Duke’s Son: Re

Chapter 63

“Are you really sure that will do?”

Jaehyuk’s chosen task was far beyond Jang Yeonju’s expectations.

The request was to hunt down a single F-rank marine monster, the Dark Abyss Tuna.

The rewards were minimal, not to mention the inability to gain additional benefits such as experience points or connections, making it the lowest-grade request.

“Can you see the dust piled up on the documents? It was a request that came in five months ago.”

It was a request close to a ‘favor’ from a self-employed person running a small restaurant.

It was a waste of time to undertake it just to earn a mere million won.

It wasn’t even worth offloading onto a first-year student.

The biggest problem was having to deal with a marine monster.

A monster inhabiting the sea.

No matter how low its rank, it was tricky to hunt.

Hunting it required either drawing it out with a great deal of effort, like fishing, or risking diving into the sea.

“If it had been a request to hunt a high-grade monster, there probably would have been a lot of applicants…”

The higher the rank of the monster, the more experience points and items it provided.

Taking the risk became worthwhile.

While Jang Yeonju shook her head in disbelief, Jaehyuk spoke nonchalantly.

“I can’t just ignore someone who clearly needs help.”

“Ah…?”

Jang Yeonju’s eyes widened, and she straightened her posture with her knees gathered.

It dawned on her that Jaehyuk was not just a junior but also a noble. She was suddenly conscious of appearing disheveled.

Jaehyuk smiled at her, who looked unexpectedly uncomfortable.

“It’s just something I’m saying from my perspective. I don’t intend to impose my values on others, so don’t misunderstand.”

“… Would you like some help?”

“There’s no need for help to catch a single tuna.”

“Surely you’re not thinking of diving into the sea alone or fishing, are you? Dark Abyss Tuna has high alertness, making it hard to lure with bait. You might not even catch it after waiting all weekend. Wouldn’t you get bored doing it alone?”

“I actually needed some time alone.”

Jaehyuk had grown rapidly after dealing with the senior instructor and the troll lord.

His level had shot up by five to reach level 29, and he had accumulated remarkable accomplishments and miraculous achievements, significantly boosting his stats.

He needed to thoroughly understand his elevated physical state and adjust his senses.

“You’re planning to meditate, aren’t you? That sounds like a good idea.”

Understanding Jaehyuk’s intention, Jang Yeonju nodded.

She perceived Kang Jaehyuk as an excellent ‘archer’.

She could easily imagine Jaehyuk meditating until the fish bit.

‘I need to increase my meditation time too.’

Aspiring to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps as the Bow Saint, Jang Yeonju took Jaehyuk as her role model.

She resolved to observe and learn everything from him.

***

A boy engrossed in shooting, unaware of his disheveled hair.

His eyes shone with determination amidst his fluttering red hair.

It seemed he could pierce the target with just his gaze.

Eventually, the boy released the bowstring,

Twang-!

The arrow flew with force into nowhere, completely missing the target.

“Ah damn…”

Noh Junyeob could no longer hold back his profanity.

He couldn’t see the path forward.

Considering how sincerely Baek Dojin was concentrating on shooting, it was all the more maddening.

“What the hell are you doing?”

The beginning always went well.

Baek Dojin managed to pull the bowstring with remarkable posture and breathing thanks to Noh Junyeob’s meticulous guidance.

However, he put too much force into his shoulder each time he released the bowstring.

His perfected posture collapsed rapidly, throwing off his aim.

No matter how many times he pointed it out, Dojin just couldn’t fix it, making Junyeob feel like he was talking to a wall.

“…….”

Baek Dojin clammed up and averted his gaze timidly.

Only two days ago, if Junyeob had raised his voice even slightly, Baek Dojin would have barked, “How dare you act cheeky to the boss!”

“Control your emotions.”

A familiar voice penetrated his gloomy mood.

“Kang Jaehyuk!”

It was like a puppy meeting its owner.

Upon Jaehyuk’s appearance, the inherent rebelliousness in Baek Dojin’s expression vanished like melting snow.

Noh Junyeob was at a loss for words.

‘That rascal always barked even when rained on.’

Baek Dojin hadn’t earned the nickname ‘Mad Dog’ for nothing.

Throughout his over one-year stint at Lion’s Castle, no one had ever managed to make him behave.

“Erase Lauren from your mind.”

Jaehyuk, noticing Junyeob’s curiosity, asked him for a moment’s privacy before advising Dojin.

“Erase? How?”

At the mention of Lauren’s name, Dojin ground his teeth, responding reflexively.

“That bastard’s 『coffin』 within…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence, his face contorting with barely contained fury.

The killing intent boiling over caused Jaehyuk’s skin to tingle.

“I have to kill him.”

Kill.

Even if it costs every ounce of my body and soul, I’ll end Lauren.

Since the loss of his parents, Baek Dojin had pledged this countless times a day.

Whenever he shot an arrow, Lauren’s face projected onto the target, and he was powerless to stop it.

Jaehyuk, who was watching him quietly, felt a pang of profound sympathy.

He vaguely understood Dojin’s story.

“Right now, even if you tried, you couldn’t kill him, could you?”

He spoke sternly.

“If you can’t even maintain your composure in obvious situations needing focus, you’ll never grow or close the gap with Lauren.”

“You say that easily as if it’s someone else’s business…”

The matters I’ve experienced exceed the realm of imagination.

No one could understand my pain.

Dojin always believed that way.

He had a disdain for others’ superficial empathy and chose solitude.

Thus, he thought Jaehyuk’s advice presumptuous as he lashed out. But then he suddenly remembered.

Kang Jaehyuk’s life story.

It was indirectly visible through the history of the Kang family found online.

Was his life better than mine?

Not at all.

Kang Jaehyuk also lost his parents, just like me, because of an ‘accident’.

No, it wasn’t an accident.

It was an incident orchestrated by someone’s plans, not by chance.

Jaehyuk had even been abandoned by his sibling.

Unlike me, he didn’t choose isolation; it was forced upon him.

Eight long years confined within a mansion surrounded by protestors.

Perhaps Jaehyuk was my only true understanding ally.

On the contrary, I couldn’t be a sympathizer for him.

His future seemed far bleaker than mine.

My target for revenge was just Lauren, while his enemies were his fellow citizens and the entire nation.

How could he remain so calm?

Mesmerized by Jaehyuk’s dark eyes, Dojin snapped out of it and lowered his head.

“… Sorry. I got too worked up.”

“I spoke harshly first, so it’s understandable you got angry. I should apologize too.”

Just as Dojin expected.

Jaehyuk understood him.

Understanding him was why he spoke firmly.

“But I have no intention of retracting my advice.”

Jaehyuk grabbed Dojin’s bow and arrow.

Then, effortlessly, he drew the bowstring taut while assuming the stance.

He stood upright, steadied his breath, aligned sight with the bow, and gauged the wind direction.

He completely ignored Noh Junyeob’s countless advice pounded into Dojin’s ears.

“Dojin, your current confusion only serves to prolong the life of your nemesis. People like us need to remember that.”

Pew!

Letting go of the bowstring, Jaehyuk’s arrow soared straight and struck the bullseye.

Without even bothering to steady his breath, the arrow he shot amidst talking landed perfectly on target.

Dojin didn’t know whether to be amazed or stunned; he couldn’t close his gaping mouth.

“Mastering emotional control lets you turn anger into a weapon.”

Jaehyuk had honed the secret technique of evoking extreme focus at will.

Surprisingly, it leveraged a sense of revenge.

It was transforming anger into focus.

He used the burning desire for vengeance as fuel.

Jaehyuk handed the bow back to Dojin.

“First, get accustomed to suppressing your emotions. For the time being, erase Lauren’s face from your mind. You can always remember that disgusting mug later, as much as you want, right?”

“… Okay!”

Dojin responded energetically.

The reason he learned archery.

To cultivate the concentration necessary to control mana that exploded with the use of Shunpo.

Yes, for now, there was a clear and defined goal.

If Lauren posed a hindrance to achieving this goal, the right decision was to bury it temporarily.

Poink!

Dojin, following the lead of a boy facing an even tougher path, released his arrow after taking Jaehyuk’s invaluable advice to heart.

『3 points.』

The arrow from the bowstring hit the target accurately.

“I did it! Thanks to you, Jaehyuk, I…!”

Overwhelmed with excitement, Dojin’s eyes sparkled as he hopped around.

When he tried to embrace him, Jaehyuk kicked him away with a sigh and muttered.

“Maybe he just doesn’t have the talent…?”

“……”

***

“It’s intense.”

After concluding his day, Jaehyuk headed straight to the dormitory’s bathroom.

As he soaked his body in warm water, his tired body and mind gradually relaxed.

‘I’m still a long way off.’

After just a few hectic days, he was already feeling fatigued.

With such frailness, he worried about when he’d challenge the top-grade gates, which reportedly took weeks to conquer.

He was overly strict with himself.

Caught in an unknown assailants’ plot with Jaekyung Pharmaceutical employees, shaking up the shooting club, battling the senior instructor and troll lord, being pursued by Theodor, trying not to draw suspicion from the military force and student council, and so on.

The past days’ activities were reason enough for Jaehyuk to be fatigued.

Had he been an ordinary person, he might have suspected the world was conspiring against him, given the rapid succession of major events.

But Jaehyuk had lived a hard life.

He couldn’t recognize that he was facing systemic disadvantage and merely accepted it as normal.

‘I should consider extending my sleep time soon.’

Identifying his weakness as a problem, he finally found a solution after some thought.

Following his father’s incident.

Jaehyuk constantly pushed himself.

He even cut down sleeping hours to dedicate himself solely to training.

This approach allowed him to hone his body to its limits, but after awakening, training the body lost its significance.

A player’s physical strength needed to be enhanced by increasing levels and stats.

He realized it was better to extend his sleeping hours to prevent the accumulation of physical and mental fatigue.

“Hmm…”

He awkwardly set his phone alarm to go off two hours later than usual.

Getting six hours of sleep meant he’d have only 18 hours a day to use, making him feel lazier than an orc.

It felt like he was doing something extremely indulgent, causing a jittery unease.

‘Calm down, Kang Jaehyuk. In the current context, it’s wise to increase sleeping hours.’

After calming his qualms with deep breathing, he logged into the community forum.

He was searching for items to change the appearance of his Wind Spirit’s Boots.

『Welcome, player ‘Kang Jaehyuk’.』
『You have a new message. Would you like to check it?』

“?”