Duke’s Son: Re

Chapter 76

“What, what is that?”

The audience had suddenly risen from their seats in shock.

Kang Jaehyuk had performed a stunt that had been expected from Lee Sungjun, leaving everyone astounded.

“Did that guy do it on purpose?”

When Jaehyuk had defeated Ha Kyungsoo during the first duel assessment, it didn’t cause much of a stir among the audience.

Many had merely concluded, ‘So Kang Jaehyuk is skilled in both swordsmanship and spearmanship too,’ and had accepted the situation.

But today, Jaehyuk demonstrated his fighting prowess against a martial artist. It was a markedly explicit move.

“Is he trying to show that he’s good at everything? What a show-off.”

“He’s already outclassed two Class A students with their own fields. It would have been foolish not to show off with skills like that.”

“That’s not how a noble should act. There’s no gravity there.”

“Since when did the Kang family get treated as nobility that we’re talking about noble behavior?”

The audience’s chatter had become increasingly rowdy. Sensitive Class A students and mocking Class B students were creating a hostile atmosphere.

“Kang Jaehyuk, that arrogant bastard…”

Class A students were plagued by jealousy and a stereotype that they were in Class A merely by having favorable parents who helped them level up and get admitted.

They had to constantly prove that their skills were superior to quash the bizarre conspiracy theories by fools who believed in the power of “style”.

But now, if even Lee Sungjun lost to Kang Jaehyuk of Class B following Ha Kyungsoo’s defeat, class a could face even greater prejudice.

Voices criticizing Class A and its privileges, such as dormitory assignments and advanced education, might increase.

“Lee Sungjun, you idiot! Are you not taking this seriously?”

A few Class A students who hated Sungjun forgot their pride and shouted.

“……”

Ha Kyungsoo, however, remained silent.

He had only taught Sungjun how to neutralize Jaehyuk’s swordsmanship and spearmanship.

He knew no way to defeat Kang Jaehyuk’s martial arts, so he couldn’t blame Sungjun.

He didn’t have the leeway to say anything at all. He was bewildered.

‘How is that even possible?’

The physical abilities of a person who has awakened their stat and become a player were formidable.

They learned physical tasks easily, and the more they aspired to become high-rank players, the more they became skilled in various martial arts.

However, until recently, Kang Jaehyuk had been only level 10, with stats several times lower than Class A students.

‘That much I can accept.’

Sure, even with low stats, if one is immensely talented, they might learn any martial art with ease. But the most crucial in one-on-one fight was the presence of skills.

Ha Kyungsoo had blossomed his first skill unrelated to spearmanship called 〈Stealth〉, while Sungjun’s first skill was 〈Golden Rope〉.

An active skill activated whenever any physical contact occurred, and it was powerful.

Even if Sungjun had rashly attempted to strike and Jaehyuk had perfectly countered, he could have turned the tables using the power of the ‘Golden Rope’.

Yet the one smashed to the ground was Sungjun, not Kang Jaehyuk.

‘Was he caught off guard?’

Ha Kyungsoo came to a conclusion. He assumed Sungjun had been too flustered to activate his skill on time.

Only then did the confusion in his mind clear, and his anxiety dissipated.

‘Kang Jaehyuk, don’t get too cocky just because you defeated an idiot.’

Scoffing, Ha Kyungsoo left the scene. He hadn’t yet realized that disparaging Sungjun would only harm him.

“……”

Meanwhile, Jang Yeonju was shocked. From what she saw, Sungjun hadn’t been negligent.

She had witnessed him deploying the ‘Golden Rope’ the moment his kick was blocked.

‘He activated his skill at the exact right timing.’

But Jaehyuk had read that timing.

The move Jaehyuk made, shifting his weight to tilt his upper body, both dodged Sungjun’s ‘Golden Rope’ and simultaneously brought him down, indicating a clear plan.

‘Has he trained against ‘Golden Rope’ wielding opponents dozens of times or something?’

However, knowing the skill’s motion doesn’t make it easy to counter.

The ‘Golden Rope’ could capture the waist, the nape of the neck, or even grip the collar.

The caster aims for the ‘optimal path’, thus it’s tough to pinpoint weaknesses based purely on the activation motion of any skill.

“Why isn’t he getting up?”

While Jang Yeonju pondered, the audience buzzed with renewed interest. Lee Sungjun lay flat, unmoving like a dead frog.

Had he really fainted from being slammed to the ground once?

The Class A students’ levels were nearing 30.

Moreover, Sungjun was a fighter, his stamina stat was high, implying high bodily resilience.

“Maybe he’s pretending to faint to save face.”

“This is no joke; it’s a duel assessment. It’s directly related to grades, so no way…”

A assistant professor who had gotten onto the stage and checked Sungjun’s condition announced loudly.

“Due to 1st-year Class A Lee Sungjun becoming unable to continue, the winner of Group 5’s duel assessment is Class B Kang Jaehyuk.”

Unable to continue the fight?

Students who had been puzzled were then shocked.

Sungjun, being carried on a stretcher, had legs dangling at strange angles.

His leg bones appeared not just broken but possibly his pelvis was shattered as well.

Furthermore, blood was profusely streaming from the back of his head.

“Wow, that’s insane. Looked like his waist was folded in half…”

“Is he… dead?”

“……”

While non-awakened students were making a fuss, awakened students wore solemn expressions and kept silent.

A weapon or skill attack hadn’t been permitted; he’d merely been slammed, yet the player’s bones were shattered?

‘Does this mean Kang Jaehyuk’s strength surpassed Sungjun’s stamina or at least was comparable?’

That was absurd.

Sungjun had nearly been level 20 at the time of admission and Jaehyuk had been merely level 10 just three weeks ago during the re-admission test.

It was unthinkable to assume their stats were similar.

Especially considering that Class A lessons progressed much faster than Class B lessons.

It was safe to say it was impossible for Jaehyuk to catch up to Sungjun’s level.

“Was what Ha Kyungsoo said about him chugging elixirs like water actually true? I thought it was nonsense.”

“I heard about ten years back, the Kang family was quite prominent themselves. It wouldn’t be odd if they had stockpiled elixirs… Plus, he got Fairy’s Tears from the director.”

“A golden spoon indeed.”

“Golden spoon for the Kang family, huh… Oh?”

Students who were whispering among themselves while glancing at the returning Jaehyuk were astounded.

Sky-blue hair. A beautiful girl, who had been drawing the attention of first-year students for various reasons, was approaching Jaehyuk.

The anxious fidgeting of her clasped hands in front of her chest hinted at something unusual.

“Damn it.”

Class B students, who had been fiercely battling against Class A students trying to find fault with Jaehyuk, cursed collectively.

Even Chae Dahui’s friends, who had stood on Class B’s side, opened their sleepy eyes and then sighed together.

It was because Jang Yeonju, who had been nervously saying something to Jaehyuk, eventually grabbed him by the collar and left the gymnasium with him.

“Handsome guys who are good at fighting are really popular indeed.”

Yujin laughed aloud, adding fuel to the fire. Although she knew perfectly well about the relationship between Jaehyuk and the Ocean Shipping, she teased the others.

The atmosphere became scorching hot instantaneously.

Numerous students drove themselves with enthusiasm, imagining themselves winning the duel assessment and receiving a confession from a second-year beauty or handsome boy.

“That, that’s not what it is…”

Chae Dahui tried hard to calm the overheated atmosphere, but to no avail.

The duels became more intense, resulting in a slew of injuries.

“Haha, this year’s freshman are quite passionate. Though it might be a bit early to assess other aspects, in terms of passion, they’re at an all-time high. They’re bound to become great.”

“The son of Yaksha, was it Kang Jaehyuk? I was impressed by how he countered the skill. It’s stimulating for the others.”

“There was nothing to fault in his technique. His ability to extract leverage from the power invested in the skill was exquisite.”

Even among the professors, rather than just teachers, Jaehyuk’s name began to circulate.

They were those who, even while active as current players, were fully committed to research and nurturing future generations.

Possessing their own firm beliefs, they held no prejudices.

In evaluating Jaehyuk, they did not consider the Kang family’s political stance at all.

“People’s waists were folded in half…! He’s definitely like Yaksha!”

However, one person, the Mana professor Lee Soyoung, couldn’t escape from her preconceived notions and trembled in fear.

***

“When I clashed with the white tiger beastkin, I missed the chance to apply a skill and ended up injured,”

Jang Yeonju confessed, poking a small pebble with the tip of her shoe as they walked.

“I couldn’t even judge it as a mistake or feel frustrated because, to me, the only thing that mattered was archery. Failing at anything outside of archery didn’t seem significant to me. Eventually, we managed to rescue Grandpa Song safely.”

Only when they arrived at the small hill did Jang Yeonju stop and look up.

The boulder standing tall on the hill was fully captured in her blue eyes.

“I was lucky. Yeah, I was just lucky. If because of my mistake we’d faced the worst result, only then would I have regretted my obsession with only archery.”

Jaehyuk’s gaze also shifted to the rock.

There was a narrow, deep scar visible in the center, like it had been pierced by something resembling arrowheads countless times.

“For now, I’m going to focus on what I can do well… No, on what I must do well. If I keep obsessing over only what I want to do, like now, I’ll end up being unable to handle even one person’s worth and become pathetic.”

I’m beginning to understand why Grandpa wasn’t pleased with my obsession with archery.

It wasn’t merely because I lacked talent.

He must have been worried about his granddaughter stubbornly pursuing something despite being unable to take care of herself.

Having listened to the first-year students’ discussions, realizing that Jaehyuk was adept at not only swordsmanship but also spearmanship, I’d come to learn.

Before chasing dreams, you must first earn your place.

“That sounds like a good thought.”

Jaehyuk nodded. He knew all too well how harsh and cruel this world could be.

Hence, he always anticipated failure and death.

However, most children of their age, like Jang Yeonju, didn’t sense such concepts.

If the white tiger beast had been vicious.

Her mistake wouldn’t have just resulted in a fracture but could’ve cost her life.

“First you must acquire the strength to survive, only then can you focus on what you want to do.”

“……”

Suddenly.

Yeonju realized that the world Jaehyuk lived in was different from hers.

For her, survival was a given, but for Jaehyuk, it appeared to be a challenge to be achieved.

As she pulled out a lollipop and popped it into her mouth, she kept her gaze fixed on Jaehyuk’s eyes.

“What do you want to do?”

“Revenge.”

Right after sharing a moment of understanding, Jaehyuk thought being honest was only fair.

“To kill my enemies and regain everything.”

His father’s health, the family’s honor and wealth, and safety.

Yearning for things that now felt so distant, his eyes grew dark.

“… I see.”

Crunch!

Jang Yeonju crushed the candy she had just peeled. It wasn’t sweet, more bitter than she had anticipated, and she wanted to swallow it quickly.

“I’ll remember.”

She knew.

She would never forget today.

How could she forget the day she resolved to temporarily set aside what she believed was her all, her archery?

The dream of the boy who gave her this day would also become an indelible mark on her soul.

‘I’m completely caught.’

Waving her hands wildly, a soft laugh escaped from Jang Yeonju’s lips as she departed.

TL’s Corner:
Jang Yeonju, I choose you!
Well, that rolls on the tongue quite well.