Sword Sage Laisen (3)
Barad had passed down Sword King's Swordsmanship to Hyun-soo.
He had emphasized it strongly.
'Remember this: what you see is important too.'
It was even more crucial now.
Without Sword Sage Laisen and the future family heads, Hyun-soo could never become king.
Besides, driven by karma, he had become the Sword King and wanted to witness this.
Sword Sage Laisen.
The way he had first tested Hyun-soo, only to end up falling himself.
But now, it was a test of whether he could entrust his back to Hyun-soo in the future.
Laisen, his eyes wavering as he looked at Hyun-soo, gripped his sword and stared at him again.
"……."
For a moment, one person flashed through his mind.
It was His Highness Barad, looking down at him with his sword lowered.
Grip—
Laisen clenched his sword with all his might.
"Indeed, our duel isn't over yet!"
Kicking off the ground, Laisen thought to himself.
They say a fox can play lord in a tiger's den.
To him, Hyun-soo was that fox.
Krraaahhh—!
He charged ferociously, convinced he was the tiger.
Yet every one of the tiger's strikes was being blocked.
'How, how, howwww……!'
What he couldn't accept was that he was overwhelming Hyun-soo in every way right now.
Strength, speed, stamina—all of it.
Yet in actual skill—the most vital trait for the Sword King's kingdom's heir—he was being outmatched.
Thud—
Hyun-soo blocked his strike with minimal movement and smacked Laisen's shoulder with his palm.
Skrrrt—
As Laisen stumbled back, Hyun-soo pursued.
Laisen swung his sword in panic, but froze.
His hand had pinned down the back of Laisen's sword hand, stopping it cold.
"You can win by preventing them from drawing their sword," Hyun-soo said.
His left hand struck three times in an instant, locking the sword in place.
Whap-whap-whap—
It then battered Laisen's upper body repeatedly.
"Ngh……."
Laisen's eyes bulged wide as a shallow groan escaped him.
NPCs always chased raw power.
They often pursued certain strengths for that reason.
Laisen had chased one for a long time.
He had planned to reveal it once he became family head.
But here, he was about to unleash it.
It was a fragment of an ancient legendary power discovered in a distant cave.
"Taesan."
He knew this power could briefly rival the Sword King.
All mana surges wildly, maximizing aura.
Hyun-soo was startled.
Laisen's level had been extraordinarily high from the start.
High-level players gained power that defied common sense with each level more than low-level ones did.
"You've taken His Highness's teachings well," Laisen said, his lips twisting as he appeared before Hyun-soo in an instant.
"Allow me to offer you a small lesson in return, Viscount Hyun-soo."
And the strength of Laisen's swordsmanship lay in space.
He designated a space by eye and wielded transcendent power within it.
Finally, Laisen marked the space.
To user Hyun-soo, it appeared like a barrier etched into the ground beneath his feet.
Laisen's muscles swelled across his body.
The bloated muscles creaked like an overtaxed machine.
But his Taesan ignored it.
Transcendent skill, immense strength, and spatial dominance assaulted Hyun-soo.
Kaboom—!
HP drops below 28%.
Hyun-soo was shocked.
The damage Laisen inflicted surged by 50% in an instant.
Unlike his swollen muscles, his speed had doubled.
'And he has the skill to match!'
Laisen surpassed the Sword King's movements.
Hyun-soo tried to escape the space he had created.
But he couldn't.
'Incredible.'
Within this space, Laisen wielded power equal to the true Sword King.
Skwiiiish—!
Six times.
That was how many slashes Hyun-soo took in a blink.
Yet something was off.
"Whoa, he's amazing……."
"Is that the power of the second-generation head!?"
Hyun-soo's chest burned hot instead.
It stemmed from greed and anticipation.
I might have someone like this by my side one day.
And that anticipation came from how much power he himself wielded against such a man.
Flame was a calamity made for people like Laisen.
With the world overflowing with powerhouses like him, Hyun-soo had forged it for his own weakness.
Laisen's space-dominating sword.
Its blinding speed thrust toward Hyun-soo's solar plexus.
HP drops below 16%.
"It was a pleasure."
In that moment, Hyun-soo finally unleashed his power.
Embarrassing as it was, he remembered the Sword King's lesson: what you see matters too.
"Burn."
Flame
A small spark ignites.
Flame was a tiny spark.
So small it posed no threat, a pathetic heat.
Yet no one could ignore a flame.
Because it could latch on and become a massive inferno, burning hottest of all.
Twaang—!
He deflected the sword aiming for his solar plexus with overwhelming speed.
Laisen's eyes widened.
Flames bloomed the instant their swords clashed.
Those flames erupted from Hyun-soo's body into an inferno.
Fwoooosh—
Flame-like energy erupted from Hyun-soo's body.
It blazed fiercely, hot to the touch yet not truly scorching.
But crimson demonic flames poured endlessly from him.
Clang-clang-clang-clang—
Their exchange continued.
Child could barely follow them with his eyes.
'Is this the clash between one who will be king and one chasing the king……!?'
Blue aura clashed with raging flames.
Too fast—all they could see were sparks from the swords.
Clang-clang-clang-clang—
And Laisen felt it.
'How……!'
The space he dominated was crumbling.
👤 Hyun-soo Lv.369
Moreover, Flame's benefit extended to boosting all passive skills by 2-3 levels.
Including the Calamity Gauntlet's "Cuts Anything."
Suddenly, Hyun-soo's Supreme Sword blazed even redder.
Cuts Anything
Cutting power surges 5.5x instantly.
Shiiiing—
Laisen recoiled in horror as their swords clashed.
Half his sword had been sliced off the moment it met Hyun-soo's.
Fortunately, his quick reflexes let him pull it back before it shattered completely.
With his half-sliced sword, he slashed at Hyun-soo.
Splurt—
Hyun-soo's HP plummeted from Flame's drain and accumulated damage.
But Hyun-soo had Asnium ore.
His HP recovered, while Laisen panicked from landing the hit.
Clang—
The impact of his slash finally snapped his sword.
Yet Laisen still pressed the attack.
However.
Kwaaang—!
The moment their swords met, the space Laisen dominated collapsed entirely.
Laisen knew.
This was the final exchange.
'The final move demands full power……!'
Laisen had taken massive damage, his sword halved.
Hyun-soo overwhelmed him with explosive might, but his remaining HP was too low.
Laisen's blood boiled hot.
Immense competitive spirit surged.
He would win somehow!
Taat—
It was nearly simultaneous.
Laisen with his half-shattered sword, Hyun-soo with his flame-wreathed body—they charged.
Watching, Child—the successor to Sword Sage Laisen—shook his head.
'……Viscount Hyun-soo has won.'
He felt regret. Not for Laisen.
For Hyun-soo.
Laisen was one of the most renowned second-generation heads.
Defeating him now would earn Hyun-soo fame, but shrink Laisen's stature.
Moreover, an old family head who believed himself supreme wouldn't take defeat well.
Sure, some might, but the Laisen Child knew wasn't one.
But then.
Child was stunned.
Explosive energy surged along Laisen's sword toward Hyun-soo's chest.
His prediction flipped.
'No…….'
Child's pupils dilated.
Having poured everything in, Laisen's sword might kill Hyun-soo.
Laisen had lost reason briefly, channeling all into his broken blade.
Yet another twist occurred.
Hyun-soo stomped harder, piercing Laisen first—before the sword could impale him.
"Keurgh!"
Laisen, shoulder pierced through his sword arm, dropped his killing blade.
And he realized he'd nearly killed Hyun-soo in his frenzy.
'……How could I lose control and try to kill the king's heir.'
A colossal blunder.
The greatest of his life.
He had no defense if Hyun-soo snarled at him now.
He'd tried to murder him in a fair duel.
So Laisen expected mockery, lips twisted in scorn.
But Hyun-soo's response differed.
"As expected of Sword Sage Laisen. It was a fine lesson."
"……."
Laisen quickly grasped why.
Clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-clap—!
"AMAZING!!!!!"
"Woooaaahhh!"
Only he, Hyun-soo, and Child knew here—and Hyun-soo was covering it.
"Sword Sage Laisen and Viscount Hyun-soo's bout was incredible!"
"As expected of Head Laisen!"
"Viscount Hyun-soo taught us so much too!"
And Laisen finally realized.
Winning or losing mattered to him, but not to the man before him.
He had already earned the future heads' recognition here.
And covered his mistake too.
'The most important thing is to embrace them. Do it your way.'
That was the deepest lesson from Barad's teachings for Hyun-soo.
After treatment, he met Laisen again.
Laisen subtly probed why he'd done it.
"Why say nothing?"
Hyun-soo was firm.
"I have no idea what you mean."
A smooth talker.
Watching the still-excited heads with Hyun-soo, Laisen said,
"A fine duel."
His voice was soft.
"I learned quite a bit myself."
And once more.
"Quite……."
Hyun-soo nearly bristled at "quite."
It sounded like a superior judging an inferior.
But that wasn't the intent.
"An old man like me sways easily, so I'll watch."
"……."
Hyun-soo turned to him.
It was an opening.
He could side with Hyun-soo anytime—or oppose him.
The weight of that was immense.
"So show me."
If he was worth the Sword Sage's aid.
He'd created just a sliver of possibility.
But Hyun-soo knew even that was huge.
"……Understood. I'll show you something grand. And feel free to drop the formalities."
Laisen was an elder even Barad respected.
"Very well."
This meant Hyun-soo and Laisen had grown a bit closer.
And.
"Your sword broke, so pick one up at our forge. We have excellent ones—at good prices."
"Really?"
Laisen whipped around like a child.
He knew Ballass Territory's swords were exceptional and had wanted one.
Hyun-soo said the same to the future heads.
Good swords at good prices—take them.
Three hours later.
Laisen and the future heads left Ballass Territory, clutching top-quality gear.
Riding in carriages, they chatted.
"What an incredible bout."
"Both were amazing."
"Head Laisen is unreal!"
They missed the essence.
But one who saw it was enough.
Child, heir to the great family that would lead them, said,
"You didn't notice, but Laisen nearly killed Viscount Hyun-soo."
Shocking words.
They marveled again.
Their leader, future Sword Saint Child, declared,
"A new sun has risen for us."
All smiled at the gear in their arms.
Each piece was outstanding.
'Heh heh heh.'
'Bought at good prices.'
'Heh, with this sword……!'
From the walls, Hyun-soo watched with a pleased smile.
Meanwhile.
"……."
Per, who had sold premium artifacts in Ballass Territory, looked up at his lord on the wall.
'His Lordship said to sell good swords at good prices!'
'Oh, oh……!'
'Which sword is best!'
Their excited faces lingered.
And His Lordship had quietly instructed: charge 20% more.
Blacksmith Per saw his lord's lips curl into a sly grin.
Yes.
He'd said good prices—not cheap ones.