Chapter 278

Chapter 278

I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy.

Episode 278: Closing The Gate

After defeating Vicious Abomination, who had fused with the Mad Evil.

I returned to the guild. My body felt sluggish and tired.

Having dealt with the biggest task, I figured it was time to rest.

I came to the guild master’s office and laid my body on a bed worth millions of won.

Scientifically designed to accommodate my body most comfortably, and imbued with various enchantments, the bed had been battered by my Heaven Defying Body. As I entrusted myself to the broken bed, I thought:

‘This is what rest feels like….’

Reflecting on the battle, there were some points to improve. However, I also managed to experiment with many things during this fight.

‘Thanks to that Mad Evil.’

And thanks to Vicious Abomination, I realized how to handle my power. Although I was not yet at a level to fully control it.

I reached my hand toward the ceiling.

The inspiration from the talent of the Sword God had been storming through my mind until now.

A sword technique I named Black Heaven Destructive Sword.

It was extremely effective against evil gods. After all, this swordsmanship was designed solely to kill them.

‘To reinforce this martial art….’

The simplest way was to enhance the Nameless Martial Art.

The martial art created for me by the Heavenly Demon and Kim Seo-hyun.

-Master, I can help too.

‘Yeah, yeah.’

I replied halfheartedly to Black Heaven, who clung to me, as I took out my phone.

By now, with Celestial present, they must already know I defeated Mad Evil, but wouldn’t it be better to deliver the news myself and earn some extra credit?

‘That way, more money flows into the guild.’

With my reputation, I wouldn’t resort to trivial acts, but it’s still better to handle this personally.

It doesn’t cost money to say a few words. Actually, it brings money in.

Smiling, I called the Sword Queen.

The default ringtone played, and the call was answered in less than a second.

Why so fast?

“Hello.”

-Yes…

The Sword Queen’s voice sounded extremely flustered.

-Moments ago… Celestial informed me. They said you won.

“Really?”

Well, if Celestial was there, they could confirm that Mad Evil had perished.

-…I was observing the aftermath. From here in Seoul, we even detected the blue cross rising.

The Sword Queen remarked.

-I’m curious about what happened… but there’s one thing I want to ask.

“I may not look like it, but I’m a man with a partner.”

-…Is this the time for jokes?

The Sword Queen’s voice sounded exasperated.

-Wait, a partner, you say?

“So, what’s your question?”

-…What’s your current combat strength? Just give me the minimum level so we don’t get confused about our expectations.

I thought about the Sword Queen’s words.

Even if I hid some details, it’s clear I was beyond the level of a transcendent.

‘After all, I’ve been defeating transcendents since my peak phase.’

However, I was not sure about the next stage, the Celestial Realm. If my guess was correct, and that realm rivaled evil gods…

‘Could I handle an evil god on my own?’

I pondered this.

Evil gods were bizarre. Their strength was one thing, but the debuffs and bug-like abilities they wielded made me uncertain I could handle them all alone.

“I think I could hold out.”

-Hold out?

“If an evil god invades Earth, I could manage one of them for a day, but beyond that, I’d struggle.”

This was the truth.

While there were evil gods I was well-matched against, there were also those I was not.

At least for now.

-An evil god, alone…

The Sword Queen spoke in a dazed voice.

-Understood. And I want to thank you. The association may not be the most trustworthy, but… know that I and others are doing our best. Thank you for believing in us.

The Sword Queen said something unexpectedly earnest.

-Also, take care of yourself. For your contributions to resolving this incident, we’ll send a Spirit Elixir for recovery. With this event, the association head and upper ranks will likely become more compliant, so you should be able to gain quite a bit from this.

“Ah, you don’t have to go that far.”

I replied with a slight laugh.

It seemed calling directly was the right decision after all.

-Also, I wanted to ask about publicity…

“Publicity?”

-Yes, publicity. They want to spread the word about this incident.

In simpler terms, they want to boast about me defeating Mad Evil.

“Sure, let them.”

-…You’re planning to milk this, aren’t you?

“They shouldn’t have joined in with their spoons when they hardly did anything. Besides, I value practicality over honor.”

Honor wasn’t bad, but when you hunted evil gods, your reputation would rise on its own.

“Well then, I’ll leave it in your hands.”

After ending the call with the Sword Queen, I headed to the training hall.

Seeing Kim Seo-hyun again after a long time felt peculiar.

It was as if part of her expression from her other self was mixed in.

She wore a light, fluttery martial outfit with a white base and blue flower petals embroidered on it. For some reason, a white floral band was wrapped around her thigh.

‘What’s going on?’

But that wasn’t what mattered.

I felt my body instinctively tense. Her sheer power made me unconsciously stay on guard.

“What did you do?”

In one corner of the room, the Heavenly Demon, clad in a hastily thrown-on tank top and dolphin shorts, stared at Kim Seo-hyun with wide eyes.

“Do I look that different?”

“…Your appearance has changed a bit.”

Kim Seo-hyun’s question left me perplexed.

‘Has she awakened the power of White?’

Could such a power make her this strong?

No, it was not strange.

With two colors at my disposal, I could now roughly understand the effects of White.

“It must be the strongest color.”

Among the pure colors, White appeared to be the strongest.

Black grew stronger by consuming other powers.

White, though lacking growth potential, stood pure on its own.

Blue spread its power outward.

Purple amplified power to its maximum.

“I’ll need to observe Red eventually.”

Since it was the power of a being holding the position of a Dragon God, it must also be quite special.

In any case.

That was not what’s important right now.

“Did you acquire a new power?”

“Hmm, you could say that.”

Kim Seo-hyun avoided a direct answer.

“Hmm, did you grow stronger by awakening the power of that Divine Maiden? But that power wasn’t all that impressive, was it?”

The Heavenly Demon tilted her head curiously as she examined Kim Seo-hyun.

Kim Seo-hyun smiled bashfully and sat down next to me.

“Anyway, the reason you called us here is to strengthen the martial arts, right?”

“Strengthen the martial arts? I’d rather play games.”

The Heavenly Demon muttered lazily.

Kim Seo-hyun and I stared at her with disbelief.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s just odd to hear that from someone who used to demand a fight the moment we met…”

“Well, whatever. If you get stronger, Earth becomes safer. I’ll cooperate without complaints.”

Saying that, the Heavenly Demon plopped down onto the floor of the training ground.

I sat down too, looking at both the Heavenly Demon and Kim Seo-hyun.

The Heavenly Demon excelled at mastering physical combat.

Kim Seo-hyun could handle all martial arts with exceptional insight.

And I, one could say, had mastered the sword.

“So, what’s the plan for crafting this martial art?”

“To make it sturdier and easier to handle swords.”

“…Sword maniacs. Are you planning to leave me, a physical fighter, out in the cold?”

“By the way, why don’t we decide on a name for our martial art first?”

Kim Seo-hyun gave me a playful smile.

“How about ‘Our Martial Art’? It’s a technique only you and I can use.”

“……Gaaah! You dare to flirt in front of this supreme being?!”

The Heavenly Demon shouted in fury, pointing a finger at us.

“Seo-ha and I aren’t even dating yet.”

“Then what’s your relationship?”

“A fling?”

Kim Seo-hyun said, tapping her chin with a finger.

“Do you not like me? Why are your eyes squinting like triangles?”

“Why are you suddenly changing the subject? And how does one even squint their eyes into triangles?”

Kim Seo-hyun looked baffled at the Heavenly Demon’s words.

“Ahem, anyway, I recently made a rather impressive sword.”

I said, lightly tapping the hilt of Black Heaven with my finger.

“……So, you’re not completely denying it.”

“Anyway, this sword turned out really well.”

“……Alright, what kind of swordsmanship did you create?”

“You sound like you’re reluctantly listening.”

“Well, considering what you’ve done… I won’t pretend I’m not interested. At first, your sword seemed decently useful, but at some point, your talent with swords grew so much that my advice became meaningless. I suppose that’s when my interest piqued.”

The Heavenly Demon said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at me.

“Show me.”

“This place seems a bit unsuitable.”

I glanced around the training hall.

The hall, over 100 meters wide and built with materials that could withstand significant impact, was one of the few training spaces in the world constructed with such dedication.

‘But it’s still insufficient.’

With the three of us here, even if one person went all out, the place would undoubtedly be half-destroyed.

‘No, this implies I need to use my mental realm.’

I closed my eyes, steadying my breath.

Inside my body, black stars blazed intensely, spinning rapidly.

Whoosh─!

Black energy engulfed the 100-meter radius, leaving only an expanse of pitch-black space visible.

“……It’s completely different from before.”

“Yeah, but the spatial occupation is still similar.”

I held Black Heaven and unfolded my sword.

A blue brilliance intertwined with the destructive force, forming a cross that rose high.

“…So, the cross I saw last time was yours after all.”

“I thought it was Seo-ha’s power. At some point, he began wielding blue energy.”

Kim Seo-hyun touched her light-blue hair, her face tinged with embarrassment.

The Heavenly Demon gave her a look of disbelief.

“What are you, a lovestruck maiden? Assigning meaning to meaningless things…”

“Seo-ha is my first for everything.”

“…Damn.”

The Heavenly Demon swore.

I simply sat quietly, hugging my knees. I’d learned from experience that staying still was the best course of action in moments like these.

Just staying still.

“Well, martial arts, huh? Watching you handle that sword just now gave me some solid ideas.”

The Heavenly Demon let out a sigh and spoke.

“There are several applications I could try.”

Kim Seo-hyun added.

“Then let’s go into seclusion together here for a while. Anyway, the paperwork can be handled by the Electronic Witch or Ershil.”

The Heavenly Demon said this while looking at me.

“Let’s do that.”

“…It’s a bit disappointing that it’s only the three of us, but oh well.”

Kim Seo-hyun glanced at me before standing up.

Quietly, we began our seclusion.

And then.

Time passed.