NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12
Chapter 12
As Zeke’s demeanor shifted while staring at him, Dexter let out a sly grin.
‘This little runt. Has he finally decided to give it a shot?’
The more he observed him, the more peculiar the boy seemed.
When countless talents had sought him out, he had never once spared them a glance.
For the first time in ten years, someone had piqued his interest.
‘Let’s see what you’ve got…’
But Zeke suddenly darted towards the rear exit.
Dexter’s eyes, which had anticipated Zeke charging straight at him, momentarily filled with bewilderment.
‘Huh? Look at this brat.’
Pausing for a brief moment, Dexter stomped his foot.
In an instant, he appeared right in front of Zeke, blocking his path.
Zeke gritted his teeth and changed direction once again.
As if enjoying the situation, Dexter quickly intercepted Zeke’s intended route, cutting him off once more.
After retreating slightly, Zeke finally opened his mouth, directing his words toward Dexter.
“Why are you doing this to me, sir?”
Dexter looked at Zeke with an incredulous expression.
“I’ve seen plenty of guys cling to me, begging to be taught something, but this is a first.”
Zeke shook his head and responded.
“I have no such intention. Please just let me go.”
“Really… You mean it? You have absolutely no desire to learn anything from me?”
Zeke nodded firmly.
“I barely have enough time to master what I already know.”
Crack!
At that moment, a vein bulged on Dexter’s forehead.
His figure wavered momentarily before vanishing.
When he reappeared, Dexter tossed a sword in Zeke’s direction.
Zeke caught the claymore and spoke.
“Does this mean I can leave now?”
Crossing his arms, Dexter looked down at Zeke and replied.
“No, you’re not leaving that easily.”
Now, Dexter’s competitive spirit had been ignited.
His figure flickered again.
And in that instant, a single long line cut across the greenhouse, separating Dexter and Zeke.
Dexter looked at Zeke and said, “I don’t care what you do. If you can cross this line, I’ll grant you whatever you want.”
“How can you make such a reckless promise without knowing what I might ask for?”
“I said anything! You cocky little brat!”
With a resigned expression, Zeke lifted the claymore and adjusted his stance.
“You’d better keep your word.”
Dexter smirked wickedly.
“Alright. Come at me if you can.”
With the claymore in hand, Zeke activated his quick-step technique and charged forward.
Dexter stood perfectly still, waiting just beyond the line.
Whoosh!
Though he had been charging forward, the world abruptly flipped, turning the floor into the ceiling and the ceiling into the floor.
‘Huh?’
The ground came rushing toward his face.
Thud!
An immense impact spread across his face.
Before he realized it, Zeke was sprawled on the dirt floor.
‘What is… this?’
With his face buried in the ground, Zeke recalled a similar experience he had endured under his master before his regression.
‘Damn it. It feels even worse after such a long time.’
Zeke sprang up from the ground.
Dexter yawned, nonchalantly picking his ear.
Once again, Zeke charged at Dexter.
Boom!
The result was the same.
He found himself lying on the ground again, the greenhouse ceiling filling his vision.
“Phew…”
Dexter grinned slyly, noting the new intensity in Zeke’s demeanor.
“How is it? Getting a bit more interested now?”
Zeke gripped his claymore tightly and launched himself forward again.
The result remained unchanged.
Watching Zeke rise again, panting, Dexter felt a surge of satisfaction.
‘Arrogant brat. By the time you’ve been thrown down ten or so more times, you’ll be begging at my feet.’
As Dexter predicted, Zeke continued his relentless charges, only to be repeatedly slammed to the ground.
But as time went on, Dexter’s expression began to darken.
‘Wait, how many times has it been now?’
Each time he redirected Zeke’s all-out assaults, the resulting crashes were undoubtedly painful enough to break his back.
Yet, the brat kept rising, again and again, unfazed after ten, twenty… even two hundred times.
By the time the count exceeded two hundred, Dexter began to sense that something was amiss.
With a low voice, he addressed Zeke.
“Kid, just admit defeat already.”
Zeke, staggering as though he might collapse at any moment, panted heavily.
Even so, he gripped his claymore tightly and charged at Dexter once more.
The result was the same.
Boom!
This time, the crash was even louder, as if something had gone terribly wrong in the collision.
And yet, as before, Zeke staggered back to his feet.
Bloodshot, his eyes brimmed with a menacing aura.
The sheer ferocity in Zeke’s gaze made even Dexter flinch.
‘What kind of kid has eyes like that…?’
It was a look more fitting for a mercenary who had survived decades of brutal warzones.
Then it happened.
In an instant, Zeke steadied his stance and bolted forward.
Startled by the sudden shift, Dexter suppressed his confusion and readied himself to counter.
But the reaction this time was entirely different from the previous two hundred attempts.
[The skill Dragon’s Majesty has been activated.]
A chilling, sharp energy swept through the air.
A murderous aura and overwhelming pressure radiated from Zeke, enough to send chills down Dexter’s spine.
For a brief moment, Dexter hesitated.
Zeke didn’t miss the opening.
[The skill Dragon’s Eye has been activated.]
Charging forward with his sword, Zeke utilized Dragon’s Eye to discern movements from Dexter that had previously been invisible to him.
The moment Dexter moved to grab and flip the oncoming sword, Zeke released his grip on the weapon and immediately activated another skill.
[The skill Rapid Step has been activated.]
Letting go of the sword, Zeke lunged forward in a low, rolling posture.
The finish line was within reach.
Then it happened.
Chchchchch—
In an instant, Dexter’s figure split into multiple copies.
The line of Dexter’s doppelgängers formed a barrier, blocking Zeke’s path.
‘What… is this?’
Once again, Zeke’s body was sent flying into the air.
The ground and ceiling flipped.
Crash!
It felt as though his entire spine had shattered.
A voice echoed in his ears.
[Excessive skill usage has pushed fatigue levels beyond the critical threshold.]
[For the user’s safety, consciousness will be forcibly shut down.]
More system messages appeared, but Zeke could no longer register them.
‘No… not now.’
With the finish line just before him, Zeke’s vision blurred.
Soon, his surroundings darkened, and consciousness slipped away.
* * *
When Zeke regained consciousness, he was lying in the bedroom on the Platinum Floor.
“Have you come to, young master?”
As Zeke opened his eyes, Decker approached him.
Rising to a sitting position, Zeke asked, “What happened?”
“You’re asking me the very question I wanted to ask you first, young master.”
Adjusting his monocle, Decker continued.
“You were found unconscious, lying on a sofa in the lobby.”
Zeke quickly pieced together the situation.
‘Duke must’ve carried me here after I passed out.’
Decker rose from his seat and offered, “If you’re feeling unwell, I can summon a healer.”
Zeke waved a hand dismissively at the suggestion.
“No, it’s fine. I must’ve fallen asleep on the sofa after focusing too hard on training earlier.”
Though it was an implausible excuse, Decker simply nodded without further comment.
“Understood. If you require anything, don’t hesitate to call, young master.”
After Decker left, Zeke sat up in bed and replayed the events in the greenhouse in his mind.
“Damn it… I almost made it.”
Zeke knew his own strengths well.
His boundless stamina and remarkable recovery abilities.
He had fallen and risen over two hundred times, carefully leading Duke into underestimating him.
The moment Zeke sensed an opening, he activated Dragon’s Majesty and Dragon’s Eye to exploit it.
It was an unconventional maneuver, but for Zeke, it was the optimal method to conceal the power of his Ether Hall while using every ounce of his abilities to strike at Duke’s vulnerability.
‘As expected of someone who was once a Black Knight. This alone isn’t enough.’
The reason Zeke knew Duke’s true identity was thanks to Andre Draker.
In his previous life, during the course of a mission, Zeke had accidentally discovered the relationship between Andre and Duke.
In the future, Andre Draker would earn the moniker “The Crimson-Eyed Knight.”
Despite not undergoing Pureblood Awakening, Andre had achieved the rank of Red Knight at a young age. The reason was that he had inherited the vision and teachings of Duke Draker.
‘After receiving Duke Draker’s teachings, Andre rapidly advanced even without Pureblood abilities.’
Zeke clenched his teeth in frustration.
‘If I could inherit Duke’s vision, I’d be able to grow stronger much faster.’
At that moment, a message appeared before Zeke’s eyes.
[You have an unread message. Would you like to check it?]
‘An unread message?’
When Zeke selected “Check,” a new window materialized.
[The D-rank skill Rapid Step has evolved into the C-rank skill High-Speed Movement.]
Upon reading the notification, Zeke nodded.
“A C-rank skill. At least I’ve gained something.”
Another message followed shortly after.
[Your strong will has resulted in the growth of your soul.]
[With the growth of your soul, the administrator’s system functions have been activated. Would you like to review these functions?]
‘System functions?’
Though he didn’t fully understand what this meant, Zeke decided to take a look.
[You can activate the following functions using Karma Points:
– Mini-map Activation (20)
– Inventory Activation (20)
– Beginner’s Questbook Activation (45)]
“What is this?”
Zeke tapped on the descriptions for further clarification.
– Mini-map: Allows the user to understand the structure of the surroundings in the form of a map.
– Inventory: Enables the storage of items within a set capacity.
– Beginner’s Questbook: Provides tutorials and missions to aid the efficient growth of the novice administrator.
‘Hmm… I still don’t fully get it.’
The only function that Zeke could somewhat comprehend was the utility of the Inventory Activation.
‘Both the Mini-map and Inventory require 20 Karma Points each to activate.’
With 40 Karma Points currently available, Zeke realized he could activate both the Mini-map and Inventory immediately.
‘I don’t really understand what it means to store items. Does it create something like a bag?’
After contemplating, Zeke decided to use his points to activate the inventory function.
[The inventory function has been activated.]
Ding!
With a signal sound, a grid of five rows and five columns, totaling 25 square slots, appeared before Zeke.
[Designate the item you wish to store, and it will be placed in the inventory.]
Reading the explanation, Zeke tilted his head curiously and picked up the claymore leaning against the side of his bed.
‘Do I just need to think about storing it?’
The moment he thought of storing the claymore, it disappeared from his hand.
“Huh?”
The vanished claymore had appeared within one of the squares in the grid floating before him.
“What is this?”
The claymore occupied two of the 25 available slots.
[The space an item occupies in the inventory varies depending on its size and weight.]
[If you require more storage space, you can expand your inventory with Karma Points.]
[To retrieve a stored item, simply think of its name or form.]
‘Its name or form?’
Zeke focused on the claymore and imagined it.
Swoosh!
The claymore instantly reappeared in his hand.
Even after seeing it with his own eyes, Zeke found it hard to believe.
“This is way better than a dimensional storage box.”
Artifacts capable of distorting space to reduce the volume of items were not unheard of, but they were prohibitively expensive.
In his previous life, Zeke had owned a small dimensional storage box due to the nature of his work, but it had been nowhere near as efficient as this inventory.
“And this thing lets you expand the storage space? This is a jackpot.”
Although he had failed Duke’s test, he had instead gained a new power.
Zeke couldn’t help but marvel at the usefulness of the administrator system.
‘If this is what I get from just the functions of a lower-level administrator…’
He could only imagine how advantageous higher-level functions might be.
The challenge, however, was the Karma Points needed to activate those functions.
“To get more points, I’ll have to hunt mana-infused monsters…”
Originally, Zeke had planned to leisurely hunt monsters in dungeons after reaching the rank of Purple Knight.
However, if Karma Points were this valuable, he would need to move up his dungeon hunting schedule.
“I guess I’ll have to revise my plans.”
Knock, knock!
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Zeke sensed Decker’s presence beyond the door.
“Come in.”
Decker entered the room and addressed Zeke.
“Young master, a message has arrived for you.”
“A message?”
Zeke took the note Decker handed him.
Unfolding the paper, he saw a single line scrawled in crooked handwriting.
[ Kid, if you want to challenge me again, come find me. ]
Seeing the message, Zeke smirked.
‘So, he used a secret technique to stop me at the last moment, but he’s giving me another chance to try again.’
It wasn’t a complete failure.
The opportunity to inherit Duke’s vision was still within reach.
At that moment, Decker addressed Zeke.
“Young master, I have something to report.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve located the blacksmith you mentioned earlier.”
At Decker’s words, Zeke nodded.
“When’s the appointment set for?”
Decker’s expression darkened at the question.
“Well… there’s an issue.”
Adjusting his monocle, Decker continued, “The blacksmith you mentioned has refused the reservation, saying he no longer makes weapons.”