Episode 25
Chapter 10: Jin, the Cadets, the Beastmen, and… (3)
Jin never imagined that the culprit would be a terrorist group he’d only heard about in passing during his previous life. Not only had they attacked the Runeandel cadets, but they had even gone so far as to kidnap one of them.
“How long has it been since Mesa was taken?”
“Less than an hour.”
“Then they must still be near the edge of the Beastmen territory.”
Jin pulled the dagger embedded in the head of one of the attackers beside him. He then took two more daggers from his comrades and tucked them inside his boots and robe.
“Young master, we should prepare to pursue them as well.”
“No. I’m the only one going to rescue Mesa. You all stay here, finish the first aid, and then join the remaining squad one to request reinforcements from the main house.”
“What?”
His comrades looked taken aback.
“All the attackers we faced were at least fourth-rank warriors. And there were twenty of them. You’re going alone?”
“That’s not acceptable, young master. Take us with you.”
“Mesa is important, but you come first. Honestly, even the pursuit itself is too dangerous. It’s better to request support from the main house together…”
For a moment, the cadets raised their voices.
The attackers numbered at least twenty, according to the dying man’s confession.
Their words were true—pursuing and rescuing alone was reckless, especially for Jin to do by himself.
“Twenty might even be an understatement. If we all die, including you, young master, then the promise you made with that man will be lost. Please consider this carefully.”
“Mesa is a comrade we all cherish, but death during a mission is not uncommon. If the main house sends reinforcements immediately, there’s a chance she can be rescued safely…”
“Shut up.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Like you said, death during missions happens often. But a cadet has been captured, and it’s unthinkable for the heir of Runeandel to do nothing.”
Jin slowly turned his head and met the eyes of the cadets.
“I’m stronger than you think. So pull yourselves together and follow orders. Any further resistance will be considered insubordination.”
The cadets lowered their heads, their faces heavy with gloom. Jin’s firm tone and gaze left no room for argument.
“I hope you all grow strong enough to fight alongside me in any situation. I’ll be back. Oh, and Bellop.”
“Yes?”
“With the entire second squad injured, you’re the strongest among the cadets. You need to keep your wits about you. Understand? No hesitation.”
“I will remember.”
The cadets bowed their heads as Jin turned and left.
Currently, Jin’s achievements were Spirit Release rank 3, Swordsmanship rank 3, and Magic Power rank 4.
No one would believe he had reached all this by fifteen, but facing twenty fourth-rank warriors at once was still a tall order.
Moreover, if the lower-ranking members were fourth-rank, their leader was likely fifth-rank or higher.
Still, Jin was confident going alone because they had no idea about his ‘Spirit’ or ‘Magic Power.’
His swordsmanship was rank 3, but he had also acquired some secret techniques from various martial families. The odds weren’t entirely against him.
“I won’t be fighting all twenty at once. They’re probably scattered while searching. I’ll take them down group by group and find Mesa.”
Once he judged he was far enough from the cadets, Jin stopped running.
Taking a breath, a fist-sized orb of magic power formed in his right palm. He planned to use magic to track the attackers.
‘Earth Sense.’
Earth Sense was a rank 3 earth magic spell. As the name suggests, it detected the state of the ground, mainly used to sense earthquakes or other disasters.
It wasn’t ideal for tracking in this situation.
But magic’s potential was limitless when applied creatively and combined with other spells. Though such combinations usually required cooperation, which most mages lacked.
A low hum filled the air.
As the orb in his right palm seeped slowly into the ground, another translucent orb with a wind attribute formed in his left palm.
Simultaneous casting.
A dream for most mages, and a pinnacle of magic that even rank 7 mages without talent couldn’t perform.
Jin had been able to do this since he became a magic student before his reincarnation.
‘Wind Tracking.’
As the second spell finished, a cool breeze gathered around the transparent orb. The wind swept over Jin’s body, flowing along the faint reactions detected by Earth Sense.
The wind moved based on the earth’s information.
‘Good. They’re heading toward the grasslands. If they’d gone through the forest path, tracking would’ve been much harder, even with these two spells combined.’
If the Kinzello attackers had used the forest, tracking would have been nearly impossible due to the dense trees and abundant life.
Jin extinguished the magic.
Simultaneous casting consumed a tremendous amount of magic power, and if any of the attackers were mages, they might detect the tracking.
‘They haven’t gone far yet.’
After about an hour of running, signs of the attackers began to appear—trampled grass and footprints.
Just as Jin was about to move again, he suddenly stopped, startled.
Carefully examining the direction of their movement, he noticed the footprints had thinned.
A sharp whistle!
An arrow flew out from the bushes. Jin easily dodged it and aimed his sword at the spot it came from.
There was a burrow.
Some of the attackers had dug a hole, preparing for the cadets’ pursuit.
“So, they really are Runeandel cadets! Their movements are impressive. Now I understand why Chap had such a hard time.”
“Clark! That one dodged the arrow. Give me a gold coin.”
Three masked men emerged from the burrow, chuckling.
Apparently, they had been betting on whether Jin would dodge the arrow they secretly shot.
Clark pulled out a gold coin and flicked it.
“Thanks to that damn kid, you’re having fun now.”
The man who caught the coin grinned and drew his sword. Until then, Jin had been silently watching them.
The group consisted of one mage and two warriors.
‘Their aura and magic power aren’t strong. All three are probably around rank 4.’
Jin’s calm assessment seemed to terrify them.
“Don’t worry, kid. I don’t enjoy torturing people to death. This will be over soon.”
“Then why are you alone? Where are the others?”
“Chap and Greg must’ve killed them all, haha.”
“Chap and Greg? The one with a scar on his left cheek and the bald one?”
Jin spoke for the first time, and two of the men burst out laughing.
“Hahaha, scar on the cheek and bald? That’s rich.”
“If those guys hear this later, they’ll be pretty pissed.”
But one man didn’t laugh. The mage.
“How do you know what Chap and Greg look like?”
“Obviously. I killed them, took off their masks, and checked. They were fighting my men.”
The laughter vanished from their eyes. Jin still held his sword lightly, expressionless.
“Don’t bluff. They’re rank 4 knights. Runeandel cadets can’t handle that level…”
“Do you Kinzello thugs even recognize bullies who attack kids as knights? You’re different from Runeandel.”
“Clark, Mills, look around. Seems like it’s not just kids here. This kid isn’t a cadet. There must be a guardian knight!”
They couldn’t believe Jin had killed Chap and Greg. Even in Runeandel, it was unimaginable for a kid not fully grown to take down two rank 4 knights.
So they prepared for death. Before joining Kinzello, they had been mercenaries or knights and knew the reputation of Runeandel’s guardian knights.
“Hahaha…”
Jin laughed loudly and spoke.
“You’re afraid of Runeandel, yet you weren’t scared to attack cadets? There’s no guardian knight here. I came alone.”
“Bullshit!”
“If my guardian knights were here, you wouldn’t even be talking to me now. And where could you hide in this grassland? It’s ridiculous for our knights to hide just to ambush you.”
The men, tense to the breaking point, caught their breath and scanned the area. There was nowhere to hide in the open field, and Jin’s words were true.
Soon, they resumed their hostile stance.
They were embarrassed to have been shaken by a kid who looked at least twenty years younger than them just moments ago.
“Really alone, huh… Thought you were just a reckless brat relying on your family name, but you’re just a fearless puppy.”
“Oh yeah? If I were just a brat relying on my family…”
As Jin spoke, Clark lunged forward, aiming for Jin’s neck.
“You’re lucky, kid. Too bad.”
“Dieee!”
Clark was right in front of Jin’s face when he suddenly screamed and collapsed. One of his legs had been cleanly severed.
‘Glad I stalled for time.’
The spell that severed Clark’s leg was called the “Blade Wind,” a wind-element magic of four-star rank, notorious for its extreme difficulty.
It was a spell Jin had secretly prepared while talking with the others.
“Clark! What kind of magic is Runkandel using…?!”
The mage began chanting a counterspell, and Mills, visibly agitated, charged at Jin swinging his sword wildly.
“You bastard!”
Clang!
Jin was pushed back slightly but managed to parry Mills’ sword, which clattered to the ground. Despite his young frame, Jin’s aura-imbued strike carried considerable weight.
Still, taking down a four-star knight was no big deal.
Just as Jin spun to strike Mills from the side, the mage shouted sharply.
“Mills, fall back!”
Whoosh! A large flame burst to life in the mage’s palm, unraveling like a fiery whip and lashing toward Jin.
It was a four-star fire-element spell—the Fire Whip—the most powerful magic a Kinzello mage could unleash.
Jin didn’t dodge. Instead, he took the blazing whip head-on. The moment the mage’s face twisted into a triumphant smile, Jin used the flames as cover to plunge his sword, Bradamante, into Mills’ neck.
Thud…!
Mills died instantly, unable even to scream. The mage staggered back, eyes wide in disbelief, while Clark clutched his severed leg, screaming in agony.
Jin grabbed the flaming whip clinging to his robe and crushed it with his hand. The flames died down, leaving a faint shimmer of residual magic drifting like dust.
Thanks to the perfect absorption of the Phoenix Heart, fire-element spells of six-star rank or below couldn’t harm Jin.
“Damn it!”
Realizing Jin’s fire resistance, the mage hastily began casting another spell—Ice Spear—the very same magic that had once struck Jin’s carriage.
“Don’t come any closer!”
The mage launched the ice spear, but this time it shattered midair before even reaching Jin, falling to the ground in broken shards.
The Pendant of the Beast King Orgal. Its magic shielded Jin. It was nearly impossible for spells below five-star rank to pierce the pendant’s protection.
“W-what…! Ugh!”
Bradamante traced a sharp arc across the mage’s waist. Jin twisted the sword once, and the mage shuddered violently before collapsing, dead.
“I’ve got some good sisters to protect.”
After finishing off the trembling Clark, Jin resumed crossing the grasslands.
Of course, when dealing the final blow to Clark, Jin carefully removed the wounded area again to hide the fact that he’d been felled by magic.