Chapter 60
Sword Venerable Jihee.
She was the registered user who had appeared with Master on Day 1, discussed the direction of my training, then clicked her tongue and vanished when I started down the black-magic tree.
She'd said she would teach me how to handle weapons, hadn't she?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(312F) : What's with the sudden butting in?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(543F) : This is so fucking out of nowhere lolololololol
ㄴ Seol Harin : Why is that woman…
This registered user was neither a Reaper nor a mage, so, just as the gallery users said, her appearance was rather out of the blue.
But I knew why she had appeared at this particular moment.
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : If it's Slash (斬), then it most certainly lies within the realm of martial arts! I shall teach you that.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(710F) : You're not even a Reaper; do you know what an instant-kill technique derivative is?
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : Why wouldn't I? I listened to your explanations along with the young Reaper lady, after all.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(533F) : She really did sit in on the lecture lolololololol
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(499F) : What's with her butting in just because it seems vaguely similar;;
Last time too, when Slash was mentioned, she had barged in like this.
The gallery users' reactions were still unfavorable.
Sword Venerable Jihee stepped forward as if she had been wronged.
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : Something you couldn't do, or had never intended to teach, that young lady accomplished right in front of you!
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(249F) : You mean the circle leap earlier? lol
ㄴ Seol Harin : ……
ㄴ Death Note Tripitaka : You wag your tongue in a most sinister manner…
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(702F) : ;
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(643F) : She's using an AoE attack lolololololol
‘That is true.’
Thinking about it, nearly every technique I had learned so far had gone that way.
From Death Mark to the Blood Spirit Tea Ceremony, Fifth-Circle Levitation, and Persona Divide.
I had learned things the gallery users had never intended to teach me, or that even they themselves didn't know, in ways they could never have imagined and in barely any time.
‘If only I could learn Slash's derivative that easily too…’
It was just then.
The master who had seemed the most conservative left an unexpected comment.
ㄴ Death Note Tripitaka : …If you're talking about training in a derivative of Slash, what that young lady is doing does seem close.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(710F) : Excuse me…?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(197F) : Why is this guy being supportive?
‘Oh.’
Though his tone was bitter, Master seemed to nod.
In truth, I felt the same way.
I wanted to learn physical combat techniques.
The three of us seemed to recognize the same priority.
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : Old Reaper. You aren't entirely without insight, after all. That young lady urgently needs to hone her weapon skills. Her only finisher at present lies in the realm of weapon handling. To use that technique properly in actual combat, especially in a crisis, she must absolutely internalize the weapon arts I teach her.
Since Slash was my current finisher, I needed to learn physical combat techniques first.
More than anything, after equipping two high-value Legendary Artifacts, learning this should have been my first priority.
ㄴ Death Note Tripitaka : If my disciple hadn't invested in Strength and Agility, I'd have tried to stop her, but… it can't be helped.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(312F) : Didn't Sword Venerable Jihee absolutely hate teaching Newbie at first?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(277F) : Taeheo really mellowed her out lolololololol
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(540F) : ㄴㄴ If they hadn't invested in physical stats, she'd still be forcing it lolololololol
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(754F) : That noona really is the undisputed number one in weapon-art theory. She even produced a member of the vanguard.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(397F) : Sword Venerable Jihee is in the high 800s too, so isn't she practically vanguard?
Practically vanguard.
Sword Venerable Jihee seemed to be quite a big shot.
Having a disciple above Floor 900 was an incredible achievement, so why was her reputation so mixed?
While I was thinking about that, the discussion continued elsewhere.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(351F) : No, no, there's only thirty minutes left, so shouldn't they read the Floor 101 strategy guide first?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(431F) : With their current stats, they'll probably clear it anyway.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(197F) : Wouldn't it be better to just go up right away?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(435F) : Still, she must have butted in because there's something they can learn quickly.
Yeah.
There had to be something she could teach quickly.
But Sword Venerable Jihee immediately proved that assumption wrong.
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : What are you talking about? There is no such thing as accelerated learning on the path of weaponry.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(312F) : Huh?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(643F) : She's being fucking honest lolololololol
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : That young lady has only a Reaper's body. She was not born with a martial physique. Therefore, you would do well to abandon any expectation that she can accomplish something in an instant.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(243F) : Then get lost again.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(543F) : How long does it take, then?
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : What a foolish question. It varies wildly.
Then Master said this.
ㄴ Death Note Tripitaka : …Good. I understand, so hurry up and begin.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(461F) : She says it takes a long time, and you're allowing this?
ㄴ Death Note Tripitaka : It is obvious that awakening the derivative black magic stemming from Death Sentence—Sight will take longer than even the first step of what that woman teaches.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(643F) : So this guy was trying to keep Newbie from climbing too lolololololol
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(248F) : Both of them are fucking ridiculous lolololololol. They have to climb within thirty minutes, don't they…
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(578F) : Newbie says intruders aren't scary anymore anyway lol
As I'd thought earlier, the remaining vacation time wasn't all that important anymore.
Becoming stronger efficiently was more important than anything else.
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : The derivative martial art of Slash, Space-Cutting Shatter, is not a technique that can ever be learned in thirty minutes.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(710F) : Huh? How do you know the name of Slash's derivative?
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : I named it.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(312F) : ? lolololololololololol
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(431F) : Bullshit lololololol
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(710F) : Why the fuck are you naming a Reaper's technique?
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : After seeing Death Mark, I had already gauged the level a derivative of an instant-kill technique would reach.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(241F) : That headcanon is insane.
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : Therefore, I predict that to even stand at the threshold of Space-Cutting Shatter, one must break through at least five walls!
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(643F) : Fuck, there it is.
‘Wall?’
That was rather interesting.
Just like magic circles, martial arts seemed to have a concept called ‘walls’ that represented one's level.
Judging by her saying five walls, it seemed comparable to the Fifth Circle.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(100F)(Author) : What is a wall?
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : Why don't you know?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(643F) : Definition of wall: Wall
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(249F) : lololololololol
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(351F) : lololololol It's not abstract lol
‘Does she mean actual walls?’
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : Naturally, by walls, I mean the walls of this tower!
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(100F)(Author) : I see…
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(100F)(Author) : Then from now on… should I train by striking walls with my scythe?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(643F) : I was startled by how fucking ignorant that sounded lololololololol
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : That is correct. But why do you seem unconvinced?
As I was typing a reply, a comment that seemed offended by my words appeared before I could send mine.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(150F) : Why are you dismissing wall-breaking? Where else in the Demon King's Tower can you find a sandbag as perfectly standardized as a wall?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(643F): Wall-breaker persecution complex ㄴ
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(100F)(Author) : I'm not dismissing it. I thought it was something like circles for mages.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(150F) : That's exactly what it is, though?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(643F) : lolololololololololol
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(358F) : People who invest in Strength do judge their level by how many walls they've broken lololol. Walls have high magic resistance, so only the martial types do that.
‘So my first thought was right after all…’
It was then.
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : Training with walls is not something to dismiss. Not only does it help one learn the principles of strength, it is also connected to the second method of escaping the Demon King's Tower.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(643F) : Now you know exactly why people dismiss it lolololololol
Huh?
What?
‘The second method of escaping the Demon King's Tower?’
That was a rather shocking thing to hear.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(100F)(Author) : Excuse me?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(432F) : lololololololololololol
ㄴ Seol Harin : Seoyoon. Just ignore that last remark…
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(543F) : It's genuinely idiotic, so don't pay too much attention to it.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(249F) : That's right, Sword Venerable Jihee was a wall-breaker too.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(100F)(Author) : What's that?
‘If breaking walls is connected to escaping the Demon King's Tower, surely…’
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(349F) : It means breaking the Demon King's Tower and getting out. It's what the morons who genuinely believe they can physically smash through the tower walls to escape claim. Yep.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(312F) : lololololololololololololol