The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 115

Although a four-person party was easily wiped out, Bae Dohyun’s expression remained grim.

“No matter how early it is in the game, they are too weak.”

The players were weaker than expected. It wasn’t a matter of levels or skills in the game, but a fundamental lack of understanding and experience in combat.

“It’s understandable why other nobles or knights would turn up their noses at the players.”

From the perspective of NPCs, the players were nothing more than strong children. Even those who already knew the players’ potential couldn’t help but wonder if they would be of any use.

“Let’s calm down. Let’s reflect on how I was at this stage in my past life.”

Bae Dohyun closed his eyes for a moment and conjured up memories of his past when he was around level 20.

*Sigh*

It came to mind. Back then, Bae Dohyun was cursing the emergence of psychic powers as one of his specialties and engaging in aimless play.

Unable to find a party, he recklessly roamed hunting grounds with the mindset that it didn’t matter if he died.

Feeling that this couldn’t continue, he even went to the Swordsman Association without any relevant skills, declaring that he would wield a weapon in an unrelated field.

He then grabbed anyone he saw, demanding to be taught how to wield a sword. While being treated as crazy, one sympathetic instructor imparted basic public weapon skills, so his struggles were not in vain.

Thanks to that, hunting became possible in some way, enabling him to realize the secret of leveling up and challenge himself to acquire skills despite dying countless times.

Honestly, Bae Dohyun in the early stages of the game was no different than a dropout.

“It wasn’t a situation that others would look down on. After all, many people have not experienced a proper fight.”

The feeling of players being weak might be due to his excessive strength, relative to them. Or perhaps it was due to Raul, who had received systematic swordsmanship training from a young age, unlike modern people.

Regardless, in the current state, it was difficult to make proper use of the players.

“If they want to work with me, they should at least avoid being half-hearted, relying solely on their skills, right?”

That was what the Academy had prepared for. However, no matter how good the educational process was, it was useless if the learners lacked motivation.

Honestly, among the players, there were probably more who were more interested in benefits or rewards than in learning something at the Academy.

“So I have to show them more properly. The fact that there is something beyond skills and levels.”

Then they will surely come to realize the meaning of the Academy once again.

“What should I do this time?”

Bae Dohyun started moving again, pondering which weapon in his inventory to use.

* * *

1st place – Bae Dohyun (Korea), 33 kills

2nd place – Shoichiro (Japan), 5 kills

3rd place – Go Garyong (China), 5 kills

……

Number of survivors: 97

“What the hell. Is he really a monster?”

Shoichiro nervously wiped the blood on his blade with his sleeve.

While he had managed to secure 2 kills against just one party, Bae Dohyun had racked up an impressive 12 kills.

It was at least three parties. Shoichiro couldn’t fathom how such a performance was possible in just 10 minutes.

Ding dong~.

Yet another elimination zone was being designated.

Zones that disappeared every ten minutes were a device to encourage players to engage in frequent combat clashes.

However, with the steep decrease in the number of survivors in this preliminary round, it seemed unnecessary for such encounters.

“It’s only been 20 minutes, and more than half have been eliminated.”

The situation had subtly changed due to Bae Dohyun’s rampage.

“5 kills… It’s a bit ambiguous, isn’t it?”

Although he was in 2nd place, there were nearly twenty players closely behind with a difference of only 1 or 2 kills.

As the number of survivors decreased, it became harder to reverse the kill count, and there was a risk of being unexpectedly overrun.

Increasing the kill count was the surefire way to go.

“The scout needs to come back quickly.”

Fortunately, Kenta, a member of the same party, specialized in scouting.

Even if impatience arose due to the advantage from striking first, they had to wait for him to return.

“Shoichiro, I found him!”

Just then, Kenta returned and spoke with an expression of recollection.

“Why the fuss? … Don’t tell me?”

“Bae Dohyun, I found that guy!”

“…!”

Shoichiro stood up with his two short swords in hand, startled.

“Where is he?”

It was fortunate. He had found Bae Dohyun before Bae Dohyun stumbled upon them!

“He was in combat near the military camp two blocks away with another party.”

“Really? How many are in his party? Are they perhaps accompanied by more than two parties?”

Shoichiro, who thought he could finally find out why that guy’s kill count shot up like crazy, felt his eyes light up.

“Well, I…,” he hesitated.

“Why? Did all the Koreans gather together?”

Shoichiro asked.

“He was alone.”

“What?”

“Just in case, I looked around, but there was nobody else. And I saw with my own eyes, fighting alone against the four of them.”

Shoichiro was momentarily shocked, blinking his eyes without uttering a word.

‘Did he really raise that kill count alone? No, that’s impossible. No matter how high his level is, the difference shouldn’t be that big.’

‘Could it be that the party that was supposed to have his back got exhausted during the battle? Yeah, that’s a high possibility. But why did he attack the four of them then?’

Numerous thoughts raced through his mind, reflecting the complex emotions on his face.

“Hmph. I need to see it with my own eyes first. Get ready, everyone. We’ll strike from behind before the battle ends.”

The guy’s secret didn’t matter. As long as he was alone and they discovered him first, the outcome wouldn’t change.

He would take him down and bask in the spotlight.

‘He worked hard to accumulate those 33 kills. But in the end, the public only remembers the ultimate winner.’

Shoichiro believed in his victory without any doubt.

—

Woosh.

A bright red fireball flew towards them, igniting the air.

The fireball, the size of a child’s head, was incredibly threatening.

‘… Yeah, right. That’s a sigh.’

Bae Dohyun stood still, seemingly with no intention of dodging, and thrust his 3m-long spear directly into it.

Sizzle.

The fireball hit by the spear quivered momentarily. The air pushed by the spear weakened the fireball’s momentum.

Tap, tap.

However, the fireball didn’t dissipate but continued moving towards Bae Dohyun along the spear.

Vwoom.

Bae Dohyun’s spear suddenly spun fiercely. It was a small trick using the rotating technique of the Riva Spear Technique.

Pdudduk, peet.

However, this small trick seemed more than enough to destroy the fireball.

‘Speed, power, stability, all below standard,’

If it were a monster, maybe it would work, but it looked difficult to penetrate for players. However, that was just Bae Dohyun’s thoughts.

“How, how? My ‘Fire Bomb’ that even sends wolves packing in one shot!”

“Geez, isn’t there anything more powerful?”

“Wh-where do you expect me to find something stronger than this?”

As the shield warrior steadfastly protected the mage while the other party members engaged in combat to buy time for spellcasting, he let out a sigh.

“X shots. I must be a fool for expecting more. Mage, you better stay alive. Charge!”

With no more regrets, the shield warrior raised his shield, then charged towards Bae Dohyun with determination.

“He’s wielding a spear, so if I narrow the distance, I might have a chance too.”

Thud, thud!

With each thrust of the spear against his shield, his body slightly recoiled from the impact, but he grit his teeth and strengthened his legs.

While Bae Dohyun was stepping back, trying to thrust his spear, it was evident that the gap was closing between them.

And finally, as the shield warrior narrowed the distance almost to the point where the thrust had little effect, a gleam appeared in his eyes.

“Good. Shield Charge, distance secured!”

Timing his charge as Bae Dohyun was about to retrieve his spear, the shield warrior mentally activated the ‘Shield Charge’ skill as he lunged forward, the force of his body hitting the ground with such power that, shield raised, he flew towards Bae Dohyun.

“He’s smiling?”

In that fleeting moment, the shield warrior could see a slight smirk tugging at the corner of Bae Dohyun’s lips, and then.

Crash! Thud!

Feeling the disorienting sensation of the ground and sky spinning back and forth, the shield warrior tumbled to the ground.

“That was a good play. Next time, pay more attention to the opponent’s hand movements when retrieving their weapon.”

Bae Dohyun pulled out the spear deeply lodged in the ground and thrust it into the shield warrior’s chest.

“Using charge skills may lead to a rough situation if there’s an obstacle ahead.”

Pretending to retrieve his spear, Bae Dohyun swiftly drove the spearhead into the ground in front of the shield warrior just as he activated the charge, causing the shield to collide with the spear shaft and losing balance, with Bae Dohyun slightly tweaking the spear shaft, resulting in both the shield and its owner rolling heavily across the ground.

“The spear shaft is slightly damaged. Even if I managed to evade, facing the shield charge couldn’t be helped.”

Bae Dohyun stored the slightly bent spear in his inventory, then pulled out a crossbow and lightly fired it.

Plunk, thud!

“Argh!”

The magic player who abandoned the shield warrior and tried to flee was pierced through the heart by the crossbow bolt, then collapsed to the ground.

As much as he wanted to finish off the mage with the spear, he didn’t hesitate to move on to the next target since he had to receive the next customer.

“The timing is just right.”

Sensing a sneaky presence as the battle was about to start, Bae Dohyun intentionally delayed, whether by directly seeking out targets or welcoming those who came to him.

“Oh, these guys are more formidable than I thought.”

They were closing in on Bae Dohyun from all four directions like they were surrounding him. It seemed like taking the open space between the military buildings as the battlefield to make them come comfortably had worked out well.

Hmm.

But suddenly, Bae Dohyun’s expression slightly stiffened.

“Is this a familiar presence?”

He felt someone walking with a peculiar rhythm on the roof of the military camp.

A player from Japan who deliberately weakened their presence even when they could just walk leisurely, and the image of Shoichiro who would sneak around and make stealthy movements came to his mind.

“It’s you, Shoichiro!”

A bright smile appeared on Bae Dohyun’s face. However, his black pupils were swirling with unmistakable emotions.

“I can’t be acting like this when meeting an old friend.”

Bae Dohyun’s figure disappeared as if it were a shadow in that spot.

* * *

Plop. Thud.

From afar, Shoichiro saw a mage falling with a crossbow bolt piercing through their back.

“Good grief, am I a bit late?”

Shoichiro clicked his tongue in disappointment. But the situation was not that bad.

He had a rough estimate of the enemies’ locations, and his team members were encircling that place, narrowing down the distance step by step.

Shoichiro was holding a crossbow of a unique design. Unlike a regular crossbow that needed reloading after each shot, it was a three-bolt crossbow that could be pre-loaded with three bolts.

It was quite an expensive item, but the Japanese players had fundraised collectively to purchase it for this tournament.

“Hehehe, no matter how skilled they are, they can’t dodge all the long-range attacks raining down on them.”

He never intended to engage in a head-on confrontation from the start. Where was the need to risk it all for close combat?

The five kills he had gained so far were all achieved by injuring enemies with long-range weapons and finishing them off in a reliable manner.

Even Bae Dohyun wouldn’t be much different. Having surrounded the surroundings, dodging arrows and bolts while rolling vigorously on the ground to avoid his shortsword’s finishing blow was a certainty.

Sneak, sneak.

Today, the unique footwork skill ‘Ninpo’ seemed to be working better. It was a pity that he couldn’t find his main weapon, the ‘Suri-gum,’ but it wouldn’t be bad to earn gold and fame and then make it himself.

“I shall establish a new principle of ninja within this Connect.”

With such unwarranted fantasies in mind, Shoichiro reached the edge of the military camp roof. Now, if he just tilted his head slightly, he would be able to see the enemy.

Taking a deep breath, Shoichiro quickly aimed his three-bolt crossbow towards the open space, locking onto the target.

However…

“… He’s not here?”

A strange sense of unease gripped Shoichiro.

(To be continued)