The Warrior Speaks with His Sword (5)
I never expected to run into her here.
In a small garden tucked away in a corner of the Wuxia Alliance Headquarters, we stood facing each other with nothing to say. The silence stretched as we both stared blankly at the garden. I had come here to quietly review the preliminary matches while taking a short break, but…
“...I’ll be going, then.”
“No, please. I’ll leave instead.”
“There’s no need for you to do that because of me.”
“There’s no need for you to do that because of me either.”
...What is this situation?
To actually experience something straight out of a comic book. Life really does throw everything at you eventually.
Having this kind of awkward atmosphere with another guy isn’t exactly my taste.
“Since it’s come to this, why don’t we just sit down? We can at least keep each other company for a bit.”
“...Yes.”
I sat on one of the garden chairs and stared vacantly at the artificial pond. The sight of the large carp swimming lazily around was perfect for spacing out, so even after suggesting we talk, I remained silent for a long while, simply watching them.
“...”
This is suffocating.
She wasn’t exactly a sociable person to begin with. If I didn’t start the conversation, we’d just sit here in this stifling silence until one of us fled the garden like we were escaping. So I had to speak first…
“How were the preliminaries? Manageable?”
“I nearly got eliminated. At one point, multiple opponents attacked me at once… If their coordination had been even slightly better, I would have been finished.”
...That makes sense.
Just like in the original story, the other competitors had noticed Dan Mok-gyeong’s extraordinary skill and ganged up on her. In the end, she had evaded them with her mysterious footwork and turned the tables using her superior swordsmanship.
Her realm was still stuck at first-class, but as the protagonist with absurdly broken talent, she was the kind of monster who could swallow a single spiritual medicine and shoot straight up to the peak realm in just a few months.
If I built a good relationship with her now… Hm?
I turned my head to look at her.
...Her height seemed a bit different from how it was described in the original novel. Or maybe not. Was it just because I was so tall?
“...Do you have something to say to me?”
“Hm… You just look smaller than I expected.”
“...Isn’t it that you are simply too big, Benefactor?”
“You’re not wrong.”
Even the guys known for being big weren’t taller than me, so she had a point. By modern standards, someone my size would be considered a giant.
At roughly over six feet tall and built with muscle…
“...Did you come here alone, Benefactor?”
“As you can see.”
“I didn’t see the lover who is usually by your side, so I wondered.”
“Ah, if you mean Hye-ryeong, she went off to train. I’m just taking a short walk.”
“I see.”
And just like that, the outdoor library opened for business again. We were connected by the bond of benefactor and beneficiary, but we weren’t particularly close, and neither of us was exactly outgoing.
...I should just get out of here quickly.
I stood up from the chair and turned around.
“I’ll be on my way. Have a good—”
“...Benefactor. If it’s not too much… may I ask you for one favor?”
A favor? Suddenly?
Caught off guard by the unexpected request from the protagonist, I immediately turned back to look at her. Dan Mok-gyeong gazed up at me with eyes filled with a burning desire that hadn’t been there before.
“Benefactor, could you please spar with me?”
...A spar with the protagonist.
It was unexpected, but not a bad offer. After all, it was a chance to exchange pointers with the greatest talent of the Central Plains among the younger generation. It would be a huge help to me as well, since I was part of that same younger generation.
Still, I was curious why she was asking.
“Why do you want to spar with me?”
“...Because opportunities to request a spar with someone of a higher level are extremely rare for me. I have no connections, and I’m merely a low-ranking member of the patrol unit…”
“You’re a low rank, yet they still gave you free time to be here?”
“They granted me temporary leave specifically for this main tournament.”
Ah, so they were willing to show that much consideration. From the patrol unit’s perspective, acquiring a promising talent was good, and since she was just a low-ranking member, losing her for a while wouldn’t cause any major issues.
“Well, if that’s the case… As for a place to spar… Hm. There’s a suitably spacious area at the Hainan Hall. We can do it there.”
“...Thank you, Benefactor.”
Dan Mok-gyeong bowed her head and offered me a polite fist salute.
“No need to thank me. For a warrior, sparring is a means to seek self-improvement. It’s not like you’re the only one who stands to gain.”
I nodded and gladly accepted her proposal.
When the two of us arrived at the open clearing west of Hainan Hall, we faced each other and created some distance.
It wasn’t a particularly wide area, but since we wouldn’t be using any advanced movement techniques, it was more than enough.
“This is a good spot.”
“It’s only natural, since it’s the lodging assigned to one of the Nine Great Sects.”
William and Dan Mok-gyeong looked at each other and drew their swords.
A longsword and an ordinary iron sword with no distinguishing features. It was the kind of blade you could easily buy in any marketplace. William stared intently at it.
‘It really is still the early stages. Seeing her carry an iron sword around…’
He still clearly remembered how, in the original novel, she had used that very iron sword day and night until it eventually broke. The thought of seeing the protagonist from the story in real life made William’s eyes sparkle with excitement as he looked at her.
It had been nothing more than a novel he had casually read, but crossing swords with its main character was quite the strange experience.
Especially if he was in the position of a senior.
“I’ll yield the first move.”
“I gratefully accept.”
She might be the protagonist, but she was still a novice. That was why William willingly gave up the first strike.
“Here I come.”
“Come.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Dan Mok-gyeong’s figure shot forward.
Her movements were light like a cat yet sharp like an eagle. William assumed the Ox Guard stance to receive her attack.
‘The sword art of the Yunnan Dan Family is known for its ever-changing, illusionary sword techniques. They say it’s a style centered around dazzling phantom swords.’
Recalling the information in his head, William focused on the tip of her blade.
All variations in swordsmanship began at the tip. By watching it, one could predict how the technique would unfold.
Just as he expected, the tip of Dan Mok-gyeong’s sword began to move, leaving afterimages behind.
Above. Right. Left.
Three sword strikes flew at him simultaneously.
‘Two are feints. Only one is real.’
All three looked equally real due to her precision, but only one could be the true strike. William judged the one coming from the right to be real and tilted his sword slightly to deflect it.
‘Light.’
From the very first move, she had chosen a light attack rather than a heavy one.
‘She must have watched me fight.’
Her judgment was so accurate that William couldn’t help but reach that conclusion.
After all, powerful attacks inevitably created openings.
‘Benefactor’s swordsmanship specializes in deflecting and redirecting. I must reduce the power in my blade and face him accordingly…’
If William had taken the initiative aggressively, the fight would have ended in a single exchange regardless of whether her strikes were light or heavy. But this was a spar meant for mutual improvement. That was why he maintained a relatively passive stance and did not counterattack.
They exchanged several more moves like this. After using her footwork to retreat once and catch her breath, Dan Mok-gyeong assumed a new stance and declared.
“I will go again.”
“Come.”
Her figure shot forward once more like an arrow leaving the bowstring. The speed was worthy of the term lightning. William tracked her movements with his eyes, swung his sword, and shifted his stance.
Pflug.
The appearance of an unfamiliar stance made Dan Mok-gyeong respond with dozens of sword strikes.
‘The high-level martial arts of the Central Plains truly reach the pinnacle of splendor.’
Even the secret arts of the West could become flashy once they reached a certain level, but they had a completely different flavor from the martial arts of the Central Plains. William couldn’t help but admire it.
‘When fully mastered, it is said to create a thousand swords that tear the enemy to shreds, which is why it’s called the Thousand Sword… But it’s still immature.’
No matter how much of a peerless genius she was, overcoming the difference in realm was no easy task.
William strengthened his eyesight with aura and took a single step forward. At the same time, he thrust his sword.
At first glance, it looked like a suicidal exchange, but an incomplete and clumsy technique could not possibly deal with a blade that had accurately slipped into its path.
Dan Mok-gyeong stared at her own sword, which was now immobilized by the longsword, gritted her teeth, and pulled her body back.
But William had no intention of giving her any room to escape. He took a light step forward and brought his blade right up to her face.
“...I have lost.”
Dan Mok-gyeong withdrew her sword and stepped back, her face filled with admiration as she spoke.
“...You are incredible. To dismantle a sword form you’ve never seen before in a single exchange. I never thought it would be broken so easily.”
“...The view looks different depending on where you stand.”
“The view looks different depending on where you stand… I see. So that was it… I shouldn’t have been thinking only from my own perspective…”
‘...Huh?’
William was rendered speechless by the sudden change in Dan Mok-gyeong’s aura and simply stared at her.
‘Is this even possible?’
Feeling utterly dumbfounded, William sheathed his sword.
There was no point in continuing the spar. No, there was no need.
Because Dan Mok-gyeong had closed her eyes and fallen into a state of enlightenment.
“...In all my years, this is the first time I’ve seen someone gain enlightenment from a single sentence.”
‘Is this what the protagonist is like? Is it okay for her to be this unreasonable?’
“Uncle? What are you doing here…?”
“...Hye-ryeong. Shh.”
“Yes?”
“Stay here with me and stand guard for a while.”
When Hye-ryeong saw Dan Mok-gyeong lost in enlightenment, her expression shifted from a pout to surprise, and then from surprise to a serious look.
For a warrior, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Since Hye-ryeong was a warrior herself, she set aside her slight jealousy and, just as William had asked, stood guard while watching their surroundings.
The unexpected situation only came to an end after a full two hours had passed.
When Dan Mok-gyeong opened her eyes, her aura was noticeably more stable than before. She bowed deeply to William and spoke.
“Thank you! Benefactor. I will never forget this grace!”
“...Uh… Yeah.”
William nodded with an awkward expression on his face.