The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 2

Episode 2

Click.

As I opened the small auxiliary door and went out, a small terrace with a wide open view appeared in front of me.

Under the warm sunlight, the blue garden and the colorful flower garden were dazzling.

As I held out my hand, I felt the slightly cool breeze passing between my fingers.

And the strange texture and refreshing scent that seems to envelop the entire body. I thought it might be a trace of dark ‘mana’.

‘It’s on a different level than when I connected through the capsule.’

One of the reasons why Raul Ani Bae Do-hyun was able to reach the top among Connect players was his extraordinary ‘assimilation rate’.

While the average assimilation rate of general players was around 30%, Bae Do-hyun boasted an assimilation rate of nearly 90%.

As such, he maintained sharper senses than others, and its impact on battle was absolute.

‘What is 90%?’

But what I felt now was never at a level that could be expressed in terms of assimilation rate or anything like that. It was so vivid that even the sensations felt on Earth felt like a joke.

Raoul closed his eyes for a moment and enjoyed the mysterious, addictive sensations.

“Whoa~.”

Eventually, Raoul caught his breath, folded his arms on the terrace railing, and opened his eyes.

I suddenly felt that my mind, which had been tangled with a mixture of memories and worries about my family’s destruction, felt lighter.

In his calm mind, Raoul thought about the tragic future that would come to the Ashton family.

A sudden family soldier.

The eldest son, who took over, died during a battle with a monster.

The second son has been missing since leaving for training.

And when the youngest son inherited the earldom, a rebellion broke out as if he had been waiting for it.

‘That young youngest son is me, Raoul.’

That wasn’t the end.

Not long after the count changed due to a rebellion, the golden barrier opened and monsters invaded, and the count was unable to stop it.

Afterwards, the territory that was occupied by monsters passed through the hands of each force, including the players…

“Whew. “There’s no need to go into too much detail.”

Raoul shook his head and cut off the memory and looked down with lively eyes.

Beyond the spacious garden of the mansion, I could see at a glance a huge county surrounded by several layers of walls in the distance.

I couldn’t believe that this beautiful and majestic city would turn into ruins in just three years.

‘No, that won’t happen anymore. ‘I will definitely stop it!’

Bae Do-hyeon has lived his entire life as an orphan. Connect was the world I found to escape from the stuffy reality of not being rewarded for my efforts and having to be exploited by those who have money.

However, there were people who tried to turn even that place into a world only for the rich, no different from reality, and there was bound to be a limit to how I could fight them on my own.

In some ways, this moment can be called my third life.

He was feeling more alive than ever.

For the first time, I had a family and a place to call home. And more than anything, I had hope.

‘It doesn’t matter at all how I returned to the past and became Raoul.’

I honestly wasn’t curious or interested in whether it was regression, reincarnation, or even possession.

It didn’t matter if this world wasn’t real and was just a game world.

‘What’s important is that I’m breathing here now. Now that things have come to this, let’s live properly this time.’

Raoul lifted himself up from the railing and stretched out his hands in front of him.

A small but large territory that looks like it could fit in your hand if you clenched your fist like this. Looking at it, I clenched my fists and strengthened my resolve once again.

‘I will definitely protect it. ‘With the knowledge I have about the future and the newly gained strength, I’ll be able to do it!’

At that moment, a deep golden airflow erupted from Raoul’s body, swirled around his body and instantly disappeared into thin air.

Several knights patrolling the mansion turned their heads at the strange feeling, but Raoul had already disappeared from the terrace.

* * *

“haha.”

Raoul put his longsword in its scabbard and let out a heavy breath.

The right hand that was holding the sword trembled slightly.

“Wow, such poor physical strength! Heo, heo, heo.”

Even if I say a single word, I feel out of breath.

Raoul looked down at his white and beautiful forearms and sighed inwardly.

‘No, what kind of body is this, the son of a renowned swordsman?’

Honestly, the first time I looked in the full-length mirror, I was very satisfied. Because a handsome boy like you only see in movies was smiling brightly in the mirror.

Moreover, even though she was only 15 years old, she was already over 175cm tall, and her proportions were so good that her straight limbs and small face were fantastic.

But the illusion was shattered in an instant.

During the first training session, which lasted just over an hour, I used my mental strength to resist the sky turning blue and my breathing stopping more than five times.

What came after was hellish muscle pain. It was only later that I understood why the training instructor was getting restless and asking him if he wanted to continue.

Looking back, I realized that Raoul had never trained for more than ten minutes a day. If I moved my body any further, I would collapse from dizziness.

If there had been no system correction, Raoul might not have been able to overcome his physical limitations.

‘No matter what, you say you’re one of the five most prestigious samurai families in the kingdom? My father and brothers are all masters of swordsmanship? Why on earth did you neglect the child like this?!!

Raoul’s face was full of dissatisfaction as he was sweating and breathing hard.

Only now, a month later, has his stamina and strength returned to the level of his peers.

If you continue to train in the future, you may soon be recognized as a proper knight.

‘The problem is that we have to play a match in a while.’

Looking around, I saw more than a dozen boys warming up, swinging their swords here and there in the large training hall. Like Raoul, they were all turning 15 years old this year.

The Earl of Ashton held a special coming-of-age ceremony every year. The idea was to gather children from the count family and surrounding estates and hold a swordsmanship tournament.

The tournament was not just a festival.

For those who showed outstanding skills, it was also an opportunity to officially become a member of the count family and receive knight training.

Additionally, if you made it to the top four, you could get a letter of recommendation to enter the Kingdom Sword Academy.

If it were Raoul before his reincarnation, he would not have even applied to participate. But now Raul had a reason to participate in the tournament.

‘You must enter the Kingdom Academy! Otherwise, you’ll be stuck in the territory for a while and won’t be able to do anything.’

His father, Count Melvin, and his two older brothers, who were much older than him, gave the sickly Raoul too much love.

It was difficult to get out of the mansion, let alone outside the castle.

For the sake of the future, I had to leave the territory first.

At that time, I was determined to get into the semifinals and win a ticket to the kingdom of heaven. I felt an uneasy energy behind my back.

Shhh.

“What?? damage??”

Raoul, who narrowly avoided someone trying to hit him with his shoulder, turned his head and looked at the owner of the voice.

At that moment, Raoul’s eyebrows twitched.

“Hey. Biri Biri has grown a lot?? Now we make eye contact. Don’t you cover your eyes?? sudden!”

The name of the guy who raised his hand as if to hit him was Dion.

He was the second son, or cousin, of Viscount Austen, Raoul’s uncle.

And the seven children surrounding him as if guarding him were either collateral blood relatives of the count family or children of the surrounding estates.

It was said that they were children from decent families.

As Raoul was looking at him without any reaction, Dion tapped Raoul’s shoulder with the hand he had raised and said,

“I told you to be quiet and frown, but you didn’t listen. What if I make a mistake and get hurt during a match? This guy already has weak bones. Isn’t that right? “Kkkkkk.”

“I know. I got hit so much that my head looks bad now. What should I do? “Puhup.”

Everyone around them laughed together.

I slowly turned my head and looked at each person’s face, and forgotten memories came to mind.

‘Hmm. That guy’s wrist, that guy’s calf, that guy’s ribs…’

I started to remember clearly.

During the joint sword training held periodically, those guys used sparring as an excuse to harass Raoul.

Even when the game was already close, they dragged on the sparring and hit Raoul with wooden swords, resulting in cracked or even broken bones.

Nevertheless, the reason the instructor and the earl pretended not to know was because of the disciplinary policy and family motto of the Ashton family.

-Training is like actual combat.

-Everyone is equal on the sacred training ground.

-We will not be held responsible for any injuries sustained during sparring.

Just because he was the son of a count, there was no consideration given to him, and in the instructors’ eyes, that level of bullying was literally nothing more than a child’s prank.

‘It was a complete brat. ‘Tsk.’

While Raoul was clicking his tongue, Dion came closer and whispered.

“Just be a bit fussy and get off on your own. If you catch my eye, this time I will make you not just a bone, but a complete idiot. “You don’t want to get upset after getting beaten up in front of adults, right?”

Then, he tapped his shoulder one last time and left with his companions.

Raoul, who had been looking at their backs for a while, chuckled and muttered to himself.

“Those bastards are laughable…”

When he thought of the enemies he had faced in his past life, they were just novices who had not yet taken their first steps. Of course, his immediate condition was worse than theirs.

‘You can’t laugh it off like that. ‘I need to step on him before his habit gets worse.’

Thanks to this, I have a reason to focus more on the game.

Despite his foul temper, Dion was also the strongest candidate to win this competition. Maybe I would have to go to the finals to meet him.

‘The goal… I should change it to the championship instead of the semifinals.’

Suddenly, the corners of Raoul’s mouth turned up slightly.

* * *

The tournament went smoothly.

Since there were over 3,000 applicants for participation, a pre-trial was held and a group-type preliminary round was also completed.

As a result, a total of 32 finalists were confirmed.

Not only Dion, the strong candidate for the championship, but all seven members of his gang also advanced to the finals. And of course, Raul was also on that list.

Legal betting was possible starting from the final tournament.

This meant that the count operated his own gambling house to ensure the success of the competition.

Because not only the people of the territory but also the nobles of the surrounding territories participated, a very large amount of money was moved, and the money collected by the count family as a fee was also considerable.

Information and gossip about the finalists were scattered around every store and bar, and self-proclaimed experts even sold their predicted rankings for a fee.

Whilick.

A large hand like the paw of a bear was holding a bundle of documents. The hand that turned the pages one by one seemed softer than it looked.

widely.

Finally, the bear-like man who threw the documents on the desk spoke.

“What about that guy?”

“The Master finished his meal and returned to his room. “Maybe you’re going to bed early because you’re tired…”

A grizzled old man in a neat suit answered, slightly lowering his head across the desk.

The pure white gloves and red bow tie caught my eye.

“Doesn’t it look like there’s anything uncomfortable?”

“There were no special injuries. However, it seems like you are very tired because of the long match.”

“Then that’s it. “Let’s go out.”

“Yes, Count.”

Rattling.

A man left alone after his butler left. Earl Melvin, the head of the Ashton family, reached for the documents again.

‘Huh, really.’

Honestly, I never imagined that the youngest would advance to the finals.

Unlike his two older brothers who looked exactly like him, he was a sickly child like his mother, so they did not force him to train in swordsmanship.

I also knew that I was being bullied by kids my age at the training ground.

The reason for neglecting it despite knowing it was due to the count’s pride and also to respect Raoul’s will.

No one told Raul to participate in training. Nevertheless, Raul visited the training ground every day. Even if I collapse before ten minutes, I do it every day.

The same was true for joint swordsmanship training. Even though I was bullied and hurt every time, I never gave up on training.

But the Count intervenes? Not only does this make Raoul’s hard work meaningless, but Raoul is also branded as a disgrace to the count family.

It broke my heart every time I saw Raoul struggling and getting hurt, but I couldn’t help but cheer for my son’s growth in my heart.

But finally today. My son, who had walked such a difficult and arduous path, has finally achieved a small but significant achievement.

I used to think that I should just grow up healthy…

“After all, you can’t fool blood. haha.”

Recently, I had been on edge due to the detection of disturbing movements around the kingdom and territory, but thanks to this guy, I felt like my shoulders were a little lighter.

‘After the game tomorrow, I’ll have to go get some fresh air together for the first time in a while to console myself.’

Just advancing to the finals was a good enough result. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to encourage them not to get frustrated even if they lose tomorrow, and to watch them practice swordsmanship in person if time permits.

The wind coming through the window blew through the documents in his hands.

[Round of 32 Game 6] Analysis

Edmund (expected ranking 6th) vs. Raoul (expected ranking 32nd)

…

Unfortunately, it seemed like Raoul’s defeat was already decided in the Count’s mind.

(Continued in the next part)