Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Wastrel Son Kim Geon-ho (2)
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Kim Jang-seok hated Kim Geon-ho.
'A worthless maggot.'
That was his assessment of Kim Geon-ho, one he believed would never change. But they say nothing is absolute. In an unexpected situation, Kim Geon-ho made an unforeseen move.
'He kept going even after our eyes met.'
It was something utterly impossible for the usual Kim Geon-ho. Normally, he'd flatten himself like a frightened mutt at the slightest eye contact. Yet despite my attempts to stop him, he pressed on with the violence.
I'd drilled it into him endlessly that he was nothing but a stray I'd picked up off the street. Had entering the tiger's den made him delusionally think he was the tiger? I'd gone so far as to permit his enrollment in the Academy, but this line-crossing was something I couldn't just let slide.
I had to show this pedigree-less gutter pup the gulf between him and a true tiger.
Kuuuung-.
So I unleashed my power immediately, picturing Kim Geon-ho trembling violently and begging for mercy. That's how it always went with him. Even the tiniest hint of defiance crumbled the moment I flexed my strength—he'd tuck tail and whimper. That was the unbridgeable gap ensuring he could never be treated as family, no matter what.
'Huh, grown some spine in the meantime?'
But shattering my expectations with refreshing clarity, Kim Geon-ho shot back even more insolently. I knew better than anyone that it was pure bravado.
His trembling toes and ceaselessly heaving chest gave it away. Yet right now, he was suppressing it all and talking back.
"Do you think I'd just stand by and watch that?"
"You'll have no choice, will you? A kid getting no support suddenly shits in the hallway and bangs some no-pedigree bitch—how exactly are you gonna stop it?"
No support meant no surveillance, of course. If you weren't watching, how could you even grasp what I might do? That was Kim Geon-ho's point.
How long had it been since someone—one of the world's elite, top-tier even in Korea—dared threaten me like this? I never imagined the maggot I'd dismissed as trash would reawaken emotions I'd long forgotten.
"This is the only time you get support without proof."
No matter how worthless the trash, I couldn't turn a blind eye to boundless depravity. In the end, Kim Jang-seok approved support for Kim Geon-ho.
"I permit the use of Low-Grade Tiger Clan Serum and access to the Third-Grade Martial Repository."
Tok.
Kim Jang-seok pulled a wooden plaque from his bosom, tossed it to the floor, and strode out. It was the first time he'd ever lost a negotiation.
"Attach someone—anyone—to Kim Geon-ho. Report any peculiarities immediately."
Kim Jang-seok issued the command to thin air as he walked the corridor.
"As you command."
His shadow rippled, then split into two. One half slithered into Kim Geon-ho's room.
It was the first turning point in Kim Geon-ho's fate.
Shhhk-.
Faster than a rat snatching cheese, he scooped up the wooden plaque from the floor and tucked it away.
'Never dreamed I'd snag this so soon.'
In his first timeline, without Academy access, it'd taken a full three years just to get this one thing. All that time, he'd endured endless rejections amid sneers about his frail body and weak mind.
Even the foundational training every Tiger Clan heir deserved had been denied him. And now? After a single beating for Seok-ho, it fell into his lap like this. History proved once again that the stick worked wonders.
'Serum alone would've been jackpot, but Repository access too?'
The serum was essential for anyone without Tiger Clan blood to wield their power. As the "low-grade" label suggested, they came in tiers—the pinnacle being True Grade, which only Jang-seok possessed within the Mountain Lords. Injecting it unqualified meant death, or so they said. But that wasn't the point right now.
"Hey."
"..."
"Hey!"
"..."
Two calls with no answer. Special measures it was.
"If you don't come out, I'm shitting on this wall? Dead serious—I can do it. Better pop out nice and easy, run a few errands, than get splattered while spying on me, right?"
"...While under the Mountain Lord's shadow, please refrain from such vulgarity."
"To avoid vulgarity, just come when I call the first time. How nice that'd be."
People only budge for extreme measures.
'Of course he'd plant a spy.'
With Jang-seok's personality, he'd be itching to monitor the punk who'd sassed him. Obvious who'd been assigned—someone to report every oddity, track his every twitch.
No power to shake him off yet, so this was the best play for now. Tail or no tail, errands made it a win for him.
"...So why'd you call?"
"Ah, heading to the Repository now, but serum's on the opposite side. Fetch it for me."
"Why should I..."
"Or I could stroll to Dad and explain the situation real nice. What do you think?"
"I'll fetch it. Go to the Repository at your leisure."
Why drag it out like that? Assigned by Jang-seok or not, he was still Tiger Clan. Bloodline or no.
That meant he outranked a mere duty spy. Plus, Jang-seok had stuck someone here out of curiosity, so the rank had to be low. Not direct underlings, either. The outcome was inevitable.
"Good boy. Let's keep mutual aid like this going forward, yeah? I'll call you Hobong from now on. Cool?"
"Pardon?"
"Tiger plus lackey equals Hobong. Sound good? I'm trusting you with it."
Heading out first—Hobong, don't smash the serum, bring it careful. With that, he left the room. No plaque needed; Jang-seok's word alone would secure a low-grade serum.
Sure, verification would take time, but that was exactly what he wanted.
'Getting that requires time.'
And there was one more reason Hobong had to be the one to go.
Anyway, heading solo to the Third-Grade Martial Repository was down to a classic novel trope fitting this exact scenario. The serendipitous cave at the cliff base or the dusty bookstore hiding a supreme manual.
The Third-Grade Repository held the latter.
'Everything's different this time.'
From the first step to the last.
He steeled his resolve to start everything anew and set off.
"Low-Grade Serum?"
"Yes. Mountain Lord's direct order."
"S-Sorry!"
The staffer had reacted with bored indifference to the sudden request, but "Mountain Lord" made their eyes bulge. It referred to the clan's leader—Kim Jang-seok's will, plain and simple.
No one in the Mountain Lords dared impersonate the Mountain Lord. The staffer bowed hastily and rushed inside for the serum. Hobong seethed at the errand; every second counted sticking to Geon-ho.
"C-Coming right up!"
Somehow sensing Hobong's irritation, the staffer added desperately. Falling from Jang-seok's good graces meant death in seconds—no exaggeration.
'G-Gotta make a good impression.'
If it was the Mountain Lord's will, even a low-grade serum request hid profound intent. Deep-seated fear led the staffer to wildly overinterpret.
'Low-grade means the lowest tier... so... but the most valuable among them...'
Like the difference between a rich man's handout and a beggar's scraps. Jang-seok's "low-grade" naturally demanded premium quality.
That was precisely what Kim Geon-ho had gamed.
A direct request from him? Sloppy seconds. From Jang-seok? Something entirely different.
"H-Here."
Sweating bullets, the staffer produced the purest, highest-potential item among low-grades. Upper-grade value, downgraded only due to minor impurities.
"...This is really low-grade?"
"Y-Yes! The finest low-grade, perfectly suited to the Mountain Lord's intent!"
Hobong himself doubted it, but the staffer's earnestness killed further questions. No upside in clashing with higher-ups.
While Hobong claimed the serum, chaos erupted in the Third-Grade Martial Repository.
"Hiiiik!"
An aura utterly impossible from a Low-Grade Repository visitor exploded from every direction.
"Forget everything you've seen so far."
At Kim Geon-ho's words, the Third-Grade Repository staffer nodded without resistance.
The birth of a new tiger had to unfold in dead silence.