Duke’s Son: Re

Chapter 24

“It’s only natural that the player contributing the most gets to choose an item. That’s the case even at Lion’s Castle.”

“So, my contribution was the highest?”

The Player Training Institution.

Among them, the unawakened person enrolled in the awakener class was a one-eyed person in an intact world, unable to see or hear system messages alone.

“It seems you’ve been too excited to even check the message. Haha.”

Kim Jinmyung laughed it off.

Class B had already reached an implicit agreement to ignore Jaehyuk’s claims of being unawakened, despite him joining their ranks confidently.

Especially after he had just performed incredibly well in the C-rank raid.

Now, not a single person believed him to be unawakened.

“Why do you think everyone’s staring at you like that? Just wear the ring proudly and wave a hand.”

Kim Jinmyung cleaned the dirtied ring stained with footprints using his sleeve before handing it to Jaehyuk.

‘Is this right?’

Jaehyuk had not awakened and was also under a curse. He judged that he likely couldn’t deal much damage to the Leech King.

Yet, his contribution was the highest…

‘All I did was prevent the second explosion, keep the aggro, and create five weaknesses.’

Each task was impressive on its own.

Typically, even exposing the boss’s weaknesses was beyond most people.

Achieving a 100% success rate in consecutive attacks against a rampaging enemy?

For some, such an achievement would be a lifelong bragging right.

But Jaehyuk had managed to draw the aggro solo while creating five weaknesses.

It was a skill level that anyone would find hard to believe if recounted.

‘Did I awaken a skill that adjusts hit rates?’

Students who began inspecting the Leech King’s corpse swallowed dryly.

A 16-year-old who had reached master-level swordsmanship and possessed a skill to maximize martial prowess.

Many speculated he might at least become an A-rank player in the future.

They began to understand why the Kang family was once counted among the top prestigious families eight years ago.

‘But why is he in Class B..? With skills like these, he should have leveled up adequately and transferred to Class A even before admission?’

‘Was he perhaps resigned because he couldn’t awaken his bloodline skill?’

‘Well, it must be painful for him not to awaken a bloodline skill, especially being born into a family that has produced National Treasures.’

An A-rank player belonged to the top 0.3% of the awakened world, a privileged class.

S-rank individuals were thousands of times rarer.

Yet, genuine National Treasures were only a handful globally.

Many countries didn’t possess any at all.

South Korea, with its three National Treasures and fortunate geopolitical position, wouldn’t have dared to brag otherwise.

Students watched Jaehyuk discreetly.

Despite achieving such monumental feats, there wasn’t a hint of joy on his face.

His expression seemed to say that such achievements weren’t enough.

‘… Is it really number one and not a prank?’

Jaehyuk himself wore a frown.

In a raid, contribution was everything.

The higher the contribution, the more experience points and items received, with a chance, if lucky, for achievement rewards to increase stats.

So, basic experience points should have been acquired.

Yet, Jaehyuk hadn’t leveled up.

Considering he hadn’t awakened, he assumed he hadn’t gained experience points at all.

Yet, he was ranked first in contribution?

Was it believable?

‘It has to be believed.’

He had to, for he was taking the ring.

Grade: Rare

Generates deadly venom.

Among the items dropped by the Leech King, the ring was said to be the best.

The green jewel generated endless venom, a versatile asset for coating weapons, traps, and producing poison bags or poison mists.

‘To obtain something with a drop rate as low as 0.01%, amazing.’

Furthermore, his body felt more vigorous.

The joy of acquiring the ring translated into a stronger grip that seemed far more powerful than before.

It seemed he had gained considerable stats from receiving an achievement reward.

‘It feels as if I need to awaken without delay.’

There are limits to the human body.

Only upon awakening as a player could one amass the surpassing strength (stats) beyond those limits.

Jaehyuk realized he was almost at his goal of accumulating the maximum possible stats before awakening.

“Thank you…”

Yujin and the other students approached him.

Kids who, alongside Dahui, stayed till the end and fought.

“If it weren’t for you, we all might have died or ended up disabled. We’ll certainly repay this favor.”

Yujin bowed her head deeply.

She seemed a carefree child when they’d met at the cafeteria, but she knew etiquette.

Seeing that none of the kids were seriously injured, Jaehyuk nodded his head.

“Thank you for not giving up and fighting until the end. Because you held on, I could arrive in time to help.”

His words were genuine.

If the kids had given up midway and started fleeing halfway…

He would have found bodies strewn everywhere upon his arrival.

Jaehyuk couldn’t bear such a sight.

Especially Chae Dahui.

Losing a young girl who respected his father would have been a significant shock.

“…”

Yujin, sensing Jaehyuk’s sincerity, was at a loss for words.

A social climbing noble in decline.

Her initial thoughts about Jaehyuk extended only that far.

Yet, he possessed tremendous power and genuinely cared for others.

He embodied the ideal noble.

Having earned his title through strength, he bore the modern-day noble’s duty to protect citizens.

‘This is Kang Jaehyuk… It’s different from the rumors.’

She peeked at Dahui’s reaction and smile softly.

Apparently, her slightly naive friend had a keen eye for people. That was a comforting realization.

“You crazy bastard, Kang Jaehyuk!”

“You’re the pride of Class B!”

Just then, Class B students swarmed and cheered around Jaehyuk.

Showering praises and admiration, they slapped him heartily on the back, suggesting their strong emotions carried along with it.

“…”

Class A students stayed silent.

They were the kids who had fled, abandoning Dahui’s group.

Unable to raise their heads, maintaining grim faces, the homeroom teacher from Class A approached them.

“You made the right choice. It was all my fault, for placing such a heavy burden on your shoulders. I’m truly sorry.”

Rather than blame them, the Class A teacher apologized sincerely, bowing his head.

How the students processed that would define their growth trajectory.

‘A curse. A curse…’

Having dunked those who took advantage of the opportunity into the swamp, Jaehyuk pondered the curse.

Considering the lack of gained experience as likely due to the curse.

‘In the end, since it helped me, it’s more of a blessing than a curse…’

If this curse were permanent, it changed everything.

Plus, there was a high chance it was related to a quest, so it was necessary to understand more about the curse.

‘The method is simple.’

Thoughts flitted through Jaehyuk’s mind.

Vroom!

Accompanied by a loud roar, dozens of magi-tech motorcycles arrived at the scene.

The guards in charge of maintaining order at Lion’s Castle.

“We seem to have arrived late.”

The guard captain, relieved upon seeing the Leech King’s corpse, had a cool gaze.

The Class A homeroom teacher receiving the stare felt as though he couldn’t breathe properly under the weight of it.

“It seems there were no casualties… You had your reasons for the delayed request for support? Fortunate, isn’t it?”

If a single casualty had occurred, the Class A homeroom teacher wouldn’t have held onto his position.

Challenging a raid solely with freshmen was a breach of conduct beyond mere arrogance.

It helped that Class A had two National Treasure candidates, though.

As the raid ended safely, the Class A homeroom teacher would face only minor disciplinary action, and the matter would be swept under the rug.

They could argue that the intent was to let the freshmen gain experience.

Of course, from the guard captain’s perspective, it was unsatisfactory.

‘Conquering by making and breaking six weaknesses.’

Is this the strength of the National Treasure candidates?

The guard captain was inwardly impressed, reviewing the Leech King’s corpse, and exchanged a glance with the Class A homeroom teacher, who shared the contribution information discreetly, a necessity for the investigation.

1st – Kang Jaehyuk Contribution 22.4%

2nd – Park Jubong Contribution 18.8%

3rd – Chae Dahui Contribution 13.2%

4th – Kim Jinmyung Contribution 10.5%

5th – Gu Baekgi Contribution 9.7%

…

..

“…?”

The guard captain rubbed his eyes firmly and reread the information.

But the details remained unchanged.

“I don’t see the names of the National Treasure candidates…?”

“They didn’t participate in the raid. I apologize; it occurred due to misjudgment on my part. I’ll accept any penalty.”

“No…”

A raid was successfully completed without the National Treasure candidates?

Sure, the 1st-grade teachers were B-rank players.

If Park Jubong, Kim Jinmyung, and Gu Baekgi had combined forces from the start, the C-rank boss wouldn’t have been a massive issue.

However, given the circumstances, Kim Jinmyung and Gu Baekgi likely joined later…?

“Who is Kang Jaehyuk?”

The name Chae Dahui was at least known to him.

Freshman runner-up.

She was remarkably famous as a swordsmanship prodigy not seen in years.

But the name Kang Jaehyuk felt foreign.

‘Actually, it’s not foreign but rather familiar.’

Inexplicably sharing a name with the son of Yaksha who transferred to Class B ten days prior.

This kid had a tiring name game due to coincidences.

With some slight sympathy, the guard captain got a response from the Class A homeroom teacher, Park Jubong.

“That student.”

Park Jubong gestured toward a group of Class B students.

“… That Kang Jaehyuk is this Kang Jaehyuk?”

In the swampy chaos, standing unharmed amid the tired students was a black-haired boy, whose visage, upon being confirmed, shook the guard captain’s gaze heavily.

“Was Class B here from the beginning?”

“No, as you know, they joined late.”

“But the son of Yaksha… is that the kid who topped the contribution ranking? With such overwhelming figures?”

“Yes, he created opportunities to prevent the Leech King’s second explosion, maintained the aggro throughout the battle, and struck five weaknesses. A truly remarkable student.”

“…”

Class B membership equated to level one.

But his feats rivaled or surpassed those of current high-level players?

He was expected to believe this?

The guard captain shot a skeptical glance toward Park Jubong, who just shrugged.

Investigations would reveal everything in due course, and he seemed to imply he had no further comments.

‘Was he an unlawful entrant who lied about his level? Which idiot was responsible for his admission assessment? I must consult with the director about this.’

In any case, that detestable Kang family…

The guard captain clicked his tongue in disapproval while organizing the scene.

“The body of the Leech King will be collected by us, and rewards will be distributed to raid participants based on contribution. Teachers, please return the students and visit the investigation room afterward.”
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