novelraw Chapter 8 : Chapter 8
Chapter 8 : Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Update
“How did you do it?”
A voice suddenly came.
Only then did Ryu Jinwoo realize he hadn’t been aware of his surroundings at all.
Seol Hayun was looking down at him.
The small flame that had been aiming for the Sandworm in her hand burned gently before fading away.
“That slash on the Sandworm just now. That wasn't ordinary swordsmanship.”
Ryu Jinwoo took a deep breath and slowly raised his gaze.
Cold sweat trickled down to his jawline.
‘There's a skill I copied from an old man named Baekseok, and when I use the skill, my body moves automatically…… she probably wouldn't believe that.’
All sorts of excuses came to mind, but there was only one he could say out loud.
“……I just used what I learned.”
There was nothing wrong with that statement.
Because he had really just used the skill the Tactical Manual had brought him.
“What you learned……?”
Seol Hayun quietly repeated the words.
If he did as he learned, then from whom did he learn it?
Dozens of slashes delivered while off-balance in mid-air.
And the powerful momentum engraved in each and every one of those slashes.
At least among the famous swordsmanship houses that Seol Hayun knew, there were none who demonstrated such swordsmanship.
“You, your name?”
“Ryu Jinwoo.”
“The Ryu clan?”
Still couldn't tell. Among the famous swordsmanship houses, at least none used the surname Ryu.
It was unlikely he would use a different surname either.
“May I know who your master is?”
“…….”
At Seol Hayun's continued questioning, Ryu Jinwoo kept his mouth shut.
He had no obligation to answer, and more importantly, it was ambiguous to call him ‘master.’
Although he had received the technique, it was practically stolen.
Seol Hayun crossed her arms and stared at Ryu Jinwoo.
As if to see through the other's hidden intentions.
But Ryu Jinwoo just quietly met her gaze.
“Well, it would be strange to tell a secret to someone you just met.”
Seol Hayun, nodding simply, decided to take a step back.
There are no fools who share secrets with someone they barely know.
Having organized her thoughts like that, Seol Hayun quickened her pace to finish the test that was not yet over.
‘I don’t know what it is, but I’m curious.’
A great mystery had taken root in her heart. In the name of Ryu Jinwoo.
***
“Examinee 456, Ryu Jinwoo! You have shown a brilliant performance in the Zero Academy final exam. Congratulations on passing! We will now explain the registration process and schedule!”
A cheerful voice mixed with a mechanical sound echoed.
A cushion-sized robot was flying in the sky with a whirring sound.
A smiling face was displayed on the screen that took up half of the robot.
After finally passing, I left the test site and came out to the academy campus.
The fading glow of the sunset spread and colored the green leaves.
The robot continued to chatter about something.
But my interest was elsewhere.
All my nerves were focused on my arm.
‘It’s still throbbing.’
The pain that had spread throughout my body had subsided to some extent, but the pain still remained in the arm that had used the skill.
A lingering heat that spread as if burning from deep within the muscle every time I moved.
I tried to suppress it steadily with Rehabilitation Art, but it wouldn't subside easily.
‘……Pain is pain. It’s about time for that thing to show up.’
Ddiring-!
Just then, a system notification sound rang out.
A small firework exploded in the air, and then, the now-familiar grotesque form appeared.
[Passt-passt! Congrats-congrats, kihihehe!]
The Mimic bastard, giggling with its jagged, misaligned teeth, was a welcome sight today for some reason.
A message soon followed.
[Tactical Manual]
-You have completed the ‘Required Course: Admission to Zero Academy.’
-20,000SP is awarded as a goal fulfillment reward.
-From now on, ‘Basic Course: Physical Adaptation Training’ will not occur.
‘Finally!’
The message I had been waiting and waiting for.
‘From now on, Physical Adaptation Training will not occur.’
At the same time, the [Basic Course] training that had been floating right next to me until just now, shattered and crumbled like transparent ice fragments with a pa-seok- sound.
A sense of relief spread deep within my body.
The damn training that had been relentlessly following me for the past several hundred days was finally over.
I spread my arms and savored my freedom.
“Mr. Ryu Jinwoo? Are you alright?”
The robot asked me, drawing a question mark on its display.
“I’m perfectly fine.”
My answer was not a lie.
Although my right arm was still in pain, I was feeling an even greater sense of liberation.
And at that moment, another message appeared.
[All basic courses have been completed. The Tactical Manual will be revised.]
‘Revised?’
Come to think of it, it was definitely written in the academy admission reward.
‘Tactical Manual revision.’
[The ‘Enlightenment’ page is added.]
With a chwa-ra-rak- sound, the pages of the Tactical Manual turned and then stopped at one point.
[Enlightenment]
-Gain enlightenment through mastery via repetitive learning.
I could soon tell what enlightenment meant. Because the message continued.
Ddiring-!
[You have acquired ‘Enlightenment: The Essence of Swordsmanship.’]
[▶ After tens of thousands of training sessions, you have mastered the way of the sword. Dexterity stat is corrected, and sword proficiency increases.]
[You have acquired ‘Enlightenment: Cheetah.’]
[▶ You have run to your limit time and time again. When sprinting, maximum speed increases by up to 2 times. A small amount of SP is used upon activation.]
[You have acquired ‘Enlightenment: Desperate Resolve.’]
[▶ After enduring numerous fatal wounds, your survival instinct has awakened. Even if you receive a fatal blow, you can endure it once. A large amount of SP is consumed upon activation.]
[You have acquired ‘Enlightenment: Opossum.’]
[▶ After countless jumps, you have obtained a lower body of steel. Jump power doubles, and fall damage is reduced.]
I doubted my eyes at the series of messages that popped up.
‘It's an acquisition passive.’
There was a similar function in the original game.
A system where you obtain a special ability upon meeting certain conditions.
I could feel a power I had never had before filling my body.
I looked at the tree right next to me.
The height of the thick branch must have been at least 4m to 5m.
‘If my jump power has doubled-.’
I took a deep breath.
I kicked off the ground roughly and ran, putting all my strength into the last step.
With the feeling of my muscles tensing, an explosive force burst from my legs.
In an instant, my body shot up like a spring.
With the sound of the wind brushing past my ears, my vision rose in an instant.
Teo-eop-!
A solid sensation was transmitted to the soles of my feet.
I had landed on the tree without difficulty.
My mouth opened without me realizing it.
The campus was spread out below me.
“This is crazy.”
My interest naturally turned to ‘Enlightenment: Desperate Resolve.’
‘It existed in the original game, too.’
Desperate Resolve was implemented as an acquisition passive, and among them, a ‘Special Passive,’ in the original game.
A passive skill that could be obtained by completing training or missions with 1 HP remaining.
A passive that prevents your HP from dropping below 1 exactly once, even if you receive a fatal blow.
It seems the pains I had received from the ‘Poor Performance Penalty’ had been considered ‘fatal damage’ all this time.
And the existence of an enlightenment with the same name as what I knew, that meant one possibility.
‘The existing passives are implemented as ‘enlightenments’.’
The names and achievement conditions of numerous passive skills flashed through my mind.
Most of them were things I couldn't do right now.
But all of them were like treasure chests that I could open someday.
“Cadet Ryu Jinwoo, you’re damaging the tree! Please come down!”
“Ah, sorry, sorry.”
Teong-!
Even though I fell from a high place, the stinging sensation wasn't that severe.
This was also the effect of ‘Opossum.’
I satisfactorily brushed my legs.
Just as I was nodding at the new changes.
“There you are.”
Someone’s voice was heard.
It was a sharp female voice.
When I turned in the direction of the sound, a very tall, red-haired woman was standing there.
But the woman’s face was exactly the same as the one I had only seen on the monitor.
‘Ju Yeonhwa?’
And the person next to her was Zero's principal, Jang Juyoung.
The two of them approached me.
Ju Yeonhwa, in particular, was sending me an intense gaze.
As she came right up to me, she began to inspect me.
And very overtly, at that. Her thin, smooth hands roamed over various parts of my body.
“Hmm. Your muscles are trained, but not particularly special. I don't feel any magic power at all…… really a Non-Awakened? Did you hide some kind of device inside your body?”
She muttered incessantly while checking my body. Like someone picking out a good quality fruit.
Just as I was feeling flustered by the sudden attention.
“Ahem. Mr. Ryu Jinwoo, I am Jang Juyoung, the principal of Zero. This is Ms. Ju Yeonhwa, the master of the Fire of Annihilation guild. She said your performance was very impressive. She's someone who doesn't look before she leaps when her curiosity is piqued…….”
Behind the presumptuous Ju Yeonhwa, Principal Jang Juyoung cleared his throat and explained on her behalf.
Even in the midst of that, Ju Yeonhwa was still ‘exploring’ me.
“How is that foolish master of yours doing?”
Then, a chilling voice flowed from her mouth.
She was throwing out overt hostility without even trying to hide it.
If she’s talking about a master, could she mean Baekseok?
“Who are you referring to?”
“Ha, I can tell just by the sword you showed, and you're feigning ignorance?”
It must be him.
This is why I tried not to stand out as much as possible.
Because someone might recognize the technique itself.
The problem is that I've only met Baekseok once.
It's a difficult position to be mistaken as his disciple.
Especially since this woman seems to have a very bad relationship with Baekseok.
“I think there's some misunderstanding, I don't have a master or anything like that.”
So I decided to be honest.
But Ju Yeonhwa’s reaction was strange.
She began to look at me with an almost contemptuous expression.
“Are you going to feign ignorance with a blatant lie? Are you making a fool of me right now!”
The be-honest strategy failed spectacularly.
In this case, it's better to change the subject.
I opened my mouth again.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Are you perhaps doing this because of your granddaughter?”
“What?”
Ju Yeonhwa’s gaze, which had been inspecting me, turned as sharp as a blade and pierced into me.
As if to say, what are you talking about.
“I took down the monster Seol Hayun was chasing, didn’t I? Isn't that why you're picking a fight with me like this?”
“What do you mean by……”
“I will make it clear. I took the test in a fair environment. The fact that I passed before your granddaughter is simply because I was more outstanding. There is no other reason.”
At my words, Ju Yeonhwa’s expression crumpled in an instant.
The reason was obvious.
First, I had cut her off.
Second, the appeal that ‘I did better than Seol Hayun.’
Both were things that seriously wounded Ju Yeonhwa’s pride.
So the reaction that followed was set in stone.
“This insolent brat!”
Ju Yeonhwa unhesitatingly unleashed her aura.
Her red hair flew like a burning flame.
Like a heat haze rising, the atmosphere around Ju Yeonhwa’s body began to shimmer violently.