Bad Born Blood - Chapter 15



Only Noblemtl

015

I visited Kinuan for the first time in a while. It was my first visit since visiting the stadium.

Kinuan was reading a paper book in this day and age.

“It looks like you’ve gotten used to the new battle logic?”

Kinuan said as he looked at me. He put the book down, covering it so that the cover could not be seen.

“I became stronger thanks to what I learned from the instructor. I could definitely see it when I sparred with other cadets.”

“It’s the power you originally had. You just changed how you used it. It’s a kind of rearrangement and optimization.”

I was looking forward to seeing Kinuan. My abilities had improved noticeably in just one month. My body was throbbing and burning. I couldn’t wait any longer.

“I want to move on to the next step.”

“… … Do you remember the name of the book I was reading when I closed it?”

Kinuan spoke out of the blue. I hesitated and then opened my mouth.

“I don’t know.”

All I remembered was that the book was blue. Kinuan, who had heard what I said, tapped the table. A sharp eye-shaped pattern appeared as a hologram.

“In the old language, Akies means sharp eyes. Do you know what that means?”

“That’s insightful.”

My answer was quick, as if I had prepared it. Kinuan opened his eyes wide, as if he was slightly surprised.

It’s a simple deduction. Archie’s combat technique is a combat system that maximizes insight to check and optimize the surrounding environment, yourself, and the enemy.

“… … The core of Aki’s fighting techniques has always been insight. It has always been the beginning and the end.”

I added.

“You got it perfectly, Luca.”

Kinuan never spoke directly about the true nature of Aki’s fighting techniques. He always mentioned them indirectly, through metaphors and actions.

Learning and approaching the Archies combat techniques with just those fragments was the qualification for initiation and acquisition.

I had a vague idea of ​​what the next step in Archie’s combat skills would be. Kinuan continued his questions.

“Do you remember how many times I had to knock on the table to activate the hologram?”

I don’t know this either. I never paid attention to it.

“I don’t know.”

In response to my answer, Kinuan knocked on the table again to turn off the hologram. He closed his eyes slightly and spoke.

“You have a terminal in your left pocket. And your right leg has a neural synchronization error. You’ll have that fixed later. When you came into my office, you opened the door with your left hand, even though you’re not left-handed. That’s because you suddenly increased the output of your right arm during the morning training, so it’s still numb.”

I unconsciously touched the top of my shirt. As Kinuan had said, there was a terminal in my left pocket. And as he had said, my right arm was still numb from the nervous system overwork.

‘It’s also true that the synchronization of the right leg is not perfect.’

Even I was unaware of my own imbalance. It would probably take a few more days for the errors to grow and I would realize something was wrong.

Kinuan had a keen eye for detail. He knew my body better than I did.

“Is this the ultimate in observation?”

“Don’t miss even the smallest details. We can piece together small clues to get a full picture. Do you remember the question you asked me last time?”

I know very well, and I haven’t heard the answer yet.

“You said that even if a fight breaks out in Aleph’s office, the instructor will be able to get out safely.”

At that time, there were gangs with guns waiting inside and outside the Aleph office. At that time, we were practically unarmed, and no matter how good our skills were, it would have been difficult to get out without getting hurt.

“When the battle starts, I will lower my body and get out of the line of fire.”

I frowned. I wasn’t convinced.

“The ones with the guns are Aleph and the gang. If their first action is to hide, they will miss the opportunity to attack and become a beehive.”

“You will seize the opportunity to attack. In that situation, you will subdue the gang and Aleph in front of you, even if it means getting shot.”

I honestly didn’t like Kinuan’s answer. What I wanted was a brilliant way to break the situation.

“What would you have done if I hadn’t been there? What if I had hidden or run away instead of attacking the gang?”

“If you weren’t here, I would have avoided that situation in the first place. I would have talked to a crowded place. And the premise that you would run away or hide is ridiculous. You are a soldier trained to be aggressive. You don’t make self-preservation-based judgments and actions.”

That’s right. I would have taken the risk of getting injured and somehow subdued Gang and Aleph.

“After all, if a fight had broken out, I would have been injured in some way.”

Kinuan was assuming my injury as if it were a given. For the first time, his face felt hateful.

“Luka, you’re mistaken. The Archieus combat technique is not a miracle or magic that transcends real logic. It can’t make the impossible possible. I have more experience and better judgment than you. In that situation, it’s right for you to act as a shield. You probably didn’t notice that Aleph’s fingers were modified into guns, and you probably didn’t know that there was a secret passage beyond the left closet.”

Kinuan, who noticed my dissatisfaction, continued to speak.

“You were planning to take out the guards first, then take out Aleph, who pulls out his gun. But if you did that, you’d get shot in the back of the head. Aleph can shoot with a finger-bending motion. I need to hide and get out of the way of the target, so that you can take out the gang and stop Aleph. Do you understand now?”

I couldn’t even make a sound. I didn’t know that Aleph had modified his fingers into guns. That was a variable that wasn’t in my plans. Of course, I didn’t know that there was a secret passage.

“… … I understand.”

Kinuan’s observation and perception abilities were superhuman. Even in the same space and time, he was able to grasp much more information than I.

And there was something I wanted to check here.

“Excessive expansion of cognitive abilities causes brain dysfunction.”

Kinuan tapped his temples with his fingers.

“Know this, Luca. The Archieus fighting style uses all of the brain’s available resources and overworks it. Do you know what this means? It means it cannot be used as a regular fighting style for the Royal Guard.”

I flinched when I heard those words. My heart sank. I had been missing something. Soon I realized what Kinuan meant.

“You can’t use Archie’s combat techniques while wearing the Legion! Damn it… … .”

I couldn’t hold back my swearing. Someday, when I become a member of the Royal Guard, I will be granted a full-armored legion. When there is an important battle, I will go to the battlefield as a member of the legion.

The Archies fighting techniques meant nothing to me when I was wearing the Legion.

The Legion, a fully armored suit that is packed with the Empire’s most advanced technology, cannot be worn by anyone at all times. Because it uses high-bandwidth signals, it requires all of the brain’s available resources. Even with that, you have to attach auxiliary processing devices to control the Legion. Even elite soldiers who have trained their entire lives!

I should have thought of this sooner.

My month seemed meaningless. I suddenly started to hate Kinuan. I was so excited that I felt like my breathing was going to get faster, so I took a deep breath.

“The Archies combat technique is useless for a guard who has been granted a legion. Unless there are special circumstances.”

Acquiring and mastering the Archie’s combat technique required both talent and time. It was an absurdly inefficient combat technique. At best, it only helped to add some variety to the combat logic.

“Heh heh… … .”

Kinuan shrugged his shoulders and laughed as if he found it amusing. It seems he can still laugh like that even when he sees my frowning face.

“If I had known from the beginning that it would be incompatible with the Legion, I wouldn’t have tried to learn it. It’s all… … my own fault for being stupid.”

I can’t blame Kinuan. If I had been a little more clear-headed, I would have figured out the true nature of Akies’ fighting techniques sooner.

“You’re really excellent. You’re so good that it’s almost a shame. I thought it would take at least a couple more months for them to notice.”

I couldn’t smile even at the sincere compliment.

“Since you’re not always wearing a Legion uniform as a Royal Guard member, it would be helpful to learn Archie’s combat techniques. However, I don’t think it’s necessary to master them to the point of increasing the risk of brain dysfunction.”

He said, barely suppressing his anger.

“So, is this it?”

“Thank you for everything so far, Instructor Kinuan. I will visit you often.”

I said, saluting.

“Luka, if you change your mind, you’re always welcome.”

That won’t happen.

* * *

I hadn’t visited Kinuan for over two weeks. Then came a call from Captain Heilas.

It had been three months since I had seen the captain of the guard. He seemed to be having a very busy schedule.

‘Illei said that there were signs of rebellion within the Empire. That’s why the captain of the guard is busy… … .’

As I was reminiscing, I stood in front of the captain’s office. I saw the golden sword symbol of the guard. It wasn’t flashy, but it was elaborate.

Chewy!

Before I could even manipulate it, the doors opened wide. I saw the captain of the guard sitting there saluting.

“Just sit there and wait a moment.”

The captain of the guard’s pupils constantly changed to different colors of light. This meant that the communication target was constantly changing. In addition, information and communications with low security levels were displayed in large numbers as holograms.

‘Is there really a rebellion?’

It was the first time I saw the captain of the guard so busy. He came to cadet training so often for about a year or two that I even thought, “Maybe he really doesn’t have anything to do?”

I sat on my chair and waited for the captain of the guard to finish his work.

“Luka, how are you doing these days?”

The captain of the guard took a breath and spoke. The holograms surrounding him disappeared all at once.

It was strange that you asked about my well-being. I thought for a moment and then moved my mouth.

“I’m spending my time doing personal training. I haven’t been on a mission for a long time.”

“You won’t be receiving any actual combat missions for the time being. We have judged that your skills are already sufficient. You are at a level where you can be used immediately without gaining any more combat experience. In particular, you performed your role to the end even in the harshest of circumstances at the ruins.”

I don’t know if it was a good thing or a blessing. It was nice to be recognized, but being excluded from the mission was secretly painful. It was like losing the opportunity to gain practical experience.

“It’s nice to be recognized, but I’m not sure I like being left out of missions.”

“I hope you understand that the mission will be given priority to other cadets who need more practical experience.”

“A soldier only follows the decisions of his superiors.”

I listened intently, waiting for the captain’s next words. It was time to get to the point. I guess he didn’t call me to talk about this.

“I heard that you are in frequent contact with Instructor Kinuan.”

The higher-ups are fully aware of the cadets’ activities. They probably already know that I visited the black market in the lower areas and participated in the fighting ring.

‘Because cadets like me are the property of the empire.’

I was about to answer but stopped because the captain of the guard continued speaking first.

“Are you learning Aikies Victory under Instructor Kinuan?”

The captain of the guards spoke, even mentioning the exact name of the Aquis combat technique. Learning combat techniques that are not in the Imperial manual is not exemplary behavior.

‘Did you call me to point out that I’m learning Archie’s fighting techniques?’

It was a bit rough, but it wasn’t a problem. I had no intention of learning any more Archie’s fighting techniques anyway.

“I’m not learning anymore.”

The captain’s eyebrows rose. It seemed he didn’t know I had already left.

“Up until now, there have been several cadets who wanted to learn the Archies combat techniques from Instructor Kinuan. However, it wasn’t long before Kinuan gave up teaching them first.”

Perhaps my pupils shook slightly. The captain of the guard did not miss the hint.

“… … I guess this time it wasn’t Kinuan who gave up. It was you who gave up first.”

“The Archies’ fighting style is incompatible with the Legion. I thought it was meaningless for someone to become a Royal Guard.”

“Have you figured that out already? Isn’t that funny? When someone who lacks the skills tries to learn the Archies fighting technique, Kinuan is the first to kick them out, but when someone who is truly talented realizes that there is no reason to learn the Archies fighting technique, that’s why no one except Kinuan has learned the Archies fighting technique.”

I felt uneasy. I felt like an unpalatable order was about to be handed down to me. This premonition is usually not wrong.

“Do you want me to continue learning the fighting techniques of Archies?”

“To be exact, maintain a close relationship with Kinuan. To do that, it would be good to continue learning the fighting techniques of Akies. This is an order.”

I opened my eyes wide. It was some kind of surveillance. The captain of the guard was on guard against Kinuan. I didn’t want to do it, but countless guesses were running through my head.

But you must not ask questions. You must put aside your doubts and follow orders. That is what it means to be a soldier of the Empire.

Above all, I felt that if I found out the truth, my life would be in danger. The best way to keep the secret was to kill that person.

“Understood. I will continue learning the fighting techniques of Archies.”

This is the only answer that comes out of my mouth.

“Luka, you should know that I’m watching you. You’re the type that’s going to make it.”

The captain of the guard said.

I think I heard something similar from Kinuan because I’m the type to be successful.