The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 50

What is he saying right now?

The members of the Shooting Club doubted their ears. They couldn’t understand why Jae-Hyeok had challenged Jun-Yeop. Did he come here just to cause trouble?

It was understandable if he wanted to take revenge for Baek Do-Jin, but making a formal challenge was a completely different issue.

Roh Jun-Yeop couldn’t stand it and burst out laughing. “This junior, you don’t know anything about the world. Do you know what it means to challenge a club manager formally? I am only betting my position as club manager, but you have to bet your future. This is no exaggeration.”

People from ordinary schools would not understand having to risk their future to take over a club. But at Lion’s Castle, clubs were essentially student-run guilds that allowed the students to learn through experience.

Like guilds, clubs were eligible to carry out requests, which generated a profit for Lion’s Castle. The earnings from the major clubs even exceeded the level of quite a few businesses. For such a huge asset, it was only right that outsiders who challenged them should pay a great price if they lost.

The Shooting Club, for example, stated that challengers who failed had to become a slave to the club for three years.

“Uh?”

Why make such a big deal out of avenging a mere team member?

Roh Jun-Yeop tilted his head because he couldn’t understand it! But then he clapped his hands in realization.

“Kang Jae-Hyeok! You’re the son of the Yaksha, right? Ah, I see. You have nothing to lose.”

That solved all his doubts, so Roh Jun-Yeop showed a refreshed expression. “Hah, I feel sorry for a young man who goes all-in on a gamble to try and turn his life around.”

Roh Jun-Yeop had no interest in the fallen Kang family but he was clear about one thing.

The Kang had raised swordsmen for generations.

The person before him was a swordsman. Even then, he could see the full sword scabbard hanging from his waist. Roh Jun-Yeop touched the back of his head gingerly. It was probably that scabbard that had hit him before.

Roh Jun-Yeop had been wary, thinking this person could have something up his sleeve. Now he felt relieved.

He’s just a crazy person who doesn’t realize who he is up against. No wonder he hangs out with Baek Do-Jin.

Roh Jun-Yeop had heard rumors.

At the re-examination site that was aired live nationwide, Kang Jae-Hyeok had brilliantly awakened his Bloodline Skill.

His life had changed overnight, so it wasn’t strange if he thought he could accomplish anything.

The young man didn’t know how vast the world was.

“Do you plan to support your family with the activity funds and commission fees that come with being a club manager? Okay. You’re so determined that I will accept your challenge. Don’t be too resentful if you lose and end up working for the Shooting Club for three years. It must be better living as a slave than living in a beggar’s house.”

Roh Jun-Yeop stood in the shooting lane and leisurely pulled out his purple revolver, but he froze when Jae-Hyeok corrected him. At this point, Jae-Hyeok corrected him: “It isn’t me who will be the manager of the Shooting Club; it’ll be Baek Do-Jin.”

"......?"

“All I want is to occupy the Shooting Club. There is no one more suitable to be regent than Do-Jin. He will make sure to work you to the bone.”

Jae-Hyeok wasn’t interested in managing the club; the only group activities he was interested in were team activities. He had to get stronger without stopping. Investing most of his time in himself had always been his intention.

This was why he kept saying that he would occupy the club, not own it.

He wanted pleasure without responsibility.

Instead of becoming a full-fledged member of the Shooting Club, actively participating in its management, and getting entangled in all sorts of incidents, he planned to let the club run on its own while reaping the benefits.

I wouldn’t have come up with this idea if there weren’t Do-Jin as justification.

Throughout the history of Lion’s Castle, it was rare for a single student to challenge the supremacy of a club.

There were a few successful cases, but because it wasn’t part of mainstream culture, it wasn’t mentioned among the students.

As a freshman, Jae-Hyeok hadn’t even known that there was an official school rule for challenging a club manager to take their position. He had only learned about it after overhearing the bloodied Shooting Club members outside the range, lamenting that an outsider was trying to take over their club.

In other words, Jae-Hyeok’s decision to challenge Ron Jun-Yeop had been done spontaneously, without any thorough plan. He realized then that, sometimes, the best course of action could only be seized in the moment.

“Is this bastard crazy?”

Roh Jun-Yeop read the sincerity in Jae-Hyeok’s tone, and his expression crumpled like a sheet of paper. How dare a first-year student say this? It was ridiculous to see the bloodline of a fallen aristocrat, whose incompetence led to their downfall, acting arrogant just because he had a Bloodline Skill to rely on.

Roh Jun-Yeop exclaimed, “You think you can look down on me, you insignificant bastard?”

Not just anyone could become a club manager. Roh Jun-Yeop’s black potential was rare, even in Lion’s Castle. He had the qualifications to become an S-class player, and he’d also awakened a shooting-type Skill, so his seniors had trusted him, leaving the Shooting Club in his care.

“Why are you talking so much?” The tall beauty stepped in. “You’ve been challenged, so shut up and get started.”

“Jang Yeon-Ju, you... Tsk, forget it.”

Unexpectedly, Roh Jun-Yeop seemed cowed by the woman called Jang Yeon-Jun. He had been acting unusual from the moment he had seen her. Did that mean she was stronger? But if that was the case, why was Roh Jun-Yeop the manager and not her?

Jang Yeon-Ju looked at Jae-Hyeok, who was glancing between her and Roh Jun-Yeop with interest.

“First-year student Kang Jae-Hyeok, right? The Shooting Club formally accepts your challenge. The way to win is simple. You just have to shoot a bow or a gun better than that bastard and score more points. The shooting match will follow the rules of Ragnarok.”

Ragnarok was a national competition that was like the Olympics for players. It was held every three years at the Event World Gate, and players had to be at least level 150 to participate. Even among the S-class players, whose growth neared the peak, many were considered only low-tier players in Ragnarok.

“U-using Ragnarock’s rules is ridiculous!” Da-Hee said. She had been a fan of Ragnarok since she’d been a child, so she knew the rules of the shooting competition well.

Many targets randomly appeared, floating in a five-hundred-meter range. The targets varied in size, color, and shape, and the participant had to hit only the yellow targets to score points. The diameter of the yellow bull’s eye was only 0.5 centimeters, around the size of a fire ant. The target was so small that it was difficult to spot even when it stood still, let alone when it appeared and disappeared randomly within five hundred meters. The targets could even overlap with each other or appear behind cover.

Moreover, each competitor had only twenty shots, and they were penalized for hitting the non-yellow targets.

It was almost impossible for an ordinary person to gain more than two points using the Ragnarok shooting rules.

Jang Yeon-Ju took out a small lollipop, put it in her mouth, and tilted her head.

Her rebellious look made it seem like she was holding a cigarette, not a lollipop, between her lips. She said to Jae-Hyeok, “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to force yourself.”

Lion’s Castle followed the logic of the powerful: the strong preyed upon the weak. The students of Lion’s Castle were actively encouraged to compete and find out who were the strong and who were the weak among them.

The rule allowing outsiders to challenge and conquer a club was also based on the logic of the powerful.

As a second-year student, Jang Yeon-Ju had witnessed several students whose lives were ruined by the school’s attitude.

Honestly, she hoped that this Kang Jae-Hyeok boy would rescind his challenge. If he lost and became a slave of the Shooting Club, he would have to sacrifice his time and talent for the Shooting Club for three years, losing his opportunity to grow at Lion’s Castle.

“How interesting,” Jae-Hyeok said.

Chae Da-Hee stopped trying to convince Jae-Hyeok to quit after hearing him speak. Seeing him smiling, Da-Hee’s nerves turned to expectation.

He’d worn that same smile when cutting down the Leech King, when stepping onto the stage for his re-examination, and when beating Ha Kyeong-Su with a spear

“Shall I start first?” Jae-Hyeok decided to stick with the horn bow he had originally chosen.

The reason he tied his scabbard to his sash in a way that allowed the scabbard to turn around was precisely to accommodate a bow at the same time."[1]">https://c8.alamy.com/comp/E6NBC7/changing-of-the-royal-guards-at-gyeongbokgung-palace-in-seoul-south-E6NBC7.jpg[/ref]

South Korea had been a nation of bows since ancient times. The martial techniques of the Kang family also included archery. It was relatively rare to use it in actual combat, but it was a family tradition to train in it for the purpose of honoring the spirit of the country and honing concentration.

Jae-Hyeok also had the All Mastery passive.

He was confident in his archery and even had a Skill to enhance it.

Jae-Hyeok didn’t feel like he was going to lose. It would have been different if it were a duel. But the Shooting Club’s rules, which had been made to benefit the club, would actually help Jae-Hyeok.

“My eyes will rot from watching this trash’s archery, so I’ll start first.” Roh Jun-Yeop was unaware of the situation and pressed the button to operate the shooting lane.

[Initiating Ragnarok mode.]

“......”

The machine made a noise and the game immediately started.

Hundreds of digital targets floated up before disappearing in the massively expanded shooting range.

Roh Jun-Yeop was silent for a while. His usual practice used the same map as Ragnarok mode, but he used different rules: only yellow targets appeared, and there was no other cover blocking the targets.

Even the arrogant manager of the Shooting Club didn’t frequently play in Ragnarok mode because it drained an immense amount of mental energy.

Twenty seconds passed.

Roh Jun-Yeop increased his concentration while maximizing his eyesight with the Hawk’s Eye Skill; aimed at a target sixty meters away; and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Most of the Shooting Club members couldn’t even see the bullseye. A diameter of 0.5 centimeters was much too small.

[Hit.] freewebnoveℓ.com

Uh, that’s amazing.

Da-Hee gulped nervously when she saw the score on the electronic display. To even see the yellow target’s bullseye, his Insight and Agility must be at least a hundred points. No, it’s probably much higher than that...

The yellow targets weren’t the only ones in the vast shooting range. Targets hundreds of times more colorful constantly disturbed the shooter’s vision.

Tang, tang, tang!

Roh Jun-Yeop attempted three more shots, but only one of them hit a yellow target.

“Tsk.” Roh Jun-Yeop clicked his tongue before taking a deep breath to regain his composure.

The yellow targets that floated near him were constantly being obscured by other targets or by cover. The risk was too high to attempt a curve shit.

I’ll aim for the target more than 400 meters away.

Ragnarok mode allowed only three minutes of shooting time. In just over a minute, Roh Jun-Yeop had only shot four times. He needed to hurry so as not to lose his remaining sixteen shots.

Using his Initial Skill, he enhanced the power and velocity of his bullets. His revolver let out a cry, and mana vented from the barrel. He’d fired five shots in that moment, but he’d done it so fast that it had sounded as a single gunshot. The five shots destroyed the rock walls in their path, clearing the way to the yellow target.

Then Roh Jun-Yeop fired another bullet and hit the exposed yellow target.

That’s it. He had to use six shots aiming for a single target, but Roh Jun-Yeop’s expression was bright. That brings my total up to three points.

It was a hard-to-reach score for ordinary members of the Shooting Club, and it was impossible for a beginner to score three points even if they were lucky.

Roh Jun-Yeop regained his composure and aimed at the next target.

......

By the time the three-minute time limit was over, Roh Jun-Yeop’s display board showed a surprising score.

[6 points.]

That was a difficult record to reach for even active players.

“That was close.”

“If he hadn’t been blocked by the red target at the end, he could’ve set a new record of 8 points.”

The members of the Shooting Club spoke with regret but still applauded. Roh Jun-Yeop’s expression wasn’t too bad either. His last bullet hit a red target, so it was a deduction. Nevertheless, a score of six points was a record score he only reached when he was in good condition.

There was no chance he would lose the match.

“Uh?”

Roh Jun-Yeop had just left the shooting lane and raised his chin arrogantly, but a few moments later, he was shaking.

The other members of the Shooting Club were also speechless.

[Hit.]

[Hit.]

[Hit.]

It had only been only a few seconds since Jae-Hyeok had entered the shooting lane.

However, he had already fired three arrows and hit all the targets. His curved shots seemed to be measured with a protractor, and the yellow targets were cleanly pierced behind the rock walls.

“......”

Everyone in the venue saw the same illusion.

The shooting range, which had been ruined by Loren, suddenly seemed like an official Ragnarok competition hall.

1. A hwando can be carried in pair with a short bow (gakgung) on the same hip. The sword is oriented tip-forward so it does not interfere with the bow. Here is a picture for reference: ☜