Chapter 73
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 73
Meeting Baek Sa-young one-on-one as Park Ha-yul was probably the first time since the final battle of the occupation war.
I headed to the comprehensive training ground with a quietly excited heart.
It was just like him to hold a conversation at a training ground.
[Waiting in Room 3. When you get here, press the call button and I'll open the door.]
Following the text message, I stepped inside and found him at the exact center of the training ground.
I spotted the back view of a reasonably tall figure with a lean yet solid build.
Baek Sa-young, who had been standing alone, turned his head slightly and spoke to me with his characteristic bright smile.
"You came?"
Was it because of the bandages plastered all over his face?
He felt like the protagonist of some shonen manga, which made me laugh.
But I quickly hid it and opened my mouth in a flat tone.
"Why are we having a conversation at the training ground? There's a park in front of the dorms too."
"Ah, that's....... Let me explain first. I think you'll understand if I do."
Baek Sa-young, who had been scratching the back of his head with an awkward attitude, laid out the whole story.
He had received a request from a senior he knew and gotten the chance to clear a magic space, and he had chosen me as his companion.
"When's the clearing date?"
"Next weekend. It's in the outskirts of Seoul, so it's not far."
"Nice. Is there anything I need to prepare separately?"
Pretending not to know something I knew perfectly well was harder than it sounded.
"......But, you see. There's something I really want to confirm before that."
"Confirm?"
That was the moment Baek Sa-young's gaze changed.
"It was probably around the opening battle of the occupation war that I first felt something was off about you."
......What the hell, this guy.
As the light atmosphere abruptly settled into calm, I felt a considerable sense of unease.
That unease soon became reality.
"I know you're hiding your skill. And that the sword is your main weapon."
"What are you talking about? I'm in the Sorcery Track."
"When you fought Cheon Seo-yoon, I was the one standing in the center. Did you forget?"
"......."
When he put it that plainly, I had no excuse ready.
I couldn't say it was because of the Cheonjam Thread when I had no skill to speak of, could I?
It was a trade secret like a hidden trump card for me.......
"This isn't a magic space I'm going to just for experience. It's like a gift from a senior I respect....... So prove it. That you're qualified to fight alongside me."
Baek Sa-young already seemed firmly resolved.
Only then did I realize.
I had brought this mess on myself by needlessly dressing the whole thing up as a mission.......
I had underestimated Baek Sa-young's sense of responsibility and his respect for the Special Mission Taskforce.
I rubbed my throbbing head and laid some groundwork first.
"So you want to have a match? But today's impossible. Honestly, my body's condition is just......."
......It was a shabby excuse, but I had no choice.
Sparring was the one thing I absolutely had to avoid.
Honestly, unless we fought like we were trying to kill each other, I couldn't satisfy Baek Sa-young's standards.
To me, a sword was only for throwing like a bomb. How could I face him when I'd never even properly swung one?
I frowned, rubbing my forearm for no reason.
Then Baek Sa-young suddenly let out a short laugh.
"No. Why would I fight you? It hasn't been long since we both nearly died."
"Oh, is that so?"
Then it seemed the worst-case scenario had been avoided.......
"There's a simpler way."
Baek Sa-young closed his eyes and reached out his hand.
Tsssss.
Then a sphere of mana that looked to be about one meter in diameter formed and brightly illuminated the surroundings.
"This is a sphere made from my mana. If you can cut through this, I'll acknowledge you. Like this."
Baek Sa-young lifted the sphere into the air with a light gesture, as if showing off.
At the same time, he drew the heavy sword at his waist with lightning speed, without any run-up.
He twisted his body as if spinning and swung the sword so fast that a flash of light blazed.
Shhk—
The sphere of mana split in half like an apple, remained separated for a while, then slowly merged back together and returned to its original form.
"Well, shit......."
Watching it, curses slipped out on their own.
It might look simple, but it was anything but easy.
In a sense, it was a similar principle to Han Soo-hyeok's barrier.
You had to be able to produce power similar to the caster's level, even for just an instant, to cut it.......
"I'm not forcing you. If you don't want to, you can give up."
Baek Sa-young, who couldn't possibly know my circumstances, said something frustrating.
This was ridiculous. I came to help, and now I was about to get evaluated too.
But I had no choice. Baek Sa-young held the hilt of the sword, so to speak.......
What to do.
I thought for a moment.
First, I would at least need to draw First Sword so I could pretend to coat it with mana and cut.
The problem was that Baek Sa-young was watching me openly, and since it was an Armament the Special Mission Taskforce had used, I couldn't do that.
......As expected, was that the only way?
It was a method I wanted to avoid if possible, but with no other option, I spoke to Baek Sa-young first.
"I'll try. But lend me a sword."
"A sword?"
Instead of answering, I spread both hands wide.
"Ah, sorry. I should have given you a heads-up beforehand."
"Then you wouldn't have come."
"What?"
"Nothing."
I took the sword from Baek Sa-young as if extorting it and walked up to the sphere.
If I had my way, I wanted to leap up like Baek Sa-young and swing it stylishly.
But that's easier said than done.
I figured I'd just make a fool of myself in front of an expert and gain nothing, so I gave up on that.
"I'll cut it my own way."
Instead, I muttered meaningfully as if it were my own style, then began the enhancement.
[Attempting to enhance 'Baek Sa-young's Sword' to the level of the special-grade Armament 'First Sword'.]
[Calculating required SP.]
[Calculation complete.]
[Required SP: 1,500]
I had suspected as much, but still....... The consumption was beyond imagination.
But it was too early to give up.
I only needed the performance of a special-grade Armament for a few seconds.
I added several additional restrictions.
[Limiting performance duration to 3 seconds.]
[Required SP: 80]
[Adding restriction: cannot cut living beings.]
[Required SP: 10]
That seemed good enough, so I gripped the sword hilt tightly with both hands.
I glared at the sphere as if I would split it with my gaze, then raised the sword with all my strength.
[Enhancement complete.]
As the unique energy of the Armament surged from my grip, I brought it down in one breath.
Shrrrk—
Confident that the greatness of gear would even be able to cut through Baek Sa-young's mana.
—Geogeok —geogeok —geok.
However.
......What the X—?
In reality, I was struggling before I even got halfway through.
It was because the cutting speed decreased exponentially, as if I had forced a blade into hardened clay.
Three seconds passed in the blink of an eye.
[Enhancement duration has ended.]
"......."
"......."
I was X-ed.
As a silence fell as if even the air had stopped, all sorts of thoughts swirled through my head.
But the moment I realized that panicking here would get me nowhere, I almost instinctively pulled the blade out and muttered in a low voice.
"This much is enough, isn't it? I'll stop here."
Then I trudged over and handed the sword back to Baek Sa-young.
Hoping for a response like "Why did you stop halfway?".......
Then I could pretend to be unable to win and challenge him again, so I thought this was the best move.
"......Are you saying the sword you pursue is different from mine?"
"Huh?"
But something was a little strange.
Baek Sa-young, his face slightly flushed,
soon grabbed my hand and exclaimed.
"It's really captivating. Your sword."
* * *
"I'll let you know right away if any additional information comes in."
"Yeah, sure."
Baek Sa-young watched until Park Ha-yul's back completely disappeared, then burst out with the admiration he hadn't finished expressing.
"As expected. The world is wide."
To think there was an outstanding swordsman in a sorcery family.
Baek Sa-young, who had let out a hollow laugh, replayed the earlier situation once more.
It had definitely been a perfect mana sphere, created without any gaps.
Its constant flow formed a single cycle, like a set of well-meshed gears.
Therefore, the standard approach was to read the flow of mana and cut along its grain.
But Park Ha-yul had not done that.
Rather, as if mocking him for presenting a set answer,
he had stood still and pressed his sword against the pole where durability was highest.
He had destroyed the grain as if showing off, slowly cutting downward, and stopping just one inch short of the sphere's core was probably closer to goodwill than deception.
If he had collapsed the core as well, it would have literally shattered to pieces.
It would have been broken into fragments.
Was this what a fun sword was like?
Baek Sa-young suddenly felt a surge of competitive spirit.
If just one move made his heart race like this, he couldn't even imagine how much more interesting it would be if they crossed swords.
Just imagining it brought a smile to his lips.
"I really picked a good teammate."
Baek Sa-young nodded to himself in satisfaction and picked up his phone.
To say that a friend who used an interesting sword was right next to him.
He left the training ground, typing out a long text message to send to the senior he respected.
* * *
Wednesday, after three days of sick leave, when the security team attended.
Cheon Seo-yoon left the dormitory looking more downcast than usual.
Her injuries had mostly recovered, but the bruise on her heart was the real problem.
She had discovered the omen of a new trait, felt the presence of Lightning Power, and then faced despair, so the blow was even greater.
Because she had realized that the sword she thought could cut anything was nothing more than a toothpick.
And the fact that it had actually snapped in two and she now had to buy a new one was truly lamentable.
"Ah, that Demonkin bastard."
It was a longsword she had paid quite a lot for, for practical use.......
Cheon Seo-yoon, who had been calculating the maturity date of her savings account, let out a deep sigh and entered the lecture hall.
She hoped that today, at least, would pass quietly.
"It's Seo-yoon."
"Seo-yoon, are you feeling okay?"
But the gazes poured in all at once, as if they had been waiting.
Cheon Seo-yoon pushed up the corners of her lips as usual, pretending to be fine, but the forced energy quickly deflated.
"Sorry, my condition is really not good."
Cheon Seo-yoon waved off the students and approached the spot where the fellow victims were gathered.
Lee Dae-ho, his arm wrapped thickly in bandages, was sprawled out like a corpse, and Joo A-rin.......
She had taken out a history textbook and was reading it just like usual, but she was not normal.
"Joo A-rin, you're reading your book upside down."
"......."
Still, since they were friends, she gave her a heads-up before anyone else noticed.
Anyway, feeling a strange sense of kinship was a small comfort.
Until she spotted one unexpectedly lively person.
"Sa-young, what's the saintess like in person? Is she prettier than on screen?"
"Did you really all get cut down by a single Demonkin?"
Baek Sa-young was answering even the uncomfortable questions kindly, as usual.
He should have taken the biggest blow, having been at the highest position.
"That guy is seriously infinite positivity."
Cheon Seo-yoon watched him with a somewhat pitying gaze, then naturally thought of the one teammate who hadn't arrived yet.
Wondering what that expressionless face would look like today.
Bang—
But expectations were just expectations.
Park Ha-yul swept his gaze across the lecture hall as usual, then silently headed to the back seat as if it had nothing to do with him.
She had heard his injuries were quite deep, but his face looked so peaceful that she wondered if he had been exaggerating.
"That kid, seriously."
In a way, he was an impressive guy.
Whether his mentality was made of steel or not, he always maintained that same energy no matter what happened.
"This isn't the time."
Cheon Seo-yoon stood up, having something to ask Baek Sa-young.
She was about to ask him to go with her this Saturday to buy a new sword.
"Ha-yul, let me talk to you for a second."
But at that exact moment, Baek Sa-young waved toward Park Ha-yul.
The two of them slipped out to the back of the lecture hall and whispered softly, as if sharing a secret conversation.
"What the."
Were the two of them close?
She remembered them being rather distant with each other.
Cheon Seo-yoon sat back down and waited for her turn.
When Baek Sa-young returned, she tapped his shoulder and spoke.
"Hey, are you free on Saturday? I need to go buy a sword. Let's go together. I'll buy you something good."
"......Saturday? I can't then. I have a prior engagement."
"A prior engagement? With who? You're always holed up training."
"Well, that's true....... But that day I made plans to go somewhere with Ha-yul. Sorry."
"What the. Where are you two going?"
Cheon Seo-yoon, now sulking, glared at Baek Sa-young with narrowed eyes.
"Haha."
Baek Sa-young just laughed awkwardly and kept his mouth firmly shut.