Swordsmanship Training # 5
Swordsmanship Training # 5
Anyway, I watched my classmates spar with my friends.
—BANG!
—BOOM!
"Aaaaaaaaaah!"
"Hey, hey! Wait!"
"Urgh!"
Cheerful crashing sounds mixed with the screams of my classmates.
Still, aside from maybe half of them, even though they were Awakened, they didn't seem to have any real combat experience. They looked clumsy.
"So that's what I looked like."
Watching them fall while screaming was unsightly, but never funny. Because that's what being a beginner is. High school kids who just started learning—how good could they possibly be?
The best they can do is scream and fall, just like me.
Everyone starts that way. Expecting a beginner to be good is straight-up shameless. Hell, even soldiers go through a month of boot camp. No matter how Awakened you are, a first-year high schooler isn't gonna be skilled at person-to-person combat.
Before this, my whole experience with sword fighting was swinging a broomstick around with my friends back in elementary school. It's not like I'm some kind of heaven-sent prodigy destined to be a swordmaster the second I pick up a blade.
"Yeah, exactly. It's only natural for a beginner to be clumsy."
"Geun-cheol. You can say 'screaming like that is only natural' to try and wipe away the embarrassment, but the fact that you screamed doesn't go away."
"Hey, you bastard! You really gonna do that right next to me?!"
"Heh heh."
That asshole Si-hoo was grinning like an idiot, just roasting me.
Still, this gave me a rough idea of our classmates' levels. The talented kids. The hopeless ones. And the ordinary ones.
Where would I land? Well... I'm not at the very bottom. A bit above the bottom. A little below the middle, maybe? That's fine. I'll work my ass off and aim to hit the middle by the end of first semester.
I've always been absolute garbage at book studying, but when it comes to physical stuff like this, I can pour everything into it.
"Don't worry, Geun-cheol. I'll teach you bit by bit. You'll improve at swordsmanship too if you keep at it."
"Damn right. Right now I'm bursting with the drive to learn... I'll soak up everything I don't know and turn it into my own knowledge."
"Yeah. That's a good attitude. You need that if you want to get stronger."
I nodded in satisfaction, and Leona spoke up from beside me.
"Well, Kim Geun-cheol's ambition is quite commendable for a class rep. Try your best and aim for the upper ranks. I hope your efforts match your drive."
"Heh heh heh, I was planning on it without you saying so."
Really.
"I'm going to try hard."
"Huh?"
"Because I have a goal."
"..."
"Hm?"
"...A goal, huh."
I noticed Leona was touching her lips with her fingers.
"So it really is that kind of thing?"
"What kind of thing?"
"No... never mind."
"Why'd you stop talking mid-sentence?"
"It's nothing."
Leona turned away.
"Getting consumed by revenge... I'm not sure that's a good thing."
"What? Revenge?"
Leona's got another weird misunderstanding going on! I can tell she's making some assumption about my parents, but my mom and dad are alive and well!
Haah.
Man, explaining this is getting exhausting. If I react every single time, there'll be no end to it. Let's just brush it off with a joke.
"Hey, Leona."
"Yes?"
"If one day I reach the level I'm aiming for."
"Huh."
Like I'm playing it cool and manly.
"Will you accept my meal ticket?"
I struck a cool pose and lowered my voice.
"N-No! This isn't a proposal, why are you talking in such a greasy voice, you Public-Confession Fiend Geun-cheol! Stop acting like a damn fool! It's embarrassing!"
"Who said I was proposing! And you're an angel—just getting close to you makes me go blind...!"
Too holy to even approach!
"Hmph! 'Angel' this, 'angel' that! Stop talking crazy!"
"Do you even know what happened to Icarus when he tried to touch the sun!!!"
"Why am I the sun!!! The Kim Geun-cheol who probably doesn't know a thing about Greek and Roman mythology besides the Artemis bathing scene is really quoting the fall of Icarus, huh!"
"Who said you could say such a harsh thing!!!"
I preferred the Hercules breastfeeding scene, okay!
Wait, but I've noticed something while talking with Leona.
"But Leona. Since you brought it up, isn't your way of talking weirder than mine?"
"What on earth do you mean? Are you saying that communicating through screams like the monsterkin Kim Geun-cheol is better than normal conversation?"
"What, am I a bat that communicates through screams now?! Anyway! Leona, are you really from Europe? You're way too good at Korean, aren't you?"
I've been curious about this for a while.
"Well, I am indeed from Europe. I'm from the Kainus Family, one of the pillars of Mister Dominators who rule Europe. Heh."
—Swish.
Leona put one hand on her hip and tossed her long silver hair behind her neck with the other, acting all arrogant.
"Does that have something to do with Korea? You're, like, totally native."
I wanted to drop a Jake Sully and Na'vi joke here, but I have no idea if Avatar exists in this world, so I held back.
"Of course it does. My mother is Korean."
"What?!"
She was mixed-race!
"You're mixed?! So did you live in Korea a long time?"
"Well, I suppose so. I spent about half my time in Europe and half in Korea. But my mother said she preferred living in Europe... Oh."
Leona suddenly covered her mouth with her hand.
No.
You.
Wait.
"Uh, uh. Miss Leona?"
"Sor."
Sor?
"S-Sorry. I, I accidentally talked about my parents...!"
"Hey, hey! Don't cry! Don't you dare shed any angel tears!"
Tears were welling up in Leona's eyes!
This whole orphan storyline is no joke!
"If you tell me not to cry, I want to cry more! Kim Geun-cheol, you must have had it so hard...!"
"Who're you making fun of! I said I'm fine!"
"There's no way you're fine, you tough-guy-act Geun-cheol! Sobbing-triggerer!!!"
How many nicknames do I have!
"Le-Leona! Calm down! Geun-cheol is fine!"
"Lee Si-hoo! You look after him as his friend...! Sniff! I can't do this anymore! I'm going to go wash my face!"
—Fwoosh!
Leona left that behind and kicked off the ground, sprinting away.
"I'm telling you I'm fine...!"
"Uh, Geun-cheol."
"Yeah. What, Si-hoo."
"If it's hard... you can talk to me, you know."
Not you too, Si-hoo!
* * *
Anyway, the sparring ended, and Instructor Lee So-ra's individual review time began.
From what she explained, she'd randomly paired us up for sparring and then observed us the whole time, analyzing our performances. Instructor Lee So-ra gave each student proper feedback, one by one.
A real adult is an adult, you know.
When you watch her, she really thinks about her students and teaches well. If there's any adult I respect, it's Instructor Lee So-ra.
"Kim Geun-cheol."
"Yes! Instructor Lee So-ra, ma'am!"
"Are you ready to receive feedback?"
"Of course! Please think of me as a sponge from now on. Whether it's feedback or advice, I'll soak it all up and make it my own."
"First, reduce the screaming."
"Why would you say such a harsh thing!!!!"
So mean!
"Pfft...! Geun-cheol! Please!"
Behind me, Si-hoo was snickering.
"Also, your flinching is excessive. You're overly afraid of the opponent's attacks. Well, everyone's afraid of getting hit, but Kim Geun-cheol needs to rein that in a bit."
"Grk... yes. You're right. I'll fix that part."
"It doesn't look like something you'll fix in a day, so work hard on it. As for swordsmanship, you clearly have zero foundation, so I won't give any separate advice until proper instruction begins."
So she won't give advice until I've learned something, since there's nothing to work with.
Reasonable.
"Yes. I'll keep that in mind."
"Well, you've got a good look in your eyes. Kim Geun-cheol has a desire to improve, so you don't need to be disappointed in your current skill level. Everyone starts out that way. You'll get stronger quickly."
"I wasn't disappointed at all. I'm just having fun, honestly. I'm learning about myself."
"You really do talk a lot... and do something about the bravado. Next."
Yes, ma'am.
So, the sparring session passed like that.
The next basic subject classes also went smoothly. And then came the happiest time in the world—going home.
"Kyah!"
All I have to do now is hit the gym a bit, go to the training grounds, head back to the dorm, practice swordsmanship while watching some videos, do a little meditation, then sleep.
School life is seriously brutal.
How come there's so much to do?
I didn't even work this hard during my military service.
"Si-hoo. You're hitting the gym today, right?"
"Yeah, I am. Hey, Geun-cheol. Speaking of which, wanna train together today?"
"Swordsmanship? Awesome!"
Looks like Si-hoo's gonna teach me today.
"Ah, but learning swordsmanship on top of that makes me feel way too guilty."
"I'll take a meal ticket as payment."
"Expensive! Too expensive! I'd have to go into debt for this!"
The lesson fee is insane!
"Geun-cheol. You might not realize it, but learning from this 'Lee Si-hoo' is worth that much."
"Yeah, I guess that's true. How many meal tickets?"
"Heh heh, but since you're my friend, Geun-cheol, I'll just do it for free. As if I'd really take your precious meal tickets."
"THANK!!! YOU!!!"
"Quiet! Quiet, quiet! Geun-cheol, quiet! That's an episode, an episode!"
Joy-induced episodes are always encouraged. Anyway, we skipped the gym and headed into the training ground together.
"Alright, Geun-cheol. First, watch my posture and copy me."
"Got it."
—Sching.
I grabbed my sword and copied Si-hoo's stance. A posture with one step forward and the blade aimed straight ahead. Kind of like a kendo stance.
"What we heroes have to deal with is... monsters with carapaces, legs, or tentacles. And monsterkin that act a lot like people. And, finally, actual human villains. Because our enemies are so varied, ordinary swordsmen learn a standardized swordsmanship style first, then modify and apply it on the spot depending on the opponent."
"Hm... really?"
Naturally, you'd have to handle every enemy differently.
"That's why the basics are so important. You need to learn the fundamentals of using a sword so you can find an answer and fight in any situation."
"Just hearing that is amazing, Si-hoo! I feel like martial enlightenment is just flooding into my head right now!"
"Cut the theatrics! You can't get agitated when you're learning swordsmanship! A mind like still water is essential!"
"Okay. My mind is instantly calmed."
My excitement for learning had slipped out for a second, but I listened to Si-hoo and suppressed it right away.
"But, Si-hoo."
"Yeah?"
"We're about to learn swordsmanship, right?"
"What about it?"
"Doesn't this swordsmanship have, like, a name?"
"A name?"
Si-hoo tilted his head.
"You know, like a school or something. 'This is the swordsmanship of such-and-such family!' or 'the swordsmanship of this school!'"
From what I could tell, this world had that kind of stuff.
"...Ah."
But Si-hoo gave a bit of an odd reaction.
Like he hesitated for a moment.
What's this? Did my question make him realize he almost leaked his family's secret sword art?
"Si-hoo. Just in case I'm asking—do you have some rule about not leaking your family's secret techniques?"
"Wha, wha, wha, what?!"
Is that really it?
"No! It's not that! First, the basics! The fundamentals of swordsmanship! I'm talking about stuff you can learn just by watching YouTube!"
"Well, if that's the case."
That's a relief.
"Let's go, Si-hoo! Down the path of the Sword Saint!"
"...Sword Saint."
Si-hoo hesitated again at that.
This guy definitely has some family secret stuff going on!
* * *
—Click click click.
I logged in and opened my inbox.
"It's here."
I had submitted a simple request right around when the sparring session ended. To find out what kind of guy this Kim Geun-cheol is. In short, I had his background investigated.
What school he attended, when he awakened.
"..."
Actually, commissioning something like this just to look into someone is unnatural in itself. Even if it's a simple matter for the heir of the Woo family, unnatural is still unnatural.
Even so—
—I'm telling you, I have a reason to get stronger!
Those words had been nagging at me, so I looked into it—
"Bullshit. It's his fault for spouting nonsense at me. If it turns out this guy is some kind of weirdo, I'm gonna make sure he can't even squeak."
Woo Yu-ri opened the inbox and skimmed through the investigation results.
But.
"Wh-What?"
Woo Yu-ri.
[Enrollment: Hanbit Orphanage Elementary Division]
[Enrollment: Dream Village Orphanage Elementary Division]
[Enrolled: Dr. Chaplain Orphanage Elementary Division]
[Graduated: Areumdaun Orphanage Elementary Division]
[Enrollment: Kind Heart Orphanage Middle Division]
[Enrolled: Ancient Batista Orphanage Middle Division]
[Graduated: Bright Courtyard Orphanage Middle Division]
She was taken aback.
"O-Orphanage...? What, he bounced around this much? Wait."
An overwhelming record of ping-ponging between orphanages.
Which meant.
"He was really an orphan...?"
In that instant, she remembered what she had said.