Chapter 7
I took a photo of the square box that had fallen to the ground using the terminal.
Title: Light's Sword. What the hell is this?
Author: ㅇㅇ*
-It looks like it would explode if you touched it.
└ LMAOㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Boom-! Is this a bomb? Then again, a lot of magitech devices do have designs like that.
└ Light's Sword) Don't worry. It's painful all the same, but it won't explode like that.
└ ㅇㅇ*) If it doesn't explode, how can it be painful?
└ Light's Sword) Check that item later. First, look at the sword manual.
Ah, the sword manual.
The cover of the sword manual bore an extremely simple name.
Dragon-Slaying Sword (龍殺劍).
…A sword for hunting dragons.
Do I really need to learn such an incredible sword art? Hmm?
It looks like the barrier to entry is way too high from the very beginning.
└ Light's Sword) If this were outside rather than in the Tower, I'd have made you work yourself to the bone on mana circulation and so on. But the Tower isn't structured so that you can immediately use a mana circulation method just because you want to.
└ ㅇㅇ There are people who complain about that. But as someone from a farming background, it actually worked in my favor. I didn't have the talent to awaken just by learning a mana circulation method.
└ Great Mage) You need to reach Level 20 before you can use mana circulation in a way that looks convincing for a swordsman. Sword aura (劍氣), for example. Before then, you can only use as much mana as your Mana stat rises through leveling up and the like. Of course, since I was originally a mage, my starting point was a little different.
As expected, it was unfair.
People from twenty-first-century Earth were inevitably given an unfair start compared to those from Martial World Earth or the medieval otherworld Earth where Light's Sword lived.
Since it was a world where mana didn't even exist.
But the world was unfair by nature.
└ Light's Sword) For now, learn as much as possible from the sword manual I wrote. I wrote it out in a way you'll understand very easily, so give it a read.
└ Swamp Sword Saint) No matter how clearly it's written or how detailed the explanations are, it should be practically useless until you build up a feel for actual combat, shouldn't it?
Swamp Sword Saint, who hadn't appeared for a while, showed up to challenge what Light's Sword had said.
Light's Sword didn't seem particularly flustered, though, and quickly posted a comment.
└ Light's Sword) That's right. Even if you've learned it mentally, unless you put it into action, the technique won't fully take root in your mind and body; it'll quickly fade. That's why I sent the Sparring Golem Mk. 2 along with it.
A sparring golem?
…Was it like the ‘training dummy’ from games?
└ Light's Sword) Press the activation button, and it'll transform in front of you. Into a humanoid golem.
└ ㅇㅇ*) I have to fight it, right?
└ Light's Sword) Yes. It's a golem implanted with the sword paths from the beginning through the middle of the sword manual.
I was beginning to predict roughly what I would have to go through.
A very ominous prediction.
└ ㅇㅇ*) How strong is the golem?
└ Light's Sword) You can think of it as having the level of martial power I possessed when I was seventeen. It's the one I used while training at that age. That was long before I entered the Tower.
Then wasn't it weak?
But my opponent was a Hard-difficulty conqueror, so I couldn't exactly ask that.
└ ㅇㅇ*) Hmm…If you had to compare it to a monster?
└ Light's Sword) It was around the time I killed the Ogre Chieftain and the Minotaur Raid Captain. I also killed some guy called Nephegos, supposedly the weakest of the Seven Calamity Demons, around then.
└ …Why did you kill monsters other people could only take down in their prime when you were still a little brat?
But if the golem had that level of martial power, wouldn't it kill me?
In truth, I still couldn't tell much even when he described it in terms of monsters. I could only infer its strength from the names.
And the others' reactions also helped me make deductions.
└ ㅇㅇ*) Did you send this to kill me?
└ Light's Sword) You won't die. The sword the golem uses is a wooden sword, too.
└ You won't die. It'll hurt like hell, but you probably won't die.
└ Wow, Light's Sword was a terrifying person ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ To come up with that kind of idea so quickly.
└ Then do you think a human who cleared Hard difficulty would have a normal brain? LMAOㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ They all look like idiots, but they're people who broke through the Asura Path and survived. Even someone like me, a Normal-difficulty conqueror, had my family make a huge fuss about how my emotional state had changedㅋㅋㅋ
└ Pioneer) I shall refrain from looking like an idiot.
Their words were gradually helping me get a feel for it, too.
What exactly Light's Sword had sent me.
And the comment Heavenly Demon had left beneath those made it clear that the theory I'd just come up with was correct.
└ Heavenly Demon) One does not die in a Tower waiting room, unless one's head is completely severed by the Extreme-Speed sword path. All wounds are healed by the waiting room's effects.
└ Heavenly Demon) Hmm…Indeed, fighting such a sparring scrap heap would raise one's practical combat sense all at once. Enduring the pain would also rapidly raise the grade of the related skills.
└ Translation: The related skill levels will rise quickly ㅇㅇ
└ Heavenly Demon) But then can't you simply put a real sword in the golem's hands? That would be an even more certain help in raising the grade of its techniques. Surely it isn't scrap metal capable of displaying Extreme Speed.
└ Translation: A real sword? This guy's even crazier. What the hell is wrong with him?
A real sword? What an insane thing to say.
└ Light's Sword) Any part other than the head will reattach itself just fine, even if it gets cut off.
Excuse me?
└ Light's Sword) So I wondered whether a real sword might be possible and used ‘Trade Designation’ while it was in real-sword form, but it said the trade was impossible. I expected that, though.
Whew. The fact that he even tried it was chilling.
└ Head Mod) I suppose using the waiting room's recovery system in moderation is permitted, but that means not crossing the line.
So, to draw a conclusion, this was a space where I could recover completely even after being beaten countless times by the golem.
In other words, the combination of the ‘sparring golem’ Light's Sword had given me and the effect of this ‘Tower-floor waiting room’ had produced this result.
└ Light's Sword) The golem's durability isn't particularly high. Implanting it with sword paths capable of wielding the Dragon-Slaying Sword art lowered its durability even further.
└ Light's Sword) Thirty times. If you land thirty effective hits on that golem, it'll break.
└ Thirtyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ At this skill gap, it'll take more than half a year to land thirty hits. Do you think he can?
└ A golem with thirty durability left, expected to survive for the next several years.
└ Swamp Sword Saint) …It's not completely impossible, so I can't say it's definitely impossible to break it.
I was on the verge of tears.
└ Light's Sword : This was the best I could prepare in a short time. You don't need to thank me too much.
…Wow, thank you so much.
If I hadn't been the intended recipient, I would have applauded Light's Sword and praised him as a genius.
But I was the one involved.
└ ㅇㅇ*) Yeah…thanks for sending me something like this.
From now on, I really had to get my head straight.
Just because these old veterans looked like people, I couldn't treat them as ordinary, common-sense human beings.
└ Light's Sword) Why don't you try it now?
└ Head Mod) Hey, you're going to be living in that sword prison he gave you from now on anyway, so get some proper sleep. Sleep first, then do it.
So was Head Mod the only remotely normal one?
└ Head Mod) Even if you train in your current state, you won't achieve even half of what you would while in good condition. Rest is part of training, too.
So that was his calculation? I take it back. There is no normal person here.
└ Head Mod) Ah, I kept meaning to ask, but every time you came back, something exploded, so I had no choice but to ask only now. What's your name?
└ ㅇㅇ*) Han Yoo-seong.
└ Han…Yoo-seong? That's an unusual name. Figures.
└ Head Mod) Nice to meet you, Han Yoo-seong. Don't die.
└ Light's Sword) I'll remember it as my disciple's name.
└ Heavenly Demon) It is a name with a pleasing resonance.
└ Shaman) Hawawa, now that I know your name, I shall divine your fortune soon.
└ If you look at Climber Gallery, all the twenty-first-century Earthlings have unusual names.
└ It's fascinating that some of us have long names and others have short ones, too.
└ There are tons of countries, too. But apparently they don't even have things like social classes?
└ Great Mage) What did you do in your original world?
└ ㅇㅇ*) Hmm…If I put it in terms you'd understand, I was a shop clerk?
└ Uh…that's not very related to combat…Didn't you do anything before that?
How should I explain what a pitcher is?
└ ㅇㅇ*) Throwing a ball. When you play a ball game, you need someone who's good at throwing the ball.
└ Swamp Sword Saint) Throwing a ball…?? What sort of world lets that be a profession?
└ For realㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ A world of dreams, hope, and peace.
└ Ice Queen) Frozen solid?
└ Great Mage) Then you must be confident at throwing a ball, right?
Well.
└ ㅇㅇ*) Yeah. That's about the one thing I'm confident in.
What else would be left of my life if you took that away?
Anyway, I'd devoted my teens to it.
As Head Mod said, I decided to sleep first and deal with it after I woke up.
Just one day.
Who would have thought my life could change this much in a single day?
Tomorrow frightened me. The future frightened me even more.
But I had to endure it. If I wanted to break through this Tower and climb upward.
* * *
I clearly felt the baseball in my right hand.
The whole world was silent.
My eyes were fixed on the catcher's mitt.
I raised my left foot slightly and pivoted.
Whoosh!
I thrust my right arm forward as I extended my leg, having drawn it back.
The ball tore through the air.
The ball sank into the mitt as if it belonged there.
Strike!
The umpire's heavy shout rang out.
Everyone came running over, cheering.
My fingertips tingled.
I clutched my right arm and smiled bitterly.
Winning isn't what matters. Yoo-seong, you're supposed to be one of the Big Three, so why did you abuse your arm like this? You're going to keep playing baseball, right? Get better soon.
It was the coach's voice.
The coach had been the one to ask me to push myself harder than usual in the first place. The human body broke down so easily.
Get a divorce. I've hated you since you started making Yoo-seong play baseball.
It was my mother's voice.
A family could break down so easily, too. The scenes flashed by.
Back on the mound. The spikes on my cleats felt especially alien that day.
Crack!
My mindset. The trajectory of my pitch. Nothing had changed.
The ball the batter hit was flying through the sky. Pain flared in my shoulder again.
My eyes were bloodshot. I clawed at the blameless ground.
The future that had seemed set in stone was so easily thrown off balance.
I grabbed the collar of the junior who asked if I was all right.
I shouted at the top of my lungs.
I couldn't make out what they were saying.
As if I were underwater.
My breath caught in my throat.
“….”
My eyes opened.
It hadn't been a particularly welcome dream. I drank the water I'd bought with coins yesterday.
The dream had been unpleasant, but my body felt refreshed.
I looked at the clock.
7:32 a.m.
The perfect time to start the day.
Title: Hi, I'm awake
Author: ㅇㅇ*
-I feel refreshed after getting some sleep.
Comments came in quickly.
I mainly talked to Light's Sword. He explained the sword manual and the sword prison he had given me again. I closed the Transcendent Gallery and began reading through the sword manual Light's Sword had given me.
Dragon-Slaying Sword.
I couldn't make heads or tails of what it was saying.
But I set those parts aside for now.
-Light's Sword) Figure out what you don't understand, then move on.
-Light's Sword) The golem will show you anyway.
As Light's Sword had said, after quickly reading through the opening section once, I took the small square box in my hand.
A gray, square box.
He had said that if I pulled out the red piece in the center, it would serve as the activation device.
Click-
The front of the box, which looked like a cube piece, had a black button, while the back had a white button.
He had said pressing the black button would activate it, and pressing the white button would stop it.
Beep-
After pressing the black button that activated the golem, I set the box down on the floor.
The surface of the box trembled, and mechanical arms suddenly sprang out from both sides.
I could see tiny gears moving with the naked eye.
Blue light flared, and the other square boxes that had formed beneath it transformed into legs for bipedal walking.
The moment the golem recognized my existence, it stepped forward.
─Shaaahhh!
Before I had time to react.
A wooden sword slammed into my shoulder.
Crack-
The sound of bones being crushed rang out.
“Ah.”
Even though it was a wooden sword, it fucking hurt.
It seemed that my passive ‘Pain Suppression’ activated whenever a sword strike hit my body directly, but even suppressed pain hurt like hell.
And soon, the pain disappeared due to the waiting room's effects.
[Focus Enhancement Lv.1 - Activating skill.]
The jewel embedded in the golem's center looked like a single red eye.
It hit me three more times.
[Skill ‘Pain Suppression’ level increased. Lv.3]
Only then did I realize.
The slashes that had cut my body apart again and again up to that point were the first technique of the Dragon-Slaying Sword, Þursahǫgg.
-Light's Sword) It will hurt a little.
-Light's Sword) It's a wooden sword, but I had it specially made from Setne wood, which is famous for its durability.
The comments Light's Sword had posted before I closed the gallery.
-Light's Sword) Even if it's unfair. Even if you're annoyed. Even if you hate it, you can't do anything about it. Just do it.
I know.
Though I do feel like crying because this old veteran is progressing way too quickly.
Because I've been hit, I can see it.
How it should be swung. If I get it wrong, I just need to take a few more hits.
He said it would break if I hit it thirty times.
Good.
I'll definitely be the one to break you.