The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 71

“What... type of sin did I commit in my past life?”

“Past life? Why bring up your past life? It’s the sin you committed ten days ago.”

“...... ” Hearing the source of his problems criticize him back, Roh Jun-Yeop only felt more tired.

Baek Do-Jin looked like a giant bedbug as he lazily lounged and sucked down a drink. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

When will I be freed from this guy?

Kang Jae-Hyeok’s request was simple: teach Baek Do-Jin to shoot until he could hit the target every time in beginner mode.

At first, he thought it would be easy.

In the beginner mode, the maximum distance from the person to the target was ninety meters, and the target's diameter was one hundred twenty centimeters, with the ten-point bullseye being around twelve centimeters. The bullseye was fairly small, but an ordinary person could hit it after a long period of practice.

There were other modes for advanced players—such as expert mode, where the targets were further away and much smaller; hell mode, where multiple targets moved in real-time; and Ragnarok mode, where targets became even smaller, with added cover and penalty rules—but they all required high stats and shooting-related Skills. In comparison, the beginner mode was like a child’s game that anyone could enjoy.

That’s right. The Roh Jun-Yeop of a week ago had been full of confidence. No matter how terrible Baek Do-Jin was at shooting, Roh Jun-Yeop believed that as an awakened player, Baek Do-Jin would quickly become a sharpshooter and hit every target in beginner mode. He even thought that Baek Do-Jin would master expert mode after he, the future Bow Saint, personally passed on his know-how.

In reality, however...

Baek Do-Jin was still struggling in beginner mode.

His arrows were less likely to miss the target completely, but his maximum record was hitting the five-point target.

Isn’t this more like some kind of perceptual impairment rather than a lack of talent or inability to concentrate?

Roh Jun-Yeop had serious doubts and looked at Baek Do-Jin sadly. A user of Flash Steps had an impaired sense of perception... Wasn’t the world trying to screw him over?

Flash Steps was a notorious Skill. He had heard that the relative coordinates had to be determined without the slightest error, and the mana flow had to be finely tuned according to the coordinates. Amid a life-or-death battle, it was virtually impossible to use Flash Steps properly.

In fact, none of the previous Flash Steps users had become high-class players either. It was recorded that after several experiences of being seriously injured by their Skill, they were so traumatized that they sealed off Flash Steps.

Few geniuses in this world had the superior concentration, mana control, and spatial awareness required for Flashsteps. Not to mention, the chance that such a genius also awakened Flash Steps was infinitely low.

Skills like Flash Steps are too rare.

Suddenly, Roh Jun-Yeop realized why Baek Do-Jin was obsessed with shooting when he had no talent for it. There’s no better way to train in the three elements needed for Flash Steps users than shooting.

Still, there’s no way a stupid bastard like Do-Jin realized this himself. Did Kang Jae-Hyeok give him advice?

In any case, Kang Jae-Hyeok was also a weird person. He was strangely wise and kind. Jun-Yeop stared at his right hand. It was the hand that Kang Jae-Hyeok had held. The strength and warmth he’d felt from Kang Jae-Hyeok’s hand was still vivid.

Without that strength and warmth, Roh Jun-Yeop might’ve buried himself in anger and shame, making a huge mistake.

At first, I thought he was just crazy. Roh Jun-Yeop had suspected it was a new form of suicide when a freshman had challenged him. He’d never expected to be defeated. However, Kang Jae-Hyeok defied everyone’s expectations and won the competition.

In the ten days since then, Roh Jun-Yeop watched many things change—and the biggest was the blurring boundary between the club’s two factions. True, Roh Jun-Yeop’s faction had lost its momentum after his defeat, but after Kang Jae-Hyeok had offered him his hand, Jang Yeon-Ju’s faction could no longer make fun of him.

Above all, Kang Jae-Hyeok himself didn’t distinguish between the factions—among the members he’d sent to deliver the black tuna, there was a random mix of people from both. When they had left to deliver the tuna, the group had been growling at each other like dogs and monkeys. But after returning from their mission, there was a warm atmosphere between them. The change had happened so fast that it was absurd.

And Kang Jae-Hyeok’s reason for taking on that low-rated commission was also pretty surprising... He had thought all aristocrats were just stuck-up bastards. Well, of course, Kang Jae-Hyeok was still extremely rude—

Bang!

—Just look at him now. It was standard for him to kick open the door every time he entered.

The Shooting Club members’ hands slipped in the middle of practice as Kang Jae-Hyeok barged in.

Glancing around, Kang Jae-Hyeok said. “What? It’s good for you. Shooting only in a quiet space lacks practicality.” Despite interfering with their training, Kang Jae-Hyeok was the one to scold the club members. Still, his reasoning sounded plausible, so nobody argued.

But does he have to kick down the door... Weren’t there countless ways to make the environment noisy or startle the members in the shooting lanes? Did he really have to destroy the clubroom every time?

....In any case, Kang Jae-Hyeok was rude, but he was also different from other aristocrats. His unruly attitude contained the intention to help others, not himself. Roh Jun-Yeop had been observing from the side and naturally built up goodwill toward him. The other members were no different—the same people who had been outraged at the idea of making students of Lion’s Castle, especially their revered seniors, deliver fish now followed this guy’s lead without hesitation.

Kang Jae-Hyeok strode confidently into the shooting range, coming right up to Roh Jun-Yeop before abruptly stopping with a frown. “The manager is here. Aren’t you going to greet me?”

“Uh? U-uh... ”

Kang Jae-Hyeok’s attitude of being a senior and scolding him was too natural. Roh Jun-Yeop got up and reflexively tried to bow as Do-Jin clicked his tongue. “Jae-Hyeok, are you the manager? I didn’t know you told jokes.”

“I wasn’t joking; it was a test, and the result is pretty worrying. You aren’t telling people I’m the manager of the Shooting Club, right?”

“...You damn bastards.” Roh Jun-Yeop’s face turned red. He was being toyed with between a brat and a mad dog.

Just then, Kang Jae-Hyeok’s expression became serious. “Actually, I’m here because I want you to take on a commission. Do you know Grishi? I need you to go there and locate a blacksmith with the surname Song.”

“Gurishi?”

“No, Grishi.”

At the time of the great upheaval, many administrative divisions of South Korea had been destroyed, regardless of size—including cities, county districts, neighborhoods, towns, townships, and villages. Adding up North Korea’s damages as well, the number of divisions lost had exceeded one hundred.

Dozens of new- or combined administrative districts took shape as South Korea adapted to the new world and unified with North Korea. But in the process, the names of many places had been forgotten or distorted. Of course, the scholars were the only ones who felt sorry for this. In modern society, what was important wasn’t the geography of the country but the number of gates they possessed. These days, people knew gate names better than they knew the names of places. Jae-Hyeok was no different.

“Why would I know or care about this place? You want a high-level guy like me to go look for someone? Have you forgotten that I am the future Bow Saint?”

“Oh really? I thought you were the one who lost to Jae-Hyeok.”

Roh Jun-Yeop snapped, “Baek Do-Jin, don’t interrupt the humans.”

Kang Jae-Hyeok replied, “Grishi is quite dangerous, and your mission is more like an escort mission.”

“Escort? So I’m moving with a client?”

“That’s right. The content of the commission is to work with a client to find the blacksmith surnamed Song. Then, escape safely with the two of them.”

Roh Jun-Yeop was skeptical. “Why don’t you go yourself?”

He didn’t want to admit it, but he had been thoroughly defeated by Kang Jae-Hyeok and even lost his club manager position. With a difficult mission like this, he thought it made sense for Kang Jae-Hyeok to go instead of him.

Kang Jae-Hyeok said, “You’re stronger than me. If we had fought in a real battle instead of a shooting competition, it would’ve been difficult for me to beat you. Don’t you think?”

“Hmm... that’s right... ” Having regained his pride, Roh Jun-Yeop’s mouth twitched with satisfaction.

Baek Do-Jin interrupted again. “I think it’s even more legendary that the manager of the Shooting Club fought and lost with his club’s own shooting rules.”

A vein popped on Roh Jun-Yeop’s forehead, and he trapped Baek Do-Jin in a headlock. Just then, Kang Jae-Hyeok declared, “Oh, and Jang Yeon-Ju will accompany you.”

“W-what?” Roh Jun-Yeop jumped up. “Working with Jang Yeon-Ju? Are you crazy? Did the client request us specifically? Is the client crazy?”

“What nonsense? It isn’t the client’s role to consider the relationship between students.”

“...You’re right. In the first place, an outsider would have no way of knowing that we don’t get along.” Roh Jun-Yeop was convinced and asked another question. “So, who’s the client?”

“Me.”

“...... ”

Roh Jun-Yeop stared blankly at Kang Jae-Hyeok for a while. Then, coming to his senses, he shouted. “You’re fucking with me on purpose! Did you take over the Shooting Club just to mess with me?”

“No way. As a client, I just want my commission to go to people I trust.”

“Che.”

If it were ten days ago, Roh Jun-Yeop would’ve kicked his head and punched him, scolding him for talking bullshit. However, he had learned humility after clashing with Loren and Kang Jae-Hyeok. Moreover, watching him over the week had caused a strange change in his heart. Curious about what Kang Jae-Hyeok was up to, he decided to accept the commission.

“How much will you pay? The price for the manager of the shooting department is expensive.”

“You aren’t the manager.”

“...Damn, this is really pissing me off.”

***

That night, Jae-Hyeok returned to the dormitory and texted Butler Hwang.

Jae-Hyeok: Early tomorrow morning, I will send two students as escorts. They are very talented, so rely on them.

Butler Hwang: You are acting right away?

Jae-Hyeok: Since you quickly inquired about the swordsmith, I should respond quickly too.

Butler Hwang’s intelligence network had far exceeded Jae-Hyeok’s expectations. He thought it would take months or years to find the swordsmith who worked for the Kang family, but he was found in just four days.

Jae-Hyeok: Thank you. I’m glad that the only thing Butler Hwang can’t do is cook.

Butler Hwang: It was a small matter. Craftsman Song’s contact information was saved on my phone.

Jae-Hyeok: ...Then why did it take four days? Butler, Hwang, you’re only bad at cooking... right?

Butler Hwang: What can I do if the other person doesn’t contact me back? Don’t mistake being old for being incompetent. By the way, if they are willing to fulfill Young Master’s request so soon, could it be that the two people coming tomorrow are your close friends?

Jae-Hyeok thought, Friends? He didn’t know about Jang Yeon-Ju, but it was difficult to think of Roh Jun-Yeop as a friend.

Jae-Hyeok: That isn’t the case.

Butler Hwang: I see. Nonetheless, they moved quick. Does that mean they are your subordinates? It hasn’t been long since you’ve entered school... (cat emoji sighing with crossed arms). Please don’t get sued for school violence like the eldest young lady. I don’t have the money to hire a lawyer.

“......”

Maybe the person in the world who didn’t trust him the most was Butler Hwang. The more time they spent together, the more vicious he became. Jae-Hyeok stared at the moon outside the window and recited an impromptu poem. Then he connected to the Community.

As expected, a message from A Conscientious Merchant had arrived.

-A huge treasure has arrived.

This time, the merchant's attitude was different from the beginning. He directly disclosed the information about the items he wanted to sell.

He’s finally starting to show the basics of being a merchant. Still, it wasn’t enough. The more Jae-Hyeok thought about it, the more disgusting this person felt. He was the perfect candidate for venting his anger.

-I’m not interested in the items you sell because they’re low quality.

After replying and healing the internal wounds inflicted by Butler Hwang, Jae-Hyeok went to bed with a relaxed mind.

At the same time, a mansion in a Western country.

“This is a real bigshot. Shall I take it out now?”

The eyes of the man known as A Conscientious Merchant in the Community lit up.

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