Swordsmanship Training # 6
Swordsmanship Training # 6
—Throb.
A dull ache spread through my chest.
The reason he needed to get stronger.
The sincerity I felt in his eyes.
Orphan. A kid who lost his family. Piecing those fragments together, you'd reach one conclusion.
"...Revenge."
He lost his family, so he wanted revenge and needed to be strong? Did Kim Geun-cheol really resolve to get stronger to avenge his parents?
"Just like me...?"
Woo Yu-ri murmured, her voice hollow.
She'd lost family, too. Her brother had a bit of a clumsy side. His skills were decent, but he was killed in action five years ago.
The surviving Awakened of devastated Russia colluded with China's petty warlords and monsterkin from another dimension, infiltrated every nation, and flooded them with a drug made from monster byproducts.
A drug that let ordinary people feel a fragment of mana.
It couldn't actually Awaken anyone, of course, but it gave people a taste of the unknown sensation called mana while delivering intensely addictive pleasure. It spread like wildfire. Judgment impaired by the drug, people fanatically swallowed the bullshit that enough doses would Awaken them.
The addiction wasn't the scariest part.
If you took too much, you'd start mutating into something like a monster. Your body twisted. Carapace erupted out of your flesh. Mindless beasts driven by hunger, they attacked everyone around them.
Parasitic Weapons—engineered by the monsterkin.
A weapon disguised as a drug.
A massive subjugation campaign followed, and in that fight, Woo Yu-ri's brother was killed. She swore, through her tears, that she would grow strong.
She swore she would become a teacher formidable enough that none of her students would ever die again. She'd strengthen the Awakened forces, then march with them to the front lines.
"Ah."
She'd said a terrible thing, knowing nothing.
"No, I mean—"
Guilt pressed down on her.
If she'd known the whole situation, she'd never have said that.
She'd only snapped because she thought it was too tragic seeing some half-baked kid throw his life away on the battlefield.
And she'd insulted someone who'd sworn revenge for his family.
Weak or not, if he had that fire and put in the work, he'd get stronger eventually... She'd been ignorant and said something cruel. You can't take back words already out of your mouth. A flush of heat spread up her spine, and regret oozed in—the thick, creeping regret of having done something irrevocable.
"Shit..."
Her chest throbbed.
Woo Yu-ri threw herself onto her bed.
"I didn't know..."
She'd just—she'd said it because he seemed a little bumbling, that was all.
* * *
"SII-HOO!!! COME OOOUT!!!"
"STOP SCREAMING IN THE DORMS!"
"Hurry up and get out here."
Si-hoo came right out, and we walked to class together.
"Yo. Si-hoo. That sword stuff you taught me yesterday? I practiced it more in the dorm last night. You wanna check my stance out in a bit? I think I've basically become a sword master."
"Geun-cheol... no matter how I look at it, that's bullshit."
"Huh? Show you? Right here?"
"DON'T TAKE SWORD STANCES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET!"
"Man, you won't let me do anything. Si-hoo. Let me tell you. Street or not, if I can check my progress in pursuit of knowledge, the eyes of random strangers mean nothing to me."
"PLEASE CARE A LITTLE!"
How is that even possible, though.
Anyway, Si-hoo and I walked into the classroom. Ken and Brian greeted us the second we stepped inside.
"Yo, Scream Man's here."
"Ooh! Madness Screamer! Nice to see youuu!"
"Uh, yeah. Good to see you guys."
I fired back a light greeting and headed for my seat.
"Hey, Ryu Cheon-hwi? Your buddy's here—you're not gonna say hi? Is that how you treat a friend?"
"What?! What nonsense are you spewing first thing in the morning! Who's your friend!"
"Me."
"Shut your mouth!"
I'd offered him a very warm hello, but Ryu Cheon-hwi was still prickly as ever.
"You son of a bitch, have you forgotten the cola connection?"
"You Taliban bastard, you've got a lot of nerve bringing up that cola! I'll buy you explosives by the truckload and have them delivered, so stop talking to me!"
"Oh fuck yeah, jackpot! Deliver 'em to my dorm!"
"God damn it!"
Ryu Cheon-hwi folded his arms and turned toward the window. Wait, is this asshole actually gonna send me cola?
Whatever. Morning theory class was about to start, so I was getting ready.
—Thump.
Suddenly someone stepped up next to me.
"Hm?"
I checked the shoes first. Big sneakers. Then black training pants, almost like leggings. I looked up—Woo Yu-ri. The swordswoman who'd said something harsh to me.
"What's up? Woo Yu-ri?"
"...Hey."
She called my name while pointedly avoiding my eyes, kind of fidgety.
Did she need something?
"Uh. Yeah."
"You... said you wanted to learn swordsmanship."
"Wait—! Don't tell me!"
She's gonna teach me!!!
"You'd really teach me?!"
"Didn't you ask me first?"
"Yes! Yes! Thank you! Seriously, thank you!"
I did not expect her to agree to teach me the very next day!
Maybe she's softer than I thought. Woo Yu-ri—no, Milky—boundless gratitude started welling up inside me.
Nice.
Milky's supposed to be the heir of a distinguished swordsmanship house, right? That's not just helpful—that's basically guaranteed to be a massive win. Learning Taekwondo costs over a hundred thousand won a month these days, so if a friend's willing to give me lessons, nothing beats that.
"Whoa! I didn't think you'd say yes right away! Seriously, thank you! If I learn from you, I'll basically just—boom—become a master!"
"You really are... Hah. Forget it. Hey. Kim Geun-cheol."
"Uh, yeah."
"So... about yesterday."
"Yesterday?"
"The harsh stuff I said... I, uh..."
Is she trying to apologize?
You good-hearted idiot.
"I'm sorry. I was just kind of frustrated and I..."
She looked genuinely bothered. When she feels this guilty, it makes me feel worse.
I decided to accept the apology and reassure her it was fine.
That's just how I'm wired—when I see someone who looks sincerely sorry, I end up wanting to comfort them.
"Heh heh heh, hey. Don't worry about it. Friends say stuff. Woo Yu-ri, if you think about it, I was kind of freaking out too much on my end. Totally understandable. It's fine. No need to apologize."
After I said that to comfort her,
"You..."
she looked at me with this touched expression.
"Heh heh heh, Woo Yu-ri. Right? Friends don't sweat that stuff. I'm fine. What's there to apologize for?"
"...You're fine."
"Yeah. I'm fine. You've gotta let that stuff go."
"..."
"Anyway, Woo Yu-ri? You're teaching me starting today?"
I asked.
"Hoo."
Woo Yu-ri let out a breath and answered.
"If you want, I can teach you after school starting today. But you. You sure you can keep up?"
"Obviously! When I have a chance to learn, I learn as hard as I can! I'm a wild stallion charging headlong toward his goal!"
"Fine. Then after school, come find me."
"YAHOO!!!!"
Pure joy burst out of me.
This was way too good.
Should I treat her to a meal or something?
"Yo, yo! Yu-ri! I'll treat you to a meal or whatever! Follow me at lunch!"
"T-Treat me? No way! Who's treating who here, seriously... I'll be there!"
"Yeah."
—Whoosh!
Woo Yu-ri spun and headed straight back to her seat.
"Heh heh heh, this good-hearted goof."
Great opportunity just landed in my lap. I'll learn properly while I can. Even a one-month crash course should let me fake some swordsmanship basics.
"...Geun-cheol."
Si-hoo came over while I was still celebrating.
"Hey! Si-hoo! You hear that! Yu-ri's gonna teach me swordsmanship!"
"I said I'd teach you."
"Learning from both is double jackpot, baby!"
"..."
For a second, a shadow fell over Lee Si-hoo's face. Why?
"Hey, hey! Don't get mad! You're seriously getting mad just because I've got two teachers now?"
"Geun-cheol... you are really..."
"Like I said, I feel bad only leaning on you, Si-hoo."
"I keep telling you it's fine."
"Heh heh heh, still, man. Guy-to-guy, that's a thing. Don't worry. I'll get stronger no matter what."
"Guy-to-guy... Sigh. Anyway, Geun-cheol. Even if Woo Yu-ri is teaching you, I'm not going easy on you. I'm gonna put you through it, too."
"Yeah. Got it. Double the training, double the strength. That's just how it works."
I do feel bad, like I'm leaning too hard on Si-hoo.
"I swear I'll surpass you."
"You're seriously overdoing it. I'm going to run Geun-cheol into the ground. Two masters? Unforgivable!"
"I'll learn properly and pay you back."
Anyway, when someone tries hard to teach me, I try hard to learn. That's Kim Geun-cheol. If my friends are helping me in every way they can and I just curl up and do nothing, I'm a piece of shit.
So I kept bullshitting with Si-hoo until Instructor Lee So-ra walked in. While we were talking, Leona came over.
"Kim Geun-cheol? Which day works better, Saturday or Sunday?"
"Ah. Leona. What?"
"Sat-ur-day or Sun-day, which works better?"
Right, the thing where she asked me to set aside some weekend time.
"Hold on. Lemme check with Si-hoo first. Hey. Si-hoo. When do you wanna meet up?"
"I'm fine any time on the weekend..."
"What's this? You have plans with Lee Si-hoo, too?"
"Ah. For now."
"Hmm, is that so?"
Leona looked at Si-hoo.
Si-hoo was the one who spoke first.
"Leona? Mind if I ask what you're doing with Geun-cheol? I need to figure out when to meet him."
"Heh, if I had to explain, I'd simply call it 'the hobby of a noble.' Ah. If you're interested, Lee Si-hoo, would you like to join us? Controlling Kim Geun-cheol alone seemed likely to prove difficult."
"Join? Yeah! That's great! If you come too, I'd be thrilled!"
"Then the three of us will go together on Saturday."
Si-hoo and Leona started sorting out the schedule on their own.
But what the hell are we doing that requires controlling me?
"Hey, Leona. What exactly are we going to do?"
"I told you, didn't I? The hobby of a noble."
"Don't tell me it's something like boar hunting."
"Why would I hunt boars!!! Have you ever seen a young lady who hunts that kind of thing!!! Are you seriously saying 'boar hunting' right now!"
Seems like she'd be good at hunting monsters, though.
"You said it's a noble hobby..."
"Hmph! Do you think I'm some medieval noble! A modern noble, I said!"
—Squeak.
"Morning assembly will begin. Take your seats."
Anyway, Instructor Lee So-ra came in. All right, let's focus on class again today.