Chapter 34: Struggle, Achievement, Enjoyment (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 34: Struggle, Achievement, Enjoyment (4)
The Blue-Eye Stone training didn’t end until nine o'clock that night, when the Tona brothers finally collapsed side by side.
They hadn't just fallen; they had completely blacked out from sheer physical and mental exhaustion.
"Pathetic," Zed clicked his tongue and summoned the medical team.
From Jin’s perspective, however, it was anything but.
Isn't it impressive they held out this long?
Jin was still on his feet, though his legs were shaking uncontrollably and a phantom thumping echoed in his head. The grit the Tona brothers had shown was worthy of praise. To be honest, Jin had been on the verge of collapsing himself. If the training had gone on for even thirty more minutes, he wouldn't have been able to take it either.
The medical team loaded the unconscious Tona brothers onto stretchers.
"Tell your brothers this," Zed said to Jin. "If they plan on collapsing again tomorrow, they shouldn't bother showing up."
"Understood."
As Jin left the secret training ground, he contemplated his standing within the Runcandel clan.
Judging by Uncle's reaction, I could fall out of favor just as easily. If the training had gone on a little longer, I would have collapsed too... I’ll have to be even more focused starting tomorrow.
However, as Zed watched his nephew depart, his thoughts were entirely different.
The Tona brothers held out much longer than I expected. Heh, I suppose even those two are Runcandels, after all. But the youngest…
Despite being two years younger than his brothers, Jin hadn't collapsed. Two years was a massive gap during one’s growth spurt, yet he had held his ground.
What a waste. What a terrible shame! Why was he born the youngest?
From what Zed had observed today, Jin possessed the greatest talent of all Cyron’s thirteen children. Luna aside, he was clearly superior to Joshua, the one currently designated as the next Patriarch.
But he was too young.
Jin was only fifteen.
Even if he trained diligently and became a 9-star knight by the age of thirty, Joshua would already be leading the family by then. The Patriarch’s power was already, slowly but surely, being transferred to him.
If he had been born just ten years earlier, he would have been the one to seize control of Runcandel!
In this situation, Jin’s talent and rapid growth… could eventually bring fatal chaos to the clan. Ten or fifteen years from now, if Jin became the strongest in the family and set his sights on the throne, how much damage would Joshua’s Runcandel suffer? And in the midst of that conflict, what a golden opportunity that would create for Runcandel’s enemies, including the Zipple.
Zed let out a heavy sigh as his thoughts reached that grim conclusion.
I must simply watch him for now. Seeing how Luna dotes on him, perhaps Jin will become a shadow that protects the family, just like her.
The future was full of countless variables. Jin could die during a mission, or he could suddenly lose his ambition and leave Runcandel to live as a wanderer. Children changed as they grew, and he was still too young for a definitive evaluation.
* * *
A month passed. It was now March 1795.
The hierarchy war between Jin and the Tona brothers had technically begun on the first day, but since they were all cooped up in the secret training ground every afternoon, no actual fighting had occurred.
Ever since Jin had defeated Kajin Romero, the other cadets hadn't laid a finger on the Youngest's Division, even when the young masters were absent. Myu and Anne had ordered them to stand down.
Just as Jin had expected, they had decided to stop interfering. They had lent their faction to the Tona brothers only for them to get crushed on the very first day; there was nothing more to be gained from helping them.
"…It’s so quiet it’s making me nervous," Mesa said, brushing dirt off her clothes. Having just finished morning training, her uniform was a mess. The other cadets beside her were in a similar state.
"I wonder if the Young Master is alright every afternoon?" Vellop asked with a worried tone.
Mesa snorted. "Are we really in a position to be worrying about him?"
"But sometimes I hear explosions and screams from the secret training ground… and the medical staff are always rushing around. Just the day before yesterday, the Tona masters were carried out on stretchers before the session even ended."
"Let's stop worrying and focus on ourselves. Don't you remember what the Young Master said? That missions are coming soon. And 'damn difficult' ones at that."
Currently, with the exception of Mesa, Scut, Jushen, Taimunt, and Kiko, everyone in the Youngest's Division was below the intermediate class average. This meant that, in reality, Eddington, Sierra, Fields, and Vellop weren't ready for missions. Of course, Vellop had the skill, but he still hadn't overcome his psychological trauma.
"I don't want to be a burden to the Young Master anymore. Let's just focus on our own tasks. We need to be at least 3-star by the time our first mission comes."
"Right. We haven't had to deal with any hazing, all thanks to Young Master Jin."
The cadets nodded, their faces filled with resolve.
"Attention, everyone!"
Mael Trasil, the chief instructor for the intermediate class, shouted. There were three instructors in total for the class, all of whom were Runcandel Guardian Knights.
"The first missions for this year's intermediate class have been issued. There are five missions in total. Sixty cadets will be mobilized. Step forward when your name is called."
The long-term cadets showed no reaction, but those who had been in the intermediate class for less than three years looked tense.
"Mission 1 is monster subjugation. The targets are goblins. You will receive detailed information from the 2nd Butler, Petro. The deployed cadets are Denkello, Atan, John…"
"Mission 2 is VIP protection. The targets are novices from the Minche Blacksmith Association. It wouldn't hurt to make a good impression on them, right? Deployed are Houston, Barding…"
"Mission 3 is also monster subjugation. The targets are orcs. Furthermore, the operation will take place in an unprotected zone. The deployed are, hmm…"
Mael’s hand paused as he flipped through the documents. He narrowed his eyes, re-reading the names on the paper.
An unprotected zone, and the team is composed entirely of new cadets… Young Master Jin is going to be upset. It’ll be a miracle if they all come back alive. But I can't exactly protest a decision made by the Flagbearers.
Mael cleared his throat and continued.
"Mesa, Scut, Taimunt, Kiko, Jushen, Eddington, Sierra, Fields, David. Petro will provide you with the details as well. I wish you all luck…"
A wave of gasps spread through the intermediate cadets. Orcs were bad enough, but in an unprotected zone, it wouldn't be surprising if more than half the Youngest's Division came back in body bags.
However, not a single cadet protested. Since the Flagbearers had decided it, they had no choice but to obey. If anyone was to protest, it was Jin's responsibility as the faction's leader, not theirs.
Of course, if Jin personally confronted the Flagbearers, he could likely change the roster for Mission 3—either by making a deal or by borrowing Luna’s influence.
But even that would be a bad move. It would be tantamount to admitting his own faction was incompetent. Worse, the moment he used Luna’s power, it would prove he lacked the qualifications to lead.
It was a checkmate. The Youngest's Division had no choice but to carry out Mission 3.
"Instructor, what are Missions 4 and 5?"
"Those are assigned to the young masters. You don't need to know. That is all! Once you've eaten, the cadets who were called will rest until the mission begins. Departure is in two days."
As soon as the instructors left, the cadets began to buzz.
"Whoa, what's going to happen to them?"
"At least four or five of them are coming back dead…"
"This is why it’s better not to have a faction at all."
"Didn't I tell you? This is what happens when you pick the wrong side."
"Poor bastards."
Kajin and the other cadets from Myu and Anne’s faction smirked.
"Better start preparing the coffins and incense, haha."
"We should give them a proper funeral. Since you only have two days left, why don't you draw portraits of each other? And write some wills while you're at it."
"Pfft, hahaha! Have a safe trip, cuties! Or maybe you should go beg Young Master Jin? 'Please save us, please save us!' Heeheehee."
The cadets belonging to Myu and Anne snickered as they mocked the Youngest's Division. Taimunt shot to his feet in a rage, but Mesa grabbed his shoulder.
"Endure it. We can't beat them yet, and causing trouble right before a mission is a bad idea."
"But those bastards…!"
"Shut up and sit down, Taimunt. Anything we do reflects poorly on the Young Master. Do I have to spell it out for you?"
Taimunt sat back down, fuming.
"…What do we do?" Sierra sighed, her face grim. The rest of the Youngest's Division looked just as dejected.
"What do you mean, 'what do we do'?" Mesa gritted her teeth. "This is Runcandel. If they tell us to do it, we do it. We succeed in the mission and come back alive, no matter what. That’s the only way to shut those bastards up."
Though she spoke with conviction, her fingertips were trembling slightly.
It wasn't death she feared. It was being a burden to Jin on their very first mission.
* * *
BOOM!
"Agh!"
"Heitona!"
"Urgh!"
Heitona’s Blue-Eye Stone exploded. It was already his third explosion of the day. The steel balls that shot out narrowly missed Daytona and flew toward Jin, who was deep in concentration.
One ball struck Heitona in the chest, and another hit Jin in the flank. He might have anticipated his own stone breaking, but he couldn't have predicted a steel ball flying at him from the side.
Zed sat in his chair, seemingly indifferent as he read through mission documents.
"Phew, damn it!"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Daytona. Um… Jin. Youngest, uh. Sorry. I didn't do it on purpose…"
Heitona approached Jin hesitantly. Daytona followed, scratching the back of his head.
Watching them, Jin wondered if these were truly the same Tona brothers destined to become vicious, murderous maniacs.
"It's fine. Just do it over in that corner from now on."
"Okay."
The Tona brothers grunted as they moved their Blue-Eye Stones and tables.
The reason they were listening so obediently to their younger brother was simple. After a month of struggling together, they had realized that their uncle had been telling the truth.
—Don't you dare defy the youngest until you've become strong enough. That is, if you want to live a long life.
To the brothers, Jin was nothing short of a monster. They had only just managed to break their stones three or four times a day, but Jin had been exploding five or six of them daily for the past several days.
Today, I will definitely make it produce a clear sound.
His flank, where the steel ball had struck, throbbed with pain. The bone didn't seem broken, but his breathing had become ragged.
Haa, haa.
Jin closed his eyes and regulated his breathing. He pictured the surface, hardness, and weight of the Blue-Eye Stone in his mind.
Just as his concentration began to waver from the pain in his side…
Huh?
A strange sensation washed over him. For some reason, the trajectory of the steel ball that had struck him was being mapped out with perfect accuracy in his mind.
What is this? Why am I feeling this all of a sudden…
Just as he was about to open his eyes to investigate, Zed stood up. Jin and the Tona brothers quickly straightened up and stood before him.
"Missions have been assigned to you."