Chapter 45

Even after the delegation from the Kingdom of Owen left, the trainees did not move. They stood there in a daze, staring at Raon's retreating figure.

They had seen Raon every day and knew he was strong, but no one had expected him to move so quickly and deliver such powerful sword strikes, always moving as smoothly as water.

“Eh, eh...”

“Was he that strong?”

“Eh, how is the gap widening...”

When the trainees were still in a daze, a refreshing clap echoed from the platform.

“Everyone did well.”

Rimer sat on the platform and smiled.

“Thank you for giving your best in the sudden sparring session.”

“No, sir!”

“Thank you for giving us the opportunity to spar with the training knights from the Kingdom of Owen!”

The trainees bowed, grateful for the chance to spar.

“Well, that’s good.”

Rimer smiled and kicked the air, looking more cheerful than usual.

“Well, it’s over. I have a few things to say. First, the training knights from Owen you faced today? They’re not just ordinary training knights.”

“Huh?”

“What kind of...”

He paused, and the trainees swallowed hard.

“Those guys are the elite that the Kingdom of Owen is grooming. If they continue to grow, they will become royal guards or silver knights.”

“Wow!”

“Royal guards and silver knights!”

“No wonder they were so strong...”

The trainees gaped in awe.

The royal guards and silver knights of the Kingdom of Owen are places where only the elite of the elite can enter.

The royal guards are the shield that protects the king in the royal castle, and the silver knights are the sword that cuts down enemies threatening the kingdom.

It was no exaggeration to say that these two knight orders were the cream of the crop in the Kingdom of Owen.

The trainees were amazed that they had fought on par with training knights who were almost certain to join such prestigious orders.

“Fighting on par with such talented individuals is something to be proud of. Everyone, give yourselves a round of applause!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

“Wow!”

“We won!”

The trainees raised their hands and cheered.

“Hem!”

“Chief Instructor.”

While Rimer was enjoying the cheers, a hand went up in the center. Burren was staggering to his feet.

“Can I spar with them again?”

Burren’s expression was as if he had an enemy right in front of him.

“Anyone would think you lost.”

“If I hadn’t won, it would be the same as losing.”

“Personally, I like your attitude.”

Rimer smiled and nodded.

“The training knight you faced is said to be the future captain of the royal guards. If you keep improving, you’ll meet him again, whether you like it or not. Of course, by then, you’ll be a knight, not a training knight. Then...”

“I need to become a swordsman.”

Burren’s green eyes glowed with determination.

“Good to know.”

“One more thing.”

“What is it?”

“If the training knight I faced is the future captain of the royal guards, what about the third prince? His sword skills were not at the level of a royal.”

Burren’s question was valid. No matter how strong the third prince was at 15, his skills were unusually powerful.

“The third prince is said to be the future best swordsman of the kingdom.”

“Wow!”

“Wow...”

Rimer’s answer brought silence to the training ground. The trainees looked back at Raon with wide eyes, as if he had defeated a future best swordsman of the kingdom with ease, wondering what kind of monster he was.

“Today’s training ends here. You’ve used a lot of energy, so go back and rest.”

Rimer clapped again and disappeared from the platform. However, the trainees’ eyes still held the shock of Raon’s performance.

* * *

Raon left the training ground first, leaving behind the astonished trainees.

Normally, he would stay and train even if told to go back, but he had something to do first, so he quickly headed to his quarters.

As soon as he entered his room, he sat on the floor and tapped the flower bracelet.

Whoosh!

A cold blue mist bloomed from the bracelet like a flower. However, the cold seemed to tremble with anger.

- Damn it! How could you lose to someone with that kind of strength! I thought he was royalty, but he’s just stupid and low!

Ras clenched his teeth, filling the room with a chilling cold.

- If I were in your place, you would be a frozen lump by now. A prince who can’t use his power? Pathetic!

Ras, being the king of the demon realm, seemed to have felt a kinship with the prince. He was clearly very upset about losing the bet, and his anger and chatter burst out simultaneously.

- When I was in the demon realm, I could easily defeat great enemies with less mana. In a future ruler-to-ruler battle...

“Ah, that’s enough.”

Raon tapped the bracelet, cutting off Ras’s words.

‘That needs to be cut off.’

‘Whenever “When I was in the demon realm” comes up, it’s best to cut it off. If I don’t, I’ll be hearing it until morning.’

“Can you stop talking and give me the bet reward?”

- This is a scam. I didn’t know he couldn’t use his power.

In fact, the third prince fought well. It was just that the Manhua Gong technique had a power that was unrelated to the amount of aura, making it incredibly strong.

“So you’re not going to give it? Just because you’re the ruler of the demon realm?”

- Do you think I, the king, lie like a human? I keep my word, even if it’s a scam!

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

[Your victory reward has been granted.]

[All stats have increased by 4 points.]

As the message of the stat increase appeared, Raon felt a tingling sensation throughout his body, as if he had been electrocuted.

“Hoooo.”

The thrill of instant physical and mental growth was so intense that it never got old. He would do any task for this reward.

Grip.

He clenched his fist, feeling a clear difference in grip strength and muscle elasticity from the 4-point stat increase.

<Status Screen>

Name: Raon Zighardt.

Title: First Victory

Condition: Curse of the Cold (6 strands)

Traits: Rage, Ring of Fire (4-star), Water Resistance (4-star), Snow Sense (2-star), Manhua Gong (2-star), Cold of the Cold (2-star), Fire Resistance (2-star).

Strength: 47

Agility: 47

Stamina: 48

Spirit: 36

Senses: 58

Not only from this reward, but his stats had increased significantly from continuous training. The sense of satisfaction from seeing the higher numbers on the status screen was overwhelming.

-Tsk.

Ras scanned the invisible status screen and clicked his tongue, clearly displeased.

- Happy?

‘Yes.’

Raon answered without hesitation.

- You don’t need to be that happy. No matter how strong you become, you’re still just a vessel for me. There’s nothing I, the king, can’t achieve.

He muttered that there wasn’t much time left and released a cold aura.

“Ah, right.”

The temperature dropped to the point where frost formed on his skin, but the water resistance prevented him from feeling the cold.

“Keep working hard.”

He shrugged off Ras and stood up.

- Don’t ignore me. I will possess your body, even if it takes 100 years.

‘Understood.’

- Grrrr!

Raon opened the door and stepped out just as Ras’s cold aura began to erupt like a volcano.

Ignore?

How could he ignore?

Ras is an enemy, and a very dangerous one at that.

The reason he practices the Ring of Fire daily and trains his body and mind is to prevent Ras from taking over his body.

He pretends to be relaxed, but he never lets his guard down.

One meaningless death is enough. To survive and take revenge, he needs to become stronger.

Raon left his quarters and returned to the training ground, where everyone had left, and practiced with his sword all night.

* * *

Three months had passed since Raon sparred with the third prince of the Kingdom of Owen.

Despite easily defeating the third prince, who was touted as the next best swordsman of the kingdom, Raon continued to focus solely on training, as if the victory was a thing of the past.

The trainees had even started calling him a training demon or a training genius, though only behind his back.

“His sword is barely visible now.”

“Doesn’t he seem even stronger? His sword skills and footwork are more natural.”

“He’s not just stronger; he’s definitely stronger.”

“I’m intimidated. I’m intimidated.”

The collateral trainees watched Raon, who was completely absorbed in training, and shook their heads.

“I thought I was catching up a bit, but it’s impossible.”

“Exactly. I’ve trained so hard that my shoes are worn out...”

The trainees had increased their training time significantly since Raon defeated Marta, not just after the sparring with the Kingdom of Owen.

They thought their skills had improved enough to close the gap with Raon, but they were wrong.

The gap in skill had not narrowed at all; instead, it had widened to an overwhelming degree.

“So, this is...”

“A difference in talent.”

“Right. Born with different talents. If effort doesn’t work, there’s nothing you can do...”

“Do you think wearing out one pair of shoes means you’ve given your all?”

“Huh?”

At the sharp voice, the trainees turned around.

“Wow!”

“Eh...”

“Mr. Burren!”

Burren stood with his arms crossed, his lips twisted.

“It’s so convenient to elevate someone with the beautiful word ‘talent.’ You can rationalize that you’ve given your all, even if it’s not enough. But listen.”

He continued as he walked past the trainees.

“You can say that after wearing out ten pairs of shoes, not just one.”

He was talking to himself, not to the trainees. He was speaking to his past self, who had been jealous of Raon without knowing how hard he had worked.

“Right.”

“Sorry...”

“You don’t need to apologize to me. It’s your life.”

Burren picked up a training sword from behind the trainees and walked to the center of the training ground.

“Mr. Burren, you seem a bit softer now.”

“You would have ignored us before...”

“Hey. He’s coming. Shut up!”

“Huh!”

The trainees closed their mouths as they saw Marta walking in from the left.

Click.

Marta took out a training sword and slung it over her shoulder. She stopped, her short hair swaying as she walked to the training ground.

“Did you say he’s softer?”

She gave the trainees a look of obvious disdain.

“He’s like a volcano about to erupt, and you say he’s softer? Your eyes are worse than a rotten orc’s.”

Marta sneered and walked to the training ground, swinging her sword.

Raon and Lunan moved without stopping, and Burren and Marta struck their swords with a powerful momentum, determined not to fall behind.

“Phew, it’s suffocating.”

The trainees shook their heads and sighed.

There are monsters in the 5th training ground. Four of them...

“Yeah, but.”

One of the trainees looked down at his training sword and then raised his head.

“There’s no better place to improve your skills, right?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Right.”

The other trainees nodded. Since coming to the 5th training ground, their skill improvement had accelerated significantly.

“Let’s go.”

The trainees ended their short break, picked up their training swords, and entered the training ground.

“Good.”

Rimer was sitting on a tree behind them, smiling.

“The pillars are holding up well, so they’re following naturally.”

He looked at Raon, Burren, Lunan, and Marta, who were swinging their swords in the center of the training ground. The four, with different colors, were running at full speed, and the other trainees naturally followed in their wake.

These four played a significant role in the trainees’ skill development, more so than the instructors.

“Hmm.”

Rimer, sitting on the tree, twirled his red hair with his finger and nodded.

“It’s time to put them to the test.”