The Offer
‘Did he see me there yesterday…?’
A whirlwind of thoughts raced through Kim Ilshin’s mind. He was frantically calculating how to answer in a way that would allow him to escape this situation unscathed. Before he could even formulate a response, Baek Ho-san’s gaze dropped to Ilshin’s legs. Even though it was just a glance, Ilshin felt as if he had been physically slashed. Then, a voice resonated within his mind. It was Baek Ho-san’s telepathy.
“……I simply stepped as I saw fit because it was visible to me. I had no intention of offending your sensibilities.”
Stealing a glance at someone else’s sword art without permission could be considered a grave offense depending on the circumstances. To go further and create a footwork technique that contained the very counters to that sword art could be interpreted as a dangerous provocation. Ilshin scrambled for excuses—perhaps he had been chasing an assassin and caught a glimpse by accident, and it had naturally bled into his footwork.
“I shall not hold you accountable for that. Instead, answer my question. How many truths did you see?”
However, the words that immediately followed from Baek Ho-san were entirely unexpected. The spectators, failing to grasp the meaning of the question, tilted their heads in confusion, but Kim Ilshin understood exactly what was being asked.
It referred to the countless strikes aimed at the Red Heaven Cult’s Sword Ghost. He was being asked to count the number of lethal blows hidden within that flurry of attacks.
Ilshin recalled the scene, which remained vivid in his memory, and counted the trajectories that had been the most threatening.
“Thirty-six. Am I correct?”
Baek Ho-san fell silent upon hearing the answer. The aura flowing from his blue eyes was immense, yet Ilshin felt no anxiety. He was certain of his answer.
“Until now, only one in ten could see the truth. Of those, only another tenth could count more than ten. Those who surpassed thirty, including you, are now three. One was the Sword Ghost, and the other was the Sword Saint.”
The Sword Saint was a hero revered like a god in Japan, who had fought alongside Baek Ho-san during the Great Cataclysm. And the Sword Ghost was that wretch who had died yesterday.
“Those two saw thirty-one and thirty-five, respectively. You are the only one who has seen all the truths. How would you like to become my disciple and inherit the Baeksan Sword Art?”
The casual tone of Baek Ho-san’s offer sent the arena into an uproar. Cries of astonishment erupted from every corner. The other sparring matches had already been halted. Not only had Baek Ho-san made such an offer, but he had also left the choice entirely to Kim Ilshin. Everyone, whether they knew Baek Ho-san’s temperament or not, was utterly stunned.
“I am grateful for your words, but I must ask you to withdraw the offer.”
At Ilshin’s follow-up response, people clutched their heads and shouted. They asked what he was doing and why he would refuse such a thing. To them, rejecting an offer from Baek Ho-san was unimaginable. But Kim Ilshin was different.
‘My swordsmanship must not be confined to a mold.’
If he became Baek Ho-san’s disciple and learned the Baeksan Sword Art with the support of the Baek family, he would undoubtedly grow stronger at an accelerated pace. He knew well the power of the Baek family and the lofty heights of the Baeksan Sword Art. However, he had a premonition that if his body and mind were tailored to a single style of swordsmanship, he would never be able to progress beyond it. Kim Ilshin’s goal lay far beyond Baek Ho-san’s current level.
“I apologize.”
As he reaffirmed his stance, Baek Ho-san gave a slight nod. It was such a fleeting movement that no one but Ilshin saw it.
Ilshin felt a sense of relief at the content of the telepathic message. Thankfully, he had gotten through it safely. A reward from a Great Hero would surely be no ordinary thing. Ilshin bowed his head in gratitude.
“…I’m going to get an earful for this.”
With those words, Baek Ho-san’s form blurred for an instant before vanishing like dissipating mist. Boom! A gust of wind trailed long toward the exit immediately afterward. It was a movement technique so fast it looked like teleportation.
“Phew…”
The chaotic disaster passed, and Kim Ilshin, left standing alone, let out a sigh. ‘It’s going to be noisy for a while.’ He could already feel the predatory gazes of the scouts targeting him. On top of that, he expected a deluge of annoying requests for interviews and private commissions.
“Uh… the sparring match has concluded with student Kim Ilshin’s victory, so you may return now.”
The referee, who had been frozen stiff, finally regained his senses. The suspended sparring examinations resumed. Ilshin walked toward the exit. He felt like he needed to return to his dormitory and get some rest. He hadn’t felt this exhausted since his restrictions were lifted.
As he turned to leave, one person caught his eye. It was Baek Ha-yeon, sitting on the floor with an unreadable expression.
‘She was weaker than I expected.’
Her skill level was not where it should have been at this point. Baek Ha-yeon was weaker than she had been in the game, and Ilshin felt he knew the reason why.
‘Is it because of my advice?’
The advice Ilshin had given Baek Ha-yeon two years ago had helped her grow rapidly. He had given her only the advice she needed at that moment, helping her awaken and overcome her walls. However, that rapid growth from a macro perspective had actually made her weaker. She hadn’t been able to fully internalize the enlightenment she was fed, and she had only trained the sword that was visible on the surface. In short, she hadn’t built a solid foundation.
‘Her mental state is completely shattered. She was fine until the sparring, so did Baek Ho-san deliver the final blow?’
Ilshin knew Baek Ha-yeon’s past well. He knew the environment she had grown up in, the goals she had lived for, and the depth of the despair she felt now that those goals had been thwarted.
‘If I leave her like this, she might become a nuisance later.’
Perhaps because she was raised in a rigid household, her mental state wasn’t very stable. She didn’t get hurt by most things, but once she collapsed, there was no turning back. In the game, there was a storyline where a mentally broken Baek Ha-yeon transformed into a criminal. The aftermath of that incident had been quite severe, so it would be better to stop it while he could.
‘I need to take her mind off things.’
Thinking this, Kim Ilshin approached Baek Ha-yeon.
***
Baek Ha-yeon stared blankly at the ground. Her head was spinning, and she couldn’t think straight. Since she first held a sword at the age of five, she had lived only for Baek Ho-san’s approval. She had vowed to satisfy his expectations, which were as vast as his achievements and power. She hadn’t received a single word of praise in over a decade, but she hadn’t given up. She thought that if she trained hard enough, she would eventually be recognized by him.
‘But… that wasn’t it.’
In her sparring match with Kim Ilshin, she had felt a massive wall. It was a towering wall that she felt she could never overcome, no matter what she did. And that Kim Ilshin had received Baek Ho-san’s approval. He had been told he was skilled and had even received an offer to become a disciple. That was when Baek Ha-yeon realized that her wish would never come true. It was only someone who defied common sense, like Kim Ilshin, who could ever receive Baek Ho-san’s recognition.
She even laughed at her own stupidity. To think she had harbored such foolish thoughts, watching a person like him and failing to grasp her own limitations, or thinking she could be acknowledged. If only she had said nothing back then and accepted his advice, if only she hadn’t arrogantly judged her opponent. If she had, would there have been any hope left?
‘Now, I have to give up…’
It was just as her gaze began to dim that she heard a voice.
“Baek Ha-yeon.”
Kim Ilshin’s voice came from in front of her. Baek Ha-yeon didn’t answer and remained still. Considering what she had done until now, she had no right to complain regardless of the mockery or insults that might be thrown her way.
“The advice I gave you before—it would be better if you reinterpreted it in your own way.”
Baek Ha-yeon flinched and looked up. Her eyes were filled with astonishment. Having finished his words, Kim Ilshin turned his back without hesitation and walked toward the exit. Baek Ha-yeon couldn’t say a word to him. She didn’t know why he had given her such advice. She was confused. But one thing was certain: she had to follow his advice.
Baek Ha-yeon gripped the hilt of her broken sword and stood up. Then, she walked blankly toward the training hall.
***
“Kim Ilshin.”
Seo Ye-ryeong blocked Ilshin’s path as he tried to leave the examination hall quickly. An inexplicable tension was etched onto her face.
“I have something to ask you.”
“…What is it?”
“Do you remember me?”
“……?”
What was she talking about all of a sudden? He remembered her, but it didn’t seem like she was asking about something so simple.
“What are you talking about?”
“No, I mean, haven’t you met me before, a long time ago?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“……I see, so that’s how it is.”
Seo Ye-ryeong nodded with a bitter smile. He couldn’t gauge what she was thinking by asking such a question.
“You attended the Cheongryong Martial Hall ten years ago, didn’t you? Back then, with me……”
“Wait a minute.”
“Just listen. Then you’ll remember too.”
“That’s not it, what is the Cheongryong Martial Hall?”
“……Huh?”
Seo Ye-ryeong’s expression changed by the second. Doubt, shock, and then… pity? Kim Ilshin tilted his head in confusion at the situation, and Seo Ye-ryeong, seeing his reaction, thought to herself:
‘Amnesia…!’