Chapter 25

Chapter 10. Jin, the Cadets, Suin, and...

Jin never imagined that the terrorist group he had only heard of in news reports in his past life would be the culprit. Moreover, they didn't just attack the cadets of Runkandel; they even went as far as to kidnap them.

"How much time has passed since Mesa was kidnapped?"

"It hasn't been an hour yet."

"Then they must still be on their way to the edge of the Suin's territory."

Jin pulled out the dagger embedded in the head of the attacker on his side. He then took two more daggers from his teammates and attached them inside his boots and robe.

"Sir, we should prepare to track them down."

"No, I'm going to rescue Mesa alone. You stay here, finish the first aid, and join the remaining 1st Squad to request support from the main house."

"Sir?"

The teammates showed signs of confusion.

"The attackers we encountered were all 4-star level warriors. There are twenty of them, and you want to go alone, Sir!"

"It's not possible, Sir. Please take us with you."

"Mesa is important, but you, Sir, are more important. Honestly, tracking them is too dangerous. It would be better to request support from the main house together..."

For a moment, the teammates raised their voices.

The attackers mentioned twenty members before dying.

As they said, tracking and rescuing would be a reckless act. Especially if Jin were to do it alone.

"There's a chance that the twenty is an understatement. If all of us, including you, Sir, die, the promise you made to this guy will disappear. Please make a careful decision."

"Mesa is a dear comrade to all of us, but deaths during missions are not uncommon. If the main house sends immediate support, there's a possibility of a safe rescue..."

"Scut."

"Yes, Sir."

"As you said, deaths during missions are not uncommon. But if a cadet is captured and the heir of Runkandel does nothing, that's unacceptable."

Jin slowly turned his head to meet the eyes of the cadets.

"I'm stronger than you think. So, gather yourselves and follow my orders. Any further resistance will be considered disobedience."

The cadets lowered their heads solemnly. Jin's stern tone and gaze made it difficult for them to speak further.

"I expect you to become strong enough to fight alongside me in any situation. I'll be back. Oh, and Velop."

"Yes, Sir."

"As all members of the 2nd Squad are injured, you are the strongest among the cadets. You need to pull yourself together. Do you understand? There's no room for hesitation."

"I will keep that in mind."

The cadets bowed their heads as Jin walked away.

* * *

Jin's current achievements are: Spirit Energy Liberation 3-star, Swordsmanship 3-star, and Magic Power 4-star.

Achieving all this at fifteen is an unbelievable feat, but facing twenty 4-star level warriors at once is still a daunting task.

Moreover, if the lower-level members are 4-star, the leaders are likely 5-star or higher.

Despite this, Jin confidently went alone because the attackers had no knowledge of his 'Spirit Energy' and 'Magic Power.'

Additionally, although his Swordsmanship is 3-star, he has acquired some secret techniques from various martial arts. The odds weren't entirely against him.

'I won't have to fight all twenty at once. They'll be scattered while searching, so I'll eliminate them group by group and find Mesa.'

Jin stopped running when he judged he was far enough from the cadets.

Taking a deep breath, a fist-sized lump of magic power formed in Jin's right palm. Jin intended to use magic to track them.

'Ground Sense.'

Ground Sense is a 3-star Earth Magic. It detects the state of the ground, primarily used to sense disasters like earthquakes.

It's not a suitable magic for tracking, but magic can be infinitely versatile through application and combination. The concept of application and combination itself requires 'cooperation' from ordinary mages.

Whirr!

As the lump of magic power in his right palm slowly seeped into the ground, another magic sphere formed in his left palm. It was a translucent magic power with wind attributes.

Simultaneous incantation.

This is a realm that most mages can only dream of, and even a 7-star mage without talent cannot perform. Jin could use this simultaneous incantation since he became a magic student before his regression.

'Wind Tracking.'

As the second incantation ended, a cool breeze gathered around the transparent magic power. The breeze swept over Jin's body and flowed in a straight line, following the subtle reactions of Ground Sense.

The wind follows the information of the ground provided by Ground Sense.

'Fortunately, they're heading towards the plains. If they went through the forest, even combining these two magics would make tracking difficult.'

If the Kinsel attackers had used the forest path, tracking would have been nearly impossible due to the abundance of trees and life.

Jin extinguished the magic.

Simultaneous incantation consumes a lot of magic power, and if any of the attackers are mages, they might discover the tracking.

'They haven't gone very far yet.'

After about an hour of running, the traces of the attackers started to appear one by one. Bent grass and footprints were visible.

Just as he was about to examine the traces and start moving again, Jin stopped abruptly.

Carefully observing the direction the attackers were heading, he noticed the footprints had decreased.

Zing!

An arrow flew from the grass. Jin easily dodged it and aimed his sword at the spot it came from.

There was a burrow.

Some of the attackers had dug a burrow to prepare for the cadets' pursuit.

"Sure enough, a Runkandel cadet! Your movements are excellent. I understand why Chauf had trouble earlier."

"Clark! He dodged the arrow. One gold coin from you."

Three men in masks chuckled as they emerged from the burrow.

They had apparently made a bet on whether Jin would dodge the arrow they secretly shot.

Clark, the one called, tossed a gold coin.

"Thanks to that brat, you must be thrilled."

The man who received the gold coin grinned and drew his sword. Jin had been silently observing them all this time.

The attackers consisted of one mage and two warriors.

'The aura and magic power I sense aren't strong. They're all around 4-star level.'

Jin's calm assessment of their strength appeared to them as fear.

"Don't worry too much, kid. I don't have a hobby of making people suffer. It'll be over soon."

"But why are you alone? Where did the others go?"

"Chauf and Greg must have all died, hehe."

"Those Chauf and Greg. One has a scar on his left cheek, and the other is bald, right?"

Jin spoke for the first time, and two of the men burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, a scar on the cheek, bald... They'll be quite surprised when they hear this story later."

However, one man, the mage, did not laugh.

"How do you know what Chauf and Greg look like?"

"Obviously, I confirmed after killing them and removing their masks. I was fighting my subordinates."

The laughter in the men's eyes disappeared. Jin still held his sword lightly and remained expressionless.

"Don't show off. They are 4-star knights. A Runkandel junior cadet can't handle them..."

"Do you Kinsel recognize thugs who only attack children as knights? The atmosphere at Runkandel is quite different."

"Clark, Mills. Check the surroundings. It seems there are more than just kids. This brat isn't a cadet. There must be a guardian knight!"

The men didn't believe Jin had killed Chauf and Greg. No matter how strong Runkandel was, a kid who hadn't even finished growing couldn't kill two 4-star knights. They immediately prepared for death, knowing the reputation of Runkandel's guardian knights.

Puhahaha...

Jin laughed and spoke.

"Fearing Runkandel, yet not afraid to attack cadets? There are no guardian knights. I came alone."

"Barking dog!"

"If my guardian knights were here, you wouldn't even be able to speak to me like this. And where can you hide in this open plain? It would be ridiculous for our knights to hide to attack you."

The men, who were extremely tense, took deep breaths and looked around. Indeed, there was nowhere to hide in the open field, and Jin's words were true.

They soon resumed their menacing attitudes, embarrassed by being swayed by a few words from someone who looked twenty years younger than them.

"Really, you came alone... I thought you were just a brat relying on your family, but you're just a fearless pup."

"Is that so? If I were just relying on my family..."

While Jin was speaking, Clark rushed forward, aiming for Jin's neck.

"It would have been lucky for you. Unfortunately, it's not."

"Dieee!"

Clark, who had approached Jin, suddenly screamed and fell. One of his legs had been cleanly severed.

'Good that I bought some time.'

The leg was severed by a magic called 'Blade Wind,' a 4-star wind magic with the highest difficulty.

Jin had secretly prepared this magic while conversing with them.

"Clark! What magic did Runkandel use...!"

The mage started to chant a counterattack spell, and Mills, excited, rushed at Jin with his sword.

"You bastard!"

Clang!

Jin slightly stepped back and deflected Mills' downward strike. The blow, surrounded by aura, was quite heavy despite Jin's young body.

But a 4-star knight was no problem.

Just as Jin was about to grab Mills' side with a spin, the mage shouted.

"Mills, get back!"

Whoosh! A large flame appeared in the mage's palm and shot towards Jin like a rope.

4-star fire magic, Flame Whip. The most powerful magic a Kinsel mage could use.

Jin didn't dodge the Flame Whip but took it full body. The moment the mage smiled in satisfaction, Jin used the flames to conceal his movement and stabbed Mills in the neck with Bradamante.

Thud...

Mills died without even a scream. The mage, doubting his eyes, took a step back, and Clark continued to scream, clutching his severed leg.

Jin extinguished the Flame Whip that had stuck to his robe. As the flames died down, the remnants of magic power fluttered like dust.

With the Phoenix Heart fully absorbed, 6-star or lower fire magic couldn't harm Jin.

"Damn!"

Realizing Jin was fire-resistant, the mage hastily chanted another spell. Ice Spike. The same magic that had hit Jin's carriage in the past.

"Don't come any closer!"

An Ice Spike shot from the mage's hand, but this time, it broke on its own before reaching Jin.

The pendant of the Demon King Orgal. The pendant's magic power protected Jin, making it extremely difficult for 5-star or lower magic to penetrate.

"How...! Gah!"

The sharp trajectory of Bradamante sliced the mage's waist. Jin twisted the sword, and the mage, trembling, died.

"I have some good sisters."

After finishing off the trembling Clark, Jin resumed his journey across the plain.

Of course, when finishing off Clark, he made sure to cut the wound again so that he wouldn't realize he had been hit by magic.