Genius Gamer Reborn into a Family of Heroes

Chapter 79

The Deeply Rooted Tree

Harang had returned from his mission, defeated Kyle Paul Kaladan in a life-and-death duel, and then promptly sought out the Sacred Sword Terandal to win against its avatar. All of this had taken only a week.

In short, it could be said that within just a week, Harang had stirred a storm within the Kaladan family.

“…Kyle, that idiot lost? Even if he’s foolish, how could he lose when he had the skills of a 5-star knight and even received a Summon Mail?”

Thud! The sound of a teacup being set down echoed throughout the room, reverberating as if it were coming from a cave.

The man who could sit so arrogantly in the most prestigious seat on the highest terrace of the Red White Palace, the first-ranked residence of the direct line, was none other than Charen Paul Kaladan.

The second son of Duke Kalel and an 8-star knight, he had once been the strongest candidate to succeed as the next duke. However, after the accident that resulted in the loss of his right arm, he had been pushed out of the line of succession and became a Polden Knight of the family, now without any significant power.

Currently, though Charen no longer held any authority, his wife, Rachel, was shaking up the family’s political sphere. Despite this, Charen still kept a close eye on the affairs of the family.

“Yes. It was a complete defeat.”

Standing before him with his head bowed was Hiron Paul Kaladan, a 3rd-generation family member.

Hiron was also considered the most promising candidate for the next duke, and at only his early 30s, he had already reached the level of an 8-star knight, walking an extraordinary path of genius.

Most people would think the same thing:

‘If things stay as they are, Lord Hiron might become the next head of the family!’

But such thoughts came only from fools who understood nothing.

With a genius like Harang Paul Kaladan spreading his wings and soaring, how could someone like Hiron simply sit quietly and wait?

Most of the family’s blood relatives kept a low profile, avoiding any major incidents while focusing on advancing their swordsmanship. This was because making even a small mistake could result in a heavy political attack, or worse, getting involved in unnecessary matters could cause them to fall behind in their training, allowing other blood relatives to catch up or widen the gap.

In that sense, Harang could be considered a true irregular.

From the moment he was adopted, he had been causing trouble, yet he grew in his swordsmanship several times faster than others. He had even dabbled in magic, where he also displayed an exceptional talent.

When a sun shines too brightly, other radiant stars inevitably fade in its overpowering light.

No matter how much Hiron excelled, in the end, he would lose his brilliance and fall before Harang’s rise.

“Hmm… that boy must be quite a nuisance, isn’t he, son?”

Charen spoke to Hiron with amusement. Although he had distanced himself from the family’s affairs, he still remained fully aware that his son was aiming for the position of family head.

“…Yes, he is quite a nuisance.”

Though it bruised his pride to admit that an adopted child, who hadn’t even lived half as long as he had, made him anxious, Hiron had to be honest with his father.

Once considered one of the greatest geniuses, his father had the sharp insight to see through people’s minds. Though he had halted at 8-star level, there were evaluations suggesting that, had he continued to train diligently, he could have aimed for the rank of a 10-star swordsman.

“Do you wish for me to help you with something?”

“…If you were to assist me, Father, it would feel as though I’d gained the strength of an army.”

“Haha. You say things you don’t even mean. I no longer have any power, and even my swordsmanship has fallen behind yours, leaving me nothing but an empty shell. How could I possibly help you?”

“But weren’t you, Father, once hailed as a talent extraordinary enough to reach the 10-star level? If you were to give me advice with your keen insight and foresight…”

“My son.”

A shadow fell across Charen’s eyes.

“Harang Paul Kaladan. I heard that child, at 4-star level, challenged the Sacred Sword Terandal… and won.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what that means?”

“…That the boy’s talent is exceptional, I suppose.”

Hiron answered as such, but Charen shook his head.

“Talent? It’s certainly outstanding. But among our bloodline, even among your generation, there are those who, upon reaching 4-star, could have challenged Terandal and might have won. Yet they didn’t.”

At those words, Hiron was left speechless.

For Hiron himself had never dared challenge Terandal.

The reason was simple.

‘Because I was afraid of losing.’

Put another way…

“Harang, that boy, does not fear defeat. It means he cannot be stopped by petty means. Using Kyle Paul Kaladan to defeat him in a duel? Nonsense. That kind of method won’t stop him from soaring. Even if he were to lose this time, he would only use that defeat as a springboard to leap even higher.”

“Father…”

“I… we, could not do the same. Do you know why my arm was cut off?”

“Well, it was during the duel with the Demon Knight…”

“Wrong.”

Charen laughed bitterly.

“I cut it off myself.”

“…What? Father?”

Hiron was genuinely shocked, his eyes wavering. It was the first time he had ever heard this story.

“The reason is simple. I had realized my limit. I, too, once thought I was something great. I believed I could one day reach the 10-star level. Everyone in the world told me so.”

“F-Father, what are you talking about…”

“But it was arrogance. Everyone praised my talent, and because they lifted me up so high, I became afraid of defeat. I was terrified of the finger-pointing and cold stares that would come after a loss. That fear eventually blocked my growth, and later, I understood.”

Charen closed his eyes.

“There were countless ‘geniuses with the potential to reach 10-star,’ yet among them, those who actually achieved 10-star were so rare you could count them on one hand. I was just one of the many, so I cut off my arm.”

By doing that, he could avoid being labeled as a “fake genius who never reached 10-star”…

At least he could be remembered as a “true genius who tried to reach 10-star but fell.”

The final desperate act of a father who wished to fall as a genius until the end.

Upon hearing this pathetic, revolting, and disgraceful secret of his father, Hiron trembled, lowering his head deeply.

“Do you understand now? Geniuses fall because they fear defeat. Just like I did. The absence of that fear is like wings for a genius.”

Charen casually lifted his teacup to his lips as he spoke.

“My son. Do you have wings?”

Hiron clenched his trembling fist tightly.

The only thing he could manage to say, while frowning as hard as he could, was one thing.

“…Father, you’re a coward.”

After saying that, Hiron turned and walked away with rough steps, and Charen, with a bitter smile, nodded.

“Yes, you’re right. It’s the dreadful fate of a knight bound by honor and fame. In the end, we may die as knights, but we could never become heroes…”

Charen quietly closed his eyes.

At some point, he had begun to feel his body gradually stiffening.

Like many of his ancestors who had failed to continue their sword training, he, too, would turn completely silver and face death.

‘Until then, if only I could witness a bit more of my son’s growth…’

That would be wonderful, but he wasn’t sure whether his ancestors would permit him that.

* * *

The duel between Harang and Kyle was not an ordinary duel; it was both a “rank duel” and a “life-and-death duel.”

The act of blood relatives engaging in a duel, risking each other’s lives, carried a sacred significance.

In other words, although Kyle had survived despite his defeat, since it was a life-and-death duel and a rank duel, he had to pay the price for his loss to Harang.

“Henceforth, I declare that Kyle Paul Kaladan’s rank will be below that of Harang Paul Kaladan.”

“Kyle Paul Kaladan shall not, under any circumstances, challenge Harang Paul Kaladan to a duel, and unless a rematch is formally conducted in the future, the ranking shall remain unchanged.”

“If Kyle Paul Kaladan attacks Harang Paul Kaladan outside of a proper duel, his dantian will be destroyed, his hands severed, and he will be exiled from the family.”

A declaration of complete defeat.

Following that, Kyle had to present the spoils of his defeat to Harang. Honestly, Harang had wanted to take the Summon Mail, but that felt excessive, and he already possessed a Kaladan Summon Mail, so he chose something else.

“Kyle Paul Kaladan is ordered to transfer the artifact ‘Round Point’ to Harang Paul Kaladan.”

“Ugh…”

Kyle’s face twisted into an expression of genuine regret, his hands shaking as he handed over the box containing the artifact to Harang.

There were two reasons Harang chose that particular artifact.

One thing was that the artifact wasn’t originally Kyle’s but something he had secretly borrowed.

Another was that the artifact’s effect was far beyond what Harang had expected.

━━━━[Artifact]━━━━

Round Point

A necklace crafted by the wise man Ailan, who had vast knowledge but constantly worried about his meager mana reserves.

It accumulates mana in the necklace’s core over 24 hours, then releases it into the air when triggered.

Effect: Dense mana disperses into the air. If absorbed through mana breathing or cultivation, the user can recover mana equivalent to a 1-star level. The amount recovered depends on the user’s ability.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Since this world was reality, it didn’t have ridiculous items like a ‘mana recovery potion’ as games did. However, artifacts that assisted in mana recovery certainly existed, and this particular one was among the higher-grade artifacts.

While it didn’t offer an absurd effect of instantly refilling the user’s mana, Harang’s breathing technique could undoubtedly fully utilize the necklace’s effect.

“I’ll make good use of this, brother.”

“Guh…”

Kyle was on the verge of shedding blood tears. From his perspective, this artifact was something he had borrowed from another sponsor specifically for this life-and-death duel.

If it was taken from him like this, he would have to compensate for the loss entirely out of his own pocket. How in the world could he ever replace an artifact so rare that only a few existed in the world?

This issue would likely cause Kyle considerable headaches for quite some time.

Tucking the artifact into his chest, Harang spoke one last time to Kyle.

“Brother, due to this life-and-death duel, you are now officially ranked below me.”

“…So, what? Are you planning to torment me now?”

“No.”

He had already celebrated thoroughly the last time they met, so there was no need to continue.

“Since you can no longer touch me, I won’t touch you either. I won’t care what you do from now on.”

“…What?”

“If any other brother attempts to harm me, they’ll end up just like you… officially ranked below me. And just like you, they won’t touch me either. I’ll steadily build my position that way.”

“And by doing that… what are you trying to achieve?”

“I will kill no one.”

“…!!”

It was only then that Kyle recalled the first day of the Raw Stone Training Squadron.

At that time, Harang was only seven years old.

He had burned his own body in a duel against trainees several times larger than himself, all to protect his blood relative and rival, Lady Charen.

The desire to protect his family.

That unshakable resolve hadn’t faded over time; rather, it had grown stronger and more solid, now serving as the unwavering foundation of Harang’s convictions.

“Don’t worry too much. I mean it. I will make every effort to ensure no one dies… So, brother, from now on, walk your own path.”

After saying that, Harang turned and disappeared.

“W-What…?”

Kyle, his expression blank with shock, stared at Harang’s departing figure in a daze.

Without a doubt, Harang was much younger than him. Naturally, he should have seemed like nothing more than a child.

But why did he suddenly look like a dignified knight clad in pure white armor?

“A knight…?”

Why did Kyle see the image of a noble knight in his retreating figure?

‘W-What am I thinking?’

He quickly shook his head to banish the illusion, but the sight of that moment burned itself deeply into his mind.

It was something… that Kyle would never forget for the rest of his life.