The Duel and the Hidden Key
Hummm—
The conflicting waves bloomed from the center of the Hyeonwol sword and Kim Ilshin. There was a vivid resonance born from their collision. With that resonance imbued into his blade, Ilshin slowly swung downward. The languid trajectory, as if he were merely practicing basic forms, connected with the torso of the training dummy.
Thud!
At the same time, the dummy’s torso burst open, its contents spilling out. It wasn't a clean cut; it was the effect of an explosive force acting from the inside out. It was the power of the Wolgok-gyeong, which destroys the target from within. Its performance had already been proven by shattering the ascetic’s sword. If it could reduce a mana-imbued blade to smithereens, it would unleash even greater destructive power if it struck a human body directly.
Having confirmed the results, Ilshin lowered the Hyeonwol and clenched his fist. He partially severed the mana circuits flowing through his arm. Then, he ignited a unique wave of mana from both his fist and his body simultaneously. However, he quickly stopped the wave and opened his hand.
Because the similarity between the two waves was too high, the next stage—the collision of waves—had failed to occur.
‘This part still isn’t working right.’
It was a martial art he had created, inspired by the waves of the Hyeonwol. Since the starting condition required the collision of two opposing waves, it was difficult to manifest within a single body.
“Hmm….”
Ilshin pondered for a moment, checked the time, and stepped outside. He felt that if he stayed here any longer, he wouldn't have enough time for a final review.
‘Was it History and Tactical Theory today?’
Today was the final day of the academy’s theory exams. Once he finished these last two subjects, the exams that required actual brainpower would be over. His self-grading of the exams he’d taken so far wasn't bad. His performance assessments had gone well, too. He would likely be able to aim for the top tier in theory subjects without much trouble.
‘Though practical skills are more important than theory….’
He had already completed all practical exams except for the sparring matches. His grades were all excellent. All that remained was the sparring, and he figured the opponents would be decided by today.
“…Oh.”
As he opened the door to the private training hall, a voice reached him. It wasn't Kim Ilshin’s.
“……Hello.”
“Oh, yeah. Hello.”
He was just going to walk past, but Seo Ye-ryeong had suddenly greeted him. Ilshin responded as nonchalantly as possible and stepped outside.
‘Why is she acting like that all of a sudden?’
Forget greetings; just having her speak to him was a first in three years. Come to think of it, he had been running into her a lot lately. Even if it were a coincidence, it was a bit too frequent.
“…Whatever.”
Ilshin muttered that to himself and headed back to the dormitory. Right now, the upcoming exam was more important.
“Hmm….”
After Ilshin left, Seo Ye-ryeong entered the private training hall and pulled out a piece of paper she had tucked into her pocket. It was a document summarizing an investigation into Kim Ilshin’s past. An employee of the guild ‘Pungshin,’ run by her father, had obtained it for her.
Seo Ye-ryeong read through the document again. It tracked Ilshin’s whereabouts during the time he had vanished from the martial arts hall. The contents were shocking. Even though she had read it dozens of times, it remained so.
To summarize: the village where Ilshin lived at the time had been annihilated by an attack from the Red Heaven Cult, and not a single survivor was found. Ilshin had been processed as missing back then. His sudden return was the Cosmo Academy entrance exam.
‘He passed the entrance exam with high marks, too. That means he’s been living without revealing his strength since the entrance ceremony…. Then why did he suddenly start showing it?’
There was no way to know for sure, but Seo Ye-ryeong thought it was because of the Red Heaven Cult. If he had lost everyone around him, including his family, to the cultists, it was reason enough for revenge. Furthermore, the timing of when he began showing his strength coincided with when the cultists started reappearing.
‘And he even received a request this time.’
It was a request to deal with the Red Heaven Cult. They said he had even defeated an ascetic during the mission. It was an action that gave even more weight to Ye-ryeong’s hypothesis.
‘I need to watch him a bit longer.’
It was a strong lead, but it was too early to make a final judgment. It would be better to observe him a little more.
Whoosh!
Just as Seo Ye-ryeong was about to leave the training hall, Haru, the wind spirit, appeared before her. The creature circled in the air in front of her and posed a question. It asked if she had submitted her sparring application, as the practical exam was coming up soon. Seo Ye-ryeong’s answer was simple.
“……I forgot.”
She had been so focused on investigating Kim Ilshin that she had missed the most important thing. The chances of Ilshin not having a sparring partner were low, so she couldn't rely on being randomly matched with him. She had missed another opportunity to achieve her goal.
Thump.
As she walked out, Seo Ye-ryeong slumped onto a nearby bench. It would take quite a long time before she could rise again with those despairing eyes.
“Hey, did you do well? It was insanely hard.”
“I don’t know. What was the answer to number 21?”
“That’s number 3.”
“Damn it, I guessed 4….”
Finally, the theory exams were over. Although the exams were almost finished, the atmosphere wasn't entirely joyful because expulsion was on the line. There were students calculating the grades they needed to avoid being expelled. For them, the upcoming sparring exam would be more important than anything else.
“The sparring list is out~”
Just then, the exam proctor entered the lecture hall carrying a stack of papers. It was to announce the sparring opponents for the exam starting tomorrow.
“Phew, why did it have to be them?”
“This might be doable….”
The students who received their notices wore different expressions. Since they had to prepare strategies based on their opponents, one could say the sparring exam had started right then and there.
‘Who is my opponent?’
Ilshin unfolded the notice he received to check his opponents.
[3rd Year, Class 1: Baek Ha-yeon]
[3rd Year, Class 3: Namgung Hyeok]
[3rd Year, Class 3: Namgung Min]
His sparring opponents were these three. They had selected the three students with the highest grades among those who had applied. He wasn't sure if more than three people had applied to spar with him, though.
‘There wouldn’t be much benefit in sparring with me.’
It was due to a system designed to reduce the skill gap between sparring partners. If you sparred with someone whose grades were much lower than yours, you wouldn't gain many points even if you won. And if you happened to lose, you would receive a massive penalty. It meant there was no reason for those three to apply to spar with Kim Ilshin.
‘I get Baek Ha-yeon, but what about them?’
Since Baek Ha-yeon had suddenly demanded a spar last time, he had somewhat expected her application. It seemed there was a reason she had to spar with him, though he didn't know what it was. However, he couldn't understand why the Namgung brothers had applied. They had never even spoken, and they didn't share many classes.
‘There’s no need to… refuse.’
If he refused, he would receive a penalty and have to spar with a randomly assigned opponent afterward. It seemed better to proceed as the list stood. If they were opponents he couldn't beat, he would have refused without a second thought. But now, he felt he could sufficiently handle not only the Namgung brothers but also Baek Ha-yeon, who had been the top student.
His first sparring opponent was Baek Ha-yeon. It was tomorrow.
‘There is one thing happening tonight, but I don’t really need to worry about it….’
For now, let’s start training.
“Ugh….”
Late at night. After finishing his training, Ilshin showered and lay down on his bed. His whole body ached. It was because of the relentless conditioning with Hwang Hercules, Deok-bae, even though the sparring exam was tomorrow. Still, thanks to his body adapting, there wouldn't be any issues with tomorrow’s spar. It was just that he was exhausted right now.
“Phew….”
As he pulled the blanket over himself and lay down, the outside scenery was reflected in the window visible next to the ceiling.
‘The barrier, is it over there?’
Although it wasn't visible, there was a massive barrier created by the Red Heaven Cult far to the east of the academy. It was a barrier meant to ambush the Great Hero coming to the academy to observe the sparring matches. That Great Hero was Baek Ha-yeon’s grandfather, Baek Ho-san.
But he didn't need to worry. Baek Ho-san would deal with those who ambushed him without a single scratch. In the game’s story, it was just glossed over as ‘something like that happened.’ With the current power of the Red Heaven Cult, they couldn't defeat Baek Ho-san no matter what they did. It was a mission that couldn't be succeeded even in [COSMO], which had a very high degree of freedom.
‘……I do want to see it, though.’
It was a shame he couldn't witness Baek Ho-san’s swordsmanship in a real battle. He had reached a level that wouldn't be an understatement to call him the strongest swordsman. However, only those among the cultists who held important roles in the operation possessed the ‘Key.’ Without it, one couldn't even enter the barrier.
He couldn't just barge into the cultists’ lair in front of the barrier to get the key, either. There was no guarantee he would get it even if he went.
‘It’s right to give up.’
Ilshin thought that, closed his eyes, and immediately fell asleep.
A few hours later, late at night, Ilshin woke up. He felt an unidentified process occurring within his body. The flow of mana was unusual. The mana in his heart and dantian was slowly hardening, and eventually, it felt as if it had turned to stone, not moving at all. However, there was absolutely no problem in using mana.