The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 36

Death Knights were an S-class elite monster. Their defining feature was that they were undead sword masters. Relying on high-level swordsmanship, they overcame the weaknesses inherent to the undead.

And Theodore was not just any Death Knight, but a Name Death Knight?

He was probably stronger than a decent S-class boss.

“Uh... aren’t I screwed?”

Monsters were different from players.

While a player’s endurance and physical durability would increase with their Stamina stat, players lacked the concept of health—no amount of stats would allow a player to survive a critical blow through the eye or across the neck, for example.

Monsters were different. Their continued existence was bound to a health pool, so any damage they received only consumed health points. There was no such thing as delivering an anatomically lethal blow to a monster.

Of course, they could be killed with a single blow if damage beyond their health was inflicted. Their combat power would also plummet if their heads or limbs were cut off.

However, high-class monsters have a lot of health as well as defense.

The undead were vulnerable to divine power but had no specific weak points.

Although Jae-Hyeok had managed to kill players stronger than himself, it didn’t make sense for him to think about winning against a Death Knight. His deadline of one hundred and twenty days was too short.

-Where did you hear his name?

“He talked directly in my head.”

-I can’t believe he is already resurrected... What did he say? Why did he talk to you?

“He was raving about some sword-crazed demon. He seemed to mistake me for that demon.”

The lion statue murmured to itself.

-Sword-crazed demon. Indeed, your obsession with swordsmanship resembles that demon from twelve years ago.

“Who is that demon?”

-One of the outsiders who participated in the war when this land was reduced to a battlefield. He slaughtered his enemies mercilessly without the slightest hesitation. His appearance was so cruel that both his enemies and allies called him a Yaksha.

“Huh? Uhh?”

Yaksha?

-He slaughtered humans and monsters alike, and his ferocity was so overwhelming that the humans and monsters entrusted their backs to each other and joined forces. In particular, the way he laughed and licked his blade, slick with blood, was like a demon from the pits of hell.

The voice of the lion statue trembled, terrified just thinking about it. If its face were flesh and not stone, its expression would’ve been twisted in fear.

“......”

To Jae-Hyeok, his father was a noble and respectful person, a paragon of the aristocracy.

He’d never thought deeply about his father’s moniker.

Yaksha.

Yakshas were ferocious and wicked ghosts. They were cruel and harsh, and they harmed people.

Jae-Hyeok remained silent out of surprise while the tactless lion statue kept talking.

-That evil demon suddenly vanished after creating a sea of blood and corpses here. He must’ve gone to the Netherworld. It’s no wonder that the scoundrel Theodore is obsessed. He must’ve admired that evil demon. You should be careful. Theodore is a complete idiot who is obsessed with that demon... Ack! Why did you hit me?

“Just because I felt like it.”

-Just? Juuuuuuust? Are you completely crazy? I can see why Theodore mistook you for that demon!

“Ahem!”

Jae-Hyeok cleared his throat in embarrassment but couldn’t help smiling slightly.

If my killing intent was mistaken for my father’s, doesn’t that mean that I’m a lot like him?

Since ancient times, aristocrats must be warm to the citizens and firm to external enemies.

Although information about the battle and the reasons for it were vague, it was known that twelve years ago, a foreign force invaded Lion’s Castle.

Jae-Hyeok was very proud of his father, who had defended the country’s territory and sovereignty by slaughtering those invaders.

What a powerful sight: seeing the Yaksha licking the enemy’s blood from his blade with a smile. It must’ve been an act to instill fear into the heart of the enemy.

Should I try it out when I have a chance?

Jae-Hyeok was very happy. He got to learn about a new side of his father and was awed by his father’s feat of achieving peace through the corpses of his enemies. Best of all, he even inherited his father’s legacy: the Named Death Knight, Theodore.

As if by fate, his father's bad relationship with Theodore had been passed down to him. It felt as if he were his father’s only successor.

I won’t avoid it. I will take responsibility.

-You’re a crazy person! How dare you hit the master of the dimension and smile?

“Sorry, sorry.”

-This isn’t the time to relax. It will take him around ten years to regain his strength after his resurrection, but Theodore isn’t someone to take lightly.

“Ten years? Not four months?”

-Four months? After four months of recovery, he’ll barely be able to swing his sword. Well, he indeed isn’t the type to wait long. It wouldn’t be strange for him to look for you the moment he can move. But!

The lion statue issued a menacing warning.

-Theodore is the surname that refers to the bloodline of a duke who was the strongest swordsman on the continent a thousand years ago. That bastard can crush a kid like you to death with one finger, so throw away your vain hopes and run away. Let’s consider our promise null and void as well. I will have to assign the quest you couldn’t complete to that silver-haired brat... Ack!

“The strongest duke on the continent a thousand years ago?”

Seeing the statue trying to squirm out of its promise, Jae-Hyeok struck the lion’s head with his scabbard as his eyes shone.

“I am the only blood of the strongest duke today,” he declared firmly despite his siblings being alive and well.

***

“Assistant Teacher Yoon has gone missing?”

“Did he enter a danger zone?”

“He is a B-class player. How could a monster kill him?”

“The closer you are to the coast, the more often monsters A-class or higher will appear. He might’ve taken a wrong turn at night and fallen prey to a monster.”

The news of the disappearance of Professor Shim Ye-Jin’s assistant quickly spread among the faculty members.

Most people suspected that monsters were responsible.

However, the faculty members belonging to the Steel Guild knew the truth of the incident.

They whispered to each other,

“He disappeared as soon as he was ordered to kidnap Kang Jae-Hyeok.”

“That idiot Yoon Sang-Ho, did he rush out and catch the eye of the security forces? We will have to take care of ourselves for a while to avoid getting involved.”

The Steel Guild was just a small-to-medium-sized guild. There were only three people from the Steel Guild operating in Lion’s Castle, including Yoon Sang-Ho.

Since one of them was caught by the security forces after targeting a student, it would be difficult for the other two to avoid suspicion.

The guild master would urge them to finish their mission, but what power did they have? They would have to live like rats for a while.

“No, there is still a chance. There’s a way to get things done without lifting a finger.”

“The best way to catch a brat is to use a brat.”

Dizzied by the thought of handling the guild master's anger, they’d started brainstorming and gathering information on the students who had recently been involved with Kang Jae-Hyeok.

They soon discovered Ha Kyeong-Su.

He was a Class A student with a red potential who had received demerit points thanks to Jae-Hyeok at the time of the Leech King raid.

He’s level 23. We can easily send Kang Jae-Hyeok to the infirmary with this kid.

The duel assessment would begin next week.

Provoking a young kid before that was simple. They exchanged cool looks before preparing a gift to persuade Ha Kyeong-Su.

***

After three days of practical combat in the swamp, the level of the Class B students was already close to level 6.

It was a huge advantage to have ensured safety during hunts. Ordinary players who couldn’t enter Lion’s Castle had to enter unfamiliar gates and fight life-or-death battles, possibly not even gaining one level in a day.

The B students’ confidence was sky-high after they achieved rapid growth in just three days.

That confidence was shattered within two hours of starting their newest terrain adaptation training.

The desert.

This terrain wasn’t particularly difficult compared to the swamp if they paid attention to the wormholes.

The students had leveled up and become many times stronger, so they were confident they could get through it easily.

However, it wasn’t that simple.

Putting aside Kang Jae-Hyeok’s disturbances, it was very difficult for them to adapt to the new environment.

Kim Jin-Myeong interrupted the training, gathered the students, and explained why.

“Leveling up and increasing your stats doesn’t directly translate to an increase in your skills. Du Bae-Su, come forward.”

Lee Jin-Seong’s best friend was called over by Kim Jin-Myeong and stood before a raised iron bar.

The instructors had placed around a hundred similar iron bars nearby.

“Try doing pull-ups.”

“Huh? Yes!”

Was that it? Du Bae-Su hung on the iron bar with a puzzled expression.

Crack!

The iron bar couldn’t handle Du Bae-Su’s strength and broke.

The students burst out laughing while Kim Jin-Myeong hung lightly from the iron bar next to him.

“It’s essential that you adjust your body to your increased stats. When the body and mind are out of sync, your actions will be unbalanced and clumsy, and your skills will decrease. Never be emboldened by an increase in stats if you haven’t taken the time to regain control over your body. Before then, it’s arrogance to think yourself more powerful.”

Kim Jin-Myeong did ten pull-ups as a demonstration. Still gripping the bar, he then exerted force through his forearms and held his body horizontally to the ground.

“Increased Strength, Stamina, and Agility means that the strength, toughness, and flexibility of your muscles have increased. Using the pull-up bar in front of you, check exactly which muscles have developed, by how much, and in what way. This way, you will grow familiar with the changes and regain control over yourself.”

Finally, Kim Jin-Myeong took the iron bar off the rack and broke it in one hand. He stepped back and gestured for the students to come forward.

That marked the physical coordination training.

Crack! Thud!

Half of the students hanging from the iron bars crushed them in their grip and fell immediately. The other half failed to do a pull-up because they used too little force.

Jae-Hyeok was the only one who showed off his skills by doing a light pull-up, an upside-down handstand, balancing his body horizontally, and finally doing a pole dance.

“Wow, crazy. Is that the secret behind his skills?”

“He has higher stats than us, but this is still amazing.”

“Why is he dancing all of a sudden?”

“He’s cool sometimes, but most of the time, he’s a bit out of his mind, isn’t he?”

As the students' admiration for Jae-Hyeok's antics gradually cooled, Kim Jin-Myeong clapped his hands and cheered.

“Bravo, Jae-Hyeok! Very good! All of you should learn from Jae-Hyeok. The intensity of pole dancing is beyond imagination. It uses the muscles of the entire body, focusing on grip strength and core muscles. This makes it perfect for adjusting your body.”

“Ohh... ”

“I see.”

Some of the students adapted to their strengthened bodies and started following Jae-Hyeok’s lead in pole dancing.

Among them were Park Hae-Rin and Cheon Hye-Ji.

Cheon Hye-Ji had a charming side due to her abundant blonde hair and tall body, while Park Hae-Rin looked awkward and precarious, like a kitten hanging from a tree for the first time in her life.

Many students couldn’t stand the contrast and burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, Cheon Hye-Ji was burning with a sense of competition toward Kang Jae-Hyeok.

How is it? I might look like this, but my body has been honed through years of gymnastics training. She won when it came to pole dancing!

Her blonde hair became disheveled as she stretched her long legs and started performing all types of tricks on the iron bar. Her figure, as she hung upside down from an iron bar with bloodshot eyes, was reminiscent of a crazy person.

Jae-Hyeok came down from the iron bar and clicked his tongue.

He was bored, so he’d decided to warm up a bit before coming down. Meanwhile, these kids were dancing and going crazy. It was ridiculous.

Was it right to be doing such nonsense on the sacred land that his father shed blood and sweat to defend?

As expected, this country isn’t normal.

Jae-Hyeok had to restore the honor of the Kang family quickly and set history straight. Then, people would come to their senses and respect the things his father had given them.

Just then, Kim Jin-Myeong approached him.

“Tomorrow, there will be an in-depth lesson on mana control. It’s just a sample of what is to come, but a professor will be giving the lecture. It will be of great help to you.”

A professor... Jae-Hyeok’s eyes shone.