"Where did this guy suddenly come from?"
"Who cares? It's good for us. We don't have to go looking for him anymore!"
The group burst into giggles as they faced Luin.
At that moment, Geomhon's cackling voice echoed in his mind.
[Education? Kahahaha. Yeah, a good beating is the answer for these little bastards.]
'You're calling people little bastards? That's a bit harsh, Master.'
[A pup that doesn't know to fear the tiger keeps barking—what else would you call it if not a little bastard? Hehehe.]
'Well, you're not wrong. Heh!'
Luin let out a light chuckle at Geomhon's words.
"Huh? He's laughing?"
"This punk still doesn't get the situation?"
The three of them, each holding a club, immediately surrounded him.
Soon, the one who seemed like the leader spoke up.
"Hey, you're surrounded."
Thump! Thump!
At that moment, another guy next to him shoved Luin's shoulder with his club and muttered.
"You got no sense? Can't grasp the situation? In this chaos, you could get beaten to a pulp and no one would know. You really wanna die? Eyes down, you son of a bitch!"
"Hey, anyway, the instructors won't come this way, so let's take our time."
Luin slightly bowed his head at the sight of them muttering with rotten smiles.
"Oh, now he's getting it. You annoying little shi…"
Thwack!
In an instant, Luin's fist connected with the guy's chin.
"Gurgle."
Just one punch.
With a single fist, Luin knocked the kid in front of him out cold.
"Hey, Jeron!"
"Damn it. What did you do to Jeron? You cowardly bastard, sneaking an attack like that?!"
The other guys shouted in panicked tones and expressions.
Luin shrugged, responding as if it were absurd.
"Sneak attack? Me?"
"You, you…"
"You guys came looking for me and surrounded me first, didn't you? Whatever. I'm tired of talking, so just come at me already."
"This, this punk for real… Argh!"
One of the guys, still not having learned his lesson, charged at Luin again, raising his club.
Thud, boom!
But just like Jeron, the other guy collapsed to the ground on his knees.
"Ugh, Haaah!"
The last guy, with a terrified expression, let out a battle cry as he swung his club again.
'This one's name was Sheldon, right?'
He was one of the guys who had gotten thoroughly beaten by Luin during the previous sword initiation ceremony.
Surprisingly, he was also a trainee who had somehow passed the first test this time.
'His basics are solid, and he seems to have some talent… Tsk.'
But seeing him repeat the same pathetic behavior without having come to his senses yet, Luin lightly shook his head.
'He needs a bit of tough education.'
Whoosh!
As the club grazed the tip of his nose, Luin casually waved his hand.
Smack!
"Gah!"
Striking the guy's wrist in an instant, Sheldon couldn't withstand the sudden impact and dropped the club.
And then.
"…Now we're even, with just our fists?"
Luin said with a grin.
"Uh, ugh. Stay back. Aaaargh!"
Sheldon, completely losing his will to fight, started running away without looking back.
But.
Tap.
With a single step, Luin closed the distance to the fleeing Sheldon in an instant.
"Where are you going? You guys were the ones looking for me."
"Eek."
Having caught up to Sheldon at incredible speed, Luin swung his right hand hard.
Slap!
His palm connected with the back of the guy's head, producing a crisp sound.
At the same time.
"Gurgle."
The last guy toppled forward, losing consciousness.
Pat pat.
Luin dusted off his hands, striking a pose as if everything was wrapped up.
Geomhon asked in an excited tone.
[That was some refreshing education. So, when's the next lesson?]
'The class isn't over yet.'
[What? You mean you're gonna take out more frustration on these guys?]
'No, not that…'
Shaking his head at Geomhon's words, Luin decided he didn't need to explain further and muttered in a low voice.
"You gonna keep hiding there and just watch?"
At Luin's sudden call, a shadow emerged from the darkness at the end of the hallway.
"Tch, got caught, huh."
Rustle.
And the owner of that shadow was.
"Whoa whoa, easy. I don't have any intention of fighting you."
The person who appeared with both hands raised was someone quite familiar to Luin.
"For someone with no intentions, you gave them info and even came all the way here. Pretty proactive, huh? Andrei."
"Ah, you already figured that out. But if I say it's a misunderstanding, would you believe me?"
"..."
Luin stared at Andrei without responding, who was muttering with an obviously fake awkward smile.
Andrei quickly shook his head and sighed.
"Hah, it really is a misunderstanding. I just came here in case of any emergency."
"Emergency?"
"Yeah, you know. Young blood might lead to irreversible mistakes."
Muttering to himself, he continued.
"So I did hear the proposal to ambush you, but I turned it down flat. At least after seeing today's results, I have no intention of teaming up with idiots who'd do something that crazy."
Luin asked in a cold voice, eyeing Andrei who was defending his position with an ambiguous smile.
"How did you know the instructors' routes?"
"Ah, that's…"
Trailing off, Andrei scratched the back of his head and muttered.
"Can I say it's a secret…?"
Trailing off again, he muttered with an awkward smile.
"My father told me. That on the first day of training camp, there's always a surprise drill. And to make sure I take the top spot."
"Father?"
"Yeah, the father in charge of the Bright Hall. To you, Luin, he'd be your little uncle, right?"
"..."
Luin stared silently at Andrei, who was still wearing an awkward smile as he spoke.
Andrei muttered a bit sulkily.
"Tsk. Don't look at me like that. We're cousins, after all. Trust me at least this much."
Andrei, the eldest son of Philip, the fourth son of the Northern Sword Duke Daemon, was indeed a close relative to Luin.
In a way, similar to Seoron.
Soon, he spoke again with a faint smile.
"Well, business is done, so I'm outta here. Oh, and of course, I didn't see anything today. See you later, Luin."
Tap tap.
As he tried to disappear back into the darkness of the hallway.
"Hold on."
"…Yeah?"
Andrei stopped at Luin's voice and turned his head.
Right at that moment.
Whoosh!
With a fierce wind howling, a straight fist stopped right in front of his face.
Beyond it, Luin stared straight at Andrei with deeply sunken eyes.
"Warning."
"Huh?"
"There won't be a next time. Be careful."
"...!"
Andrei stood there dazed at Luin's low murmur, his temple twitching slightly.
But Luin, ignoring his reaction, turned and walked away.
And then.
[What? Is that it? Boring.]
Luin lightly shook his head at Geomhon's brief assessment.
'No, it's about to get interesting from now on.'
[What?]
'Just wait a bit.'
Tap tap tap.
Luin disappeared to the end of the hallway.
But in reality.
Swoosh.
He melted into the shadows, still hiding in the darkness of the hallway, watching the spot where Sheldon's group had fallen.
And a short while later.
Step.
[…Who's that guy?]
'I told you. It's gonna get interesting.'
Surprisingly, the one who reappeared there was Andrei, who had just received Luin's warning.
Returning to the spot, he drew something from his waist.
Swish!
With a sharp sound, a very short dagger appeared.
Then, he approached the three, including Sheldon, lying on the ground.
Slash!
He quickly moved the dagger in his hand, inflicting small wounds on the three.
"...!"
In that instant, Luin noticed a faint light pouring from the dagger in Andrei's hand.
And then.
'It absorbed the blood?'
He also realized that the blood from the three's wounds was being sucked into Andrei's dagger.
At that moment.
[Damn it. What the hell? Suddenly I feel really uncomfortable and pissed off?]
Geomhon suddenly shouted in an irritated voice, then muttered again.
[Luin, it's that sword. The energy coming from it isn't normal. It feels really evil and unpleasant!]
Having immediately pinpointed the source of his discomfort, Geomhon expressed intense hostility toward the Blood-Red Sword in Andrei's hand.
Luin promptly activated one of the abilities of
But.
Ding.
It cannot be interpreted at this time.
'What?! Interpretation itself is impossible?'
Slightly flustered by the unexpected situation, Luin activated the Eye of Interpretation once more.
Ding ding.
With your current proficiency in 'Eye of Interpretation,' you cannot interpret the information of the desired item.
The system provided a more precise explanation.
"..."
Luin was momentarily stunned, at a loss for words.
"You useless idiots. Can't even handle that one thing properly and end up like this… Tsk!"
Meanwhile, Andrei, having absorbed the blood of Sheldon and his group into his dagger, clicked his tongue harshly and left the hallway again.
After a bit of time passed, Luin murmured in a very low voice.
"I think I need to find out what that dagger is."
[What else? It's a filthy demonic sword. Hurry up and retrieve it, then destroy it!]
With Geomhon's voice expressing inexplicably strong antagonism.
Eeeeeng!
"Training concluded. Training concluded. As the allotted one hour has passed, today's training is over. Good work, everyone. Rest well."
Harken's voice announcing the end of the night surprise training echoed throughout the hallway.
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T/N:
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