Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Dual Blader and Painter
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# Chapter 30.
B-Rank Level 24 ‘Dual Blader’.
C-Rank Level 21 ‘Painter’.
That was the info on the two of them.
‘But Painter? What’s that supposed to be…….’
Seo Woojin could roughly guess what Yoo Hongseol’s job ‘Dual Blader’ entailed.
But Kim Dahye’s ‘Painter’ made him tilt his head in confusion.
“It’s painting.”
“No, I get that much.”
The question was what she did with the paintings.
Seo Woojin’s curiosity was cleared up by the overly chatty Lee Jia.
She started spilling words as if she’d been waiting for this.
“Dahye’s job lets her paint something and summon it! Monsters or cute animals, even food works too! It’s such an awesome ability, right? I can’t believe it’s only C-Rank!”
The explanation was a bit scattered, but Seo Woojin got the gist of what ‘Painter’ was.
‘Isn’t that broken?’
He didn’t know the power level of what got summoned, but if she could do something like ice worms……?
He pictured summoning not just one, but several at once.
No cheat like that existed.
“It’s not that strong.”
But Kim Dahye shook her head.
“I can only summon stuff I’ve seen with my own eyes, no people, and the summon lasts just 10 minutes.”
On top of that, the summoned creature’s power scaled with Kim Dahye’s level.
It came with a bunch of drawbacks.
‘Well, if it were that versatile, they’d have ranked it S-grade or higher.’
Since it was only C-Rank, the ability itself probably wasn’t overpowered.
Sure, it’d get better as she leveled up, but……
It didn’t seem to have any huge advantages over other jobs.
“Oh, but this one’s useful.”
Kim Dahye suddenly pulled a pencil and a small sketchbook from her pocket and started sketching something—scratch scratch.
Her hand moved so fast that by the time Seo Woojin thought, ‘What’s she doing?’, the drawing was done.
“Summon.”
Kim Dahye placed her hand on the drawing and activated the skill.
And then……
“Whoa, that startled me.”
A gun appeared.
Caliber 5.56mm.
Length 97cm.
Weight 3.26kg.
Max range 3300m.
Effective range 600m.
To Seo Woojin, who’d done his military service, it was a gun he knew all too well.
“K2?”
She’d said she could only summon things she’d seen herself.
Where would a woman in her early twenties have seen a K2……?
“Wanna give it a shot?”
Kim Dahye handed the gun to Seo Woojin.
It was something he never wanted to touch again, but he took it almost trance-like.
The familiar weight.
And the memories of PRI that came flooding back.
“Bullets?”
“No need. It’s mana ammo—uses the user’s mana to make bullets and fire.”
So as long as she had mana, she could fire full-auto indefinitely.
‘Heh.’
That was nice.
Didn’t matter how well it worked on monsters—as long as no spent casings to worry about, full-auto bliss.
Something you could never experience in the South Korean military, right?
But he couldn’t fire it here.
The training ground was spacious, but you couldn’t just shoot anywhere.
Seo Woojin examined the K2 with a touch of regret before handing it back.
“We’ll test-fire the gun next time. For now, let’s start training today.”
The first to step up at Seo Woojin’s words was Yoo Hongseol.
As the owner of the ‘Dual Blader’ job, she carried two swords.
“I call these ones Frostbite and Flamebloom.”
They were clearly no ordinary blades at first glance.
Frostbite gave off a chill like cold frost had settled on it, while Flamebloom flickered with flames.
‘They look amazing.’
Nothing like the black sword he’d gotten from Ban Slaine.
They were probably treated as treasures in whatever kingdom Yoo Hongseol came from.
‘Even in Sion, they said carrying those was pushing it…….’
He felt a bit envious.
“Aren’t they hot?”
With flames flickering on the sword at her waist, it had to be hot.
“If the owner acknowledges you, it’s fine.”
She even bragged about how it was cool in summer and warm in winter—advantages that didn’t need explaining.
She clearly loved her swords.
“Hmm, for sparring: we go until one can’t move anymore. Anything goes except lethal strikes.”
Yoo Hongseol’s expression stiffened slightly at Seo Woojin’s words.
“What if someone gets hurt?”
“…Pardon?”
“Even without lethal attacks, getting hit by a sword hurts.”
Of course it did.
Seo Woojin had racked up countless injuries as a Massive Guardian.
“Isn’t that just part of training?”
If they were just going through the motions swinging swords, what kind of spar was that?
‘It’d be a dance.’
Seo Woojin planned to train the way he had in Massive Guardian.
“Still… just in case, we should have a healer mage on standby.”
Seo Woojin glanced at Yoo Hongseol, Kim Dahye, and Lee Jia.
All three wore faces tinged with fear.
‘Ah…….’
Now he understood why Ban Slaine had emphasized experience.
‘Kids with brute strength.’
What good was splitting rocks or plowing earth with a single swing?
They were terrified of even a simple spar.
Normal training with them seemed impossible.
“Ailin.”
Seo Woojin called to Ailin, who’d been quietly watching from behind.
“Should I go first?”
“Yeah, let’s.”
He’d hoped the other heroes might step up, but in their state, no chance.
“Watch us first, then decide if you want to join after.”
Without waiting for a reply, Seo Woojin headed to the center of the training ground with Ailin.
Shing—
The black sword came out.
Ailin drew hers too.
“I’ll go first.”
Ailin kicked off the ground.
Clang—!
* * *
Zzzzt-!
A sensation Lee Jia had never felt before pierced through her body.
‘Killing intent?’
Was this the killing intent the knight uncles had described?
It felt like every hair on her body was standing on end.
“…That’s training?”
Yoo Hongseol muttered beside her in a dazed voice.
“That’s just a fight.”
It looked too dangerous to call a spar.
Every strike seemed like it could take a life.
In fact, drops of blood were already beading on Seo Woojin and Ailin’s bodies.
Clang clang clang—!
The blades clashed several times per second, making her legs go weak.
‘We never did anything like that…….’
Lee Jia recalled her first monster kill.
Orc.
The muscle-bound green-skinned monster had been gushing blood and couldn’t even stand properly.
One poke with a finger would’ve finished it.
Even so, Lee Jia had hesitated.
Taking a life.
Even if it was a monster, for someone who’d lived her whole life on Earth, it was too hard.
But she’d done it in the end.
She hadn’t eaten for three days after, but Lee Jia felt proud.
Like she’d grown somehow.
Even fantasizing about becoming a hero and defeating the evil Demon King.
That was how Lee Jia had grown, feasting on the ‘set tables’ the knights prepared.
‘But that uncle?’
Was he really a hero like her?
Same bus ride, same growth, same……
‘No way.’
She couldn’t imagine Seo Woojin going through the same thing as her.
Lee Jia and the other two unconsciously backed away from the brutal scene.
Terrified the scary swords might turn on them, they wanted to flee the training ground right then.
Blood splattered.
Even from this distance, red liquid flew and landed at her feet.
Lee Jia flinched at the sight.
She thought she was used to blood from hunting monsters, but apparently not.
She swallowed dryly without realizing and looked ahead.
Ailin’s left shoulder was soaked in blood.
Seo Woojin was bleeding profusely from his side too.
Yet the two swung their swords as if it were routine.
Faces saying this was nothing.
No—they even looked more thrilled.
‘Why go that far……?’
The knights prepared monsters for them. Catching those would make them stronger.
Why endure the pain and hardship of that kind of training?
A knight from this world, she’d get it. But Seo Woojin was a hero.
He could get strong without this.
Lee Jia watched the spar with eyes full of confusion.
But without realizing, her fists were clenched tight.
* * *
Slash-!
‘That was close.’
Ailin’s sword grazed his ear, slicing off some hair.
A split-second slower reaction, and he’d have lost an ear.
‘She’s strong.’
Seo Woojin admired Ailin’s swordsmanship.
She was just a mid-level knight, but purely in swordplay, she was leagues ahead.
Seo Woojin had grown a lot too, but he still had far to go.
Sure, with skills and mana, he could overwhelm her……
‘But then it wouldn’t be training.’
He had to stick to pure swordplay for practice.
Not quite real combat, but close enough to get him more comfortable with the blade.
‘Whoa!’
The sword came down at his arm again.
The pain from his side nearly made him miss the dodge.
Luckily, Ailin’s shoulder injury kept her from her usual speed.
‘Think I can win today?’
Seo Woojin and Ailin were evenly matched.
She had a slight edge in win rate, but lately he was catching up fast.
And today, he had a good feeling.
He was right.
Clang—!
With a sharp metallic ring, Ailin’s sword flew into the air.
“I win.”
Seo Woojin pressed his sword to her throat and said.
Ailin shot him a frustrated look before sighing.
“…You got me.”
A clean loss, no room for argument.
“Your skills are improving fast.”
“Thanks to you.”
No empty words.
Without Ailin, he couldn’t have progressed this steeply.
You needed a rival to grow, after all.
Seo Woojin sheathed his sword and offered a hand.
“Good work today.”
“You too, Woojin.”
They were covered in blood, but the injuries weren’t severe.
No need for healing magic—just some ointment, and they’d recover.
“Ointment back at the dorm?”
“Brought some. Left it over there; I’ll apply it soon.”
The Massive Guardian-supplied ointment was incredibly effective.
With constant monster fights every year, they had to advance in that area.
‘It stings a bit… but it works.’
‘A bit’ was an understatement.
Some soldiers fainted just from applying it.
But when they came to, the wounds were mostly healed—top-tier stuff.
‘Without that ointment, this kind of training would be impossible.’
If every spar meant days of recovery, what’d be the point?
Seo Woojin pushed the memory of the pain aside and turned.
There were the three heroes, faces pale as ghosts.
“Who’s next?”
Seo Woojin smiled as friendly as he could, playing it off as no big deal, but they thought otherwise.
‘Scary.’
‘He’s scary.’
‘Kinda scary.’