274. Asa (1)

A swordsman who claims to be his own master without any conscience.

If that old monster had a conscience, it would surely be a hairy, ugly thing.

“······No matter how much you are the Master’s Master, I cannot say that I want to become your disciple without asking for your consent.”

Fortunately, the disciple did not fall for the sweet words of the evil old fox and drew the line.

‘Haa, at least that’s a relief······.’

Baek Seol-hee let out a deep sigh of relief and glared at the sword master with her teeth clenched.

A woman who gave up her honor, pride, and beliefs and talked nonsense to seduce her disciple.

Baek Seol-hee had no intention of forgiving her.

‘The moment I leave this place, it will be your last. Inspection.’

“Well, since you decided to take a look at the sword, you have to do it. Show me the sword you learned from my ‘disciple’. Show me your everything.”

The inspector continued to sing the song of the four seasons, unaware that Baek Seol-hee was sharpening the sword of resentment right next to him.

But at the same time, her request to show the sword to her disciple was welcome.

‘Get ready to fall over in surprise. Inspection.’

His disciple was already at the stage where he had to sharpen his own sword. He was not at the level to receive teachings from someone.

If he saw this, he would have completely given up on recruiting disciples.

The disciple who had closed his eyes like that drew his sword.

‘Perfect.’

The posture of a quiet examiner.

Baek Seol-hee felt extremely satisfied with Jin Yu-ha’s flawless posture.

And then his sword was slowly raised above his head.

Hooowooo─!!

The blue and black lines draw a straight line through the empty space from top to bottom.

At that moment,

Bang!

As Baek Seol-hee had expected, Geomje fell backwards in surprise.

She didn’t see the sight.

“!”

Well, I was captivated by the countless swords engraved in the air.

Baek Seol-hee opened her eyes wide.

‘already······?’

The embodiment of possibility.

Moving further into the selection stage.

The stage of making it concrete through will alone.

Jin Yu-ha had already done that.

Baek Seol-hee, the teacher, should have been delighted with her student’s rapid growth.

She couldn’t help but harden her face.

‘This is too fast.’

Yeah, this is too fast.

This shouldn’t be happening.

Baek Seol-hee stared blankly into space and then turned her head.

There, the inspector was holding Jin Yu-ha’s shoulder with a serious expression on his face.

“─You must take up my sword.”

Baek Seol-hee was so absorbed in the sword that her disciple had shown her a moment ago that she didn’t hear what the sword master had said in front of her.

However, even after seeing the sword just a little while ago, it seemed like the sword master was thinking of taking Jin Yu-ha as his disciple.

But then again, the crisis of losing my disciple came.

This time, Baek Seol-hee’s lips did not part.

The sword that Jin Yu-ha just showed me.

Because it was a path that led straight to his own failed sword.

‘Why······.’

Baek Seol-hee bit her lip and stared blankly at her disciple, who had a bewildered expression on his face.

* * *

And so the day’s happenings passed.

It was the first night we met in the Forest of Swords.

I was lying alone in the guest room, covered with a blanket, and my head started to feel complicated.

Came out.

“Gookbap and Poppy don’t seem to be coming back either······.”

I think I’d feel a little better if I had party members.

Alice, who went with them, also did not return.

Still, I wasn’t worried or anything.

If there was a problem, the inspector would have gone out to find it.

But judging from the fact that there was no particular sign of that, it seemed like the training they would receive would not be one that would last just a day or two.

Why I have such complicated feelings.

It was because of what the inspector said to me during the day.

‘I asked the Master if he had failed. And the Master said that it was a sword that could never be completed······.’

When I saw the sword I learned from my master, the sword master said that it was as if the person had changed.

I wanted to answer no to that outright.

Could not refute.

Because the master had already declared with his own mouth, ‘I am a failure.’

Whoosh─ whiriririk─!

I pulled out my sword again and swung it.

It only shows the realm of possibility.

It didn’t come out again unconsciously like it did during the day.

Obviously, it was a natural process.

This phenomenon must have occurred because the next stage of the sword is supposed to proceed like that.

Is there really something wrong with this sword?

Whoosh whoosh whoosh─ slap slap slap!

While swinging the sword, I never once doubted my master.

‘······This is not a failure.’

Surely, there will be a way to solve this.

Because the Master said he believed in me.

“I really want to talk to the teacher······.”

But, the master is not here.

Then suddenly,

I took out my cell phone and stared at it blankly.

Knock knock. I tapped the screen to find my teacher’s number and wrote a text.

[ I miss you, Master. ]

Okay then.

Woof─

A text message that suddenly comes back as if it had been waiting for you right after you sent it.

“Huh?”

[ Baek Seol-hee : I’m sorry . ]

I wasn’t expecting a reply this quickly, so I was a little flustered.

I felt better right away.

I thought the teacher was waiting for my call too.

[ What are you sorry about? Oh, is it because you suddenly left without saying anything? That’s okay. It couldn’t be helped. You’ve been busy, so I’m sorry for wasting your time on me─ ]

‘Hmm, is this too verbose?’

Let’s just send it off neatly and say it’s okay.

So I tried to delete the text and edit it.

Woof─

The vibration rings again.

[ Baek Seol-hee: I don’t regret spending time with you at all, disciple. Don’t think like that. ]

After receiving the teacher’s reply, I tilted my head to the side.

‘Huh? Did I just send a text?’

no.

You haven’t pressed the send button yet.

But the text I sent came back as if it was a reply to the text I sent in advance.

‘What······? It’s as if something is watching the text right next to me······.’

I turned my head around, but all I could hear was the sound of insects scurrying around me.

There was no sign of life.

I tilted my head for a moment and then chuckled.

Because I thought I knew.

Even with my eyes closed, I could tell what my teacher would say next.

That is, write down your reply in advance!

‘Hmm, should I give it a try?’

I sent the text as if I was playing a telepathy game with my teacher.

[Teacher, what did you have for lunch today?]

I sent the text like that and expected a reply from my teacher.

‘I ate a calorie bar. There’s no food that provides as much nutrition as this.’

Woof─

[ Baek Seol-hee: I ate a calorie bar. There is no food that provides as much nutrition as this. ]

As expected.

A reply that comes back exactly as expected, without a single word of difference.

I smiled as if I had a connection with someone, but then my face hardened.

‘I told you to stop eating those damn calorie bars.’

The teacher had a habit of eating simple meals every time.

No matter how much I nagged him to fix it, it still didn’t get fixed.

[Master, I told you. Even if you say you can’t taste it, you have to eat it well, right?]

‘I’ll try······.’

[ Baek Seol-hee: I’ll try······. ]

There was a high possibility that he would just say this and not fix it.

Tch.

[Master, when your sense of taste returns in a month, is there anything you want to eat? Is there anything you wanted to try during that time? Or something you were curious about the taste?]

‘Well, here······. Anything is fine with me. I’ve already experienced it once, so that’s enough.’

[ Well, I’m fine with anything. I’ve experienced it once, so that’s enough. ]

I really wonder how you never fail to deliver on expectations.

This was quite fun.

I guess that means I’ve become closer to my teacher.

Then suddenly,

I wondered how the teacher would react if I told him about what happened today.

[ Oh, right. Do you know what happened today, Master? I met Master’s Master, that is, Master Geomje. Master Geomje said he would accept me as his disciple. ]

I just sent it up to there and pressed the send button.

I dare say it will take quite some time for a reply to this.

He is also the teacher’s teacher.

Because I didn’t write down what I answered.

‘Perhaps, ······disciple, what did you answer?’

It’s as if he’s trying to hide his rising jealousy.

Then I was thinking of replying straight away that I had rejected it.

Because I don’t want to disturb the teacher’s mind who is busy at the site.

but,

Contrary to expectations, the teacher replied right away.

The content of the text was also quite different from what I had thought.

[ Baek Seol-hee: ······Maybe, that might not be such a wrong idea. ]

[ Yes······? What on earth are you talking about─ ]

When I was about to reply to my teacher with a puzzled face.

“Hmm······. Were you unable to bear it and came out?”

Before I knew it, a languid-looking swordsman was standing in front of me.

“yes?”

“Oh, okay. It must have been a day. Then let’s start training right away.”

“······yes?”

Bam.

And the inspector shaved my head with the stick he was holding.

I fell backwards, unable to protest.

“Uh huh······?”

And when did it happen? There was a hole dug behind me.

And then for a moment I felt like I was floating in the air.

thud.

I fell on my butt on the floor.

I looked up with a bewildered expression.

“This is the first ordeal you will experience from now on. The name of the ordeal is starvation.”

The swordsman looking down at me through a hole.

“Why don’t you try enduring extreme hunger?”

Immediately after the inspector said those words.

Yeah, yeah─!

The pit closed with a thud.

“What the heck is this······.”

I was trapped in a hole of nothingness, all alone.

.

.

.

And, next to that Jin Yu-ha.

A little further away.

Baek Seol-hee, who had entered the pit with him, was staring at him.