The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 199

His blond hair was well-combed, he wore gold-rimmed glasses, and his eyes were calm.

Jae-Hyeok recognized the identity of the intellectual-looking middle-aged man.

Geum Tae-Shin.

It was none other than the master of the Sun Guild, which was in contention for the top spot among Korea’s top five guilds. Few hadn’t seen his profile online or in the news. Touted for his gentle demeanor, wisdom, and power—he was one of the top players in the country.

Geum Tae-Shin said, “You don’t seem surprised, but there’s no way you saw through my concealment. Don’t tell me you’ve achieved the Clear Mind state at your age?”

There were very few people in the world who could remain entirely composed under any circumstances. Such a state could only be reached after a long period of training.

“That’s a state that doesn’t belong to a sixteen-year-old. It must be a feature of your Kang family’s martial training. Right?”

Geum Tae-Shin slowly drew his sword, and the gold bracelets on his wrists jangled strangely. Sensing something, Jae-Hyeok realized he shouldn’t focus on the sound.

“Kang-style sword-drawing technique draws its speed from a momentary burst of mana. It’s a technique that requires a high level of concentration. To wield it, you parents must have started tempering your concentration from a young age.”

Jingle. He continued, “Even now, you don’t waver.”

Geum Tae-Shin confirmed once again that the melody of the golden bracelet had no effect and became certain of his guess: His concentration was tempered to the point of reaching a similar effect as the Clear Mind state. That’s why he didn’t panic when he saw me.

Geum Tae-Shin took a step forward.

He hadn’t moved in for four days. After learning of Jae-Hyeok’s disappearance, Geum Tae-Shin had known that tracking Jae-Hyeok would be hard, and so he hadn’t—instead, he’d waited patiently at the last known location for his prey to come to him.

Jae-Hyeok said, “You seem to have a good understanding of the Kang family.”

“As I said before, there’s someone very interested in the Kang family’s martial arts.”

Geum Tae-Shin’s long sword was nearly two meters long.

With one step, Jae-Hyeok would be within his attack range. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

However, the boy seemed unaware of this fact. He stood there, completely unguarded, and asked, “The person you are working for must be really powerful to use someone like you as a hunting dog. Is it Geum Tae-Byeok?”

Geum Tae-Byeok was the former guildmaster of the Sun Guild. Other than him, there was no one else Geum Tae-Shin would serve with such reverence.

“You are quite rude. He might not be here, but talking about the master of the Geum family without any honorifics—”

“It wouldn’t matter even if he were standing here.” Jae-Hyeok gripped the hilt of his sword, but he remained upright and relaxed. He continued, “He never earned my respect. And now I’m certain he doesn’t deserve it.”

Ever since enrolling at the Lion’s Castle, he had been relentlessly targeted by small- and medium-sized guilds like the Steel Guild, facing the threat of being kidnapped around every corner.

“Since the Old Monster Geum Tae-Byeok is interested in the martial arts of the Kang family, it must’ve been him who was using his influence to direct the small and medium guilds to go after me.

“Old monster? How dare you speak so rudely of the elder!”

Geum Tae-Shin swung his sword fiercely.

Contrary to his furious words, his actions were calculated—striking before Jae-Hyeok could assume his sword-drawing stance.

A tiger does its best even when hunting rabbits. And Jae-Hyeok wasn’t a rabbit; he was someone who’d killed an S-class player once before.

I will finish this at once—Last Eclipse.

Infused with the signature red mana of the Geum family, the edge of Geum Tae-Shin's blade shone like the glaring rim of a lunar eclipse. Its heat foreboded a power to cut through steel like jelly.

As his blade swept toward Jae-Hyeok like a comet, Geum Tae-Shin was already calculating the outcome: it would sever Jae-Hyeok’s hand before carving a deep wound in his abdomen.

My mission is to bring him to the elder. As long as I don’t kill him, it should be fine, Geum Tae-Shin thought.

Unfortunately for him, strength was relative.

Having just returned from farming with those monsters, to Jae-Hyeok’s eyes, Geum Tae-Shin didn’t seem like much. He kept his hand on his hilt and leaned back on his heels. Geum Tae-Shin’s burning sword passed a hair’s breadth away from his wrist.

“......!”

For an instant, Geum Tae-Shin’s eyes widened, but he quickly regained himself.

How foolish.

Jae-Hyeok’s last-second maneuver was clever, but with his weight now shifted to his heels, he had overextended and was off balance. All he needed to do was strike once more, and Jae-Hyeok would meet his end all the same. Any player who saw Jae-Hyeok’s plight would think the same—any except Jae-Hyeok.

“Bloom.”

Far from losing his balance, Jae-Hyeok’s whole body quivered like a bow as he rolled from his heels back to the balls of his feet. At the same time, the glow escaping his scabbard flared, and he drew then, his blade elongating, shifting from black metal to red glass as he did.

Before Geum Tae-Shin could blink his wide eyes, the tip of Iyarugt had disappeared inside his chest.

Pain lanced through him, but in this critical situation, Geum Tae-Shin didn’t falter. He swallowed his screams and struck at Jae-Hyeok’s sword arm, intent on removing it at the shoulder.

It’s fine. It’s fine. With his lead arm gone I can regain the initiative.

Just as Geum Tae-Shin was struggling to calm himself, his sword bit into Jae-Hyeok's shoulder. However, instead of the spraying blood and flying limb he’d expected to see, Jae-Hyeok’s arm stayed firmly attached. Red slowly dyed Jae-Hyeok’s shirt, but it was obvious that the wound was minor.

Jae-Hyeok had leaned into his guard to lessen the force of his attack. But that wasn’t the main reason for Jae-Hyeok’s light injuries. Geum Tae-Shin had felt it through his blade: He... isn’t even wearing armor over his shoulders, yet it felt like I hacked a pine tree.

Jae-Hyeok’s skin had to be incredibly tough if not even a mana-infused sword could penetrate it easily. As for how, there was one obvious answer, but Geum Tae-Shin struggled to accept it: How could his Stamina stat be so high... This—this is absurd!

Indeed, only the Stamina stat toughened players’ bodies. But for Jae-Hyeok to receive his sword with only minor injuries meant Jae-Hyeok’s Stamina dwarfed Geum Tae-Shin’s attack power.

Geum Tae-Shin collected himself. It’s fine, even turtles have necks; I just need to aim for his vitals...

Players were different from monsters; no matter how high Jae-Hyeok’s Stamina, without a health bar, one strike to his vitals would be all it took to maim him.

Geum Tae-Shin tried to relax and plan his next moves as he dashed back, but Jae-Hyeok had no intention of giving him the time.

Having trained with the farmers, Jae-Hyeok’s speed had reached new heights. He curled his toes in his shoes, and the floor tiles cracked. Then he shot forward like a ray of light, appearing before Geum Tae-Shin in an instant.

“You monster! How can you be like this even while cursed...!” Geum Tae-Shin exclaimed.

All of Jae-Hyeok’s stats were superior to his.

By then, it was clear to Geum Tae-Shin that all of Jae-Hyeok’s were superior to his. Realizing the vast gap between them, he directly unleashed his ultimate Skill, Winged Sword, in a final bid to survive.

Mana flooded Geum Tae-Shin’s sword, which soon shone like the noon sun. Thanks to that—

Slash!

—Geum Tae-Shin got a clear look as his sword hand flew off.

His sword clattered to the ground.

The light fizzled out.

“Kuaa—”

A scream tore from Geum Tae-Shin's throat—only for his voice to abruptly cut off. Then, a line grew across Geum Tae-Shin's face. The top half of his head slid to the ground. A moment later, the rest of Geum Tae-Shin fell backward like a domino.

[Miraculous achievement! You have defeated an S-class player!]

[Your level has risen by 3.]

Expression plain, Jae-Hyeok flicked the blood from his blade and re-sheathed his sword.

After leveling up, I’m definitely gaining less experience now.

He’d gained 5 levels for killing the Gyeongnam branch manager, while killing Geum Tae-Shin had only given 3. The lesser experience reflected the narrowing gap between himself and S-class.

Thanks to you all, I’m that much closer to S-class.

After splashing a potion on the bloody furrow in his shoulder, Jae-Heok turned his eyes to the heap on the floor. His expression turned frosty.

In fact, Jae-Hyeok had sensed Geum Tae-Shin’s presence the moment he’d warped back to Earth. He wouldn’t have, had Geum Tae-Shin been a professional assassin, but as a swordsman, Geum Tae-Shin couldn’t escape Jae-Hyeok’s senses.

Geum Tae-Byeok... Since he’s so obsessed with my family’s martial arts, he must’ve been the one who sent that sword demon to my house.

“The Geum family... ”

When the Kang family fell eight years ago, the Geums seemed to have struck a sudden windfall, receiving all types of serendipitous opportunities and benefits, all of which had propelled them to the heights they’ve reached today.

Could it really be a mere coincidence?

Jae-Hyeok summoned an undiluted vial of Leech King’s poison and poured it over Geum Tae-Shin. His flesh and bones dissolved like Styrofoam in acid.

Even with the open window, the stench that followed was eye-watering. It permeated the air and soon spread throughout the building.

Eventually, Guardian Guild members burst into the room.

“What the hell is this smell... Gasp! Young Master Jae-Hyeok!”

Park Chang-Cheon was also there. While everyone else was covering their noses and frowning, he was the only one to maintain a bright smile. He assumed the dregs on the floor were the impurities expelled after reaching a milestone in his level.

“Did you drink an elixir and go through a marrow cleansing or something? You raised your level the moment you returned. As expected of Young Master Kang!”

“C-cleansing the marrow!”

“Isn’t that almost a legendary state?”

The guild members easily believed Park Chang-Cheon’s words. After everything they had witnessed from Kang Jae-Hyeok, it didn’t seem impossible—no, it seemed natural.

Jae-Hyeok laughed awkwardly.

This is embarrassing. Well, my strength is probably no less than someone who’s cleansed their marrow...

Thinking as much, Jae-Hyeok tried not to feel too guilty while absorbing everyone’s praise.

***

The next day, Jae-Hyeok left his mansion while dressed in the Kang family’s ceremonial white robes. He reached the front gate, and what greeted him was different from the past.

Gone were the noisy protestors and their foul signs, and gone were the graffiti-stained walls—instead, what Jae-Hyeok saw were the smiling faces of his close ones:

“You’ve fully prepared, right?”

“Jae-Hyeok, be ready. If you fail, I’ll tease you for the rest of your life.”

“H-have strength!”

Do-Jin, Da-Hee, and Hae-Rin, as well as the other students of Class B—every one of them Jae-Hyeok could confidently call his friends. They had all come to cheer him on.

“After the marrow cleansing, you’re looking even more majestic.”

“Young Master Kang, good luck!”

Park Chang-Cheon and some of the Guardian Guild members were also among the students.

“Young Master, please don’t get hurt,” Butler Hwang said, as concerned as ever.

“This is your chance to restore the honor of the Kang family. I know you can do it.”

“Hey, if things go well, shout out my health store at the end.”

Master Song and Pharmacist Gam Woo-Seon were also supporting him.

Jae-Hyeok smiled. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Today was the day of the National Treasure candidate exam.

Father...

Bathed in the bright sun and surrounded by his friends, Jae-Hyeok looked back at the Kang family mansion.

Today, the Kang family will rise again.