Chapter 135: Social Gathering (5)
A quest message appeared after a long time.
I ignored the Blonde Chad in front of me and shifted my gaze to it.
[Quest - Win the duel.]
[Details - You will receive a reward if you win the duel against Edward von Gerald, known as the Ruffian.]
[Reward - 1,000 Points.]
Hmm. Not bad.
I was planning to teach him a lesson even without the quest.
Especially since he tried to mess with Rishe and her female companions.
*That's 1,000 points, huh.*
I currently have 9,500 points on hand.
I was originally planning to use the Cash Shop to grow stronger, but...
*I think I need to start unlocking some other Game Setting Abilities.*
The setting ability that remains is none other than Inventory.
You might think what use would that ability be when I already have a Subspace Ring, but my intuition is telling me.
That I need to purchase that ability, if not now, then eventually.
Of course.
*It's just my intuition.*
Still, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's my intuition.
Well, even if I get 1,000 points right now, I don't plan on buying it yet.
It costs a whopping 10,000 points to unlock that ability.
*It wouldn't be bad to save up more before buying it.*
While I was silently planning for the future...
"Judging by your expression, you seem nervous."
The Blonde Chad made a strange misunderstanding and put on a triumphant expression.
Then, he continued.
"I told you. You should have just stayed quiet like before. At least back then, you weren't so emotional in front of me."
"....."
I remained silent at his words.
Did he think I was quiet because I had nothing to say?
The Blonde Chad spread his arms wide with a bright expression.
Like a circus ringmaster.
"Thanks to you. I'll get a nice maid from the Social Gathering!"
"Are those your last words?"
At my question, his eyebrows curved into a figure eight.
I ignored his reaction and continued.
"If you're done talking, let's get started."
Saying that, I casually planted my foot.
The Blonde Chad was startled by my speed.
The next moment.
-SMACK!
I struck his face with my fist.
"ARGHHHH!"
Was it that painful?
Even though I didn't use Physical Reinforcement, he clutched his face with both hands.
As if his nose bone had broken.
I looked down at him rolling on the ground.
"What are you doing? Let's start the duel."
***
Meanwhile, at that moment.
Patrick was startled by the sight before him.
No. That wasn't all.
Everyone who saw Cain's power for the first time widened their pupils.
As if they couldn't believe it.
"Kim Su-yong. You were right, he really has changed."
"I told you. He's strong."
It wasn't that he didn't believe his words.
If Kim Su-yong said something like that, he must be strong.
However, knowing something intellectually and seeing it firsthand are different.
*He's stronger than I expected.*
Until now, he had witnessed the training of knights and the strength of the Knight Commander up close.
So until he saw the movement, he thought Cain's strength would be at most at a student level.
Kim Su-yong had said that excluding the top five, including himself, Cain would have been the Top Student.
*Usually, a Top Student is at a student level.*
Because of that, he had the fixed idea that even if Cain, who was practically weak incarnate a year ago, had gotten stronger, he would still be at a student level.
But.
*I was mistaken.*
The form he showed now.
The form he showed without using Physical Reinforcement was stronger than most of the Imperial Knights.
Of course, this is assuming the Imperial Knights also didn't use Physical Reinforcement.
While Patrick was momentarily surprised looking at Cain,
Meanwhile, the Imperial Knights...
"Wow. Did you see that noble's movement just now?"
"No. I missed it for a moment too."
"Wasn't he supposed to be extremely weak until just a year ago?"
"I thought so too."
They were just as surprised as Patrick.
No. In fact, they were even more surprised.
Unlike Patrick, they trained every day.
They knew how much grueling training it would take to become that strong.
Undoubtedly, he must have trained while sacrificing sleep.
They weren't sure how much power was inside Cain's body, but one thing was certain: he must have suffered quite a bit to build that level of physical ability.
While the people in the stands were startled, Gerald, who had fallen to the ground, slowly got up.
"Ugh! If I hadn't let my guard down..."
Gerald denied reality while bleeding from his nose.
Cain deliberately waited for him.
"What are you doing? Get up quickly."
So he could beat him up even more.
At Cain's leisurely voice, Gerald frowned intensely.
Then.
-WHOOSH!
He emitted a pure white Aura that martial artists typically use.
Simultaneously.
-WHOOSH!
He extended his fist.
His fist rushed straight toward Cain's face.
Cain naturally deflected the fist of Gerald, who had used Physical Reinforcement, but.
*Hmm? He's stronger than I thought.*
Nevertheless, the pain was greater than expected.
Seeing Cain's reaction, Gerald started spouting nonsense again.
"You might be unexpectedly strong, but you're still a half-wit. Clearly, a year ago, you couldn't even handle Aura, right?"
"....."
Cain maintained his silence at the question.
Gerald continued with a voice full of hostility.
As if he had definitely hit Cain's sore spot.
"I acknowledge that your physical abilities are high, but I'm not going to lose to someone who can't even handle Aura."
Saying that, he mercilessly launched a barrage of attacks.
A punch that would knock out an ordinary person with one hit.
A kick that would instantly kill a lower-level monster.
All of these dangerous attacks rained down on Cain.
-THUD! CRACK! BANG!
After about 10 exchanges between Gerald and Cain.
*Hmm. What should I do?*
He was seriously contemplating inside.
That's because.
*No. He's too weak.*
In fact, when he first saw Gerald using Physical Reinforcement, he was inwardly surprised.
From what he had heard, Gerald was a serious Ruffian.
Naturally, he thought Gerald would be no different from Cain during his Ruffian days.
However, he clearly had something to rely on, as Gerald was stronger than he had thought.
But that was it.
He might be stronger than initially thought, but his current strength was unremarkable for someone who graduated from the Royal Academy.
*No, that's not it.*
Come to think of it, didn't a senior mention during the Freshman Exam?
That the current second-year students were unusual.
*Is this... normal?*
While thinking that and leisurely deflecting all the attacks.
"There's an opening!"
Gerald extended a straightforward punch with an excited face, showing no technique whatsoever.
The fist approached Cain's face.
-BANG!
Dust rose momentarily due to Gerald's punch.
No. To be precise, it wasn't because of his punch.
-WHOOSH!
It was because of Cain's Physical Reinforcement.
The blue Demonic Energy flickering around his body.
Was it because he couldn't properly control his power yet?
-CRACKLE!
Even without using Effect Quality, the blue Demonic Energy was excessively emitted from his body.
As if trying to press down on the entire place.
-GULP!
Someone in the stands swallowed dry saliva.
At the same time, some rubbed their forearms as if they had goosebumps.
*Hmm. Good thing I used the Game Setting Ability. Let's stop using Demonic Energy for now.*
Just a moment ago, he almost killed Gerald due to a failure in control.
Undoubtedly, if he hadn't used Property Change, Gerald would have died due to the nature of Demonic Energy.
Therefore, there wouldn't be much benefit in using it.
He might not be able to inflict pain on the Blonde Chad if he made a mistake.
After finishing his thought, Cain slowly withdrew the Demonic Energy.
-WOONG!
The blue Demonic Energy slowly dispersed.
Then, Cain spoke.
"What are you doing? Why aren't you attacking?"
***
Meanwhile, at that moment.
"W-what? What was that power just now?"
"For a moment, I got goosebumps from Cain's power."
"Is that really the same guy I fought in the finals of the tournament last year?"
The three people had dumbfounded expressions at Cain's power.
At that moment, Rishe covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.
"Huhuhu."
"Rishe. You know something, don't you?"
At Skaya's question, she nodded.
As if she was the first to know.
For some reason, Illin and Skaya felt a sense of defeat and humiliation.
Then, Illin asked with a blank expression.
"Don't just laugh, please answer. When did Cain grow like that? Clearly, he didn't have such Aura even a month or two ago."
"Yes, well, since I knew 'before' you two, I'll explain."
Rishe crossed her arms, emphasizing the word 'before'.
Somehow, that word was irritating, but there was no point in arguing.
Illin and Skaya kept their mouths shut and perked up their ears.
"First of all, the point when his power increased was the day after Lady Willy raided the Cult's Branch."
"Huh? Then that's..."
"Wasn't that the day after Cain was sick?"
Rishe nodded.
"Yes, that's right. In my opinion, the reason for the Young Master's Aura amplification might be related to his illness at that time. Otherwise, there's no reason for his Aura to increase so rapidly."
Of course, at that time, the Young Master suddenly got better and danced alone, but.
*There's no need to tell them about that.*
Thinking about it now, the reason he was so excited then was probably because he realized his body had rapidly recovered and his power had increased.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for the Young Master to dance while making strange noises.
While Rishe was making a strange misunderstanding on her own, Skaya nodded with a somewhat understanding face.
"Certainly, if what Rishe says is true, the probability is high. Even with Cain's high physical abilities, such an increase in Aura would cause a fever."
"By the way, Rishe."
At Illin's call, Rishe turned her head.
Illin asked with a puzzled voice.
"But why isn't Cain using that power now? Surely with that level of power, he could quickly knock out that Thug who's denying reality and blindly throwing punches?"
She was right.
If Cain were to use that power right now, knocking out Gerald, who was blindly attacking without knowing anything, would be a piece of cake.
However.
"It's probably because he has difficulty controlling his power. I've seen him train a few times. Since he gained the power suddenly, he seems to have trouble controlling it."
"Ah. That makes sense."
After hearing Rishe's explanation, Illin, Skaya, and Jenny wore understanding expressions.
In reality, as Rishe said, if he were to miscontrol his power, one attack could potentially kill that Thug.
With that thought, the three turned their gaze back to Cain.
Then.
"Ugh. This is absurd!"
Gerald was trembling with a reddened face.
It's not unreasonable for him to feel wronged.
Until a year ago, wasn't Cain at an ordinary person's level?
But in less than a year, Cain had become stronger than him.
And overwhelmingly so.
*That bastard is toying with me right now!*
Until just now, he had been denying reality, but now he had to accept it.
That Cain was currently stronger than him.
At first, he thought the Aura Cain emitted was an illusion, but.
Seeing how Cain leisurely received his attacks without even using Physical Reinforcement, it was clearly not an illusion.
*Tsk! I didn't want to use this here.*
Gerald barely dodged the punch that Cain casually extended.
Then, he retreated as far as possible.
"Huff..."
"What? Why are you running away? I was going to go easy on you."
"...Fine. Let's see how long you can keep saying that."
Saying that, Gerald took out a small bottle from his pocket.
A potion that looked similar to holy water.
*I've been saving this without drinking it even once.*
It can't be helped.
Without drinking this, there's no way he could win against Cain.
Gerald opened the potion cap, disregarding the surrounding gazes.
Seeing that, Cain.
"T-that is?"
He widened his eyes.
As if he couldn't believe it.
Mikasa, who was acting as the referee, subtly furrowed her brows at the sight of someone trying to dope in a sacred duel.
And just as she was about to intervene.
"Knight Commander. Let him drink it."
"...Huh? What do you mean?"
"Even if he drinks that, he won't win."
"....."
Certainly, the gap between Cain and Gerald was like heaven and earth.
Even if Gerald drank a doping potion, it was unlikely he would win against Cain.
"Alright. Since David von Cain has permitted it, the duel will continue."
At Mikasa's words, Gerald showed a slightly surprised expression, then raised one corner of his mouth.
He probably didn't expect Cain to take his side here.
*You'll regret giving me the chance to drink this.*
While Gerald was inwardly rejoicing.
*I can't believe I'm seeing that potion again.*
He stared at the potion the guy was holding.
The potion that the Cult distributed and caused Kim Su-yong to get injured last year.
The potion that was used by someone disguised as a merchant wearing a mask in the David Fiefdom to trap adventurers.
Gerald is now drinking that terrifying doping potion.
*So, he was the culprit back then!*