37. Time for Revenge
“What… Basic training is fine. Anything but straw dummies is fine. That’s good, but…”
Joo-yeon looked at the large mountain behind the castle.
“The most important things for a knight are stamina and agility. I’ve placed a sign at the top of the mountain, so go get it.”
Yeah, if it’s just mountain climbing, it shouldn’t be too hard.
Knights are supposed to be able to march long distances, right?
“Do you see the rocks over there? Each of you is to carry one up the mountain.”
They were large boulders the size of a person’s torso.
Carry those things up the mountain?
Even for knights, that wouldn’t be easy.
But the Knight King didn’t stop there.
“All of the knights are to wear their armor while they climb. Joo-yeon, I have armor for you as well.”
“……!?”
Full body armor and boulders the size of a person’s torso?
That was just crazy.
However, no one could refuse under the Knight King’s sharp gaze.
“What are you waiting for? Only the first person to arrive at the top will get to rest. Everyone else will keep climbing.”
“……!?”
At the knight’s words, everyone anxiously began to climb the mountain.
Joo-in also ran with the knights.
Of course, it wasn’t easy.
“This is… crazy…”
It was so intense that it felt easier when he was sparring.
He wondered what they had done to his armor; the higher he climbed, the heavier it felt.
‘But… I can’t throw it away.’
It wasn’t simply because he wanted to compete with the knights.
He could see his potential rising in real time.
[Potential has increased.]
[Potential has increased.]
[Potential…]
His stamina, agility, and even strength.
Joo-in’s potential was rising without rest.
Plus, he had ＜Reflection＞.
When his fatigue exceeded its limit, his gaze turned to the knight beside him.
Like him, the knight was dying as he climbed while carrying a boulder.
“Are you struggling?”
“No. I’m fine. I’m just grateful for this opportunity.”
“Stay strong.”
Pat, pat.
Joo-in patted the knight’s shoulder.
Normally, the knight would have been angry at a mere commoner touching his shoulder.
However, he was touched by Joo-in receiving training from the knight commander and helping him by gently pushing him forward.
“I… I will never give up either.”
“Thank you, Joo-in.”
The knights had moist eyes with emotion.
However, they didn’t know.
[＜Reflection＞ has succeeded.]
They didn’t know that their bodies would become strangely heavy after Joo-in helped them.
He handed over his fatigue to the knights and devoted himself to training again.
[Potential has increased.]
Training while reaching the physical limit increased potential more quickly.
Simply by passing his fatigue to the knights, Joo-in could obtain all the potential he needed.
Of course, it was also good for the knights, sadly.
As they quickly reached their limits due to fatigue, their potential also increased.
Joo-in was the first to reach the top of the mountain and come back down.
“You’re already… back down?”
The knight commander was secretly astonished.
Even if Joo-in was a veteran warrior with a lot of experience, he didn’t know that his basic abilities and tenacity would be so excellent.
“Juyeon, you’re in first place. You can rest if you want.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Huh?”
“This is training for me. I’m not going to rest just because I got first place.”
“……!?”
The Knight King’s eyes widened noticeably.
It was because he had found the perfect successor in every aspect, from talent and ability to tenacity and character.
He felt like he had been rewarded for his long years of service.
“Alright. If that’s what you want, you can do as much as you like.”
Juyeon gave his first place ranking to the knight who came in second.
The knight was visibly surprised.
“Why… to me?”
“I still want to train more.”
“……!?”
The exhausted knight collapsed on the spot.
But Juyeon didn’t stop training.
He kept recovering from fatigue with ＜Reflect＞ and climbing the mountain again. And again, he would come in first place and give the second place knight the right to rest.
Before long, there wasn’t a single knight who hadn’t received his help.
The knights looked at Juyeon, who was climbing the mountain with a stone on his back once again, with strange expressions.
“He’s… climbing again.”
“I saw it earlier. When I was about to collapse from exhaustion, he pushed me on my back.”
“He really is amazing. There’s a reason why the Knight King chose him.”
But the knights still didn’t know.
That when Juyeon pushed them on their backs, they felt a little better for a moment, but then they would feel twice as tired as usual.
It wasn’t just a side effect of resting and then moving.
It was because they had received Juyeon’s fatigue through the power of ＜Reflect＞.
After several training sessions like that, a new achievement popped up in front of Juyeon.
[Special achievement acquired]
[Unwavering Successor]
[Your mere presence boosts the morale of the Edmer Knights]
[Special achievement acquired]
[Benefactor of the Training Grounds]
[The Edmer Knights will trust your words unconditionally]
He had captured the hearts of all the knights with just his training.
Juyeon didn’t just gain achievements.
Most notably, his potential had increased greatly.
[＜Dragonbone＞ acquired]
[＜Haste＞ acquired]
[＜Giant Strength＞ acquired]
It didn’t reach ＜Geumgang＞ or ＜Shinsuk＞.
However, it was able to awaken the next potential.
＜Yonggol＞, which is harder than steel and has excellent flexibility.
＜Junsok＞, just before reaching super speed.
＜Georyeok＞, which can exert several times the strength of an ordinary person.
It wasn’t just that the potential had increased.
＜[Basic Swordsmanship] has been acquired＞
＜[Edmer Family Visionary Swordsmanship (Variant)] has been acquired＞
＜[Lightning Walk] has been acquired＞
＜[Dual Wielding] has been acquired＞
Many abilities that could be called combat skills were also acquired.
They were knight-class attack skills that could be learned even by non-professionals.
At first, the movements were awkward, as if wearing clothes that didn’t fit, but they gradually became smoother.
‘Even so, I haven’t been able to learn a profession skill that can be called the best of the knight class…….’
Even this much was a huge benefit.
Because it was registered as a formal skill.
＜Efficiency increases due to skill registration＞
＜Current profession: None＞
＜Adjusts to non-profession＞
＜Required resources for using this skill are reduced, and the effect is amplified＞
＜Combination skills can be used＞
There was no need to fight blindly as before.
I was able to move my body efficiently, just like when I fought the Demon King in the past.
‘If it’s not registered as a skill, the power goes in as power, but the effect doesn’t come out well.’
I wanted to register other things as well.
However, after a few days of training, I could tell.
＜Potential is saturated＞
＜No more new abilities can be learned＞
＜Expansion of potential is required＞
I had already reached the limit of potential to learn skills.
It seemed that I couldn’t learn new abilities until I grew a little more.
‘Well, I already have a unique-grade skill and a legendary skill, so it’s rather fortunate that I learned this much.’
The Knight King’s ＜Succession＞ helped a little.
Thanks to the teachings of the [Knight King], the ultimate profession of a knight, I was able to learn a little more.
Now all I needed was to level up.
Fortunately, there was a place nearby that could help me right now.
‘Before that, there’s something I have to deal with.’
After the training with the Knight King, knights gathered around Joo-yeon.
“Joo-yeon-nim… aren’t you tired?”
“Today’s training was really great too. Thanks to Joo-yeon-nim, my muscles have become even stronger.”
“This time, let’s train with me. The new techniques I’ve mastered…”
“No! I’m first!”
“What…! I’ve been waiting for so long!”
The knights pushed each other, desperate to somehow get a word in with Joo-eun.
In fact, Joo-eun was one of the best rewards from this training.
‘If I do a little more, they’ll beg to serve me.’
Of course, most of them were guys who didn’t have a lord yet.
‘But even the knights who have lords are sneaking glances over here.’
Is it fortunate that they’re interested?
The Knight King also noticed the knights’ gazes.
So he spoke to Joo-eun quietly.
“You can take any of the guys who want it.”
Oh my god.
The Knight King, the one who could be called the king of knights, had given his permission.
The bright eyes of the masterless knights grew even brighter.
But Joo-eun replied calmly.
“Okay.”
“Yes, as expected… What? Okay?”
“Not yet.”
The Knight King tilted his head.
Gaining more knights to follow him was one of the things all the lords on this continent wanted.
He couldn’t understand why she was refusing.
But Joo-eun’s will was firm.
‘I want it all.’
If she was only going to get one or two, she wouldn’t even start this kind of boring training.
‘Knights like the strong anyway.’
Once they think they’ve found someone worthy of following, they’ll just stick with them.
As proof of this, even the knights of obedience looked a little different.
‘If someone like that had been my lord… I wouldn’t have been swayed by the demons in the first place…’
‘With someone like that, wouldn’t the Former Duke have given them the ＜Succession＞?’
The way they were sneaking glances at Joo-eun was unusual.
With just a little push, they could gather under her banner.
‘The only problem is Aiden…’
Aiden was the official successor to the Edmer family.
He had even received a clear stamp of approval from the Knight King as the next Duke.
Naturally, he wouldn’t want to lose his potential knights to his subordinates.
But Aiden, of all people, showed an unexpected attitude.
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“hahahahaha. As expected, I wasn’t wrong.”
It was an unusually affectionate voice.
He put his arm around Joo-eun’s shoulder to emphasize how close they were.
Soon, he whispered in Jooyeon’s ear.
“Is there any knight you fancy? Then, take them with you. I permit you as the next Duke. My grandfather would have allowed it anyway.”
Take the knights who would become part of his family?
Were these two out of their minds?
It wasn’t strange for Jooyeon to think that way.
“Does it not matter if your knights swear allegiance to me?”
“My true knights have already sworn their oaths of allegiance. I do not care what happens to the others.”
It was truly unexpected.
Even though he had knights who followed him as the Duke, his reaction was so generous.
‘Well, since they are knights of the Edmer family, it may be natural.’
The knights of the Edmer family were a bit special.
While ordinary knights belonged to a family and worked there, the Edmer family often attracted people who came to learn swordsmanship or train like diners.
They were all attracted by the name of the previous Duke, who was called the Sword King.
Now, Aiden was going to give them all up.
They would be a great asset even if he kept them as diners.
He would give them up.
‘As expected of a great family. I raised one character well.’
But Aiden’s words weren’t over yet.
“By the way, I’ll give you Sir Olson as well. It seems that he wants to follow you.”
Jooyeon was surprised inwardly.
“Isn’t he your closest knight?”
“That’s what Sir Olson wants. I’ll respect his wishes. He has wielded his sword for me for a long time, so I’m willing to grant him that much.”
He would even allow him to change the target of his ＜Obedience＞ if he wanted.
This guy was also a great person.
No, in a way, Jooyeon was his savior.
It might be natural for him to show this kind of attitude.
‘At this point, he won’t get mad even if I take a few more.’
But strangely, Aiden didn’t try to leave Jooyeon’s side.
“Ahem. Do you need a companion? I’m good enough to hold your hand…”
Ah… As expected, he was aiming for the position of the Hero’s companion.
It seemed that he had heard the rumors that the Hero became stronger when he was with companions, just like the previous Duke and his companions.
‘It’s true though.’
It was hard to raise companions though.
In the end, it was Jooyeon who raised them.
If Aiden became his companion, he could raise him strong enough to be a Sword King.
‘Well, it’s not bad.’
Aiden seemed to have a good personality, and it seemed okay for him to follow him.
But he couldn’t accept him as a companion.
‘You have to support me as the Duke of Edmer.’
To have the head of a famous family on the continent as his own man.
That was more important to the main character.
Of course, it wasn’t just Aiden. He planned to plant his people in each country.
How was that possible?
“The banquet preparations are complete.”
‘They’re here.’
This place where the envoys of each country had gathered was the opportunity.
They were all people with enough fame and notoriety to be able to enter Edmer dukedom.
‘Of course, there will be those among them who have joined hands with the demons….’
He planned to make those who weren’t on his side.
Of course, the main character’s real purpose was different.
Exactly, Count Sanderson.
“Where is he now?”
At the main character’s words, a knight bowed his head politely and answered.
He was one of the knights who had fallen for the main character through training so far.
“As per your orders, Lord, he is being made to suffer a bit at the entrance.”
Count Sanderson was being intentionally kept out of the dukedom.
He had been made to camp outside during the few days that the main character was training.
“There must have been some resistance?”
“How could he dare to defy Edmer dukedom as a mere count?”
It was a joke, of course.
No matter how great Edmer dukedom was, it was a family that valued honor.
They did not treat other families recklessly.
It was the same even if they were enemies.
‘It’s frustrating, but… that’s also the charm of the King of Knights.’
Anyway, the important thing was this.
“All the other nobles are also waiting in line, so he can’t dare to cut in line as a count.”
It was a subtle laugh.
“Of course, it took some time because he brought the third young master with him… but I carried out the order without a problem.”
“Third young master?”
“The third young master of the Edmer family.”
“Ah.”
No wonder Count Sanderson was so late.
“He was someone who was recuperating in the countryside because of poor health. It seems he brought him along because he is the eldest son.”
It seemed that it took time to bring him because he was stuck in a corner.
Well, it didn’t matter.
“I am proceeding as you said, Lord. The former duke also agreed.”
“He must be very impatient by now.”
“Yes. By now, his face must have turned quite a sight.”
His contact with that guy was almost cut off and he had to camp outside for several days?
‘He must be boiling inside.’
It wasn’t for nothing that the banquet was held. It was all to welcome that guy.
“Now that the banquet is ready, let him in. Don’t forget what I told you.”
“I will do as you say.”
Okay, then let’s go meet him.
Joo-yeon smiled wickedly.
So, who dares to touch me.
It was time for revenge.
Poor knights…. Lee Kiyoung would be proud tho.