Chapter 80 – Master and Disciple (4)

Reａd̃& ;ｏ​ǹ ̈Κ​ａ&t;R̃​eadi&n;ｇ​Caf̈e

「Retavis Anima (S)」, one of the items I obtained a year ago, looks ordinary on the outside but possesses a special power within.

I had kept it in my inventory, thinking it might be useful someday, and it seemed that time had finally come to use it.

Actually, I had completely forgotten about it, but this incident made me realize its existence.

‘There was an ambiguous reason. The cooldown is too long compared to the duration.’

If I could solve my problem at once by using this, I would have remembered and used it long ago.

But the reason I hadn’t done so was because of its very ambiguous performance: it momentarily accelerated my body, but the cooldown was a full day.

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ㄴ“But if that’s the case, isn’t it right for Reina to become a magic swordsman? If she borrows the power of magic, it would be easier…”

ㄴ“What nonsense are you spouting!!!!!”

ㄴ“Reina is a talent to be raised as a pure swordsman, why introduce such tomfoolery (miscellaneous skills)?!”

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And another thing. I was also concerned about the opinions of the fan gallery users.

The users who mainly wrote strategy guides for me were all swordsman or warrior-type users.

They all had great pride in their martial arts, and they reacted violently to suggestions from other users who proposed different paths for me.

‘Is this what it feels like to be an celebrity who manages their image?’

No matter how much it was me, I couldn’t just ignore their arguments. Their actions weren’t just mere stubbornness.

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ㄴ“While training in the ultimate of the sword, you’re dabbling in other things? If it were that easy, why would everyone be going through that hardship!”

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Because it’s ultimately an action that poisons me.

Now that I’m aiming for a single path called the Gale Sword, even a little impurity would disrupt all those plans.

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ㄴ“No, so is it really all about blindly banging your head?”

ㄴ“That’s reality. At least as far as I know, there’s only one thing that can overturn that reality. The Tower’s system.”

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Similar answers were given to the comments I posted myself.

They said that unless it’s the Tower’s system, which is activated throughout the entire universe, it’s an unshakeable reality.

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ㄴ“If your agility stat is around 10,000… isn’t that practically like having a super high-level acceleration magic constantly on?”

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‘Crazy.’

And the shortcuts that use the Tower’s system were by no means easy enough to be called shortcuts.

Agility stat of 10,000. Seeing that, I let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

[Strength: 2350, Stamina: 1848, Sense: 1320, Endurance: 792, Magic: 2838, Agility: 1294, Resistance: 739, Insight: 2310, Spirit: 1452]

Among my stats, which have been steadily increasing little by little, the highest is now just over 2,000.

The magic stat, which is the source of the Radiance trait, is the highest, but it’s not even at 3,000.

10,000… I wasn’t sure if I could achieve it even by the time I conquered the entire Tower.

Which would be faster, me becoming a head-butting dinosaur and training the sword stitch by stitch, or reaching an agility stat of 10,000?

‘Isn’t it obvious?’

Recalling my miserable talent, I let out a hollow laugh.

Rather than relying on a talent that might not amount to anything even after 100 or 1,000 years, at least the Tower’s system is much more intuitive.

***

“I watched everything again today. The way you fought in the dungeon to achieve achievements.”

“How was it?”

“Nothing special.”

That night, Serpina, whom I met again at the sanctuary, took out her sword as if it were nothing.

A bitter smile came to my face at the words ‘nothing special’. How could it be possible in the first place? To change in just one day.

「Retavis Anima, activate」

But this moment will be a little different.

As I activated the bracelet, a fierce gale instantly wrapped around my body.

“You…!”

Serpina’s eyes widened as I showed off my equipment.

She was so surprised that her mouth dropped open and she was speechless.

“I know. That this borrowed power is ultimately just borrowed. But didn’t you say it yourself? To use tools to create my own path.”

“…If that’s what you think, then go ahead. If you gain even one thing, I think it’s right. Because you’ve been doing that until now.”

Serpina, who flinched slightly at my words as I pointed my sword at her, soon faintly raised the corners of her mouth and nodded.

She, too, is an existence who has reached the pinnacle of the sword, but her thoughts seemed a little different from others.

Perhaps it was the insight of a contracted constellation who knows me best.

“Rampage to your heart’s content. There’s only you and me here, so no one can covet it.”

There was a bone in Serpina’s words as she opened her arms wide.

The sanctuary is a space only for the two of us.

If Serpina and Perbas keep their mouths shut, the users of the fan gallery won’t know what I’m doing here now.

In other words, there’s no need to manage my image.

「Acceleration Amplification」

My body, which had taken a stance, shot out with tremendous speed in an instant.

As yesterday, countless sword strikes wielded by Serpina rushed in from all directions, but the result was slightly different.

‘I can see it.’

I can faintly see the path.

If I break through and run somehow, it’s a path that will finally lead me to her.

***

‘Yes, no matter how I think about it, this is the path that suits you.’

Serpina, who had pride in being the constellation who knows Reina best, did not fully agree with what the gallery users were saying about Reina’s talent and realm, no matter how much they talked about it.

She, who thought that it was the duty of a contracted constellation to recognize the challenger’s talent and find the right path, wanted Reina to find her own path.

Even if she considered her signature technique, Thousand Sword Meteor Dance, as an intermediate step.

“Maybe you’ll be able to reach me a little sooner.”

Serpina chuckled as she looked down at Reina writhing on the floor.

The fact that she was horribly shattered was the same as yesterday, but one thing was different: Reina had moved forward several steps and was closer to her than yesterday.

Although she borrowed the power of an item, it’s not just that her speed has increased a little.

She tasted beyond her limits, even for a fleeting moment.

Serpina knew much better how much experience and nourishment that would be.

“Ugh…”

‘I want to hug her. I want to be hugged in those arms. I want to touch and feel Reina directly.’

Looking at Reina groaning, Serpina unknowingly reached out her hand, then hesitated.

Her heart was so sincere that she would spend all the points she had earned through so much hardship for Reina.

It’s not for nothing that she projected a part of herself onto Kim Ji-eun. Even the noble and powerful goddess of the sword has dark desires.

‘You stupid bitch! Why did you decide to wear such a mask…!’

Instead, Serpina frantically grabbed her head with her hesitant hand.

What was blocking the outburst of desire was the reason that she had to maintain her dignity as a constellation and the strange concept she had put forward in the past.

It was something she regretted so much now.

It’s become a daily routine for her to whine on the bulletin board, regretting that she should have been honest from the beginning.

“…Strive harder.”

In the end, Serpina had no choice but to leave the sanctuary with a bitter face, unable to reach Reina that day either.

While fantasizing that Reina, who had climbed the entire Tower in the distant future, would confess her true feelings when she directly confronted her, and present the existence of the fan gallery as evidence.

‘How human. Because she was once a human to begin with.’

But Serpina couldn’t know what Reina, who was looking at the place where she had disappeared with her head raised, was thinking.

Nor did she know that her inner thoughts had already been exposed.

“Hoo.”

Reina, who drank an elixir in the empty sanctuary, watched the bruises and scratches on her body quickly subside.

The reason she didn’t bother to go out and eat was for Serpina’s sake.

Because if she went out in such a mess, the gallery would go crazy again.

“Huh?”

“It’s the first time since that day.”

Reina, who was leaving the sanctuary, froze when she saw another challenger who had found the sanctuary.

It was Lienblad, the ranker right above her who was currently competing with her for achievements.

“You seem to be busy too.”

“I can’t help it. There are quite a few people watching us.”

Reina scoffed, and he nodded with a serious face.

She flinched for no reason at those words.

He was referring to the contracted constellations, but in reality, there are quite a ‘lot’ of people watching and supporting them.

“Will you resent me if I beat you and raise my rank?”

“…It’s natural to train to become stronger. Who can I blame? It’s my own fault.”

“Healthy thinking. I feel the same way.”

Reina, who had brought up provocative words first, raised the corners of her mouth after hearing his answer.

It’s not that she hates competition itself. Rather, she herself wanted competition. Because that was the way to improve her abilities.

There’s no reason to refuse this kind of healthy competition with a healthy mindset.

‘The Heavenly War is over. That means the bastards who try to bring me down will start their activities again.’

Just as Serpina earns a huge amount of points and tries to help with them, the opposite is also true.

As she recalled that, Reina’s expression hardened as she returned to headquarters alone.

[Large-Scale Defense Battle, 7 Days Remaining]

And the very next day.

A new event cycle that would shake the entire Tower began to arrive.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Having an example of your final goal is better than having none.

Just don’t get addicted and take it for granted, smh.