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Chapter 60

There was a reason Hans had been able to get closer to him.

Hans could observe the other person’s emotions, subtle changes in their expressions, the way they spoke, and the movement of their body and combine them all together to make an educated guess of what his target was thinking...

And that instinct of his was ringing right now.

Damn it.

Hans had stepped on a landmine.

“Hans Bender.”

“...Yes.”

“Know your place.”

“M-my apologies.”

With those short words, Hector looked around at the crowd before meeting Luan’s eyes for a moment.

“...”

“...”

A moment of silence passed.

But Hector didn’t say anything before leaving for the water fountain with a blank look on his face.

“W-woah...”

“Damn. I-I thought my heart was going to pop.”

Only then did Evan, Karis, and the other young heroes let out sighs of relief.

It was their first time experiencing the bloody mental warfare of the imperial nobles. Although they had heard about it before, actually experiencing it firsthand was beyond anything they had imagined.

Fallen nobles and nobles from the outer regions weren’t used to this atmosphere.

“Wow, Luan... Your relationship with Hector seems better than the rumors suggest,” said a girl named Pam in a surprised tone.

“The rumors?”

“Yeah. From what I heard, Luan Bednicker is shunned by everyone in House Bednicker, and you don’t have a single sibling you’re close with. They also say that your relationship with Hector Bednicker is the worst.”

Pam was a girl with freckles and orange hair. She liked to keep up to date with all the news of The Empire.

She was outgoing and sociable, but she wasn’t sensitive to how others thought.

“Hey, why are you saying it like that?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m saying you should be careful of how you talk, Ms. Freckles.”

“You beanpole, are you done?”

Luan snickered.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. You can’t trust rumors about House Bednicker. We’re a very exclusive house, as much as the cult, so a lot of the rumors that spread around outside are part theory or exaggeration.”

“Then what’s the truth?”

“The truth...” Luan thought for a moment before replying, “Brother Hector cares for me a lot every day.”

Gulp.

The sound of someone swallowing was heard.

At that sound, everyone’s attention turned to the water fountain, where they saw Hector wiping his mouth.

Hector looked uncomfortable before he let out a dry cough and went up to the second floor.

“Woah...”

“Looks like it’s real!”

“I’m so jealous!”

Luan tilted his head in confusion as he saw their reactions.

“What’s with that reaction?”

“Well... it means you’re really close to Sir Hector!”

“The Third Fang of the Lord of Blood and Iron!”

“What does that mean?”

“Don’t you know that Hero Bednicker and Nero Bednicker are being called the First and Second Fangs of the Lord of Blood and Iron?”

Of course, he hadn’t known that.

As stated before, Luan had purposely not gone looking for rumors about the house around this time.

The other young heroes seemed frustrated at Luan’s reaction.

“Those two are the most famous among the Young Bloods as well!”

“What’s a Young Blood?”

“The heroes under the age of 25! It’s not an official term per se, people just call them that... Hey, are you really a Bednicker?”

“I wonder that sometimes as well,” Luan replied as he scratched the back of his head.

Since most of the people in the family had black hair, his gold hair stood out even more.

“...Anyway, just like how the performance of those two right now is amazing, people also have great expectations for Hector Bednicker, who will soon become an official hero. His performance in public events like the Martial Arts Competition was impressive as well.”

“Woah... He sounds pretty amazing.”

“He’s your brother!” Pam said with a reverent expression. “It was a great idea for me to join the training camp! I got a little scared when the instructor talked about the survival rate, but it’s just as my mother said. The training camp of House Bednicker is worth it.”

“What did your mother say?”

“She said that the training camp is a great opportunity to get to know more people! And I made a list myself as well. I need to get close to the BIG3 no matter what.”

With a confused expression, Karis asked, “What’s the BIG3?”

“The most prospective people in this training camp!”

“And who decided on that?”

“Me, of course.”

“...What a confident metric.”

Pam let out a creepy laugh.

“Hehehe. Anyway, sir Hector is naturally part of the BIG3!”

“And who are the other two?”

“Naturally, one of them is the Goodspring—”

It was then.

Clack. The main door opened and a girl with white hair appeared.

“Luan Bednicker!”

Woah. At the appearance of another big shot, the young heroes became silent again.

Sellen Goodspring had appeared, her hair whipping in the cold night air.

“You, come with me for a—”

[Announcing to all young heroes.]

...But Sellen’s voice was cut off in the middle.

Everyone suddenly heard the instructor’s voice through the communication crystal.

[It will soon be your bedtime, so return to your rooms. Anyone found awake past the 22nd hour will have their points deducted.]

Ah.

Luan got up as he said, “You heard that, right? Let’s talk tomorrow.”

“What? Hey!”

Sellen hurriedly called for him, but Luan didn’t even look back as he went up the stairs.

Karis, who was still sitting in his chair, wore a dazed expression as he mumbled, “Luan, that guy, is he a bigshot as well?”

“Well, he is a Bednicker.”

“That’s true.”

As Evan looked at the stairs, he also mumbled in a low voice, “...But still, I think there’s something different about him.”

* * * * *

* * * * *

The second day.

Before the sun rose, the young heroes who had gathered on the open field suppressed their drowsiness as they looked up at the platform.

“There are four main categories of learning you will undergo during this training camp: hunting, survival, theory, and miscellaneous topics.”

The Instructor of the Hunt was on the platform.

He was looking at the group of young heroes with a fierce look in his eyes, and those nodding off without realizing the situation had already had points deducted from them.

“The most points you can get in each subject is 10, and to complete the camp, you must obtain at least 20 points. That means even if you get only half for each subject, you can still pass. Isn’t that quite generous?”

There was not a single person who smiled or showed agreement to that.

Then, one of the young heroes raised their hand.

It was Sellen Goodspring.

Even in this dirty place, she was still a shining beauty.

“What is it, Sellen Goodspring?”

“Please allow me to request a detailed explanation for each of the subjects.”

“Hmm...”

After a brief pause, the Instructor of the Hunt nodded.

“Fine. Firstly, all young heroes here right now have received a blessing, which means you have also naturally obtained the qualifications to become a demon hunter. In other words, you have the minimum requirements to fight those disgusting cultists.”

The Instructor of the Hunt repeated, “The minimum requirement, that is.”

“...”

“I know that you are all confident after receiving your blessings. However, listen closely. If you enter their territory in your current state, you will die or be captured without surviving a single day.”

Evan felt resistance in his heart toward those words.

Through this Blessing Ceremony, he had obtained three blessings, and each of them was useful.

Also, during his time in House Helvin, he had dedicated himself to training for more than 10 years, ever since he was but a little kid.

Even if he were to receive a mission right now, if he was told to hunt a regular cultist, not one of the executives, then he was confident he could subjugate them.

“Defeating cultists and demons is a long and boring process—qualities currently lacking in you punks. So first, you must learn to hunt.”

The Instructor of the Hunt raised one finger and then raised one more finger.

“Also, you will experience isolation multiple times during your missions. The curses of the cultists can oppose your blessings, and depending on how they are used, your blessings could even be nullified. However, if you hold on, reinforcements will always come for you, so you must learn survival as well.”

“...”

“Finally, those who don’t know anything about demons can’t hunt or even hope to survive them. They are disgusting creatures, but that is why you must know even more about them. That is why theory is included.”

Someone raised their hand.

“What about miscellaneous topics?”

“Karis Earthman, one point deducted.”

Hearing a response different from what had been given to Sellen, Karis’s face fell into confusion.

“Pardon? B-but why...”

“I was going to explain it, but you broke my flow.”

Evan looked at him with pity and recalled the truth he’d learned yesterday and again today.

Just staying quiet can get you halfway there.

“‘Miscellaneous topics’ includes everything else. Your attitude while at the training camp, your behavior, and your actions on a day-to-day basis will be marked by the instructors. There is no set marking standard. Each instructor has their own standards.”

“...”

“That is why, this week, we will test you in all sorts of different ways. The first of those ways is your physical test.”

Crack. The Instructor of the Hunt warmed up his body with harsh movements.

“The method is simple. Follow me until the end. The five fastest will receive points, and the five slowest will have their points deducted. Now, start.”

With a calm voice, the Instructor of the Hunt started running and soon became a figure in the distance.

“...”

“...”

“...Ah!”

“Damn it!”

The young heroes who realized a step too late began their chase.

***

The Instructor of the Hunt put importance on the martial philosophy of the individuals.

Even if a martial art looked odd from an outside perspective, no one but the practitioner had the right to interfere in that art.

A hundred people should naturally have a hundred different techniques.

However, if someone asked those hundred martial artists what the most basic part of being a martial artist was, they should all give the same answer.

It was physical strength.

In every case, one needed to grow their strength.

“...”

The Instructor of the Hunt continued to run at a fast pace as he glanced behind him.

It had been about an hour since he’d started running.

At this point, the results should be starting to show.

Those who were following after him without much trouble, those who could successfully run after him after pushing with all they had, and those who would fall behind in the end...

For now, most of them were following after him pretty well.

In truth, this was only expected.

Most of the ones following him were from noble families and had been treated like gold since they were young.

But that wasn’t to say that they had grown up in sheltered environments.

They all had expectations placed upon them, to become the next generation of heroes who would bring honor to their houses.

As those who had received those expectations, these young heroes must have gone through every conceivable training possible.

They would have hired good tutors, trained with a strict regiment, consumed all sorts of expensive elixirs, and learned martial arts with all their might.

Of course, even with that, an individual’s talent couldn’t be controlled.

The Instructor of the Hunt shouted at the few at the back who looked as if they would collapse at any moment.

“Are you tired? Do you think you’re going to die?! Then just sit down and rest! But you should all know what kind of place this is, right?!”

Monsters freely roamed the Forest of the Butterfly.

Of course, since they were in the training camp, the chance of meeting a monster was pretty low...

But these young heroes wouldn’t know that.

On the other hand, the Instructor saw a few who collapsed to the ground even after hearing him say that.

The Instructor of the Hunt let out a sigh in his heart.

This was why he hated training nobles.

Excluding talent, these people lacked one of the most important things required to become stronger: tenacity.

The Instructor of the Hunt hated those who only trusted in their talent and acted up, and he hated those who lacked tenacity even more.

These nobles were always one of these two groups and sometimes had both traits.

...However, one surprise was that the one who looked as if he would fit those criteria the most was the one who was showing the most unexpected attitude.

Luan Bednicker.

Kids like him were the type that the Instructor hated the most.

They had no talent and lacked tenacity, yet they always acted up.

In any case, based on the rumors the Instructor of the Hunt had heard about Luan and the few times he had seen Luan, the Instructor thought that he was someone who deserved to receive all the woe of the world...

But that guy was currently running after him while panting and dripping sweat all over the ground.

His stamina should’ve bottomed out already.

At this point, even inhaling cold air should burn, and his throat should be burning even hotter.

Luan should be starting to feel dizzy from the lack of air.

He is tenacious, but he’ll collapse soon.

It wasn’t a point of worry for him.

Although only a few young heroes had noticed at this point, a few knights were following after them at a set distance.

They were there to pick up the young heroes who had dropped out.

The Instructor of the Hunt pulled his attention away from Luan and increased his pace, proceeding to run even faster.

“Ugh...”

“N-no...”

Seeing the Instructor increase the gap between them, a few of the young heroes let out groans.

It was those who had just barely been keeping up.

After running at that pace for another 30 minutes, the Instructor of the Hunt looked back once more.

About half of them had dropped out at this point.

Most of the ones remaining were those he’d had his eyes on even before the training camp.

Hm?

It was unexpected to see Luan among them.

He was still teetering as if he would collapse at any moment.

Impressive grit.

It seemed he needed to change his evaluation of the boy.

The Instructor suppressed the smirk threatening to form on his lips as he continued to run.

And so, about another hour later, when he looked back again...

Only ten or so young heroes were keeping up with him.

“...”

And Luan Bednicker was still among them.

...What is this guy?