Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: The Sword Sage's Test
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#41
Seo Woo-jin blinked.
‘Draw my sword?’
He understood the words themselves, but he couldn’t even begin to guess the reason why.
‘Why all of a sudden?’
How many people would obediently comply if someone suddenly showed up, dragged them to the training grounds, and told them to draw their sword?
“What are you doing? Draw your sword already.”
Dariel urged Seo Woo-jin, who stood there dumbfounded.
“Shouldn’t you at least tell me the reason?”
He knew the man was strong.
He knew his reputation had spread across the entire continent.
But that didn’t mean he could do whatever he pleased.
Seo Woo-jin didn’t particularly like people who acted as arbitrarily as Dariel.
‘He’s nothing like Ban Slane.’
He didn’t know who was stronger between the two.
He was still far too lacking to gauge their levels.
But at least he had a sense of whose character was superior.
Ban Slane, who always showed him proper respect despite his immense power, was the clear winner.
“There’s something I need to check.”
So what was it?!
Seo Woo-jin nearly exploded in frustration but barely held it back.
It wasn’t just annoyance—his sword was genuinely frightening.
After taking a moment to breathe deeply, Seo Woo-jin opened his mouth.
“If you’d just tell me what it is...”
“You talk too much.”
Dariel cut him off.
Then, as if declaring no more pointless conversation, he drew his sword.
“This should make you draw yours, like it or not.”
Thud—!
The moment Dariel stepped forward, he was in front of Seo Woo-jin.
“Take this.”
The sword fell slowly.
‘No, is it fast?’
He couldn’t gauge the speed at all.
It didn’t seem that fast, yet Seo Woo-jin couldn’t even dream of dodging it.
“Urk!”
In the end, he drew his sword.
The blades clashed with a harsh metallic ring.
‘Weak.’
The weight he felt from the sword was lighter than expected.
Was he going easy on his wrist, or did he have some other intent...?
‘Left!’
Seo Woo-jin stopped thinking and urgently leaped back.
The sword he’d been facing head-on moments ago was now aiming for his neck from the left.
Swish—
A spray of blood droplets.
He hadn’t dodged perfectly; a small cut remained on his jaw.
The stinging pain made Seo Woo-jin realize he had no time for stray thoughts.
His sword moved.
Like lightning striking up from the ground, Seo Woo-jin’s blade surged from below to above.
A straight thrust with no technique to speak of.
It reminded him of Ban Slane’s sword—honest and straightforward.
“Hmm.”
Though it was as fast as a flash of light, Dariel dodged it effortlessly.
But Seo Woo-jin’s hand didn’t stop there.
No, this was just the beginning.
Eyes, throat, heart—even his groin.
Seo Woo-jin relentlessly targeted Dariel’s vital points, swinging his sword.
“A practical sword style.”
A sword meant solely for killing.
In Massive Guardian, where they waged war against monsters every year, they used swordsmanship that pursued ultimate efficiency.
Faster and stronger than the opponent.
A blade that could take a life with minimal force.
Seo Woo-jin had learned such swordsmanship from Ban Slane.
It was utterly different from Sword Sage Dariel’s profound and subtle style.
“No manners to be found.”
Dariel observed Seo Woo-jin while lightly dodging the strikes.
“It’s definitely the sword he taught you.”
Dariel nodded.
‘Damn it, what’s he talking about?’
Seo Woo-jin was on the verge of frustration as his sword failed to land even once.
Of course, he hadn’t entertained any thoughts of winning.
But he’d at least hoped to surprise him...
‘It feels like I’m sinking in a swamp.’
Despite his relentless offense, his sword only sliced empty air.
It felt like he was fighting a phantom.
At that moment, Dariel’s sword lunged again.
“Whoa, crazy!”
Killing intent permeated it.
This wasn’t just a casual swing to test his skills.
‘I’m dead!’
Seo Woo-jin felt his hair stand on end.
If he stayed put, a hole would punch right through his skull.
“Hnngh!”
He twisted his body forcibly.
His muscles and joints screamed from the sudden movement, but he had to do it.
Failure meant death!
Was it thanks to drawing up his mana as well?
Dariel’s sword grazed past Seo Woo-jin’s forehead by a hair’s breadth.
Another spray of blood droplets.
But Seo Woo-jin had no time to worry about it.
Dariel’s sword bent at an incomprehensible angle, now targeting his neck.
‘Is he really trying to kill me?’
Dariel’s expressionless face brimmed with killing intent.
Unless he truly meant to kill, he wouldn’t exude such aura.
Seo Woo-jin twisted his body once more.
It felt like every cell in his body was activating.
Like he was back in Massive Guardian, subjugating monsters.
Engaging in a life-or-death battle after so long had awakened his dormant senses all at once.
Thud—
Seo Woo-jin dropped to one knee and jerked his head aside.
An incredible reaction speed.
Had he only dodged with his head, he never could have evaded it—but kneeling created the opening he needed.
Dariel’s sword, caught off guard by the unexpected move, sliced through empty air.
Seeing this, Dariel nodded.
Then, as if he’d seen all he needed, he sheathed his sword and stepped back.
“That’s enough.”
But...
“Who says?!”
They’d started this on his whim alone, so Seo Woo-jin would decide when it ended.
‘He swings for the kill until a second ago, and now it’s “enough”?!’
Seo Woo-jin advanced a step as Dariel retreated.
And he swung his sword.
A clean, disciplined strike.
Dariel’s eyebrow twitched.
“Hah.”
Simple and straightforward.
But all the more fast and lethal for it.
Unlike before, which he could dismiss as decent, this one couldn’t be taken lightly.
Claaang—!
For the first time since the initial clash, Seo Woo-jin’s sword met Dariel’s.
“Ah...”
Seo Woo-jin groaned, staring at his blocked blade.
‘My best shot.’
A perfect strike at the perfect timing.
Seo Woo-jin had once cut Ban Slane’s hair with this very move.
He’d had some confidence in it...
‘Blocked.’
And far too easily at that.
Sword Sage or not, Seo Woo-jin’s ambitious attempt to repay the damage ended there.
Yet surprise flickered in Dariel’s eyes.
“That was unexpected.”
Dariel seemed genuinely shocked by Seo Woo-jin’s sword.
“I thought you were just some hero rabble, but you’re decent.”
‘Hero rabble?’
Arrogance of the strong? Or...
While Seo Woo-jin pondered the meaning, Dariel sheathed his sword.
“Fine. Seems you have no connection to the Demon King’s minions, so we’ll end it here.”
Dariel had intended to check what power Seo Woo-jin used when pushed to the brink.
He suspected that when his life hung in the balance, he might reveal some hidden strength.
Something like demonic energy, for instance...
But observing Seo Woo-jin, he detected no trace of demonic energy.
Instead, his mana was pure to the point of absurdity.
He’d suspected a bit since he’d endured Gerald’s demonic energy alone, but this confirmed no ties to the Demon King’s followers.
“...What if my skills were lacking and I’d died? What then?”
Seo Woo-jin glared at Dariel as he demanded.
Had it not been for Ban Slane’s teachings, he would have lost his life to Dariel’s attacks.
No other hero could have blocked those killing strikes.
‘Well, maybe Baek Si-woo could?’
He was a level 50 ‘Sword God,’ after all.
But the rest would have died for sure.
Seo Woo-jin wanted at least an apology from Dariel for such attacks.
Otherwise, his frustration wouldn’t subside.
But Dariel crushed that hope without a second thought.
“If you die, you die. That’s all you were worth. Your sword skills are a bit above average, but you’re D-grade anyway. Losing you wouldn’t hurt our forces much, would it?”
Seo Woo-jin was speechless.
If you die, you die?
Was that something a person should say?
‘He’s worlds apart from Ban Slane.’
For someone with the title of Sword Sage, it was utterly repulsive.
“I’ve checked what I needed. I’m leaving.”
With that, Dariel exited the training grounds.
“...What an asshole.”
Seo Woo-jin regretted not being able to stab his sword into Dariel’s retreating back.
He was furious enough to actually want to do it if he could.
But there was nothing the current Seo Woo-jin could do.
He couldn’t use a skill like Abyss in the empire’s training grounds.
“Whew—”
Seo Woo-jin steadied his ragged breathing and wiped the dripping blood.
It hadn’t been long since his scars had healed from leveling up, and now he’d gotten these wounds.
The scars from Massive Guardian were like badges.
Proof that he was growing stronger.
But the ones from Dariel now were different.
Humiliation, rage, pain.
“I’ll pay you back someday, mark my words.”
Seo Woo-jin gritted his teeth and vowed.
* * *
“Man, home sweet home! It’s only been a few days, but it feels like forever. Weird, right?”
Back at the capital’s academy, Lee Ji-ah bounced around with a much more relaxed expression.
It wasn’t hard to understand after all the craziness during her first official academy event.
Even Seo Woo-jin felt his tension easing a bit.
“Are your wounds okay?”
Ailin asked, looking at Seo Woo-jin’s face.
He chuckled, recalling her shocked expression when he’d returned from the training grounds.
“It’s not a big deal. The scars will linger a bit, but I can level up and fix them, so no worries.”
Seo Woo-jin downplayed it, but these weren’t wounds to brush off lightly.
His forehead was gashed deep enough to expose bone, and his cheek was torn ragged.
No wonder Ailin had been startled.
“Heroes’ recovery abilities really are impressive.”
A normal person would’ve taken months to heal from such injuries.
Even with magic healing, Seo Woo-jin had mended almost completely in less than a day.
Scars remained, of course.
That’s when it happened.
“Huh? Mister. That slippery guy’s over there.”
Lee Ji-ah suddenly turned and pointed to one side.
“Slippery guy...”
She meant Baek Si-woo.
Seo Woo-jin turned to look.
There was Baek Si-woo, sitting in a wheelchair with one leg amputated.
‘He’s lucky to be alive.’
The power Gerald had displayed back then was so terrifying that it was a miracle no one had died.
Though he’d lost both arms and one leg, Baek Si-woo had survived.
Wheeling toward Seo Woo-jin slowly, he spoke.
“What the hell was that?”