256. Gift (1)
“student.”
It was not long after we returned from Gulliver’s Travels.
My master came to me while I was practicing swordsmanship alone.
She watched me swing my sword absentmindedly and then said.
“Hmm, I guess it’s time to change my sword.”
“······Yes? A sword?”
“okay.”
I was embarrassed.
Because I have been taught by the Master and have received so much help that I cannot express it in words.
I trusted my teacher so deeply that I would believe him even if he said that he made meju with red beans.
The words, “Change your sword,” could not help but be disconcerting.
‘Change the sword······?’
What kind of sword do I use?
Understand that you were dropped into this unfamiliar world for the ridiculous reason of playing gacha once.
It was a sword that had been with me all along.
Moonlight
A sword that has been strengthened from Unique to Legendary level through repeated application of reinforcements.
I have never been there before and have used all my magic power,
It was a famous sword that still exuded a refreshing aura.
‘Probably, you won’t find a better sword than this······?’
Well, this was a world without gacha.
Still, there must be a reason why the teacher says this.
I asked her back.
“Put this sword away, and what sword······?”
“Oh, I mixed up the words. It’s not the sword. It’s the sword technique.”
“ah.”
*
Two roots─
Let’s increase concentration.
For a moment, the world passes slowly.
Ten men in black running towards me.
Each of them drew their swords and swung them, and there seemed to be no gap in their swords.
‘If it were normal, I would have struck the sword here and dodged it.’
My instincts told me to get away immediately, but I didn’t move.
– Disciple. Your sword is splendid. You steal the opponent’s attention with a change of scenery. You create an opening and insert your sharp teeth into it.
– Yes······. Right···?
– Yes. That must be so. Because that’s what I taught you. And it’s also true that that’s the swordsmanship that suits you best.
I heard my teacher’s blunt voice in my head.
– Do you think that flashiness is the only answer to stealing the other person’s attention and creating an opening?
‘Contain multiple sword strikes in one swing… Hmm, what does that mean?’
Baek Seol-hee gave it as homework.
Honestly, I still don’t fully understand what she said.
Still, the reason I’m trying this now is.
– I have already taught you everything. And you will be able to verify it in practice.
Suu …
I took a heavy breath and drew my sword.
That moment.
Something strange was ‘read’ in my eyes.
‘uh······?’
The opponent’s breathing, the flow of the attack, a momentary gap in a solid pattern.
It was a realm of imagination, but
A line drawn clearly in front of your eyes.
And that line was constantly changing places even as they rushed towards it.
‘What is this······?’
Ss …
I got the timing right,
He swung his sword once.
But it was a sword that was drawn slowly.
The blade overlapped the line exactly.
That moment.
Stop.
The body of one of the guys who was swinging his sword in the air froze.
‘now!’
I didn’t miss that moment.
Love love love─
The previously slow black blade accelerated in an instant, slicing past the enemy’s neck with sharp blades.
Crunch─
And the neck was cut off so pointlessly.
The Shinga guards collapsed on the spot like puppets with their strings cut off.
Taat─
I flew straight into the gap and dodged the remaining nine swords.
“Ha······. What is this?”
I looked at the moonlight in my hand and let out a hollow laugh.
“When did I learn this kind of swordsmanship······?”
He was a truly absurd teacher.
I can’t believe I planted this technology without even knowing it.
My respect for her grew along with the goosebumps that ran all over my body.
“Isn’t this just a scam?”
* * *
“Kuaaak!!! Kuaaah!!!!”
In the lab of the new book, a naked man was still screaming.
Now the others trapped inside the cage covered their ears with both hands and trembled in fear.
That was the case even for researchers belonging to Shinga.
“it’s annoying······.”
Because Shindohwa’s mood was gradually falling to rock bottom.
All around her were soot marks and the corpses of burnt-to-death insects.
Although they don’t know where it came from, bugs were attracted by the smell of blood coming from the laboratory.
Because every time, Shindohwa used fire to deal with it in a nervous manner.
“······What the hell is the problem? I’ve brainwashed it to the max level and it’s still holding up? Ha, maybe it’d be better to just discard it?”
Bugs keep coming into my territory,
Now even the experiment, which had only the final stage left, has been ruined.
I was so annoyed from start to finish.
Shindohwa furrowed her eyebrows and bit her nails.
“Ha, I just want to kill them all······.”
Shudder.
The researchers belonging to the new group and those locked in the iron cage trembled and cast their eyes down.
I’m afraid I might provoke her for no reason.
“······Now that I think about it. Those guys who released these bugs. Did you catch them?”
Shindohwa displays a hologram.
One of the drones switched screens.
There were still annoying flying bugs hovering in front of the camera.
She patiently flew the drone towards the location where the Shinga Guard was.
‘······what?’
Clearly, it was different from what I thought it would be nearby.
The Shinga Guard was located at a fairly remote location, sparsely populated.
“Did the rats escape? Well, as long as we dealt with those intruders properly, it’ll be fine.”
And finally, the Shinga Guard appeared on the hologram.
“uh?”
Shin Do-hwa, who checked the screen, had no choice but to open her eyes wide.
Well, the Shinga guards, who thought they had dealt with all the invaders, were dying instead.
Crunch─
Crunch─
The black movements the boy used were very simple.
Swing, cut, stab.
It was a sword with only three movements.
“With slow screen······!”
Wheein.
A camera mounted on a drone captured his appearance in high definition.
And the boy’s swordsmanship is played again.
She checked his sword in slow motion and only then was she able to figure it out.
How ridiculous that sword is.
‘Huh, what is this······. Are you controlling the speed while swinging the sword?’
And the sword, which should have clearly ended in one sword, branched out as if it were alive.
It was being drawn inevitably.
The Shinga guards are helpless in front of the boy.
It was the worst possible situation for her.
Instead, a faint blush appeared on Shindohwa’s face.
“······beautiful.”
Thirst prickled my throat.
“I want it.”
That appearance is the pinnacle of beauty.
Inhuman swordsmanship.
Even that cruel nature.
Isn’t it just like a jewel?
Her possessiveness, which had been quiet until then, was suddenly ignited no matter what she saw.
In this regard, Shin Do-hwa clearly resembled Shin Se-hee.
‘But who is that kid? I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere······.’
Then, suddenly.
She recalled the report she had received from her stupid daughter a long time ago.
[ List of members of Utopia . ]
These are the students of Utopia.
As a member of Shinga, I will be in charge of management from behind the scenes.
I will post reports on Utopia periodically.
– Shin Su-yeon.
‘Ha, yeah. That’s the kid I saw there back then.’
The name that was briefly included in the long report that Shin Soo-yeon had sent to herself, saying that she had caught Shin Se-hee.
Jin Yu-ha of Utopia.
Clearly, it was the face I had seen there.
But, when I saw him in a photo at that time, he was a beautiful boy of a different level.
“Hmm, I guess I failed? There’s no way my daughter could hold a child like that.”
Shin Su-yeon, who was watching the Shin Ga royal guard being beaten while touching her lips, smiled faintly.
“······The one who did such a cute thing. As expected, it must be that Shin Se-hee kid?”
Shin Do-hwa, who understood everything based on the circumstances alone.
She quickly turned her head.
Poggle poggle
The image of a naked man still looking at himself with eyes that hate him.
“Well, if it’s like this, can we really discard this?”
Beep─
She said, pressing a button.
“Instead, you can just put that kid here. Hehehehe······.”
Her cruel laughter echoes through the laboratory.
The man’s eyes turned red.
“Kururururuk······.”
“Go wild. You’re a failure.”
* * *
“Phew······.”
I sighed in front of the pile of corpses of Shinga’s personal guard.
‘This, the mental strength draining away is no joke······.’
However, in single-player battles, I have acquired a new sword technique of a fraudulent level.
I felt like it would take a little more time to get used to it.
Wheeing─
I glanced at the drone watching me from above.
‘Hmm, that must be Shintoism. It’s annoying······.’
I didn’t have time to worry about anything during the battle, so I just watched for the time being.
I can’t show you what I’m going to do from now on.
Let’s swing our swords.
Crunch─
Phew! Phew!
A drone exploding in the air.
“Shindohwa. I have prepared a gift you can’t even imagine.”
I looked at the corpses of the Shinga guards with a wry smile.