Bad Born Blood - Chapter 11



Only Noblemtl

011

Ilay and I went into the interview room.

Lillian Ramones was wearing a black dress with purple embroidery. As soon as she saw me, she let out a barbed remark.

“Luka, why do you keep avoiding me?”

That must have hurt his pride, because he had never been rejected by anyone in his life.

“… …Because I’m not interested.”

I spoke coldly without even sitting down. I thought I’d draw the line before it got any more annoying.

“Luka. But still… … .”

Ilay tried to mediate with a smiling face. I didn’t even look at him.

“Ilay, shut up. This situation is annoying enough.”

Lillian’s eyes widened in surprise at my words.

The Kartika family is higher in rank than the Ramones family. I spoke rudely to the young master of the Kartika family. It was definitely not a common-sense scene.

“Did I do something wrong to you? Or is there something you don’t like about me?”

Lillian stood up from her seat and walked towards me.

“I don’t have the luxury of meeting women. As you know, I came from an orphanage. Unlike you, if I slip up even once, I’ll never get back up again.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better if we became closer to each other?”

“You don’t understand what I’m saying, Lillian Ramones. If I depend on you to achieve and rise… … then one whim of yours can bring everything down. But a tower built by one’s own strength is not easily destroyed.”

“Are you saying that you will not benefit from the noble family while being friendly with Ilay Kartika? That is contradictory.”

Lillian glanced at Ilay and said, You can think like that, but it’s not something you should say in front of Ilay.

Illei made an awkward expression. He must have found Lillian quite amusing. After all, he wasn’t the type of person to be cruel to a girl who was his younger sister.

“I don’t interact with Illei because he is a member of the Kartika family. He is my colleague and friend whom I can trust with my life. Illei is the same. It is not the family’s halo or reputation that protects my life on the battlefield. It is only my colleagues by my side.”

I spoke without even looking at Ilay, because I didn’t want to see him smirking.

Lillian was speechless and just looked resentful. I thought I would feel better if she just swore at me and left.

I suppressed my fighting reflex, prepared to get slapped.

“… … You don’t even intend to give me the slightest chance.”

Lillian said, suppressing her emotions. She looked up at me and then lowered her head.

I felt a little sorry, too. But I didn’t want to leave even a shred of room for error.

“If you have nothing to say, I will go.”

As I said that, I turned around and left the interview room. Ilay didn’t follow me, but stayed in the room and talked to Lillian.

It was a difficult situation for Ilay, who acted as a mediator. But it was his own fault.

I sat on a bench away from the interview room and waited for Ilay. Soon after, Ilay came out of the interview room and sat down next to me.

“Luca.”

“why?”

“That was too much just now. There was no need to be so squeamish.”

Illei sighed. He too seemed tired from trying to comfort Lillian.

“If it hadn’t gone this far, I wouldn’t have fallen out.”

“That’s true. But why do you reject Lillian so much? You can at least meet her casually.”

I couldn’t answer right away. Even I couldn’t think of the reason right away. It was just an intuitive judgment. I felt that it was right to reject her.

I retrace my train of thought. To me, Lillian was an unknown being.

“… … I can’t figure out why she’s clinging to me. I understand why the dead Claude tried to introduce Lillian to me. She saw me up close, so she thought it was possible and tried to connect us as relatives. However, Lillian doesn’t know much about me. There must be a reason why she’s approaching me, who has nothing to show for it.”

If the reason is curiosity, you should stay away from her even more. Curiosity is an emotion that evaporates easily. Even children in the slums throw their toys into the trash can when they get tired of them, as if they never cared for them.

“To put it simply, since I don’t know much, I’m just rejecting it. If I keep doing that, I’ll end up growing old and dying as a widower.”

Ilay blurted out provocatively. I bit my lip as I tried to get angry.

I don’t know about Lillian. I couldn’t understand why she would approach me. Her identity and intentions were completely unknown.

“No matter what you say, my decision remains the same. Never bring up Lillian again.”

The unknown is dangerous. I didn’t want to be the first person to try a strange fruit that I didn’t know was poisonous or not.

* * *

It was about a month after I started learning the Archies fighting techniques under Kinuan. Kinuan took me to the lower zone.

We took the elevator down and passed the checkpoint that served as the boundary between the upper and lower levels.

“It’s a familiar place to you and me.”

Kinuan said as he entered the lower area.

The upper districts were in the center of the city, while the lower districts were outside. The further out you went, the more the security became empty, and the streets were dirty with garbage that hadn’t been cleaned for decades.

To be honest, I had forgotten my roots all this time. The sticky, seedy life at the bottom.

It feels new to come here again.

“What, get out of the way.”

“You were just standing there, kid.”

There was a lot of noise on the street. While walking down the street, I saw two fights between homeless people and was almost pickpocketed four times.

‘A spicy yet lukewarm air.’

Old memories kept coming to me. My consciousness was groping back to the past.

Beneath the capital city of Akbaran lies a lava field. Geothermal energy pumped from there sustains the entire city. Unfiltered pollutants and heat from the power plant linger in the lower-level areas where the poor live.

“Luka, this way.”

Kinuan, wearing a hood, turned to me and said. He pointed to an alley.

‘He is more knowledgeable about the geography of the lower classes than I am.’

It seemed like he had been to the lower areas often.

Even if he was from the lower classes, I wondered if someone who had been a guard for decades would be so knowledgeable about the lower classes and have frequent opportunities to visit them.

Thud, thud.

As I walked down the alley, my senses were sharp. I could feel the gazes of homeless people and beggars. They would turn into robbers if I showed them an opening.

The alleys between the buildings with repeated illegal extensions were like a maze. Only a few ray of light, like thread passing through a needle, reached the floor, and the smell of rotten organic matter and rusted iron stung my nose as I went deeper.

‘I feel uneasy.’

I raised my arm and stared at the prosthetic hand without even artificial skin. The prosthetic hand and leg I was currently wearing had low output. It was only good enough for daily life. The sense of inversion was terrifying. It felt like my limbs were chained.

Kinuan forced me to wear low-power prosthetic arms and legs during this outing. I don’t know what his purpose was, but I had to do as he said in order to receive his training.

‘With a body like this, I can’t even dodge a bullet. If someone were to attack me from outside my senses, I’d be helpless.’

That’s why I was more nervous than usual.

‘It seems like I haven’t learned much under Kinuan during that time… … .’

For a month, I visited Kinuan almost every day. Each time, we had five sessions, each lasting about an hour. There was no special teaching.

Kinuan wanted me to steal the techniques rather than teach them directly.

‘If you have an eye for detail that you can’t steal even if you see it, you can’t learn it even if you’re taught it.’

Kinuan said that, perhaps sensing my discontent. He was not wrong. I too have come to understand the nature of Aki’s fighting techniques to some extent.

… … The fighting techniques of Akiest were clearly different from the fighting techniques I had learned so far.

If I understand correctly so far, Akiess was a way to recycle the fighting skills I had.

Traditional combat skills learning is a process of learning and mastering specific skills. However, Akeis combat skills analyze and dismantle my abilities and reassemble them. In other words, it is close to optimizing the combat system.

To borrow Kinuan’s words, he even used the term meta-battlecraft.

‘That’s why there are so many fools who only learn the basics and then run wild using Archie’s fighting techniques.’

There are probably only a very small number of users who are proficient in Archetype combat techniques.

Before I knew it, the narrow alley was getting wider. As the number of people increased, the place became more lively.

“The day I became a guard cadet, I thought I would never come to the lower areas again. I wanted to live a life where I wouldn’t have to breathe this worm-like air.”

I said, kicking the pickpocket who was reaching into my pocket. The pickpocket cursed and ran away. This is the fifth time.

“You’re the type that’s going to get ahead. You’re obsessive and have the talent to match.”

I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic or complimentary.

Going a little further, the alley ended and a wide open space and market appeared. Looking up, the buildings, which had been precariously expanded and branched out, were entangled like spiderwebs, blocking the sky. People were buying and selling things under the buildings that could collapse at any moment.

“It’s a black market.”

I stood next to Kinuan and said, “I’ve never been here before either.

“It is the freest place in the empire.”

Kinuan said with shining eyes.

“It’s the center of chaotic chaos.”

I said in a loud voice. The reason I had never been to a black market was simple.

‘Because it’s ridiculously dangerous.’

There were more than a few children who disappeared after visiting the black market out of curiosity. Even if they survived, one or two of their eyes or organs were missing.

Well, it was a strange feeling to see the black market I had only imagined as a child in person.

‘… … It’s an item from several generations ago, but they’re blatantly selling it for military use.’

Military weapons and even medical equipment were being sold on stalls. All the shop owners were armed, and gangs that were acting as security guards were walking around the streets, as if marking their territory.

Towering.

I stopped walking. It was because Kinuan, who was walking ahead, had stopped. He was looking at the building guarded by the gang.

“The audience entrance is over there.”

The guard on duty told Kinuan. The area where his eyes should be had a pair of goggles implanted into it, and under his artificial skin, circuits that weren’t shielded from light glowed like show-off tattoos.

“I have some business for the manager here.”

Kinuan spoke calmly. Gang hesitated at his confident attitude.

“What is your relationship with Brother Aleph?”

“Oh, I see the administrator’s name is Aleph.”

As soon as he heard that, Gang frowned.

“Have you ever seen such a crazy kid! Get out of here right now?”

The gang threatens Kinuan with their guns. It’s a rare sight. How many people in the Empire have ever pointed a gun at a guard and survived… .

If Kinuan reveals his identity here, that gang will piss themselves and fall over.

Talk.

Kinuan tapped his thigh with his finger. It was a signal to me.

Swish.

I moved cautiously, keeping my posture low and out of the gang’s line of sight. And moving forward only took a moment.

Kick!

I approached the gang’s flank and wrapped my arms around his neck and shoulders, choking him. The gun cocked upwards and Kinuan stepped out of the line of fire.

The gang was shaking from the pressure I was putting on them. It would be difficult to break free with brute force alone since the joints were wrapped around them.

Kinuan snatched the gangster’s gun and turned it around. Soon, the muzzle of his gun was touching the gangster’s forehead.

“I think it would be best to call Aleph right away. It wouldn’t be a bad story for you either. If you understand, nod your head.”

The gang nodded their heads. I saw Kinuan’s wink and let go of my pressure.

“Ugh, ugh. This… … .”

The gang swallowed their curses and went inside the building. I looked at the building the gang had entered and let out a question.

“By the way, what is this place?”

“It’s a stadium.”

I was silent for a moment, as if I had broken down. I thought I knew why Kinuan had come here. Why he had told me to come with weak limbs.

“… … Is what I think correct?”

“I like you because you’re excellent. There’s no need to explain yourself in detail.”

I sighed, resisting the urge to punch Kinuan in the face.

Creak.

I looked down at my hands. I felt the weakness of my grip. I had to fight in the arena with these hands that couldn’t even crush rocks. I was already sighing.