novelraw Chapter 150 : Acknowledgement from the Sword Demon - (6)
Chapter 150 : Acknowledgement from the Sword Demon - (6)
Chapter 150: Acknowledgement from the Sword Demon - (6)
‘Phew… It’s kind of funny that I’m even thinking like this.’
After finishing her conversation with Kim Yooncheol, Shin Taeri turned her steps not toward home but in another direction.
It wasn’t because she had a destination in mind, but because she wanted to make a phone call—to Sanghyun.
During that time, she had trained a lot.
She had acquired quite a few decent skills, and many of them had been upgraded. She had definitely changed.
When thinking of a low-level player, people usually ponder how to defeat them.
But when it came to Sanghyun, she found herself thinking about how he would exploit her openings and respond.
She became more curious about Sanghyun’s witty counters and responses.
She had already identified her weaknesses by exchanging moves with Sanghyun before.
Sanghyun had been a truly good sparring partner and a capable player who made her reflect on herself.
Even before the connection tone fully rang—
Sanghyun’s voice came through.
“Is it okay to talk now?”
Her voice came out low.
She was glad to get through to him right away, but she didn’t want to sound too excited.
“I watched your stream today. You were amazing. A player acknowledged by the Sword Demon… I’m really jealous.”
“Is modesty a habit of yours?”
Sanghyun joked.
It was a habit carried over from his previous life too. Boasting openly always felt awkward.
“Lately it’s been dungeon, training, dungeon, training—over and over. I didn’t want to leave any openings.”
“Personally, I think so. But to gain certainty, there’s a test I absolutely must take.”
Reading into the hidden meaning in her words, Sanghyun sat up from his bed where he had been lying comfortably.
“I’ve reviewed the moves we exchanged last time countless times. I want to verify things now.”
“I feel like I’ll be convinced if it’s Sanghyun verifying me. Jinho Oppa sometimes lets things slide, on purpose.”
“There’s a private training ground near the city. I’ll come pick you up by car. It’d be better to go together.”
“Of course.”
Another sparring session was arranged.
Shin Taeri felt that she had grown again through Sanghyun. Though Sanghyun himself probably didn’t know.
So this sparring had the same meaning again—if she lacked something, she could fill it in; if she was complete, she’d feel satisfied.
Besides, perhaps because she now thought of Sanghyun as someone acknowledged by Do Kyungsoo, she felt nervous too.
She was too curious to know how he would target and break her openings this time. She couldn’t even guess.
“Even Miso was greatly motivated thanks to you, Sanghyun. I didn’t expect her to get that tanned.”
Kim Miso, currently undergoing extreme training overseas, had been sunburnt all over and naturally tanned.
According to local reports, she was undergoing correction of bad habits and all-around posture improvement.
Since she was receiving one-on-one training from top-notch players invited from all over the world, the results were guaranteed.
“Miso’s charm lies in that persistence and effort. If she keeps at it like now, she’ll grow another step for sure.”
That small ball launched by Sanghyun!
Thanks to that, Kim Miso’s growth, which had hit a stagnation period, was gaining explosive momentum again.
And Shin Taeri herself was also becoming more complete, sparked by the stimulus from Sanghyun.
“I won’t lose this time.”
Shin Taeri clenched her fist.
A draw was no different from a loss.
She didn’t want to end this match with Sanghyun in another draw.
“This is the private training ground?”
“Yes. I did spend quite a bit on it.”
“I’d believe it if you said this was a guild training center. I didn’t expect it to be this well-equipped.”
“On weekends, I basically live here. It’s the perfect place for solo training.”
“Can I rent this place too?”
“For other people, I’m not sure—but for you, Sanghyun, I’ll make an exception.”
Shin Taeri nodded, turning her gaze away as if it were nothing.
Sanghyun’s eyes widened in awe as he looked around the facility. It was a place that must’ve cost at least several tens of billions.
The entire training ground had Magic Stones densely embedded, and they were being used to activate a defensive barrier.
To cover this much area with a full barrier would’ve required a construction budget of at least 10 billion won.
Adding in the combat dummies and focused recovery facilities, the estimated amount seemed about right.
Even the combat dummies were mobile models, which likely made them much more expensive.
“Just let me know the hourly rate later. I’ll make good use of it when it’s available.”
“No need. If you come during the free hours, just train comfortably and leave. I didn’t build this to make money. Now, let’s get ready.”
Seeing Shin Taeri push things forward, it seemed her body was already itching for battle.
Sanghyun also moved right away. Well, they weren’t here for a date or to chat anyway.
Setup ended in an instant.
The rules were simple to begin with.
To prevent accidents, they wore training weapons and appropriate protective gear, same as before.
The difference this time was that their weapons were coated with special ink.
The purpose of the ink was to leave a mark when a vital spot was struck with a weapon.
Because in a real battle, that would’ve meant death or serious injury.
This time, the number of exchanges had increased—the goal was for Sanghyun to endure a total of 10 moves.
It was Shin Taeri’s request, as she believed that just four or five wouldn’t be enough to exploit Sanghyun’s openings.
‘Tailwind. Perfect.’
‘With the headwind, it’s ideal to conceal presence. Let’s see how much you’ve changed.’
Looking at the same situation, both had different thoughts.
But because the conditions suited them both, neither wanted to change positions.
The two stood in place, ready.
Sanghyun kept his center of gravity slightly higher, while Shin Taeri had her body lowered all the way down.
Even from the initial stance, their approaches differed.
Flutter! Flutter!
Their sleeves rustled in the wind.
It was just the right kind of cool breeze to activate Wind Concealment.
Tatata-tat!
Sanghyun made the first move.
Letting his body ride the tailwind, he began to use acceleration skills and gradually raised the intensity.
However, he didn’t get too close to Shin Taeri. Her response was predictable anyway.
‘What would an assassin be used to? Stealth, of course.’
A predictable repertoire.
In fact, it was the kind of move that caught you off guard even when you knew it was coming.
If there were an easy countermeasure to an assassin’s stealth, their entire profession would’ve been extinct long ago.
But since perfect stealth existed that could bypass detection skills, it always came down to a rock-paper-scissors kind of fight.
Sure enough—
Swoosh!
Shin Taeri vanished.
But then—
‘……?’
It wasn’t ordinary stealth.
She had created multiple illusions while in stealth. And they were illusions detectable by biological senses.
‘A stealth version of Illusion Arbitration?’
That’s exactly what it was.
The defining trait of Illusion Arbitration was that the illusions would register as real to detection senses, causing confusion.
Apparently, Shin Taeri’s Shadow Step had been upgraded as well.
She had likely already raised the skill to level 5 long ago, so this must’ve been level 10 or even 15 by now.
For Sanghyun, skill levels 10 or 15 were still like a far-off world.
This was one of the unavoidable gaps—unless a variable intervened, only time could solve it.
Even with regression, Sanghyun was still a late starter in many respects, which remained a regretful reality.
Meanwhile—
‘How would you know which one is really me, Shin Sanghyun?’
Splitting herself into six copies—one real and the rest illusions—Shin Taeri grinned with satisfaction. It was the result of bloody effort.
She had pushed herself to fix the unconscious tendency where her real body moved more naturally than the illusions.
She even refined the movements of the stealth illusions to be more natural than the original, so she could deceive with intent.
Sanghyun’s movements grew more active.
Likely because he couldn’t tell which one was real, he seemed to be using mobility to buy time while analyzing.
Buying time sounded easy in theory, but putting it into practice was difficult—yet for someone with Sanghyun’s level of responsiveness, it was entirely doable.
But just then—
Swoosh—!
“Huh?”
Shin Taeri, who rarely expressed surprise, involuntarily let out a sound at the sight of Sanghyun suddenly disappearing.
Activation of Wind Concealment.
An unexpected situation occurred—neither could identify the other’s position at all!
A moment that could only happen in battles between two assassin-type players.
But now, Sanghyun had access to a skill that allowed him to enter true complete stealth!
‘It’s not perfect.’
Still, Shin Taeri’s keen senses caught a subtle fluctuation in presence.
Though Sanghyun had hidden himself in invisible darkness, there was a spot where a faint presence could be felt.
‘There!’
Shin Taeri threw a training dagger that had been prepared in advance by agreement with Sanghyun.
She was sure that’s where Sanghyun was. Her heightened senses pointed straight to that location.
However—
Whoosh!
The training dagger sliced through empty air, flying far off without hitting anything. Was it another deception?
Right then—
Flash!
Shin Taeri witnessed a sight more terrifying than any horror movie—Sanghyun appeared right in front of her!
‘……How?’
It was a natural reaction for Shin Taeri, who didn’t know about the highly useful isolation skill called Another World.
Which meant—
Her guess about Sanghyun’s position had been correct, but he had dodged the dagger perfectly.
“Huht…!”
Shin Taeri immediately performed a back tumbling maneuver. A greatsword strike coming from the front could threaten a vital point.
‘Half a beat later—’
『Updraft』
Sanghyun unleashed an Updraft he had carefully timed.
It was a shot aimed just before her backward movement from the tumbling completed.
‘The biggest weakness of rearward movement-type skills is right before the body finishes moving. That’s when vision is most obscured too.’
Because Sanghyun had his own rearward movement skill, Back Step, he understood its vulnerabilities better than anyone.
Unless a skill had an “invincible” option, every skill inevitably had a gap.
And sure enough—
“Ah!”
The Updraft sliced past the side of Shin Taeri’s foot, just as she was about to plant her last step.
The wind had been deliberately kept low to the ground, and the aim had been precise.
『Valiant Charge』
It was the perfect setup for a charge skill—Sanghyun plowed in right after.
For Shin Taeri, who had already lost her balance and was slightly airborne, this attack was critical.
Thanks to her skill resistance, the airborne effect was only partial, but the real issue was the gap that had been exposed!
In the next moment—
Boom!
A heavy collision echoed between Sanghyun and Shin Taeri.
Had they collided without any defensive action, the impact alone would’ve seriously hurt their bodies.
That’s right.
From the very start, both of them had entered this sparring match with full sincerity.