Chapter 123
The Count’s words were not wrong.
Most of the early members of the First Knight Order were Count Ashton’s descendants.
The moment the Count joined the guild, there would be confusion about whose orders to prioritize regardless of the position he took.
There was even a risk of the First Knight Order itself turning into an organization belonging to the Count, not to Raul.
“And Father doesn’t want to leverage the power of that ‘system.’
He believes in the path he had been training on so far, and he plans to reach enlightenment solely through his own strength. I think it is a matter of respect for the ancestors and mentors who have led me to this point. So, Raul, I will only accept your proposal in my heart. I am truly grateful for your concern for Father.”
Raul could no longer ask the Count to join the guild after his words.
His older brother was the same. He firmly refused to interfere with the organization his younger brother had created. But now, the situation had changed.
The First Knight Order was perfectly under Raul’s control to the point where they didn’t have to worry.
They had recruited individuals with diverse backgrounds into the guild, and after various battles and territory reconstruction tasks following the Gate incident, they firmly engraved where their loyalty belonged.
Now, no matter who else joins the guild, it has become a solid organization that cannot shake Raul’s status.
“Even so, I don’t feel inclined to join your personal organization, Raul.”
“Don’t overthink it. Now that I am in charge of the guild, you’ll have to communicate with me a lot too. Think of it as a means of communication you can use comfortably anytime, even if you’re far away.”
“That’s true, but….”
He still seemed hesitant. Raul decided to play his trump card.
“If you join and receive the blessing of the gods, your cool and excellent physique will develop much more perfectly and gorgeously!”
“….! I-is that so?”
Dylan’s biceps twitched. It was clearly a sign of his interest being piqued.
‘In that case, let’s throw the final trump card!’
“Brother! By using the system, you can chat with your wife whenever you want, 24 hours a day! Plus, you can even track her location, so it would be a huge help in case of emergencies!”
Raul was convinced. He believed that his brother, who loved his wife more than anyone, wouldn’t miss such a perfect opportunity.
“Uh, Raul?”
But his brother’s expression was a bit strange. Could it be that his pupils were shaking right now?
“Are you saying that this function can be used between each other, so, for example, my wife can also use that feature…?”
It seemed like there was a lack of explanation. Raul replied with a bright smile, “Of course! If sister-in-law wants, she can contact you anytime, right? Isn’t that great? After I tell my brother, I was planning to also recruit your sister-in-law into the guild….”
“Wait!!”
Dylan urgently grabbed both of Raul’s shoulders and asked with a stern expression, “You didn’t happen to, by any chance, already tell your sister-in-law about this, did you?”
His brother’s gaze was unsettling. And the energy emanating from his body, it couldn’t be hostility, could it?
Feeling a sense of pressure, Raul swallowed his saliva and cautiously replied, “Ah, I haven’t told her yet, have I?”
Phew. A large sigh escaped from his brother’s lips, easing the tense atmosphere.
‘What, what’s going on? Did I do something wrong?’
Perplexed, Raul made a puzzled expression, and Dylan spoke with a tired face that seemed to have gained an additional wrinkle, “Youngest one.”
“Yes, brother.”
“I’ll handle whatever torture or task you want, but let’s make one promise.”
‘Just as I thought!’
With a smile in his heart, Raul replied, “Yes, please tell me!”
“Keep it a secret from your sister-in-law. Actually, it’d be better if you didn’t mention anything about this matter at all.”
“Huh?”
‘Why? How come? For what reason?’
Seeing Raul’s puzzled expression, Dylan forced a smile and said, “This kind of thing would probably be better if I explained it directly. And as you know, your sister-in-law isn’t good at refusal. If you tell her, she might join reluctantly even if it makes her uncomfortable, right? You wouldn’t want that, would you? Besides….”
While wondering if his brother had always been this talkative, Raul realized that his thoughts were short.
“You’re right, brother. I was being hasty. It’s probably more romantic for you to tell sister-in-law directly, right? I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
With that, Raul let out a sly chuckle and winked.
“Y-yeah. Thanks.”
For the first time since birth, Dylan felt the urge to grab his younger brother and give him a good punch.
“Yeah. He’s still young and doesn’t understand things well yet. That’s how it is.”
Even in a loving relationship, Raul, a confirmed lifelong bachelor over 50, was too innocent to know that some things must be kept guarded.
Nevertheless, Raul accepted Dylan as a disciple in the First Knight Order as he desired.
If he could soon acquire combat skills befitting his brother’s physique, another monster might be born in the Ashton County.
By the way, about a month later, Raul could confirm his brother’s name on the roster of the First Knight Order.
“How fortunate. I was going to force him to join even if it caused a rift in the family when we go back to our ancestral home.”
As dark hands aiming for the county gradually revealed their true colors, joining the guild became a necessity for the safety of his brother-in-law.
Thanks to this, Raul could breathe a sigh of relief, and someone who almost faced disaster by a stroke of bad timing could also escape the crisis.
***
The 6th day of the Academy’s entrance exam, ‘Strife,’ had arrived unnoticed.
After going through the preliminaries and advancing to the main tournament, the 64 players were able to compete in the long-awaited round of 16 today.
“Hello, viewers. This is caster Park Jinhwan in charge of the Strife round of 16 broadcast. Today, we have invited analysts Lee Jaehyun and Kang Sangsoo. Hello!”
“Hello.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Connect Inc. had recently opened its own internet broadcasting station to broadcast various events, including ‘Strife.’
Having sold broadcasting rights, they hosted live broadcasts on various channels, but as a self-run station, connect provided the most detailed and systematic information, making it the most-watched channel.
They were in charge of the Korean channel among them.
“Yesterday, the list of 16 round qualifiers was finalized. Many people were looking forward to the success of Korean players. Let’s organize the list of 16 round qualifiers by country.”
[16 Round Qualifiers]
China 4 – Li Jincheng, Jin Muyang, Wang Chunmyung, Zhou Gaoxing
Korea 3 – Bae Dohyun, Kim Ilwoo, Han Seohyun
United States 2 – Brent, Blake
Japan – Morikawa Shigeru
UK – Byron
France – Pierson
…
“As expected, China, which produced the most participants in the round of 64, has four players…”
The commentators briefly introduced the players from each country before moving on to the Korean players.
“Korea has secured three players in the round of 16. This guarantees them 90 lottery tickets every time for the next three months. This is quite rare news. Now, the question remains about who will take the champion’s spot. Do our two analysts have any predictions on who will win?”
“It will be Bae Dohyun.”
“Of course, it’s going to be Bae Dohyun, the player, right?”
There seemed to be no room for disagreement. Bae Dohyun had shown overwhelming skills in the preliminary rounds, crushing his opponents mercilessly in the round of 64 and 32.
“Haha, I agree. Let’s discuss about other players then. What do you think about Kim Ilwoo and Han Seohyun in terms of their performance?”
“Kim Ilwoo has a solid foundation, and he excels in skill and attribute combinations. I believe he can easily make it to the quarterfinals.”
“I agree. Depending on the matchups, he might even reach the semifinals. However, Han Seohyun might face a challenge in the round of 16. So far, she has leveraged her strengths in recovery and agility, but both are at a mediocre level. It might be difficult for her to showcase her skills against the round of 16 contestants, don’t you think?”
With various data, the analysts cautiously assessed the potential of the Korean players.
‘Their analysis is sharper than expected.’
As Bae Dohyun watched the broadcast before the round of 16, he thought of Kim Ilwoo and Han Seohyun, a slight smile forming on his face.
After all, it was Bae Dohyun who designed the tournament bracket.
Although it was claimed that the matches were fairly scheduled based on the results of the preliminary rounds, there was some bias involved.
Kim Ilwoo had the skills to advance to the round of 16 no matter where he was placed, but honestly, Han Seohyun did not have the ability to reach the round of 16.
However, due to the potential for her to become a star with the Summoner’s attribute, and the judgment that she could be of help to Bae Dohyun, he slightly favored her in the matchups.
“Now, it’s up to each player’s skills.”
Since he was sure to claim the championship anyway, he wasn’t too concerned about the other results.
After giving some players he wanted to help a good beating in the round of 64 and 32, he planned to proceed with the matches by giving his opponents some breathing room.
“These players are potential talents that can be recruited into the First Knight Order later on.”
Having firmly impressed everyone with his overwhelming skills, he now needed to gain the favor of the players. And so, the round of 16 began.
Bae Dohyun’s opponent was the American player, Blake.
“Wow, player Blake! With remarkable combinations of various martial arts skills and flashy movements, he is overwhelming Bae Dohyun with his skills!”
“Wow! Jumping over 2 meters and spinning mid-air kick. Indeed, scenes like this are only possible to see in Connect, right?”
“Moreover, if Bae Dohyun didn’t accept, this kind of performance would be hard to display in this match. Bae Dohyun, who advanced to the round of 16, seems very relaxed as he calmly accepts the opponent’s techniques.”
The commentary team continued to exclaim in awe as the flashy and thrilling martial arts performances continued.
Blake, perhaps understanding Bae Dohyun’s intentions, unleashed all the skills and techniques he could display without hesitation.
And Bae Dohyun, facing off against a martial artist like Blake without any weapons, adjusted his strength to match the blows with big, deliberate movements.
Thud.
In the end, a spectacular mid-air 3-step spinning kick landed on Blake’s jaw, causing him to fall down unable to hold himself up, admitting defeat.
“Bae Dohyun wins!”
As the referee’s decision was announced and cheers erupted from the audience, Bae Dohyun reached out to help Blake up.
“It was a good match.”
“I’ve learned a lot. It seems I can’t beat you after all, Bae Dohyun.”
Blake, who shook hands with Bae Dohyun, seemed very bright.
Honestly, when Blake found out he would be facing Bae Dohyun, he was in a self-deprecating state. He knew very well that he couldn’t handle such an expert with his own skills.
Furthermore, seeing how Bae Dohyun overwhelmingly defeated his opponents in the tournament and crushed them literally, he felt fear as well.
However, once the actual match started, Bae Dohyun led the game very courteously, allowing him to fully demonstrate his abilities.
‘Did he acknowledge and respect my skills?’
Although Bae Dohyun couldn’t figure out what was going on in Blake’s mind, the gratitude was indeed real.
“Thank you for accommodating me today. If it’s not too much trouble, could I request another match in the future?”
When Blake politely asked, Bae Dohyun coolly replied,
“Of course. Battles with skilled individuals are always welcome. Since we attend the same academy, I look forward to working with you in the future.”
“Oh, I’m really looking forward to it. Uh, can I get your contact information…?”
In this way, strengthening friendships with the players, Bae Dohyun progressed through the tournament and finally found himself on the verge of the final match.
(To be continued…)