Bloodhound’s Regression Instinct

Chapter 20

The next day, the central auditorium on the first floor.

The auditorium was filled with trainees who had gathered before entering the Blade Mountains.

But it was hard to find the same clamor as before.

A gloomy atmosphere like a portrait gallery.

But even there, there was someone who exuded presence.

“I’m in a bad mood.”

A short-haired, short girl trainee.

She was Lorena Beowulf.

She did not hide her displeasure and said.

“It’s just one test that’s over, but looking at this, I don’t think there will be many people who will survive until the end.”

Then, one of the trainees who was leaning against the wall snorted at her words.

“I don’t understand why you’re making such a pointless noise.

Do you want to make some rude remarks?”

“What?”

Lorena turned her head sharply toward him.

“What do you mean what? I mean, you’re being annoying with your snotty talk.”

The one who was provoking her with his temper was Cruel Dwight, who she didn’t like from his usual behavior.

The surprising thing was that he was quite obedient in the first test, when she expected him to do something lowly.

But he was still a very unpleasant guy.

“Hah!”

“Why? Are you annoyed? Then do you want to tell your daddy? Well, go ahead and do that.”

As Cruel kept fanning the flames, Lorena’s eyes sank coldly.

She hated her father, the Duke of Beowulf.

“…You.”

Lorena clenched her fist.

Her fist trembled with anger.

Cruel just sneered at her like that.

“Or do you want to fight me? I always welcome it.

I’m sick of being rated below you.”

“Yeah? Then we should do that.”

The people around them also looked at the two and discreetly widened the gap.

An atmosphere that seemed to explode at any moment.

Then, someone intervened.

“Hey, hey! Stop fighting.”

A charming voice and a handsome face.

It was Kasa Iphrain.

He had somehow reached Lorena’s side and grabbed her wrist.

“He’s like that every day.

So stop it, okay?”

“Let go of this.”

Lorena glared at Kasa with a cold eye.

Even facing her murderous intent, Kasa just smiled.

Squeak.

“If you cause trouble here, it will affect your goal, won’t it?”

No matter how much he had fallen, Kasa was the heir of the Iphrain family, which had produced the most nobles in history.

He already knew why Lorena, who lacked nothing, volunteered for the Dragon Knight project.

So he warned her.

Don’t mess up your purpose by causing trouble.

Lorena bit her lower lip.

‘Phew…’

Lorena quietly let go of her fist.

But Cruel didn’t stop there.

“Oh? Did you two start dating or something?

If so, why don’t you just go outside and learn how to make flowers? Stop doing things that don’t suit you.”

As Lorena ignored Cruel’s cheap provocation and turned her body, he said.

“Ah! Do you want to take the place of the dead heir of Beowulf? Why didn’t you say that earlier? Then I could have been more considerate, who knows?”

Lorena’s body stopped abruptly.

“What did you just say? Say it again.”

“I said, do you want to take the place of your dead brother, huh? Why? Did you come to this shabby place to get recognition? Hehe.”

Losing his reason at Cruel’s last touch on the taboo of the family.

Whooosh-

“Uh? What!”

As Lorena suddenly raised her mana, Kasa let go of her wrist.

“Die!”

Lorena rushed at Cruel with a fierce momentum.

Cruel, as if he had been waiting, unfolded his arms and unleashed his power.

That was when the two were about to collide.

Ooh!

Suddenly, a sense of presence.

Lorena and Cruel both felt their throats dry at the same time.

Thud!

The two quickly kicked the ground and distanced themselves.

Their eyes turned to the right, where they felt the presence.

There, a trainee with a buzz cut was walking leisurely as if he was taking a walk.

Lorena wiped the sweat that ran down her neck without a break.

‘Who is that? I’ve never seen that face before…?’

She scrutinized the buzz cut trainee.

But she couldn’t think of anyone like that.

And above all, the number engraved on his chest.

‘974?’

It was probably the lowest number, except for the trainees who had died.

“Oh? The kids are more sensitive than most people.

You noticed me like a ghost. Amazing, huh?”

The buzz cut trainee, who was mumbling to himself, suddenly raised his hand and looked this way.

“Long time no see?”

He looked like he was talking to an old friend.

Lorena tilted her head at his appearance.

‘Do I know him?’

But she realized too late.

The buzz cut was not walking towards her.

“…Uh. You’re alive.”

He was heading towards Cruel.

Lorena narrowed her eyes as she saw Cruel’s mood change.

He was so nervous that he didn’t even look at the buzz cut trainee.

And.

‘Why is his voice shaking like that?’

He was hardly recognizable as the same Cruel who had been rude to her just before.

The buzz cut trainee curled his lips up.

Thud.

“Hey. What’s with the ‘you’re alive’ thing, huh? You’re alive. You’re making me feel bad.”

He wrapped his arm around Cruel’s neck.

His face looked thin, but his arms were quite thick.

Cruel flinched.

“Th…this…let go…!”

Squeak.

The buzz cut trainee put more strength into his words and lifted his head.

“Huh? Who are you?”

Lorena was shocked to see him calmly holding Cruel by his side.

She knew how strong Cruel was.

And his aggressive personality, like a fighting dog.

‘Did Cruel back down?’

But she hid her feelings and asked calmly.

“Who are you to interfere with a duel?”

“You’ll find out who I am later.”

The buzz cut trainee tilted his head.

“A duel?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, that was a duel?”

The buzz cut trainee shook his head and tossed his hair back.

His bare face was revealed.

But Lorena and Kasa still didn’t know who he was.

“Oh, I thought.”

The buzz cut trainee, Yan, looked at Lorena and Kasa with a grin.

“You kids were playing house or something.”

Then he turned his gaze slightly and looked at the chief instructor on the central podium.

“…!”

“…!”

Lorena and Kasa just stared at Yan with stiff faces.

* * *

The first test that took place in the Blade Mountains ended with unexpected damage due to the Lich.

Because of him, about a hundred trainees were killed by the aftermath of his magic.

It was enough reason to postpone the test.

But the special commander and the chief instructor did not do that and ordered the test to resume immediately.

Because of that, the first test, which was almost over, was filled with a week of time and proceeded again.

Some trainees began to stand out.

Lorena, number 1.

Kasa, number 2.

Cruel, number 3.

Roman, number 12.

They each achieved remarkable feats in the Blade Mountains, either with their own forces or alone.

Roman, number 12, led his pack and cleared most of the goblin territory.

Cruel, number 3, hunted monsters like crazy after the test resumed, and finally managed to catch a troll.

Kasa, number 2, gathered the trainees from the commoners and the foreign lands and subjugated the orc tribe.

Lorena, number 1, succeeded in catching the ogre, called the tyrant of the mountain, alone without the help of her followers.

Even compared to the previous generations of the Dragon Knight project, these were overwhelmingly impressive results.

That’s why the instructors were flustered by the appearance of the Lich, but also very excited.

But.

This was only the truth that was revealed on the surface.

* * *

The chief instructor pointed to the bulletin board that the instructors had put up with a bored face.

“Check your ranks over there. You know that your future depends on those ranks, right?”

His eyes scanned over the ones who had shown the most prominence this time.

He would have been interested in Lorena, Kasa, and Cruel before…

‘But they all look like rocks to me after I met him.’

The chief instructor looked at Yan, who was yawning in the distance.

There was nothing remarkable about him in his record.

He was just one of the special agents who had been bought from a slave trader.

Rather, he was weak and small back then, unlike now.

So he was number 974?

He was evaluated as someone who had to participate to fill the quota.

It was not the information that the chief instructor needed.

But.

There was something that intrigued him.

Origin – Unknown

Nothing was known about his origin.

The Dragon Knight project only allowed participation after a thorough background check, because of its secrecy.

But a kid whose origin, age, and even name ‘Yan’ were unknown, participated?

That meant only one thing.

‘There’s no one but the high-ranking nobles of at least the duke level who can pull off such a big deal in the empire.’

He must have received support from them, and had some unknown information as a kid.

For example, the relationship between him and the special commander, or the daughter who was the special commander’s weakness.

‘I’m sure he knows something more… How do I get him to talk?’

It was too risky to torture him right away, since the background was unclear.

“I like that kid a lot.”

And above all, the crown prince, who had left for the imperial palace with the special commander, showed interest in him.

Maybe that was a warning to him.

Don’t mess with that kid.

‘Hmm! How do I get him to open up? How do I set the mood?’

But he erased that thought from his mind soon.

That kid, who was so soft and cute, wouldn’t be intimidated by a simple slap.

He had to throw him something else as a carrot, something that would make him spit out something in return.

‘It’s amazing that I have to worry about this because of one trainee.’

The chief instructor’s eyes sparkled for a moment.

He thought of a good way to lure him.

‘This might make him quite interested, right?’

The chief instructor held back the laughter that was about to burst out and continued to announce.

“From 1st to 10th place, you are in the upper class, from 11th to 100th place, you are in the middle class, and the rest are in the lower class. Check your rank and line up according to your grade.”

After the announcement.

The trainees rushed to the bulletin board that the instructors had put up. They each looked for their number and checked their rank, and then turned their eyes to the other side.

They had something else they were curious about.

The top rankers.

The names and ranks of nearly 800 people were written, so high that they had to crane their necks to see.

The noise also grew louder.

“Wow… In the end, those four took everything.”

“Didn’t you see them in the Blade Mountains? They were flying around. That’s natural, if anything.”

“If you haven’t found someone to follow yet, come below 12th place! This time, when we catch the goblins, it will be…

Keeh!”

“Prince Dwight seems to have become more brutal than outside…”

5th place. Roman, number 12, Upper

4th place. Cruel Dwight, number 3, Upper

“No matter what, isn’t Kasa’s side better, who guarantees safety and teamwork?”

“Even if he says he guarantees it, there’s no avoiding the risk in the end.

But Lady Lorena is different. Do you think she would say that after seeing her catch an ogre by herself?”

“These bastards are really, so noisy! Did you all come to play?”

3rd place. Kasa Iphrain, number 2, Upper

2nd place. Lorena Beowulf, number 1, Upper

“Huh? Something’s weird.”

“Yeah, wait a minute…! Lady Lorena is second? Is this wrong?”

“What?”

“Second?”

The trainees’ faces began to harden as they realized the sign.

There were also some confused voices.

“What is this?”

“Is…is this wrong?”

The words written at the top of the bulletin board.

1st place. Yan, number 974, Top

“Ni, nine hundred and seventy-four?!”

“Does that make sense, that?”

“Yan? Who the hell is Yan? Does anyone know him?”

There were names and numbers that they had never heard or seen before.

The top rankers, except for Cruel, were also confused.

But.

Yan, who was looking at the bulletin board from the back, turned his body back as if it was natural.

He was ashamed to be compared with these brats in the first place.

‘It’s just the beginning.’

Being first was obvious.

He was going to end this Dragon Knight project with his solo run.