Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Blade Against the Heir
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“Sacrifice, price, failure... You must have your reasons for spouting that nonsense. Unless you're a born psycho, you've got to have some backstory of your own.”
Kang Jae-hyeok's voice trembled.
Not from uncontrolled emotion, but purely from being overpowered in a contest of strength.
The blade, blocked by the back of Silla Kyung's hand, was vibrating wildly.
It was as if magnet was drawing to magnet, sucking toward his grip.
‘The mana is spinning and pulling it in.’
He had to shake it off.
Grinding his molars to the breaking point, he twisted his wrist ever so slightly to the left.
The intent was not to resist the bizarre rotation of Silla Kyung's mana, but to ride along with it.
Clang!
With the screech of metal on metal, Jae-hyeok's blade slipped free from Silla Kyung's grasp.
“But I'm not interested in other people's sob stories. I don't give a damn about your inner thoughts. You wanted to talk to me? Then you should've approached like a normal person, you edgelord punk. Why'd you go and save these idiots, damn it.”
“...”
“And don't you dare talk about my father like that. Failure? Then what does that make your father, who's never beaten mine in his life? You disrespectful little shit.”
“You're dodging the point. I didn't call the power Duke Kang Dae-guk built a failure...”
Silla Kyung trailed off.
Too many eyes were on him.
Things had escalated because Jae-hyeok had drawn his real sword.
This wasn't the direction he wanted.
Withdrawing his aura, he raised both hands. Then, infusing his voice with mana so everyone in the cafeteria could hear, he spoke.
“I apologize for my rudeness. I'm sorry for making you draw your sword.”
“Yeah. Don't talk to me again.”
Casting a glance at Jae-hyeok, who was shooing him away like he was trash, Silla Kyung left the cafeteria.
“To think he'd swing a sword at the heir of House Silla—how can such a vile monster exist?”
“We need to file an official protest and make him face legal consequences.”
“Legal for something that happened at school...? Just punish him simply, right? Young Lord, leave it to me. I'll cut off that bastard's arm.”
Three boys and girls chased after Silla Kyung, chattering away.
They were young retainers who had enrolled alongside him to serve as his aides.
“Mind your manners against the son of a ducal house.”
“A ducal house that's fallen, House Kang... Sorry.”
Silla Kyung shot a chilling glare at the kid who wouldn't shut up until the end, then rubbed his tingling hand.
‘That wasn't his full strength.’
He had watched Jae-hyeok fighting the Leech King from afar.
He thought he'd gauged his abilities fully, but he'd misjudged.
Jae-hyeok's Quick Draw was more than twice as fast and powerful as during the raid.
Even accounting for rewards from killing the Leech King, the gap was too wide.
‘He was hiding his power.’
As expected of Duke Kang Dae-guk's son.
His body and technique, honed to the absolute limit, were awe-inspiring.
He too must have overcome his limits multiple times, just like Silla Kyung himself.
‘Impressive... but lacking patience.’
Just look at him swinging a real sword in front of a crowd—hot-blooded to a fault.
‘That's why he hasn't awakened his bloodline skill. A personality issue.’
Without the mental fortitude to back up his painstakingly trained body and skills, it was all half-baked.
If only he'd had someone to guide him...
‘House Kang...’
Silla Kyung's steps grew heavy.
***
“You... you're insane?”
Surprisingly, it was Eugene who freaked out.
Da-hee was half out of it, and Do-jin was just cackling and giving a thumbs-up, so she was the only one left to step up.
“What were you thinking, swinging your sword like that! He's a National Treasure Candidate, a National Treasure Candidate! The top treasure of our country, Korea's future!”
“Why the fuss? My dad doesn't even treat National Treasures special.”
“Duke Kang Dae-guk is a former National Treasure... Oh.”
Realizing her slip, Eugene clamped her mouth shut and whispered.
“Anyway, let's get out of here. Nothing good's gonna come from sticking around.”
Too late.
Students were closing in, surrounding Jae-hyeok.
So many it was fair to say every student in the cafeteria.
All of them openly hostile.
The funny part? A few Class A first-years were mixed in.
Kids who'd doubted or envied Jae-hyeok's exploits.
The ones who'd gritted their teeth behind his back whenever he got praised—they were showing their true colors now.
“Kang Jae-hyeok. You got cocky after showing off a bit in a C-grade raid—like you think you're somebody? Attacking the heir of House Silla is crossing the line.”
“You looked ready to kill? Jealous of Young Lord all this time? Pathetic, just like a kid from fallen House Kang.”
The insults poured in.
Ha Kyung-su's crew, who'd taken penalty points because of Jae-hyeok, were fanning the flames perfectly.
They had zero reason to like him.
Kang Jae-hyeok saved Class A?
Bullshit.
If we'd been on-site from the start, Class A never would've been in danger.
We just got picked as messengers and missed our shot at glory.
‘I can show my skills right now.’
Grinning slyly, Ha Kyung-su unleashed even harsher abuse.
The worst slurs targeted his family.
Mentioning Kang Dae-seong and Kang Hyeon-ah, lumping them in with subtle digs.
If Jae-hyeok snapped and lunged, they'd flip it, subdue him, claim justification, and crush him.
‘Unlike Silla Kyung, I'm not the forgiving type.’
“You retarded fucks keep barking shit. Blind and deaf? Silla Kyung apologized first—if anyone's at fault, it's him. Why you losing your shit at that guy?”
In the end, the bastard was cursing... Wait, not Jae-hyeok?
Lowering his gaze, Ha Kyung-su locked eyes with a redheaded kid.
“Who the hell are you...”
“Huh? This punk's eyes work fine? You saw Silla Kyung apologize plain as day, so why spout crap? Dog bastard? Woof woof! Grrr, woof woof! You dog fuck!”
“...”
Stunned by the torrent of curses and dog barks, Ha Kyung-su had a gut feeling.
Dealing with this crazy kid would make school life hell.
“Attention.”
Thanks to Do-jin's antics(?), the commotion died down, and Jae-hyeok raised his hand to draw all eyes. Lounging back against his chair, he looked languid and arrogant.
His expression unchanged even as his siblings got trashed.
What kind of cold-blooded monster was this?
“As you all saw and heard, the heir of House Silla fucked up at me, got stabbed with my blade, and begged forgiveness.”
“...?”
“...?”
“So what're you supposed to do? Instead of chit-chatting here, run out and spread what you just saw. That way, the whole school knows House Kang outranks House Silla. Right?”
“...”
Jae-hyeok's few words plunged the massive cafeteria into silence.
Over a hundred students stared at him in disbelief and shock, not daring to speak.
***
“Impressive. They won't dare spread today's events carelessly, watching Silla Kyung's mood.”
House Silla's influence was unmatched.
Not just powerful, but their bloodline skills handling healing and nature had contributed massively to society.
Who would have the guts to blab about Silla Kyung clashing with Jae-hyeok—and apologizing to him?
No one, guaranteed.
From the moment Jae-hyeok pointed out how rumors would harm House Silla, the students had no choice but to shut up.
Even his swinging a real sword would get swept under the rug.
“Jae-hyeok, you're more the strategist type than you look?”
Eugene eyed him anew.
First impressions had been the worst, but turns out he was a sword master with a deep mind—surprising on multiple fronts.
“Th-that was cool, smiling through the abuse.”
Da-hee balled her fists, eyes sparkling. Burning with desire to learn that mental toughness, she seemed to have shaken off the unease from Silla Kyung's words.
“Kneeling the heir of House Silla! Kang Jae-hyeok, you're fucking awesome! And dinner hit different today—I scarfed five bowls, which is rare for me! Maybe I'll wake up taller?”
Do-jin had been hyped since first sight. Repeating stuff about the food tasting great and growing taller, he seemed half-mad.
“Im Eugene, join our team, please.”
Jae-hyeok gave her a fond look.
She was the only one who'd read his intent, so he'd been anxious.
If the last spot went to another airhead like Da-hee or Do-jin... pure, not airhead... it'd be exhausting all around.
Eugene politely declined.
“If I were support, I'd join in a heartbeat. I'm bummed too.”
“Tch.”
The group exchanged goodbyes and split.
Da-hee and Eugene, worn out from the raid, headed straight to the dorms. Do-jin ran off to the training grounds to work off his meal.
Jae-hyeok took a secluded path where no one went.
Ruined stage.
Arriving before the gate with its majestic lion's head relief, he finally let out the ragged breaths he'd been holding.
Silla Kyung.
Recalling the kid who dared judge his father's life and call it failure, his chest heaved. Rage boiled, head burning hot.
But what pissed him off most...
‘That I'm still weak.’
He'd thought himself pretty strong, but the gap between a National Treasure Candidate and a non-awakened was heaven and earth.
He'd meant to scar that smug mouth, but the bastard blocked his Quick Draw barehanded.
Stats several times higher aside, signs of transcendent martial arts from a great noble house were clear.
‘House Silla... those so-called great nobles...’
Denying noble duty wasn't enough—they insulted his father too?
Shouldn't you lot respect him at least as much as you do your own?
Red blood dripped from Jae-hyeok's lips.
‘Then again, if they respected Father, they wouldn't have stood by while House Kang crumbled.’
His pitch-black eyes, narrowed like a beast's, glared at the night sky for a long while, venting fury.
“Whew...”
Regulating his breath, Jae-hyeok's gaze returned to normal.
To him, rage was fuel that never ran dry.
Just fuel, nothing more.
Consumed and used, never devouring him.
‘That guy... he tracked my blade's path to the end before reacting.’
Jae-hyeok recalled Silla Kyung's movements.
Replaying how he'd dismantled the Quick Draw from start to finish.
Swish.
He moved.
A half-step retreat, scraping the floor.
Knee bending lightly, back straight.
Arm whipping like a lash, maximizing back muscles.
Unique mana operation vibrating joints and muscles to boost elasticity.
‘And the suction technique that pulled my sword in.’
Engraving Silla Kyung's split-second motions in his mind, he began imitating.
The scene before him was a forest asleep in deep night, but his eyes reflected only himself.
In this moment, Jae-hyeok became Silla Kyung.
Observing himself from the enemy's view, analyzing shortcomings.
“Haa...”
Breath grew ragged fast. Dantian and head burned.
Perfectly memorizing and mimicking body motions was easy, but mana operation was another level.
House Silla's mana method—rotating to influence joints and muscles—trailed a different path from House Kang's Mana Operation Method.
‘No hand seals, no clue. Stealing another house's mana method by sight alone won't be easy.’
He hadn't expected it from the start.
What he needed now was imagination.
Overlaying House Silla's mana onto the body enacting Silla Kyung's moves, completing the image of him.
Becoming him revealed his own flaws crystal clear.
‘My draw's too straightforward. No matter how fast, if it's visible, it's blockable. Wrist locks in place during the draw—no helping it. Shake the tip on draw? Impossible for human flesh. Awakener territory. Quick Draw's an absolute cut to disrupt flow. Against stronger foes, use as counter or defense, not attack...’
Stamina and mental drained rapidly.
But Jae-hyeok held focus until the dark sky turned navy.
Repeating embodiment with body, imagination with mind.
Unaware he'd blacked out several times midway, he maintained concentration.
[Player Candidate breaks physical limits.]
[Player Candidate breaks mental limits.]
[Player Candidate's technique deepens further.]
[Player Candidate has broken limits for 2,961 consecutive days.]
[Stat points acquired.]
[Miraculous feat!]
[Player Candidate enters 10th trance state.]
[All stats rise by 5.]
[Warning! Player Candidate's stats approach limit.]
[Awaken as Player to raise limits.]
Trance state.
A phenomenon from transcendent focus. Even famed Players rarely experienced it lifetime.
A mere 16-year-old hitting his tenth? A miracle.
[The will of [Lion's Castle] trembles at the sight of you.]
At the same time, Chairman's office.
“Is this... real?”
Seol Su-ah's eyes quivered reading the Leech King raid report.
She was the only one who knew Jae-hyeok was non-awakened.
“Time for a reward. A big one.”