The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 24

“It’s only natural that the first-place contributor selects an item. Raids in Lion’s Castle are no different.”

“I’m first place in the contribution?” Jae-Hyeok asked, confused.

This was a player training institution.

In this place, a non-awakened enrolled in a class of Awakened was as good as a blind and deaf person living in the normal world. The unawakened Jae-Hyeok was the only one who couldn’t see the System messages.

Kim Jin-Myeong laughed. “You must’ve been so excited that you didn’t even check your messages. Huhu.”

Class B had reached an implicit agreement to keep Jae-Hyeok in Class B and ignore his insistence that he hadn’t awakened.

After all, he just showed the best performance in a C-grade raid.

Not a single person believed he hadn’t awakened.

“Do you think everyone is staring at you for no reason? Put on that ring and proudly wave your hand.”

Kim Jin-Myeong wiped the ring that had been stained with footprints with his sleeve before handing it to Jae-Hyeok.

Jae-Hyeok wondered, Is this right?

He hadn’t awakened and was also cursed. He also judged that he hadn’t dealt much damage to the Leech King.

Yet, he was somehow first place in contribution? All I did was prevent the second explosion, maintain the aggro, and create five weak points?

Jae-Hyeok was ignorant of his achievements’ greatness.

Ordinary people couldn’t even create one weakness on a boss monster—performing five precise, consecutive attacks on a rampaging boss was much too difficult. For some, that alone would be a life-long talking point. And yet Jae-Hyeok had created not one but five such weak points on the boss, all single-handedly—and all while holding aggro.

His accomplishments were so extraordinary that those who hadn’t been there wouldn’t believe it.

“Did he awaken a skill that boosts his precision?”

The students gulped, examining the Leech King’s corpse and glancing at Jae-Hyeok. This was a sixteen-year-old who was both the master of the Kang sword technique and also possessed a Skill to maximize its power. He would surely become at least an A-class player in the future. They could see why the Kang family was considered one of the most prestigious in the world until eight years ago.

“So why is he in Class B?” one student whispered. “He’s clearly skilled enough, so why didn’t he level up before school to enter Class A?”

“Did he fall into despair, giving up on himself because he couldn’t awaken his Bloodline Skill?”

“Indeed. He was born into a family that produced several National Treasures. It must be painful that he didn’t awaken a Bloodline Skill.”

A-class players were a privileged class that ranked in the top 0.3% in the world of awakeners.

The S-class was hundreds of thousands of times rarer than that.

Above S-class, there were only a handful of National Treasures worldwide. They were so rare that many countries had no National Treasures at all.

South Korea currently had three National Treasures. They would be boasting quite a bit if it weren’t for neighboring countries like Japan and China, whose overall strength surpassed them.

The students glanced at Jae-Hyeok.

He showed no signs of joy even after making a great achievement. Rather, he was frowning as if he wasn’t satisfied with his level of performance.

......

This isn’t a prank. I’m really number one? Jae-Hyeok fell into thought as he frowned.

Raids were all about contribution.

The higher the contribution, the more experience and items the player obtained. if they were lucky, they would get achievement rewards that increased their stats.

In other words, gaining experience was the most basic reward. Yet Jae-Hyeok clearly hadn’t gained any experience, seeing as he hadn’t awakened.

Despite this, he was somehow the first in the contribution?

He couldn’t believe it.

No, I have to believe it, Jae-Hyeok thought, clutching the ring in his hand. He decided to receive the ring first.

[Leech King's Ring]

[Rating: Rare]

[Produces a deadly poison.]

He’d heard that the ring was the best item among all the items that the Leech King dropped. The green gem embedded in the ring could produce poison infinitely.

It could be used on weapons, in traps, to create poison pouches, to perform poisonous dances, etc.

Its drop rate is only 0.01%, but I actually got one. Jae-Hyeok clenched his fists excitedly, and in doing so, he realized his strength and energy were also much greater than before.

Apparently, he got an achievement reward that increased his stats significantly.

I think my stats are almost at a level where I’ll be ready to awaken.

The human body had limits. Only by awakening as a player could a person accumulate stats beyond their human limits.

Jae-Hyeok could tell that he was close to his goal of accumulating as many stats as he could before awakening.

Yoo-Jin and other students approached. They were the ones who had stayed and fought with Da-Hee to the end.

“T-thank you,” Yoo-Jin said. “If it weren’t for you, we would all be dead or maimed. We’ll definitely repay the favor.”

Yoo-Jin bowed deeply.

Jae-Hyeok had thought she was a pretty free-spirited kid when they’d met in the cafeteria, but it turned out that she knew etiquette.

Jae-Hyeok confirmed that they weren’t seriously hurt and nodded. “Thank you for fighting without giving up until the end. It’s due to your perseverance that I was able to arrive in time to help.”

Jae-Hyeok meant it from the bottom of his heart. If they had given up halfway and turned their backs to flee, He would’ve arrived only to see corpses strewn about.

He didn’t want to see that, especially with Chae Da-Hee.

It would’ve been devastating to lose a young girl who respected his father.

“...... ”

Yoo-Jin sensed Jae-Hyeok’s sincerity and was at a loss for words. Before, her impression of Jae-Hyeok had been that of a fallen noble who only bragged loudly.

But it turned out he also possessed tremendous strength and knew how to care for people.

He was an ideal modern aristocrat.

Modern aristocrats earned their noble title through strength. And by their title, they saw themselves as duty-bound to protect others.

The Kang family... I don’t think it is the same as the rumors, Yoo-Jin thought.

Yoo-Jin glanced at Da-Hee and chuckled. She had thought her friend was clumsy, but Da-Hee actually had an eye for people. She felt gratified.

“Kang Jae-Hyeok, you crazy bastard!”

“You are the pride of Class B!”

The students of Class B surrounded Jae-Hyeok and cheered.

They slapped his back while complimenting him for doing well or being cool. Judging by the great strength they used, they seemed to be filled with great emotions.

“......”

Some Class A students were silent.

They were the ones who abandoned Da-Hee and ran away.

They couldn’t lift their heads as the homeroom teacher approached them.

“You made the correct choice. This is all my fault. I’m sorry to have put such a heavy responsibility on you.”

The teacher of Class A didn’t blame them for running away. Instead, he bowed his head and apologized.

How the children felt watching him apologize would likely determine the direction of their growth.

A curse. A curse.

After Jae-Hyeok finished throwing all those who’d slapped his back into the swamp, he began thinking about the curse.

He figured the curse was the reason he hadn’t gained any experience. It protected him from awakening, so in a sense, it was more a blessing than a curse.

Well... It would be a different story if it was permanent.

He needed to learn more about the curse, especially because it was likely related to a quest.

He thought the reason he didn’t gain experience was the curse.

As a result, he received help from it. It was more like a blessing than a curse.

It was a different story if this curse was permanent.

Moreover, it was most likely related to the quest, so he needed to learn more about the curse.

The method to learn more about the curse was simple...

As Jae-Hyeok was thinking, there was a loud noise, and dozens of arcane motorcycles arrived at the scene.

It was the Guards in charge of security at Lion’s Castle.

“We are late.”

The captain was relieved to see the body of the Leech King, although his eyes remained cold.

Under the pressure of the captain’s gaze, the Class A teacher was unable to breathe.

The captain said, “Seeing as there are no casualties, It’s clear that it was no mistake we received your support request late. Hmph, you’re fortunate to have succeeded.”

If there had been even one casualty, the Class A teacher wouldn’t have been able to keep his position.

It was beyond arrogance and a violation of the school rules to dare to challenge a raid alone with only freshmen.

The only variable was the two National Treasure candidates in his class. And now that the raid had ended safely, the Class A teacher would only receive a light punishment and the matter would be buried.

The argument that he intended to give the freshmen experience would be entirely accepted.

The thought displeased the captain. He inspected the boss monster. Hm? They created six weak points and targeted them. Is this the strength of the National Treasure candidates?

The captain was secretly impressed upon seeing the body of the Leech King. He looked back to the Class A teacher, who quickly shared the contribution information with him.

It was a necessary procedure for the investigation of the incident.

[Raid Contribution Rankings]

[First place - Kang Jae-Hyeok, 22.4% contribution.

Second place - Park Joo-Bong, 18.8% contribution.

Third place - Chae Da-Hee, 13.2% contribution.

Fourth place - Kim Jin-Myeong, 10.5% contribution.

Fifth place - Gu Baek-Gi, 9.7% contribution.]

“......?”

The captain rubbed his eyes and rechecked the information. But the content didn’t change.

“I can’t see the names of the National Treasure candidates?”

“Those kids didn’t participate in the raid. I’m sorry. It was a misjudgment on my part. I will accept any punishment.”

“No...”

Did they succeed in the raid without the National Treasure candidates?

Of course, the first-year teachers were B-grade players, and if Park Joo-Bong, Kim Jin-Myeong, and Gu Baek-Gi had joined forces from the beginning, then the C-grade boss wouldn’t have been a great opponent. But with the circumstances as they were, the captain knew that Kim Jin-Myeong and Gu Baek-Gi had to have arrived only much later.

“Who is Kang Jae-Hyeok?”

The captain already knew Chae Da-Hee’s name. She was the freshman runner-up and famous for being the first swordsmanship genius to appear after many years.

The name Kang Jae-Hyeok, on the other hand, was completely unfamiliar.

No, not completely. The captain recalled something.

It was the same name as the Yaksha’s son, who had transferred to Class B around ten days ago.

This kid must be pretty tired of this name.

The captain was feeling a faint sympathy at the coincidence when Class A’s teacher, Park Joo-Bong, pointed toward the group of Class B students and said, “That’s him over there.”

A black-haired boy stood alone among the other children scattered in the swamp.

The captain’s pupils shook violently upon seeing the boy’s face. So it was the Yaksha’s son...

“Was Class B on the scene from the beginning?”

“No. As you know, they joined late?”

“However, the Yaksha’s son... So that kid is number one in the contribution rankings? And with such an overwhelming percentage?”

“Yes, he created an opening to block the Leech King’s secondary explosion, created the five weak points, and maintained the aggro throughout the fight. He’s really a great student.”

“......”

As a Class B student, Kang Jae-Hyeok had to be level 1, and yet he contributed more than an advanced player?

The captain couldn’t believe it. He stared in disbelief, but Park Joo-Bong just shrugged. It would all come out in the investigation. There was no need to say anything more.

Is he a fraudulent applicant who lied about his level? What type of idiot was in charge of his admission? I will have to talk to the chairman, the captain decided.

In any case, the Kang family...

Tsk. The captain clicked his tongue and cleared the scene.

“We will collect the corpse of the Leech King and distribute the rewards to the raid participants. Teachers, please bring the students back and go to the investigation room.”