episode_0169

As I continued walking through the devastated field, I suddenly stopped.

Now, at a considerable distance away, I felt that someone’s breath had completely stopped.

And the owner of that presence was none other than a swordsman.

“… … .”

I knew the swordsman was going to die.

There was no way he wouldn’t have known since he was the one who cut the sword in the first place.

In fact, the wounds on the swordsman’s body were not that serious.

By general standards, it could be considered a fairly large wound, but that is only a general standard, and for a warrior who had reached a transcendental level such as swordsmanship, the wound was no more than a scratch, if you exaggerate it.

However, even so, the swordsman died.

Because what I cut wasn’t just his skin and flesh.

I inflicted wounds on his body and at the same time cut off his ‘life force’.

As a result, the swordsman lost his strength in one blow and ultimately died.

‘Cut’ the ‘life force’.

If anyone hears this, they will question the sanity of the person who said it.

Because it makes no sense in common sense.

A warrior who has reached the state can cut down a rock.

A warrior who has reached the highest level can even cut down a mountain.

However, cutting down one’s vitality is a completely different story.

Well, life force is not something visible to the eye like rocks or mountains.

Because it just exists conceptually.

When it comes to magic that explores the truth and challenges the providence of the world, unmanned magic is impossible.

No matter how advanced a warrior is, he can only make stronger, faster, and sharper attacks.

That’s the world’s perception of unmanned vehicles.

Therefore, no one would believe that the life force was cut.

However, I definitely cut off the life force with my own hands.

The realization I gained from my fight with the Sword Master truly brought me to a new level, and from that moment on, my view of the world completely changed.

Many things became visible, and among them was the vitality that existed in the swordsman’s body.

I cut it down.

And, he killed the swordsman.

The new realm was literally a new world.

It showed me a world that was completely different from before, and is still showing me.

In those things, I felt like I was born again.

No one will believe it.

Unless you step into this realm, unless you see this scene with your own eyes.

And, it was probably no different for swordsmanship.

Until the moment of his death, the swordsmith would not have understood what he had cut or why he was dying.

“… … .”

The swordsman, Dreyr Hexler, has died.

Quietly, in a place where no one can see.

At that fact, I felt relieved and complicated feelings.

So to speak, the swordsman was like a wall to me.

The first time I met a swordsman, I lost without even being able to use my hands or feet.

He was not defeated in an instant, but that was only because the swordsman did not do so.

Perhaps, if the swordsman at the time had made up his mind to do so, and this is not an exaggeration, I would have been suffocated by a single blow.

So, knowing that, I was greatly shocked after being defeated by the swordsman.

For me, it was the first real defeat I experienced in my life, and more than anything, I felt keenly that there was a gap between him and me that could not be bridged at once and that was difficult to express in words as overwhelming.

That’s why I put a lot of effort into replaying the fight with the swordsman.

Even when training in Cheryl’s space, I devoted myself to training assuming a fight with a swordsman.

Of course, I felt personally resentful that I cared so much about swordsmanship.

For not being able to even hurt him and being helplessly defeated.

But, that wasn’t the only reason.

At that time, I expected it.

If I try to stop the church’s plan, I will eventually clash with the swordsman again.

As long as I move forward with that goal, one day the swordsman will once again block my path.

Therefore, I assumed, considered, and practiced the fight with the swordsman.

And at the end of that effort, I was able to take one step further from the realm of intention and entered a new realm… I thought.

… Well, now that I think about it, that was a mistake, but that’s what I thought at the time anyway.

And at that time, confidence grew in me.

At this level, I am confident that I may be able to win even if I fight the swordsman again.

That confidence grew stronger when he obtained the warrior’s sword during Armianon’s resurrection.

Since I had reached a new level and acquired the sword that was no exaggeration to say the best in history, I thought it would be possible to beat the swordsman.

However, in the end, that was a mistake.

As I reunited with him and exchanged swords with him, I realized.

The fact that the swordsman is located far ahead of me.

The fact that my odds of winning are never high.

Perhaps, if the fight had proceeded as is, if I had not advanced to a new level with the enlightenment I accidentally gained, the fight would have undoubtedly ended in the swordsman’s victory.

There was that much of a gap between me and the swordsman.

The swordsmanship was strong.

I haven’t competed hand-to-hand with every warrior on the continent, but there is probably no warrior stronger than a swordsman on this continent except me.

If you look at it that way, it could be said that the swordsman was a man worthy of being called the strongest.

Even though I thought so, I denied swordsmanship and his world in the end.

You declared that you were not the strongest and that you were not destined to become the strongest in the first place.

The reason I said that was never to get back at the swordsman.

I don’t know what the swordsman did to the people around me, but all he did to me was drive me to the brink of death.

Of course, I am not a saint and am not the kind of person who can laugh off something like that, but all my feelings about that matter were resolved by cutting off the swordman’s vitality.

However, the reason I said that in the end was because I saw it.

The life that the swordsman has walked, his life.

Because I saw it with my own eyes.

Immediately after stepping into a new realm, his life instantly flowed into my eyes, which allowed me to see many things.

This may have been possible because the opponent was a swordsman.

Because it was the will of a martial artist who had reached the extreme and exerted all his might, I was able to see his life through that will.

Anyway, that’s how I saw his life and learned about it.

What has he done?

How many innocent people has he killed?

Now that I know that, I couldn’t let the swordsman die like that.

I couldn’t allow him to die peacefully, lost in an illusion, saying it was just bad luck, something was wrong.

That’s why I said something like that.

To shatter the swordsman’s confidence, his illusions, and his distorted world.

To be honest, I don’t think his thoughts themselves are wrong.

Talent is not everything in this world.

Talent is certainly important, but just because a person has outstanding talent does not necessarily mean that he or she can advance far or to a higher level.

Life, life, is never determined solely by talent.

Effort, luck, trials, and countless other factors are involved, and only then is it decided.

Even if it’s just swordsmanship right now, it’s the same.

His talent is clearly genius, but it doesn’t mean that there are people who are more talented than him.

Nevertheless, Geomgong survived and became the strongest warrior on the continent.

Something beyond mere talent made him the strongest martial artist.

He himself is the evidence and proof of that thought.

Therefore, I think that the idea itself is definitely not wrong.

However, he chose the wrong method.

I took the wrong path.

In the name of fate, innocent people’s lives were taken and their lives taken away.

It was a clear evil act that cannot be justified by any words.

“… … .”

Suddenly, I turned my head and looked back.

Perhaps because the distance was quite far away, the swordsman was not visible.

But even though I couldn’t see it, I knew.

That the swordsman was clearly dead.

A man who achieved numerous achievements and created a legend.

The man who became a hero of the empire and made his name known to everyone on the continent.

The man was undoubtedly the strongest warrior on the continent.

He died in a place where no one could see, without anyone noticing.

It was a shabby death unbecoming of the continent’s strongest warrior.

I thought it was a fitting death for a wicked man who was blinded by vain greed and took the lives of countless people.

“… … .”

Soon, I turned my head and looked straight ahead.

Then I started walking again.

There was no time to indulge in sentimentality.

‘Joining the group… I guess I’ll have to give up.’

I came to a conclusion in my head.

I decided to give up on joining the group.

I realized that I had reached a new level and was able to see a new world.

The fact that this space is not a temporary, isolated space.

This is also one of the spaces created within the tent, and there is a significant physical distance from the space where I originally existed and where my group still exists.

Of course, if you want, you will be able to join the group without spending a lot of time.

Especially when it comes to me now.

however.

There is no time.

My intuition was telling me that I had truly entered a new realm, a literally transcendental state.

The fact that something unusual happening deep in this space is gradually coming to an end.

Therefore, I gave up on joining the group.

Because I thought I shouldn’t delay any longer.

The group is worried.

The enemy they face will not be easy to handle with their full strength.

However, it was an inevitable choice.

Now I had to move forward.

In the end, I had no choice but to trust my companions.

Rachel, Ira, Alexis, Cedric, Chris, Wilhelm, and Ethan.

The power, talent, and potential they have.

I felt fortunate that Ethan was there.

Ethan is a man you can vaguely trust who always seems to do something for you.

“… … .”

After alleviating my anxiety and worries, I continued walking.

Guided by intuition, towards the deepest part of this space.