Chapter 34

Chapter 12. Struggle, Seize, Enjoy (4)

The Qingya stone training only ended at nine o'clock at night, after the Tona brothers collapsed side by side.

They didn't just fall; the Tona brothers had completely fainted, both their physical and mental strength utterly drained.

"Pitiful."

Jed clicked his tongue and called for the medical team, but to Jin, it wasn't at all like that.

'Isn't it amazing that they held on this long?'

Jin was still standing on his two feet. He was shaking like crazy, and there was a continuous ringing in his head, but he was still standing.

The perseverance the Tona brothers showed today was certainly worthy of praise. Honestly, Jin was on the verge of collapse too. If the training had continued for another 30 minutes, he wouldn't have been able to hold on either.

The medical team carried the Tona brothers on stretchers.

"Tell your brothers that if they plan to collapse during training tomorrow, they shouldn't come at all."

"Understood."

As Jin left the secret training ground, he thought about Runkandel on the way back.

'From Uncle's reaction, I could have easily fallen out of favor. If the training had continued a bit longer, I would have collapsed too... I need to be more cautious from tomorrow on.'

However, as Jed looked at the spot where his nephews had left, he was thinking:

'The Tona brothers collapsed much later than expected. Hmph, it seems they are also Runkandels. But the youngest... '

Despite being two years behind his older brothers, he didn't collapse at all today. Even with the significant difference that two years can make during the growth period.

'What a pity, what a pity! Why was he born the youngest?'

Jed confirmed today that Jin possessed the highest level of talent among Syron's three children. He was definitely more talented than Joshua, who was designated as the next head of the family, even if Luna didn't know.

However, he was too young.

Jin was only fifteen.

Even if he trained diligently from now on and became a 9th-class knight by his thirties, Joshua would already be leading the family by then.

The power of the head of the family was already beginning to be transferred to Joshua, little by little.

'If he had been born just ten years earlier, he would have been the one to seize this Runkandel...'

In this situation, Jin's growth and talent...

might cause fatal chaos in the family. In ten or fifteen years, if Jin became the strongest in the family and aimed for the throne.

How much damage would Joshua's Runkandel suffer then? And during that time, how great an opportunity would the enemies of Runkandel, including Jip, see?

Thinking this far, Jed sighed.

'Let's just wait and see. From how Luna cherishes him, Jin might end up being just a shadow protecting the family, like that child.'

The future and growth are full of countless variables. Jin might die on a mission, or one day suddenly lose his will and leave Runkandel to become a wanderer.

Kids can go through all sorts of things as they grow up, so it's too early to make a complete evaluation.

* * *

A month passed, and it became March 1795.

From the first day, the ranking war between Jin and the Tona brothers began, but since they were locked in the secret training ground every afternoon, no proper battles were taking place.

After Kajin Romero was defeated by Jin, the students no longer bothered the youngest group when the young masters were absent. This was because Mu and Anne had given such orders.

They decided, as Jin had expected, not to interfere in the training ground anymore.

There was no longer any hope for the Tona brothers, who had returned beaten up on the first day, despite the faction they had been given.

"...It's so quiet it's worrying."

Messa brushed the dirt off her clothes. She had just finished the morning training, and her clothes were in a mess. The other students standing beside her were in the same state.

"Is the young master okay every afternoon?"

When Velop expressed his concern, Messa snorted.

"Are we at a level where we can worry about the young master?"

"But sometimes we hear explosions and screams from inside the secret training ground, and the medical team rushes in. The other day, the Tona young masters were carried out on stretchers before the training was even over."

"Stop worrying and focus on training. Don't you remember what the young master said? A mission will be assigned soon. And it's going to be a tough one."

Currently, except for Messa, Scut, Jushen, Taiment, and Kiko, the rest of the youngest group were below the average level of the intermediate class.

Edington, Sierra, Fields, and Velop, in particular, were not yet ready for a mission. Of course, Velop was skilled but hadn't yet overcome his mental issues.

"I don't want to be a burden to the young master in the future. So let's work hard on our own. We need to be at least 3rd-class before our first mission."

"Right. Thanks to the young master, we don't have to deal with bullying."

The students nodded with determination.

"Everyone, attention!"

The intermediate training class instructor, 'Mael Trasil,' shouted. There were three instructors in the intermediate training class, all of whom were Runkandel's guardian knights. Mael was the head instructor.

"The first mission for this year's intermediate training class has been assigned. There are five missions. The students I call out now, please step forward. A total of 60 students will be selected."

The veteran students showed no particular reaction, but those who had been in the intermediate class for less than three years looked somewhat nervous.

"The first mission is monster extermination. The target is goblins. For more details, talk to the second butler, Petro. The students assigned are Denkaro, Atan, John..."

"The second mission is VIP protection. The targets are the apprentices of the Minche blacksmith association. It won't hurt to make a good impression on them. The students assigned are Houston, Bading..."

"The third mission is also monster extermination. The target is orcs. Moreover, the operation area is an unprotected zone. The students assigned are... hmm..."

Mael's hand paused as he flipped through the documents. He narrowed his eyes and rechecked the names written on the document.

'The operation area is an unprotected zone, and all new students... The young master must be upset. It's unlikely they'll all return alive. And there's no way to protest to the seniors.'

Mael cleared his throat and continued.

"Messa, Scut, Taiment, Kiko, Jushen, Edington, Sierra, Fields, David. Petro will inform you of the details. Good luck to all of you..."

A gasp of shock rippled through the intermediate students. With orcs and an unprotected zone, it wouldn't be surprising if more than half of the youngest group returned dead.

However, no student protested to the instructors.

Since it was decided by the seniors, they had no choice but to follow. If they had to protest, it was Jin's responsibility, not the students', to lead the faction.

Of course, if Jin directly confronted the seniors, he could change the third mission's assigned students. He could negotiate himself or use Luna's influence.

However, that would be a bad move.

It would only acknowledge that his faction lacked the ability. Additionally, using Luna's power would prove that Jin himself was not qualified.

It was a no-win situation. The youngest group had no choice but to carry out the third mission.

"Instructor, what are the fourth and fifth missions?"

"Those are assigned to the young masters. You don't need to know. That's all! After the meal, the called students should rest until the mission starts. The mission will begin in two days."

As the instructors left, the students began to murmur.

"Wow, what do we do with them?"

"At least four or five will return dead..."

"In this case, it might be better not to have a faction."

"I told you, if you join the wrong faction, you'll only see blood."

"Poor guys."

Kajin and the students of Mu and Anne's faction nodded with a smirk.

"We need to prepare incense and offerings, hehe."

"We need to give them a proper funeral? There are only two days left, so why don't we draw each other's portraits and write wills?"

"Hahaha, have a safe trip, darlings! Or why don't you ask the young master for help? Please save us, please save us! Hehehe."

The students under Mu and Anne giggled and looked at the youngest group. Taiment, who was about to stand up in anger, was held back by Messa.

"Be patient. We can't beat them yet, and causing trouble right before the mission won't do us any good."

"But those guys...!"

"Sit down, Taiment. It will only cause trouble for the young master. Do I have to spell it out for you?"

Taiment grumbled and sat down.

"...What do we do?"

Sierra sighed. The rest of the youngest group wore solemn expressions.

"What can we do? This is Runkandel. If we're told to do it, we have to do it. We'll somehow complete the mission and return. That's the only way to show those guys up."

Messa gritted her teeth, but her fingertips were trembling slightly.

She wasn't afraid of death. She was afraid of being a burden to Jin from the very first mission.

* * *

Boom!

"Aah!"

"Heitona!"

"Boom!"

Heitona's Qingya stone exploded. This was the third explosion today. The iron balls that flew out narrowly missed Daitona and hit Jin, who was concentrating.

Heitona was hit in the chest, and Jin was hit in the side. If it had been his own Qingya stone breaking, Jin might have been able to avoid it, but the iron ball that suddenly flew from the side was unavoidable.

Jed, seemingly uninterested, sat in his chair and read the mission documents.

"Damn!"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Daitona. Uh... Jin. Little brother, sorry. I didn't mean to..."

Heitona approached Jin hesitantly. Daitona followed, scratching the back of his head.

Looking at them, Jin wondered if they were really the Tona brothers who were supposed to become notorious killers.

"I'm fine. But from now on, you guys should practice in that corner."

"Okay."

The Tona brothers grumbled as they moved their Qingya stones and tables to the corner.

They were obediently following their younger brother's instructions because, after a month of training together, they realized that what their uncle had said was true.

-Don't defy the youngest until you're strong enough. If you want to live long, that is.

To the Tona brothers, Jin was like a ghost. While they could only break their Qingya stones a few times a day, Jin had been breaking his five or six times for several days now.

'Today, I will definitely, definitely make a clear sound.'

His side, hit by the iron ball, throbbed. It didn't seem to have broken any bones, but his breathing became rough instantly.

Huff, huff.

Jin closed his eyes and regulated his breathing. The surface, hardness, and weight of the Qingya stone were vividly drawn in his mind.

Just as he was about to lose focus due to the pain in his side,

'Huh?'

A strange sensation suddenly enveloped Jin. It felt as if the direction from which the iron ball had flown was clearly drawn in his mind.

'What is this? Why do I suddenly have this feeling...?'

As he opened his eyes to check the direction of the iron ball, Jed stood up. Jin and the Tona brothers quickly straightened their posture and stood in front of Jed.

"You have been assigned a mission."