Episode 39: Sword Saint - Heavenly Flow Sword Technique
Episode 39: Sword Saint - Heavenly Flow Sword Technique
Sword Saint.
The head of the Twilight Guild, and one of the top five powerhouses in Korea in terms of pure martial prowess.
An absolute powerhouse who holds the record for clearing countless gates solo, and the hunter who made the greatest contribution in the war against the villain who burned down Chuncheon.
He was also one of the few people who stood with me to break the corrupt practices of the existing guilds.
Though he is over 70, he is still an active S-class hunter who sweeps away monsters and villains.
And such a man was pouring tea in front of me.
"It's safflower tea. It's made by drying safflowers that only bloom in A-rank dungeons. They say it's effective for fatigue recovery and anti-aging."
"Thank you."
I received the teacup he handed me.
A heavy silence followed.
"You sold my number. To a loan shark, no less."
Slurp.
"There were unavoidable circumstances."
"Are you thinking of returning to the hunter world? If you cause trouble now, Daesung will come after you. You know as well as I do that those guys are ruthless."
He was one of the few people, along with Bong-sik-sunbae, who knew that Kim Si-woo was Shadow Mask.
"I have no intention of returning. I won't do hunter work, ever. I've suffered enough at their hands. I wouldn't go back even if it killed me."
"Is that so? Then why did you sell my name? And why did you beat up those loan sharks?"
"Did you see it?"
"The moment I got the call, I sent guild members. By the time they arrived, it was already cleaned up. I told my guild members to transport those guys to the hospital. I also made sure they were silenced."
"You went through the trouble."
"That's nothing. But tell me. How on earth did you get involved with that child?"
By 'that child,' he must mean Yoo A-ra.
It wouldn't have been difficult for the Twilight Guild to find that much information from a loan shark.
"I'm just helping her because her situation is pitiful."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Be careful. That child is being targeted by several guilds."
"I suppose so. She proved herself in the 2nd exam."
"Turning a repeater into an overnight star... What a waste of talent."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Hahaha! My apologies. I'm old, so I made a slip of the tongue."
Slurp.
The safflower tea was astringent.
They say good medicine tastes bitter.
I frowned at the unpleasant taste lingering in my mouth.
"But why did you call me? I don't think you called me just to talk about this."
"There is something I want to ask of you."
"Is this the price for the trouble?"
"That's right."
"Go ahead. But I can't work in the field."
"I know. Those guys are showing an obsession bordering on fixation toward you, after all."
The Sword Saint, who had been chuckling, took out an object placed under the table.
"What is this?"
"This is my request."
"Are you asking me to make a delivery?"
"I heard you've been working as an appraiser. And that you're the best in Korea at it, too."
"Word travels fast."
"This world is small, friend."
Inside the box the Sword Saint opened, a jade fan was neatly folded.
"A fan... I see."
"That's right. I want you to check if this is the real thing."
The Sword Saint's face hardened coldly as he spoke.
It was the same for me.
I knew well how much a jade fan meant to the Sword Saint.
I had heard that the Sword Saint, who was over seventy this year, had a granddaughter.
In this godforsaken world where gates open and monsters pour out, the Sword Saint, despite being an Awakened, was no exception to losing family.
After his son's family died, she was the only one left.
She earned the nickname Bashosen because she used wind magic while holding a jade fan, and she was the Sword Saint's reliable partner.
And four years ago, she, an S-class hunter, went missing inside a dungeon.
Not a single word had been heard from her for four years since then.
Rumors circulated that she might be dead, but the Sword Saint believed she would return.
But Bashosen did not return, and only her item appeared in the world like this.
This meant only one thing.
It meant that Bashosen, the owner of this item, had died inside the dungeon.
"Who brought this?"
"Daesung brought it. What they said when they handed it over is even more ridiculous. They told me not to show my face in Daesung's raid dungeons anymore. They said if I went against Daesung, I'd end up the same way."
"Did you just let that guy be?"
"Haha, do you think I would? I half-killed the guy who brought this fan."
Should have killed him entirely.
The Sword Saint gnashed his teeth and muttered in a low voice.
"I want to know if this fan belongs to my granddaughter. I think you would be able to tell."
"What do you plan to do if this is real?"
"What else, I'll go to war with Daesung."
"......Understood."
I took the jade fan in my hand.
A heavy weight settled in my hand.
I opened and folded the fan, examining it carefully here and there.
The silence was heavy, and the gaze staring at me was full of heat.
After fiddling with the fan for a long time, I looked at the status window that appeared before my eyes.
[Jade Fan - Estimated Rank B]
[Contains the power of wind.]
[If the wearer has wind-type skills, skill effects increase by 3 times.]
[Status: Forgery (Replica)]
It's a fake.
This jade fan was not Bashosen's item.
"It's a forgery."
"A fake?"
"Yes."
"Huuu....... If you say so, then it must be."
The Sword Saint let out a sigh of relief.
"Damn bastards, did they think I didn't have the ability to discern it?"
"I don't know about that. Perhaps they didn't know it was a forgery either."
"Hmm, that could be the case."
"But if this forgery was made by Daesung, there's a chance they have clues about the real one."
"If that were the case, they would have boasted about it. They would have said they had the real thing. That's the kind of guys they are."
"That is true."
A moment of silence.
It was the deep silence of a grandfather worrying about his granddaughter.
"In the end, does this mean we can't tell if my granddaughter is alive or not with just this?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Tsk......."
"For now, if it's not an unreasonable demand, I think it's better to do as Daesung says. There's no need to show the Sword Saint-nim's hand to those guys."
"I want to flip the table right now, but if I do that, all my guild members would have to risk their lives. For now, I'll pretend to comply and check if they really have the genuine article."
The Sword Saint let out a deep sigh and looked at me.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, I won't just be dragged around."
"Not at all. We help each other out."
But.
"If you're truly grateful, I'd like you to grant me a favor as well."
"Speak. I will grant you anything."
"I need a manual for vanguards, a swordsmanship manual that you created yourself."
A swordsmanship manual for vanguards created by the Sword Saint.
It was a manual absolutely necessary for Lee Hye-ri, who had to tank without a shield.
The Sword Saint possessed skills that no one could follow in close-quarters combat.
The essence containing all his know-how and training methods.
I wanted that.
That was the reason I gave them the Sword Saint's number.
Everything was an intentional act.
I thought that if those arrogant thugs called, the Sword Saint would know it was my doing, and he would naturally call me.
I was one of the four people who knew his number.
'I didn't think I'd be appraising his granddaughter's fan, though.'
A bit of a lucky punch was added to the mix.
Thanks to that, I earned the right to demand the Sword Saint's secret manual faster than expected.
It doesn't matter if he doesn't give it to me right now.
I can just make him give it to me next time.
"Hehe, you want this old man's manual?"
"Yes."
"That's a steep price for an appraisal."
"I've as good as told you whether your granddaughter is alive or not."
"Isn't it still uncertain?"
"If it weren't for me, you would have thought she was dead by now."
"That's not wrong......."
"If you give me the manual, I'll appraise the Jade Fan for free in the future."
"......One more thing, if a clue about my granddaughter's survival emerges, promise me you will help me and go into the dungeon."
"Are you serious? Daesung won't just sit by, you know?"
"If those bastards act up, I will block them."
"......Understood."
The Sword Saint's swordsmanship manual was worth that much.
For someone like me who is tutoring, there is nothing better than a textbook like this.
"Wait a moment. I will bring it to you myself."
"Understood."
And as promised, the Sword Saint handed me his swordsmanship manual.
"There are only 5 copies of this in the world. I am handing the third copy to you."
"It's an honor."
"Use it well. And don't misuse it."
"Don't worry. I'll use it more brilliantly than anyone else."
"If you need help, contact me."
Having finished my greetings to the Sword Saint, I stood up from my seat.
My business here was done.
I had to go do my own work.
"Then, I'll be going."
[Thousand Flow Sword Technique]
A swordsmanship manual containing the doctrine of utilizing a thousand flows.
It is a swordsmanship that utilizes softness and speed, and I thought it would suit Lee Hye-ri better than anyone else.
Originally, I had planned to visit the Sword Saint once Lee Hye-ri's stamina had increased sufficiently.
'A blessing in disguise.'
I obtained the sword technique manual from him faster than I had expected.
I had heard that the Sword Saint was a sword master who taught swordsmanship even before the gates opened.
I also heard that the body of the warrior who trained in swordsmanship awakened, and he had been engaging in unbelievable battles using the sword.
This swordsmanship manual, [Thousand Flow Sword Technique], is where he wrote down his realizations and know-how.
'I've obtained a treasure.'
His obsession with his only blood relative, his granddaughter, gave me an opportunity.
I quietly opened the book.
-Flow, if you can read the flow of attack and defense, you can fulfill your role in any battle.
It was a preface worthy of the concept of the Thousand Flow Sword Technique, which pursues wave-like swordsmanship.
I quietly read the manual of the Thousand Flow Sword Technique.
Most of it was about the basics of swordsmanship.
How to fight, and what movements are effective for dodging and countering an enemy's attacks.
I felt like I understood why the Sword Saint was so willing to give it to me.
'If you don't know the profound principles of the Thousand Flow Sword Technique, it would just be a simple manual.'
But for me, this was enough.
Because I wasn't expecting Lee Hye-ri to have a deep understanding of the Thousand Flow Sword Technique.
For an evasion tanker who has to steal the enemy's attention with appropriate attacks and evasion and take all the attacks, nothing suited her better than the basics of the Thousand Flow Sword Technique.
For Lee Hye-ri, who has strong dealer characteristics, the doctrine of this sword technique will give her many realizations.
That simply drawing aggro by dealing damage isn't what a tanker is.
'To teach her properly.......'
I'll have to understand it properly first.
It seems I have one more thing to study.
Damn it.
Vrrr!
Another text message came in, but I didn't bother to check it.
It's probably Lee Hye-ri sending me the result of her success.
I'll just check them all at once on the day of the tutoring.
Right now, figuring out the Thousand Flow Sword Technique was more important.
"Wow, seriously......."
Lee Hye-ri gnashed her teeth.
This expensive tutor had no intention of looking at her text.
"Is he trying to pick a fight with me?"
The competitive spirit that had been sleeping in Lee Hye-ri's heart boiled over.
"Just you wait. I'll succeed no matter what and knock you down a peg!"
Lee Hye-ri clenched her fists tightly.