The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 14

But why didn’t Reynaldo block the party of Count Randal?

From Reynaldo’s perspective, Raul was a gracious major shareholder, while the side of Count Randal was nothing more than a nuisance.

The reason was to put Raul in his debt.

If things went according to plan, there should have been a scene where Count Randal’s party was oppressing Raul’s group.

Then, Reynaldo himself would appear with his guards, making a grand entrance, and help Raul who was in trouble. That would have been the end of it.

The Randal fools had only fifteen official knights. In comparison, Raul’s group, even with the addition of apprentices, didn’t reach ten.

Considering that one official knight could take on dozens of regular soldiers, it was obvious that no matter how many members Raul’s group had, the outcome wouldn’t be much different, right?

It was a calculation that wasn’t complicating or difficult for anyone to see. But then…

“Oh my!”

Startled, Reynaldo dropped his telescope. It was because Raul, having stood up from his chair, was looking directly in his direction.

‘It must be a misunderstanding. How could he see me from that distance?’

Reynaldo calmed his shocked heart.

However, Raul’s golden eyes from their last moment of eye contact were not easily forgotten.

Nonetheless, Reynaldo decided to go over his calculations again.

The youngest son, known to be weak, was actually a monster who could single-handedly defeat fifteen knights. What more could be hidden within the Count Ashton’s family?

‘Could it be? A hidden Swordmaster, maybe. No way! Could the count himself have become a Swordmaster?? Even if not…’

Amidst the complex thoughts rattling in his mind, one thing was clear.

“I should be on friendly terms with the Count Ashton’s family from now on.”

Pondering over what gift would please Raul, the mayor left the rooftop of the building, trudging along.

* * *

Raul ceased his act of vengeance precisely an hour later.

The ruffians from Count Randal’s Household begged for their lives with tears and snot running down their faces, kneeling in apology for their actions.

Raul extracted adequate compensation from them and then left the scene.

The cleanup was handled by the city guard under Mayor Reynaldo’s orders. Officially, the incident was concluded as a friendly spar between the two families.

Upon returning to his accommodation, Raul quietly sat down and reflected on today’s battle.

He had no intention of handling them alone from the start. There was no reason to bother himself when he could have just let his followers do it.

However, his thoughts changed the moment he arrived at the scene. They had to change.

A tempting opportunity labeled [Sudden Quest] appeared right before him.

‘Open Quest Window!’

Grade: F~B

Objective: Rescue the followers captured by the rival family.

Additional Objective: Adequate reprisal against the challengers.

Description: The method of rescue and the response to the challengers will adjust the quest’s grade and rewards.

ex1> If rescued through unfavorable negotiations – F-Grade

ex2> If you single-handedly rescue the hostages and punish all the challengers – B-Grade

Quest Result: Rescue and reprisal completed. Assessed B-Grade

Reward: Experience Points, 30,000 Coins (Player Shop Exclusive), Random B-Grade Skill Book Drawing Ticket

It was somewhat an overreach, but the result was a generous reward thanks to that.

‘But it would have been difficult without psychokinesis?’

The biggest help in designing this battle was, of course, psychokinesis.

Despite any restrictions on mana skills, the physical stats of an expert-level knight were clearly superior to Raul’s.

Even though he successfully stole sword techniques, naturally, he couldn’t match Jeremy in proficiency.

What bridged this gap was precisely psychokinesis. More accurately, a technique that Raul named himself as [Psychokinesis Enhancement].

One might narrow down psychokinesis to the ability to move distant objects with one’s mind. However, Raul utilized his psychic powers in various ways.

[Psychokinesis Enhancement] started from contemplating how to compensate for his lack of physical abilities. The answer wasn’t difficult. It involved employing psychokinesis in alignment with the movement direction of the physical body or weapon.

In essence, the idea was to overlay psychokinesis onto the physical form.

However, mastering this technique in reality was not easy.

To activate psychokinesis precisely in tandem with the swiftly moving body required highly refined control and strength adjustment.

It took a year since he started playing the game to use this technique for the first time, and another three years to become proficient in its use naturally.

But for Raul, reincarnated, leveraging [Psychokinetic Enhancement] was not challenging at all.

This skill, more than anything, was about finesse and knack.

In the battle, when Raul thrust his sword, he used psychokinesis to push from behind, enhancing the speed and power.

When parrying, he added strength in the swinging direction, and when quivering the sword blade, he applied force in all directions to induce irregularities.

As a result, Jeremy was unable to keep up with Raul’s unpredictable movements and was defeated.

Probably, until the end, he couldn’t pinpoint the reason for his defeat.

“Now, shall we check the reward?”

Raul laid out the rewards plundered from the troublemakers of the Count Randal’s Household on the table.

A purse containing 5,000 gold coins.

A shimmering black purse.

An elegant set of a rapier and main gauche, glittering in silver, occupied its place.

‘To have gotten my hands on a Space-Expansion Purse. It’s much needed, fortunate indeed.’

The black purse was an artifact imbued with space expansion magic, capable of holding the cargo of an entire carriage.

Due to its price and rarity, the item was even more valuable.

The rapier and main gauche set, made of mithril alloy, were unique grade weapons.

The original owner, Ramon, must have been bursting with frustration, but that was none of Raul’s concern.

Next, upon receiving the quest reward, a refreshing sensation swept over his body.

His level rose to 47.

A small silver ticket gleamed before Raul, who wore a pleased smile.

The two random skill books previously received as tournament rewards had been disappointing. Hence, he resolved not to expect much from draws…

But it was a B-rank skill book. How could he not harbor hope?

Raul respectfully joined his hands, cradling the ticket as he silently wished in his heart.

‘I don’t need a jackpot, just a decent draw! Or at least a usable skill!!’

Raul tightly clenched the ticket with slightly trembling hands.

Zzzap!

– You’ve acquired [Riva Spear Technique (B)] skill book.

“Yes!”

Raul clenched his fist and stood up energetically.

It honestly wasn’t a jackpot since his main skills were swordsmanship and psychokinesis.

However, spear technique was an essential skill for his next destination, the capital.

Although there was a C-rank spear technique in his skill tome, it felt inadequate, so discovering a B-rank spear technique now was fortunate timing.

Having sorted through his rewards, Raul headed to bed, feeling relieved.

‘There remains one significant issue to address in Mira. The entire party has invested nearly a month for it alone – we must ensure its success!’

Raul shut his eyes once more, pondering over his future plans.

* * *

A week later.

Raul was still deeply engrossed in hunting within the Cursed Forest.

Swoosh—Thud!

A thrust swift as a flash pierced the heart of an orc warrior.

And the moment the orc warrior helplessly fell to the ground.

[Level Up!]

– Player Raul has reached Level 51.

-You have achieved a promotion level. Checking eligibility for promotion.

-Job: Sword User confirmed.

-Job: Beginner Psychokinetic confirmed.

-Job-related skills [Ashton Family Swordsmanship: Bear Crush (A+)], [Randal Swordsmanship: Shooting Star (B)], [Psychokinesis (S)] have reached intermediate level Lv.2.

-The conditions for promotion have been met. Job [Sword User] has been changed to [Sword Expert].

-Job [Beginner Psychokinetic] has been changed to [Intermediate Psychokinetic].

Paang!

Golden currents of energy burst forth from Raul’s body.

A 30cm-long golden mana blade surged from the bastard sword he held, and dozens of fist-sized rocks from the ground levitated, swirling around Raul as their center.

“Let’s go!”

With a snap of his fingers, the rocks circling his body dispersed in all directions.

Phuh-phuh-phuh! Crack!

Five trees, thick as adult bodies within a 5m radius, had their trunks simultaneously blasted apart.

Then, Raul swung his bastard sword toward a large rock. The rock, over 3 meters tall, split in half with a crack.

As if that wasn’t enough, Raul jumped into the air and shouted as he descended.

“Bear Strike!!”

Kwaang!

The split rock shattered into pieces, and the ground beneath it caved in.

Clap clap clap!

As Raul sheathed his sword, Philip and Jake approached, clapping.

“Marvelous, young master!”

“Incredible! A Sword Expert at 15!”

Admiration and pride were evident on their faces.

However, Raul spoke with nonchalance.

“It’s just the beginning. There’s a long way to go, so I need you two to help a lot.”

Then, Jake exaggerated with a click of his tongue.

“How are we to help? You’re doing so well on your own. And, could you slow down a bit? At this rate, you’ll become a Swordmaster before your twenties! Ow, ow!”

Philip scolded Jake by pulling his ear.

“Is that something to say to the young master? Remember, the moment you lag behind the young master, you’re wide awake. I’ll make you work to death.”

“Ah, it was just a joke. I just thought the young master had worked hard and it might be time to rest!”

“All talk, as always!”

After letting go of Jake, Philip asked Raul,

“What will you do now? Should we contact the main house? The Count will be very pleased.”

But Raul shook his head.

“There’s no need to make a fuss over this. I’ll talk to my father myself later, so let’s keep it a secret for now.”

A sharp stone is always the first to be hit. With enemies targeting their family openly walking around, there was no reason to expose their full strength.

“Understood. Just in case, I’ll also warn the subordinates to keep quiet.”

Then Philip shot Jake a warning look. Jake flinched.

“Why, what did I do?”

Philip quietly gestured a zipper moving across his lips.

“Got it! No one would believe it anyway. A 15-year-old Sword Expert? Ha, sure.”

Leaving Jake’s grumbling behind, Raul walked towards Mira.

Having done enough monster hunting, it was time to prepare for a different kind of hunt.

The groundwork was already laid, and the stage was set. All that was left was for the prey to bite the bait.

‘Move quickly, dogs of the empire!’

The time for revenge in his new life was drawing near.

(To be continued)