REAPER SCANS

I Became the Genius Bastard of a Noble Dark Clan

[Translator – Jreaming]

[Proofreader – Nine]

Chapter 9

Chris didn't challenge the warning. 

"I definitely wouldn’t stand a chance against you if you fought with everything you had, Deputy Commander. However, you’re from the main family. Would someone of your stature really go all out against a bastard like me?" Chris reasoned. "How about we limit ourselves to a 1-star level of dark energy? No curses. If you're not sure you can win with just 1-star, we could raise the level to 2-stars." 

Mellin couldn't help but laugh. This bastard had just suggested that he could defeat her using only 1-star dark energy when she was a high 4-star fiend.

"I won't even need that. I'll just use half a star, and limit myself to the basic Mud Swordsmanship, as well,” she said, tying her hair back. "In return, after our match, I'll break both of your legs for insulting me."

That wasn’t an empty threat. She fully intended to do exactly as she had said. If he weren't from a branch family of the Dark Magic Clan, she wouldn't have stopped at breaking his legs, either.

However, Chris just continued to smirk. "If I lose, you can do whatever you want to me,” he said. “However, perhaps we should also consider what to do if you lose, Deputy Commander? I doubt I will fail."

Mellin didn't know whether to feel angry or dumbfounded at his nonsense. She snorted, losing count of how many times she had done so.

"If you win, I'll grant any request you have, no matter what it is,” she said.

"That sounds like a risky offer."

"It's fine. Anything at all."

Whoosh!

Mellin suddenly accelerated. She lowered her unsheathed sword and leapt toward Chris.

Thwack!

Chris barely managed to deflect her attack. 

Her voice cut through the air, icy and sharp. "You won't be able to walk out of here today, anyway."

* * *

An arrogant brat.

That was what Mellin thought Christian was, but it was clear to her now that this brat possessed great talent. His talent could possibly even rival Eschid de Baren, the foremost successor of the main family.

It was a talent worth boasting about, but that was as far as it should have gone. Recklessness born from arrogance was simply far too dangerous.

‘Understanding one’s place is the most important virtue a fiend should have,’ Mellin thought. ‘If they value a long life, that is.’

Even in a society run by fiends, where survival of the fittest reigned supreme, there existed order. In fact, they had one strict rule: yield to the strong.

In that regard, Christian’s actions proved that he was nothing more than a worthless good-for-nothing, foolishly running amok while ignorant of his place.

‘I should teach him some manners. I owe Count Kazar a lot, so I should take this opportunity to repay him.’

Mellin was resolute in her decision to 'educate' Christian thoroughly. She wanted to ensure that he would never again act with such recklessness or forget his place as he had done today. 

He would undoubtedly thank her for it later.

‘I'll teach him to bow his head to the strong.’

Her plan was straightforward. She was going to beat him up. A good beating would inevitably cultivate within him a respect for the strong. 

Fueled by this belief, she swung her sword once again.

Time passed. The duel carried on with Mellin one-sidedly attacking and Chris barely managing to defend.

Their spectators imagined that the winner would be decided soon.

“As I thought, he's no match for her,” one of them said.

“He’s lasting quite a while against the deputy commander, though,” commented another.

“I guess his talent is the real deal.”

The knights regarded Christian with fascination, marveling at how much he had managed to withstand, but it was all pointless. The bastard was bound to fall soon.

Very soon, at that. Defeat was imminent.

However… that moment didn't come as fast as they had thought it would.

Mellin's expression hardened. Something was wrong. His abilities should have been no match for hers, but oddly enough, her attacks couldn't reach him.

A wave of déjà vu ran through her. Didn’t something like this happen before? That time with Thern… and the other fights after that… 

Chris snickered. "It looks like things aren’t going your way,” he said. "You’re not as impressive as I anticipated... Deputy Commander.”

Mellin flushed with anger. She hadn't been subjected to such an insult since she had first climbed the ranks.

Her teeth ground together in fury. She was determined to put that insufferable, annoying bastard in his place as fast as possible.

Dark energy welled from her core, flowing toward the sheath of her sword. She readied herself to unleash Mud Strike, one of the strongest techniques in Mud Swordsmanship. 

As promised, she only used half of the dark energy within a single star. It wasn't much, but it was certainly enough to handle a bastard like him.

However, as she readied herself, her stance faltered. Part of her movement became wider than she had intended. She had yet to notice this mistake. 

Or perhaps it wasn't a mistake at all. Although her stance was larger, it wouldn’t lead to a significantly different outcome, so it shouldn't have been an issue.

Unfortunately for her, however, Christian—or the entity inside him, rather—wasn’t an ordinary being. He was a genius who had even been admired by a Hero.

He didn’t overlook this opening.

In just a few days, he had attained a thorough understanding of Mud Swordsmanship. He was well aware of Mud Strike’s vulnerabilities. 

He refused to let this opportunity slip by and dove in, closing the distance between them.

This sudden shift threw Mellin off. The distance between them had changed. Thus, her attacks would have to adapt. 

However, her current movement was too large to abandon without a slight delay between actions.

This moment was a golden opportunity. Chris knew that it would never present itself again, so if he missed it, he would lose his chance at victory.

He moved boldly. The dark energy flowing from his core spread throughout his body. Due to how weak it was, he still couldn’t strengthen his entire body, so he only strengthened the parts that were strictly necessary. Then, he charged deeper into her space.

Mellin was even more flustered by this move. He was getting even closer? At this range, it would be difficult for him to swing his sword.

However, at the last moment, she caught onto his intentions. 

‘Could it be?’

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Although many things had taken place, they had occurred in the blink of an eye. Caught off guard, it was too late for her to act.

As a result... Chris’s forehead collided directly with the bridge of her nose.

Smack!

It was a headbutt strengthened with dark energy.

* * *

Reaper Scans

Translator – Jreaming

Proofreader – Nine

Join our discord for updates on releases!

https://discord.gg/reaperscans

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The training grounds had fallen silent once more.

Unlike the other duels, however, the fiends couldn’t even open their mouths this time.

‘What just… happened?’ everyone in the crowd thought. ‘Why did the deputy commander…’

The duel had started off unfavorably for Chris, but that was to be expected. Even if his opponent had been limited to only half of her 1-star dark energy, there was still a significant disparity between their abilities.

However, Chris had somehow managed to land a successful headbutt nonetheless.

His success had come from finding and exploiting the smallest opening within Mellin’s defense, but the knights lacked the sharp insight required to notice this.

Internally, Chris smiled contentedly as he observed Mellin. She looked dazed, blood running down her nose.

‘This duel was essentially a scam,’ he thought to himself. 

Honestly, everything had gone exactly as he had planned. 

'Even if she’s a 4-star, there’s no way she’d be any match against me with a handicap. Especially not as a spellsword.’

A spellsword was a knight who utilized swordsmanship and magic simultaneously. The Dark Magic Clan had traditionally specialized in this duality. Usually, their primary mastery had to be the sword, with various dark magics serving to support it.

The Black Swamp Knights were a group renowned for their adept use of curse magic. Having her curse sealed was like fighting with half of her limbs tied.

If Mellin had been the type of fiend to focus solely on her swordsmanship, Chris wouldn't have caught her off guard so easily. 

‘Her swordsmanship is at a 3-star level,’ he thought. ‘A spellsword is bound to be less adept in each skill compared to their overall status.’

Still, it was an impressive accomplishment. The wide-eyed expressions of everyone present were proof of that. Astonishment, shock, chaos, and disbelief were all present in the gazes directed at Chris.

Suddenly, Mellin broke into hearty laughter. 

Unexpectedly, she didn’t seem to be angry. Rather, her laughter seemed to be tinged with a hint of relief.

She roughly wiped the blood from her nose with the back of her hand.

“I must apologize for what I had said before,” Mellin said, resuming a more respectful tone. “It seems that I had underestimated the young master.” 

She had acknowledged Chris. In fact, she even smiled at him, brimming with evident joy.

She was a fiend to the core, relishing in the sensation of meeting a worthy opponent. It had been a while since she had last encountered anyone of the sort.

‘I’ve been wasting away in boredom after coming to the branch family. To think I could experience such entertainment...’

No trace could be found of her earlier impulse to teach him manners. She had acknowledged Chris as a worthy opponent.

Of course, Chris wasn’t her equal in any capacity. If she had exerted the full extent of her power, he would’ve been no match for her.

However, that didn’t matter. She had felt the thrilling rush of blood surging within her. 

She recalled the moment Chris dove for her as soon as she had been caught off guard. The supernatural instinct that kept him from missing the slightest opening, and the beastly boldness required to seize that opportunity...

It was electrifying. She hadn’t been this excited in a long while.

“Things are going to be different. I’ll be much more focused going forward. Now, let’s resume,” Mellin said, licking her lips.

Her gaze was much more serious than it had been before.

However, Chris shrugged his shoulders. “I’m afraid that’ll be difficult,” he said. “The match has already been decided.”

“What?”

“Check your neck.”

Confused, Mellin reached for her neck, discovering a faint scratch.

“When did...?”

“I scratched you with my nails as I head-butted you,” Chris explained. “If I had poisoned my nails… I believe you know what would’ve happened then, yes?”

Mellin was at a loss for words. He was right. She had lost.

“But… this… this was….” She bit her lip.

This was because she was careless? That was a loser’s excuse.

Still, was this really the end? Had she really lost in such an absurd way?

Above all else, however, she didn’t want the excitement bubbling within her to fade. She wanted to face this genius head-on in a match of swordplay.

She wanted to feel that thrill again.

In the end, she let go of her pride.

“Let’s go one more time,” she requested.

“Hmm? Are you not admitting defeat?”

Mellin bit her lip, hesitating. “No, I admit it,” she admitted eventually. “You won.”

The grounds erupted in chatter upon the acknowledgment of her defeat.

“Then why are you being ridiculous?” Chris asked.

“So, this is…” Mellin blushed red with embarrassment. “I’m asking you for a favor. I’d like to duel with you properly. If you accept, I will do you one more favor of my own. And it can be anything.”

At her polite plea, the knights were stricken with disbelief. For the proud deputy commander to take such a submissive attitude...

“Just to be clear, you will grant me an extra favor apart from the one I gained from winning the bet?” Chris clarified.

“Yes, that is correct.”

It was an amazing deal. Two blank checks. 

She was an established individual, well respected even within the main family of the Dark Magic Clan. Two blank checks from her held great worth. 

However…

“I don’t particularly feel like doing that,” he said.

Mellin was stunned.

“Having the right to call on you twice... doesn't seem like much.”

Her face hardened.

The corners of Chris’s mouth lifted, and he spoke in a low voice so that only Mellin, who was standing in front of him, could hear.

“However, I could be persuaded if we change the terms so that you kneel completely before me.”

* * *

Reaper Scans

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