TCYSP 04

Chapter – 04

When Raul summoned his status window, a translucent holographic screen appeared before his eyes.

Name: Raul

Level: 19 (Hardcore Mode)

Class: Apprentice Knight (Sword Beginner), Beginner Telekinetic

Affiliation: Count Ashton Family

Title: Youngest Son of the Count Ashton Family

Stats

[Strength 22] [Agility 25] [Vitality 19] [Intelligence 15] [Mentality 34] [Mana 29] [Spirit Power 35] [Senses 30]

Unique Traits

Telekinesis Meister (S+), Bloodline of a Prestigious Sword Family (A), ??? (EX), ??? (EX), ??? (EX)

After looking through the information from top to bottom, Raul wore a fairly satisfied expression.

“To think I’d grow this much in just one month… At least I can function like a proper person now.”

The first time he had checked his status window, Raul could not help but doubt his own eyes.

[LV 5]

His level had been pathetic, barely any different from that of the servants who wandered around the mansion.

And his stats had been even more miserable.

His Strength, Agility, and Vitality—the three most essential attributes for a swordsman—had all been below 10.

In Connect, stats increased automatically according to training, experience, and talent. It wasn’t like ordinary games where players manually allocated points every time they leveled up.

Therefore, simply raising one’s level did not cause one’s stats to shoot upward.

Even though it’s a game, there are a lot of surprisingly realistic aspects to it.

Because of that, he had to devote most of every day to training and sparring in order to raise his stats.

Turning a body that became exhausted after the slightest movement into something approaching normal had been an incredibly painful process.

But after seeing how much his stats had grown, he couldn’t hide his sense of accomplishment.

I still have a long way to go, though…

He was fifteen years old, an age when his body was still growing. Even so, compared to the other participants in the tournament, his physical abilities were noticeably inferior. Improving them remained an issue he had to keep working on.

“Whew. Forget the stats for now. What the hell is going on with these traits?”

There were no fewer than five traits listed under Unique Traits.

Considering that ordinary players possessed only a single trait, this was completely absurd.

Of the five traits, [Telekinesis Meister (S+)] was something Baek Do-hyun, the person Raul had been before his reincarnation, had possessed.

Through his supernatural ability of telekinesis, he had been able to reach the pinnacle of the world of Connect.

Since his specialty had been combining various skills based on telekinesis, he had high hopes for it in this life as well.

[Bloodline of a Prestigious Sword Family (A)]

This was clearly the trait Raul had originally possessed.

Even with a trait like this, he had been stuck with such a pathetic body and such poor swordsmanship proficiency…

As for the remaining three traits, there was currently no way to know what they were. He had a few guesses, but they were nothing more than speculation.

Those question marks probably mean they’ll reveal themselves someday. Should I focus a little more on leveling up?

His eyes lingered on them for a moment, but he soon abandoned his curiosity and closed the status window.

Raul kicked off the bed and stood up. His wounds had already healed completely, so he needed to prepare for tomorrow’s match.

“Now then, who am I going to face?”

His mind was already filled with thoughts of the match he would fight the following day.

Although he had advanced to the Round of 16, people’s assessment of Raul’s ability had not changed much.

They acknowledged his tenacity and mental strength, but objectively speaking, he still appeared weaker than the other participants.

“Do you think Young Master Raul can win again this time?”

“It’ll probably be difficult. Last time, he only won because that idiot Edmund let his guard down while taking things too easily. This time should be different, shouldn’t it?”

“True. He only won because he got lucky at the end and his sword happened to slip through the gap in the neck guard.”

There were plenty of people saying that his victory had been due to luck rather than skill.

In fact, the experts had predicted that Raul would finish in sixteenth place, while the betting odds at the gambling houses were the highest among all the matches.

In other words, almost no one was betting money on Raul.

CRASH!!

“That’s it! Winner, Raul!!!”

Even after Raul won his Round of 16 match, however, those opinions did not change.

“Good grief. How could he trip over a rock at exactly that moment?”

“I know. It seems the heavens are helping Young Master Raul.”

“Still, the young master is impressive. He lasted more than twenty minutes in both his first and second matches!”

“His tenacity really is second to none!!”

Even in the Round of 16, Raul had been dominated by his opponent throughout the match.

Unlike the previous fight, he hadn’t been sent rolling across the ground, but his armor had been reduced to a ragged mess, and blood was flowing from various parts of his body.

His victory had been entirely due to his opponent stumbling at the very end.

For that reason, no one believed Raul would win in the quarterfinals.

Every other quarterfinalist besides Raul had thoroughly proven that they deserved their place, and all of them were promising young talents at the level of Sword Users capable of wielding a mana sword.

“…Holy crap.”

“Does that actually make any sense?”

“Even if you say luck is a skill…”

“Young Master Raul must really have been born under an incredibly lucky star!”

So when Raul won his quarterfinal match, the crowd couldn’t help but fall into confusion.

The quarterfinal had definitely been somewhat different from his previous matches.

For the first time, Raul had not suffered a single injury.

However, his armor had still been dented all over, and throughout the entire match he had been desperately focused on blocking his opponent’s attacks.

What decided the match was a ‘gust of wind.’

At the exact moment his opponent coated his sword in mana and unleashed his most powerful attack, a gust of sand blew directly into his eyes.

The opponent could not help but blink instinctively.

Raul didn’t miss that brief opening.

By the time the opponent realized what had happened, Raul’s sword had already reached his neck.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Young Master, it’s Ivan.”

“Come in.”

After returning to his room following the match, Raul was visited by Butler Ivan.

Ivan was dressed in such an immaculate suit that it looked as though not even a speck of dust could cling to it.

He was a veteran butler who had been in charge of the Count’s estate for twenty-five years, and his meticulous handling of his duties had earned him the Count’s complete trust.

Because of his normally strict personality, the servants of the mansion called him the ‘Demon Butler.’

Yet whenever he looked at Raul, his expression was no different from that of a warm-hearted grandfather from the neighborhood.

There was a reason for that.

After the Countess passed away not long after giving birth to Raul, Ivan had raised him as though he were his own grandson.

“Are you injured anywhere?”

“I’m fine, thanks to you worrying about me. Besides, there’s a priest and a healer waiting right outside. What is there to worry about?”

For the tournament, they had invited outstanding priests and healers from the capital.

They were skilled enough to reattach severed limbs, so Raul wasn’t particularly concerned about injuries.

“Even so, you must not let your guard down. You must remember that there are injuries even they cannot heal. No matter how important the match is, I hope you won’t push yourself too hard.”

When Ivan spoke in a mildly scolding tone, Raul scratched his cheek.

He must have been watching the match from somewhere. Still, dealing with Ivan isn’t easy.

Having lived his entire previous life as an orphan, Raul found it extremely difficult to deal with people who showed him affection and concern like family.

Perhaps because he had inherited not only Raul’s memories but also some of his emotions after taking over his body, he felt this even more strongly whenever he interacted with the people of the Count’s family.

“Ahem. I’ll try to be more careful from now on. More importantly, how did the thing I asked you to do turn out?”

Seeing Raul awkwardly change the subject, Ivan gave a small sigh and handed him a small piece of paper.

“I handled it exactly as you instructed. But are you really all right? Up until now, I suppose we could overlook it, but…”

At Ivan’s worried words, Raul answered with a light smile.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll definitely win again this time. I told you, didn’t I? I’m going to win this tournament.”

After confirming the confidence on Raul’s face, Ivan gave a slight bow and left the room.

That confident expression is exactly like the Count’s when he was young. But even if he wins this match, his opponent in the final will ultimately be Young Master Dion. Can Raul really defeat that genius?

Deep down, Ivan trusted and supported Raul with all his heart, but his mind was still filled with questions.

Shaking his head from side to side, Ivan walked away.

After Ivan left, Raul examined the paper in his hand.

Written on it were the amounts he had earned from betting on the tournament so far, along with the amounts he had reinvested.

The figures had multiplied so much that he could barely remember the original amount.

Raul smiled faintly, carefully folded the paper, placed it in a drawer, and sat down in a chair.

Hmm. Thankfully, all that acting like a fool has paid off!

Just like in his first match, he had deliberately dragged out both of today’s matches.

His defensive movements, his battered armor, and even the wounds he had sustained had all been calculated.

Of course, the factors that had decided the matches at the very end had been intentional as well.

As expected, the inhabitants of Connect still aren’t accustomed to supernatural abilities.

His opponent tripping in the Round of 16 and the gust of sand blowing into his opponent’s eyes during the quarterfinal had both been caused by Raul using telekinesis.

From the opponent’s perspective, it was certainly unfair.

But this was actually a trick Raul had frequently used in his previous life.

Still, I need to be careful. I can’t let my telekinesis become too obvious yet. Until the players appear, I need to live completely as Raul.

The saying that a protruding stone gets struck by the hammer didn’t apply only on Earth.

Besides, with someone targeting the Count’s family, he absolutely needed a trump card.

For now, it was time to keep his head down and focus on growing stronger.

Anyway, I should use this opportunity to secure some starting capital. But the acting ends here. I’ve earned enough goodwill from the people of the territory. Now what I need is to be acknowledged for my actual strength!! Sorry about this, Dion, but you’re going to have to become the stepping stone for me.

A faint golden glow leaked from his slightly clenched fist.

Whether he knew it or not, the gaze Raul directed toward the window was also burning fiercely.

The semifinal held the following day was quite a close match.

From the very beginning, Raul exchanged serious blows with his opponent and demonstrated an even level of skill throughout the fight.

The result was Raul’s victory.

Raul deliberately exposed an opening to deceive his opponent.

The opponent fell into the trap, and as the gleaming edge of Raul’s longsword flashed before his eyes, he broke into a cold sweat and admitted defeat.

And at last, the day of the final arrived.

With the enthusiastic cheers of the spectators behind him, Raul stepped onto the arena.

“Give us another thrilling match this time!!”

“Young Master Raul~! You’re so cool!!”

“Even if it’s just luck, please win!! I bet my entire paycheck this month on you!!!”

Perhaps because he had displayed a certain level of skill in the semifinal, quite a few people now seemed to be hoping for Raul’s victory.

And as expected, most of the female spectators were cheering wildly as they gazed at him.

Then Dion appeared from the opposite side.

Unlike Raul, Dion had advanced through the tournament by dispatching his opponents quickly and brutally.

Most of those who had faced him had been seriously injured, and some had even lost limbs.

“You’re the best, Dion!! Finish this quickly and let’s win the championship!!!”

“Dion!! Crush your opponent again!! Show that third young master, who doesn’t even know how scary the world is, what the bitter taste of defeat is!”

Some particularly aggressive spectators shouted their support from the stands.

However, under the hostile glares of the angry women and other spectators, their voices gradually died down.

Traditionally, during festival periods, people were given the freedom to cheer for whoever they wanted, whether in taverns or in the stands.

It was a consideration on the part of the Count’s family and the nobles, allowing the residents to release the fatigue and frustrations they had accumulated throughout the year, if only during this period.

In fact, this style of governance was considered natural among prestigious noble families that frequently held various swordsmanship competitions and festivals.

It helped boost attendance at tournaments and festivals while also having a practical effect on calming the people’s dissatisfaction.

Step. Step. Step.

Dion walked right up to Raul and spoke with a vicious expression.

“Hey, scrawny bastard. I don’t know how damn lucky you had to be to make it this far, but you’ll soon realize that showing up here is the greatest misfortune of your life. And those stupid bitches screaming from the stands will soon find out too. They’ll learn that you’re nothing but a pathetic, cowardly piece of trash! I’ll cut off your arms and legs and make you crawl around on the ground!”

The trash talk before the match was quite something.

They said trash talk was permitted to make the tournament more entertaining, but there was probably another purpose behind it as well.

After all, knights frequently used trash talk during duels and on battlefields to intimidate their opponents or distract them mentally.

There were even rumors that Dion had used that foul mouth of his to shake his previous opponents considerably.

But…

Cute.

To Raul, who had already spent more than ten years on battlefields, those words were nothing more than laughable.

However, Raul said nothing.

He merely smirked, scratched inside his ear, and wore an expression as though he were wondering where a dog was barking.

“You arrogant bastard!!”

Enraged, Dion clenched his fist and charged at him, but the knight serving as the referee grabbed him and issued a warning.

Meanwhile, Dion looked at Raul, who had his arms crossed and was mocking him with an expression of utter disdain.