Chapter 45

Chapter 45

I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy.

Episode 45: Kim Seo-hyun (1)

For a long time, I just stood there blankly before saying,

“That, that could happen.”

I think groaning is a physiological, unavoidable response.

The situation was too sudden and mismatched, leaving me confused.

-……

But Black Heaven was burying her face in the bed, her cheeks flushed red.

‘Even a Sword Soul can blush.’

Thinking something unnecessary, I searched for oil.

I realized that feeding the sword oil and taking care of it made the sword feel better.

‘But wouldn’t it be bad if it feels too good here?’

Whether I liked it or not, Black Heaven was someone who would accompany me until the end.

…What to do.

If it were just a man, maybe I could joke about it, but I didn’t know how to handle a woman.

‘With a girlfriend, I could just do it…’

Black Heaven was a comrade, so that approach was off-limits.

I pondered for a moment before going outside.

It’s better to have some alone time in these situations.

Leaving the Black Heavenly Demon Sword behind, I stepped outside.

Outside was hot.

Quite some time had passed since the midterm evaluations, and the final assessments were nearing.

In other words, summer was on its way.

There’s a lot to do in the summer.

After the final evaluations, the vacation starts, and during the vacation, I have to decide where to go for an internship that also counts as field training, and I need to clear the Tower of Dreams.

‘I should also make a trip to America.’

I sighed inwardly.

It’s a long-awaited vacation, but somehow it seems I’ll be busier than when attending school.

It was disheartening.

With a somber sigh, I made my way to the training ground.

The kids had already set up and were exercising.

“Seo-ha, you’re here?”

“Yes.”

Kim Seo-hyun put down the dumbbell.

Thud.

A heavy sound resonated. I glanced at the weight of the dumbbell.

It was 300kg.

Just a dumbbell at 300kg… the same amount as my bench press.

Suddenly, my pride felt wounded.

“Are you going to focus on your upper body again today?”

I asked in a gloomy voice.

“Let’s do lower body. You’ve been working too hard on the upper body these days, Seo-ha. It seems a bit lacking in the lower.”

“……”

Kim Seo-hyun said with a light smile.

I felt strange.

Perhaps it was because Kim Seo-hyun had an androgynous voice and appearance.

Hearing him, it felt like hearing it from a woman.

‘No, he’s a man.’

I sighed inwardly and followed Kim Seo-hyun’s lead.

As I mimicked Kim Seo-hyun’s movements, my body was pushed to its limits.

“Phew.”

I exhaled and walked over to a spot on the training ground.

Black God Martial Arts.

It was a martial art that endlessly trained the body.

Although the entity known as the Heavenly Demon had created many martial arts, according to Black Heaven, she put the most effort into Divine Sight and Black God Martial Arts.

The reasoning was, “all fights ultimately end with observing and killing the opponent.”

My body quickly stabilized. The Energy of Defying Heaven flowed through me, making me even stronger.

“Wow…”

When I opened my eyes, Kim Seo-hyun was looking at me with admiration.

“At first, it was just a body…”

“What do you mean ‘just a body’?”

“Hehe, just an ordinary body that normal people have. But now…”

“Now?”

“It’s almost like art.”

Kim Seo-hyun said with a flushed face, gulping.

‘This is a bit…’

I felt goosebumps.

Was Kim Seo-hyun gay?

No, that couldn’t be it.

There had been a few times when Kim Seo-hyun had gone crazy over women with big chests.

He must merely be very interested in the body.

I forcibly stopped the fist that was itching to hit Kim Seo-hyun.

“This isn’t an ordinary muscle. It’s hard to achieve this form even with stimulation to all muscles.”

Saint, standing beside me, admired my muscles.

“It’s like a body personally sculpted by a martial god. Did you practice something like the Reverse Muscle Scripture of Shaolin?”

“It’s not the Reverse Muscle Scripture.”

Kim Seo-hyun responded to Saint’s question.

“Hmm? You know about the Reverse Muscle Scripture?”

“Uh? Oh, I know a bit about it.”

Uncharacteristically, Kim Seo-hyun stammered.

“Is that so? I’d like to discuss it sometime. As you know, Murim, with its thousand-year history, has faded into the shadows of the world.”

At Saint’s words, Kim Seo-hyun offered a bitter smile.

I gazed at Kim Seo-hyun.

Sky-colored eyes.

An androgynous appearance to an extreme degree.

A non-human-like presence that was conspicuously different.

A being who carried on a thousand-year martial legacy while also being instructed in magic by the greatest magician.

In this world, someone with the presence of a protagonist.

Yet behind that facade, there lurked a profound darkness.

And an overwhelming sense of responsibility.

The cradle of Murim, once known as Ancient China, lay in ruins.

This occurred when the being now referred to as the Seven Evils, previously the Ten Evils, plunged the world into chaos.

They did so alongside those termed ‘apostles.’

Heroes of great might with their allies arrived too late to avert the catastrophe, but Murim narrowly succeeded in preserving its bloodline.

As a result, present-day China was known as the Five Chinas, divided into five separate nations.

In my past life, China was a formidable country, but now that status has moved to Korea.

Still, the martial arts (武) they possessed were bequeathed to a single individual.

‘No, not merely bequeathed.’

The Nine Factions and the Five Great Families of Murim, including Sima Ryeon and the Demon Sect.

“They initially consolidated their martial arts to brace for potential threats from external enemies (外敵).”

In that process, a prodigy amalgamated all martial arts to forge nine distinct styles.

This represented the power of Murim’s thousand-year martial legacy.

Kim Seo-hyun had this force ‘infused’ into him against his will.

Beyond this, there were numerous aspects that defined Kim Seo-hyun.

Like the Dragon’s Heart, which could not be used now as it burdened the body.

“…Did you ask me something?”

“No, why?”

“You were staring so intently.”

Kim Seo-hyun said, seemingly feeling a bit burdened.

But in reality, I was the one who felt burdened. It was because Kim Seo-hyun kept poking my body while looking at it.

“But it’s really amazing. How did you make it like this?”

Kim Seo-hyun admired my body in amazement.

However, asking about martial arts or magic was almost taboo, so he just looked at my body with curious eyes.

“…It’s burdensome if you look that much.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Only then did Kim Seo-hyun become startled and blushed.

“……”

I couldn’t help but wonder if Kim Seo-hyun was gay.

On the way back to the penthouse,

I arrived at the door and then realized

Black Heaven was alone inside.

‘This should be okay.’

I had received an oil recommended by Kim Seo-hyun for sword care as a gift.

I hoped this gift would somewhat appease Black Heaven’s sullen mood.

When I opened the door and entered, Black Heaven was still burying her face in the bed.

With the mindset of considering a teenage sibling, I left the oil inside and went to my personal training room.

There, I practiced the Black Heavenly Demon Sword Technique that I had just learned yesterday.

After an hour of intensive training, Black Heaven was still burying her face in the bed.

I showered and perused recipes from the Alchemy Guild.

Money was increasing astronomically.

It felt so unreal now, like I was just playing with numbers.

While I was there, Black Heaven raised her flushed face.

-Master.

“Hmm?”

-Ahem.

Even as a Sword Soul, Black Heaven coughed.

-Firstly, I am Master’s property. At the same time, Master is the body that inherited the legacy of the previous Heavenly Demon who created me.

“That’s right.”

– But I think I also deserve proper compensation for teaching Master martial arts for free, just for that reason. I don’t mind it, but I think it’s only fair.

“That makes sense.”

Honestly, when I think about being trapped in the sword, Black Heaven’s opinion seems quite reasonable.

After all, wouldn’t Black Heaven teach martial arts more diligently if she were motivated?

So I nodded, agreeing with Black Heaven’s words.

– So, at least once every two days, using that dexterity of yours to polish me would be nice.

Black Heaven boldly requested, her face turning red.

“…Okay.”

I looked at Black Heaven with cold eyes and finally nodded.

“So, everything is settled now?”

– Yes.

“Then I’m going to sleep. Today’s training was tougher than usual, so I’m tired.”

I said goodnight and flopped onto the bed.

My consciousness quickly faded, and I fell asleep just like that.

“Go to the dungeon?”

Wednesday.

I called Kim Seo-hyun over for a task and told him about it.

“Yes, to the dungeon.”

“I’m always up for it.”

Kim Seo-hyun brightly smiled and nodded.

“But, is it okay with just the two of us?”

“With just the two of us, it’s not bad. Neither of us is confined to a specific position, right?”

I was greatly restricted.

If it was not close combat, my combat power nearly drops to one-tenth.

However, Kim Seo-hyun believed that I was training my body while being part of the magician class, so I added a bit of a lie.

“Right. So where is this dungeon?”

“In Suwon.”

“Shall we go together?”

“Just bring yourself. I’ll prepare the rest.”

“…Is that okay?”

“Yes. I have plenty of potions I made anyway.”

Above all, I couldn’t treat the bus driver roughly.

I was strong.

Objectively, I had become very strong, but I was weak against numbers and specialized in one-on-one combat.

Kim Seo-hyun, on the other hand, had martial arts that perform better with more opponents.

“How about this Saturday night?”

“Let’s do that. Seo-ha, you have club activities on Saturday too, right? I do as well, so that works out.”

We made the plan and then went downstairs to eat.