Chapter – 06
After that, the hologram occasionally popped up, but it was only hours after the last message had appeared that I finally let the sword drop.
The rain ran down the crude, blunt iron practice sword that was barely gripped in my limp, dangling hand, splattering in all directions.
It’s cold.
My body began to shiver uncontrollably from fatigue and the chill.
It was a natural outcome, considering I had been swinging the sword incessantly in weather where even standing still was difficult.
Even so, I readjusted my grip on the sword and swung it down once more.
My will is not so weak as to be broken by something like this.
How much more time passed like that?
I sensed a presence behind me.
“What is it that you’re so fixated on?”
Even amidst a world drowned out by the sound of rain, the voice that distinctly pierced my ears was that of the old man.
Fixation.
Fixation.
“You see such people from time to time. Those who love swinging a sword so much that they practice with the very act of walking the path of swordsmanship as their goal. They often swing their swords every single day without fail. Even if you tell them they’ll ruin their bodies, they just won’t listen. They’re a headache. Just like you, it seems.”
Having said that much, the old man narrowed his brow, creating wrinkles on his face.
He fiddled with his impressively grown, thick, white beard—now sagging from exposure to the rain—with his thumb and index finger, and continued speaking.
“But you are not that type. I can tell just by looking at your face. A swordsman who finds joy in swinging his sword wouldn’t have a face that looks like he’s chewing on something rotten, as if he’s truly doing something he hates. So, I’m curious. I’ve made a few guesses, but none of them are quite satisfying.”
“By guesses, you mean…”
“Jealousy of Kang Joo-hyuk, who started learning the sword on the same day, for instance?”
At the old man’s words, I thought of that black-haired guy.
Jealousy.
I’ve never harbored such a petty emotion.
Before I could even say anything to refute it, the old man laughed out loud, “Heh-heh.”
“You must have felt it clearly too. Though, from the standpoint of a teacher, it’s something I probably shouldn’t say. But he’s a genius. The kind born maybe once in a hundred and twenty-six years.”
I asked out of courtesy.
It seemed like if I didn’t ask, the old man would keep being bothersome.
“A hundred and twenty-six? Why such an ambiguous number?”
“That’s because I am a hundred and twenty-six years old this year.”
“So, his talent doesn’t quite reach your own level?”
“Thank you for putting it that way.”
“……”
What a brazen old man.
But I knew, at the very least, that it was by no means empty boasting, delusion, or arrogance.
Although he engages in ridiculous behavior and enjoys teasing others, within this world view, there are only a handful as strong as the Sword Saint.
And that strength wasn’t achieved through an immigrant’s hologram support, the world’s assistance, or the traits of a different race, but solely through his own talent and effort.
“On the other hand, what about you? Of course, you’re also at the level where if you’re taught one thing, you understand two. But can you compare to someone who understands ten things without even being taught one? It’s only been two months, so the difference isn’t prominent yet, but what about after another two months? A year? Ten years? You’ll be hard-pressed just to block a single move from him, and you’ll admit defeat by his second move. That’s what a difference in talent is like.”
“What does that matter? He is him, and I am me.”
The old man laughs darkly, “Keuh-huh.”
As if he had anticipated my answer.
“That’s precisely the problem, you see. Then why are you so diligent? You don’t seem particularly interested in swordsmanship itself, nor do you seem to have a personality that can’t stand losing.”
“Must one have such a reason to be able to train?”
“I’m asking because I’m curious about your purpose. A person without a purpose couldn’t possibly be like this.”
It was only then that I turned my gaze, which had been fixed ahead, to properly examine the old man.
I thought he’d have a smiling face since he was laughing, but his face lacked any element that could be called an expression.
What did he want to talk about?
A staring contest, borne of silence, continued for a long while.
I just kept looking at him.
Because I had nothing particular to say to him,
nothing to tell him.
Then, abruptly, the old man waved his hand dismissively.
“Eh, forget it. That doesn’t seem to be it either.”
“Huh?”
“I was just testing you a little.”
“……”
“What is it? There was something that bothered me a little, you see. When I look at you, a nerve itches, I feel a strange sense of incongruity. I wondered if you were a person with a wicked heart. A person with hidden schemes. So I poked a bit. The older I get, the more I act like this. Please understand. My apologies.”
“Is that so.”
Following my indifferent reply, the old man furrowed his brow as if thinking something, then came closer to me and took the iron sword.
“It’s rather lacking to call it compensation for my apology, but. Let me show you.”
Before I could even say, “Show me what?”, the Sword Saint exerted force on the lowered sword.
The surroundings, which had been dark, shrouded in black clouds, became bright, dyed by the white light emanating from the sword.
“I tried to stimulate you by saying your talent was mediocre and lacking, but there is an aspect where you are not inferior to Kang Joo-hyuk, rather, you are far ahead of him. It’s your interpretation of sword principles. You must have vaguely sensed it too, right? It’s just that your body can’t keep up.”
I could understand the old man’s words immediately.
However, that wasn’t talent or anything like it.
It wasn’t that the old man taught me and I learned it.
It wasn’t that I interpreted the sword principles.
It was just something I knew from the beginning.
I know the principles of all the swordsmanship that appears in the story.
Because I thought of them and wrote them down.
It would be more strange if I didn’t know them.
“Watch closely. It’s a technique this old man created long ago after gaining enlightenment.”
So, I could know even before seeing it.
The light that filled the surroundings was quickly sucked back into the iron sword,
and just by the sword emitting a strange resonance…
I recalled the passage from ‘The Istalanicia Chronicles’.
[The reason Gared is called the Sword Saint in Istalanicia is because his sword is said to have reached the stars.
Until this very moment, Joo-hyuk had thought it was merely an abstract title given by enthusiasts.
But from the energy emanating from the old man’s single sword stroke and the phenomenon that occurred immediately after,
He finally realized the meaning of ‘reaching the stars’.
Starlight scattered.]
A sensation as if the world was gradually slowing down dominated my entire body.
The sound of rain diminished.
A moment in time stretched out like an eternity.
A sensation expanding to the point where I could feel the presence of each individual raindrop.
Paradoxically, the end of eternity arrived in an instant.
A small flicker occurred in the dark world momentarily.
Right after perceiving it,
the old man was already in the state of handing the sword back to me.
“I trust you saw it well.”
No, I didn’t really see it properly.
I didn’t make a mood-breaking remark.
Because I knew what technique he had demonstrated.
“It’s easier to strive when you have a goal. I’ll tell you. It’s the technique you will learn starting tomorrow.”
『Load.
Unknown Swordsmanship.
The Sword Saint, Gared, has shown you one of his techniques.
You simply feel awkward.
It seems like he did something… but what exactly was it…?
The Sword Saint expects you to reproduce it.
Just striving towards that will allow your swordsmanship to continue growing, but with your pitiful skills, you haven’t even grasped a clue about the technique.』
“Don’t even think about skipping tomorrow, pretending to have a cold or something. Don’t make my secretary worry, and call it a day for today.”
“Secretary? You mean Miss Hesse?”
“Who else would my secretary be?”
During these past two months of life, whenever she saw me, her aloof impression would turn sulky, and she would grumble for no reason.
It was also the exact opposite of the reaction she showed to Kang Joo-hyuk.
It was strange to hear that a woman who was always busy being huffy was worried.
“Eh. You seemed usable, so I tried to teach you a bit of the sword, but I ended up making you face the wind and rain. Don’t you feel sorry for this old man?”
“I never asked you to come out. And surely something like this won’t cause you any trouble…”
“Tch. Just go on inside.”
“Yes, yes…”
* * *
Corridor on the 2nd floor of the Association.
The old man watched Woo-hyun returning to his room from behind.
His lips were starkly pale and his body was trembling noticeably even from a distance.
What his will was directed towards still remained a question, but even the Sword Saint had to click his tongue in admiration at his tenacity alone.
At times, he looked like a vengeful spirit, resentful at being unable to wield a sword properly.
Thinking he might be genuinely insane, I observed him, but even covered in fatigue and dust, his eyes were clear, making him seem not at all like a madman.
Even so, just in case, I poked a bit more earlier, but my thoughts didn’t change.
The old man turned to go back to the chairman’s office, but…
Hoo.
He let out another sigh, one that had become increasingly frequent lately.
Because at the end of his line of sight, a person was standing.
In his later years, the two he took in as disciples, without exception, wouldn’t leave this old body alone even on a rare day off. He couldn’t quite decide whether to be happy about this or not.
The old man spoke first.
“Is something the matter?”
“No.”
Then, Joo-hyuk passed by the old man and went into his own room.
Gared easily guessed his inner thoughts and let out a hollow laugh.
He had felt a gaze on the back of his head since the training ground. Sure enough, it seemed he had been watching from here.
Since when, I wonder?
Perhaps from the very first moment Woo-hyun went out in this weather.
It was amusing.
The relationship between the two had something insufficiently explained if it were the typical genius and mediocrity dynamic.
Isn’t it usually the case that the mediocrity uses the advancing genius as a milestone for their efforts?
But here, it was rather the mediocrity advancing ahead, and the genius, his pride hurt, chasing after him.
The old man judged the reason as follows:
The genius, Kang Joo-hyuk, lacked a driving force.
A motivation to reach a higher state,
to become stronger.
The old man didn’t know what kind of life he had lived on Earth,
but he knew that Earth was a more peaceful world than Istalanicia, at the very least.
He wasn’t unaware that being told out of the blue that he must train his own power would leave him feeling bewildered.
However, the same should be true for Lee Woo-hyun.
At first, I thought it might just be a difference in personality, but that didn’t seem to be it either.
What made him like that?
He was an unfathomable man in many ways.
