Chapter 227
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 227.
Upon returning to the family, Yoo Baek-jun immediately used the mysterious feather pen.
The method was simple.
"Just place the pen here."
Whoosh!
He touched the tip of the feather pen to the magic circle spread across his room.
With a sucking sound, the magic circle seeped into the pen.
—Groooowl…….
"Whoa, no."
The feather pen glowed mysteriously.
Seeming amused, Seol-yeong stretched out a front paw, trying to tap it.
Yoo Baek-jun pushed the paw away with his finger. This time, the creature’s attention shifted to his finger.
—Chomp, nyaaow!
"Hey, okay, okay."
Avoiding Seol-yeong’s teeth, Yoo Baek-jun stepped outside.
A blizzard was raging.
"Is the weather insane? It’s summer outside, so why is it like this here?"
"Family head , you’re bringing this up now…?"
Han Seong-ah, who had been waiting outside, followed him as she spoke.
Park Chan-kyung and Cheon Min-ju, who had been with her, also escorted Yoo Baek-jun.
"Do you two like your new boss?"
"Yes! I like—"
"Whether I like it or not isn’t for me to decide."
"Huh?! What does that make me, then?"
Cheon Min-ju looked startled at Park Chan-kyung’s words. Han Seong-ah sighed.
They were tasked with guarding Yoo Baek-jun alongside Han Seong-ah.
‘Han Seong-ah isn’t just an instructor anymore.’
She had been promoted too.
Now, she led the guards protecting Yoo Baek-jun directly—a kind of royal guard.
‘Quite the spectacle.’
Yoo Baek-jun walked ahead.
"This should be a good spot."
He decided to set up a training magic circle in the outdoor training ground.
To fully utilize the mysterious feather pen, it needed to be used in the widest possible space.
The outdoor training ground was perfect.
Swish!
As Yoo Baek-jun swung the feather pen through the air, the training magic circle it had absorbed earlier reappeared.
Whoosh!
Then, a burst of light.
When he opened his eyes again, the training magic circle was engraved on the ground.
"It’s gotten bigger."
"Mhm."
Originally, it had been small enough to fit in his room with space to spare.
But the training magic circle enhanced by the feather pen was enormous.
[Training Magic Circle (S)]
A magic circle used by interdimensional magical families for mana training.
Thanks to the effects of the mysterious feather pen, the magic circle has become even more efficient.
―Options: Magical Training (改), Concentration Boost (改), Proficiency Acceleration
*Magical Training (改): Allows efficient gathering of large amounts of magic while on the magic circle.
*Concentration Boost (改): Makes it easier to focus while on the magic circle.
*Proficiency Acceleration: Significantly increases the rate at which skill proficiency rises.
The training magic circle enhanced by the feather pen had gained a new effect:
Proficiency Acceleration.
"Hmm, nice."
Learning the skills of the Sword Saint family would take considerable time.
Training here would shorten that time.
And if he obtained another magic circle later, physical growth could also be accelerated.
‘Judging by the Chinese characters attached to the other options, they must’ve been enhanced too.’
Frankly, the training magic circle was no longer necessary for himself.
Using it to strengthen the family was a better idea.
"Family head, what is this?"
"Grandmaster Ja-yeon."
Ja-yeon approached just then.
She seemed curious about the magic circle on the ground.
"From now on, have trainees practice their techniques here. It’ll help them accumulate magic."
"Hmm, wait a moment…"
Ja-yeon, seemingly eager to test it, sat cross-legged on the spot.
Then, she activated the Heavenly Destruction Mind Technique.
"...Hmm!"
After a short while, Grandmaster Ja-yeon opened her eyes in admiration.
"It’s true. I can accumulate more magic than usual. And I feel like my concentration has improved too."
"That’s good to hear. It’ll also be useful for teaching martial arts."
"I’ll do so."
Ja-yeon stood up.
"How are the weapon techniques coming along? Is progress good?"
"You’ve been asking that a lot lately. To answer—yes, I’m planning to have them gain real combat experience now."
"Would it be alright to take them along if another gate appears?"
"Hoho, as long as it’s not an S-rank gate like the one you recently conquered…"
Their training wasn’t complete yet, so high-difficulty gates would be too much.
Yoo Baek-jun smiled lightly.
"And about the vacant Grandmaster position. Should we appoint the two you mentioned?"
"Moo-jang and Chang-yeon, right?"
"Yes."
The Sword Lord of the Heavenly Blade Unit, Moo-jang.
And the Sword Lord of the Guardian Blade Unit, Chang-yeon.
Yoo Baek-jun intended to make them the new Grandmasters.
‘We need new Grandmasters.’
Currently, there were only two Grandmasters: Ja-yeon and Cheon Jong-won. The deaths of Jeon Dae-kwon and Lee Gun-mo had left two seats empty.
‘Leaving the Grandmaster positions vacant for too long isn’t a good idea.’
They were the pillars of the family.
They would oversee the family in Yoo Baek-jun’s absence, so choosing trustworthy individuals was crucial.
"I think Moo-jang and Chang-yeon are suitable. They’ve both served the family since they were young."
"Yes, and they contributed greatly to suppressing the rebellion this time."
"Right. They’ve proven their loyalty, so I believe they deserve the opportunity."
From ‘my’ long gaming experience, Moo-jang and Chang-yeon were reliable.
They weren’t the type to betray easily.
They could be trusted.
"And…"
There was one more thing Yoo Baek-jun had been considering.
"I don’t think we need to insist on only four Grandmaster positions."
"What do you mean?"
"In the future, the Sword Saint family will handle various weapon techniques. If someone reaches the pinnacle of their martial art, why not grant them a new Grandmaster position?"
Spear techniques, fist techniques, archery—anything.
Until now, the Sword Saint family had only evaluated sword techniques, but now, other martial arts needed consideration too.
"It’ll probably take a long time for someone to reach our level, but hmm…"
Ja-yeon pondered Yoo Baek-jun’s proposal, then nodded readily.
"That sounds like a good idea."
It would take time anyway, and the number of Grandmasters was indeed small.
There was no reason to oppose it.
‘At least for archery, there’s someone with the potential to become a Grandmaster.’
Baek Go-woon, whom he had recruited earlier.
His brother had also been a member of the Sword Saint family but left when he was young.
"Grandmaster Ja-yeon, about Baek Go-woon, whom we rescued from the mansion’s basement. Didn’t he have an older brother?"
"Ah, yes. There was one. He left the family long ago. I remember he was quite the eccentric."
"Do you know his whereabouts?"
"His whereabouts…"
Ja-yeon shook her head.
"He left saying he’d live as a hunter overseas, but I heard he went missing after getting caught up in a gate."
"Hmm, I’ll have Jeon Soo-yeon look into which gate it was."
"Are you planning to recruit him?"
"Yes."
He was indeed an eccentric.
He had stubbornly insisted on using something other than a sword in the Sword Saint family.
That something was a bow.
‘A skilled archer… He’d be helpful in training disciples.’
For future plans, the more reliable talents, the better.
Ja-yeon said she’d help if there was anything she could do.
After finishing the magic circle setup, Yoo Baek-jun went straight to meet Bigtums.
"What’s this?"
"Just make me one item."
"I don’t mind, but… What exactly am I supposed to make with these materials?"
Yoo Baek-jun handed him the materials—items from the recent S-rank treasure chest and magic stones.
"A shield. To be precise, a shield created using magic."
"Hmm, blueprints?"
"Don’t need them. You must have them in your head anyway."
"……"
Bigtums stared at Yoo Baek-jun silently, then burst into a hearty laugh.
"Ho, how’d you know? Yeah, I did make something like that before. But it had a lot of problems."
Bigtums scratched the back of his head.
It was a type of magical item that normally took the form of a bracelet but could create a magic shield when mana was infused.
"It looks fine, but its defensive power is too weak compared to a regular shield. That’s why I scrapped it…"
"Doesn’t matter. Make it exactly like that. What I need isn’t defensive power."
"Not defensive power?"
What he needed was merely a shield as a tool for using Absolute Shield.
Defensive power was unnecessary.
Bigtums tilted his head in puzzlement but soon nodded in agreement.
"Alright, I’ll do as you say."
Still, with dwarven craftsmanship, it’d turn out well.
Yoo Baek-jun was about to watch Bigtums work, but—
"Family head, the two have returned."
"Mhm."
—That wasn’t possible now.
Yoo Baek-jun headed to the Family head’s mansion under escort.
The mansion had been destroyed during the rebellion but was restored with the dwarves’ help.
‘I’ll use this mansion for work and the original one for rest.’
It was a good way to separate work and personal life.
Yoo Baek-jun entered the reception room, where familiar faces awaited.
"Sister, how have you been?"
"Can’t you tell?"
"Your body looks nicely ripened."
"Am I some kind of meat?"
Yoo Jung-yeon and Yoo Min.
After the Sword Saint family’s affairs settled, Yoo Jung-yeon had taken a long vacation.
With the death of Yoo Tae-rang, who had killed her beloved younger brother, she felt a sense of emptiness.
"...I’m here too."
"I know."
Yoo Min had joined the trip.
She was close to Yoo Jung-yeon and hadn’t traveled much before.
This was a chance to properly enjoy an overseas trip.
"Oh, this is a gift. A cake I just bought in Paris. They say it’s delicious, but it’s too sweet for my taste."
"Ca, cake… Hot!"
—Awooo…….
At the word ’cake,’ Han Seong-ah and Seol-yeong reflexively reacted.
Yoo Baek-jun chuckled.
"Did you enjoy the trip?"
"Not bad. It was nice to clear my head and relax for once."
"...Yeah."
The trip seemed to have done them good.
A mental reset. Though, of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
"Did you leave because you thought I’d kill you?"
"……"
Yoo Jung-yeon smiled bitterly.
That couldn’t be it. They had worried Yoo Baek-jun might kill them.
Given the history of those who became the Sword Saint family’s head, it wouldn’t have been strange if he did.
"I have no such intentions, so don’t worry. In fact, the family is short on people right now."
"...I told her you wouldn’t. She’s just a worrywart."
"Hey, I’m your older sister…"
Yoo Jung-yeon and Yoo Min bickered.
"Save the sisterly squabbles for later. You’ve had a long break—time to work."
"Work? What work?"
Yoo Baek-jun pulled out a map. Jeon Soo-yeon had brought intel.
"Illegal item trading is happening here. Raid the place and arrest everyone there."
"Hmm, doesn’t sound hard. But why are we handling illegal trades?"
Normally, the Association would handle this, so Yoo Jung-yeon’s confusion was understandable.
But there was a reason.
"It’s connected to the Vulcanus Guild. They’ve been using the Association to hassle us."
"So we’re settling the score this time?"
"Yes. I owe Jeong Seung-hoon a lot as it is…"
Yoo Baek-jun smiled quietly.
"Let’s repay him with interest."
"Vicious…"
Yoo Jung-yeon clicked her tongue.