Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Rumors (1)
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Clang!—
I lightly deflected the clean, swift arc of the sword swung by Cheon Seo-yun first.
Of course, I was standing still, controlling just one sword to parry her attack.
"Ngh."
Cheon Seo-yun winced slightly from the shock transmitted through her grip on the sword.
The power of the sword I was controlling with Warlord's Weapon far surpassed her strength.
'And it's not just strength.'
Speed as well.
If I wanted, I could cut her down in an instant.
Clang!— Clang clang!—
But since I was here to help with her training, I moved at a moderate pace.
Even so, Cheon Seo-yun struggled, barely managing to block or dodge.
'Hmm.'
I felt a twinge of doubt watching her.
'Why does she keep blocking?'
After several exchanges, anyone—not just Cheon Seo-yun—would have gauged the power in my sword.
In truth, the sword wielding Warlord's Weapon couldn't be blocked simply by superior strength or skill.
'Because Warlord's Weapon is infused with the power and mana I gained from the 11th world.'
Dodging my attacks and exploiting openings was the best strategy, but Cheon Seo-yun wasn't doing that.
'Is she planning something?'
She dodged some strikes, but blocked far more.
Suspecting she had something in mind, I decided to play along a bit more.
I kept deflecting her sword and pressing her gradually.
Clang!—
Plus, Cheon Seo-yun wasn't slacking off either.
Her swordplay unfolded in multiple fluid motions at a glance, her footwork carrying some profound subtlety.
"......"
But my eyes read every move.
My superhuman dynamic vision, honed by countless battles, made it possible.
'How long is this going to go on?'
I felt a bit sorry for Cheon Seo-yun, but I wanted to head back to the dorm and train my mana sensing as soon as possible.
The problem was, as I'd planned, I was manipulating the sword to mimic wielding it myself, and she wasn't backing down easily.
Then.
Thud!— Thud thud!—
'Huh?'
As I swung moderately at Cheon Seo-yun again, a different sound rang out than before.
Checking what happened, I felt her mana infiltrating my sword.
'No way...?'
At the moment she angled her sword to block, she slipped her mana in, deflecting it slightly to the side.
"......"
Of course, it wasn't a perfect deflection—just a slight nudge.
It might seem trivial, but considering the power of Warlord's Weapon, it wasn't.
It was like subtly altering the path of a 10-ton truck barreling toward you on foot.
'Talent, huh.'
I stared at Cheon Seo-yun, who had pulled off this impossible feat.
She seemed to sense something too, gazing intently at her own hand.
Then she readjusted her grip on the sword, as if eager to chase that sensation.
"Keep going."
"Sure."
I nodded and controlled the sword once more.
I had no idea how far she'd grow from this session, but I planned to help as much as I could.
'And if I can win over Cheon Seo-yun too...'
Whoosh—
"......?"
Before the thought could fully form, Cheon Seo-yun aborted her attack and leaped back far.
I had no intention of moving that far while mimicking swordplay, so I looked at her quizzically.
"That look again."
"What look?"
Cheon Seo-yun nodded warily.
"Like you're about to devour me."
"Should we call it here, then?"
I didn't deny it, instead holding the training over her head like a hostage.
"......"
As expected, she clamped her mouth shut without a word and charged.
The training with Cheon Seo-yun lasted a full three hours.
Fortunately, her skills improved noticeably during that time.
-Maybe Cheon Seo-yun would benefit more from training with you than attending classes, Lee Seongmin.
Lee Seojun said that after witnessing her progress.
Given her talent, even casual sparring led to growth, so it wasn't wrong.
-If you keep training like today, she might reach S-Rank hero status soon.
"S-Rank? Oh."
The mention of S-Rank reminded me of the question I'd meant to ask Lee Seojun.
"Are there ranks above S-Rank?"
I'd sensed that Kang Ju-young, the combat instructor I faced, was nearing Transcendent level.
So if there were higher ranks, they might be Transcendents. But Lee Seojun shook his head.
-Publicly, S-Rank is the top. I was an S-Rank hero myself. But under certain conditions, you can exceed that.
The "certain conditions" he mentioned were probably Infinite Power.
Even an S-Rank like Lee Seojun could surpass it with Infinite Power.
-But there's this: Your status window shows F-Rank stats, right?
"Yeah, all F-Rank as you said."
-Yes. Those can go up to S, but sometimes hit SS.
"SS comes after S, I guess."
Lee Seojun then explained the ranks.
-Think of Innate Ability ranks: S, SS, SSS, up to EX at the top.
Apparently, Innate Abilities were graded that way.
EX was no distant dream—my Absolute Clone was already EX-Rank.
"So normal stats cap at S?"
-Right. In games, they show numerical values alongside ranks, so we know what SS requires.
I nodded for him to continue.
-F-Rank is 20-39 numerically. E is 40-79. It doubles each time.
So 40 for E-Rank, 80 for D-Rank.
'If that's the case...'
C-Rank at 160, B at 320, A at 640.
'S-Rank would be 1280.'
And SS-Rank needed 2560.
'Higher threshold than I thought.'
That explained why S-Rank was considered the peak.
"How do you raise stats?"
-Training. Train hard, consume elixirs, or clear floors in the tower—they all raise them bit by bit.
"Guess for me it's just elixirs or the tower."
-Pardon? Oh, right—your stats are F-Rank too, aren't they?
Lee Seojun seemed puzzled, recalling my status window.
"It doesn't show my real stats."
-Then what's your actual level?
"EX-Rank."
-Ah... Sure.
He took it as a joke, which made sense—EX would require over 10,240 numerically.
Back at the dorm, I trained mana sensing with Lee Seojun all night.
Thankfully, as dawn broke, I finally sensed it.
-Congratulations.
"......"
But was this worth celebrating?
Out of 300 freshmen, 299 could sense mana already—now I joined them.
I pondered if it was truly praiseworthy, then shook my head.
'Good is good.'
After that, I went through the usual routine.
Morning PT run, breakfast with Cheon Seo-yun atop the mountain, then to the lecture hall for morning classes.
"Morning class is Herbology, right?"
-Yes. Honestly, I can't fathom why you're taking it.
"Why not?"
-Well... You're heading to the next world soon, aren't you? Won't the herbs here be unavailable then?
It was logical.
But he didn't know my abilities.
"I can source them from other worlds too, so no worries."
-Pardon? From other worlds?
"Just need at least one sample of each herb first."
Not a big deal.
Rare ones could be found by scouring worlds.
-...You really have all kinds of abilities, Lee Seongmin.
"I've been through all sorts of worlds."
Entering the Herbology classroom, I saw a sparse crowd, similar to mana control.
'Herbology's unpopular too—no students.'
Then I spotted the girl from the auditorium.
'Her name was... Go Ha-seul?'
Lee Seojun paid unusual attention to her.
If teammate Jeong Yu-mi seemed timid, Go Ha-seul had a dark aura.
Probably family issues. I glanced at Lee Seojun.
-......
Sure enough, he stared at her briefly before looking away.
'Hmm.'
Should I ask?
'Nah, better not meddle.'
I let it slide, and soon an instructor entered—likely Kim Dong-un.
A sturdy middle-aged man in his 40s or 50s, evoking mountains and earth, with a shamanic vibe.
"I'm Kim Dong-un, in charge of Herbology. Take one of these books I've brought."
He distributed the books he'd carried.
Aware of the low attendance, he'd brought only about ten.
'Books on Herbology.'
Flipping through, it was as expected: herb illustrations and descriptions.
"Now, your task. The book lists 300 verified gate herbs. First, memorize their appearances and names."
"......"
"......"
I skimmed the book with the silent students.
About 150 pages—Kim Dong-un wanted us to memorize the whole thing.
"Then memorize their effects. That's your first-semester exam. If you take Herbology second semester, I'll teach cultivation and mixing two or more."
I didn't mind, but the other students stared at their books in dismay.