38.
Alec frowned and said:
“Even if we’re dealing with lowlifes, I don’t want to follow orders from such a youngster. You say he was a gladiator slave in the Colosseum? And a beginner at that. Even our youngest could probably beat him.”
At those words, a young man standing behind Alec smiled, raising the corner of his mouth.
“Well, they say he was a promising one among them. And if we’ve been paid, we should do the job,” Sena interjected, subtly taking Jinhyeon’s side, but it didn’t have much effect.
“We didn’t come here just for the money. I heard this job needs to succeed no matter what. So, youngster, hand over the leader position to me,” Alec said.
Jinhyeon’s smile deepened. Alec seemed confident in his own skills. It wasn’t wrong, as he had reportedly trained most of the mansion’s guards. But still, Jinhyeon thought:
‘I don’t think I’ll lose.’
As Alec took this stance, Sena’s attitude also changed.
“I’m confident in my skills too. If it’s based on ability, shouldn’t I be the leader?”
As soon as those words were spoken, sparks flew between the two.
“I don’t know what this mercenary nobody is talking about,” Alec snorted.
“Isn’t it better than a washed-up knight?” Sena was no pushover.
Their gazes crossed for a moment, and they simultaneously drew their weapons. Sena wielded a massive two-handed sword, while Alec used a more common bastard sword. As they drew their weapons, the atmosphere intensified.
Before long, the mercenaries and Alec’s disciples were sizing each other up. Watching this, Jinhyeon drew his sword and wiggled his finger.
“If you want, I’ll fight you.”
“Then I’ll go first!” Sena stepped forward eagerly, causing Alec to frown.
“No, I’ll go first.”
“What? You’re being ridiculous.”
Sena bared her teeth and laughed fiercely at Alec’s words. As the atmosphere became tense, seemingly ready for a fight at any moment, Jinhyeon lazily spoke:
“I’m fine with both of you coming at me.”
For a moment, Sena and Alec’s expressions became identical.
“What did you say?”
“Are you serious?”
Jinhyeon answered clearly:
“I’m serious.”
“No, but two against one seems a bit…”
Seeing Sena hesitate, Jinhyeon provoked her:
“Why, afraid you’ll lose?”
“Don’t regret this.”
Sena was the first to charge. She handled the two-handed sword as if it were an extension of her body. The massive weapon had the advantage of great destructive power, but its drawbacks were also clear. Due to the size and weight of the weapon, there was a long gap between attacks. That’s why few people used it as their main weapon. Sena, however, had trained to the extreme with it for the sole reason that she found it cool, reaching a level of mastery.
Every time Sena stepped and swung her two-handed sword, there was a sound of wind. It seemed fierce enough to split Jinhyeon’s body at any moment, but Jinhyeon was no pushover either.
‘He’s deflecting this?’
Jinhyeon didn’t confront Sena’s weapon head-on. He tilted his sword to deflect it and struck at openings.
‘He’s even improving while fighting?’
At first, it seemed like he was struggling to block, but now that was no longer apparent. He blocked easily and attacked, causing Sena to be the one retreating instead of Jinhyeon. She tried not to be pushed back further, but it wasn’t something she could achieve just by thinking about it. Sena bit her lip and shouted:
“Hey! Join in!”
Alec drew his sword without hesitation and swung at Jinhyeon, who was pressing Sena. Originally, he hadn’t planned to step in, but watching Sena fight changed his mind.
‘That’s a monster.’
Human strength fundamentally has limits. Humans don’t have the strong recovery of beast-folk, the longevity of elves, or the strength of dwarves. Yet, humans occupy most of the world. Why is that? Tracing back through history provides the answer. Occasionally, immeasurable geniuses are born among humans. With talent that’s hard to believe comes from the same human race, when that talent blooms, they transcend humanity.
Alec had hoped to become such a being, but it remained just a dream. In the end, he was an ordinary human. So from then on, he began training disciples. He thought that if he kept teaching, he might one day become the master of a great individual, and he wanted to achieve that before he died. And now, such a being appeared right before his eyes.
Jinhyeon’s skills were visibly improving even in the midst of battle. Though it didn’t seem like he had formally learned anything, his talent shone brightly! Alec wanted to confirm this properly. That’s why when Sena called, he jumped in with his sword. Sena was an experienced mercenary, and Alec was the same. Even though it was their first time fighting together, they could coordinate to some extent. Alec filled in Sena’s gaps.
His sword thrust into the space left by the two-handed sword’s passage. When the sword withdrew, the two-handed sword struck that spot again. Jinhyeon’s sword, which had been handling Sena alone with ease, now wavered. But that was only for a moment; Jinhyeon adapted to the situation of having more opponents.
“Ha, haha!”
Alec laughed without realizing it. The fight continued until Sena lost grip of her two-handed sword and Alec’s sword broke, bringing it to an end.
“Wow, how is this even possible?”
Sena grumbled, looking down at her trembling hands. Then she slapped Alec’s back, who was laughing like a madman.
“Alright, I acknowledge it. From now on, he’s our head and leader. What about you?”
“I’ll acknowledge it too. But I have one condition.”
“A condition?”
You lost and you’re setting conditions? Sena looked at Alec with a surprised expression.
“I want to teach you swordsmanship.”
“It’s my first time seeing a loser volunteer to be a teacher.”
“I’m not saying I’ll become your master. I’m saying use me as a stepping stone.”
“Huh? Why go that far?”
To Sena’s question, Alec answered:
“Because it was my dream to teach a genius.”
“What a strange dream.”
Scratching her head, Sena asked Jinhyeon:
“So what are you going to do?”
Jinhyeon brushed back his sweat-soaked hair and smiled slightly.
“I’ll allow it.”
Although he had lost, Alec was a formidable skilled individual. Sena’s skills were also excellent, but it was Alec who efficiently filled her gaps. There was no need to refuse someone like that volunteering. And so, the matter was settled. Although some overly competitive individuals sent heated gazes towards Jinhyeon, he ignored them. Having already subdued Sena and Alec, there was no need to fight with small fry.
Afterwards, as they entered the back alleys, they began to quickly swallow up the area.
The first to crumble was Hans’ gang.
“What the hell! What’s going on!”
Hans beat his chest with his fist in frustration, but he couldn’t stop what was happening. Green, who Jinhyeon had joined, quickly began cleaning up Hans’ gang. Since Jinhyeon’s face was known from the previous incident of extracting San, Alec stepped forward when meeting with Green.
At first, Green was suspicious, but after consistently being shown evidence, he believed that Alec was a nobleman’s subordinate.
“I’m delighted that a noble lord is backing us,” Green said, rubbing his hands together and smiling. Unlike Hans, who resembled a fat boar, Green had a mouse-like appearance. He had small ears, a pointy chin, and small eyes. He didn’t look particularly strong, but he seemed to use his head quite well.
“I was just in need of help, you know.”
Green knew that Blando’s gang was looking for a noble to back them. He said he had also recently been in contact with a nobleman, so he must have been rather anxious.
“I’ll do more than whatever you order. My subordinates are quite capable, you know. However, as we work, there are some things we need. After all, they’re people too, and we need to grease their bellies a bit to make them work harder.”
“If it’s money, I’ll give you as much as you need.”
Alec nonchalantly tossed a money pouch. Green’s expression brightened as he discreetly checked its weight.
“Oh my, as expected, noble lords have a different level of generosity. Thank you, thank you. But may I ask which lord you serve? Wouldn’t it be easier for me to move if I knew who it was?”
Green smiled cunningly as he inquired about their identity.
“Would you really know if I told you?” Alec snorted.
Green replied, “Oh, you’d be surprised how much guys like us know about noble lords. We’d have our heads chopped off if we made a mistake, you see. If you tell me, I absolutely won’t say a word anywhere. I stake my life on it.”
The life of a back alley thug boss. It wasn’t particularly tempting.
“Forget it. I’ll tell you when the time comes, just move as you’re told. Leave one person here just in case.”
Alec said this and put Jinhyeon forward. Jinhyeon had covered more than half of his face with a deep hood and mask, but even so, he couldn’t completely hide his original appearance.
Green narrowed his eyes as he looked at Jinhyeon. Rumor had it that Green was into men, and knowing this, Jinhyeon felt a desire to kill Green immediately out of disgust.
“Yes, I’ll take good care of him.”
The gaze filled with desire didn’t last long. It seemed Green wasn’t enough of a pervert to put his desires forward in this situation. And so, Jinhyeon smoothly infiltrated Green’s gang.
