The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 33

There were stores in the Community that sold various products, but Community points were needed to purchase their goods. All transactions in the Community were made through points. And the higher the level of the player, the more eager they were to earn points...

[Will buy any strategy guides for Japan’s B-grade gates with 10,000 points (1/5).]

[Buying any information about the French La Vie En Rose guild (10/10).]

[Selling a legendary dagger. Offer a price (20/20).]

[Buying a ring that reduces mana consumption (1/5).]

The value of Community points was greater than even cash.

[Two thousand points for sale. Accepting only US dollars (2/2).]

[Unlimited purchase of points with Chinese yuan (1/20).]

Community points also fueled violent crimes. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that even at this moment, points were controlling someone’s life.

[Will kill for points. Target must be A-class or lower (1/2).]

Jae-Hyeok was also well aware of the value of points.

[You have 174,000 points.]

It is said that ordinary people can achieve their dream of owning their own home by selling the points they earn through leveling up for cash.

Leveling was the primary source for earning Community points.

Players got 1,000 points every time they leveled up. However, the higher the player level, the harder it was to continue leveling up. This meant that Community points were a limited resource that grew scarcer for higher-level players.

B-class players, for example, were level 60, but they accounted for the top 15% of players. Most players never reached level 60. It was too difficult.

Forming a party and power leveling was only possible as a newbie. There came a point where players had no choice but to grow on their own. After a certain level, the System only awarded experience to the players who played a significant role in the kill—It didn’t matter whether it was killing monsters or killing other players.

Moreover, meaningful experience was obtained only when the target had a higher level.

The idea that aristocratic children and wealthy children leveled up easily through power leveling was only half true, for beyond a certain point there was no such thing.

Uh. I’m still level 10, so why? Why did he have so many points?

The stunned Jae-Hyeok looked at the details of his points.

He had earned a total of 9,000 points from leveling up.

50,000 points were obtained for one legendary achievement.

60,000 points were obtained for performing a miraculous achievement three times.

55,000 points were earned for performing an amazing achievement eleven times.

I accomplished a lot before I awakened.

The legendary achievement had been earned from splitting the thunder tribulation.

Of the miraculous achievements, the first had been earned when he’d raided the Leech King; the second, when he’d gone into a trance for the fifth time; and the third, when he’d gone into a trance for the tenth time recently.

Two of the eleven amazing achievements had been obtained from performing the ceremonial drill in front of the lion statue and the Leech King raid, respectively. The other nine had been accumulated during his eight years of training.

He was happy that all his hard work had been rewarded.

On the other hand, it was dizzying.

Still, the rewards for his pain over the last eight years probably wouldn’t have been worth it in the eyes of others.

I have a long way to go. It was all the more reason to complete the quest for Lion’s Castle brilliantly.

After steadying his mind, he browsed the Community a bit longer before falling asleep.

***

“Kang Jae-Hyeok! You were so cool yesterday!”

“When will you be nominated as a National Treasure candidate?”

The next morning, Jae-Hyeok was surrounded by the other students when he arrived at the classroom.

Most of the students in Class B sincerely congratulated him for awakening his Bloodline Skill.

Most, but not all.

A handful of the students had complicated expressions. They were greatly shaken. Jae-Hyeok showed an overwhelming performance in the terrain adaptation training and in the Leech King raid despite being a level 1 player without an Initial Skill.

“I thought his level was much higher than ours.”

“Yeah... But he was level 1, the same as us... No, without a Skill, he was in a worse position than us, yet he managed to show off.

Wasn’t this overwhelming talent?

They were jealous.

“What’s the big deal about a Bloodline Skill? Even if it is the Kang family’s Bloodline Skill, it’s much weaker than the Shinra or Kim family’s Bloodline Skill.”

“That’s right. The Kang family wouldn’t have fallen if it were so great.”

The students gathered at the back of the classroom stared at the back of Jae-Hyeok’s head in frustration.

“What an ugly sight.”

“Yes. Why demean the duke's Bloodline Skill out of jealousy?”

Lee Jin-Seong and Du Bae-Su scoffed.

They hit the nail on the head, and the students blushed with shame. They quickly retorted.

“You also don’t like Kang Jae-Hyeok. What right do you have to lecture us?”

“You guys have been bullied by him the most. Don’t you have any pride? I would rather you be honest about your jealousy, like us.”

“What bullshit about jealousy?” Lee Jin-Seong pointed to the cast that Kang Jae-Hyeok was wearing on his arm. “Do you know why he’s wearing a cast?”

“Didn’t he get hurt from the thunder tribulation?”

“No. He was fine back then. He broke his arm training alone at night.”

“What? How did he break a bone if he was training alone?”

“He swung his sword so many times that his body couldn’t hold on.”

“Ah? Is he crazy?”

“That’s right. He’s crazy. How many madmen in the world would swing their sword until their bones break?” Lee Jin-Seong laughed. “But you know what? I’ve been made to experience part of that madness myself, and so have you.”

At this moment, the students fell silent. They were reminded of the hellish swamp training they had been through for the past fortnight.

“Remember? I was abused in the swamp by that bastard Kang Jae-Hyeok to the point where I thought I was really going to die.”

“Yes.” Du Bae-Su nodded and sighed. “And thanks to this, we could overwhelm Class C in the joint training. We got better grades than those smug people in Class C.”

The students’ eyes were fixed on the back of Kang Jae-Hyeok’s head again.

“It’s not surprising for a guy who trains so ruthlessly to seem like a madman to others. But we’ve experienced firsthand the effects of that training.”

“......”

Lee Jin-Seong shrugged. “It’s only natural that he would be strong if he’s been training so ruthlessly before entering Lion’s Castle. Why feel jealous about that?

“I think what we need to do is not be jealous and to learn from Kang Jae-Hyeok. We were happy when we defeated Class C and the Leech King, right? I want to feel that joy again.”

“That’s... true.”

“We were too short-sighted.”

Du Bae-Su said, “You got that right. A few days ago, you thanked Kang Jae-Hyeok and told him he was cool. Now you are acting jealous. Don’t be so narrow-minded. It’s damn embarrassing.”

The average age of Class B was nineteen years old; teenagers made up the majority of the class.

In a way, it was natural for them to be immature.

But now, something in their eyes had changed. A faint sense of respect and intense passion replaced that shameful jealousy.

***

Having completed their adaptation training, Class B moved on to actual swamp combat training.

More than thirty students jumped into the swamp and engaged in a fierce battle with the monsters.

There were leeches bigger than serpents; mosquitoes that attacked with sonic waves; moths that sprayed poison; centipedes that swung dozens of legs, each as sharp as blades; and hard trilobites that made the forests and the swamps a nuisance. However, the Class B students had been trained by Jae-Hyeok and could detect each monster easily.

Aside from Jae-Hyeok, who’d been admitted late, it had been a month since the other students had entered Lion’s Castle, and now was their first chance to kill monsters.

[Your level has risen.]

The Class B students soon experienced their first-ever level up.

They finally became true players. It should’ve been an emotional moment, but the expression on every student’s face was bad.

“Kang Jae-Hyeok, that dog!”

“I can’t take it any longer! Today, you die or I die! You damn jerk!”

Only four hours had passed since the students were persuaded by Lee Jin-Seong and changed their minds about Jae-Hyeok.

But their new respect and passion for Jae-Hyeok had rapidly turned into hatred. Lee Jin-Seong and the rest were no different. Wild-eyed, they all poured their killing intent toward Jae-Hyeok, not the monsters.

Whenever they had a chance to kill a monster, he would suddenly appear and disturb them.

“If you fight like that and win, you’ll develop bad habits, ” Jae-Hyeok said. He kicked Lee Jin-Seong’s buttocks before poking his finger into Cheon Hye-Ji’s side as she struggled with a centipede.

"Kyaaaack!"

Cheon Hye-Ji was startled by the horrifying sensation and screamed. The blonde hair that she usually bragged about was standing up on end.

“Look at this. You could’ve won the fight, but you got your back cut instead. Then it is a loss.”

Jae-Hyeok explained, smashing away the centipede’s leg after it grazed her waist.

“Die!”

Cheon Hye-Ji jumped one meter in the air and kicked Jae-Hyeok.

Jae-Hyeok dodged lightly and poked his finger into her side again.

“Look at this soft waist. You need to train more.”

"Kyaaaack!"

“......”

The students looked back at Kim Jin-Myeong. It was a clear signal for him to stop this madman.

However, Kim Jin-Myeong stood with his arms crossed and remained silent.

It’s a perfect class.

There was always a reason for Jae-Hyeok interrupting the students.

If they were anxious in front of a monster, Jae-Hyeok calmed them; if they had bad posture, Jae-Hyeok corrected it; if they were struggling in their battles, Jae-Hyeok gave them hints that led them to clean and swift victories.

Kang Jae-Hyeok, why is he working so hard to help the other children?

Was it because he was the son of a duke? Just like when he’d come to help in the raid, was he watching over the other students out of an aristocrat’s sense of duty?

Even after being betrayed by the country and the people, he’s like this...

Kang Jae-Hyeok really was a great person. His caliber was on a completely different level. Kim Jin-Myeong felt a sense of respect for a child much younger than himself.

A true aristocrat...

Kim Jin-Myeong was deeply impressed and looked at Jae-Hyeok happily.

......

This is interesting, Jae-Hyeok thought as he tried to hide his evil smile.

It was thrilling to bully people he didn’t like every day, including Lee Jin-Seong, Du Bae-Su, and Cheon Hye-Ji.

If a person commits a crime, they should pay for it.

He would never forgive them for insulting his father and his family, even if it was just once.

Despite this vow, Jae-Hyeok never crossed the line. He provided adequate help so they weren’t hurt by the monsters.

I like their stubborn determination.

The students of Class B were like earthworms. The more he stepped on them, the more they wriggled.

The sight of them burning with a desire for revenge and promising to repay him in kind was both laughable and likable.

Above all, they were loyal. He had never expected them to follow and help him in the Leech King raid.

Speaking of...

Jae-Hyeok found Hae-Rin isolated in the swamp and released his mana through the Yongquan acupuncture point on the soles of his feet.

He told her, “Don’t just move your body, use your mana. Where did the magic theory we learned every morning go?”

“C-crazy...”

The students and Kim Jin-Myeong’s mouths dropped open at the sight of Jae-Hyeok stepping on the surface of the swamp.”

The way for an unawakened person to increase their Magic stat was to train their mind, and Jae-Hyeok had been overcoming his limits by training his mind and body daily.

His Magic stat had been at the maximum possible value for a non-awakened at the time of his awakening.

In addition, one of his knight Profession’s three main stats was Magic. After awakening, he also gained an achievement that increased all his stats by a further 12 points.

As a result, Jae-Hyeok’s current Magic stat was a whopping 80 points.

The power generated when that enormous amount of mana was concentrated and released using the Kang family’s mana control technique was enough to astonish Kim Jin-Myeong.

Sooner or later, his Magic stat will surpass mine?

Kim Jin-Myeong was currently level 65, and his Profession was a magician, so his Magic stat was close to 140 points.

It would take a long time for Jae-Hyeok to catch up with his stats, but it was easy to be mistaken otherwise. The Kang family’s mana control technique amplified the potency of his mana by up to two times depending on how long he focused.

“That bastard is going on a rampage even with his broken arm... Aaack!”

“T-Teacher! Save me... Cough cough!”

“Gasp! I-I’m going now!”

Kim Jin-Myeong was mesmerized for a while. Then, he belatedly came to his senses and flew in to rescue the children buried in the swamp.

In the meantime, Jae-Hyeok cut down the monsters floundering in the air, killing them with a single blow.

......

[Your level has risen.]

“Thank you.”

It was said that physiognomy was a science. Hae-Rin’s eyes and mouth looked exactly like a cat, and she had a cautious personality. She thanked Jae-Hyeok but maintained a certain distance and never approached him.

Jae-Hyeok told her, “You helped me, too.”

On the first day of school, this girl had secretly sided with him after Kim Jin-Myeong had crossed the line and she’d reminded Kim Jin-Myeong to quickly start the class.

“...I never helped you.” Park Hae-Rin bit the inside of her cheek and turned in the direction of the other monsters.

Jae-Hyeok thought, Her expression is dark.

He’d heard that she was the young lady of the Guardian Guild?

A guild...

Kang Jae-Hyeok’s eyes darkened. Guilds... Those with the least to lose will be the first to come after me...

He sharpened his determination while tapping on his cast.

Now that he’d awakened, he would gain levels when he killed players.