novelraw Chapter 45 : Chapter 45
Chapter 45 : Chapter 45
Chapter 45 Immersion
"Phew……."
A spring breeze brushed my cheek.
From the moment I lifted the sword, awkwardness flowed through my entire body.
Swinging swiftly with all my might was the only habit ingrained in my body.
But now, it was the complete opposite.
Not a rushing sword tip, but a sword tip slow like a turtle.
My waist and shoulders stiffened while bent, and the angle of my arms was awkward too.
Handling a sword without skills was undeniably awkward.
‘Is there no skill for swinging a sword slowly?’
If I don't get 1st place, I'm stuck with hell training.
In the worst case, a ticket to becoming one-armed.
As that thought hovered in my mind, strength naturally went into my grip.
About 20 minutes passed.
The sword that started near the back of my head had reached above the crown of my head before I knew it.
I vaguely grasped what the 'Devotion' Kang Mooseong talked about meant.
Calming the mind and minutely pushing the sword tip with every breath.
It was a simple yet much more terrible training than I thought.
The problem was the pain hidden within that simplicity.
Sweat poured down like rain, and drops of sweat falling along the corners of my eyes tickled the nape of my neck.
The tingling pressure felt in my shoulders and arms slowly encroached on my senses.
I started to feel like blood wasn't circulating.
Glancing sideways, Lee Junhyeok's sword tip still lingered far behind the crown of his head.
Even a snail would be faster than that. Damn it.
Should I save my strength even now and prepare to receive Kang Mooseong's hell training?
Just as I was about to enter resignation mode.
‘……Huh?’
Suddenly, I realized something had changed.
A sensation like a switch flicking on somewhere brushed by.
A feeling that somewhere empty inside my body was slowly being filled.
My breath continued a beat slower, and my heart beat quietly at a constant rhythm.
The weight hanging on my arms and shoulders seemed to have lightened a little.
The surrounding breathing sounds, the wind texture minutely brushing the sword, the creaking presence of the wooden floor beneath my feet.
A sensation continued as if intoxicated by something, as if dreaming.
DING-!
[Player Information]
[Name: Ryu Jinwoo]
[Strength: 12, Stamina: 14(+2), Agility: 12, Dexterity: 10(+4), Will: 10(+6), Durability: 10, Magic Power: 0]
At that moment, the status window floated before my eyes.
Plus values were attached to some stats.
Just like what I experienced in the battle with Balzac.
The minute movement of the sword tip was transmitted to my fingertips.
The fatigue that pressed down heavily was slowly absorbed into solid muscles and became a pillar called 'Stamina'.
The minute pain pricking the nerve endings forged 'Dexterity' as if sharpening a blade.
Slowly thrusting the sword.
It was an act that felt like simple torture just a moment ago.
But now, rather, a desire to control the sword tip more delicately boiled up.
Slowly, the surrounding scenery was erased.
All that remained were the sword and me holding onto it.
[Kihikihik!]
Ah, even amidst this, the Mimic remains.
Anyway, it's a pro at breaking the mood.
Regardless, it seemed as if only the sword, me, and the Mimic remained in this world.
***
An hour passed, and the air in the training ground settled heavily.
Already, nearly half of the cadets had sat down and were catching their breath.
Swinging a sword slowly may seem simple at a glance, but it is extreme training that requires extreme concentration at every moment.
Kang Mooseong's gaze slowly scanned the remaining personnel.
Even though they were in the ranks to avoid penalty training, they were still immersed in moving their swords.
The floor glistened with sweat, and even the air was damp.
‘I see quite a few guys worth teaching.’
At that scenery, the corners of Kang Mooseong's mouth rose slightly.
It is beautiful. That scenery of immersion and obsession.
His gaze settled on each cadet.
Lee Junhyeok.
As expected of the Sword Emperor's bloodline.
He pushes the sword with movement slower than a snail, but never stops.
It seems he is already accustomed to this kind of training.
His dexterity and breathing are close to perfection.
He was on a different level from ordinary cadets.
Seo Seungbeom.
He is enduring longer than expected.
Seeing his arm trembling minutely, his limit will come soon, but he struggled enough.
Even if he goes astray, he is still a member of a swordsmanship family, is that it?
And Kang Mooseong's gaze, scanning the remaining personnel, stopped at the last one.
Ryu Jinwoo.
‘This guy is the most interesting.’
At first, he was at an ordinary level.
The sword came above the crown of his head in 10 minutes.
He was no different from the cadets who had dropped out by now.
Common mediocre talent.
He concluded he wouldn't last long.
However, as time passed, something changed.
The guy who reached from the back of his head to the crown in just 10 minutes hadn't even reached his forehead for the next 30 minutes.
The advancing speed of the sword was slowing down unrealistically.
As if raging waves turned into a calm lake.
His unwavering eyes informed him that the guy had already reached extreme immersion.
Adaptability to a frightening degree.
Movements being completed as he realizes in real-time.
He got goosebumps.
‘He still can't compare to Lee Junhyeok, but I look forward to his future.’
It seems this year's freshmen will be worth rolling.
Kang Mooseong's body began to tremble with strange excitement.
***
‘Damn, what on earth are those bastards?’
Seo Seungbeom let out a heavy sigh.
He endured for about two hours, but strength no longer went into his hands.
Due to the numbness like a cramp covering from his wrist to his elbow, even holding the sword was burdensome.
Eventually dropping out while losing grip of the sword, he sat down on the floor as he was.
The wooden floor, heated muggily by the beating sun, was soaked in sweat, creating an unpleasant feeling.
"Seungbeom, are you okay? Drink some water."
His gang handed him a water bottle, and Seo Seungbeom snatched it abruptly and gulped it down.
The coolness going down his throat was only momentary; as his held breath burst out, his gaze turned toward the center of the training ground again.
Two people remained there.
Lee Junhyeok and Ryu Jinwoo.
As if they weren't even tired, they were still thrusting their swords.
"Hey, aren't those things not moving?"
"Yeah. Is it possible to endure that long? Aren't they using some trick? Seriously."
Grumbling sounds came from here and there, but Seo Seungbeom shook his head inwardly.
Unless one was a fool, one could clearly tell if they opened their eyes and looked.
That the sword tips of those two guys were advancing very minutely and steadily at the same time.
‘In the first place, there's no way Kang Mooseong wouldn't see that. Retards…….’
And because he knew that fact well, he felt even more stifled.
Because he felt that he was being pushed back by those two in pure skill without tricks.
It was quite a bitter feeling.
Especially Ryu Jinwoo.
Let's leave Lee Junhyeok aside; he already knew that guy was amazing.
He is the son of the famous Sword Emperor, so naturally he would do that much.
How can you beat someone born with lucky elite blood?
‘But Ryu Jinwoo, what on earth is that bastard? Where did he pop out from?’
Rising questions.
And it seemed Seo Seungbeom wasn't the only one thinking that.
"Let's skip Junhyeok, but what's with Ryu Jinwoo? I see his name everywhere these days."
"I don't know. He really popped out suddenly, so no one knows. I heard he didn't even attend a middle school academy because he couldn't awaken."
"He's a really unique case."
A story bloomed among the gang.
The seed was the guy named Ryu Jinwoo.
As if they had been holding back, all sorts of stories started flowing out.
"Where is he affiliated?"
Seo Seungbeom asked slyly.
He was too curious to pass over pretending not to be interested.
"I don't know. He doesn't seem to be from a famous family? I heard he isn't particularly related to a guild either. In the first place, there isn't much to the Ryu surname."
"What do you mean there isn't much to Ryu. Don't you know Ryukaku? He's a transfer magic master."
"Lukaku is Belgian, you retard. Saying Ryu and stuff."
Not from a prestigious family?
If true, it means he was pushed back by a guy with no roots.
Seo Seungbeom's heart sank with a thud.
Going one step further, one of the gang threw a comment.
"He's been hanging around Seol Hayun since the beginning of the semester. With Do Haru too. That Seol Hayun, she doesn't hang out with other kids, but she hangs out with him? There must be something."
"Hey, talking about Seol Hayun……."
When someone brought up the name Seol Hayun, people around started looking at each other.
Seo Seungbeom felt strange gazes directed at him.
The meaning of the gazes was clear.
Because it was Seo Seungbeom himself who was rejected by Seol Hayun.
No, every time he tried to talk to her, he was completely ignored.
After that, silence fell, and no one in the gang spoke.
However, a feeling as if mocking sounds were coming from somewhere.
His temples throbbed, and it felt like his nerves were being grated.
‘Fuck.’
Seo Seungbeom gritted his teeth.
Both laughter and silence were annoying.
Unusually, everything was annoying today.
‘Fucking hell.’
It's because of that bastard.
Ryu Jinwoo formed at the end of Seo Seungbeom's gaze.
***
[Player Information]
[Name: Ryu Jinwoo]
[Strength: 12, Stamina: 14(+13), Agility: 12, Dexterity: 10(+15), Will: 10(+16), Durability: 10, Magic Power: 0]
The status window floated in a corner of my vision.
Dexterity, Stamina, and Will stats had risen incomparably before I knew it.
"Ah."
And at some moment, the limit came as if a thread snapped with a 'plink'.
The sensation as if the tendons that stretched firmly from my shoulders to my fingertips were snapping one by one.
Strength drained from my grip, and the sword fell to the floor with a metallic clang.
My entire body collapsed as it was.
Like a Jenga tower from which a block that shouldn't be pulled was pulled.
The wooden floor beneath me, soaked in sweat and taking on a dark color, approached instantly within my vision.
It seemed like the floor was coming to me.
Of course, it was me who collapsed.
SPLAT—
A dull sound rang in my ears.
I smashed my head straight into the floor pooled with sweat.
As my cheek touched it, the squishy texture of the sweat puddle was conveyed along with the lukewarm heat of the floor.
An emptiness as if something that had been firmly supporting my body until before disappeared in an instant.
[Player Information]
[Name: Ryu Jinwoo]
[Strength: 12, Stamina: 14, Agility: 12, Dexterity: 10, Will: 10, Durability: 10, Magic Power: 0]
The status window floated in a corner of my vision.
Dexterity, Stamina, and Concentration.
The figures that had soared until just before were all gone like a lie.
A sense of void was felt as if the power boiling inside my body flowed down like sand.
I felt despondent.
As I was, half burying my face in the sweat puddle, I blankly caught my breath.
It felt like I had a dream.
No, to be exact, a drowsy feeling as if I woke up from a dream.
Reality slowly returned.
‘……My arm.’
Right. This was training.
And training where my precious body part was at stake.
Looking sideways instinctively, Lee Junhyeok was still standing straight.
Damn it, is that guy really a monster?
‘Can I even receive Kang Mooseong's training in this state?’
Should I rather use my collapse now as an excuse to ask for an exemption from supplementary training?
You never know, the penalty of the Tactical Manual quest might disappear too.
No matter what, I don't want my wrist to fly off.
Just as calculations were rolling like that, I realized that the surroundings were unusually quiet.
My eyes rolled around.
Everyone gathered around was looking at me.
Including Lee Junhyeok.
Dozens of pairs of eyes were piercing me in the silence where even breathing sounds were killed.
And at that moment.
"Ryu Jinwoo, 3 hours 43 minutes 52 seconds."
Kang Mooseong's thick voice echoed, cutting through the training ground.
"I will overlook your lateness. It is 1st place."
"……."
Wait, what?
My thought speed couldn't catch up with the situation as if my mind went blank.
"……Huh?"
My tongue didn't move properly, so a strange answer came out.