Chapter 55: Back to That Place
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 55: Back to That Place
For humanity, Gates were both a disaster and a blessing.
They offered not only new territories but also various resources, including iron ore and rare earth elements, as well as vast quantities of magic stones.
This was why, despite the constant loss of life, many nations never completely sealed the Gates.
And on rare occasions, a special reward would appear when a Gate's boss or core was destroyed.
“This is…”
What emerged from the box was a single sword, its beautiful blade shimmering with a blue light.
Its size and shape were similar to the straight sword I was currently using, but the overall design was different.
The magic stone embedded in the pommel was particularly eye-catching.
“It’s an artificial artifact, ‘Gilenium.’”
Thanks to the Magic Revolution that occurred in Europe in the past, humanity learned to harness the magic contained within magic stones. The general term for the tools created as a result was ‘magic tools.’
Compared to these magic tools, artifacts could only be obtained from Gates or boss-level magical beasts, making them extremely expensive and incredibly rare.
Lamenting this, a few magic engineers and blacksmiths joined forces about a hundred years ago to create humanity’s first artificial artifact.
Of course, its performance was admittedly somewhat inferior to that of a typical artifact, but it was also true that it was incomparably superior to existing magic tools.
“It was originally stored in our family’s vault, but as you know, no one in our family uses a sword. I heard from Hyena that you used both swordsmanship and magic inside the Gate. Do you like it?”
“…”
As I gripped the hilt, I was met with a superb feel that was incomparable to the straight sword I had been using.
It was a little heavier than my old sword, but not so much that it was burdensome.
If anything, this much weight was exactly to my taste.
“It seems you like it.”
Choi Young-ok smiled warmly as she watched Kang Hyun-woo, who was completely absorbed in examining the sword.
If she were to put that sword up for auction, it would easily fetch tens of billions of won.
Even so, Choi Young-ok didn't feel it was a waste at all.
In fact, if it meant she could repay him for saving her granddaughter, she was willing to give him something even more expensive.
The reason she had decided to give Gilenium to Kang Hyun-woo was that she felt his talent for swordsmanship was too precious to waste.
It was practically impossible for a 2nd Circle mage to stand on the front lines in a B-rank Gate.
He had accomplished something that even C-rank warrior-class Hunters would find challenging.
Even if the burden on the vanguard was less because it wasn't a normal party, this was an achievement on par with him reaching the 2nd Circle in just two weeks.
Showing such talent in both swordsmanship and magic was extremely rare.
Even if one had the talent, trying to master another discipline concurrently was an act of sheer arrogance.
With ordinary talent, one would only end up a failure, good at neither.
But Kang Hyun-woo had not only achieved the feat of reaching the 2nd Circle in a short period, but he had now also demonstrated his talent and skill as a swordsman.
A 2nd Circle mage couldn't take down a C-rank magical beast alone, and conversely, a swordsman of a similar level couldn't handle a C-rank beast single-handedly either.
The reason he could hunt C-rank magical beasts by himself was that his magic and swordsmanship created a synergy.
It was safe to say he had already taken his first step as a Magic Swordsman.
“Thanks to the magic stone in its pommel, Gilenium will serve as a better medium than most wands. Furthermore, its mithril blade is sharp and hard enough to cut through the bones of C-rank or higher magical beasts. In terms of its performance as a sword, it’s not inferior to most famous blades.”
However, the Magic Swordsman was a profession that was already half-obsolete.
Trying to master both swordsmanship and magic with just any amount of talent was no different from digging your own grave.
Thus, in an era that valued choice and focus, proper Magic Swordsmen had naturally disappeared.
“Hyun-woo.”
There was something she absolutely had to tell him, as he was about to walk a thorny path.
Even if it was meddling, she had to say it to repay even a fraction of the debt she owed him.
“Becoming a Magic Swordsman is an incredibly arduous path.”
Finding a master for magic and a master for swordsmanship was not easy, but it wasn't impossible.
However, finding a master as a Magic Swordsman was next to impossible.
First of all, there was no one in the country who had reached a high level as a Magic Swordsman. Moreover, Magic Swordsmen abroad had built their own closed societies, so it would be difficult for him, with no connections, to even get proper information, let alone find a master.
That meant Kang Hyun-woo would have to become a Magic Swordsman by reaching a state where he could weave magic and swordsmanship together on his own, without a proper master. She could say with certainty that it was impossible.
“Even if they devote their entire lives to magic, very few reach the 6th Circle. The same goes for swordsmanship. There’s a reason those who can use Aura Blades are treated so well.”
Choi Young-ok wanted to dissuade him.
She wanted to tell him how important it was to choose and focus.
To exaggerate a little, he was born with the talent to become an Archmage and the talent to become a Sword Master.
She didn't want him to waste that talent.
Even if it meant giving up magic to become a swordsman.
Contrary to her sincere concerns, Kang Hyun-woo’s expression didn't change one bit after hearing everything.
“…But I’m going to be a mage?”
What is this old lady talking about?
Why the sudden talk about a Magic Swordsman?
Am I crazy? Why would I choose a profession that only kids with eighth-grader syndrome would want?
Mages had the huge backing of the Magic Tower, whereas swordsmen and Magic Swordsmen had nothing of the sort.
The Magic Tower is a massive corporation. I’d have to be insane.
You could romanticize it by calling them lone wolves, but in reality, they were basically unemployed bums whose only affiliation was the Hunter Association.
“Is that really true?”
“I’m a mage to the bone.”
Swordsmanship was purely for self-defense.
As I’d said before, my fate was definitely not one where I could comfortably sit back and shoot off magic from a distance.
The underground dungeon, this Gate incident—I was learning swordsmanship because I judged that I needed to be able to handle the front lines on my own to some extent. I wasn't thinking beyond that.
Of course, if I could shoot out Aura Blade blasts like the master, I might seriously consider it, but… who knows?
At Kang Hyun-woo’s response, Choi Young-ok couldn't hide her smile.
In truth, whether he chose the path of a mage or a swordsman, or even if he stubbornly declared he would walk the path of a Magic Swordsman, Choi Young-ok had intended to support him.
After all, nothing was more important than his own decision.
But apart from that, she couldn't help but feel pleased by the confident voice of her prospective grandson-in-law, who was proudly aiming to be a mage.
“Hyun-woo, could you wait just a moment?”
It was a grandmother’s heart that wanted to give something more to this admirable young man.
*
The hectic banquet at the Seongbuk Choi family home was now a story from a week ago. Today, I was once again at the dojo, swinging my sword as always.
A lot had happened in that week.
The media, which had been churning out articles about the isolated Gate day after day, had gone quiet.
I didn't know the reason, but I cautiously guessed that the higher-ups, including the Seongbuk Choi family, had intervened.
With the news quiet, public interest naturally waned, and the intense week I had spent in that Gate began to feel like no big deal.
I had done all sorts of things to survive, so it felt a bit bittersweet, but what bothered me more was that Choi Hyena hadn't contacted me at all for the past week.
—I’m pregnant, so take responsibility.
One moment she was freaking me out with a pregnancy bomb, and the next, she was silent for a week. It was making me anxious.
But I didn't have the courage to contact her, so I was stuck waiting for her to reach out.
It had been a mentally taxing week, but when I was swinging my sword or meditating like this, my mind was relatively at ease.
Perhaps that was why I naturally spent the week engrossed in magic and swordsmanship training.
Clack!
“Your wrist is getting stiff again.”
As time went on, not only did my stamina and muscles build up, but the time it took to swing the sword ten thousand times also shortened.
Of course, since I also had to slash and thrust, it was effectively thirty thousand movements, which now took a little over six hours.
Thanks to that, my hands were a mess of blisters.
But as the blisters popped and calluses formed, gripping the sword became much easier than before.
Moreover, as my stamina increased, my concentration during meditation improved significantly.
Although I hadn't found a clue to reaching the 3rd Circle, my overall abilities seemed to have nearly doubled compared to when I escaped the Gate.
At this rate…
I was confident I could easily handle the Lizard Warrior, the gatekeeper of the underground dungeon's first floor.
As that confidence washed over me, a smile crept onto my face.
Just as a player gets motivated to play harder when their character grows stronger in a game, reality was the same.
“…Have I been pushing him too hard? This is the first time I’ve seen someone smile while training.”
“It’s because my master is so beautiful.”
Jeon Seoha sighed inwardly at the sight of Kang Hyun-woo grinning while swinging his wooden sword.
He was clearly talented, but overall, he was a weirdo. That was Jeon Seoha’s assessment of Kang Hyun-woo over the past week.
No matter how much she hit him, he would immediately call her master. Hitting him more would only make her own arm hurt.
“Thirty thousand done! I’m leaving now?”
Instead of answering, Jeon Seoha just waved her hand dismissively.
Having grown accustomed to her indifferent reactions over the week, Kang Hyun-woo didn't say anything more and quickly headed to the locker room.
When he came out after changing, Jeon Seoha was still leaning against a corner of the dojo, lost in thought.
She was always like that, except when she was teaching him.
She didn't seem to use her phone or have any hobbies like other people.
She just endlessly guarded the dojo.
She didn't seem to have any intention of recruiting members by handing out flyers, either.
Watching Jeon Seoha for a week, Kang Hyun-woo felt a sense of kinship with her.
He saw his past self in her eyes.
It was the look of someone living without any particular goals or desires, simply breathing because they were alive.
They had never had a private conversation, but it was an undeniable fact that he had grown fond of her over the week.
“Anyone would think you’re an abandoned dog at a shelter.”
Jeon Seoha looked up at Kang Hyun-woo.
Up close, the lifeless look in her eyes stimulated Kang Hyun-woo’s own past.
“Here.”
“…?”
As Jeon Seoha stared at him with a look that said, Why are you still hanging around?, something wrapped in paper fell into her lap.
It was beast-kin jerky.
And not the cheap kind, but a rather high-end brand sold in department stores.
“I bought it because it seems like you don’t eat properly.”
“I don’t need it.”
“Can’t be returned, so if you don’t want it, just throw it away.”
With that, Kang Hyun-woo left.
Left alone, Jeon Seoha stared intently at the jerky.
It smelled good.
“…Doing such useless things.”
Jeon Seoha, who was extremely taciturn except when instructing him, unusually muttered to herself as she examined the jerky.
Her thoughts were mostly about Kang Hyun-woo and the jerky.
Even so, the dojo, now empty of Kang Hyun-woo, was so quiet that her own muttering couldn't fill the silence.
It was strange.
A week had already passed since he had registered at the dojo, but she had never felt this way before.
Frowning at the peculiar feeling, Jeon Seoha quietly brought the jerky to her lips.
Crunch—
It was salty and delicious.
*
I hurried home and, as usual, took out the sword I had carefully stored in my inventory.
Damn, look at this beauty.
It was Gilenium, the artificial artifact Choi Young-ok had given me as a reward a week ago.
[Collecting information on the newly acquired item.]
[Gilenium]
[Grade: Epic]
[Increases the effectiveness of swordsmanship.]
[Increases the power of swordsmanship.]
[Increases cutting power.]
[Contains a faint demon-breaking aura.]
[Increases the power of magic.]
[Decreases magic casting speed.]
I looked at it every day, but I never got tired of it.
It always felt new.
Holding Gilenium made me want to fight, so much so that I wondered if I had always been such a battle maniac.
Honestly, even though it was a reward, I never expected to receive something this expensive.
Even without having used it, I could tell what a huge advantage it was to be able to cast magic as if using a wand while swinging a sword.
This is the power of good gear.
“You’re so dead.”
[Name: Iris Remeria Baiart Peledeia
Age: 524
Race: High Elf
Affiliation: EB-17
Occupation: Archmage
Disposition: Benevolent Ruler, Pacifism, Devotion, Vegetarianism…]
[Rematch?]
[Y/N]
Right now, my mind was filled with a single thought.
Crush that damn lizard and go meet Iris as soon as possible.