21. I Like It Here
Most of the assassins on the terrace died as they were, frozen into statues.
The surviving assassins shouted in dismay.
“Magic?”
“Who the hell! There was no one here!”
Suddenly, a man appeared out of thin air.
It was like a cloak made of shadows being removed.
It was none other than Bayner.
The reason Joo-Yeon snapped his fingers was for no other reason than this.
– Take care of the enemy.
It was an action to activate the suggestion he had given Bayner.
The person who had actually cast the spell was genuinely bewildered.
“W, why again……. I definitely prepared thoroughly this time.”
Various magic charms were attached to his body.
Magic items that resisted abilities.
It was clear that he had intended to block the suggestion with that.
However, even with the charms, he could never shake off the marking.
So he had no choice but to listen to Joo-Yeon’s next command.
“Are there any left?”
Why aren’t you taking care of this right now?
His gaze seemed to say that he would talk about that later.
Bayner gritted his teeth.
“Ugh……”
His hand was automatically directed at the assassins.
He was trying to use magic once again.
Just like Bayner, the assassins couldn’t believe the current situation.
‘What the heck. Wasn’t this kid on our side?’
‘He’s definitely the duke’s adjutant, so why is he attacking us?’
Behind him was the traitorous wizard.
Next to him was the knight of chivalry.
Right in front of him was the main character with unknown and mysterious powers.
No matter how he looked around, there seemed to be nowhere to escape.
It was when he was about to try to get out of this place somehow.
A voice grabbed them by the ankles.
“I still had a test left to do. This works out well.”
What? Test?
What did that slave just say?
‘He dares to test us?’
Against the secret assassination force of Duke Edmer’s family?
The assassins’ eyes flashed with murderous intent.
They made the best judgment with cold reason.
‘That strange speed from earlier must have been the wizard’s ability.’
‘We have to kill that guy and leave somehow.’
‘He’s closer than the knight or the wizard.’
‘We just have to keep the wizard in check.’
The assassins exchanged glances.
And gritted their teeth and charged.
They threw themselves at Joo-in’s body, disregarding their own lives, in order to stab him with their daggers.
Surprisingly, Joo-in didn’t take any defensive stance.
Thud, thud, thud!
The assassins’ weapons pierced Joo-in’s body.
They were all areas where he could die instantly.
“This idiot! What kind of test is this!”
“This is the price of insolence!”
“Mission accomplished! Leaving the scene!”
The assassins tried to leave, the corners of their mouths raised.
Not only were the daggers accurately lodged in his weak points, but they were also coated with a poison of a different level than the one in the soup.
‘There’s no way he can survive this.’
‘No matter how resistant he is to poison, it’s useless. It’s a poison that would kill any great knight.’
But their thoughts were cut short.
BAM!
They collapsed to the ground.
The assassins who had attacked Jooyeon died from fatal wounds.
It was the effect of .
“C, Captain.”
Just one remained.
Unlike the other assassins, the one who had not been able to land a fatal blow somehow survived.
He quickly regained his senses.
Leaving his fallen comrades behind, he immediately tried to escape.
But it was no use.
BAM!
Suddenly, a torrent of blood erupted from his body, and he died on the spot.
Now, all that remained was the maid who had been captured by Olson.
She was so shocked that she couldn’t even open her mouth properly.
“I didn’t even touch him…”
How did he die?
Could it be that he had cut him down with an invisible speed?
But he didn’t have a weapon?
The maid’s eyes were filled with confusion.
Jooyeon’s expression, on the other hand, was calm.
“That’s quite useful.”
Of course, he wasn’t talking about Wiener.
He had only called him to take care of the annoying aftermath.
What he was referring to was his ability.
, the ability that had allowed him to deal with dozens of assassins.
Not only could it deflect invisible square attacks, but it could also deflect the poison on hidden weapons.
The assassins who had just exploded and died had all fallen victim to this skill.
‘Internal bleeding caused by a poison that makes the blood flow in reverse.’
It wasn’t the kind of poison typically used for assassinations.
The only person who would do something like this was Duke Edmer.
It seemed that he was quite displeased with Jooyeon being a guest of the Sword King.
Even so, this test had been quite beneficial.
‘I discovered that can consecutively deflect an opponent’s attacks.’
Its continuity was excellent.
Its versatility, which allowed it to deflect both poison and physical attacks, was also quite good.
Of course, this test had not only been about .
Jooyeon recalled the situation from earlier.
The moment something flew out of the mouth of the assassin disguised as a maid.
＜[Crisis Detection] has been activated.＞
The ability I received from the hunter Jack was activated.
Instead of ＜Reflection＞, Joo-Yeon thought of the newly acquired achievement ability.
‘I should test anything I get right away.’
＜[Physical Enhancement] activated!＞
＜Physical abilities have increased by 3 times.＞
Thump! Thump!
In an instant, his heart pounded at an incredible speed.
And the world began to appear in slow motion.
‘It’s like slow motion.’
The flying projectile seemed to be crawling.
Joo-Yeon just had to reach out and grab it.
It would have been impossible normally.
Even if he could see it, his body wouldn’t move as he wanted it to.
‘I suffered too much in the labor camp. My body wasn’t in a state to withstand such acceleration.’
But Joo-Yeon was different now.
It was thanks to the newly acquired [Steel Bones] and [Tenacity].
Of course, since they were still growing, they wouldn’t be able to发挥 their full power yet.
It was the power of the [Instant Acceleration Potion] hidden in the bathroom that was taking effect.
Thanks to that, his strengthened body and bones moved as he willed, even in the slowed-down world.
And Joo-Yeon accurately caught the non-poisonous end of the projectile.
Snap.
It was a feat that only his past colleagues, ＜Grim Reaper＞ and ＜Great Sword＞, who possessed the highest speed, could perform.
Even though there was a time limit, he was able to do it right away.
As expected of Joo-Yeon, who had experienced countless characters as a veteran player.
Of course, there was a reason he caught the projectile.
＜Resists Hemoptysis.＞
＜[Poison Resistance] is possessed.＞
＜Resistance successful!＞
He analyzed the poison from the enemy’s projectile and weapons in real time.
Knowing the exact type of poison made it easier to identify its weakness and find an antidote.
The greatest weapon of the assassins was rendered useless.
Of course, the most dangerous thing for the assassins was that the poisoned projectile was now in Joo-Yeon’s hands.
‘Now, let’s try the Specificity Test.’
Specificity.
It was an unusual test that was not common.
‘If I touch the enemy’s poisoned dagger… will the effect of the poison be reflected back on the enemy?’
Honestly, it was absurd.
The enemy attacked, but he caught all the projectiles with his bare hands.
It was impossible for me to ＜Reflect＞ an attack that I didn’t even get hit by.
What the?
Poof!
Blood gushed out of the assassin’s mouth.
It wasn’t the guy who’d attacked Joo-in directly and collapsed after being ＜Reflected＞.
It was the last guy.
The guy who’d failed to attack and was trying to escape collapsed, spewing blood.
‘Interesting. The activation conditions aren’t clear, but… could it be that this is also considered an attack?’
He definitely needed to test it out a bit more.
‘Should I try going for a synergy effect instead?’
Synergy effect.
An effect that occurred when two different skills were combined.
Joo-in knew a few skills.
Continuous Slash + Strong Slash = ＜Rampage＞
Charge + Shield Bash = ＜Shield Charge＞
These were commonly known synergy skills.
Two skills combined to become one skill.
Or one skill unilaterally affected the other.
They usually occurred when you had two specific skills or used them.
That was what Joo-in wanted.
‘Like using the body strengthening ability to strengthen the reflection, or maybe I could use part of the body strengthening to strengthen only certain areas.’
Of course, synergy effects weren’t always good.
If you failed to activate a synergy effect, you could sustain significant internal injuries.
But Joo-in didn’t care.
He had Reflection.
‘I can reflect any attack that comes at me. The same goes for the synergy effect penalty.’
All he had to do was accept the penalty, whatever it was.
It would be a problem if he used it on an ally and they died.
‘Well, right now everyone seems to be misunderstanding that I’m an Archmage thanks to ＜Reflection＞.’
It was truly a one-of-a-kind skill.
So he would take care of the Duke and raise his lacking physical abilities even further.
Of course, he had something to take care of before that.
“Clean this up.”
“Yes, sir…”
Bayner sighed as he looked at the chaotic room.
His body was moving on its own, even though he didn’t want it to.
He was no different from a slave, as long as Joo-in didn’t release him.
‘But still, to be so calm in front of all this bloodshed.’
Just what was his true nature?
His unknown power was terrifying.
Not only magic, but the way he’d dealt with the assassins had been cruel.
A being that even a powerful sorcerer would be terrified to face, let alone dare to oppose.
Standing before such a being, he couldn’t bear the fear.
‘I’ve really poked the wrong person this time.’
But that wasn’t the end of his troubles.
From Noble mtl dot com
“I guess I’ll have to meet the Duke.”
Guide me.
At Jooyeon’s chilling glare, Bener tightly shut his eyes.
Of all people, he had to take Isha to the Duke.
It seemed he was wrong to live for so long.
* * *
The Duke’s eyebrows twitched at his subordinate’s words.
“Count Sanderson is coming here?”
“It is said that he is moving with a large force.”
He dares to mobilize his forces in the North without permission.
Does he intend to fight the Edmer dukedom?
But it was strange.
The reason he had watched Count Sanderson rise until now was for a different reason.
The guardian of the third son.
It was because the Count had made a deal with him.
‘If not for that, there would be no reason to watch that bastard rise.’
Honestly, he had even tried to take care of the Count without his help.
If only Aiden were dead, the problem would be solved.
Then, he would have naturally made the third son the successor, even without the bastard’s help.
However, he couldn’t kill him because of the eyes of others.
‘My father’s eyes and ears are still in the family.’
Then, an opportunity arose.
Aiden suddenly left alone for work in the labor camp.
‘It was the perfect chance to kill the guy who had been stuck in the family.’
That was why he had moved the chief steward.
If Count Sanderson took care of the guy himself, he planned to hand over Aiden’s power to the third son through the chief steward.
How could he do that to his own child? Isn’t he someone else’s child?
Of course, Aiden was the Duke’s son.
However, he wanted to make the third son the successor by any means necessary.
Successor.
It didn’t simply mean the position of Duke.
It meant passing on his position to the one who resembled him the most.
‘Aiden resembles my father too much.’
[Knight King]
The former head of the family, a man who always humiliated the Duke.
He couldn’t be great with the title of Lord preceding his name.
The Knight King’s gaze was always like that.
[If you don’t do it properly, I will take it away anytime.]
The Duke always felt humiliated by that gaze.
He was the one who had rightfully taken the Lord’s seat.
But people always looked down on him, saying he was inferior to the [Knight King].
No matter what he did, the [Knight King]’s name came first.
‘Even my child… I can’t make a guy who resembles his father more than me the successor.’
It was okay even if he was criticized for being mean.
But it was the only chance for him to get rid of the Knight King’s name.
That was why he even joined hands with a guy like the Count.
“Are the assassins here yet?”
“No contact yet.”
Incompetent fools.
Why were there so many pathetic beings around him?
It couldn’t be helped.
‘I have no choice but to take their hand.’
Some people had been secretly visiting the Duke recently.
They proposed a special deal.
[It is a chance to leave your name higher than the Knight King’s]
The price was his own blood and a certain item.
Of course, even if he ignored the blood, it wasn’t a simple item.
An item that even the previous Duke, the Knight King, couldn’t easily touch.
But no matter how much he hated the Knight King, he was Duke Edmer.
The head of the most prestigious family not only in the North, but also on the continent.
He could lose everything with just one choice.
So he refused.
‘What I want is the complete position of Duke. Not a position left to me like my father or others did.’
But then a problem arose.
Not only did Adien return alive, but he also brought [him].
With things like this happening, he had to hurry up and take care of it.
He had already sent assassins to Jooin, so all he had to do was take care of Count Sanderson.
Then the subordinate carefully opened his mouth.
“Shall we send assassins?”
It wasn’t about the 2nd army he sent to Jooin.
There were assassins who used special powers left.
Assassins with skills comparable to the ＜Grim Reaper＞ Assassins Guild.
The real hidden dagger of the Duke, created with enormous support without the Knight King’s knowledge.
But the Duke shook his head.
“No. Leave it alone.”
“How dare he be so insolent……”
“I must see his face for myself. What will he say to me?”
I wondered what he would dare to say.
If he was trying to swindle the family, thinking that Aiden was dead.
‘I will never forgive him. I will kill him without leaving a trace of him in the North.’
I would kill him right away.
That’s what I was thinking when.
“This is a nice place.”
“……!?”
The door to the office opened and Joo-yeon entered.