Chapter 68

Two days later, at dawn.

Rimer stood on the dais of the training ground, where the sun had yet to rise.

The trainees looked at him with a mix of tension and anticipation.

"I will say this one last time. Outside the family, anything can happen. Doubt and doubt again. If it becomes too much, don't look back and retreat."

"Yes!"

His gaze fell on Laon, who stood at the front of the trainees. Laon nodded calmly.

"Then set off. It would normally take a month, but with the main road open, it should take two weeks. I wish you good luck."

"Thank you."

Rimer clapped his hands as he usually did during training. The trainees bowed to him and the instructors and turned around.

"Form four columns. Move according to the buddy groups assigned this morning."

At Laon's command, the trainees moved in unison.

"Huh."

Rimer let out a hollow laugh at the sight.

'Formed buddy groups?'

No matter how much of a top student he was, Laon was just a teenager. The fact that he planned buddy groups without instructors, while feeling the tension of the mission, was astonishing.

'He always surprises me.'

Watching Laon, there was never a moment of boredom. He was always someone to look forward to.

'The most surprising thing was the Gwha-dan.'

When Laon ate the Gwha-dan he obtained as a reward for defeating Marta, Rimer was so surprised that his mouth dropped open.

'I never thought he would absorb it all.'

When taking a spirit medicine, some energy is inevitably wasted. The proper way to take it is to minimize this loss with the help of others, but Laon absorbed all the energy alone. In many ways, he was a monster.

'He can do it.'

Laon was not only skilled in martial arts and aura but also had a talent for senses. He proved this in the battle with the 6th training ground, so he would complete the mission without much difficulty.

"Preparation is complete."

After finishing the formation, Laon approached Rimer. His eyes were calm, showing no signs of anticipation or tension.

'He's just 15 years old…'

Rimer felt goosebumps on his arms as he nodded.

"Set off."

"Set off."

He answered lowly and led the trainees out of the training ground.

"……"

Rimer watched the backs of the trainees he had trained for three years for a long time.

After the trainees disappeared, the instructors approached him.

"Chief Instructor. Shouldn't we follow them now?"

"No."

Rimer shook his head, scratching the back of his head and yawning.

"There's a guy with ghostly senses. I'll take a nap and then go."

He walked straight to the chief instructor's office.

"Huh…"

"Are, are you okay?"

"Shouldn't we go now?"

Despite the worried voices of the instructors behind him, Rimer smiled as if he didn't hear them.

'Worry about the orcs, not them.'

* * *

Laon walked at the front and looked back. The 42 trainees were moving in four columns, but they were divided into three factions.

The first was the collateral faction centered around Burren Zighardt. The collaterals followed Burren like a master.

The second was the Fengshen family faction, opposing the collaterals. However, since Lunan, who should have been the center of this faction, was right next to him, their position was a bit ambiguous.

The third was the commoner-recommended trainees. They had followed him since the temporary training period.

Finally, there was the exceptional Marta, who didn't belong to any faction.

After scanning the faces of the trainees, Laon closed his eyes.

Actually, he didn't care what they did or how they turned out.

He was a trainee and belonged to Zighardt, but he didn't consider himself one of them. He planned to leave after placing Sylvia at the head of the direct line.

However.

Through the sparring with the Owen Kingdom, the first mission, and the battle with the 6th training ground, he realized that wasn't all.

As he spent more time with them and shared the same feelings, he developed a bit of affection for them.

'Mom's words also weigh on my mind.'

Sylvia's voice, asking him to show the old Zighardt knight's demeanor as the top student, was still embedded in his heart.

'This is difficult.'

Was it because he had lived as an assassin? Caring for allies was harder than killing and destroying enemies.

"We'll take a short break here."

Laon stopped in front of a giant tree that five adults couldn't encircle with their arms. The trainees leaned against the tree and sat down.

"I have something to say."

As the trainees drank water and caught their breath, he stood in front of them.

"Some of you might dislike me, but I am your top student now."

His calm voice stating the facts made some clench their fists, some nod, and some show no reaction.

"I know some of you didn't take the monster extermination mission seriously or came with the excitement of a picnic. Your mind is free, but if you go with that playful attitude, you or your comrades behind you will become victims."

"Um…"

The trainees who really thought that way bowed their heads in embarrassment.

"As the chief instructor said, anything can happen during the mission. Don't move recklessly and follow my instructions."

"Okay."

"Yes!"

Lunan and the recommended trainees answered loudly, while Marta and the Fengshen family trainees nodded.

"……"

The collateral trainees remained quiet, looking at Burren.

"Of course."

Burren stood up, splashing water on his head.

"As I said at the end of the 6th training ground sparring, I recognize you as the top student. If your instructions are appropriate, I will follow them even to my death. But if it disgraces the Zighardt name, I will not follow."

"What do you think being a Zighardt means?"

"Knowing honor as a knight. Helping the weak, standing tall before the strong, and not showing a shameful face in training."

"……"

Laon looked at Burren silently.

"I know. I haven't forgotten that I provoked you out of jealousy and disgraced the Zighardt name by not accepting the judgment. That's why I'm saying this now. I will never show a shameful face again."

Burren pounded his chest with his tightly clenched fist. His intensely burning green eyes showed his determination.

'He has really changed.'

Confessing his mistakes and making a pledge in front of so many people was not something a 15-year-old would do.

"Then I understand."

Laon nodded. He felt he could trust Burren, who had changed so much. He put the water he was drinking back in his bag and turned around.

"We set off again."

* * *

Burren watched Laon, who was moving through the forest. Small back. He seemed to have recovered his health and looked his age, but compared to the other trainees, including himself, he was still small.

'But…'

His capacity was incomparable to the other trainees.

While observing him during the mission, he realized that the endurance Laon showed during training was nothing.

Laon didn't tire. Or rather, even if he did, he never showed it.

While the trainees struggled with the cold and fatigue, he was always calm and composed. As a result, the tension of the trainees behind him eased, reducing their energy consumption.

'If he had set off alone, he might have arrived much earlier…'

It was not a baseless thought.

Laon, despite being the top student, always stood guard. He was the only one who didn't sleep.

'His martial arts must have become even stronger.'

He defeated the direct line Cain, who was two years older, half a year ago, so he must have improved even more. He might have reached the upper or even the highest level of sword users.

To be honest, he felt he couldn't beat him anymore.

'But I won't give up.'

He hadn't worked as hard as Laon yet, and giving up on a rival wasn't the Zighardt way.

Grip!

Burren tightly gripped the hilt of his real sword.

Thanks to Laon, he had regained his senses. To repay him, he would catch up to him.

'Wait for me, Laon Zighardt.'

* * *

The roofs of Sebu village, a rainbow of colors, blended elegantly, like the feathers of a peacock. It was the pride of Sebu village.

After two weeks, Laon and the trainees stood on a hill, looking down at the village.

"There it is."

"Finally…"

"Phew, now we can sleep inside."

The trainees, tired of sleeping outdoors, smiled as they massaged their shoulders and backs.

"Sebu village…"

Although he had never been there before, he had done some research for the mission. It was a small village where a few people lived by farming, with no special products or tourist attractions.

Monsters occasionally descended every few years, but it wasn't a particularly special mission. In fact, there were wooden fences around the village to protect against monsters.

"We're going down."

After looking at the village and the surrounding mountains, Laon nodded.

"Yes!"

The trainees tightened their bags and followed Laon down the hill.

'Hmm?'

Laon narrowed his eyes into a crescent and slightly bowed his head.

'What is it?'

A chilling sensation ran down his back. A feeling he had experienced every day during his assassin training. It was the gaze of a human.

'An instructor? No.'

It was different from the instructors' gaze, which observed them knowing they were being watched. It was a chilling sensation that scrutinized everything.

'No one knows.'

The trainees were tense, expecting to fight monsters. Burren, Marta, and Lunan showed no signs of sensing anything.

'Of course.'

It was a faint sensation that he wouldn't have felt if he hadn't lived as an assassin. It would be strange if the trainees noticed.

He rolled his eyes while keeping his head bowed. The aura and senses were still too weak to pinpoint the location.

'This is not good.'

He couldn't tell if it was a family test or another crisis. In such a situation, the best course of action was to hide himself.

Laon descended the mountain without a word. As he deliberately slowed his pace, the sensation that seemed to sweep his neck began to fade.

It seemed to be fleeing to the base to report. This was his chance.

Rrrr.

He created a thin barrier with aura to prevent any sound from escaping and turned around.

"Burren."

"What is it?"

Burren lifted his head, hiding his tension behind a calm expression.

"This mission. You take the lead and give the orders."

"Why suddenly…"

"During the first mission, only Lunan and I moved. This time, you take the lead and show your capabilities. Prove what you said earlier."

"What I said…"

"About showing the demeanor of a Zighardt knight."

"Hmm…"

Burren bit his lip. His furrowed brow showed he was taking his words seriously.

The trainees walked quietly, but their ears and eyes were all on Laon and Burren.

"Alright."

Burren slowly nodded, the hesitation in his eyes gone.

"I'll show that I've changed. Let's go!"

"Yes!"

He shouted and quickened his pace. The steps of the collaterals following Burren were full of energy.

"You heard that."

"Understood."

The trainees who usually followed him nodded immediately.

"Lunan."

"Okay."

Lunan immediately understood and looked at the Fengshen family trainees following her.

"Hmm…"

"Understood."

The Fengshen family, perhaps displeased with Burren gaining influence, frowned but eventually nodded.

"Marta. I'll explain the reason later, but for now, consider Burren the top student."

Finally, he looked at Marta, who was right next to him. She closed her eyes and then opened them, her expression cold.

"You don't need to say that. I already said I would follow your instructions. You just need to show the results."

Marta left those words and walked towards Burren.

-Do the brats seem to be changing a bit?

Ras muttered in a low voice, seemingly displeased.

-Insolent brats!

As always, he was a personality disorder who was angry at everything.

'Do you feel the guy observing you nearby?'

-Did you notice that? Well, since you took the king's characteristic, you would have to bite your tongue and die if you didn't.

'Where is he? How many are there?'

-Does the king look like he would tell you that guy's location?

'One, then.'

-What?

'You can't lie, so if you said "guy," it must be one.'

-You, you….

Ras trembled with anger.

'Even so, there's a problem…'

The observer was one, but including his companions, there could be more. He couldn't let his guard down.

"Hmm…"

Laon smacked his lips, looking at the wooden fence of Sebu village, which was now visible.

'This mission doesn't seem easy.'