The Talent Called Sword Genius
But there was something I had to do first.
[100,500P]
By the Multidimensional Shop's standards, that was just barely enough to afford a single S-rank purchase.
I didn't really need equipment. That was something I could somehow cover on my own.
'Seo Yebin did say she'd help me out, too.'
-I wonder what kind of gift you're considering?
-A gift?
-Yes. You may have been on death's doorstep, but you defeated an Equal. That is never an easy feat.
-......
-I can grant you anything you desire. Tell me anything at all.
-Nothing comes to mind yet.
-I see. Speak up when something does. I, of all people, will be waiting.
Seo Yebin's words still lingered in my ears.
Elixirs were also starting to lose their effect on me.
'Mystique is way too expensive, though.'
Mystique.
It was a conceptual power that governed this world like an ideal made manifest.
And it was a power that Defying Heaven did not reject.
One of the Mystiques I would obtain in the future was going to occupy an enormous capacity, so buying any now would be nearly useless.
That left talent and technique. I had to choose between the two.
'If I'm going to buy, I should buy right now.'
If I bought a talent, it should be one related to senses, since that touched everything else.
If I went the technique route, something broadly applicable across the board would be best.
Something like Spiritual Power Utilization, for instance.
'There's no real need for me to learn any other martial art.'
My greatest asset right now was the Black Divine Art.
So it made sense to pick up a technique that complemented it.
I endlessly compared talents and techniques in the Multidimensional Shop.
Anything with a minus sign attached came with a crippling penalty.
Take the Defying Heaven Body, for instance — without the Black Divine Art, it would be utterly worthless in this world, no better than a limbless husk.
The Incomprehensible Talent lowered every magic-related talent to rock bottom, and in exchange granted a spirit-related talent that deeply affected the mind.
Looking at it simply, the best option right now was a sword-related talent. I was passable at everything else, but my sword-related talent was nothing special.
'Lately it feels like all I've been improving is my footwork.'
My swordsmanship, meanwhile, had only just reached the point where I could properly handle the Black Flash Sword Art.
Since it was a technique that was merely fast, I'd expected to master it first and move on to the next one, yet it was taking the longest of them all.
'Starting something new at this point would feel like too little, too late.'
The swordsmanship I was aiming for was dual wielding.
After all, there was one absolutely perfect sword that matched Heukcheon wonderfully.
After agonizing over it, I soon bought a single talent.
A talent obtainable when a genius hailed as a prodigy of the blade fights one hundred life-or-death duels with the resolve of a man facing his final hour.
The user's talent has not yet fully bloomed.
: Major bonus when using Rapid Sword, Deceptive Sword, and Phantom Sword techniques.
: Major bonus to Senses and Agility. Minor bonus to Strength.
: Major penalty to Magic Power. Minor penalty to Stamina.
The user's talent has not yet fully bloomed.
Light burst out and poured into my body.
'......'
It felt strange.
As if I'd downed an elixir of ascension, my senses ran wild. My speed seemed noticeably quicker, too.
I clenched my fist. Strength had risen as well. My stamina, though, was a bit of a letdown.
'Well, of all the talent options, this was the one that hit me the lightest.'
The others had dropped my Magic Power to a moderate-or-worse decline while dragging down the rest of my stats anywhere from moderate to severe.
-An absurd ability......
Heukcheon had groaned, apparently recognizing my changed body at a glance.
-A talent for buying talents, was it? Truly outrageous.
'What do you see?'
-If my former master had possessed this, she would have unified the realm a good five years sooner. For reference, my previous master united the world a mere ten years after learning the Black Divine Art.
If I used it properly, like I intend to, I could probably unify it within three.
I gave a hollow laugh and headed for the training hall.
I wanted to experience my new talent firsthand.
I raised Heukcheon. The act of gripping a sword.
Shaaaaa—.
My senses sharpened to an extreme degree.
All manner of insights welled up in my head. How should I put it — ways I could 'kill' my opponent more efficiently, perhaps.
Swaak—!
Heukcheon cleaved the air. I swung it with the subtle intricacies of the Black Flash Sword Art.
[Proficiency in Black Flash Sword Art is increasing!]
The Black Flash Sword Art is fast.
That is all it is — a martial art built on speed alone. And for one who has mastered the Black Divine Art, that suffices. By releasing Defying Heaven's energy, you can suppress, shatter, and kill every ability under heaven.
But the Black Flash Sword Art has a clear limit.
-An Equal engraves their own name upon the world. From that moment on, they are no longer bound by the world's laws.
That was why the Heavenly Demon created a martial art to follow the Black Flash Sword Art.
[Proficiency in Black Flash Sword Art is increasing!]
-So my former master agonized over it. A blade that is merely fast could die without accomplishing anything against certain enemies. And so she studied countless martial arts.
Heukcheon spoke at a leisurely pace.
I swung my sword as if entranced.
-The Blood Radiance Sword, the Supreme Polar Wisdom Sword, the Galaxy Meteor Sword, the Subduing Demon Sword, the Tenfold Golden Seal. She challenged anyone in possession of a famous martial art, hurling duels at them left and right, and fought them to the death. All of it became part of the Black Divine Art.
[Proficiency in Black Flash Sword Art is increasing!]
[A very small 'fragment' of a higher sword art has been awakened. You have awakened the higher technique, Soul-Seizing Sword Art!]
My sword began to change of its own accord.
The blade path, once nothing but speed, gradually transformed. Despite its extreme velocity, the sword bloomed like scattered flowers — elegant, and utterly deceptive.
Into phantom and deception.
"......"
-Soul-Seizing. It means a sword art that toys with its opponent. A rather fine martial art, wouldn't you say?
"So that's why you never taught me any other martial arts."
-Indeed. I know you've been chafing at the bit. But the Black Divine Art is far superior to anything you imagine. It was crafted solely for you — by the strongest being in the world, the one hailed across a thousand years of martial history, past and present alike, as the greatest Grandmaster of all.
I thought back to my fight against Na Bakcheon, and to the moment I awakened the Black Heaven Step.
Those moments when my martial art had shifted as though something had possessed me.
-Of course, among it all there are things that must be taught separately. The deepening of the Black Art's Black Realm — the Bottomless Abyss, for instance.
"So there's more for me to learn, then?"
-The deepening of the Black Wing is worth learning. Although, before that......
Heukcheon's face flushed faintly. Then, embarrassed, she murmured in a small voice.
-Could you... wipe down my body with a cloth?
"......"
I said nothing and wiped Heukcheon down, listening to her moans all the while.
***
Time flew by.
Friday morning — the day of the club trip.
"If a spell is about to strike you directly, the best way to block it is to counter with the opposing element. Fire with water. Lightning with earth. But most warriors simply block with their aura armor or protective qi. Why? Because when an enemy spell is about to land, only a truly exceptional mage can conjure a counterspell on the spot — and such mages are rare."
Song Rahee's lecture had begun. I spun my S-pen between my fingers as I listened.
'The content is actually really solid, though......'
"Of course, mages of that caliber do exist — just not anywhere near you. There aren't even a thousand mages as brilliant as me in the entire world. So in this class, you will be learning the 'knots' of magic. Magic is, at its heart, the discipline of manifesting a spell through one's core and weaving formulae from the world's mana. And so......"
It was the thoroughness that was the problem.
And she bragged about herself far, far too much.
The worst part was that Song Rahee didn't care at all, saying it all as if it were simple fact.
"......Thus, warriors can follow the knot and use their blade qi to dispel it in such cases, but those of you who can only barely manage top-tier medium-grade spells obviously can't pull that off. And so......"
I was spinning my S-pen around when my eyes met Song Rahee's.
"......Then shall we have Student Lee Seoha solve the problem he's been looking at?"
"Yes."
At her words, I stepped forward.
I had no idea what the problem was.
The questions here involved math built on mana formulae, on top of a setting where Mystique and supernatural abilities ran rampant and had their own formulae and equations.
But the Talent Perusal (−) pierced through all of it and showed me the answer.
"Well done. Truly the top of your year. Not a single flaw."
Song Rahee praised me and began writing something next to my name on the attendance ledger — apparently planning to award me extra points.
Then, as class was wrapping up, Professor Song Rahee called for me.
"Ah, Student Lee Seoha, please stay behind a moment."
"Yes."
What was this about?
Once class ended, I approached Professor Song Rahee.
"It's nothing major. You do know about the club trip today, right?"
"Yes, I heard from Erciel."
"Then are you heading out today?"
"Yes."
"Good to hear. So is our entire club participating?"
Professor Song Rahee jotted something down on her tablet.
"Wait — were you the faculty advisor for our club, Professor?"
"I am. Artifacts of that sort tend to fail on mages often enough, you see."
She wasn't.
Song Rahee was absolutely, positively not the advisor of our club.
But for some reason, I found myself unable to say a word to Song Rahee, who looked inexplicably pleased.
"Then is all your luggage packed?"
"Yes. It's over there."
"You really did pack nothing but clothes. This is why men are hopeless."
Song Rahee gave a little smirk and went on.
"Anyway — why did you ask me to stay behind?"
"It's nothing much. I recently got a new car. It has a brand-new serial mana engine, so it can hover, you see. A hundred horsepower — a distance that takes thirty minutes on foot, crossed in just thirty seconds. State of the art. I'll give you a lift. Let's go together."
Song Rahee said, jangling her keys.
I obediently nodded and followed behind her.