Chapter 21
Salamander ran breathlessly.
The moment he regained his senses, the feet carrying him away were already turning back toward Hwi-min.
It wasn't because of Hwi-min.
'Because this is my duty…!'
Salamander was the one who guided initiates.
It was his duty to make initiates undergo their prescribed trials.
He, of all people, was running away?
Leaving behind the vengeful spirit in the temple—not because of a prescribed trial, but because of his own failure to manage it?
It was impossible.
That was why he had turned back despite trembling in fear.
'And if the great one were to be left with even a wound… the wrath of an existence far more powerful…."
Though that was also because there was an existence more frightening than a Level 999 vengeful spirit, but anyway.
Because of that, Salamander ran as fast as he could.
Even knowing that, if he went, he would only end up like a low-grade spirit's elemental core exploding in a Spirit King battle, he did not stop.
Thanks to that, he soon arrived back at the scene…
"Great one!! I… huh?"
He froze the moment he saw the scene.
The sight before him
was utterly incomprehensible.
'What is this…?'
The vengeful spirit and Hwi-min.
Their figures were intertwined.
Their movements were so graceful that they looked like two butterflies dancing in the air.
Even Hwi-min felt the same way.
-Swish.
'…Could it be?'
Hwi-min's eyes examined the vengeful spirit.
She was moving and swinging her sword.
At a glance, it looked as though she was continuing her offensive,
'As I thought. She's not trying to attack.'
Each time Hwi-min evaded her attacks, his movements gradually came to resemble hers.
That was because the vengeful spirit herself was guiding his movements, as though showing him the correct method.
'She's teaching me the footwork!'
Hwi-min exclaimed inwardly.
Footwork being taught directly by a Level 999.
It was a fortuitous opportunity that could not be learned even by offering an astronomical sum of money.
He could even feel its effects in real time.
'So this is how you use your legs.'
Unlike his swordsmanship, whose mastery had reached the extreme, his footwork had been rather ordinary until now.
But after imitating that vengeful spirit?
His body felt as free as a butterfly.
He could also adjust his distance from his opponent with complete freedom.
It was as if wings had been attached to his divine swordsmanship.
Hwi-min was growing stronger every second.
'I need to wring every last bit out of her."
After watching her for a moment,
Hwi-min took two steps back.
Then, swish—!!
He stretched his hand forward.
The ring on his index finger flashed.
"Trait Enhancement Swap, Sword God."
A message saying that his trait had been enhanced and his comprehension had increased flashed briefly before his eyes.
He had already been a fast learner.
What would happen when trait enhancement was applied as well?
The result came quickly.
'Oh, this is better.'
Taat—!!
Hwi-min charged forward again.
He danced around the vengeful spirit.
His footwork was every bit as good as the woman's.
No, perhaps…
he might even have been more impressive.
The vengeful spirit's eyes widened.
[……!!!]
'What is this?'
Hwi-min, who had moved awkwardly as though he had spent his whole life fighting from horseback,
was perfectly copying her footwork.
She had not taught him any secret formulas.
She had merely found his attitude of recognizing his shortcomings and wanting to learn endearing, and tried to teach him a little basic lightness technique.
Yet Hwi-min learned simply by watching her.
More than that, he surpassed her.
…During a fight that had lasted only a few minutes.
'As expected of a god. The God of Swords, Sword God!'
"Hup."
Fwoosh—!!
The vengeful spirit bounced backward.
Thanks to her speed, which felt like short-range teleportation, the distance between them instantly widened.
Hwi-min could have chased her if he wanted to.
But he did not bother.
-Pose.
"Is that it?"
Hwi-min lowered his sword and spoke.
The disappointment on his face was unmistakable.
'Isn't there anything else? This is a bundle of fortuitous encounters!'
If she knew what he was thinking, she would have clicked her tongue at how greedy he was after shamelessly copying her footwork.
But the vengeful spirit had no way of guessing that shameless bandit's mentality.
In her eyes, Hwi-min was already a peerless genius who looked down on the world.
It was hard to imagine someone like that lamenting over just a few techniques.
"To achieve mastery in lightness skill in less than fifteen minutes! Truly amazing."
"Hmm, xie xie?"
"For such a great hero, this humble maiden would like to ask you to teach me a move."
After respectfully cupping her hands,
the vengeful spirit raised her sword.
The strongest person Hwi-min had ever met had acknowledged him, even humbling herself by referring to herself as a mere maiden.
Of course, Hwi-min understood none of it.
"You want to fight some more?"
'Oh, jackpot.'
A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
His eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Excited at the thought of learning more techniques, he quickly raised his sword again.
The result was
a sparring match on an entirely different level from before.
-Clang!!
"Here I come!!"
The vengeful spirit charged forward.
She was moving about fifty percent faster than before.
Because she thought she could not win even if she gave it her all, she unleashed all her internal power as she moved.
……!!?
'Wait, you said you'd hold back!! This isn't WWE!!!'
Though Hwi-min himself was freaking out like a total wimp…
Contrary to his inner thoughts,
his body moved instinctively.
Boom—!!
He stomped hard on the ground.
With that mystical footwork, Hwi-min instead pressed into the attack.
'I want to put some distance between us and switch to an enhanced trait first… no, I can't shake her! I have to fight at point-blank range to survive!'
"Hup!!!"
Hwi-min swung his sword to meet hers.
Even though his opponent had attacked first, he struck a beat later.
Considering that even his physical abilities were inferior, it was madness, but
-Ding.
[The trait 'Sword God+' activates.]
His sword traced a strange trajectory, heading along a path that perfectly blocked his opponent's attack.
Striking later and gaining control first.
It was the act of drawing one's weapon after the opponent, then subduing their attack.
It was easy to say, but difficult to do in practice.
To perfectly read the opponent's sword path and target its opening with a far more efficient movement…
It was absolutely impossible without a substantial gap in attainment.
That was why the vengeful spirit twisted her body in panic.
'That sword contains the principle of severance. If I meet it head-on, my sword will be cut apart!!'
Whirligig—!!
The sword heading toward Hwi-min changed direction.
The forced evasion ruined her posture, but she chose to protect her sword regardless.
Of course, it was only for a split second. Normally, she could have recovered her stance in less than a second, but…
Hwi-min's Dragon Eyes had already captured the sight before him.
'She got scared of the Myriad Severance Sword trait!? This is my chance!!'
"Hup!!"
Hwi-min opened his eyes wide.
He gripped his sword tightly and swung it.
Its trajectory was aimed straight at the vengeful spirit's neck.
"Eek…!!?"
'Already!?'
Taat—!!
Her figure immediately sprang backward.
The vengeful spirit did not stop there; she even rolled across the ground.
It was Naryeotagon, an evasion technique that involved rolling across the ground like a donkey.
Since rolling across the ground was an extremely humiliating act, people generally did not follow up with another attack against someone who used Naryeotagon unless they were sworn enemies, but…
'…Why is she suddenly rolling on the ground?'
Unfortunately, Hwi-min did not know that unspoken rule.
Even if he had, he was the kind of man who would not have cared.
"Hyaa!!"
His sword cut through the air again.
Its tip was aimed at his opponent's neck.
To the vengeful spirit, it felt as though the Grim Reaper were swinging a scythe to reap her neck.
"Hieek!!"
'How can you be so merciless!!'
Whirligig—!!!
The vengeful spirit rolled across the ground once again.
No matter how much her posture had broken down, her level and stats were higher than Hwi-min's.
Dodging itself was not difficult.
If there was one problem, it was simply this:
it was unbelievably embarrassing.
'I…'
The vengeful spirit's cheeks flushed red.
It was because memories she'd forgotten over the long years
were beginning to return little by little.
[—Junior sister is a peerless genius under heaven!!]
She had been a genius.
No one had ever been able to defeat her.
Why had she entered the Beginner's Tower? And, furthermore, why had she met her death here?
Those memories would not come back at all, but…
one thing was certain.
No matter how much of a genius she had been, compared to Hwi-min, she was the lowest of the low—a mere third-rate.
'Even a great hero whose swordsmanship has reached the realm of the gods gives his all without growing arrogant, so who was I to spout nonsense about using only seventy percent of my internal power!'
She was merely a frog in a well.
Her face heated at this realization.
Nevertheless,
the first defeat she had ever experienced
was not something she disliked.
-Squeeze.
"…This humble maiden has lost, great hero!!!"
After shouting sharply,
the vengeful spirit gave up on fleeing and flopped face-down onto the ground.
Only then did Hwi-min withdraw his sword.
"Uh, is it over?"
"Thanks to you, it seems this foolish maiden's eyes have been opened. Thank you."
"So it's over…?"
Hwi-min then examined the vengeful spirit.
Or should she even be called a vengeful spirit?
By then, color had returned to her face, and at a glance, she was indistinguishable from a human.
It was because her grudge had completely dissipated, leaving only a pure soul… but how could Hwi-min have known that?
He simply nodded.
He had won the spar, and his opponent did not seem to intend to harm him.
Anyway, it seemed things had worked out well.
'So giving her a proper fight really did let her pass on.'
"Then the hidden… ahem, do you have anything to give me?"
Then he shamelessly held out his hand.
It was silent pressure asking whether she had anything else to give him.
The answer he received was affirmative.
"Having witnessed such magnificent swordsmanship, I ought to give you a token of gratitude, but… it seems all I have left are this sword and my soul…."
She hesitated.
After fidgeting for quite some time, the vengeful spirit cupped her hands together.
A blue orb appeared between her hands.
"I shall offer myself to you, great hero."
"…Thank you?"
Hwi-min silently accepted it.
He did not know what it was used for, but
he intended to take it first and figure it out later.
Thus, the orb passed from her hands into Hwi-min's, and
"Please take good care of…."
Faaaaash—!!!
The vengeful spirit disappeared before she could finish speaking.
The only thing left where the vengeful spirit had been was a sword lying on the ground.
Along with the blue orb in Hwi-min's hand, it was the only other evidence that she had ever been there.
"Hmm."
'What is this?'
Hwi-min's gaze shifted only after the vengeful spirit had completely vanished.
Ding.
After the notification that a trait had activated rang out,
the identities of the sword and orb—the hidden piece he'd obtained after a week of hardship—were revealed.
"…Oh?"
'I'm about to reach the fourth floor, so this worked out well.'