Phewwww!
Having returned to his room, Jin let out a long sigh. He shut the door and leaned against the wall as the tension left him.
In fact, he was glad he could finally express his stress and nervousness ever since the beginning of class.
‘Sheesh, I thought my heart would explode.’
As he recalled his conversation with his uncle, Zed Runcandel, Jin could only stare at the ceiling in astonishment.
Thanks to his regression, Jin was aware of his uncle’s personality and thought process, so he knew what to say exactly to satisfy the instructor. However, knowing what to say and actually having to say it in front of his uncle were completely different problems.
Had Jin shown even the slightest hint of fear on his expression before Zed, one of his limbs would’ve been sent flying immediately. In fact, his uncle might’ve even cleanly sliced Jin’s head off like he had said.
However, Jin had successfully resolved the situation. He had planted a powerful and intense image of himself inside Zed and the other cadets’ minds. Moreover, Jin had already declared war on the Tona twins’ faction over the hegemony of the intermediate class.
Although the benefits Jin received seemed far too little compared to how he had risked his life to confront Zed, the boy knew it was worth it.
Jin knew better than anyone else that one could very easily lose their life in the Runcandel Clan for the smallest of issues, and that one couldn’t earn anything unless they used all their forces and strength.
‘Fight, win, and enjoy the benefits… I’m sure that even if everyone were a regressor, they wouldn’t be able to act and behave like me.’
The three great virtues of the Runcandel Clan he once hated in his first life.
The current Jin was closer than anyone else to attaining these virtues.
“Gilly.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“I’ve officially declared war on the Tona elder brothers. But it seems that Elder Sisters Anne and Myu are secretly backing them.”
Gilly instantly froze. The hand that was wiping the tea cup stopped dead in its tracks.
She had been expecting Jin and the Tona twins to fight over the hegemony when the youngest boy advanced classes. It was an inevitable conflict as long as they were all standing inside the same enclosure called the intermediate class.
However, Gilly hadn’t expected the Tona twins to have a backer. Soon, her gaze darkened and deepened.
“Ladies Anne and Myu… Are you certain?”
“Yeah. Today, I cut down a cadet who was alongside Elder Brothers, and after looking into it, he was a part of Elder Sisters Anne and Myu’s faction. In fact, there’s no way the Tona Elder Brothers would already have a 5-star knight in their faction.”
Even if someone is a part of the Runcandel direct lineage, a knight of the clan won’t be willing to subordinate themselves to someone weaker than them. However, the Tona twins were still only at the 3-star stage.
“Haa, I didn’t expect them to already start trying to keep you in check, Young Master, since they’re already active flag-bearers.”
Myu and Anne were 7-star knights who had already fought on many battlefields. Due to their numerous contributions, they received the flag-bearer qualification from the clan.
Amongst Cyron Runcandel’s 13 children, only four had yet to become flag-bearers.
Jin, the Tona twins, and Cyron’s youngest daughter, Yona.
Gilly fiddled with the dry tea towel with complicated feelings.
“It’s actually good news that my elder sisters are trying to keep me in check already. It means that they’re already concerned by me despite our age gap.”
“Even so, it’s unreasonable. You’re only 15 years old, Young Master. And it’s an unwritten rule that flag-bearers should only fight between themselves and not get involved with their youngest siblings!”
Gilly bursted out in fury.
“It’s fine. I just have to change things so that my elder sisters don’t just feel concerned by me, but also fear me.”
Poof!
The sunbathing cat lying next to the window suddenly turned around and transformed into a human.
“What’s going on? What are you talking about? Lemme in on it as well.”
Gilly explained the situation in simple terms to Murakan, who then sighed deeply.
“It’s such a pity I can’t reveal my identity yet. I could easily beat up two 7-star knights with the flick of a finger. Why do your siblings obsess with trampling on you even though you’re the clan’s only hope of defeating the Zipfels in the future?”
The clan’s only hope of defeating the Zipfels in the future.
Murakan’s words were accurate. If Jin mastered Solderet’s power and stayed within the clan, the Runcandels could trample on the Zipfels and take over the world in the future.
Currently, the Zipfels had the upper hand. If the Runcandels and Zipfels were to start an all out war today, the clan of magicians would come out victorious in the end.
But the Zipfel Clan hadn’t declared war on the Runcandels yet for two reasons:
The conflict would cause irreparable damage to the Zipfels, and the existence of Cyron Runcandel.
However, there was one teensy-weensy, but ever so crucial, little tiny detail the Zipfels weren’t aware of. The god they were desperately yearning for—Solderet—was currently contracted to Jin.
“Are your siblings acting like this because they don’t know you’re Solderet’s contractor?”
“No, they just try to keep anyone who shows potential in check. In fact, if they knew I was Solderet’s contractor, they would’ve been ten times more motivated to trample me down. It would’ve been a miracle if I survived till the age of 15.”
“Even so, the clan is still as fucked up as it was a thousand years ago. In fact, things might’ve been better back then. Your first patriarch was rude and insolent, but he still had compassion and heart.”
“…Then what do you plan on doing from now on, Young Master?”
“I’ve got no reason to hesitate. I’ve already dealt my sisters a heavy blow. Not only did I cut down their strongest intermediate-class subordinate on my first day, I also shifted his official affiliation to the Tona faction instead of my sisters’.”
Jin explained the incident at the training ground to the other two in detail.
Officially speaking, Kajin was not a member of Anne and Myu’s faction anymore, as the Tona twins had called him ‘our cadet’.
“I’m sure my elder brothers will get beaten to death by our sisters. They’ll definitely come to the training ground tomorrow with bruised and swollen faces. It’ll be hard for them to try to oppress me with their intermediate-class subordinates now.”
If a king bestowed his strongest army to a general and the general returned after getting the entire army decimated, the king wouldn’t give them a second chance.
That was the situation between Myu, Anne, and the Tona twins.
“And since they’re already flag-bearers, my elder sisters can’t personally come to the intermediate class to beat me to death. In that case, there’s just one last method they can use to attempt to oppress me.”
Gilly gasped as she realized what Jin was talking about.
“Through missions!”
“That’s right. They’ll most likely manipulate the missions I receive with their authority as flag-bearers. I’m sure they’ll specifically choose to assign me disgustingly difficult missions and earnestly wait for me to die on duty or to return with a severe injury.”
“I will try to discuss it with the ladies’ nannies. I cannot let such a thing happen to you, Young Master.”
The kind and naive Gilly didn’t know how to think in a cunning and sly manner.
“You mustn’t, Gilly. If they find out, Elder Sisters will accuse me of trying to abuse my power and will take disciplinary action against me. And the supervision of missions is part of the flag-bearers’ jurisdiction, so if we have no real explanation, we cannot stop them from manipulating my schedule of missions.”
“Shit! God-fucking-dammit! Ack, apologies, Young Master. That came out on the spur of the moment…”
“It’s fine, Strawberry Pie.”
Murakan replied in Jin’s stead. The boy also smiled gently and continued his words.
“But there’s one thing my elder sisters aren’t aware of. Most of the difficult missions are one-man tasks… But if I’m assigned one-man missions, I won’t have to hold back and hide my true abilities, don’t you think?”
Unlike group missions, Jin would be able to use magic and spiritual power when carrying out solo missions.
He could use magic, spiritual power, and the combat techniques written in the secret tomes of the various martial clans as long as there was no one around or he killed all the witnesses.
“So solo missions are actually a great opportunity for me. If my elder sisters send me on solo missions, I’d be infinitely grateful. It’s suffocating having to limit myself with just swordsmanship. I’ll just go on the missions, use my hidden abilities to wipe out my enemies, and gain some achievements.”
Achievements on missions. That was the absolute criterion the instructors used to evaluate the cadets in the intermediate class.
There were cases where a cadet had excellent swordsmanship but fell behind on missions, and vice versa. Needless to say, the more important criterion was the missions.
Moreover, solo missions with high difficulties were the best missions to carry out in order to gain the most points. Solo missions usually consisted of assassinations and espionage, so they were the most dangerous tasks.
“That’s a great plan, kid!”
“…If you were to use all your hidden abilities, you should be able to rival the weaker advanced-class cadets, Young Master.”
Murakan and Gilly were well aware of Jin’s true combat capabilities. Since Jin’s swordsmanship was developing at a quick pace, he would probably reach the 4-star stage before being sent on his first mission.
“And if one of the missions appears to be too difficult for you, I could accompany you to help out. Even if it’s a solo mission, they should allow you to take a mere cat along, no?”
“They would. But I need you to do something else for me.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll tell you later. Since we’ve discussed the most important stuff, I should head over to Elder Sister Luna’s training session now. Behave yourself while I’m gone and don’t cause any problems.”
***
The intermediate class began its training in earnest.
Compared to the beginner training class, there were no particular differences in the regimen other than the fact that the cadets used real swords and that the difficulty was higher.
However, when the afternoon classes began, Jin and the Tona twins were led to a hidden area inside the training ground and were taught the ‘Runcandel Swordsmanship’. This was a privilege only available to direct Runcandel descendants.
“Our clan’s swordsmanship is, in simple terms, overpowering. It’s destructive and unwavering. The clan’s personality and virtues are perfectly embodied in our swordsmanship.”
The three boys sitting cross-legged on the floor nodded in sync.
The Tona twins’ faces were bruised and swollen just as Jin had predicted. They had been pummelled and beaten by their sisters all night long.
However, Zed didn’t even bother asking why the twins were in such pitiable states. He didn’t care. He already knew that the Tona twins didn’t have great potential since before Jin joined the intermediate class.
‘I never thought the day would ever come when I’d feel pity for the Tona twins. Still, they reap what they sow.’
They were crazy homicidal maniacs in Jin’s past life and were growing up to become the same homicidal maniacs right now.
However, the twins were treated as outstanding, genius kids in the outside world. Yet, they fell short in Zed’s eyes, and their uncle couldn’t care less about them now.
Moreover, the twins had gotten humiliated by their little brother yesterday, so Zed couldn’t be more displeased with them.
However, it wasn’t as if Zed held absolutely no sense of affection towards them.
Do not confront the youngest until you two are strong enough. That is, if you wish to live long. That child isn’t someone you two can rival.
Yesterday, after telling the twins to stay behind after class, Zed warned Jin’s older brothers as so.
“You three must already be aware, but our clan’s swordsmanship doesn’t have a single style or form. While we do have secret techniques and decisive killing moves, those are only taught once you become flag-bearers.”
The swordsmanship that is taught to the direct Runcandel descendants is a formless style of swordsmanship. It was different compared to the style taught to the cadets.
There were no patterns, no footwork, and no real shape or form. This was the biggest difference between the Runcandel Clan and other martial clans.
“Do you know why our clan’s swordsmanship is formless?”
“It is due to the special physical capabilities and sensory faculties that the Runcandel bloodline possesses.”
“Correct. The Runcandel lineage possesses blessed bodies. We hold special sensory faculties towards our own bodies and the sword that no ordinary human could understand. No one else! Not a single person out of thousands or tens of thousands.”
The timing at which the bloodline’s blessing blooms and the overall effect on one’s talents were different for each individual. However, the blessing did indeed bloom in every single Runcandel since a thousand years ago. No one was exempted from it.
However, the bloodline’s affinity with magic was incredibly low. Jin was an extremely rare exception to the rule amongst the Runcandels.
Zed continued his words and finished his explanation.
“And so, what I’m about to teach you three is extremely simple and unsophisticated. Get up.”
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