episode_0016

How much time had passed like this?

“The sword is none other than yourself.”

“….”

I didn’t know when her nonsensical teachings would stop, even as I swung the sword diligently. I didn’t know what she was thinking, but the twisted words coming out of her mouth continued without pause.

“So, the path of the sword is the path of your life, and swinging the sword is like reflecting on the life you’ve lived.”

Ah, I see.

I understand how much martial artists value honing their skills.

Whether she knew about my cynical gaze or not, she spoke.

“Let go of the distractions that cloud your true self.”

But where is the source of that distraction within me!

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– Swordsmanship level has increased by 1.

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Ah….

Despite not wanting to admit it in the midst of such a predicament, as I continued to listen to her nagging, I couldn’t help but acknowledge the fact that the advice I received while splitting bamboo was actually very helpful to my current skill level.

“Have you ever run away from the fact of swinging a sword? Have you arbitrarily set your limits and hesitated to move forward?”

“….”

And I couldn’t refute her piercing words that came out of her mouth.

Indeed, I’ve experienced more than once being disheartened by my lack of talent.

Effort? I’ve made some.

But in the process, there were countless compromises and sacrifices. Initially setting lofty goals, only to be crushed by reality and gradually adjusting so that instead of me getting closer to the goal, the goal came closer to me.

She must have noticed my momentary hesitation as she began to scold me with a look of disdain.

“…Truly pitiful. Where in the world can you find someone who excels from the beginning? Do you know? By hesitating and settling in one place, you’ve shattered the potential within yourself.”

Then, she paused for a moment and started to encourage me in a gentle voice.

“Don’t fear failure. Let go of the painful emotions that come from not progressing today. Even if you feel like you can’t go further than today, take one step at a time, and eventually you will reach your goal…”

But why is it?

Gradually, I found myself being swayed by her words, which I initially thought were just the ramblings of a martial artist obsessed with martial arts.

“How long will you sit back and give up on what you want to do just because you think you’re not good enough?”

For the first time, I set aside my prejudices and accepted her words as they were.

“Don’t rely on such trivial excuses and believe in yourself.”

…Even without excuses!

Anyway, despite the absurdity and injustice of the situation where we were splitting bamboo, I focused all my energy on the next sword strike towards her.

“Ah.”

And so, my sword brushed past her side, grazing her clothes.

She smiled and praised the strike.

“…Not bad at all. Still, teaching you was worth it.”

Then, she changed the mood immediately.

“That’s why it’s more regrettable. If we hadn’t met like this, you might have seriously considered learning from me.”

Wait, what?

“Then you have no regrets, right?”

The reason she was lecturing me was because…

“Damn it….”

So this is what a martial artist is like!

And thus, her sentence of death was passed onto me.

Her strike coming towards me….

Huh?

But when did I start to observe her movements in such detail?

I couldn’t even see her attacks before….

And at that moment.

The system window suddenly filled my vision.

The matching time had ended.

.

.

.

-The overall evaluation of stats has reached 20 (D).

-The rank of unique trait [Muscle Fiber Enhancement (E)] has increased by 1.

-The unique linked trait [Nerve Strengthening (D)] has been unlocked.

-Received teachings from the former world’s greatest.

-Skill [Imperfect Divine Sword Fusion Lv.1] has been unlocked.

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-Matching time has ended. Returning to the original world.

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* * *

The matching was over.

I endured the urge to collapse into my weakened legs and forced myself to sit down where I stood.

The matching may have ended, but the reason I started the matching in the first place was still unresolved.

“Suhyun, what are you doing standing there blankly? We’re in a hurry right now… The situation may seem dire, but if you just pull yourself together, we can somehow…”

“We’re going to die, we’re going to die, we’re all going to die.”

When I came to my senses, the scene before me was chaotic.

The pack of hound monsters were demanding a toll, depleting the party’s health.

While the party leader managed to hold on, the female mage had long succumbed to panic.

I hesitated for a moment before quickly reaching for the [Low-grade Invitation (E)].

‘How long will you sit there hesitating and giving up on what you want to do just because you think you’re not good enough.’

It was her brief but impactful words that stopped me in my tracks.

Perhaps it was a sense of pride.

I had heard such words face to face, and although the situation was dangerous, I wanted to try to handle it on my own rather than relying on someone else this time.

After all, I could always call her to get out of this situation whenever I wanted…

“Growl! Growl!”

“Creak….”

With a swift motion, I swiftly took down the two hound monsters that lunged at me.

‘It’s much easier than before.’

I realized.

It was easier to take down these creatures than it was in the matching battle.

In reality, no matter how much I swung my sword like a ghost, the creatures that mindlessly rushed towards me were nothing compared to her, who had been in the martial world and had left her body elsewhere.

“How can Suhyun move like that…!”

The party leader exclaimed in surprise at my sudden display.

From his perspective, it must have been incomprehensible.

Someone who was just staring blankly at their phone moments ago suddenly showing immense power would be quite bewildering.

Taking advantage of the hesitation of the hound pack, I used the new supernatural ability I acquired in the recent matching to rush towards them.

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[Nerve Strengthening (D)]

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As I used the new supernatural ability, the movements of the hound pack became clear to me.

In an instant, I saw the movements of her in the martial world that were previously invisible, and it seemed that the new ability I awakened enhanced my vision.

Swish!

I swung my sword in the most efficient manner, sending the creatures flying in its path.

“Crash!”

“Crash and burn!”

How many times did I swing my sword?

“In this world….”

Judging by the dozens of hound creatures lying on the ground and the astonished face of the party leader, it seemed that I had swung my sword quite a bit.

“Creak.”

“Kyah!”

As the hound pack surrounding us noticeably decreased, the leader of the pack, the Black Hound, rose to his feet.

The sight of the hound pack unable to take their eyes off his movements, splitting left and right like welcoming a king’s procession, was almost laughable.

“Creak…. Kyah!”

The Black Hound, rising to his feet, charged towards me with his massive frame.

I quickly dodged his potentially fatal charge,

Swish!

With strengthened muscles, I inflicted wounds on the guy’s skin with my sword.

“Crunch….”

Seemingly realizing that I was a formidable opponent who could harm him, he didn’t rush at me recklessly but instead kept his distance to reassess our skills.

“Roar!”

However, the monster, being a monster, eventually relied on its instincts and charged at me.

No, wait. Now that I think about it, it wasn’t just a simple brute force attack.

Whoosh!

He opened his mouth wide and spewed a threatening flame towards me.

Just as he was about to launch a surprise attack and expose himself directly to me, suddenly the fiery momentum subsided and shrank to almost the size of a campfire as it reached me.

Glancing at the female mage behind the party leader, who seemed to have caused this phenomenon, she spoke in a slightly hesitant voice.

“I, I can somewhat block fire attribute attacks….”

…Honestly, I didn’t think it would be of much use, but I ended up receiving help at a crucial moment.

As even my retaliatory attack failed to land, the Black Hound advanced again to attack me.

“Roar!”

In response, I also maximized my psychic abilities and faced him head-on.

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[Muscle Fiber Reinforcement (D)]

[Nerve Reinforcement (D)]

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I wasn’t usually one to believe in psychic powers.

But by now, I couldn’t deny the fact that a resilient mental strength that wouldn’t falter in any situation was somewhat necessary.

‘Don’t rely on such trivial tricks, believe in yourself.’

Gathering all the skills I possessed, I confronted the guy.

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[Imperfect Divine Sword Fusion Lv.1]

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Pushing aside any doubts about my abilities, I swung the sword with precision.

Swish.

The sword, filled with the determination to cut him down no matter what, sliced through the Black Hound’s skull.

“….”

The Black Hound collapsed without even leaving a last breath.

Thud.

Having suffered a fatal blow to the head, it died instantly.

“How, how is this possible….”

As the party leader stuttered in shock at the outcome I had created,

“Crunch….”

“Crunch.”

The pack of hounds also showed hostility towards me before fleeing without even wagging their tails. They had judged that I was not a foe they could defeat.

Seeing this, the party leader approached me and said,

“….Suhyun, were you hiding your true strength?”

“….?”

Who, me?

What for?

…But honestly, if I had committed such a foolish act, it would be reasonable to think so.

Anyway, I understood his curiosity, but trying to explain further would only be painful for me.

So I just mumbled vaguely.

“Just, well….”

Why didn’t she ask about me as much as she did about him in this world of martial arts?

If she had, I wouldn’t have had to go through this ordeal.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I survived. I won’t forget this favor. If you’re okay with it….”

Moreover, the female mage beside me kept whispering something, but honestly, it was a bit annoying.

I was starting to wrap things up here and wanted to go home.

“Um…. Well….”

I didn’t realize it during the fight, but now that the excitement had subsided and I was alive, every part of my body was aching.

‘….Ouch.’

As my party members approached and unconsciously nudged me, my entire body stiffened from muscle pain.