#When I returned, my family was ruined (130)
Two days remaining.
Ethan, who brought Mileton to the cave, diligently walked around and evaluated the late indicators.
‘You seem to be finding it quite well.’
Sera Lee.
Her mood was much higher than when she first came here.
Unlike in the beginning when I couldn’t find him for an entire day even if I hid properly, now it was difficult to avoid the eyes of this guy who was even hiding his presence.
‘The lower class has escaped.’
It was a stage where I had to take some serious hiding to keep up with the heightened level. It has been a long time since Dorothy’s level, moving with her, has risen to an incomparable level.
‘I have learned the trick.’
Soft.
The guy who learned the key from the battle with the ogre has now reached the 8th star, called ‘Master’.
A fighting technique that is as soft as a flowing river, yet contains strong power. Dorothy was also gradually applying the techniques that the Duke had shown in the previous sparring. Mileton also achieved its own results.
Maybe it was because I was over the threshold of death, but instead of being conceited, I was seriously exploring swordsmanship. These three late-stage exponents showed a different appearance from before, but they could not be said to have shown the most surprising changes.
It’s truly amazing.
“Whew. “Mr. Changseong, I am becoming increasingly worried these days.”
“Master of Magic, why are you acting like this all of a sudden…?”
“How will we deal with the envy and jealousy that will be revealed by those who see our talent? That’s what I’m worried about.”
“Well, even the duke was jealous of our talents… so it certainly makes sense. Even so… we can’t give up our cooperation because of the public’s attention, right?”
“….”
“I really enjoy this time moving with Master Mago. To the point where I don’t even care about external opinions. “I would like to continue to be with Master Mago in the future.”
“Changseong…!”
“Master Magician…!”
‘…I’m going to be amazed.’
This was because the two people who had been painting each other’s faces all day were showing the greatest improvement in their skills.
“…I thought wrong. What would be the point of hiding our abilities and remaining alone as before? “Thanks to Changseong, I was able to open my eyes today.”
“no. Because I know very well how dangerous the world can become. Even so… if we are together, we will be able to overcome any storm.”
“yes. you’re right. Rather, we can gain greater fame and power by revealing our abilities to the outside world. That will be our shield. To do that, first of all, we have to take first place and this place in this ranking battle.”
“Hehe. I hope the duke comes to test us soon. Now I’m not afraid of him at all. “Because the two of us are ‘perfect.’”
“yes. “It’s ‘perfect.’”
“What is perfection?”
“…?”
I tilted my head for a moment.
The two immediately took a stance.
It was a passing group that had practiced countless times over the past time.
“I will come see you when the exam is over. “If you perform well in this way, I will give you a high score.”
The two men vividly remembered the Duke’s words.
“…Are you here to see our joint venture?”
“okay.”
“Hehe… you’ll have to be prepared.”
Zeros raised his round glasses and looked at the Duke. Last time, I was so embarrassed by the Duke’s surprise attack that I couldn’t properly use the tricks of the successful team, but now it was different.
This is because he had perfected the wind direction to properly utilize the wind.
“I hope so.”
The Duke, who spoke as if throwing a throw, immediately rushed towards the two people.
‘going!’
‘Haap!’
Leon’s eyes lit up and he began swinging his spear against the duke’s sword. The strong yet gentle wind was thoroughly assisting his spear.
bang!
For a moment, I was pushed back by the enormous power contained in the duke’s sword.
Whoa!
The wind coming in from behind not only helped keep Leon’s new model from being pushed around, but it also gave the blown spear the strength to come back. The passing of the two people, with dozens of agreements in one blow, became increasingly sophisticated as time passed. This was because Ethan jabbed his sword wherever he saw a gap, creating awareness.
Around the time when 100 haps had passed.
The duke’s new form, now blurred, had already arrived behind Zeros.
“…!”
The two people were shocked.
This was a strange move that could not be prevented no matter how good the passing team was.
“…I lost.”
Zeros swallowed his saliva and said.
The moment the passing team’s defense was broken, it was virtually the same as losing.
The duke, who had sheathed his sword, spoke as if throwing it away.
“It’s worth using.”
“…yes?”
“It means that the passing result shown this time was somewhat acceptable.”
“…!”
Zeros and Leon.
The two people widened their eyes.
Did the Duke say something like that even once during the last class?
There was nothing at all.
“That’s bullshit.”
“It sucks.”
“It’s a mess.”
All he did was spit out words full of negative connotations.
In such a situation, the duke is the first to give a ‘positive’ evaluation?
This meant quite a lot.
“So… what is the result of the ranking battle…?”
“Please confirm that in the announcement that will be made in two days.”
That was when the Duke’s new model disappeared like the wind. The two people, unable to control their joy, embraced each other.
* * *
Two weeks have passed since survival training began. The five late exponents were already gathered together at the starting point. The late indexes who were looking at each other narrowed their eyes.
Even though I only trained for a short period of two weeks…
‘It changed.’
This was because everyone’s prayers had changed to the point where they could be recognized at a glance.
The peacock slowly began to walk up the mountain path covered in pure white snow.
The attention of late-stage indices was focused.
The duke who soon approached them spoke.
“Survival training and ranking warfare. Two things are over. “Let’s announce the results.”
Result of ranking battle.
The minds of the later exponents were focused solely on that. This was because everything, from the gaze received from the academy to the reactions of the family, varied depending on the outcome of the ranking battle.
The joys and sorrows of the people who saw the paper the duke unfolded were mixed.
[Special class rankings]
1st place Leon / 55 points
2nd place Zeros / 52 points
3rd place Sera Lee / 48 points
4th place Dorothy / -154 points
5th place Mileton / -321 points
“Cha… Changseong! We did it! “I did it!”
“Master Magician!”
“Changseong!”
If one and two people let out a scream of happiness mixed with joy.
“….”
Isera, who went down from first place to third place in one fell swoop, remained silent.
“huh? I’m not last? Hehe….”
Sa and others smiled brightly, as if they had made a good save.
Lastly, last place…
“No, Duke! “Didn’t you say you would definitely give me a chance to make up for it?”
Gilgil began to run wild.
“Shouldn’t you have taken advantage of the opportunity?”
“No, he is definitely active in his own way…!”
“Activity is not a word to be used in such cases.”
“….”
Mileton, who had been silent, soon opened his eyes. This was because I could read a ray of deep truth in the Duke’s cold-hearted words.
‘…I see.’
The duke’s skills and wisdom were clearly beyond imagination. He must have realized his skills and potential long ago.
Why would such a person go to the extent of ‘unreasonable’ deducting points and put himself in last place?
This may be to continue one-on-one teaching without any noise through the extra classes that the last place students should receive.
‘If you really want to teach me, just say it directly.’
The duke was a man who was more shy than expected.
So what can we do?
I had no choice but to understand, as I had a wide magnanimity. Soon, a subtle smile appeared on Mileton’s lips.
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
Lately, Mileton has often been showing himself a dark smile.
Like right now.
What on earth are you imagining that you’re smiling even after receiving a miserable report card that says you’re in last place?
‘…done.’
Isn’t good something good?
In the end, it was enough as long as he was happy.
“Go back.”
Deajkal Mountains.
I had gotten everything I could, so it was time to get out of here.
* * *
When Ethan returned to the academy, he was faced with an unexpected face.
“brother!”
A large boy smiling brightly and waving his hands in the distance.
It was Myers.
He ran towards Ethan with stomping feet and immediately hugged his waist tightly.
“I can’t breathe.”
“Oh sorry.”
However, the hand holding her waist did not loosen. The eyes of the late exponents naturally focused on Myers. What is that big guy that doesn’t hesitate to cling to that cold-hearted duke?
‘Seeing that he is my older brother….’
‘Could it be his real younger brother?’
‘He’s too big to be his real brother…’
Immediately, Myers began to stare at the late Jisoo standing behind him.
“Are these the students you say you are teaching?”
“okay.”
Immediately afterwards, he bowed his head slightly and greeted me in a deep voice.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Myers.”
It was a greeting with the demeanor of a knight. Soon after, the guy quietly smiled and continued talking.
“You may have called me because you thought Ardan’s name was too much, but even so, I wouldn’t be a very easy opponent.”
“…?”
A question mark appeared in the eyes of the five late-stage indexes. This was because he did not understand what the duke’s younger brother meant when he said such a thing.
“what? “Didn’t you know?”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s why I came here.”
Why did the duke’s brother come here?
‘Didn’t you just come here to meet your brother?’
They were completely unaware that the head of the family had sent a letter to Ardan on their behalf.
Actually, it was natural.
There is no way the later exponents would be happy if we let them know that one more brother would be dispatched out of concern that they would be afraid of Ardan’s name. It was when the later indexes tilted their heads at Myers’ words.
“I heard that you have never been able to defeat my older brother.”
“….”
“Maybe that’s why the heads of the 7 families seem to be worried. “I think they were afraid that you would be completely weighed down by our family’s name.”
These were late-stage indices that were only now beginning to make sense of what was going on.
It was Mileton whose face stiffened the most.
“…Who has fear?!”
“Well, I guess the elders of the family thought that way. Anyway, I am not very happy with the offer. “I may be inferior to my brother, but I am also a member of Ardan…”
Immediately, mana began to flow out of Myers’ body.
Befitting its size, it was a mana with the heaviness of a large mountain.
This was around the time when late-stage indices, including Mileton, narrowed their eyes as the momentum was stronger than expected.
Myers grinned and continued speaking while pounding on his shield.
“I think I’m pretty strong in my own way. Anyway, you can ask me to spar at any time. Because I promised 7th Street that I would do that. “Okay then.”
Soon after, Myers, smiling brightly as if he had never done so before, clung to the Duke.
“Hyung, anyway, how is it here?”
“It’s worth it.”
“Can I stay here too?”
Ethan nodded.
Since 7th Street had requested it, there was no reason to refuse. Coincidentally, the late exponents, including Myers, were of similar age.
It will be a good experience for both my younger brother and the late exponents, including Mileton.
That was the first meeting between Myers and the five later exponents.