Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Top Contributor
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"Contribution rank one gets first pick of items. That's standard procedure. Even here at Lion's Castle."
"My contribution is number one?"
Player training institution.
Among them, non-awakened students in the Awakener classes were like one-eyed men in the land of the blind. They were the only ones who couldn't see or hear the system messages.
"You must've been too excited to check your messages. Ha ha."
Kim Jin-myeong laughed it off.
Class B had already reached an unspoken agreement to ignore Jae-hyeok's claim of being a non-awakener, even after he'd proudly transferred in.
Especially now, right after his standout performance in a C-rank raid.
Not a single soul believed he was a non-awakener.
"See how everyone's staring at you? Go on, put that ring on and give 'em a wave."
Kim Jin-myeong wiped the footprint-smudged ring clean with his sleeve and handed it to Jae-hyeok.
'Is this for real?'
Jae-hyeok hadn't awakened, and he was under a curse to boot.
He figured he hadn't dealt much damage to the Leech King.
Yet here he was, number one in contributions...
'All I did was stop the secondary explosion, hold aggro, and expose five weak points?'
Each one was an incredible feat.
Most people couldn't expose a boss's weak points at all.
Landing five perfectly precise strikes in a row on a wildly thrashing target?
For some, that achievement would be barroom bragging material for life.
But Jae-hyeok had done it while soloing aggro.
It was a legendary exploit no passerby would believe if you grabbed them and told them.
'Did he awaken a skill that boosts accuracy?'
The students, now inspecting the Leech King's corpse, swallowed hard.
A sixteen-year-old boy whose swordsmanship had reached master level, wielding a skill that maximized his blade's power.
He'd be at least an A-rank player someday.
It made sense why House Kang had been counted among the top noble houses just eight years ago.
'But why's he in Class B...? With skills like that, he could've leveled up before enrollment and transferred to Class A.'
'Maybe he fell into despair after failing to awaken a bloodline skill?'
'Fair enough. Being born into a family that's produced multiple National Treasures and not awakening a bloodline skill? That cuts deep.'
A-rank players were the top 0.3% elite in the Awakener world.
S-ranks were hundreds or thousands of times rarer.
National Treasures, though? You could scour the globe and find only a handful.
Countless nations didn't have a single one.
Even Korea, with its three, would be nobodies without China and Japan right next door.
The students stole glances at Jae-hyeok.
Despite his massive achievement, he showed no joy.
His sour expression suggested this was far from enough to satisfy him.
'...Not a fluke, but actually first place?'
In truth, Jae-hyeok was frowning.
Raids were all about contributions.
Higher contributions meant more EXP, items, and— if you got lucky— achievement rewards that boosted stats.
Yes, EXP was the baseline.
Yet Jae-hyeok's level hadn't budged.
Given that he hadn't awakened, he probably hadn't gained any EXP at all.
And yet, number one in contributions?
They expected him to buy that?
'Have to.'
He needed that ring.
[Leech King's Ring]
Grade: Rare
Generates deadly poison.
Among the Leech King's drops, the ring was top-tier, or so he'd heard.
Infinite poison from that green gemstone.
Endless uses: coat weapons or traps, craft poison sacs, unleash poison mists.
'Drop rate's just 0.01%, and I get this?'
Plus, vitality surged through him.
His fists clenched automatically with joy, packing way more power than before.
Seemed like an achievement reward had jacked up his stats considerably.
'At this point, I could awaken any second.'
Human bodies had limits.
Only awakening as a player let you surpass them with stats.
Jae-hyeok sensed he'd nearly maxed out his pre-awakening stat goals.
"Th-thanks."
Bae Eujin and the other students approached him.
Kids who'd fought to the end alongside Da-hee.
"Without you, we'd all be dead or crippled. We'll repay the favor someday."
Bae Eujin bowed deeply.
Jae-hyeok had pegged her as a free spirit from their cafeteria run-in, but she knew manners.
Confirming the kids had no major injuries, Jae-hyeok nodded.
"Thanks for not giving up and fighting to the end. You held out long enough for me to arrive and help."
He meant every word.
If the kids had bailed midway and scattered sloppily?
By the time Jae-hyeok arrived, there'd have been corpses everywhere.
He couldn't bear that sight.
Especially Chae Da-hee.
Losing the little girl who admired her father would've crushed him.
"..."
Sensing Jae-hyeok's sincerity, Bae Eujin was at a loss for words.
Talkative fallen noble.
That had been her impression of him.
But he wielded insane power and genuinely cared for people.
The ideal noble.
Strong enough to earn a title, and thus duty-bound to protect the citizenry—a modern noble.
'So this is House Kang... Not like the rumors.'
She glanced sideways.
Seeing Da-hee's reaction, Bae Eujin smirked.
Her supposedly clueless friend had an eye for people. Heartwarming.
"You crazy bastard, Kang Jae-hyeok!"
"You're Class B's pride!"
Class B students swarmed in, surrounding Jae-hyeok with cheers.
Praising his skill and coolness, they slapped his back—hard enough to feel their genuine emotion.
"..."
Class A students fell silent.
The ones who'd abandoned Da-hee and fled.
Heads down, faces grim, as their homeroom teacher Park Ju-bong approached.
"You made the right call. It's all my fault. Sorry for burdening you kids with such heavy responsibility."
Park Ju-bong didn't scold the fleeing students. He bowed and apologized.
How they took it would shape their growth.
'Curse. A curse.'
Jae-hyeok, who'd smashed the ambushers into the swamp, pondered the curse.
Likely the reason he got no EXP.
'In the end, it helped me—more blessing than curse...'
If it was permanent, though, that changed things.
High chance it tied to his quest, so he needed details.
'Easy fix.'
As Jae-hyeok mulled it over—
Vroom!
Dozens of magitech motorcycles roared in.
Lion's Castle security forces.
"...We're too late."
The security captain sighed in relief at the Leech King's corpse.
His eyes were icy.
Class A's homeroom felt the pressure, struggling to breathe.
"No casualties, I see... There was a good reason for the delayed support request? Lucky break?"
One casualty, and he'd be done for.
Challenging a raid with freshmen alone? Beyond arrogance— a rule violation.
Mitigating factor: two National Treasure Candidates in Class A.
Raid cleared safely, so light reprimand at worst, incident buried.
Plausible claim: building experience for newbies.
Security captain wasn't thrilled, though.
'Six weak points exposed and cleared.'
National Treasure Candidate potential?
Impressed by the corpse, he signaled, and Park Ju-bong shared contributions— standard procedure for investigation.
[Raid Contribution Rankings]
1st - Kang Jae-hyeok: 22.4%
2nd - Park Ju-bong: 18.8%
3rd - Chae Da-hee: 13.2%
4th - Kim Jin-myeong: 10.5%
5th - Gu Baek-gi: 9.7%
...
..
"..."
The captain rubbed his eyes and checked again.
No change.
"No National Treasure Candidates on the list...?"
"They didn't participate. My misjudgment caused this. I'll accept any punishment."
"No..."
Cleared without them?
Sure, first-year teachers were B-rank players.
Park Ju-bong, Kim Jin-myeong, and Gu Baek-gi from the start? C-rank boss was no big deal.
But circumstances suggested Kim Jin-myeong and Gu Baek-gi joined late...?
"Who's Kang Jae-hyeok?"
He knew Chae Da-hee's name.
Top freshman.
Swordsmanship genius, first in years— famous.
Kang Jae-hyeok? Unfamiliar.
'Actually, familiar, but stranger things...'
Same name as Yaksha's son, transferred to Class B ten days ago.
Must be exhausting sharing a name.
As faint pity stirred, Park Ju-bong answered.
"That student there."
He pointed to Class B students.
"...This Kang Jae-hyeok is that Kang Jae-hyeok?"
Amid swamp-strewn kids, a lone black-haired boy stood unscathed.
Recognizing the face, the captain's eyes widened fiercely.
"Was Class B here from the start?"
"No. As you know, they joined late."
"And Yaksha's son... that kid took first in contributions? By this margin?"
"Yes. He created an opening to stop the secondary explosion, held aggro the whole fight, and exposed five weak points. Truly remarkable."
"..."
Class B: level 1 newbies.
Performance like a veteran high-rank player?
They expected him to swallow that?
Park Ju-bong just shrugged at the skeptical captain.
Investigation would reveal all; nothing more to say.
'Fraudulent enrollment hiding his level? Which idiot approved that? Gotta report to the chairman.'
Damn House Kang...
The captain clicked his tongue and oversaw cleanup.
"We'll collect the Leech King's corpse and distribute rewards proportionally to participants. Teachers, escort students back, then report to the investigation room."