Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: The Lord's Awakening
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A grave atop a pitch-black coastal cliff.
-Delicious. I smell something tasty.
A skeleton clad in jet-black armor clawed its way out of the grave, tearing up the earth.
Its eerie purple-glowing eyes turned toward the north of the island.
That was the direction where the presence of a freshly spawned Lord-level monster had just appeared.
Having grown bored with the sluggish pace of its strength recovery, it had now found a mouthwatering prey.
-To the snowfields.
***
‘Good. Everyone’s doing well.’
Strength surged into the legs of B-Class students as they pushed through the blizzard.
Their slips became less frequent, speeding up their march.
They had grown accustomed to channeling mana.
The bone-chilling cold that froze them to the marrow, the blizzard blocking their vision, the crevasses and slippery ice hidden within the storm, the looming threat of avalanches and monsters at any moment.
Even the infamous perils of the snowfields couldn’t disrupt the B-Class students’ focus.
It was just as Kim Jin-myeong had hoped.
Over the past month.
The B-Class students had accumulated experience in the swamps and deserts akin to real combat.
Thanks to—no, because of—Jae-hyeok’s relentless torment... training, they had faced crises far exceeding the intent of the drills, time and again.
And in overcoming those crises, they had learned how to rapidly heighten their concentration.
‘Damn it, thanks a ton, Kang Jae-hyeok.’
The students themselves recognized their growth was due to Jae-hyeok.
But this was skill forged through near-death harassment. Were they really supposed to be grateful?
‘Why’s he so quiet today, though? Is he off his game?’
‘Even that monster has bad days?’
The students stole glances at Jae-hyeok.
The guy who usually sledded around alone, shoving them into crevasses, was unusually subdued today. It was unnerving.
They felt glad, relieved, yet anxious.
Yes.
Before they knew it, the students had come to find the snowfield’s harsh environment comfortable.
They were at the point of thanking the heavens that Jae-hyeok wasn’t going berserk.
They only hoped he didn’t have some ulterior motive.
“…….”
The instructors’ gazes frequently turned to Jae-hyeok as well.
‘That kid looks especially uncomfortable, all by himself.’
‘We heard rumors he awakened a bloodline skill. What a letdown.’
‘No wonder House Kang fell. Their bloodline skills aren’t anything special.’
The training proceeded so smoothly that even the instructors, who should have focused on protecting the students, exchanged idle chatter.
The B-Class students’ skills exceeded expectations, and there wasn’t a single monster presence.
The instructors knew today was the respawn day for the Troll Lord.
They were beginning to understand why Kim Jin-myeong had advanced the snowfield adaptation training schedule.
“Ouch!”
“You okay?”
Of course, the students hadn’t fully adapted to the snowfields.
The snowfield ground radiated vicious cold.
Especially in areas like the epicenters of the chill, where the snow would freeze you on sight, making them treacherously slick.
They needed to distinguish between piled snow and ice.
But it wasn’t easy.
The fierce blizzard and hazy cold blocked their vision.
When a student in the lead slipped, five or six more toppled like dominoes, noticeably slowing the entire march each time.
“…….”
In contrast, Jae-hyeok hung back a step, maintaining his own pace.
By channeling mana into his optic nerves via the Kang Family Mana Operation Method, his vision remained clear unlike the others.
Just like when he’d faced off against the Archery Club president in a shooting contest, he had enhanced his eyesight.
While even Kim Jin-myeong and the instructors occasionally faltered due to the cold and blizzard imposing a near-Darkness debuff, Jae-hyeok secured a wide field of view as if standing in the middle of a sunny plain.
‘What’s that?’
As Jae-hyeok observed the snowfield terrain and committed it to memory, a glint caught his eye.
About a kilometer ahead.
A massive horde of migrating monsters.
Trolls, yetis, white-tailed wolves, ice snails, ice skeletons, wraiths, and more.
A variety of types.
Creatures that would normally fight like mortal enemies were marching in a long procession, as if entranced by something.
Jae-hyeok knew what this mass migration meant.
He’d experienced it in that gacha trash game ‘Player Manager,’ where he’d poured money for years as part of his studies.
‘A Lord has been born.’
Goblins, orcs, trolls, yetis, ogres, and so on.
Among monsters forming tribal societies, kings occasionally emerged.
The innate dominance of a newborn Lord was so overwhelming that from the moment of birth, it conscripted surrounding monsters as soldiers.
‘Among snowfield dwellers, a likely Lord candidate would be a troll or yeti?’
Jae-hyeok licked his lips.
A freshly born Lord wasn’t that strong.
It was tempting prey worth hunting.
But there was a problem.
“Yeah… let’s take a break here for a bit.”
Only after walking another five minutes.
Kim Jin-myeong also detected the monster migration and halted the march.
Seeing no surprise on his face, he clearly knew a Lord had spawned.
‘The rights to the Lord belong to the school, huh.’
Raids were one of Lion’s Castle’s key revenue sources.
Moreover, a Lord-level monster had at least A-Rank growth potential. They’d likely wait for it to mature fully before raiding.
Jae-hyeok shelved his greed.
‘No point clashing with the school over one measly monster.’
What he could gain from Lion’s Castle over three years was limitless.
Risking expulsion just to snag a newborn Lord? Pass.
‘Above all, soloing a Lord would draw way too much attention.’
It was leagues beyond soloing a hobgoblin pack.
Jae-hyeok readily gave up the idea.
‘Leave the Lord alone and target the fodder mobs.’
The snowfields were vast.
The migration phenomenon was likely happening elsewhere too.
‘But I need to hurry.’
The monsters’ destination was the Lord’s nest.
Until the Lord fully matured, they would guard the nest without food or rest.
Meaning, within hours, they’d swarm one spot.
Then Jae-hyeok wouldn’t stand a chance. Right now, while he could pick them off individually, was his shot to feast on experience.
“Teacher.”
While the students rested, Jae-hyeok, who had been staring into the blizzard, called out to Kim Jin-myeong.
‘Damn it.’
‘Here it comes?’
The students’ faces paled.
They imagined Jae-hyeok ranting about breaks during training, and Kim Jin-myeong stammering excuses.
But Jae-hyeok said something unexpected.
“My condition’s really bad. Mind if I head back early?”
“…?”
The students were dumbfounded.
Kang Jae-hyeok, asking to leave early due to bad condition?
“Trying to bail mid-training without even an injury?”
“Grew up pampered as a noble’s young master, huh, even if the house fell?”
The instructors murmured.
It was so absurd they spoke loudly.
Realizing their mistake, they clamped their mouths shut as Kim Jin-myeong glared, then pondered.
He too knew Jae-hyeok’s state was off from usual.
Wondering if he was particularly weak to cold, he worried inwardly.
But the purpose of terrain adaptation training was to acclimate students to harsh environments.
Quitting from hardship defeated the point and weeded out the weak. Tomorrow’s training would feel even tougher.
But the student was Kang Jae-hyeok.
Kim Jin-myeong knew his skills and personality.
“He’s been sweating coldly even before the main march began.”
Fortunately, the senior instructor backed him.
“Yeah. From what I saw, he looked really unwell.”
Du Bae-su chimed in.
The other students shot desperate pleas with their eyes: Please, just let Kang Jae-hyeok go.
With justification secured, Kim Jin-myeong nodded.
“Fine, permitted. But if you can’t keep up tomorrow, expect extra lessons. Remember that.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll escort Jae-hyeok student. Can’t send an unwell kid alone on such treacherous paths.”
As Jae-hyeok bowed and withdrew, the senior instructor followed.
“Thanks.”
With Kim Jin-myeong’s approval, the two soon vanished into the blizzard.
Only then did the tensely strung students exhale in relief.
“Thought I was gonna die of anxiety.”
“Now we can focus on training without watching our backs.”
“?”
The instructors couldn’t comprehend the B-Class students’ attitude, which went beyond disliking Jae-hyeok to outright fearing him. From what they’d seen today, the other students outperformed Jae-hyeok.
***
‘This is the spot.’
The senior instructor, leading the way under pretense of escorting Jae-hyeok, grinned ear to ear.
The outline of a cave emerged through the blizzard.
A yeti den, rare on the snowfield outskirts.
Once teeming with dozens of yetis, it would now stand empty for the next three months.
Plenty of time to detain Jae-hyeok and steal the Kang Family Mana Operation Method and swordsmanship.
Realistically, one or two days would suffice.
How long could a pampered young master endure torture?
The senior instructor was a former HR head of Revolution Guild.
Handling one brat was child’s play.
“Looks like we took a wrong turn. Blizzard’s worsening—let’s rest in there a bit.”
He suppressed a bursting laugh as he spoke.
Thinking of the reward from Revolution Guild’s master made him giddy already.
‘No need to return to Revolution even.’
Better to link up with one of the Five Great Guilds?
No, dealing with an overseas guild sounded best.
Nations eager to steal foreign tech abounded; he could even expect government backing.
If things went smoothly, he’d be a billionaire.
“Keuk! Kuhahaha!!”
The senior instructor finally burst into laughter.
Right after sensing Jae-hyeok’s presence upon entering the cave behind him.
“Ah… must’ve startled you. Sorry. I’m just in such a good mood that I…?”
Casually drawing his sword, the instructor turned to Jae-hyeok—and froze.
The boy had noticed something amiss, yet his expression was calmly composed, far from expected panic. Hand on his sword hilt, he leisurely scanned the dingy cave with an air of leisure.
Was he too stupid to grasp the situation?
‘How dense do you have to be….’
As the instructor let out a disbelieving chuckle, Jae-hyeok asked.
“You sure about this? Too gloomy and rotten-smelling for a grave.”
“What?”
“Eh, wherever trash gets buried ain’t my business.”
Kwang!
“Ngh…!”
The senior instructor barely blocked Jae-hyeok’s quick draw, his pupils trembling.
Jae-hyeok’s grinning face, baring white teeth, loomed massively close.
Puk!
A chilling agony stabbed his gut.
While pressing down on the locked curved sword with the instructor’s blade and stepping forward, Jae-hyeok had thrust a dagger drawn from his left hand.
The 16-year-old kid was unleashing killing blows without hesitation on a person.
“You vicious little shit!”
Bloodshot-eyed, the instructor activated his skill.
His sword bloomed with blood-red aura.
But it flickered out midway, failing to form.
Because the skill caster had met his end.
[Two Scythes Halting the Cart]
Scythe-shaped auras materialized on either side of the curved sword locked with the instructor’s blade, piercing his shoulders and shredding his heart.
[You have defeated a B-Rank Player.]
[Level increased by 2.]
[An Astonishing Feat!]
[You have defeated a stronger player without a scratch.]
[All stats increase by 2.]
“Nice start.”
Jae-hyeok shook the blood from his dagger, melted the instructor’s corpse with poison, and left the cave.