episode_0105

From the very beginning, I found myself facing an obstacle.

At Soyeonhwa’s request, I ended up teaching her swordsmanship.

Though I agreed to instruct her in the sword…

‘……How am I supposed to teach this?’

I felt utterly lost from the start.

It was only natural, though.

I had already received permission from the Holy Sword.

-You might have grasped it in an instant, but the orthodox swordsmanship of the Hero is not something that can be learned so easily.

The Holy Sword said those words while observing the Hero’s orthodox swordsmanship.

Honestly, the Holy Sword had even boasted that if anyone could learn this in one go, they could do anything—challenging me with a bet.

Still, I thought that if anyone could pick it up quickly, it would be Soyeonhwa, a genius called the “Heaven-Sent Talent.”

……Or so I had once believed.

“It’s hard.”

After an hour of struggling with the sword, the only result was that Soyeonhwa couldn’t learn the orthodox swordsmanship I had mastered.

‘What the hell?’

Was it really that difficult?

I knew it wasn’t easy, but since I had stolen it through desperate combat, it didn’t seem that hard.

I looked at Soyeonhwa.

Then, she stared right back at me.

“This is hard.”

“How hard is it?”

“……It took me a month to learn the Black Nether Sword’s sword aura. But this is even harder than that.”

“……”

So, teaching the Hero’s orthodox swordsmanship would require at least a solid month of dedicated training?

-Huh, she’s more talented than I thought? To think she could grasp this swordsmanship in less than a month.

‘Is that considered talented?’

-If you knew why this swordsmanship became a lost art, you wouldn’t say that. Ordinary talents can’t even touch it, and even those called geniuses often fail to learn it. The fact that you picked it up so effortlessly is the strange part.

The Holy Sword praised me while saying that.

Was it really such a formidable swordsmanship?

‘Well, the sword aura splits into multiple paths…’

Yet it doesn’t lose its destructive power.

That alone was a terrifying advantage.

While my attacks strike the opponent from multiple angles at once,

the opponent has to block each one individually.

“……Still.”

How should I teach Soyeonhwa?

As I was pondering over the Hero’s orthodox swordsmanship, Soyeonhwa looked at me.

“I can feel the rhythm.”

“You’ve found the rhythm?”

“Yeah.”

Soyeonhwa swung her sword as she spoke. A pitch-black sword aura flowed along the demonic blade before—

Swish!

The sound of cutting wind echoed, and I watched as the slash split into two.

‘……The divided force is uneven, but…’

It really seemed like she had grasped the essence.

-…….

I could feel the Holy Sword’s astonishment.

But didn’t it say earlier that it would take over a month?

“Huh? Of course, I’ve learned more about the sword since then.”

Soyeonhwa answered my unspoken question like it was obvious.

-……This girl really is a genius.

The Holy Sword muttered.

After finishing Soyeonhwa’s lesson,

I stopped by home and headed to the training hall.

I had prepared it just in case, but I never thought it’d come in handy like this.

-Sit properly there.

I sat straight as the Holy Sword instructed.

It then spoke.

Now that I had learned the Hero’s swordsmanship and footwork,

it was time to move on to the next stage.

‘The next stage…’

Honestly, I was excited.

The swordsmanship the Holy Sword had once shown me—Pacheon (破天, Heaven-Sundering)—

was a technique of overwhelming power.

Among my current skills, Hyeoncheon (玄天, Profound Heaven) was the strongest,

but Pacheon was nearly its superior counterpart.

‘Not to mention, the orthodox swordsmanship and footwork already had terrifying power.’

Naturally, I couldn’t help but look forward to what came next.

-First, I should tell you—I didn’t expect you to reach this stage so soon.

‘Huh?’

-Normally, it takes five years to master the sword techniques and another five for the footwork—and even then, most fail. For the past 500 years, hardly anyone has even tried to learn them properly.

‘……?’

They wouldn’t learn something this useful?

The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly recalled the Holy Sword’s earlier words and nodded.

‘If they couldn’t learn it, of course.’

From their perspective, sticking to what they already knew made sense.

-Even among those who tried… most failed to master even one of the two before giving up. So, you’re effectively my first proper disciple.

‘……Was that long-winded speech just to say that?’

-Of course. Seeing those inferior to me take on disciples… Keuk… Those frauds who couldn’t even pass down the true legacy!

The Holy Sword raged at nameless figures I didn’t recognize.

-You might meet them soon enough. The Holy Bow, the Holy Staff, the Holy Tome. Those damn bastards.

‘They’re that bad?’

-Yes. They failed to properly inherit their orthodox legacies. Not that what they have is weak, but… with those, they’ll never reach the “end.” Anyway, let’s move on.

The Holy Sword continued.

-Only the Second Hero reached this stage before. He spent his entire life under the First Hero’s guidance and barely mastered it in his later years.

‘……Really?’

If the First Hero was truly a god among men,

the Second Hero was said to be the culmination of talent itself.

Nowadays, many consider him a myth—the pinnacle of humanity.

Had Soyeonhwa, the Heaven-Sent Talent, not existed, even the Second Hero’s genius might have been dismissed as legend.

-Hmph, that girl wouldn’t lose to the Second. If anything, she’s closer to the First. Anyway, what I’ll teach you next is breathing.

‘Breathing?’

-Yes, the Hero’s orthodox breathing. That’s what you’ll learn now.

Breathing.

At that, I frowned.

Because I already practiced a breathing technique—the Lightning Qi (雷電功).

‘Though it’s since evolved into Extreme Thunder God (極雷神)…’

It still remained within me, constantly increasing my mana.

-I know what you’re worried about. But the Hero’s orthodox breathing disregards all that, so don’t fret.

‘It disregards it?’

-Yes. Normally, one must dedicate their life to a single breathing method, but this one isn’t bound by such rules. In fact, it encourages learning multiple.

‘It encourages learning multiple?’

-Yes. You weave them together like stars in the night sky—that’s the essence of the Hero’s breathing.

It sounded incredibly promising.

-First, listen to the口诀 (mnemonic chant). Rather than analyzing its meaning, focus on the energy flowing through your body.

The Holy Sword began reciting the chant,

and I felt the energy inside me shift direction.

And then—

[Skill Acquired: Hero’s Orthodox Breathing.]

“……?”

I stared blankly at the blue window.

This hadn’t appeared when I learned the footwork or swordsmanship.

Why now?

‘This must be different.’

I narrowed my eyes, scrutinizing it before giving up.

The system had always been unpredictable.

As I continued practicing the breathing,

I focused intently.

[Stat: Mana increased by 1.] [Stat: Mana increased by 1.] [Stat: Mana increased by 1.] . . .

A few days after finishing my training,

I was at the adventurer’s guild.

The reason was simple—

Volkan and the Black Nether Sword had come looking for me.

‘It’s oddly quiet here.’

The atmosphere was different too.

Normally, the guild would be bustling, but now…

‘It’s too clean.’

For an adventurer’s guild, this level of cleanliness was almost unheard of.

After all, adventurers were constantly coming and going.

As I puzzled over it, the Holy Sword asked:

-By the way, what about that fiancée matter?

‘I’ll handle it.’

I answered immediately.

No matter what, it had to be done.

There were many reasons, but—

For one, Lucia was a valuable asset.

And…

‘……It’s been a while since I had a quest.’

[Encounter Quest: Chapter 2.]

You have met the villainess, Lucia, and captured her heart.

However, she is bound by her family and her fiancé. Change the relationship between the one who extends their claws toward the fiancé and Lucia.

Reward: ???

One reason I had grown so strong so quickly—

was because of quests like this.

Lately, they’d been rare, but…

‘It seems they only trigger with certain encounters.’

Then why didn’t Erme or Rozante have one?

As my doubts deepened, while waiting for Volkan and the Black Nether Sword,

they approached.

“Your aura grows sharper by the day.”

“You improve at an alarming rate.”

The Black Nether Sword looked at me with disbelief,

while Volkan grinned approvingly.

“Hmm, the two of you should suffice.”

“What nonsense. You’d send me with him?”

At Volkan’s words, the Black Nether Sword scowled.

“What do you mean all of a sudden?”

“They were arguing over why they came here.”

“You didn’t come just to see me?”

“On the surface, yes. But internally, it’s to stabilize the labyrinth’s situation.”

I nodded.

The reason I hadn’t entered the labyrinth lately was simple.

‘……It’s getting really dangerous.’

I had managed so far,

but there had been close calls.

Preparing properly for the labyrinth had delayed me,

and those so-called Eternal Soldiers—

they kept appearing.

“More importantly, he has a way to kill those abominations.”

“Them?”

The Black Nether Sword gave me a skeptical look before sighing in resignation.

“Well, he is an anomaly among anomalies.”

“Mhm, you’re not wrong.”

Volkan nodded in agreement.

Somehow, an odd understanding had formed between them.

“Wait, are we entering the labyrinth together?”

“Yes.”

The Black Nether Sword nodded at my question.

“I’ve come here personally to enter the labyrinth.”