The Radiance
'I never thought I'd become a swordsman and end up with something like this.'
The Stone of Eternal Life, which contained the lives of hundreds, was, by its very nature, a precious item only to black mages or necromancers. For other classes, it was useless even if they managed to acquire one, and the curse embedded within it made it nearly impossible to sell. 'Not to mention the process of lifting the curse is a total pain.'
Kim Ilshin had assumed that was why the system was designed to allow the acquisition of the Stone of Eternal Life in a place like this. During a match in the arena, it was difficult to use anything other than pure physical strength. Naturally, for classes that desperately needed the Stone of Eternal Life, the difficulty of the event [Gambler's Proposal] was bound to spike. After all, it was standard practice for such classes to invest in stats other than physical ones.
'If I didn't have the talent, this would've been a real headache.'
The process of lifting the curse embedded in the Stone of Eternal Life was long and complex. It required resolving the past entangled with the family of its original owner, Chu Gyeong-seok. If he hadn't possessed [Flawless Spirit (S)], he would have been forced to go through that grueling process without any other choice. After all, it wasn't an item one could easily give up on just because the path was long and arduous.
'Not that it matters now.'
Crack.
The glass bottle surrounding it shattered, and the Stone of Eternal Life was pierced simultaneously. Sticky, black liquid began to flow out from within. It poured out without any sign of stopping, a volume that defied the small size of the stone. It was the 'Essence of Life' compressed into a material form.
Ssssss...
The Essence of Life, absorbed the moment it touched the blade, sent up thick plumes of smoke. Yet, even after absorbing quite a lot, the state of the Hyeonwol sword remained unchanged.
'Did it finally work?'
The anomaly occurred when the last of the Essence of Life contained within the stone had drained away.
Whoosh!
A black radiance erupted from the Hyeonwol sword, which had greedily devoured the life force of hundreds. As the light expanded rapidly, sucking in the surrounding illumination, Kim Ilshin immediately surged his mana. It was an instinctive reaction, a judgment that he could not simply leave this phenomenon be. He had, after all, just witnessed the grass wither the instant it touched the radiance.
He injected the mana circulated through the Cheonji Myowon-gong into the Hyeonwol sword. Then, using the technique he had developed for constructing mana circuits, he grabbed hold of the power trying to lash out and pulled it back in.
'...It's strong.'
It was unimaginably vast for a pure, mindless force. He could feel it trying to forcibly break through the high level of control provided by [Mana Control (A)]. Kim Ilshin poured in even more mana, suppressing the movement. He carefully pulled the power in and condensed it into a single point.
Eventually, the expanding radiance slowly shrank, and with one final, small flash, it vanished entirely. But this wasn't the end. He could still feel the waves of power churning inside the Hyeonwol sword. There were no immediate problems, but if he didn't take further measures, a phenomenon like the one just now could happen again.
"And she said there wouldn't be any bad side effects..."
Hana Lin's nonchalant expression surfaced in his mind. He felt a sudden urge to give her a good flick on the forehead. If he hadn't possessed Kim Ilshin's level of mana control, something serious would have definitely happened.
'I'll have to ask her tomorrow.'
It was too late to visit her today. Classes would start in just a few hours, so it would be best to finish those first before heading over. Kim Ilshin checked the status one last time before sheathing the Hyeonwol sword. He then took a taxi back to the academy and rested until it was time for school.
That morning.
Kim Ilshin headed to the lecture hall just in time for class.
'My body feels a bit stiff.'
He felt like he hadn't fully loosened up because he couldn't do his morning training. It couldn't be helped, as he had arrived at the dormitory in the early hours of the morning. No matter how many talents he possessed, he still needed a minimum amount of sleep. Still, he had trained quite a bit using the Undead Hounds, so he decided to be satisfied with that.
"K-Kim Ilshin."
As he walked toward the lecture building, someone called his name. He turned his head toward the sound to see Baek Ha-yeon approaching him, looking hesitant. Since he had promised to give her advice on her training when he arrived at school today, it seemed she had been waiting for him for a while.
Whether it was because accepting his proposal had been a great help, her condition looked much better than before. In particular, the reduction of the murky energy in her eyes was noticeable.
"Were you waiting here beforehand?"
"Yes. If this was an inconvenience, I apologize..."
"No, it's not that."
He took out the paper on which he had written down Baek Ha-yeon's training schedule in advance. Baek Ha-yeon's widened eyes were fixed on the paper. As her head turned to follow the movement of the paper, she looked like a large dog staring at a bone. It was a reaction that clearly showed how much she valued Kim Ilshin's advice.
"Here. I've written down a week's worth, so come back and get more later."
"Th-thank you..."
Baek Ha-yeon immediately took the paper, and having finished his business, Kim Ilshin began to walk toward the lecture hall.
"...Why are you helping me?"
Then came Baek Ha-yeon's question. When Kim Ilshin turned his head back toward her, she continued, stammering.
"I am not a good person to you. I ignored you based solely on my own judgment, and that acted against you in a bad way. ...Yet, I cannot understand why you are helping me like this."
"..."
The reason Kim Ilshin was helping Baek Ha-yeon was to prevent her from walking the path of a criminal after her mental state shattered. However, since that was based on the knowledge of the future he had gained while playing the game, it was impossible to tell her the truth directly. So, Kim Ilshin answered simply.
"Because I don't want you to break."
There was no reply. Baek Ha-yeon just stood there, blankly staring at Kim Ilshin.
"I'm going now."
Checking that time was running short, Kim Ilshin greeted Baek Ha-yeon and walked toward the lecture hall. There were no footsteps following him.
Even after Kim Ilshin left, Baek Ha-yeon remained standing in that spot. Her feet wouldn't easily move.
'...Because he doesn't want me to break.'
She kept repeating the words Kim Ilshin had said, clutching the paper with the training advice to her chest. She couldn't quite understand his meaning. What kind of person was she to him that he didn't want her to break?
'Because of my position as the successor of the Baek family...? Or is it because I'm the granddaughter of a great hero...?'
Several reasons came to mind, but none of them fit the situation. As Baek Ha-yeon, who knew nothing of his thoughts, she could neither interpret the meaning of those words nor accept them at face value. Only one thing was certain. Just like the advice he gave her, his choices were all indisputable answers. Since his choice to help Baek Ha-yeon would also lead to the right answer, she just had to follow him without thinking.
'...I just have to follow this.'
Baek Ha-yeon unfolded the paper and began to read the contents thoroughly. She would follow everything written here to the letter.
"Why... is he still not coming to find me?"
At Seo Ye-ryeong's muttering as she walked to school, Haru, the wind spirit following beside her, reacted.
"You think he's not ready yet? Hmm..."
On the day of the sparring exam, Seo Ye-ryeong had told Kim Ilshin: if he wanted to know his past, he should come find her later. But quite a few days had passed since then, and Kim Ilshin had not come to find her. For Seo Ye-ryeong, who had thought it would take at most a few days, it was a bewildering situation. She had thought that considering the inexplicable hatred Kim Ilshin must feel toward the Red Heaven Cult, he might have come to find her that very day.
"Even so, it feels like he's taking too long..."
No matter how much she had told him to steel his heart and come find her, she hadn't expected it to take this long.
"...Huh?"
Just then, Seo Ye-ryeong saw Kim Ilshin talking to Baek Ha-yeon. She found it strange, as she hadn't thought they were the type to talk privately like that. Unfortunately, they were too far away for her to hear the content. Soon, Kim Ilshin left first, and Baek Ha-yeon, left alone, paused for a moment before unfolding the paper she was holding and beginning to read it. Only then did Seo Ye-ryeong approach Baek Ha-yeon, sending her gaze toward the paper and asking.
"What are you looking at so intently?"
"...!"
At that, Baek Ha-yeon was startled and immediately folded the paper and tucked it into her pocket. '...What could that be?' At such an intense reaction, Seo Ye-ryeong's curiosity grew even further.
After class ended, Kim Ilshin visited Hana Lin's shop and immediately took out the Hyeonwol sword to show her.
"This... this... this...!"
Hana Lin, holding the sword, couldn't continue her sentence. Her reaction was far more intense than he had expected. Even if he didn't know exactly what it was, he could be certain that it was something extraordinary.