Bloodhound’s Regression Instinct

Chapter 39

Cruel, who had escaped from Yan, wandered around the streets with a swagger.

Then.

“Aaaah!”

He finally couldn’t stand his frustration and screamed out loud.

How on earth could he surpass Yan…

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Cruel felt a strange sense of discomfort.

He was sure that he had volunteered for the north not to surpass Yan, but for something else.

Could it be…

That he was tamed by Yan’s actions?

Shiver.

“Damn it, I’m getting goosebumps. What am I thinking?”

Cruel shook his head vigorously and started walking aimlessly again.

His eyes went to the clock hanging on the town square.

The clock hand pointed at five o’clock.

“There are still four hours left. Should I train in the meantime?”

He had already memorized the ‘Darkness Technique’ that he learned at the training camp, and the only thing he could train with was the family’s secret technique.

“I can’t waste time. I have to train to beat that bastard.”

Cruel hardened his mind and looked for a place where no one seemed to be.

That’s when it happened.

“Hahaha! Next time, I’ll pay, okay?”

“Hey, you liar! I’ve already paid for the drinks more than ten times.”

“Pl… please don’t fight, customers.”

A noisy sound pierced his ears and entered.

Cruel’s gaze went to the source of the sound.

[Moonlight Tavern]

Cruel’s brow furrowed slightly.

“As expected, you can’t find any culture in the commoners.”

He had heard from his tutor that such taverns were frequented by mercenaries and commoners who lived by the sword.

If it were the old days, he would have passed by with contempt.

But now.

He was curious.

“Maybe if I observe the commoners’ lives, it will help me when I inherit the territory.”

Cruel rationalized himself and opened the door of the Moonlight Tavern.

Creak.

“Welcome, customer!”

As he entered, there were no chairs, only six tables.

On those tables, bottles of liquor were rolling around, and there were snacks that looked unappetizing.

Cruel’s eyes went to the corner of the tavern.

Two or three men who looked like mercenaries were lying on the bare ground, snoring.

Their faces were flushed, probably from being drunk.

Then, a girl who looked his age came up to him with a menu.

She whispered in a small voice.

“I’m sorry… The mercenaries are here, so the atmosphere in the store is a bit chaotic.”

The waitress’s face turned slightly red, as if she was embarrassed by the appearance of the tavern.

“Wh, what would you like to order?”

That’s when Cruel looked at the menu.

They were all names he had never heard of when he was in the family.

“I’ll order everything here.”

“Yes, then… What?!”

The waitress lifted her head.

Her eyes sparkled, as if she was overjoyed by the visit of a big spender.

“Yes! I’ll bring it right away, so please wait a moment.”

“Hehehe, Amy, you finally got a big fish!”

“Shut up. Tom, sir! How can you say that to the customer!”

“Puhaha! Amy is the boss, right? Tom! Listen to Amy and keep quiet!”

“What? You pig bastard!”

Cruel watched the mercenaries and the waitress talk.

They were messy, chaotic, and disorderly.

They had no culture, and they were vulgar.

But…

‘Something feels weird.’

On one hand, he didn’t mind the noisy atmosphere.

He would have hated it if it were the old days.

That’s when someone approached Cruel.

Chin.

“Hey, you’re a new face here. Are you from out of town?”

Cruel’s eyes darkened at the sight of a man who suddenly put his hand on his shoulder.

He didn’t like it when someone touched his shoulder without permission.

“Get off.”

“Huh? Why are you so cold? This is how we get friendly.”

Cruel looked at the ruffian who ignored his words.

He had run to the tavern as soon as he finished his mission, and his head and armor were covered with blood.

His beard was scruffy, and his teeth were yellow.

In a word, he was dirty.

The ruffian chuckled.

“Are you scared by this blood? Tsk tsk, you’re a rookie with no guts.”

Cruel’s brow furrowed.

“Hey, furball.”

“What, what? Did you just call me a furball?”

The man snickered and straightened his upper body at Cruel’s words.

The other mercenaries who were sitting at the other tables burst into laughter.

They found it amusing that Cruel didn’t back down and responded confidently.

The difference in physique between the man and Cruel was huge.

But Cruel didn’t look intimidated at all.

He couldn’t be.

He could tell by the amount of mana that the man had barely learned a third-rate skill.

‘Just a country bumpkin mercenary.’

He seemed to have some strength, but…

He had been one of the top students at the training camp where they gathered talented people.

And this lowly mercenary dared to grab his shoulder?

That was absurd.

Squirm.

Cruel pulled off the man’s hand that was holding his shoulder.

And then.

Whack!

He swung his right leg like a whip and kicked the man’s abdomen.

Thud!

The man’s body flew in a parabola and fell to the ground vertically.

The tavern fell silent at that moment.

The waitress who was bringing out a tray full of dishes also had a stiff expression.

Cruel smirked at the atmosphere.

‘I don’t fit in here.’

So, he decided to pay and leave.

“Wow!”

“Did you see that? That furball bastard flew away in one hit!”

“Hahaha! Hey, kid! How about a drink with us?”

“Ugh… Another fight broke out.”

The silence turned into an explosion in an instant.

The mercenaries were ecstatic at Cruel’s sight, and the waitress went to the kitchen with a tired face to get a medicine box.

Cruel was confused and couldn’t adapt to the mess.

“What, what is this?”

Then, the men came to his side with wooden beer mugs and forced them into his hands, pouring liquor over them.

“Hahaha! This is the price for showing us a fun scene!”

Cruel took the beer mug full of liquor with a bewildered face.

Other men also came one by one.

They laughed heartily and brought snacks to Cruel’s table.

Cruel held the beer mug as if he had turned into a stone and stared blankly at them.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and drink!”

The men next to him urged him to drink.

‘Is this liquor?’

Cruel looked at the liquid in his beer mug.

The color was a weird yellow and it smelled strange.

The only liquor he had ever tasted was champagne, whiskey, or wine at events.

But this ‘beer’ was so inferior and smelled weird compared to the liquor he had drunk before.

But still.

‘I’m curious about the taste, so I’ll try a little bit.’

Cruel tilted the beer mug slightly and took a very small sip.

His brow furrowed.

He wasn’t angry or anything.

It was just.

“This is liquor?”

It tasted awful.

He wondered if these bastards had brought him something inedible as revenge.

The men laughed again at Cruel’s sight.

“Haha, I was like that too!”

“This, this, brother, you learned liquor wrong. Hey, furball! Show him how it’s done!”

At that, the man who had been kicked by Cruel got up from the ground with difficulty.

He walked over to the opposite side of Cruel.

He filled a beer mug as big as his arm with liquor and poured it into his mouth.

Gulp, gulp.

The man’s throat kept gulping.

He drank for a while and then.

“Burp~!”

He let out a loud belch.

He looked at Cruel and grinned.

“You’re a rookie, so you can’t handle this. Just drink slowly.”

He said with a look that said ‘this is what adults are like’ to a child.

Cruel’s competitive spirit was triggered.

He grabbed the beer mug he had put down and drank it like the man.

Gulp, gulp.

As the strong carbonation flowed down his throat, he felt a refreshing sensation.

It felt like his stomach was cleared.

And that wasn’t all.

When he tasted it a little bit, it was a weird taste, but when he drank it like this, it tasted quite savory.

Thud!

“Kuh!”

Cruel emptied the beer mug like the man before, and the men’s eyes widened.

Cruel, who seemed to be drinking for the first time, pulled off a ‘beer one-shot’ that only a heavy drinker could do.

“I, I won’t be underestimated, you hear me… hiccup!”

His awkward words and hiccups, and the liquor that dripped down his throat.

Cruel had always cared about his dignity, but at this moment, he looked like a drunkard.

“Hehehehe, this is the appearance of a new drinker!”

“Amy! Bring a beer, no! A whole barrel!”

“Let’s drink and die!”

Before he knew it, the table was full of dishes that Cruel had ordered.

Cruel grabbed the leg of a roasted whole pig that was steaming and stuffed it into his mouth.

‘This is delicious too…!’

It was nice to eat without the complicated and annoying dining etiquette.

He always ate in a suffocating atmosphere, but now he felt his stomach was cleared.

“You must have had a hard time, huh? You drink so sweetly!”

As soon as he heard that.

Something dripped down Cruel’s cheeks.

“Wh, what? Hey, why are you crying all of a sudden?”

“Why? Why not! I’m touched by the taste of Amy’s roasted whole pig!”

“Pfft! Is that so? Well, this roasted whole pig is the best here.”

Cruel poured more liquor into his beer mug and drank it all at once.

Then he raised his arm and glared.

He didn’t know why he was crying.

He had no sad things.

His tear glands were broken, and tears kept flowing.

Why?

He remembered the scene where his father treated him harshly.

Or maybe he remembered his mother who had passed away.

If not that.

‘Is it because I feel comforted by these guys and it hurts my pride?’

He knew that wasn’t it.

He had been running hard because he thought he would die by his brothers if he couldn’t become the lord.

That’s why he had swung his sword without resting for a single day, and volunteered for the notorious ‘Dragon Soldier Project’.

So.

When he heard from others that he had suffered, his emotions exploded.

He wiped away his tears endlessly, and the men around him looked at him quietly.

Tap tap.

They patted his back and smiled slightly.

“Kid, you had a hard time, huh? Let it all out. You have to work hard from tomorrow.”

Cruel, who had shed all his tears, felt embarrassed and grateful to them.

He didn’t know if it was because of the alcohol.

But he felt that they were comforting him for the hardships he had gone through.

“Waitress! Bring all the liquor you have in storage! I’ll pay!”

So he decided to loosen up and drink happily for today.

Cruel’s hearty words made the men around him cheer.

The tavern became even more noisy.

* * *

Three hours later.

The Transportation Bureau of Villien.

“Did you drink?”

Yan asked as he saw Cruel staggering towards him.

“Yeah! I drank! What are you gonna do about it! Wanna hit me again?!”

Cruel’s face was flushed and he yelled at Yan’s face.

Yan smiled at Cruel.

“You finally calmed down a bit.”

[He must have lost his mana and his temper.]

If he had left Cruel alone, he would have still glared at him and burned with resentment.

Yan turned his head.

“But.”

His eyes went to the two classmates on his left.

“Why did you run away earlier? And why did you change your clothes?”

Charl had a sullen face, and Lorena ignored Yan’s question with a snort.

She was wearing a rough black fur coat now.

“But you were wearing pink earlier…”

“Shut up.”

“Okay.”

Lorena didn’t want to remember that.

A little later, the gatekeeper from the Transportation Bureau came to them.

“Everything is ready. Please follow me.”

So Yan and the other trainees followed the gatekeeper.

He arrived at a secret room.

Inside, there were magicians and a door-shaped artifact that they had seen in the first test.

The gatekeeper explained about the place, as if he was bothered by Lorena’s stiff expression.

“The gate you will take is the one that the high-ranking officials and nobles use. They like ‘special treatment’.”

Lorena’s expression didn’t soften at the gatekeeper’s explanation.

She wasn’t making that face because of that reason, but because of where she was going.

The gatekeeper signaled the magicians to start.

Woosh.

Whooosh-!

A huge amount of mana swept through the secret room, and the door-shaped artifact began to emit a blue light.

“Please enter. It’s connected to the Beowulf Territory.”

At that, Yan nodded and stepped into the gate.

Behind him, Lorena, Charl, and Cruel entered the gate in order.

As they had entered the Blade Mountain Range before, their vision turned white.

And a cold that cut their skin covered them.

“Welcome. I’m Hans, the butler of Beowulf.”

Beyond the gate was a white room.

An old gentleman with neatly combed hair and dozens of knights in black armor filled the room with stern expressions.

Yan could tell the man’s personality by his first impression.

The gentleman who introduced himself as Hans was a grumpy person at a glance.

“Yes, nice to meet you…”

“A lady?”

He seemed to have seen the wrong person for the first time.