Chapter 42
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Flash Strike
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"I'll make sure you get the hang of it within two weeks."
Two weeks?
Not even a month, but two weeks?
That's fourteen days, right?
Is that even possible?
Was Professor Kang Geom-seon just messing with me?
I had no idea what his training method for Flash Strike was.
But I knew for damn sure it wasn't something you could pick up in a week.
"You look like you don't believe me."
"No, sir. I'm just... shocked."
"Well, I get it. It took me over a year just to grasp the basics myself."
See?
Why are you teasing me like this?
"But I started from rock bottom. Absolute zero. Flash Strike is my unique skill, so there wasn't anywhere to get info on it. You've got me, though. You're standing on the shoulders of a giant."
Ah, that's what he meant.
"Even so, is it really possible to learn it in two weeks?"
"Not impossible."
...
What?
"But you should be able to get a solid grasp on it by then."
"A grasp?"
"The ability to quickly and precisely slash at your target in the direction you want, then immediately assume an attack stance against your opponent."
Yeah, that would definitely qualify as Flash Strike.
Up until now, it'd just been me firing my body like a cannon with [Bunny Hop], praying it connected or twisting mid-air to change direction—pushing it to the absolute limit.
But why two weeks, specifically?
That question flitted through my mind for just a moment before Professor Kang Geom-seon grinned and spoke up.
"In two weeks, I'm holding an evaluation during my class. It'll be a swordsmanship duel. A full-on combat setup where you can use any sword-related skills. If you've learned Flash Strike from me by then, you should be able to win."
"That's..."
If I whipped out [Bunny Hop] there, it'd be like advertising that I had an extra skill.
I'd have to reveal it eventually, sure.
But right now, with my influence still so damn low, I didn't want the hassle.
"What are you worried about? You'll just be Professor Kang Geom-seon's student who learned how to use his unique skill."
"That's..."
Skill utilization.
Changes in a skill based purely on how you use it.
For example, Kang Hwa-yeon's [Inferno] could expand into a wide barrier around her body like a protective ward, depending on her training.
Even [Poor Strike] dug in a little deeper if you thrust it at a 45-degree angle.
But unlike skill combinations, it rarely produced any dramatic shifts.
"That [Poor Strike] skill you have? Turns out I have something similar. And I've figured out a pretty groundbreaking way to use it—one that can almost rival [Flash Strike]."
"You mean..."
"That skill you mentioned last time... Ahem!"
Professor Kang Geom-seon cleared his throat awkwardly and corrected himself.
"That insane kicking power of yours. If word got out about that level of leg strength, you'd be hounded by track recruiters. So here's the plan: I'll teach you my personal utilization method for [Strike]—and only to my student, Kim Si-woo. Everyone will assume that's the story."
Who'd dare question Professor Kang Geom-seon?
Hunters were the backbone of society, so their privileges were fiercely protected.
Monster materials from a hunter's kills belonged solely to them, and they had no obligation to share unique insights on their skills with anyone.
If things went the way he said...
At the very least, I could use "Flash Strike" without worrying about prying eyes from now on.
Fake Strike, I guess?
"I'll think about it."
"Good. I'm looking forward to it. It'll be private lessons, so starting tomorrow, come here after 6 p.m."
Professor Kang Geom-seon smiled.
His cherished former disciple—and the one he still cherished—Lee Dok-sa.
The letter of recommendation she'd sent him.
Professor Kang Geom-seon knew her personality well.
[Letter of Recommendation]
1. Excellent judgment
2. Great movement
3. Genius
My favorite disciple Lee Dok-sa guarantees it!
You'll regret it if you don't take him.
He knew the Lee Dok-sa he remembered would never casually call someone a genius.
She knew that title was reserved for only the rarest few.
So when he got the letter, he had to double-check his eyes.
Who was this student that had pushed her this far? Was she being blackmailed or something without him knowing?
If anyone had dared pull something like that on his favorite disciple, he wouldn't have let it slide.
Not that he thought anyone could pull it off on her.
That's why steam had practically shot from his ears when he first laid eyes on Kim Si-woo.
The skillbook only had one skill listed: [Poor Strike].
The skill he himself had a complex about—[Strike]—and this was its inferior version. How could it not piss him off?
Without Lee Dok-sa's recommendation, he never, ever would have accepted the kid.
He'd shown some impressive tenacity in the first class, enough to draw eyes. But tenacity alone didn't make a "genius."
So he'd been curious what about Kim Si-woo had caught Lee Dok-sa's attention.
That's why he'd decided to humor him with one round.
And yet, what happened?
The kid struts up with this overflowing confidence, talking like he's about to land one on me.
I was floored.
Where the hell did that confidence come from in a guy who didn't even show a seed of talent?
So he'd planned to put him in his place.
Teach him the limits of talentless mediocrity.
'Where the hell have I seen that before? What kind of coincidence is this?'
His unusual footwork and sword handling.
Quirky as hell, but it was definitely a sword style he'd seen somewhere.
These days, Professor Kang Geom-seon wielded his own reinterpretation of Japan's Ittō-ryū.
A long, thin blade was optimal for [Flash Strike].
His style had even been exported back to Japan—it was his trademark, right up there with Flash Strike.
But back before he became a professor, when he still clung to his [Strike] skill and hadn't ditched it yet...
Everyone called it a trash skill with no potential as a main, so he'd experimented with his own dagger techniques to make it work.
'Failed, though.'
He'd failed to master [Strike] with daggers, but he'd ditched it for a longsword and climbed to his current position with [Flash Strike].
Not many even knew he'd ever used daggers.
And here was Kim Si-woo clumsily imitating it.
It was hilarious.
And a little thrilling, too.
He didn't look like he had talent's seed, but around then, he started thinking maybe he could nurture the kid.
That ridiculous charge...
Honestly, disappointing. What had he even been thinking?
But where Kim Si-woo pointed? A water droplet.
Not just any droplet—proof.
In that moment, Professor Kang Geom-seon felt a thrill shoot through him.
'That rascal Lee Dok-sa sent me a fun one.'
Lee Dok-sa was the only student who'd ever come close to dodging his Flash Strike.
'Failed in the end, though.'
And now this Kim Si-woo, sent with her full endorsement.
This kid might just...
That's what he thought.
Honestly, it was a bit of a stretch.
A mere first-year with only one skillbook, facing Flash Strike?
The result was an even bigger stretch.
He doubted his own eyes.
And he couldn't hide his excitement.
It was an angle you couldn't dodge unless you'd planned it out meticulously from the start.
Not a matter of talent.
Kim Si-woo had set the stage from the jump.
Professor Kang Geom-seon was certain.
Kim Si-woo was a man who could be called a sword genius.
What he could bloom into if he nurtured him...
And now the kid had walked right into his hands.
Whether he'd hidden skills from the start or not didn't matter.
All he saw was the potential to create a swordsman who could surpass him.
No—surpass his brother, Kang Young-ho, with the sword.
That was the hope burning in his eyes.
Two weeks.
Honestly, I hadn't expected such a short timeline.
"Works for me."
The incident coming up in two weeks.
The one no academy webnovel could skip.
The cliché so overused it reeked, but you'd feel robbed without it—like aged kimchi that's gone a bit funky.
'The Academy Raid!'
More precisely, 'The Purity Faction's Raid on the Academy.'
After the superconductor LK-99, Korea's greatest genius, Lee Seong-hyeon.
To nip his growth in the bud, the Purity Faction pulls off the unprecedented raid on the National Seoul Hunter Academy.
Of course, with every professor there being a monster in their own right, they get crushed in the end.
'Without landing so much as a scratch on Lee Seong-hyeon.'
First timeline Lee Seong-hyeon might've been different, but this was fifth timeline Lee Seong-hyeon.
He'd already predicted every era's events, so he'd treat it like a minor annoyance.
'For me, though? Pure honey pot event!'
I planned to smack the Purity bastards upside the head and snag all those sweet materials they'd stolen.
Not theft.
Look at Hong Gil-dong—stealing from bad guys makes you a righteous thief, right?
Hong Gil-dong just gave it back. I'm just borrowing a little for myself.
I'd snagged Psyche's Blade and [Fate Intervention], but adding Flash Strike would make my plan way more stable.
'Only hitch is Professor Kang Geom-seon's exam lining up right then.'
No biggie. The raid doesn't kick off till afternoon anyway. Plenty of prep time.
A duel assuming perfect real-combat conditions?
Even better.
Perfect chance to test out the dagger I made with [Psyche's Blade].