Leo's Growth

"To think the great hero Ak Chanseo lost a spar to a player from Earth."

"How could such a thing happen..."

"And he didn't even seem to be using any sinister arts."

"Sinister arts, my foot! You watched that man's swordsmanship and still say that? It was swordplay of such a high order that the word perfect rose to the lips of its own accord."

"Today we have received a profound teaching."

The martial artists of Changsung Gate were shaken by Ak Chanseo's defeat, and yet the mood among them was one of acceptance. Jin-soo had not crushed him under overwhelming stats, nor had he steamrolled the match with high-level skills. He had simply overwhelmed Ak Chanseo's spear art with dual-sword technique, pure and unadorned. There was no pretext they could seize even if they wanted to quibble, and worse, Ak Chanseo himself—the man in charge of Changsung Gate's branch in the Starting City—had been the first to bow his head and declare that he had received instruction. Pile on excuses in a moment like this, claim some private moral victory, and the only one made ridiculous would be Ak Chanseo. That left a single conclusion.

"Your skill was truly extraordinary. My eyes have been opened."

"I would ask for instruction myself, but my own skill is too lacking to dare."

"I never knew the swordsmanship of Earth had reached such heights."

They were praising Jin-soo's ability. The more they praised him, the more Ak Chanseo's loss became the only natural outcome.

Same routine, every one of them. Jin-soo let out a hollow laugh at Changsung Gate's attitude. None of the people he had formed good ties with before his regression were here, and yet their temperament and their conduct were identical, as if struck from the same mold. Their fundamental spirit hasn't changed. Changsung Gate walked the righteous path. Pride could swell into arrogance with them, but they still knew where the line was. Thank goodness.

If the Changsung Gate of the present had not been the one he remembered—righteous only in its shell, heretical at the core—and had tried to erase him to bury Ak Chanseo's defeat, a storm of blood might well have followed. It did not.

"I'll keep the result of the spar a secret," Jin-soo said, his face calm.

"Ohh!"

"Our thanks!"

"Generous to the very heart."

The players of Changsung Gate fussed and exclaimed over his words.

Not that I meant to tell anyone. Not that I have anyone to tell. If word got out that he was strong, it would only multiply the annoyances waiting for him. By their measure, though, this must look like tremendous consideration.

Players from Moosung held honor in the highest regard. Defeat a strong opponent in a spar or a fight, and they were quick to boast of it; then others would coin some epithet dripping with florid praise—Cloud Dragon Sword Hero, Swift Blade Divine Sword, Lightning Sword Wanderer—and send it circulating. To Jin-soo they were nothing but cringeworthy titles, the sort that sounded as if a black flame dragon might burst from his left arm at any moment. Those from Moosung adored such splendid aliases and hungered to possess one. Half the time they treat whether you have an epithet as the measure of your skill. That Shin Sua had been called the Holy Saint before the regression could, in its way, be laid at the door of that same Moosung habit.

"Then I'll be going."

At that, the Changsung Gate players fussed all over again.

"Leaving already?"

"Stay a little longer."

"We will receive you with all our hearts, and you shall want for nothing."

"To see you depart like this truly grieves us."

They even wore wounded expressions as they spoke, and Jin-soo was dumbfounded. Since when were we acquainted? He didn't say it aloud. He knew they meant it in goodwill. People from Moosung overflow with romance, of all things.

From his perspective they had sparred once, and that was all. In their heads, though, two martial artists had crossed sword and spear, instruction had been bestowed, and he had even promised to keep the loser's defeat a secret—so they were no doubt telling themselves they had received a great favor. He had shown Changsung Gate goodwill, true enough, but it hardly amounted to a debt. I never gave them any instruction in the first place. On his end it had simply been a bout folded into the work of turning techniques into skills. Ak Chanseo and the rest had fallen into some grand misunderstanding and were thanking him so excessively that it was almost embarrassing.

"Enough! Our benefactor says he will depart. How dare you detain him?"

Ak Chanseo stepped forward.

What did I even do to be a benefactor? Jin-soo found it absurd, but he could hardly look into those eyes, brimming with gratitude, and tell the man outright that he was mistaken. Well. If it's good, it's good. Ak Chanseo's misunderstanding was considerable, but whatever the reason, Jin-soo had formed a good bond with Changsung Gate once more, just as he had before the regression. Nothing about that was bad for him.

"I shall look forward to our next meeting."

"Yes. Until next time."

"And this is but a small token of my sincerity. I hope you will accept it."

Ak Chanseo drew the ring from his finger and held it out.

A ring with a skill that increases mana recovery speed? It was a fairly rare item, and at level 525 it ranked quite high for the Tower's 200th floor.

"It's all right. Really."

It really was. Rare or not, the auction house was not without stock, and the price was nothing Jin-soo would feel.

"It is only a small gift for my benefactor. Please, accept it."

"Then thank you."

In the end ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he took the ring. Players from Moosung had a strong habit, in moments like this, of reading continued refusal as an insult.

"Then I'll take my leave."

Jin-soo offered a brief courtesy and walked out of Changsung Gate.

Not bad. Just awkward. His mana stat stood at a staggering 1,522. For someone like him, a gifted level 525 ring that raised mana recovery speed sat in an uncomfortable middle—too handy to throw away, too underwhelming to truly want. Nice to have, and no great loss without it. Spending a level-lock stack on it would be a waste, and the performance is middling besides. If the options had been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠extraordinary, perhaps. They weren't.

"You use this." He passed the ring to Shin Sua.

"Huh? Is it okay for me to take it? It was a gift."

"It's fine. Use it."

Ak Chanseo had given the ring largely as a gesture toward a good relationship going forward. Handing it to a party member was not the same as selling it off, and it shouldn't sour him. He might feel a little slighted. That can't be helped. Accepting the gift at all was already something.

"Thanks, Jin-soo."

Shin Sua smiled, took the ring, and slipped it onto her finger.

We'll rest properly for the day. There was something to do first. Let the summons out. He hadn't been able to release them while Changsung Gate's players had eyes on him. They had parted ways now, and the situation had changed.

"We're going hunting right away?" Shin Sua asked, startled, as he headed out of the city.

"Just letting the summons out. Then we come back in."

"Oh. All right."

Relief showed plainly on her face. After nothing but camping, she had finally eaten a proper meal, bathed in warm water, and meant to lie down on a soft bed and sleep deeply—and she seemed reassured that the plan had not fallen through. I'm tired too. Long stretches of roughing it piled fatigue on Jin-soo as well, which was why he had meant from the start to rest for a day. There are still things left to turn into skills, though.

The spar with Ak ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Chanseo had been something like a friendly match, so he had used only forms. Specialties that relied on shaped mana—sword force, guardian qi, Aura Blade, Aura Defense—had never been converted. Well. Today isn't the only day. Use them against monsters often enough and they would become skills on their own. No need to rush.

Jin-soo left the city, entered the hunting grounds, and moved as far as he could into a remote place empty of people. He meant to release the summons away from prying eyes.

Who?

Someone was trailing him and Shin Sua in secret.

Not a coincidence of paths. When they had first left the city and stepped into the hunting grounds, their routes might have overlapped by chance. To keep following even after they had moved into a deserted, out-of-the-way place could only mean some other scheme. Changsung Gate? If so, he was going to feel thoroughly rotten about it. It would mean the players of Changsung Gate, Ak Chanseo included, had staged an elaborate act to lower his guard. Wait, and I'll know. They might simply be PK players who made a regular habit of fleecing newcomers.

Having passed the situation to Shin Sua, Jin-soo put off the summons and hunted monsters while looking as much like a newcomer as he could manage. Leo and Kkami stayed quiet.

A rustle.

The moment he finished the performance of struggling through a pack of monsters, the ones who had been tailing them stepped out without a shred of shame.

"Hey. You two. You with Changsung Gate now?" The one who looked to be their leader eyed Jin-soo as he asked.

"And what would you do with that? If you've got business, tell me why you were following me."

The leader's face twisted, vicious.

"A brat still wet behind the ears, squeaking at me like we're equals? You don't even grasp what kind of situation this is, do you?"

"It's 'cause your face looks too soft, that's why."

"Right? How much of a pushover did he take you for, staying that bold even now?"

"He just pegged you for a dumbass. Heh heh heh!"

Egged on by his companions, the leader's face grew uglier still.

"I was going to persuade you with words first and only discipline you if you refused, but you've earned yourself a beating. Business can wait. I'll tell you after the lesson."

The words were barely done before his fist shot toward Jin-soo with a sharp whoosh.

A clean slash. "Aaaagh!"

Baekcheonsingeom sheared the leader's right arm away without a hitch.

"Gwangchu's arm!"

"He's no ordinary man!"

"Attack together!"

Their judgment was remarkably quick. Weapons came free at once, and sword qi of every color streamed out in torrents as they swung at Jin-soo and Shin Sua.

A ringing clash. Jin-soo triggered a protection skill and covered Shin Sua. She, just as swiftly, cast blessing and protection over herself and him.

A good chance to turn mana-shaping into a skill.

He launched himself forward, Baekcheonsingeom and the Blood-Sucking Sword both in motion. Another slash. The aura gathered along the Blood-Sucking Sword settled into a defined blade and compressed in a flash.

New skills were born one after another.

This time he fired sword force from Baekcheonsingeom in the shape of spheres. The instant those spheres struck flesh, they detonated.

The blast roared. "Aaaagh!"

"My arm!"

"Guhk!"

And in that same instant, new skills took shape once more.

Good. Perhaps because they were forms of shaped mana, the conversion came quickly.

"That one's a monster! A monster!"

"R-run!"

"Uwaaaaah!"

They had read the situation in a heartbeat, and the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ones who had charged in were just as quick to flee.

Can't let them go.

Jin-soo cast the curses and bound the bodies of the fleeing enemies.

"I can't see!"

"My f-feet—what's wrong with them?"

"My head feels like it's going to split!"

"H-how is he using curse skills?"

His curses had grown fiercer as his mana stat and mental strength stat rose, and as the curse skills themselves climbed in level.

"Grrgh! I'm going to live! I said I'm going to live!"

One tank, high in curse resistance, broke free of the rest and fled on stubbornly alone.

The air cracked and locked into ice.

The blast roared—and two mage attack skills, unleashed one after the other, ended his life in an instant.

"Hiiiek!"

"This can't be."

"Jinpyeong is dead."

Witnessing the death of the tank who had tried to flee, the enemies lost all will to fight in a heartbeat.