Duke’s Son: Re

Chapter 43

Thunk, roll…

“What the…?”

As the rain of arrows ceased, the head of a hobgoblin that had fallen rolled to their feet.

It wore a smiling face. It seemed clear that it had died without realizing it had been beheaded.

Department Head Gu and the team leaders swallowed dryly and looked up.

Far above on a high gorge ledge, they vaguely saw the figure of a boy facing off against dozens of monsters.

“What kind of magic did he use?” they wondered aloud.

Even they had seen Jaehyuk climbing the cliff. However, they had been too busy deflecting arrows to watch until the end. They had no idea when he had reached the top.

“Does he have a flight-type artifact or skill?” they speculated.

Even if the Kang family had fallen, it was still a noble family. It wouldn’t have been strange for him to possess valuable treasures.

The exchanged glances between Team Leader Seol and Team Leader Baek were peculiar. In contrast, Department Head Gu kept his focus forward, running.

“Hurry! If that kid dies, we die too!”

Among the hobgoblins’ arrows, there were occasionally ones infused with magic.

Either there were shaman-type monsters behind this or, in the worst case, they might be summon monsters.

“You lot, follow along! Quickly!”

Gu encouraged the confused employees hesitating halfway up the cliff.

The support-type players snapped out of their daze, applying haste and other acceleration buffs to their teammates.

But the gorge, rising steeply like a wall, grew especially steep the closer they got to the top. Despite the buffs, it was hard to increase their speed.

“How on earth… is that guy…?”

The hobgoblins’ cries grew louder—a mix of screams, battle cries, or sounds of glee.

The umbrella-like edge of the gorge obscured their vision, making it impossible to take stock of the situation.

No one knew if Jaehyuk was still fighting or if he had already been killed and devoured.

“Stay close to the wall. I’m breaking through.”

The sword drawn by Department Head Gu began emitting a bright white light.

A B-rank player.

Jaehyuk had hunted them relatively easily before, but only because he caught unsuspecting opponents by surprise twice.

Neither the swordmaster nor Yun Sangho had been able to properly attack him, let alone use their skills against Jaehyuk.

“Radiant Sword.”

A force within the top 15 percent tier.

The full combat potential of a B-rank player could often defy common reason.

Crash!

A white sword light surged up dozens of meters, slicing through part of the gorge.

***

Swoosh-!

Only after five of their comrades had fallen did the hobgoblins hesitate.

Keek!

The hobgoblins finally realized that every time the young human pulled his sword, another comrade’s head inevitably flew into the sky, and red blood was splattered upon the world.

Jumping off trees to ambush from above, utilizing his small stature to strike from below, or sneaking around the back while holding his breath, none of these tactics worked.

Jaehyuk’s sword sheath constantly changed position, and his sword draw trajectory was unrestricted.

Using the full advantages of a scabbard technique from the Kang family sword draw technique, Jaehyuk’s ultimate strike, honed for slaying his adversaries, contained mysteries that monsters relying solely on their physical prowess could not comprehend.

Keerk! Keereek!!

Among the hobgoblins, one particularly large creature barked out some command, prompting the others to fall back and quickly reclaim the bows they had discarded earlier.

They seemed to have realized they had the disadvantage in close quarters combat.

“You should have held onto those in the first place. Picking them up now won’t help you,”

Jaehyuk sneered.

With a forceful step forward, Jaehyuk arrived at the side of a hobgoblin busy retrieving its bow.

Through focused mana and an explosive burst, he covered a distance of 15 meters in an instant, utilizing the Kang family mana technique.

Kieek!

To the hobgoblin’s perspective, it seemed like the young human had suddenly teleported right in front of it.

Jaehyuk sliced the hobgoblin’s neck with his sword draw technique, severing it, and then sheathed his sword with a spin, blocking another sneak attack while simultaneously drawing again.

Another hobgoblin fell lifelessly.

『You have leveled up.』

He had already gained two levels.

Hobgoblins were level 40, on the cusp of C-rank, and thus offered a massive amount of experience.

The vast majority of players never experienced such explosive growth. The idea of killing monsters double one’s level without even using skills was unheard of.

A sword swung with all one’s might would normally not even leave a scratch on the monster’s skin. But Jaehyuk, after maxing out his stats, had awakened.

He had reached legendary and astonishing achievements immediately upon awakening.

Most importantly, he possessed the passive skill 〈All Master〉.

Attack power, accuracy, defense, and evasion rate—the four most critical combat elements—were perpetually enhanced by 10 percent.

Furthermore, the effect of 〈Noble Chivalry of Courage and Loyalty, Mantis Blocking Cart Wheels〉 increased his attack power by an additional 10 percent when fighting higher-level opponents.

He faced no stat disadvantage against C-rank monsters.

Only one regret remained.

‘The total amount of mana is too low.’

Just as Professor Lee Soyoung explained, the operation of the mana technique was similar to using skills. Both required consuming mana held within the tantric body.

Particularly, Jaehyuk’s family’s mana technique involved concentrating mana into specific body parts and then explosively enhancing physical abilities. It consumed mana purely at 100 percent.

Based on the concentrated amount, this technique consumed even more mana than many skills.

Currently, Jaehyuk was expending large chunks of mana each time he applied instant steps or sword draw to rapidly finish off hobgoblins and cut through their tough muscles and bones.

‘If only Thunder Sword triggered every time, I wouldn’t need this.’

Until now, he had managed because his mana was replenished each time his level increased.

But now that he had reached level 22, he needed to hunt far more hobgoblins to gain another level. Managing mana was becoming crucial.

‘Time to start fighting like a true player.’

Crick!

Coincidentally, the elite hobgoblin, directing the pack, was drawing its bowstring from the rear.

Without hesitation, Jaehyuk threw his sword.

Kyaak!

The elite hobgoblin, skewered between the eyes by the blade, let out a cry filled with agony.

It dropped its bow and arrow in shock but did not die. Its toughness seemingly rivaled that of two hobgoblins combined in terms of vitality.

Howling in rage, the creature pulled the sword from its forehead and roared, prompting all the hobgoblins to brandish their weapons again and stampede toward Jaehyuk, grinning as they went.

They regarded the unarmed young human with derisive amusement.

Smirking himself, Jaehyuk released the sword sheath from his belt, dropping it vertically.

〈Two Sickles Stopping the Cart〉

Unleashes a powerful attack on the target. The more levels the target has, the greater the power of the skill.

A skill.

The power that allowed players to transcend human limits.

Two auras shot upwards from the sword sheath embedded in the hobgoblins’ heads. They took the form of scythes, bursting the upper bodies of the nearby foes like overripe watermelons.

As described, the power was tremendous.

Moreover, it consumed only 100 mana, imposing minimal burden.

However, the cooldown was a lengthy three minutes.

Relying solely on skills was unwise.

Jaehyuk drew and swung 〈High Judge Alrus’ Dagger〉 with his left hand.

Swish!

True to its epic grade, the dagger sliced through the hobgoblins’ tough muscles and bones as if they were made of tofu.

But its short reach required close proximity to properly aim for the vital points.

Jaehyuk intentionally retreated, creating distance from his adversaries.

Avoiding the hobgoblins’ frenzied assault, he punctured wrists and the backs of hands with precision.

Whenever the dagger’s silvery edge gleamed, the hobgoblins dropped their weapons.

Keeyak!!

Seeing its underlings, all one-handed, faltering, the elite hobgoblin was consumed with fury and charged.

Wielding Jaehyuk’s sword, having cast aside its own worn blade, it came barreling towards him.

At that precise moment, Jaehyuk retrieved and flung three pouches from his belongings.

These were not the heavy leadweights he had used before awakening. These were poison pouches made with sand soaked in the toxins from the 〈Ring of the Leech King〉.

Pum-pum-pum!

Boisterously cutting through the air, the elite hobgoblin slashed at the incoming pouches contemptuously, only for pitch-black sand to cascade down.

The elite hobgoblin, doused directly by the sand, could not even scream before beginning to dissolve, while the surrounding hobgoblins writhed on the ground, wailing.

“This is the power of items,”

Jaehyuk muttered.

He unleashed a gust with an instant step, scattering the poison sand over a broader area.

All the surviving hobgoblins succumbed to the poison, drooling and bleeding profusely.

Jaehyuk patiently waited until all the sand had settled to the ground.

Then, he leisurely gathered up his sword and quietly went through the battlefield.

He finished off hobgoblins still standing with the dagger and those on the ground with the sword.

『You have leveled up.』
『You have leveled up.』

With every hobgoblin finally dead, Jaehyuk, now at level 24, began cleaning the blood, poison, and fat off his weapons, the sword, and the dagger.

“……”

The staff of Jaekyung Pharmaceutical, having just barely reached the top of the gorge, could hardly close their gaping mouths.

Against the backdrop of dozens of corpses, a boy hummed to himself.

It was a sight beyond wonder, even closer to awe-inspiring terror.

Quivering and swallowing again, they watched as Jaehyuk beckoned to them.

“Take a look at these guys. Each one’s wearing a ring with an identical industrial design and standard size. Is it possible for monsters to create something like this?”

“Hmm…”

Responding reflexively to Jaehyuk’s gesture, they hummed pensively.

“There’s a magic circle inscribed inside the rings.”

“It was a summoned monster. A player summoned these hobgoblins.”

“They were after us from the beginning. But a player who can summon nearly twenty C-rank monsters…”

Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Gu immediately urged his team onward.

“We don’t have time to waste. We need to leave this place now.”

“Hold on a moment,”

Jaehyuk called out, stopping the hastily departing Jaekyung Pharmaceutical employees.

Had he found another crucial clue?

Terrified anticipation etched across their faces, the employees listened to Jaehyuk’s proposal.

“Would you like to buy these bodies? I’ll give you a deal.”

“……”

TL’s Corner:
Yep, make use of every resource available…