Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: Perfect Swordsmanship
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[Got it? You need to sync up with Kim Tae-hyun. Wipe that reluctant look off your face. You're usually so expressionless—why do you pull those faces only at times like this?]
"..."
Shin Chae-yeon didn't respond. She simply stepped forward. Azure mana swirled around the razor-sharp blade.
Not the mana forged by humans, but the natural mana conjured by spirits. The water-attuned mana sharpened an already lethal edge even further.
The slightest movement of the sword now would unleash a metallic keen. A high-pitched kiing—like that.
This was no ordinary blade. It was a sword crafted for the sword arts of a renowned swordsmanship lineage.
It couldn't cleave everything, but it could slice through just about anything.
And yet—
Support? What nonsense was this? Shin Chae-yeon shot the crow a glare, but all she got in return was a peck from its black beak.
The effect was tremendous, of course. It hurt like hell. Even so, she didn't stop glaring.
Strip away her competitive spirit, and Shin Chae-yeon was little more than a corpse. A fierce refusal to lose, backed by genuine talent.
That was the core of who she was. Support? She could never accept that.
Matching cuts side by side was one thing. But helping someone else cut? Unthinkable.
"No."
As she walked, a monstrous presence loomed overhead, its gaze heavy enough to crush her with sheer pressure. Guild members would arrive soon enough, but—
「Groooaaarrr!!!」
There was no time for that. The monster's roar grazed her skin like a blade. No running away.
Two ways to survive—for both that man and herself. One: hold out until the guild arrived.
Two: win.
Naturally, Shin Chae-yeon was the type to choose the latter.
Kiing!!!
The keen blade emitted a chilling ring. The expressionless swordswoman advanced slowly toward the monster.
Their eyes met briefly with the black-haired man, but no words passed between them. They assumed their stances, ready to face the beast.
"Run away. It's dangerous."
"You too."
"..."
"..."
As the crow shattered the mood, the monster moved.
A mocking voice echoed from the darkness, but the blue-haired woman and black-haired man ignored it. No—they couldn't react.
Something enormous writhed. Their eyes couldn't look away.
Humans have instincts.
Instincts are precognition born from the five senses and experience. Skin feels the vibrating air. The nose catches the chill scent of death.
Eyes track the churning motion, ears the whispering sounds. Every sense mobilizes to deliver one conclusion.
That's how they knew. In their heightened, tense state, their razor-sharp senses unleashed instinct bordering on foresight, predicting the incoming attack.
Boom!!!!!!
An attack too fast for the eyes to follow. To an ordinary person, it would look like black tentacles sprouting from empty air.
That fast—but no one was hit. As if by prior agreement, the two split apart seamlessly, weapons raised in perfect unison.
Their keen edges gleamed. Mana, suppressed until now by demonic energy, surged through their bodies, boosting physical prowess.
No words were exchanged. Not even a glance. Yet both charged the monster simultaneously.
The foundation of linked attacks: when one is targeted, the other strikes.
Even the crow perched beside Shin Chae-yeon sounded surprised. In a way, it was only natural.
They'd received the same training and were of similar skill. When you see the same scenery, you think alike.
But they'd overlooked one thing. Their approach was a frontal assault, fine for fighting people.
Terrorists, cultists, vampires—that kind of foe. Not for a monster like this.
「Groooaaarrr!!」
Predictably, spines of black something erupted from the writhing monster.
Can't dodge. The judgment was instantaneous. Shin Chae-yeon's hand flashed.
Can't get hit. Can't evade. Only one option left.
The sharp blade traced a blue arc. Swift, efficient swordplay. Flowing like water, it severed every spine in a single stroke.
This was one of Shin Chae-yeon's techniques. Called the Shin family style, though she was too embarrassed to say it aloud.
The severed spines clumped and fell to the ground, only to slither back toward the monster.
Shin Chae-yeon took it all in as she pressed forward. No time to worry about the man on the other side. To cut the monster before her, now was the moment.
It couldn't follow up an attack that massive right away. She gripped her sword tightly.
Shifting into stance for a horizontal slash. Fluid and natural. It took no time at all.
One or two seconds. Perfect window before the monster's next attack.
The blade swept in. Air tore with a sharp whine. The black mass met a soft resistance—
—and didn't cleave. A sword that could slice steel, yet it met resistance like steel itself. The edge wouldn't bite.
The crow's irritating words ended there.
At the edge of her vision, something black hurtled toward her.
"..."
Caw!! Caw!!
"..."
Shin Chae-yeon lay staring at the sky, comically embedded in the wall. She'd twisted at the last moment for a glancing blow, avoiding unconsciousness—but that also meant this glancing blow had planted her here.
"If I die here, I'll curse you."
She meant it. Not asking to be killed, but shoved into a wall like this?
The crow alighted nearby. Though it spoke through the bird, she could almost see Lee Seong-hoon's smirking face. Shin Chae-yeon bristled for a moment but kept her composure.
"You said we could win."
Of course not. The desire to win was natural. Even without her intense competitive streak, victory was a primal human urge.
Winning the survival game was etched into genes. Shin Chae-yeon's was just a bit more extreme.
"I lost to both."
True enough. The shadow of the 11th island—she'd cut and cut, but it wouldn't die until Lee Seong-hoon finished it. The spirit of the 6th—she'd fought well, but nearly lost until he closed it out.
Losses in the end, but the fact ignited her instincts. It yanked her from her ridiculous sprawl to her feet.
"So it's super strong and doesn't die easily."
She focused on the voice from her shoulder. Mesmerizing, impossible to ignore.
One phrase.
One phrase.
One phrase.
Each phrase from the crow advanced her one step. Strange.
He knew her too well. Every word propelled her forward. Made her want to cut that monster.
As if entranced, she moved. Sword reclaimed in hand, eyes on the monster.
Back then...
Back then, all she'd wanted was to cut the spirit. That's what made it possible. Now, she'd been zeroed in on swordplay amid the monster's oppressive aura.
Pulled in. Inspiration surged with his every word. Her body itched to fight right now.
She understood instantly. His words pierced her thoughts dead-on.
Like he could see right through her. Even so, she had to move.
「Groooaaarrr!!」
Roars, vibrations, clashes from afar. Obvious who was fighting.
Never.
If it doesn't die, cut till it does.
The blue sword demon's silent footsteps echoed forth.
Spirit affinity.
In simple terms, a constitution spirits adore. The higher it is, the more readily spirits appear without conditions—hence why it's also called spirit resonance.
Innate. Can't be trained, barring rare exceptions.
In that sense, Shin Chae-yeon was blessed. Born with a body spirits loved.
Not enough? She was also a prodigy in swordsmanship, worthy of the title "genius of the era."
Yet it proved the gods were fair: her childhood was far from smooth.
Rejection was daily life. Everything denied. Her hard work with the sword dismissed as worthless.
Sleep aside, her days were sword training only.
Forcing such grueling labor on a child who should have been surrounded by love and joy...
Of course her face lost emotion. Expressionlessness was no surprise.
With such a fierce look, spirits naturally fled in fear.
Top-tier talent in the worst environment. That was her case.
Still, Shin Chae-yeon never cursed her family. She'd met spirits now, at least. And her father had softened somewhat since Justitia.
The forced competitive fire and sword skills were serving her well in this moment.
「Groooaaarrr!!」
Roars, explosions, crunches, freezing cracks.
The monster's arm froze, shattered, regenerated—repeating endlessly. Shin Chae-yeon stepped into that battlefield.
Sword in hand. Already sharp, now layered with spirits for deadlier keenness.
She wrapped it repeatedly in spirit mana. Thin, razor layers. A spirit-forged sword aura.
An aura that promised no return if it touched.
Recalling the crow's words from earlier, she advanced. The chaotic battlefield fell eerily silent.
Black eyes and inscrutable gazes turned her way. But Shin Chae-yeon didn't halt.
No rushing like before. Even after one failure, no doubts like "What if it doesn't cut?"
Because.
A life of constant denial. Affirmed for the first time by someone.
Efforts no one acknowledged, save her sister. Now seen.
It had to cut.
"My swordsmanship is perfect."
A faint smile from the sword demon, and a blue trajectory bloomed across the monster's body.