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Chapter 3

“You’ll be captured and killed by Hatzfeld’s assassins in that condition.”

“Me, by those guys? Hah.”

Kane laughed nonchalantly, showing not a trace of tension on his face.

His demeanor prompted Camilla to step forward.

“I’ll buy us some time. Use the chance to escape, my lord.”

“No need.”

Kane’s frail hand grasped her shoulder.

“I’ll handle the Hatzfeld assassins.”

“What?”

Camilla’s eyes widened in surprise.

“In the past, you protected me. This time, I’ll protect you.”

With that, Kane turned away, holding a broken dagger, and walked out of the ice cave.

“Take a good look. The Kane you knew no longer exists.”

Camilla watched Kane’s retreating figure in a daze.

The Dullard Grand Duke.

The timid, frail man was nowhere to be seen.

In his place stood a man as steadfast as a mountain.

She swallowed hard and, almost unconsciously, followed him.

When Kane came outside he frowned.

‘This is like a blood pig.’

A blood pig refers to characters with abnormally high HP.

Kane was just like that now.

Thanks to the Holy Water of Bellone, his body had been elevated to S-rank.

But his other abilities, like strength and stamina, were still at E-rank.

But as the saying goes, sometimes just being a tank is enough. For now, this would suffice.

‘I’ll handle this quickly and return to the family.’

The forest was engulfed in a blizzard.

The biting cold climbed up his skin.

Pushing through the falling snow, he saw shadows bustling around.

‘Wasn’t the weakest captain among the Dark Sentinels a 2nd-class upper rank?’

Hatzfeld’s hidden unit of assassins used to handle dirty work.

‘This tension… it’s been a while.’

It felt like the first time he’d been immersed in the game.

[Frail Trait activated.]

[Timid Trait activated.]

The negative traits applied debuffs on him.

“Let’s see if these traits can really stop me.”

Kane’s lips curled into a smile.

When he was Ray Hatzfeld, every day was a matter of life and death.

Now his opponents were just the Dark Sentinels.

A captain and four subordinates. That was all.

“We found him!”

The moment Kane appeared, five shadows converged on him.

They were cloaked in black fabric from head to toe—Hatzfeld’s assassins.

“You hid well.” One of them remarked.

“You’ll pay for the trouble you’ve caused us, Kane Rehinar.” Another added.

Sensing their murderous intent, Camilla spoke up.

“My lord, this is really not a good idea. I’ll hold them off while you escape.”

“Stop talking and stay behind me. I know these guys best.”

Kane took a step forward.

The Dark Sentinels scoffed at the sight of him.

“He must be out of his mind.”

“Captain, let’s quickly take care of him.”

“Ha, are you interested in the woman behind him?”

They eyed Camilla lecherously, noting her striking beauty, rare for someone from the frontier.

“I heard the Grand Duke’s guard was very beautiful, but this is more than I expected. Seems the rumors didn’t do her justice.”

“Then let’s finish him off quickly and have our fun.”

All except the captain drew their swords and approached Kane carelessly.

Kane gave a cold smile as he looked ahead.

“I was planning to grind you into pieces anyway, and you’ve saved me the trouble by coming here.”

[Blue Tiger’s Breath (E)’ has been activated]

Energy emanated from his heart and spread throughout his body. It wasn’t the powerful, unbridled mana he had wielded as Ray Hatzfeld, but a weak and slow energy.

‘With ‘Blood Dance’, I have a chance.’

Although it wasn’t a skill Kane Rehinar’s body had mastered, he, as a seasoned player, knew how to use it.

He used the broken blade to cut his left palm.

[HP is decreasing.]

Despite the self-inflicted damage, it was of no concern.

‘Now!’

He swung his bleeding palm through the air, sending droplets of blood flying.

The magic sigil inscribed in his eyes activated, creating a water rune from the Blue Tiger’s Breath.

His eyes flashed, and as he slashed the broken blade from top to bottom—

[Frail Trait activated.]

[Timid Trait activated.]

Unnecessary status notifications appeared, dulling his senses.

[Stamina has decreased from E to E-.]

[Mana has decreased from E to E-.]

[Strength has decreased from E to E-.]

[Agility has decreased from E to E-.]

Just when he had raised his stats, he was hit with debuffs, all because of those damn traits.

‘I expected this.’

Still, he did not yield. His soul was not that of the Dullard Grand Duke. He was the master of Phoenix’s Breath, Ray Hatzfeld, the person known as the Blood Demon. He could not be subdued by such trivial traits.

Veins bulged vividly in his right arm as thin muscles swelled. He sliced the falling blood droplet just before it hit the ground.

[You have perfectly executed ‘Blood Sword’, a skill of ‘Blood Dance’]

The severed droplet became a blade as they sliced through the air. The captain of the assassins shouted in alarm at Kane’s unexpected move. The blades flying through the air seemed ominous.

“Dodge!”

The Dark Sentinels leaped back and barely avoided the blood blades by a hair’s breadth. This, too, was an expected outcome.

Kane again inflicted another wound on himself and sent his blood splattering into the air.

[HP is decreasing.]

Again, the self-inflicted damage notification appeared.

Before consuming the potion, even this amount of damage would have been dangerous.

However, with his S-rank body, he had no reason to hesitate. He used the broken blade to precisely split the blood droplets in half again.

[You have perfectly executed ‘Blood Sword’, a skill of ‘Blood Dance’]

Once more, the stream of blood erupted towards the Dark Sentinels.

“Gaah!”

All four of them fell simultaneously, each with a punctured thigh.

The attack targeted everyone except the captain. Taking down the weaker ones first was a basic strategy. Even though he incapacitated four in an instant, Kane clicked his tongue.

“I meant to pierce their hearts in one go. Tsk.”

‘Blood Sword’ was one of the skills registered under ‘Blood Dance’.

“What… what have you done?”

The captain’s eyes trembled violently.

Meanwhile, the smile on Kane’s lips grew broader. It was a skill he had practiced countless times in the past.

In the past he used Phoenix’s Breath, he had poured all his time into ‘Blood Dance’ after acquiring it because it was such a powerful skill.

Despite not being able to use its true power due to incompatible breathing techniques, it was still formidable even in its incomplete form.

But now? The essence of ‘Blood Dance’ belonged to Rehinar. Even as the Dullard Grand Duke, he could properly utilize ‘Blood Dance’.

[You have achieved an unbelievable feat.]

[You have mastered the skill ‘Blood Dance (S)’]

[You can now use ‘Blood Dance (S)’ – 1st Move Blood Sword]

[You have deleted Rehinar’s Dual Sword Technique (E-).]

‘Got it!’

Kane cheered internally. This was what the King of Hatzfeld feared most—the unique skill of the Rehinar, ‘Blood Dance’.

“Can’t you see? This is Rehinar’s swordsmanship.”

“Do you take me for a fool? That’s magic!”

‘Ah, it’s still the time when they haven’t realised Rehinar’s swordsmanship is based on magic.’

Kane’s twisted smile made the assassin captain’s face harden.

Goosebumps rose on his skin as an added effect.

Even as a 3rd-class knight, his opponent should not have been able to deal with them so swiftly.

“Who are you?!”

This was someone entirely different, masquerading as the Dullard Grand Duke.

“Kane Rehinar.”

“Lies! How could the Dullard Grand Duke push us this far?”

“I haven’t even started hunting yet, and you’re already scared?”

Kane slowly raised his other hand, and droplets of water formed in the air.

“Who are you really, to drive us to this point?!”

The captain’s scream echoed through the Frost Prison Forest.

“I told you, I’m Kane Rehinar.”

Despite his relaxed words, Kane was in a hurry. His mana was running low. ‘Blood Dance’ was powerful but consumed a lot of mana. Plus, his frail body was beginning to break down.

‘I don’t have time to waste.’

He swung the broken blade again.

“What the…!?”

The captain couldn’t hide his surprise at the next attack. Instead of the expected bloody haze, blood droplets shot forward at incredible speed. He swung his sword to deflect them.

Bang!

The droplets exploded upon impact with his blade, sending snow flying upwards.

The area was now filled with swirling snowflakes. Kane exhaled deeply.

“Hah… it’s not over yet….”

[All mana has been depleted.]

[All stamina has been depleted.]

[Status effect: Exhaustion]

[All stats have decreased by 90%]

He barely supported his trembling legs, then slowly bent his knees.

“Huff!”

He took a deep breath. As the Blue Tiger’s Breath filled his legs, his body shot forward with a powerful leap.

Thud!

Kane’s form surged ahead like a missile.

‘I’m really at my limit now.’

His body screamed in protest, begging him to stop overworking it. But he ignored it and plunged into the swirling snow.

His vision was obscured, relying solely on his senses to locate the captain of the Dark Sentinels.

‘The smell of blood! This way.’

He swung his sword towards the source of the scent.

Slash!

“Aaargh!”

A piercing scream tore through the air.

“Hah…! Hah…!”

He panted heavily as exhaustion wrapped around his entire body. Meanwhile, the snow blocking his vision settled. The captain of the Dark Sentinel’s face was etched with disbelief.

“What kind of sword… this is magic…”

Thud.

The Dark Sentinel captain fell dead, eyes wide open.

***

Camilla covered her mouth with her hand.

“What… did I just see?”

She had witnessed magic.

Magic performed with a sword, not a staff. But that wasn’t all. The opponent was an assassin. Their leader was a formidable 2nd-class elite. Someone the Grand Duke, at a mere 1st-class novice level, should never have been able to defeat. Even facing them would require explosive speed just to make contact.

“The Grand Duke Kane never had such boldness…”

The current Grand Duke showed no hesitation in killing his enemies. It was as if he had killed many people before. He was so far removed from the Grand Duke she knew.

“Is this… a dream?”

Camilla stared at him, forgetting the pain of her own wounds. Kane had not only defeated the leader but had taken down all the assassins.

Even those who had been a challenge for her as a 2nd-class intermediate knight.

[Camilla Einrich’s favorability has increased by +1.]

[Camilla Einrich’s favorability has increased by +1.]

[Camilla Einrich’s favorability has increased by +1.]

Kane lay sprawled out, looking at the hologram.

Favorability was quite an important system. Low favorability could trigger assassination events, while high favorability could unlock hidden stats or obtain items.

There had even been wars between nations due to favorability. It was that significant.

‘It was worth the effort.’

Satisfied with the result, he called out to Camilla.

“Camilla…”

“Yes? Yes!”

She snapped out of her daze and ran towards Kane.

“Did you call for me!?”

“Hah… I don’t have the strength to move.”

“How did you manage to defeat them?”

“Questions later. Right now, I just want to go back to the manor and rest.”

“Ah, understood.”

Camilla hoisted the fallen Kane onto her back.

Though she was *169 cm tall and well-built with muscles, Kane’s frame was much larger. His long legs dragged on the ground, making the scene somewhat comical.

[*169 cm = 5’5 feet]

“Ouch, gently.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

She couldn’t hide her shock.

The once timid Grand Duke! The Grand Duke with zero talent in swordsmanship or magic! He had killed five 2nd-class assassins.

Who could easily accept such a turn of events? It was hard to tell if this was a dream or reality.

‘Don’t think about anything else right now.’

She knew one thing for sure. They needed to leave this place immediately. Lingering here might mean encountering more enemies.

“Grand Duke, I’ll move quickly. Please bear the pain from your injuries for a bit longer.”

With Kane on her back, Camilla swiftly navigated out of the Frost Prison Forest.

[TL/N: See comment for an illustration of Camilla and Kane. Also note, POV will change from 1st person to 3rd person depending on the context.]