Chapter 107:
I followed Eileen and Jenny as we walked.
We soon arrived at our destination.
There weren’t many people attending the adventurer lecture in the last period, so there were plenty of seats available.
“I guess we won’t have to stand up and listen,” I said.
“That’s right, Kaine,” Jenny replied.
“There aren’t many people here,” Eileen added.
The two of them nodded in agreement. We quickly took our seats in the empty classroom.
[The Goddess of Fate says she hasn’t seen him in a while.]
Ah, right. She must have seen him a lot.
Before she latched onto me, the person she was watching was none other than Kim Soo-yong.He had stayed with Tony for almost a year before enrolling in the Royal Academy.
So it was only natural for her to say that.
Maybe she had watched him a few times before that as well.
“By the way,” I said.
Just as I was wondering when he would arrive, the door opened and someone entered.
He had a scar on his cheek, a body that seemed to have been through many battles, and a face that had taken the full brunt of time.
[The Goddess of Fate says she feels strangely happy.]
If she’s feeling happy right now, that means…
“That’s right. I’m Tony, and I’ll be teaching this lecture. Please take care of me.”
Tony scanned the classroom with his eyes.
Our gazes met, mine from the empty space beside me and his from the front of the classroom.
“……”
“……”
In that brief moment, he paused on me before moving on to the next student.
What was that about? Why did it feel like he stopped on me?
Did Eileen, sitting next to me, feel the same way?
She leaned in and whispered in my ear, “Kaine, did you feel like he paused when he saw you?”
“Yeah, I think so,” I replied.
“Do you know each other?” she asked.
I shook my head without hesitation.
I had never met the guy face-to-face.
I had seen him a few times on the screen, but that was it.
‘That was me watching him, not the other way around.’
He hadn’t seen me, so there was no way he could have recognized me.
As I was trying to understand the situation, the Goddess of Fate spoke through the constellation.
[The Goddess of Fate says Kim Soo-yong must have told him about you.]
The constellation had come up with a plausible answer.
It was possible that Kim Soo-yong had mentioned me to him.
After all, we were working together to catch the Cultists.
I had even supported him in the past.
But even if he had heard about me, ‘Something still feels off.’
This world wasn’t as technologically advanced as Earth.
Even if Kim Soo-yong had mentioned my name, there was no way he could have known what I looked like.
He wouldn’t have had a photo or video of me.
It was undeniable that I was a famous troublemaker… I mean, person.
But my face wasn’t well-known.
There were no cameras in this world.
I hadn’t achieved anything like Ange, so there were no fairy tales or videos about me.
As I was trying to understand the situation, Tony finished scanning the classroom and began to speak.
“Then let’s start the lecture.”
.
.
.
Was it because he was called an adventurer hero?
His teaching style was a little different from the other lecturers.
For example, he would say, “When dealing with monsters, be careful of traps. They may be stupid, but they’re not dumb. They’ll do anything to survive. Let me tell you about something that happened to me.”
He would share his own experiences and stories.
The students would perk up their ears and listen attentively.
But I…
‘This is so boring.’
I was so bored that I almost yawned.
The students might find Tony’s stories interesting, but…
‘I’ve heard them so many times that I’m sick of them.’
Tony’s lectures were also mentioned in the original work.
As a veteran player, I had heard them so many times that I could recite them by heart.
Let’s see if I can predict what he’s going to say next.
” High Orcs will even eat orcs when they’re hungry.”
” High Orcs will even eat orcs when they’re hungry.”
As soon as I finished speaking, Tony said the exact same thing.
[The Goddess of Fate says you truly have the gift of foresight!]
Ah, right. That was his shtick.
I had forgotten about it for a while, but from the constellation’s perspective, I was an unusual person.
Maybe the constellation was surprised because I hadn’t shown my ability to see the future in a while.
As I was feeling bored, Eileen turned to me with a shocked expression, as if she had just eaten a carrot for the first time.
“Kaine, how did you…? Did you know what the lecturer was going to say before he said it?”
I thought I had spoken quietly, but she must have heard me because we were sitting next to each other.
I quickly and quietly made an excuse, “Oh, I just know about orcs. That’s all.”
“Hmm, but you didn’t miss a single word,” she said, looking at me suspiciously.
I knew that if I told her the truth, she wouldn’t believe me and might even think I was crazy.
“……”
I remained silent.
She seemed puzzled, but she didn’t say anything and just kept looking at me.
About ten minutes passed, and then Tony said, “Now, let’s do some practice. One-on-one sparring with me.”
Tony announced the practice session, which was different from the original work.
.
.
.
Hearing his announcement, all the students moved to the training ground, looking a little flustered.
It was understandable that they were surprised.
Tony had never done a practice lecture before.
But the reason he decided to do a practice session was none other than Kaine.
To be precise, it was to test Kaine’s strength.
Tony looked at Kaine with half-closed eyes.
‘I couldn’t see clearly before, but is that the guy Soo-yong was talking about?’
He had sharp features and a well-defined face.
His proportions were so perfect that women would turn their heads to look at him.
This time, unlike before, he was sure that the guy was David von Kaine.
‘Hmm, he’s the one working with Soo-yong to catch the Cultists.’
In fact, he had known for a long time that the Cultists were suspicious.
He had almost died at their hands more than once.
So when he heard about it from Soo-yong, he became a little interested.
If his own disciple was working with him, he must be someone special.
‘I don’t know much about him, but Soo-yong’s skills are exceptional.’
In the past, he had been infinitely weaker than Soo-yong.
‘But now, he’s not infinitely weak anymore.’
He was a strong person, recognized by Tony, the retired adventurer hero.
It was only natural that he would be interested in someone working with his own disciple.
In a way, it made sense that he would hold an unplanned practice session.
‘I heard that he even performed a high-level priest’s healing in one go.’
Based on Soo-yong’s reaction, he must not only have exceptional skills but also a kind heart.
Even Ange, who was of a different caliber, followed him.
Tony looked at Kaine with a curious gaze as they walked.
“We’ve arrived, Tony.”
They finally reached their destination.
Tony nodded and said, “Then, let’s start with whoever is confident.”
.
.
.
The first person to step forward after Tony’s announcement was Elijah Von Eileen.
“It’s an honor to spar with you, Tony,” she said.
Tony smiled kindly in response.
“Yes, I’ve heard a lot about you. Let’s begin right away.”
Just as Eileen was about to nod in agreement, Tony suddenly swung his wooden sword.
“Kreee!”
Eileen barely managed to block the attack with her own sword.
But then, Tony struck again.
“Paak!”
Eileen failed to block the next attack and tumbled to the ground.
“Hwaak!”
She channeled her aura to strengthen her body and swung her sword.
“Hwoong!”
A sharp burst of aura shot out, but Tony easily deflected it with his bare hands.
Of course, Eileen knew that her attack wouldn’t work.
She had created that opening to observe Tony’s movements, not to defeat him.
“Kang! Kang!”
Tony effortlessly deflected Eileen’s continuous attacks.
Eileen continued to watch for an opening, but…
‘…I can’t see any.’
That’s right.
Despite blocking Eileen’s attacks, Tony showed no signs of weakness.
‘This is what an adventurer hero is like.’
Eileen was reminded of how strong the man standing before her truly was.
She felt that she still had a long way to go, as Tony’s strength was overwhelming.
‘But I can’t just give up like this.’
This might be her only chance to spar with Tony.
So it was best to give it her all and not have any regrets.
“Hoo…”
Eileen stopped her futile attacks and looked at the adventurer hero standing before her.
“Woong!”
During the break, Eileen had practiced countless times to strengthen her body.
This time, instead of releasing her aura outward, she channeled it within her body, just like Kaine’s body strengthening technique.
But the change wasn’t limited to her body strengthening.
Her aura flowed into her wooden sword, transforming it into a sword aura, not a sword energy.
Kaine’s eyes widened in surprise.
Had Eileen just surpassed her own limits?
‘No, it’s just a spar.’
She was a genius, after all.
Even in a simple spar, Eileen had managed to become stronger.
Jenny seemed to notice this as well, and she smiled in disbelief.
Tony, who was just as surprised as the other two, was shocked inside.
‘…I held this practice session to see Kaine, but I never expected to witness the growth of a knight’s child.’
He looked at Eileen with a serious expression and said, “Let’s end it here.”
Tony ended the spar at a time when it would have been interesting.
Eileen tilted her head, looking confused.
“Huh?”
“You seem to be mistaken. Unlike you, I have to spar with every student here. Sparring with you now would take up a lot of time and energy, so let’s end it here.”
“Oh…”
Eileen nodded in disappointment, understanding Tony’s words.
“Yes, I understand.”
“Good job. Now, the next one, please.”
With that, the students began to step forward one by one.
About twenty minutes passed.
“Kkeung…”
Tony quickly defeated most of the students, except for Eileen.
A few students, including Jenny, managed to exchange a few blows with him.
“Ugh, my head hurts like hell.”
But they couldn’t last long and were soon knocked out.
Now, the only one left was Kaine.
He grumbled to himself, knowing that his turn had finally come.
‘Ugh, am I going to get beaten up like that too?’
Most of the students, except for Eileen, had lumps on their foreheads.
It seemed like he could see his own future a few seconds later.
[The Goddess of Fate says she hopes you can win, but it’s unlikely.]
Damn.
Even the constellation, which only he could see, was cheering him on.
As Kaine was cursing to himself, Tony asked with a serious expression, “So, are you the last one?”
“Yes, I am,” Kaine replied.
“Hmm.”
I still can’t tell.
From the outside, he doesn’t seem that strong.
And he doesn’t seem to have anything special about him.
As Tony narrowed his eyes and looked at Kaine, Kaine was thinking…
‘Is there a way to get hit less painfully?’
He was seriously considering this seemingly pointless question.
To others, it might seem like a waste of time, but…
If they saw the students in the training ground with lumps on their foreheads, they would understand.
It looked so painfully awful.
As Kaine was seriously thinking about how to get hit less painfully, a quest appeared.
[Quest: Spar with the Retired Adventurer Hero!]
[Description: Successfully land one attack against Tony.]
[Reward: 2,000 Points.]
The quest had begun.
“You old fart, you’re dead meat!”