Chapter 13

"Bet?"

Raon's eyes narrowed.

"What kind of bet are you talking about?"

Suddenly suggesting a bet, he couldn't grasp Las's intentions.

-There's no need to be tense. I, the King, do not lie nor deceive you. I will show you directly.

As soon as he finished speaking, a new message appeared.

[<Rage> proposes the first bet.]

Condition: Pass the formal trainee exam as the top student.

Success: All stats +2, random special ability.

Failure: Generate 10 points of <Rage> emotion.

After reading it, he could immediately understand its meaning. It seemed that if he won the bet, Las would hand over his abilities.

"Is this about passing the formal trainee exam as the top student, as Remer mentioned?"

-That's right. Since he said he always picks the top student, the result will be clear.

"Hmm…"

But there were a few things he couldn't understand.

"What's the random special ability?"

-One of the special abilities I, the King, possess will be given to you. Of course, it will be downgraded to match your inferiority.

"Special ability…"

Raon looked at Las, who was burning with a blue flame, as if doused in oil. He always called himself the King of the Demon World.

While he couldn't believe it, he was certainly a special existence. Even if given randomly, there was a high chance it would be a useful ability.

"One more thing. This is the most important part—what does it mean to generate 10 points of <Rage> emotion if I fail?"

-It means exactly that. The <Rage> emotion I, the King, possess will be generated in you.

"Does that mean you can control my emotions?"

-Not exactly. The <Rage> emotion I, the King, transfer to you is minimal, like a drizzle. However…

Las's voice was filled with obvious anticipation.

-Like a drizzle soaking clothes. As you accept my <Rage>, no matter how strong your mental strength is, you will eventually lose control of the emotion.

"Is that what you're aiming for?"

Raon looked down at Las with a cold eye. It seemed he had given up on taking his body all at once and was trying to gradually take it over.

-You must have realized that your body changes according to the status window's stats. If you accept this bet, you will be one step closer to your revenge.

Las, unlike the King of <Rage>, spoke calmly, urging him to accept the bet. For the first time, he felt annoyed by this guy.

'But why this bet?'

Since he had confirmed the existence of the main body, he could have used its power to subdue his mind. He couldn't understand why he was using such a troublesome method.

-As I said, the main body's power is connected to you. If I could draw out that power, I would have taken your body immediately.

Las replied as if reading his thoughts.

"Did you lie about anything?"

-I, the King, am the ruler of the Demon World. I do not lie.

"Hmm…"

Raon let out a thin sigh. His words were true. Las was definitely a madman, but he always answered questions honestly.

"Is it a poisonous apple that I have to eat?"

With all stats increasing by 2 and gaining a special ability, he couldn't refuse. The risk of failure was relatively low, though it would be dangerous if it accumulated.

"Hmm…"

The 5th training ground had many outstanding children. Not to mention Lu Nan and Burren, even the collateral and recommended students had unique talents.

An ordinary child wouldn't even dare to aim for the top.

But he was a reincarnated person.

No matter what the exam was or how talented the children were, he wouldn't lose if he used his past life's experience.

"Fine. I accept."

-Good choice.

[You have accepted the bet with <Rage>.]

Raon met Las's eyes through the floating message. The guy was smiling, a smile filled with confidence that he would win.

So he smiled back.

It won't go as you think.

* * *

The next morning.

Burren opened the training ground door and entered.

Even though it was still dark, his hair was neatly combed, and his training uniform was perfectly ironed. He looked every bit the noble.

"Hmm?"

Crayn and a few collaterals, who always greeted him excessively, awkwardly bowed and turned away.

'Why are they doing that?'

As he thought about it, yesterday's events came to mind.

'Could they have provoked him?'

Burren frowned. No matter how much Raon annoyed him, personally provoking him would be a disgrace to the great Sieghart's name.

'Pathetic.'

As he was about to approach and say something to the idiots, the door opened, and Raon entered.

"Hmm?"

But he looked too fine. There were no bruises or injuries, as if he hadn't been hit at all. He even looked more confident than yesterday.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

Conversely, Crayn and the collaterals, upon seeing Raon, turned and cowered in the corner like dogs with their tails between their legs.

'What's going on? What happened?'

Burren swallowed hard. He had no idea what was happening.

"Hey."

Unable to hold back, he approached the trembling collaterals.

"B, Burren-sama!"

Crayn and the collaterals bowed with their mouths open wide.

"Why are you trembling like that?"

"W, well…"

"Ugh!"

The collaterals, instead of answering, looked at Raon standing behind them and shut their mouths. Their eyes were filled with clear fear.

'Not me, but they're afraid of Raon?'

What did Raon do to make them so scared?

"A, nothing happened."

"That's right. Nothing happened."

"Hehe!"

The collaterals awkwardly laughed and scratched the back of their heads.

'Got beaten up, did they?'

There was no other explanation.

The collaterals must have gone to educate Raon and got beaten up in return.

Burren turned to look at Raon. He was standing quietly, showing no interest, just like yesterday.

'Was he hiding his abilities?'

He snorted. A talentless patient hiding his strength would be like a speck of dust.

'Go ahead and struggle.'

After all, his bottom status wouldn't change.

* * *

Raon, while stretching his neck, met the eyes of the collaterals he had 'talked' to yesterday.

"Ugh!"

"Ah!"

The collaterals let out strange groans as if they had met a demon and took a step back.

"Huh?"

"What's going on?"

The other temporary trainees, seeing the collaterals, who had openly insulted Raon yesterday, now hesitating, were puzzled.

Raon turned his head at the sound of a snicker. It was Burren, whose gaze was filled with mockery or ridicule.

'He probably thinks I can do whatever I want.'

Burren's thoughts were clear. He must think that a talentless person's struggles are meaningless.

'What a big misunderstanding.'

Talent was meaningless to him, who possessed the Ring of Fire. By the time the temporary training period ended, he would far surpass Burren.

-That snake-eyed guy is annoying. Get rid of him.

'Here we go again.'

-When I, the King, was in the Demon World, anyone who dared to look at me with such eyes was…

'Be quiet.'

Raon tapped his bracelet. With a sizzling sound, Las's words were cut off.

-This, this guy!

'You talk too much.'

Ignoring Las's words, Raon tried to operate the Ring of Fire when the training ground door opened.

Boom!

The creaking door opened, and Remer and the instructors entered.

The instructors lined up precisely, but Remer walked up to the podium with small steps.

"Did you sleep well?"

Remer looked down and smiled.

"Yes!"

The temporary trainees, despite the early morning, answered loudly.

"Even if you usually train your stamina, running at full speed must have been quite tiring. So…."

Remer nodded and smiled.

"Run again today. At full speed!"

"Huh?"

"Again today?"

"Human stamina increases the more you use it to its limit. Run at full speed until I say stop."

As the children grimaced, two people, as they did yesterday, kicked off the ground first. It was Lu Nan and Burren.

Boom!

Unlike yesterday, they didn't reserve their stamina but ran at full speed.

"Ugh!"

"Running again!"

The children, who had expected to learn something today, started running with annoyance.

-Running again? Boring. You can get stronger without such training. Just by seeing your and your enemy's blood….

'I'm fine with it.'

Raon cut off Las's words, filled his lungs with the morning air, and kicked off the ground.

-You're fine with it? Running endlessly while eating sand?

'Because I get stronger the more I run.'

-Idiot! If you give your body to me, the King, you could become the strongest in a year….

'But if it's not me, it's useless.'

He cut off Las's empty words and started running.

'I'm faster than yesterday.'

Thanks to the increased agility and stamina, he could run faster. He could keep up with the speed of the collaterals and some recommended students, whom he could only catch up to at the end of yesterday's training.

"Huh?"

"Ugh…"

"R, Raon?"

The children in the lower-middle group looked at him with wide eyes. Their expressions seemed to ask, "Why are you here?"

'Growth is indeed fast.'

Raon smiled slightly and ran alongside them. With the Ring of Fire and the increased stats, his growth rate was almost magical.

However, despite running at full speed, Burren and Lu Nan were gradually getting farther away. Their talent and training were clearly beyond his current level.

'The environment isn't bad.'

Being made to run at full speed and having many children to catch up to created the best training environment.

Raon looked at Remer, who was dozing on the podium. Despite his seemingly carefree demeanor, his training methods were solid.

'I'll make good use of your training.'

* * *

"Stop!"

The running that started at dawn only stopped when the sun rose.

"Phew!"

"Phew!"

"Phew!"

The children, without exception, lay on the training ground, gasping for breath.

Since most of them ran at full speed, unlike yesterday, almost no one was standing properly.

"Morning training ends here."

"Morning…"

"Morning, not even noon…"

Hearing that morning training was over, the children shook their heads.

"Morning is when the air is clear and the environment is conducive to sensing mana. You will continue running even after becoming formal trainees, so it's best to get used to it quickly."

Remer twirled his finger, a gesture representing the endless running.

"Go have breakfast."

"After running like this, what kind of breakfast…"

"Can't eat!"

"Can't go in!"

The children, lying on the ground, groaned.

"Even if it's hard, it's good to eat. Training will continue afterward. If your stomach is empty, you won't last. But the choice is yours this time."

Remer left, leaving only his last words.

"Running and then eating right away…"

"Still, we have to eat. Even if we vomit later."

The children staggered into the dining hall. The meal was light and not greasy, probably because the training was intense from the early morning.

Warm soup, soft bread, plain meat, and a few vegetables were all that was served.

"The food is terrible."

"But it's edible."

The collateral children looked at Raon, who was quietly looking at the food on his plate.

"Look at him."

"He's not eating."

"Growing up in a separate building, he wouldn't eat such things."

"Considering his low rank and being treated like a patient, he probably only received special treatment."

The children snickered and mocked Raon, but Raon was thinking something completely different from their expectations.

'Giving us food?'

If the training was over, it would be understandable. But he had never received food during training in his past life.

Since he had to solve his own food problems by eating weeds or hunting animals at a younger age than now, the idea of being given food was unimaginable.

'Is this place really the bottom?'