The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 38

However, it didn’t take long for Jamieson’s confidence to dissipate into thin air.

Ding.

-1st Place 4 minutes 58 seconds

-2nd Place 5 minutes 15 seconds

“Good heavens, in the 4-minute range!!”

“I think even running at my best, I couldn’t achieve that time.”

The cadets murmured among themselves.

And the person who emerged was none other than Dalton.

While the cadets nodded as if to say, “As expected,” Jamieson gritted his teeth with a fierce expression.

‘That jerk. What is he thinking!’

Having met Dalton a few times and having had conversations with him, Jamieson knew well that Dalton had a strong dislike for anything bothersome.

Since he had heard that Dalton barely made an effort in the first test, he hadn’t been particularly concerned…

But Dalton didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving the finish line.

Staring intently at the scoreboard and finish line, he seemed to be waiting for someone.

‘What? Could it be that kid??’

Jamieson scowled once again.

Dalton had never taken him seriously. Even after a spar, he would say things like, “I got lucky.”, “That’s really a shame.”, but it was clear he didn’t consider Jamieson a challenge at all.

But now he’s paying attention to a kid who’s only 15?

A wave of anger surged through him, but soon he could only snicker.

The previous test had limited the use of mana, so surprises happened, but this test had no such restrictions.

How could he, or Dalton, who had already reached the expert level, expect anything from a mere 15-year-old kid?

‘Who will take the top position then? We have to tally the scores to find out.’

While Jamieson was lost in these thoughts, the last exam taker, Raul, finally appeared at the finish line.

And the moment the scores were uploaded onto the board.

“… Is this real?”

“Really??”

“No way!”

The cadets reacted with astonishment as the leaderboard was finalized.

-1st Place Raul 4 minutes 55 seconds

-2nd Place Dalton 4 minutes 58 seconds

-3rd Place Jamieson 5 minutes 15 seconds

-4th Place Caleb 6 minutes 22 seconds

…

Jamieson gaped in shock upon belatedly checking the standings.

‘Impossible. How could this result even happen!’

But it was undeniable, as the entire exam was broadcasted to the spectators’ seats.

Jamieson bit his lip hard, glaring at Raul’s departing figure.

In contrast, Dalton, with his arms crossed, wore a smile.

‘Interesting, very interesting! Somehow, I feel like academy life won’t be boring with this kind of expectation.’

Meanwhile, the hall where Vice-Chancellor Gray and the VIPs were assembled was also engulfed in considerable excitement.

“Congratulations, Young lord Dylan.”

“Hahaha, thank you, Mr. Gray.”

Congratulations for Raul taking the first place poured in.

The uncomfortable atmosphere among the members of the Count of Randal’s party, including Viscount McGinny, had already dissipated as they had left the premises, leaving behind nobles of neutral affiliation and academy officials.

After a round of greetings, Spencer, the chancellor, asked,

“Quite impressive. Does the Count Ashton’s household incorporate ranger training from a young age?”

“Indeed, that’s something to ponder. I personally thought Raul, rather than Jamieson, would be the one to charge straight through the trap. Considering the Count Ashton’s household background…”

The instructor, adding his remarks from the side, suddenly found his gaze wandering towards Dylan’s robust muscles.

Feeling a bit awkward, Dylan scratched his head and said,

“Hahaha. Well, that’s part of it, but Raul is quite a special child within the family. It wasn’t for no reason that I called him a gem.”

Even as he spoke, Dylan internally winced.

In truth, he had not anticipated Raul to display such prowess.

The three top contenders displayed completely distinct styles.

Jamieson literally bulldozed through every trap and obstacle like a tank.

His performance heavily reflected the McNeil Duke Family’s preference for shields and battle axes.

Dalton, on the other hand, was spectacularly flashy.

Wielding longswords of the same size in each hand, he maneuvered through the examination field by deflecting or parrying hidden weapons with precise and delicate movements.

The dual swords’ movements were both efficient and dazzling, resembling the sword arts of the Sword Sage.

Lastly, Raul.

He definitively showed that even a greatsword could be wielded with finesse.

Most astonishingly was how he maneuvered through the final cave without triggering a single trap, showcasing keen observation and agility that would be difficult even for skilled thieves or rangers to demonstrate.

Hence, despite not displaying a mana blade like Jamieson or Dalton, nobody contested Raul’s victory.

‘Raul, you rascal. Hiding the fact that you’ve reached Expert level and now employing ranger scouting techniques? I’m proud, yet you’ve even managed to deceive me. It appears we’re in need for a serious heart-to-heart.’

Trying hard to hide the upturned corners of his mouth, Dylan basked in his pride and joy.

Desiring to avoid further complications, Raul quickly left the examination ground.

After briefly receiving congratulations from supporting students en route, he hurriedly climbed into a carriage, letting out a deep sigh.

‘I aimed to keep it moderate, but who knows what’ll happen now. At any rate, it’s in the past, and I should aim for some peace and quiet moving forward.’

Exhausted from strategizing and controlling his strength, Raul leaned into his seat and unwittingly dozed off.

* * *

“Why! Why go this far!!”

Bae Dohyun, grasping a terribly injured girl lying on the ground with trembling hands, shouted.

“Really, someone might think she’s your own sister dead there. Ah, right. My mistake! Orphan, wasn’t it? You had no family to speak of, haha.”

A young man, standing about three steps in front of Bae Dohyun, laughed uproariously as if he’d seen it all.

Dozens of people encircling them joined in the young man’s laughter, mocking Bae Dohyun.

“I told you to bow down and come over nicely, didn’t I? Had you done so, she wouldn’t have ended up in such a sorry state. Even ranked number one, did you really think you could stand against us? How presumptuous.”

Bae Dohyun glared fiercely at Han Gilju, the guild leader of the Daeseong Guild, who was making a scene in front of him.

His hands, supporting the girl, trembled violently.

“Oh, how frightening! Is it really necessary to make such a fuss over just one NPC dying?”

Just one NPC.

To someone, that might be true, but to Bae Dohyun, she was incredibly significant.

Since encountering her during the main scenario quest, the girl had become his guide.

After protecting the girl from pursuers over more than a year, overcoming numerous crises together, she had become like family to him.

Now, with their destination nearly in sight, she had lost her life to the hands of guild thugs while he was momentarily away, in an event completely unrelated to the scenario.

Thrummmmm.

The ground around Bae Dohyun, who sat clutching the girl, began to tremble.

“Let’s see you struggle. After all, I was planning to kill you once anyway, keke. Guys, take care of him!”

At the guild leader’s command, about fifty elite members of the Daeseong Guild charged at Bae Dohyun.

Clang!! Whoosh!

The battle… was over in an instant.

Bae Dohyun remained in his pose, still embracing the girl, while the charging guild members were strewn across the floor, each impaled by a weapon.

Swoosh.

The weapons impaling the guild members withdrew on their own and gathered above Bae Dohyun’s head.

“Close.”

Bae Dohyun spoke in a low voice, and suddenly, dozens of weapons gathered in one place, only to disappear like a ghost in the next moment.

“What, what, how is this possible?? No matter if you’re ranked number one, this is too much! Damn game developers, I’ve thrown money at this, yet all I get is crappy skills!”

After gently laying the girl’s body on the ground, Bae Dohyun approached Han Gilju, the guild leader of Daeseong.

A dagger, previously concealed, was now pressed against Han Gilju’s throat.

“I want to know why. Why are guilds killing guide NPCs? Aren’t they afraid of the penalty?”

Killing quest NPCs, especially those guiding scenario quests, was exceedingly dangerous.

The account of a player who killed an NPC would be permanently deleted, and associated individuals would be either suspended or become wanted criminals.

Moreover, killing such guide NPCs wouldn’t stop the scenario from unfolding.

A new NPC would simply take over as the guide.

“Penalty? That’s something only lowlifes like you would worry about. Look at reality. There’s a queue of people willing to kill an NPC for ten million won, hahaha.”

“Stop talking nonsense and tell me why, unless you want to die!”

Bae Dohyun shouted as he grabbed Han Gilju by the collar.

Yet, Han Gilju maintained a mocking expression.

“Why bother? It’s obvious I’m going to die. And what if I do? The cost of resurrection penalty is less than my daily allowance, you pauper!”

Crunch.

Bae Dohyun ground his teeth in frustration, as Han Gilju’s words rang true.

After all, Han Gilju was the grandson of the chairman of Daeseong Group, one of South Korea’s top five conglomerates.

“Struggle all you want, hahaha. You might think you’re doing well now, but you’ll end up kneeling before me. Did you think the game would be any different? Wake up, you lowlife. Either in reality or in the game, the one with more money wins. Grrr…”

Thud.

Eventually, Han Gilju’s neck was snapped by Bae Dohyun, his body dropping lifelessly to the ground.

“Damn! Fine, let’s do this, you vile creature. I’ll keep killing you until you dread ever logging into the game again!”

In front of the girl’s corpse, which he couldn’t protect, Raul knelt and promised.

He vowed to erase Daeseong Guild from this game.

* * *

Ding, ding, ding!

Awakened by the sound of system messages ringing in his head, Raul thought, ‘This is a first. Waking up here after dreaming about the past.’

The unpleasant memories made him uncomfortable, as the promise to the girl was unfulfilled.

“Sigh.”

Raul soon noticed an icon blinking at the edge of his vision.

‘What’s this? Is it related to the system message sounds I heard countier?’

Touching the icon filled his vision with a long text.

Raul’s eyes widened as he read the title at the top.

“An update?!”

[Update Notice]

We deeply appreciate all players using the Connect System and would like to announce the upcoming update schedule and details.

* pre-scenario v1.0 Update

Sequential opening of hidden ancient dungeons

Activation of the Dimension Gate system

Conversion of some NPCs to scenario NPCs

Guild system update

* Update Schedule: One month later (Year 521 of Connect Era, May 28th)

Please note that a large-scale update and the official Open Beta service are planned depending on the progress of the pre-scenario.

‘That explains the uneasy dreams. There was an update in preparation.’

Seeing the announcement, a fire lit in Raul’s eyes.

The day to meet them again was not far off.

‘This time, I must…’

Recalling the promise to the girl, Raul clenched his fist.

(To be continued)