The Clear Stone training session only ended at 9 PM, after the Tona twins collapsed side by side.

They had completely exhausted their physical and mental strength that they ended up falling unconscious.

“Pathetic.”

Zed clicked his tongue and called the medical team. Meanwhile, Jin didn’t fully agree with his uncle’s statement.

‘It’s quite impressive they’ve lasted this long in the first place.’

Jin was still standing on both feet. His legs were trembling like crazy and the unpleasant ringing was still echoing in his mind, but he was standing.

The attitude and dedication the twins had shown today were praiseworthy. In all honesty, even Jin was on the verge of collapsing. If the training had continued for another thirty minutes, he would’ve surely flopped onto the ground.

The medical team placed the twins on stretchers and took them out.

“Make sure you tell your brothers that if they plan on fainting during tomorrow’s training as well, they shouldn’t come to class in the first place.”

“I understand.”

Jin exited the hidden training room and pondered to himself as he walked back to his dorm.

‘Seeing Uncle’s reaction, I was close to disappointing him as well. Had the training been slightly longer, I would’ve fainted. And Uncle would’ve considered me a failure as well… I should be more careful tomorrow.’

However, Zed was having different thoughts than what Jin was predicting. He stayed behind in the hidden room, staring at the spots where his three nephews had been standing until moments ago.

‘The Tona twins ended up collapsing far later than what I was initially expecting. Kekek, they’re Runcandels alright. But the youngest…’

Despite being two years younger than the twins, he had managed to endure the training today without falling unconscious. It was an incredible feat, considering his body hadn’t developed as much as theirs.

‘A shame. Such a shame! Why did he have to be born as the youngest?!’

According to what Zed had witnessed today, Jin was the most talented child amongst Cyron’s 13 children. While it was debatable whether or not he was better than Luna, he was far more gifted than Joshua, the soon-to-be patriarch.

However, he was too young.

Jin was only 15 years old.

Even if he trained seriously and became a 9-star knight by the age of 30, Joshua would already be leading the clan by then.

These days,  the patriarch’s authority and power were slowly beginning to be transferred over to Joshua already. Very slowly, but steadily.

‘If only he were born ten years earlier, he would’ve had the Runcandel Clan in his grasp…!’

Currently, Jin’s talents and growth speed were… seeds that would sow chaos and havoc in the clan.

If Jin were to become the strongest person in the clan in ten or fifteen years and aimed for the throne… how much damage would he cause to Joshua’s rule? To the Runcandel Clan?

And what if the clan’s enemies—such as the Zipfels—took advantage of the inner conflict to attack the clan?

As his thoughts reached that conclusion, Zed let out a deep sigh.

‘Let’s keep watch for now. Seeing how Luna cares for him, Jin might grow up to resemble her. He might become a Shadow that protects the clan just like that child.’

Countless variables that could affect Jin’s ‘future’ and ‘growth’ existed. The boy could die during a mission or could suddenly decide to leave the clan one day and become a wanderer.

Children go through many different experiences and incidents as they grow up, so Zed couldn’t predict Jin and the clan’s future as of yet.

***

March 1795. A month had gone by.

Jin and the Tona twins were in open warfare for hegemony from day one, but since they were stuck in the Clear Stone training room the entire afternoon, there were no real fights between them.

Ever since Kajin Romello was cut down by Jin, the other cadets didn’t dare lay a finger on the Youngest Division even when the young master was away. They had also been ordered by Myu and Anne not to do so.

Jin’s two older sisters had decided not to interfere with the happenings within the intermediate training class, just as he had predicted.

They had no more expectations for the Tona twins. The idiots had borrowed their best intermediate-class cadet and had returned him defective, so they had no reason to support the twins anymore.

“…It’s so peaceful that it’s concerning.”

Mesa spoke as she dusted the dirt off her clothes, which were in terrible condition as they had just finished their morning training session. The cadets around her were in the same condition as her.

“Do you think the young master is doing okay in the afternoons? We don’t even know what they’re being taught.”

Bellop asked with a worried tone, but Mesa snorted.

“We aren’t at the level where we can worry about the young master.”

“But from time to time, I hear explosions inside the hidden training room along with people screaming… The medical team always seems to be in a hurry to head inside when that happens. The Tona young masters were even brought out on stretchers before the training session had ended two days ago.”

“Stop worrying and focus on your own training. Don’t you remember what the young master told us? We’ll be assigned missions soon enough. Disgustingly difficult missions, according to the young master.”

Except for Mesa, Scott, Zhushen, Taimont and Kiko, the other members of the Youngest Division didn’t reach the average level of intermediate-class cadets.

In other words, Edington, Sierra, Phils and Bellop weren’t supposed to be sent out on missions yet. Well, technically speaking, Bellop was skilled enough. He just hadn’t recovered a good enough mental strength yet in order to utilize his abilities to the maximum.

“I do not wish to be a hindrance to the young master from now on. So we should focus on our own problems right now. We all need to reach 3-star at the very least before we’re given our first missions.”

“She’s right. And it’s thanks to Young Master Jin that we’re not being harassed or persecuted during this faction war.”

The cadets nodded with resolute expressions.

“Attention!”

The intermediate training class’s assistant instructor, ‘Mael Trasil’, yelled out loud. There were a total of three assistant instructors in the intermediate class, and they were all guardian knights of the Runcandel Clan. Mael was the main assistant instructor.

“The first missions of this year’s intermediate class have been issued. There are a total of five missions. I will now call out names. The cadets who have their names called must step forward. There are a total of 60 cadets who will be dispatched this time.”

The cadets who had spent several years in the intermediate class didn’t show any particular reactions. However, those who were in their 3rd year or less were showing tense expressions.

“The first is a monster subjugation mission. The subjugation targets are goblins. You shall hear the details of the mission from Petro, the second butler. The cadets involved are Denkello, Atan, John…”

“The second is a bodyguard mission. The commissioners that need protection are the rookies within the Minche Smithy Association. It would be beneficial to some of you if you get friendly with them. Those involved are Houston, Bading…”

“The third mission is another monster subjugation. The targets are orcs this time. The area of operations is an unprotected zone as well. The cadets involved are, um…”

Mael’s hands stopped once he flipped the page. He frowned before making sure he had read the names right on the document.

‘The area of operations is an unprotected area, but all the cadets are newcomers… Young Master Jin will be displeased by this. It’ll be difficult for everyone to return alive. But it’s not like we can complain to the flag-bearers.’

Mael coughed awkwardly before finishing his sentence.

“Mesa, Scott, Taimont, Kiko, Zhushen, Edington, Sierra, Phils, and David. Petro will inform you about the details as well. I bid you all godspeed…”

A ruckus began amongst the intermediate cadets. Not only were the targets orcs, but they were to enter an unprotected zone. Half or more of the Youngest Division would certainly die during this mission.

However, there wasn’t a single word of protest addressed to the assistant instructors.

Since the flag-bearers had chosen this lineup, they had no say in this. If someone were to object to this, it had to be the faction’s leader, Jin himself.

If Jin were to go find the flag-bearers personally in order to complain, he could easily change the members of the 3rd mission. He could either make a deal or make use of Luna’s authority and influence.

However, that would end up biting him back later on.

He would be publicly admitting that his faction’s members weren’t skilled enough to be sent on official missions. And if he made use of Luna’s authority, Jin would be proving that he himself had no power or qualifications.

In this case, Jin would checkmate himself. Thus, the Youngest Division had no choice but to go along with it and carry out the mission.

“Instructor, what are the 4th and 5th missions?”

“Those were assigned to the young masters. You need not concern yourselves. Dismissed! Once you’ve had lunch, the cadets who were assigned missions may take a break from class until they depart. You will be dispatched in two days.”

Once the assistant instructors made their leave, a commotion began within the cadets.

“Damn, good luck to those kids.”

“There’s gonna be at least four or five deaths…”

“It would’ve been better for them to not be a part of any faction.”

“Didn’t I say so? If you join the wrong faction, you’ll only see a sea of blood.”

“The poor kids.”

The cadets who were part of Myu and Anne’s faction, like Kajin, all wore suspicious grins as they nodded between themselves.

“We’ll have to prepare some coffins. Kekek.”

“We should have a proper funeral for them. Since they have two days left, let’s have someone paint their portraits in advance. Oh, and they shouldn’t forget to write a will.”

“Bwahaha! Have a good trip, you cutie-pies! Otherwise, you could ask Young Master Jin for some help. ‘Please save us! Please save us!’ Kekekek.”

The cadets in Myu and Anne’s faction giggled between themselves as they stared at the Youngest Division. Taimont was about to stand up and face them, but Mesa grabbed him by the shoulder and held him back.

“Endure it. We still can’t win against them, and starting a fight right before we leave on a mission will do us no good.”

“But those bastards were…!”

“Shut up and sit down, Taimont. You don’t want to cause problems for the young master, do you? Do I really have to spell it out to you?”

A fuming Taimont sat back down.

“…What do we do?”

Sierra sighed deeply. The other members of the Youngest Division were also wearing distressed expressions.

“Is that a question? This is the Runcandel Clan. If they want us to go out and fight, we go and fight. We’ll do whatever we can to accomplish the mission successfully and return alive. That’s the one and only way we can trample on those bastards’ pride and humiliate them.”

Mesa spoke as she ground her teeth. Despite her confident front, her hands were trembling lightly.

No, she wasn’t afraid of death. She was simply disappointed in herself that she could only be a hindrance to Young Master Jin and cause him problems.

***

Boooom!

“Argh!”

“Haytona!”

“Urgh!”

Haytona’s Clear Stone had exploded. This was already his third stone today. The steel marbles grazed Daytona and headed towards Jin, who was concentrating on his own sword and steel ball.

Haytona was hit in the chest, and Jin in the flank. Had it been his own steel ball exploding, Jin would have avoided the projectiles. But someone else’s ball exploding and marbles flying at him from the side? Even that was unavoidable for him.

Zed was sitting in the corner, calmly reading the mission documents as if he didn’t care what was happening to them.

“Urgh, fuck!”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, Daytona. Um… sorry, Jin. Uh, I didn’t do that on purpose…”

Haytona fearfully approached Jin. Daytona followed suit as he scratched the back of his head.

As he watched their actions, Jin began to wonder if they were truly the same Nefarious Homicidal Maniacs from his first life.

“I’m fine. But from now on, I want you two to practice in that corner over there.”

“S-Sure.”

The Tona twins grunted as they pushed their tables towards the corner.

There was a reason why the twins were so obedient to their little brother. After having spent time training together for an entire month, they soon realized that their uncle’s words were correct.

Do not confront the youngest until you two are strong enough. That is, if you wish to live long.

The Jin they had witnessed so far was a beast. Today, the Tona twins had finally gained enough strength to make the Clear Stones blow up three to four times per session. However, Jin had already been blowing the Stones up since a couple of days ago, creating five to six explosions every session.

‘Today, I will definitely create a clear sound. Definitely.’

His flank was throbbing from the pain. He didn’t feel his ribs cracking, so he was physically fine. However, his breath was completely erratic now.

Phew… Phew…

Jin closed his eyes and regulated his breathing. He could subconsciously see the Clear Stone’s surface, its rigidity, and its weight in his mind, despite the darkness.

As the pain in his flank kept disturbing his focus, Jin felt a sudden change.

‘Huh?’

A strange sensation overtook his senses. For some reason, he could precisely see the direction the steel marble had flown to hit him despite his closed eyes. It was being drawn in his mind.

‘What is this? Why do I suddenly feel like…’

As he was about to open his eyes and verify the marble’s actual trajectory, Zed suddenly stood up. Jin and the Tona twins immediately ran before him and corrected their stances.

“The details of your missions have been delivered.”