The Old Man Tells You The Strategy

Chapter 8

Killian’s gaze naturally turned toward the source of the commotion.

“Just once! Please, give me one more chance. I beg of you!!!”

In front of the tightly shut castle gate, a boy, roughly Killian’s age, was being restrained by a knight clad in crimson armor.

Several soldiers in leather armor stood nearby, merely watching the scene unfold.

The boy cried out desperately, his voice hoarse, tears rolling down his cheeks like beads.

It looked as if a gang of thugs were threatening the boy, but no one stepped in to stop it.

This was because those restraining the boy weren’t ordinary thugs—they were part of the elite Crimson Shield Knights, the direct guards of Ironblood Castle and the pride of the Pablo family.

“You still don’t understand, do you? You are no longer a member of the Pablo family. Continue making a scene, and I will have you subdued.”

“N-No…! I cannot fail here, I—”

Wham!

The knight, uninterested in listening, flung the boy aside as if tossing away a rag doll.

Thud!

The boy was thrown with such force that his body spun once before hitting the ground.

“Guh… ack…”

The boy, unable to catch his breath, groaned in pain, but the knight didn’t spare him a glance. He simply gave a brief order to the nearby soldiers.

“He’s a failure. Take him away.”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldiers, clearly used to this, swiftly bound the boy and began dragging him like a sack of goods toward the other side of the castle.

‘Where are they taking him?’ Killian wondered.

「Where do you think?」

‘The Maelstrom…?’

「Of course. Looks like he’s a failure of the Lineage Ceremony.」

‘Wait, what?’

Killian tilted his head in confusion. The main trial hadn’t even started yet, so how could there already be a failure?

「Remember what I told you back at mine? You can’t even participate in the Lineage Ceremony without mana.」

‘Oh, right.’

「See that gate over there?」

Killian couldn’t miss it. The castle gate shimmered with an unnatural glow.

「Opening that gate is the bare minimum to qualify for the Lineage Ceremony. Without mana, it stays sealed.」

‘So that boy was dragged off because he couldn’t open the gate…’

Realization dawned on Killian, sending a chill down his spine.

Had he not gained mana through his encounter with the Underworld King, he would have been in the exact same situation as that boy. His thoughts drifted back to the forged letter—the clear attempt to sabotage him.

‘Whoever did this… I’m going to find out.’

As much as Killian wanted to remain lazy, he knew there were times when he needed to take action to ensure his future laziness. And Killian was remarkably adept at recognizing those moments.

Clank, clank.

As Killian was lost in thought, a burly, rough-looking knight stationed near the gate approached him.

“State your identity.”

Killian pointed to the Pablo family crest pinned to his chest and answered.

“Killian Pablo. I’m here to participate in the Lineage Ceremony.”

Upon confirming his identity, the knight bowed respectfully before shouting toward the gate where several soldiers stood guard.

“Guide Killian Pablo to the waiting area!”

“Yes, sir!”

Following the knight’s orders, Killian was led by the soldiers to join the waiting line in front of the gate.

‘…How long is this going to take?’

Killian couldn’t help but grimace at the sight before him.

Huff… huff… I can do this, I can do this…

Oh, goddess, please grant me your favor…

In front of him stood at least dozens of people, anxiously waiting their turn.

Open… open already!!!

Marian, you have been excommunicated in accordance with the principles of the Lineage Ceremony.

Occasionally, anguished cries echoed from the front of the line as participants failed to open the gate. Though a few managed to succeed and pass through, they were the minority.

Rumble…

Bran Pablo, congratulations on your successful entry.

“*Hah… Thank you! Thank you so much!”

With each failure, the waiting time grew longer, and Killian was beginning to get bored.

“Yaaaawn…”

Seeing this, Jun-hyuk’s voice sounded incredulous.

「You’re not even a little nervous?」

‘Why would I be nervous?’

「Most of these people are failing, you know?」

‘Didn’t you say I just need mana to open the gate?’

「…」

‘Then I’m good.’

Jun-hyuk was left speechless. Of course, Killian was technically correct, but how could he be so relaxed in a situation like this? It was almost as if he knew the future, like Jun-hyuk did.

‘Could he be a regressor too?’

Jun-hyuk was so stunned by Killian’s attitude that he lost his words, to which Killian responded with a smirk.

‘Do you think anything will change, even a little, if I worry right now?’

「Uh… not really, right?」

‘Then it’s better to just not care. Don’t you agree?’

He really is an old soul.

While Jun-hyuk was thinking that—

Click-!

Killian, who had been lazily slacking off, suddenly grabbed the sword tied to his waist in an instant.

Swish-!

Killian’s gaze sharpened.

He sensed something sharp behind him, as if it were about to cut him down.

「What are you doing?」

He slowly turned his head toward the direction of the gaze he had felt.

In that moment—

“…Huh?”

The intense presence vanished in an instant.

「What’s going on? Why’d you react like that all of a sudden?」

‘I felt something strange, like someone was watching us. Didn’t you feel it?’

「Oh…?」

At Killian’s words, Jun-hyuk immediately thought of someone.

‘Could he have sensed Bastian’s gaze?’

Then, as if it were no big deal, he chuckled.

「Don’t worry about it too much. You don’t need to entertain his bad hobbies.」

‘Bad hobbies?’

「Yeah, something like that.」

Jun-hyuk didn’t explain further, and Killian didn’t ask any more questions.

Time passed, and just as Killian’s boredom was reaching its peak—

-Next!

Finally, it was Killian’s turn.

* * *

Step, step

Killian arrived leisurely at the door.

The one who greeted him was the stern knight who had just confirmed Killian’s identity.

“If you need an explanation about the ‘Door of Trials,’ please let me know.”

As the knight gestured toward the iron-blooded gate with his palm, Killian shook his head.

There was no need to hear an explanation he had already received from Jun-hyuk.

“That’s fine. Open the gate.”

Without further comment, Killian placed his hand on the gate.

Srrrrrk-

“…Hmm?”

Killian raised an eyebrow.

As soon as he placed his hand on the gate, a translucent energy began to seep out and flow into his body.

‘What is this now…’

Killian’s face gradually contorted.

A strange, uncomfortable sensation wrapped around his entire body.

It was an unpleasant feeling, like vines growing inside him.

So, without realizing it, Killian began to activate the Soul Flame Technique within him.

Wuuuuung…

Soul Flame Technique.

The trace of the Demon King and his greatest advancement.

A mana made for the Demon King’s sword—more noble and solid than anything else.

Fwooosh…

As Killian’s will began to manifest, the Soul Flame Technique slowly started to rotate, releasing its unique mana.

The mana spread smoothly throughout his body, pushing out the foreign energy that had tried to invade.

Srrrrk!

The energy from the gate began to writhe violently as if resisting.

The discomfort deepened.

‘This…!’

Fueled by his frustration, the Soul Flame Technique surged, as if it had a will of its own, amplifying its power.

Fwooosh-!

Reflecting Killian’s growing unease, the rotation of the Soul Flame Technique sped up, and the mana flow accelerated.

What had once been a gentle stream of mana turned into a rushing flood, sweeping away the alien energy.

Rumble…!

In the end, the Soul Flame Technique devoured all of the energy.

It felt like predators fighting over prey inside his body.

Stagger-

Killian’s body wavered momentarily.

The sudden use of a massive amount of mana left him with a wave of fatigue.

‘Ugh, I feel dizzy.’

「Why did you release your mana all of a sudden? You only need to touch the door.」

‘…’

Too drained to even respond, Killian quietly pressed his hand against the door again.

Whatever that strange phenomenon had been didn’t matter anymore.

He had shown his mana, and now all he had to do was open the door, so he wouldn’t be dragged into the Demon Sea.

…

But then there was a problem.

‘Huh? Why isn’t it opening?’

The massive door, which should have opened by now, wasn’t moving at all.

「What do you mean… what? Why isn’t the door opening?」

‘I touched the door and felt something weird, so I pushed it out… but no one told me about this.’

「Hmm…? Wait a minute.」

Jun-hyuk pondered for a moment before speaking, his voice filled with curiosity.

「That door is enchanted with a lot of magic to assess a person’s qualities, right?」

‘So?’

「I think you might have pushed all the magic out. That’s probably why the door isn’t opening.」

‘Wait… isn’t that a huge problem?’

Wouldn’t this make him look like he’d failed the test entirely?

“Hup!”

Killian released his mana again, but the Door of Trials didn’t budge.

‘…It’s not opening.’

「Well, of course it’s not. You disrupted all the spells. Did you really expect it to open?」

‘You… You should’ve told me about this earlier!’

「There was no need to, so I didn’t.」

‘No need to?’

「No one’s ever pushed away the magic before. In fact, no one’s even been able to sense it.」

Jun-hyuk chuckled as he continued.

「Honestly, the more I see, the more interesting you get.」

At that moment, the knight who had been silently observing Killian shook his head.

“Killian, under the principles of the Bloodline Ritual, you are disqualified.”

“…Wait, hold on.”

To Killian, the knight’s words were utterly absurd.

He had gone through all this trouble just to avoid being dragged into the Demon Sea, only to be disqualified now?

“The door seems to be broken… Can’t you fix it and try opening it again?”

“…An amusing excuse.”

The knight scoffed dismissively.

“If you continue to resist, I will subdue you. Step away from the Door of Trials.”

Killian glanced at his ring in frustration.

‘…What do I do now?’

His voice was filled with exasperation, but Jun-hyuk’s tone remained calm and composed.

「Well, if you just hold on for a little while, this should sort itself out.」

‘Does this look like something that will sort itself out? Give me a real solution—’

Before Killian could finish, the knight’s voice cut in coldly.

“I told you to step away from the door.”

Whoom-!

Without waiting for a reply, the knight swiftly reached out toward Killian’s shoulder, ready to restrain him just as he would any other disqualified candidate.

But the knight’s hand never made it to its target.

Snap!

“…Sigh. Things are getting troublesome.”

In the blink of an eye, Killian, who had been slumping lazily, caught the knight’s hand with both of his own.

The knight was unfazed by this.

He didn’t find it surprising that a member of the Pablo bloodline would try to resist being disqualified.

Many candidates, unable to accept their failure, often attempted the same.

But his calmness only lasted a moment.

Twitch-

“…!”

Though the knight tried to pull his arm free, his leg twitched instead.

No matter how much force he applied, the same strange thing kept happening.

It was as if his muscles were betraying him, an odd sensation like they were moving in reverse.

“What… what kind of trickery is this…!”

Snap!

The flustered knight instinctively grabbed the mace from his back.

He was about to swing it when—

“Lower your weapon, Simon. Killian has the right to pass through the Door of Trials.”

A calm voice echoed from the right side.

At the same time, Jun-hyuk spoke nonchalantly.

「See? I told you it would sort itself out.」

‘Sort itself out? What are you talking about?’

As Killian naturally turned his gaze, he saw a middle-aged man with a kind face and a solid build standing nearby.

‘Who is that?’

「He’s the proctor in charge of the Bloodline Ritual.」

Jun-hyuk continued confidently.

「And the commander of the Red Shield Knights, ‘The Butcher’ Bastian.」