Ch. 79 Master and Disciple (3)
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 79 – Master and Disciple (3)
‘Serpina of a Thousand Silver Blades.’
Clearly, she was a character only fleetingly mentioned in the original work, which is why I directly sought her out to ask for her strength.
And yet… she’s right here in front of me now.
Of course, I had seen her face in the video uploaded on Fate Road, but seeing her in person was a different experience altogether.
“You’re not as surprised as I thought. I expected you to be quite taken aback by my appearance.”
A suffocating silence. As I stood speechless, it was Serpina who spoke first.
‘Why aren’t I surprised, you ask?’
Hearing those words, I faintly curved my lips upward.
Certainly, her appearance was slightly different from what one might imagine based on her attitude and tone.
She was shorter than me, and her face still held a hint of youthful innocence.
Her body, wrapped in the black dragon robe, was only slightly more developed than Kim Ji-eun’s overall.
It was hard to imagine such a delicate body and face scolding someone.
“I had a rough idea from your voice. I imagined a beautiful and noble goddess. And it doesn’t seem that far off from my expectations.”
“…Ha!”
I tried outright flattery.
Perhaps she hadn’t expected such a response, as she couldn’t help but laugh, covering her eyes with her hand.
“The wooden puppet is becoming bolder and bolder.”
“Are you displeased? Because my usual image has changed?”
“No, I like it even more. It feels like we’ve grown a little closer.”
Fortunately, contrary to my concerns, Serpina was also shedding her persona.
If she had strictly adhered to her stern Constellation persona, she would have scolded me for talking nonsense, but now she was laughing with both her eyes and mouth, as if she were enjoying it.
“You only have three chances, and even those chances don’t last very long. I wish I could chat, but I can’t afford to.”
With a flick of her wrist, the bracelet she wore transformed into a massive greatsword in her hand.
She nonchalantly hoisted the greatsword, whose blade was larger than her head, onto her shoulder and chuckled.
“I’ve already told you what to aim for in your training. I also know that you’ve been diligently following that guidance, step by step. I think you’re ready for me to teach you my Thousand Sword Meteor Dance.”
‘Thousand Sword Meteor Dance. Serpina’s own signature technique.’
I flinched at the name.
According to what I learned from Fate Road, a Constellation who has ascended to the Great Constellation rank or higher needs more than just points to become a contract Constellation.
They need their own unique realm, their own signature technique.
All contract Constellations possess their own signature technique.
Serpina is no exception. She is about to teach me what she, as the Constellation Serpina, has forged and proven through years of self-discipline.
“I don’t expect you to fully understand and learn this right away. Even though you’ve shown rapid growth recently, I know your talent level.”
“But I’ll try my best…”
“Use my Thousand Sword Meteor Dance as a tool. That’s all I ask. In your current path of destiny, if it helps you overcome a moment of crisis, that’s enough.”
Most Constellations would want their contractor to fully inherit their power, but she was different.
She bluntly told me that it was impossible anyway, and to use it as a tool for the true power I would eventually possess.
“Believe it or not, I was once a challenger too. Do you think I haven’t experienced something like this?”
“Everyone has a beginning, I suppose.”
I also summoned all my equipment, including Telendar from my inventory, and fully armed myself.
I knew that the Serpina before me was an avatar projecting her main body, and her power was only a fraction of her true strength, but the difference in level was still clear.
“Go ahead. I want to see it for myself.”
Serpina boldly opened her chest, inviting me to attack first.
[Radiance · Massacre, Dance of Light]
‘No need to overthink it. Not between us.’
I didn’t hesitate. Serpina may not know it, but I, who secretly peeked into the gallery every day and sometimes left posts and comments pretending not to, felt quite close to her.
I immediately drew upon my full power and attacked her with all my sincerity.
In an instant, the whirling four-bladed sword split into six, rushing toward Serpina from all directions.
***
“Thousand Sword Meteor Dance is an extreme form of flowing swordsmanship. A secret technique that exists solely to unleash as many sword strikes as possible in the shortest amount of time. The reason I use so many swords is simply to swing each of them just once.”
“…”
Ultra-high-speed consecutive attacks, a random pattern that even the user doesn’t know, and the ability to dominate the entire space with sword strikes.
How could I, facing such a technique for the first time, possibly stand against it?
I had certainly given it my all, but I was utterly crushed by the blinding strike before me, writhing on the floor amidst the shattered fragments of Hermetica.
“Still slow. You could only deflect 120 out of 300 consecutive strikes.”
Next to my groaning head, I saw a pair of small, white bare feet adorned with anklets.
Serpina’s voice, coming from above, pierced my heart.
Regardless of her affection for me, her evaluations were always cold and sharp.
“I wonder if things will be different tomorrow.”
Time was up.
Having tasted a crushing defeat for the first time in a while, I bit my lip at her words as she gradually faded away with a sigh.
‘In the end, I just got beaten up.’
I picked myself up, clutching my throbbing body, and trudged out of the sanctuary.
Glancing at the mirror by the entrance, I saw that my hair was disheveled and my clothes were a mess, unlike when I entered the sanctuary.
I roughly combed my hair with my hand and hurried back to my room.
No time to waste. I needed to sleep to recover my strength and carry out tomorrow’s schedule.
‘Still, it’s refreshing.’
Unlike my tired and aching body, my mind felt quite at ease.
It was the same as when I was desperately chasing after Jung Chan-soo, the original protagonist, while climbing the Tower.
The power that Serpina had shown, even in fragments, was a realm that was hard to catch up to.
But the realm that I had tasted firsthand was worth pursuing as a goal.
Perhaps she knew that fact and relentlessly pushed me.
If she, who had watched me longer than anyone else, knew what my strengths were.
——————————————————————————————————————————
[Swordplay Experts, Come In]
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I use everything I can. That’s why I’ve been able to survive since I possessed this body.
As soon as I fell asleep, I accessed Fate Road and tried to ask the gallery users a question.
I didn’t want to make it too obvious, so I was going to casually ask how to increase the speed of sword strikes.
Serpina was teaching me with my level in mind, but this inept disciple wanted to be recognized by her master, even if it meant resorting to illegal tutoring.
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ㄴ“Explain yourself!!”
ㄴ“Explain…”
ㄴ“Explain~?”
ㄴ Explain.”
ㄴ“Shut up! I just gave her some advice and had her practice a bit!”
——————————————————————————————————————————
But the bulletin board was already in a bit of an uproar.
The users had seen me staggering out of the sanctuary and were clamoring for Serpina to explain what had happened.
‘Well, there’s not much point in uploading what happened today.’
Serpina’s instruction was essentially just me being helplessly defeated.
Even if I broadcasted such a video in the gallery, I doubted it would elicit a good response, except for those with peculiar tastes who enjoyed watching me get beaten up and hurt.
There was even a chance that some people would accuse Serpina of abusing me.
——————————————————————————————————————————
ㄴ“I’ve already revealed my account details. I haven’t touched any of the points I received as donations, so shut your mouths. It’s my right to have private meetings with Reina. I’m the contract Constellation.”
——————————————————————————————————————————
Serpina’s firm stance gradually evolved the topic.
It was common for the administrator and users to bicker playfully.
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ㄴ“How to increase the speed of sword strikes? There are so many ways I can’t even list them all!”
ㄴ“Any easy and popular methods?”
ㄴ“Trying to get something for nothing; unless you’re improving your fundamental skills, you’ll have to borrow other powers momentarily. Like magic.”
——————————————————————————————————————————
‘Magic?’
My eyes widened at the reply.
A way to instantly gain the necessary speed without any significant cost came to mind.
Of course, this method deviated slightly from the fundamental skills that the gallery users and Serpina were talking about.
‘But you said it yourself. To use it as a tool on my own path.’
My true foundation was the very thing that made me struggle to survive in this strange world I had fallen into without knowing why.
To absorb anything that could help and make it my own, without discrimination.
Even if it failed, it was worth trying.
Author Note
A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading.
Translator Note
T/N (Translator’s note):
If it works, it works, what’s pride if you succeed?Morality? Well that matters to an extent, but not pride!
So go be shameless and beat up Kat for no reason!!!
Oh yeah, if noob Reina had seen the war vid, wouldn’t she already know about the appearance? Smh!
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