The Transforming Twin Swords
But no matter how much she cried and threw a tantrum demanding the block be lifted, nothing changed. After all, one had to take responsibility for one's own words. In the end, she spent the rest of the day in a gloomy mood. Afterward, she chose the person closest to her as her new escape.
She had to keep the conversation going. Yet her fingers simply wouldn't move.
“Haa…… Damn it……”
The atmosphere was stiff, caught between indifference and half-hearted replies. Lim Hana wasn't really engaging with Kim Yuju. She was only replying because a message had come from her “boyfriend.” Mechanically. Habitually. Instinctively. Her entire focus was clearly elsewhere. Kim Yuju wasn't oblivious enough to miss that. She was almost certain of it.
“That damn elf bastard……”
And that focus was directed at the quarter-elf man. Kang Sian, without a doubt. Given Lim Hana's current state, it was an obvious conclusion.
‘Even feeding her Gwangjeungcho didn't work…… Her mind keeps getting worse…… It feels like she's losing her memories……’
Sometimes she was friendly toward Kim Yuju. Other times, hostile. It was as if she had a split personality, or perhaps her memories were in complete disarray. One thing was certain: her affection was steadily cooling. Ever since that incident at the hospital. After Kim Yuju forgave Lim Hana's violence and they accepted each other's differences, those feelings had gradually faded. There was no telling how long this would last.
There were only two ways out. First, Kim Yuju returning to being a man. That was impossible. Second, crushing Kang Sian, the one Lim Hana still held in her heart. That was at least realistic. The question was how to do it, but it was possible in theory. If only Kim Yuju had enough physical ability, enough skill, enough equipment……
“Ha.”
She had none of those things. Physical ability and skill would take time, and while she could obtain equipment using her family's influence, even that didn't seem to suit her well.
Kim Yuju stared blankly at the messages. Then, with a belated sense of regret, she ended the conversation with Lim Hana.
The next day, Kim Yuju visited the guild's internal weapon shop frequented by its members. She had come with the idea of buying a new weapon that suited her. However, because the shop catered to the tastes of the higher-ups, its aesthetic variety was quite limited. It was filled with weapons sporting flashy designs straight out of a medieval fantasy game.
Gulp.
Still, this was the only place where she could easily acquire a weapon. Besides, it matched her own preferences. She had no interest in weapons that looked like factory-made slabs of iron with screws, like the swords Kang Sian used. What was the point of a cold weapon that didn't even look like one? Whether 3D-printed weapons counted as scrap metal was debatable, but Kim Yuju rejected them all the same. She preferred weapons with fantastical, magical effects. So she slowly browsed the shop, occasionally picking up a weapon to test its swing. Yet the weapon she wanted didn't appear as easily as she'd hoped. After nearly an hour of searching, everything started to feel pointless.
‘These are the kinds of things that even I would barely be able to use after getting bio-ware or cyber-ware surgery……’
Just as she was about to leave the shop in a hollow mood, a sword in the corner caught her eye as she headed for the door.
“Huh?”
It was lighter and smaller than the greatsword she used to wield, but it was still large enough to be called one. Its appearance felt just right, and its thickness suggested it could withstand rough handling.
“That weapon was brought back from a dungeon by a hunter last year. Apparently, they defeated some boss to obtain it……”
“I see……”
It looked suitable for the now-weakened Kim Yuju. But there was one fatal problem with this weapon.
“As you can tell from the thick grip, it's not an ordinary greatsword. That's why it hasn't sold well.”
“It's not ordinary?”
“Yes. While holding the sword, try pressing the golden gem on the guard.”
Following the shopkeeper's instructions, she carefully pressed the button in the center. Click. An unusual sensation followed. It felt as if the blade had split and extended. Something no normal weapon would ever produce. Kim Yuju swallowed hard and let her instincts guide her hands. She gripped the handle with both hands and pressed firmly into the gap. Then she felt rage emanating from the sword. It was like a lament over its own fate, or perhaps the spirit of a lion that had slain a dragon. She acted on that will. With her frail female body, she poured strength into it as if roaring.
Crack!
A striking light appeared. The sight was unforgettable, stealing away all sentiment. The greatsword had split in two. Kim Yuju looked at the now-twin swords with a bright smile.
“As you can see, it's called the ‘Transforming Twin Swords,’ so it's not popular among hunters. Since its disposal period is almost up anyway, I was just going to get rid of it—”
“I'll take this!”
“Excuse me?”
“I'll buy this greatsword—these twin swords!”
It had only been a moment, but the twin swords were undoubtedly her path. At last, she had a chance to take Lim Hana back from Kang Sian. Kim Yuju believed it.
* * *
“—That's what she said, apparently.”
“……Really?”
“I wouldn't lie about something like that, even if I lied about everything else.”
It was an absurd story. After turning into a woman, she wondered what on earth she was doing, only to imagine her becoming a twin-sword user. She never could have pictured that.
“She's going to use twin swords at the academy? Has she actually gone insane?”
“Well, maybe her tastes changed along with the hormonal shifts after drinking the TS potion.”
How horrifying. How utterly horrifying. That was all I could say. Of all the countless weapons in the world, why twin swords? And not even regular twin swords, but ones that transformed from a greatsword. Considering how transforming twin swords were treated in this world, it was a weapon one should never use. No, it wasn't just a matter of reputation. It was extremely impractical in reality as well. There was a reason they were nicknamed the weapon that split both the user and the team.
“Twin-sword users fall into two categories. Those who are already dead, and those who will soon be dead.”
“An old saying. From the early days of hunters, no less.”
What would become of a woman who ignored the warnings paid for with the seniors' blood? Just as I was sinking into that thought, Cheon Mari, who had answered, turned her head in the opposite direction. Toward the private jet's window. Outside, a bright sky blended with the cityscape. Then a clear sea came into view, and the scenery shifted to an airport. It was a place I had seen before, so it felt familiar.
“Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.”
“Looks like we've arrived already. Let's get ready.”
Once the private jet landed, we gathered our luggage and exited the airport. Sunlight poured down, something we hadn't felt while under the shade. And beneath that sunlight, several vehicles were waiting for us. A mix of passenger cars and trucks that felt oddly mismatched in several ways.
“Seriously?”
“Uh…… Honestly, one car would've been enough…… I guess Grandfather added more.”
We immediately began loading the luggage. Daily necessities, personal items, various equipment, home appliances, kimchi, and so on……
“Kang Si, we still have two weeks until enrollment. Didn't we bring too much?”
“We're going to have the placement exam in the middle anyway. We'll be short on time, so it's better to bring everything now and sort it out in advance.”
Besides, ordering delivery from here meant there was no telling exactly when it would arrive. In Korea it might take a day or two, but Puerto Rico was an island, so there were many variables.
“Well then……”
We headed straight for the dorm. The dormitory was located in Arecibo, right in the middle of a highly advanced complex facility. Naturally, it wasn't far from the academy buildings either.
“The dorm is 1,000 meters tall with 200 floors…… It really is tall. And they say all the facilities are top-notch.”
“So what? We can't even get in.”
And that was a place we couldn't enter. Those dorms were reserved for those who had won the lottery. Meanwhile, those who lost had to find their own housing. Whether that meant staying at a hotel, renting a room in someone else's house, or buying land and a house outright. It was an absurd farce when you considered the number of students. But with the Shareltea campus destroyed and the student capacity higher than before, it was unavoidable.
“At least they built a bunch of housing for the students.”
“If they hadn't even done that, the academy would've really burned down, huh?”
The one saving grace was that the academy had taken minimal measures to ensure no students were left sleeping on the streets. The place we were heading to now was housing the academy had hastily constructed and was offering to students at a low price. There were several types. The minimum sale price was one million won. The location was on the outskirts of the city. In truth, we could have looked for far better places. But those were so inflated with bubble prices that even Cheon Mari hesitated. Practically speaking, this was the only comfortable yet reasonable option.
Thus, we arrived at the village and place where we would be staying for the next few years.
“I feel like taking a leave of absence already.”
That was Cheon Mari's first impression.