd fellow.”
Loren’s eyes tinged with gold as he sensed a strange hostility in Jae-hyeok’s chattering obstruction.
A spine erupted from the ground, forming a hand that reached to grab Jae-hyeok’s ankle.
But Jae-hyeok drew his sword hilt a fraction faster.
Boom-!
The hand-shaped spine morphed into a shield in an instant, blocking the strike.
“...Quick Draw? House Kang’s...”
“Friend or whatever, he hates your guts. Hand him over.”
“Is the scion of House Kang also Do-jin’s friend?”
“Friend...? Doesn’t seem like it?”
“Then don’t interfere. Outsiders meddling in our relationship is unpleasant.”
“No, but he hates you. This guy’s hilarious. Did you learn to speak without learning to listen?”
“How can you act like this if you’re not even his friend?”
“He’s my teammate.”
The first time Jae-hyeok saw Do-jin, he was captivated by those intense eyes.
Rage, hatred, venom he couldn’t quite hide flickered in them—like staring into a mirror.
He was drawn in naturally. A vague hope that together, they could understand and rely on each other.
Friend or not, who cared.
“My people, I protect.”
“Noble sentiments. But I am a noble as well. Do-jin is your man, but before that, he is mine.”
“You don’t listen for shit. Are all Austrian nobles deaf?”
“Korean nobles must be vulgar.”
With a sigh, Loren gently set Do-jin down on the ground.
“Since you won’t move, I’ll use force. Considering your position, this won’t escalate to a diplomatic incident.”
Whoosh!
The extended spine shifted from shield to sword form.
“Even when I drew my blade, your eyes didn’t awaken. Lacking talent, you failed to gain a Bloodline Skill. Our gap is clear—withdraw now.”
“I said put the kid down, and you draw steel. Psycho bastard.”
“You drew first.”
“That was defense. You shameless prick—you attacked me first.”
“...I have no desire to converse at length with you.”
Loren’s eyes, now fully golden, gleamed like cold metal. Just meeting them sent a chill to the marrow.
Jae-hyeok clicked his tongue.
‘First House Silla, now House Baos.’
Weren’t the students here a bit too illustrious?
His head already ached.
His plan to rack up top scores in team training and tournaments to gather spirit elixirs felt blocked by a massive wall from the start.
There was no chance of victory against Loren.
Golden eyes.
Proof of awakening a skill inherited through blood.
By Korean standards, maybe ten people had them.
A tiny elite inherited their ancestors’ skills intact—Bloodline Skills.
Jae-hyeok’s second awakened first skill was also a Bloodline one.
But he had rejected it, delaying his awakening.
Facing House Baos—the power that made Austria a superpower—with their [Necromancer] skill? Impossible, even in dreams.
‘This is gonna be embarrassing.’
Jae-hyeok smiled bitterly and leaned forward.
He was the one who had to restore his father’s and house’s honor.
He didn’t want to suffer a powerless defeat in front of so many. He understood avoiding the fight was best.
But he couldn’t dream of ignoring Do-jin, who even in exhaustion shed tears.
He’d noticed Do-jin’s hatred and rage were aimed at Loren.
The ones who took everything from Jae-hyeok eight years ago—probably Loren, from Do-jin’s perspective.
Turn a blind eye?
No way.
If he were in Do-jin’s shoes.
If, with his neck in the enemy’s grasp, those around him looked away—it’d be too heartbreaking.
“How peculiar.”
Seeing no sign of retreat from Jae-hyeok, Loren tilted his head.
“Your life story is famous even in my homeland. Confined to your mansion, you couldn’t make friends, and you’ve known Do-jin for mere days. Yet you’d challenge me for him? I don’t understand. Why risk your honor for another?”
“Honor can be regained someday. But regret lingers forever, tormenting me eternally.”
“I take back calling you noble. You’re foolish and obtuse—it’s unpleasant. To make it clear for your simple mind: the honor you lose to me today will never be recoverable.”
The two boys were around the same age.
But one had honed his Bloodline Skill to a high level, while the other couldn’t even awaken golden eyes.
The talent gap was heaven and earth—known to all, impossible to bridge.
All but one.
Jae-hyeok thought differently.
“Watch your mouth. You might regret those words for the rest of your life.”