The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 29

The crowd filling the parade grounds comprised various types of people. There weren’t just students and reporters present. There were also active players, broadcasters, influencers, military figures, and political figures.

The results of Kang Jae-Hyeok’s admission review would spread to every corner of South Korea in less than an hour.

The crowd had various thoughts.

The Association’s president has really set the stage well. Is he so confident? He seems convinced that there are irregularities in Kang Jae-Hyeok’s admission. Well, his confidence is warranted based on what the media has published...

It was unheard of for a level 1 player to play such an active role in a C-grade raid, even in the biographies of the National Treasures.

Kang Jae-Hyeok’s performance went beyond the norm. It had to be fraudulent.

......

After today, the Kang family will collapse without any honor remaining...

The persistent and terrible malice of the Association’s president could be seen from today’s event. He was a person who should never be antagonized.

......

Kang Jae-Hyeok is so pitiful...

A public re-examination seemed too harsh a price to pay for a young boy’s mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. And the mistakes of children were usually covered up by the adults, but Kang Jae-Hyeok was never given a chance to make up for this mistake.

His life was on Hell Difficulty just because he was born into the Kang family. He probably spent all his life resenting the world...

......

In the worst-case scenario, it’ll be impossible for him to survive...

Too many people all over the world coveted the Kang family’s swordsmanship and mana control techniques.

Meanwhile, Kang Jae-Hyeok was a young boy who lacked a guardian.

After today, the public would be against him, and others could make him vanish without a question once he stepped outside of Lion’s Castle...

......

Just as there were people who felt sorry for the young Jae-Hyeok, there were also people who hated him. Jae-Hyeok’s actions would be the cause that ended the history of the Kang family, which was barely surviving until now. They blamed him.

However, the vast majority of people simply accepted the situation happily. They either had no interest in the Kang family or considered them a thorn in their side.

All types of emotions were intersecting.

「From now on, we will proceed with the re-examination of Kang Jae-Hyeok’s admission!」

The host shouted from his place atop a stage. Next to him, there was a magic power detection device and a large screen.

"Uwaaaaahhhhh!"

There were shouts and applause from the crowd as if it were the scene of a festival.

However, Kang Jae-Hyeok didn’t appear when the applause ended.

“What? Did he run away?”

“Wow, such a person is the Yaksha’s son.”

“Seeing him running away like a rat reminds me of Kang Dae-Seong. Haha.”

“The Kang family is completely over. The honor of two hundred years has been thrown into the mud by the children of the Yaksha.”

As the uproar was growing, the image on the large screen quickly moved off the empty stage. The cameraman’s embarrassment could be felt in the video. Shaken and desperate, he turned his camera on the audience’s seats.

The audience was puzzled to see themselves on screen. But something caught their attention.

One by one, people twisted in their seats to look back.

“Uh...?”

Behind the audience, a black-haired boy in the uniform of Lion’s Castle was standing there. He had glossy black hair and black eyes. Although still young, he was surprisingly handsome.

“Open the way.”

The boy wore a microphone, and his surprisingly solemn voice echoed through the speakers dotting the area.

Approaching the bewildered audience members, he tilted his head. “Aren’t you getting out of the way? Do you not want the re-examination to proceed?”

“Ah...”

The audience finally realized the boy’s identity before splitting to the left and right.

The boy walked proudly on the path made by thousands of people. There was an elegant grace to his easy-going and neat steps. He seemed to be enjoying the situation rather than being intimidated by the stares filled with all sorts of emotions.

It was as if it was natural for people to pay attention to him or his duty to bear such gazes.

Who would consider him to be a boy in crisis?

Women gasped every time the bridge of his nose and his forehead were exposed through his flowing hair.

The number of people fascinated by the faint smile on the boy’s face increased by the moment.

Finally, Jae-Hyeok took the stage and introduced himself on behalf of the mesmerized host.

“I am Kang Jae-Hyeok, son of the great and powerful Duke Kang Dae-Guk, the National Treasure who devoted his entire life to his country. ”

“I heard that the momentum of the Kang family has faltered for a while because people blinded by jealousy distorted so much of our history.”

Jae-Hyeok’s darkened gaze examined the audience sitting down. The government, the military, and members of the Association seemed to deeply desire the downfall of the Kang family. Why else would they come all this way on a weekday to take a look?

He wanted to shout and tell them that one day, he would cut their throats, and their deaths would be the basis for the rival of his Kang family.

Some part of him also held a vague hope. Once they were dead, and he sat by his father’s bedside, describing how they screamed, maybe his father would finally open his eyes.

However, he held himself back.

Now wasn’t the time.

He had to be patient.

This was the strength of mind that Jae-Hyeok had painstakingly built up in the last eight years.

In the end, he kept his speech short. “...I will raise the Kang family up again as a sword to protect South Korea. All you have to do is rest assured and wait for the day I graduate. That’s it.”

Jae-Hyeok’s actions were beyond expectations, so no one was prepared to stop him. Before anyone could react, Jae-Hyeok had spoken his declaration with a bright smile.

The ambition of Yaksha’s son was broadcast in real-time across the country.

“Host! What are you doing? Take that bastard’s microphone!”

The Association’s officials came to their senses and shouted, but they were one step too late. The audience was cheering and applauding enthusiastically.

It was a different reaction from when the host first introduced Kang Jae-Hyeok.

The younger generation didn’t know or care about the Kang family. And after seeing Jae-Hyeok, influencers who had insight into popular trends felt favorable toward him.

“Wow. Is this the bloodline of a duke? He’s still young, but he is very confident. He’s full of elegance and is good-looking. Right, right. I have fallen for him despite being a fellow man.”

“‘I will stand up for the Kang family and defend my country’—wow, his words and voice are so cool. Did he receive an education like the medieval European aristocrats in the TV shows? The Kang family is ruined, so he couldn’t have received that type of education, right? Then was he born with it?”

The influencers were doing private streams. The viewers’ enthusiastic reaction toward Jae-Hyeok could be vaguely guessed through their heated reactions.

“Kang Jae-Hyeok is crazy. So amazing... ”

“Hey, do you think the Yaksha’s spirit is watching this?”

Do-Jin and Da-Hee watched with bright eyes as Jae-Hyeok changed the atmosphere with his unexpected appearance and remarks. Their expressions were one of awe.

Yoo-Jin laughed. “He really is hard to figure out.”

Kang Jae-Hyeok, a reckless troublemaker.

Kang Jae-Hyeok, an apostle of justice who rushed in to help other students.

Kang Jae-Hyeok, a nobleman full of spirit and elegance who played with the malice directed toward him on stage.

It seemed impossible to understand him based on everything she had witnessed over two weeks. experienced for only a fortnight.

***

“Isn’t he completely crazy?”

Association president Ji Cheon-Myeong’s face turned red as he jumped up while watching TV.

Because he was conscious of his reputation, he didn’t attend the event personally. But it seemed that was a mistake. He should’ve gone and personally grabbed that boy’s neck to prevent him from speaking.

“What is this attitude from a bastard who came here to pay for his sins? This isn’t a concert venue. Why did he jump out of the audience? Also, why did those other idiots get out of the way for him?”

Crack!

Unable to control his anger, he smashed the armrest of his chair.

“‘Duke Kang Dae-Guk devoted his whole life to his country?’ He is the one who tried to destroy the country in his later years!”

Crack!

The armrests of the new chair brought in by the chief of staff were also immediately smashed.

“‘The power of the Kang family was weakened by those blinded by jealousy?’ Jealousy? I distorted history because I was blinded by jealousy? This bastard, you don’t even know the cause and how politics works!!”

“President, you are too agitated,” the chief of staff said cautiously as he brought in another chair.

Ji Cheon-Myeong finally managed to catch his breath.

“Umm, I lost myself for a while due to that crazy little guy.”

“It is fortunate there are no other eyes around to see.”

“Yes... No, what did he say? What else did he say just a moment ago? ‘He will raise the Kang family again into a sword to protect the country?’ He wants the people to ‘feel relieved?’ That cocky bastard!”

Crack!

“......”

I should’ve brought more chairs.

As the eyes of the chief of staff shook, Ji Cheon-Myeong finally regained some color in his complexion.

“Sigh. It’s fine. Actually, it’s better this way. He’s making a fuss just before the fraud surrounding his admission is revealed, so he’ll only fall further into the abyss. That idiot dug his own grave.”

Was Kang Jae-Hyeok going to cooperate with Seol Su-Ah to play some trick on the detection device?

It wouldn’t work.

The magic power detection device was prepared by the Association, and they prepared three just in case. In addition, the examiner they appointed in advance was also a member of the Association.

“No matter the variables, we will ask him to share his status window.”

Ji Cheon-Myeong laughed loudly. He couldn’t wait to see the results.

***

“I will reward you before the re-examination.”

The scene finally calmed down thanks to the desperate efforts of the host, but now it was stirred up again due to Seol Su-Ah taking the stage.

The National Treasure, White Night.

She disliked media exposure, so no one expected her to stand before so many cameras.

“You did an outstanding job with your skills. You kept the boss’s aggro and also exposed five weak points.”

Jae-Hyeok replied, “The Leech King was dull-witted.”

“You are being too humble. Above all, it’s great that you stood and fought this boss to save other students. Your father had always been like that, too.”

The government, military, and Association members were forced to remain silent. They’d been trying for eight long years to make the public forget the Yaksha. However, Kang Jae-Hyeok and Seol Su-Ah kept mentioning him. They felt uncomfortable.

No one else cared about what was going through their minds.

Seol Su-Ah handed Jae-Hyeok a small vial. It contained a clear liquid that was a light blue color. It was sealed with a stopper but still gave off a pleasant scent.

“This is a vial of Fairy’s Tears. It will help increase your stats.”

“Fairy’s Tears!”

There was a loud commotion.

Fairy’s Tears was a high-grade elixir that raised the user’s stats by at least four points. Stats were often raised by decimal points, so this was completely different from low-grade elixirs—it was hard to even notice a difference after consuming a low-grade elixir.

A rare treasure that would even be useful to a National Treasure was given to a student as a reward?

People were questioning if she really had a special relationship with the Kang family when their thoughts were interrupted. Kim Jin-Myeong had infused magic power into his voice and shouted.

“The pride of Class B, Kang Jae-Hyeok! The eleven students in Class A you saved are the ones who will soon become the pillars of South Korea, and you protected them! I am proud of you!”

At this point, the general public started to understand how great Kang Jae-Hyeok’s actions were.

The internet chat groups were also abuzz.

-He saved eleven prospects from Class A? Shouldn’t we let him off even if his admission is fraudulent? fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

-Rumor has it that Chae Da-Hee was among the eleven people.

-That’s crazy. He really protected the future of South Korea.

-The Lion’s Castle is an institution created to train outstanding players. Is it important that he was admitted fraudulently? We need to nurture that type of talent.

-Lol ㅋㅋ I don’t know what these people are trying to do right now.

The Internet was in an uproar when Da-Hee’s name was mentioned. She was famous for being a beautiful girl specializing in swordsmanship.

The influencers were excited about the strong reactions and sponsorship gifts given by their viewers.

“Let’s go ahead with the re-examination! Do you think we are here because we have nothing better to do?”

An Association member urged the chairman.

He almost peed at the cold gaze Seol Su-Ah returned him, but the unusual public opinion made him feel urgent.

“Okay. Let’s get started.”

Jae-Hyeok grinned and stood in front of the magic power gauge.

“Ah, before that.”

Whooosh!

“......?”

“......?”

The audience fell completely silent.

Their eyes widened, their mouths dropped open, and they were at a loss for words.

They saw a beam of light flow from Jae-Hyeok’s body and soar into the sky.

The pillar of light.

This was an effect that occurred when equipping an Initial Skill.

However, the intensity of this light pillar was unusual. The daylight, which was intense due to the high sun, was on the verge of being swallowed up by pure whiteness.

“H-high grade?”

“No! It is more than that!”

“A Bloodline Skill!”

Everyone rose to their feet.

Click click!

The reporters were busy taking photos.

At this moment, dark clouds suddenly gathered and covered the light-filled sky.

A loud clap of thunder shook the area.

“A thunder tribulation?”

It was a phenomenon that occurred every time an S-class player reached a certain level. It was a harbinger of a terrible phenomenon, as if God was warning them not to become stronger.

“Equipping an Initial Skill caused a thunder tribulation?”

Everyone was stunned, including the audience, viewers, Seol Su-Ah, and the president of the Association.

[You have equipped the Initial Skill, Noble Chivalry.]

[The player candidate has awakened.]

[Iris, the Third Princess of Reinhardt, has discovered you and smiled.]

-Noble one. I look forward to your chivalry. This is my small gift.

[Iris’ blessing has undone the lion’s curse.]

[The experience suppressed by the curse has seeped into you.]

[You have gained 9 levels for killing the Leech King.]