Ch 91
Became a swordsmanship instructor at the academy
Chapter 91
Right now, I'm at Jamsil Sport Complex.
The duel start time is 1 o'clock, but they told me to come early since traffic would be heavy, so I left around 10:30, but there wasn't much traffic and I arrived before 11.
There's nothing in particular to prepare, so I'm just sitting in a chair playing on my phone. When I search online, there are quite a lot of articles.
Both the articles and comments all predict Kim Dae-chan's victory, but there are quite a few people taking my side, saying that if I wasn't confident, I wouldn't have designated Kim Dae-chan.
If this duel also had betting like WH Toto, I would have made a solid profit. What a shame.
By the way, what about lunch?
The breakfast menu wasn't great so I only ate a little, but since they told me to come early, the association will provide it, right?
I was about to go out to ask a staff member when I heard a knock and the door opened.
I thought it was staff, but it's Kim Man-dong, Teacher Kim, and Teacher Hong.
"We came to cheer for Teacher Kang."
"Ah... Thank you. You didn't have to come."
"Why are you being so distant? Are we strangers?"
Well, they are work colleagues, we go hunting together every vacation, and these two helped a lot with Se-jin's training.
"It looks like you were going somewhere. Please go ahead."
"I was feeling a bit peckish, so I was going to ask how lunch was being handled."
"Ah, don't worry about that. We prepared lunch too."
"What?"
Only now did I notice that Teacher Kim was holding a shopping bag.
There's no marking on it... Don't tell me it's homemade?
Good lord, this is a variable I never thought of....
"We bought it from a really famous sushi restaurant."
Teacher Hong says with an eye smile, as if reading my mind, and I really feel like I've come back from the dead.
"I was originally going to make it myself, but Iseul said she had already made a reservation."
"It's fine. You know I like buying food anyway. Thank you."
We're all eating lunch and chatting when the door opens and an association staff member enters.
"Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok, you need to go up in 10 minutes, so please prepare."
"Yes. Understood."
"Time has passed so quickly already. Teacher Kang needs to prepare too, so we should go."
"It doesn't really matter if you stay."
"Aren't you being too careless? That Kim Dae-chan guy may have bad character, but his skills are..."
"It's fine. If I wasn't confident, I wouldn't have applied for STB in the first place or designated Kim Dae-chan."
"Um... Teacher Kang, I don't see your sword. Where is your sword?"
"Did the association take it for inspection or something? They should give it back by now though."
"No. The sword I'll use in today's duel is that one."
When I point to the corner, everyone is startled.
"What?"
"Um, Teacher Kang...?"
"What on earth are you thinking?"
"That's sufficient for facing Kim Dae-chan. Just as a craftsman doesn't choose his tools, I don't choose my sword either."
"But that's not even a sword at all."
"Still, the length is roughly similar to the sword I used to use."
"Is it perhaps an artifact?"
"No, it's not."
"You need to make sense, man. Don't be stubborn. I'll talk to the association and get you a sword, so even now..."
Looking at their reactions, it seems I did well not bringing a sword.
"It's really fine. If you can't believe it, there's nothing I can do."
I went to the corner and picked up the sword I'll use today.
"I'll hold it and won't dodge, so Vice Principal, please try punching it once."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes. It would be troublesome if the waiting room gets damaged, so please concentrate your strength entirely here."
"Don't regret it."
The Vice Principal makes an expression like he can't believe it, then strikes my sword with his fist.
THUD!
As expected of the Vice Principal.
Even though it probably wasn't full power, my wrist tingles as if electrocuted.
Of course, my sword is still perfectly fine without a single scratch.
"Th-this is impossible...."
"Is it really not an artifact?"
"Have you ever seen an artifact that looks like this? Teacher Kim, please check it once."
I handed the sword to Teacher Kim.
"It's... Really just a tree branch."
"How can an ordinary tree branch withstand Master's punch? Give it here."
Teacher Hong, who was beside us, also seems unable to believe it and snatches the tree branch from Teacher Kim.
"There really are no traces of magic at all. How on earth... You didn't even use Aura Blade or aura."
"This is a bit complicated to explain...."
***
I deflected the sword flying toward my neck, but just before the blade made contact, it suddenly changed direction toward my abdomen.
CLANG!
Wow, this actually works.
Outwardly, it looks like just an ordinary tree branch, but it doesn't break even when clashing with Master's sword wrapped in fierce Ganggi.
"There's an opening, you brat!"
SCRAPE! THUD!
"ARGH!"
I really just thought about something else for a moment, but the tree branch was cut off and I got properly hit on the head with the blade's flat side.
"Master, please control your strength! I thought my head was going to crack."
"I held back at the end. If I hadn't, your skull would have cracked."
"Skull?"
"Doesn't skull mean head?"
Where did he learn that expression....
"Let's do it once more."
"You already succeeded, what more is there to do? Pointless."
"Come on, your disciple is going to fight tomorrow, so please cooperate."
"You did well. Mental focus is originally all about concentration. Like Yigieogeum. As long as you don't have idle thoughts in the middle, it'll be fine."
"So let's have another round."
"No. Moving around made me hungry. I'm going to eat ramen."
"Next week when I come, one more box of sesame ramen plus 3 chickens, deal?"
"One more box of sesame ramen plus 3 chickens? What kind?"
"How about Golden Olive, Red Pepper Crispy, and Bburinkle?"
"What are you doing? Hurry up and go break off a tree branch."
***
When sparring with Master, I always used a sword while Master mainly broke off tree branches to face me.
The peculiar thing was that whether I used sword energy or Aura Blade, Master blocked everything with an ordinary tree branch.
Master's tree branch wasn't wrapped in sword energy or Ganggi, but my sword never once managed to cut Master's tree branch.
Every time I saw it, it seemed so unfair that I asked how he did it.
―You should be able to do it too... Didn't I teach you?
When I said he didn't teach me, only then did he say he forgot and told me the method.
Mental focus (意念).
Neither sword energy that cuts through solid iron, nor Ganggi which is far more powerful than sword energy, can destroy a weapon imbued with mental focus (意念).
Unlike Yigieogeum which is controlled through mental focus, this was the concept of infusing mental focus into an object like internal energy, so it was a bit difficult, but perhaps because of the common point of using the same mental focus, I was able to learn it without much difficulty.
KNOCK! KNOCK!.
"Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok, it's time to go up now."
"I'll have to explain later. Please give me my sword back."
Leaving behind the three people who still had surprised expressions, I left the waiting room.
"Um... Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok, if you go up right now, it'll be the duel immediately... You need to bring your sword."
"Here's my sword."
The staff member made a dubious expression, but when I said it was fine again, they didn't say anything more.
After walking about 3 minutes following the staff, I can see the entrance.
Earlier, the Vice Principal and other teachers said many people came, and I can already hear the bustling sounds.
"Quite a lot of people came."
"Ah, the stadium was packed 20 minutes ago."
Packed?
Yesterday when it changed to Jamsil Stadium, I searched and it said the capacity was 100,000 people.
Of course, I heard they don't charge admission fees, but still, 100,000 people on a precious Sunday afternoon - people's interest seems hotter than I thought.
As I passed through the entrance, the first thing that caught my eye was the stadium, but the crowd's cheers naturally drew my gaze to the stands.
People were packed so densely that I couldn't see any gaps no matter where I looked - front, back, left, or right.
"Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok? Please wave your hand once."
"Should I?"
When I waved my hand, cheers erupted.
'This...' I thought quite a few people came to cheer for me, but looking at the giant screen above the duel arena, it was showing Kim Dae-chan.
Feeling awkward, I lowered my hand and walked quickly.
Coming to the duel arena located in the center, there are quite a few familiar faces.
Not only the Vice Principal, but also Lee Myeong-gang, the guild master of Chase Guild that Kang Shin-hyeok used to belong to, and Ma Bongpal, the vice principal of 2nd Hunter school whom I met before.
Besides them, there are three more S-rank hunters that I've only seen on the internet or TV.
They're all people with positions, so they probably weren't dragged here forcibly, but except for the Vice Principal and a few others, they're all glaring at me fiercely.
Well, I can roughly guess.
They wouldn't look favorably upon me trying to rise to the same position as them in one go using the STB system, which has never happened domestically before.
They may not all be close with Kim Dae-chan, but they're all S-rank hunters for now.
Even if they don't send hostile gazes, probably no one except the Vice Principal will be cheering for me here.
"I'm Seong Jin-cheol, in charge of today's duel referee."
He's the master of Hwasung Guild, a spear user who competes for the top ranks among the Ten Stars along with the Vice Principal.
"I'm Kang Shin-hyeok."
"But weren't you a swordsman? Where did you leave your sword and why did you bring a tree branch?"
"This is my weapon."
"What?"
Not only Kim Dae-chan standing in front, but everyone looks surprised.
Ah, of course except for the Vice Principal who saw it in the waiting room earlier.
"Y-young fellow, aren't you being too pretentious?"
The man speaking cockily is Nam Il-seong, the master of Bicheon Guild.
"Kids these days are too fearless, you know? Ah, Dae-chan had a scandal with his daughter, did Dae-chan perhaps say he'd go easy on you?"
Even Choi Mun-seong, the master of Golden Lion Guild beside him, steps forward.
"Even if you win that way, it won't be meaningful. You know it'll be a rematch if we can't understand the level, right? Even if Dae-chan goes easy, I have no intention of going easy."
I heard these two are quite close with Kim Dae-chan, and sure enough, they seem displeased with me.
"Everyone, tone it down a bit."
"What do you mean, tone it down? Man-dong, you're not like that either. Just because he's a teacher at your school, you're covering for him and being lenient, so he looks down on S-rank hunters..."
"Keep talking, why did you stop?"
With that fierce expression and murderous aura radiating, how could anyone continue talking?
Even I would have shut my mouth immediately.
He's usually a Vice Principal I can't boss around and who's just annoying, but seeing him step up for me like this, I'm slightly moved.
"Everyone seems overly hostile. The duel hasn't even started yet, so you shouldn't be like this already. And Man-dong, you should also withdraw your aura."
When a man in black robes stepped forward, everyone shut their mouths tight and even Kim Man-dong clicked his tongue once and withdrew his murderous aura.
This man who organized the atmosphere instantly is Cha Su-hyeok of Purgatory Guild.
The acknowledged strongest hunter in Korea.
In the original work, he's also a considerable powerhouse who gives Lee Ji-sung a reality check when he becomes arrogant after defeating the Vice Principal just before graduation.
"But you know what. Honestly, I'm a bit curious too. No matter how confident you are, for a swordsman to not even bring a sword. Is that perhaps an artifact?"
"It's not."
"It's not? Then can I check it for a moment?"
He instantly appears beside me and snatches the tree branch.
It's an impossibly fast Blink magic.
Of course, if I had tried to block it, I naturally could have, but there's no need to waste energy unnecessarily.
"It really is just a tree branch. You're really going to fight Kim Dae-chan with this?"
"There's a saying that even a tiger gives its all when hunting a rabbit, but there's no need to use an ox-slaughtering knife to catch a chicken."
"HAHAHA! I got schooled here. Well, if you applied for STB, you should have that level of spirit."
"If you're done checking, please return it."
Everyone has surprised expressions, but especially Kim Dae-chan, who was ignored to his face, has a completely disgusted expression.
"This bastard...."
Kim Dae-chan approached, so I was about to dodge, but Cha Su-hyeok blocked him.
"It hasn't started yet, so this kind of behavior doesn't look good. Fight when the fighting starts."
That Kim Dae-chan bastard... Does he think I brought a tree branch because I'm going to go easy on him?
What ambitious dreams he has.