The Ponytail Girl Is Too Strong (3)
The Ponytail Girl Is Too Strong (3)
Getting Ponytail Girl to cooperate.
I never expected it to work on the first try.
I figured I'd have to switch up my approach and attempt it maybe ten times before barely pulling it off.
Joy swells in my chest.
Is this where I finally start getting seriously stronger?
If this were a novel, it'd probably say something like, 'The great conqueror of the Tower. His first step had at last begun.'
"Name."
"Huh?"
"Your name. What is it?"
"Ah. I'm Kim Jun-ho."
I'd been spacing out and didn't answer Ponytail Girl right away.
Come to think of it, why is she speaking so casually to me? Rude.
Of course, I didn't let it show on my face.
I'm the one in need here, so I've gotta bend a little, right?
"Please tell me your name too."
Still, I should at least know her name. I can't just keep calling her Ponytail Girl forever.
"...Choi Ji-won."
Ponytail Girl—no, Choi Ji-won—answered curtly.
Choi Ji-won. Choi Ji-won, huh. A gender-neutral name. Could be a man's name, like the scholar Park Ji-won. Could be a woman's name, like the actress Kim Ji-won.
It struck me as a name that suits her boyish charm pretty well. Choi Ji-won. I'd better remember it.
"Here."
Choi Ji-won led me to the corner of the clearing where she'd been swinging her sword the whole time.
"Hold the sword. As comfortably as you can."
"...Okay."
I held the sword awkwardly, just like before.
"Swing."
Woong.
The sword makes a sound that is not threatening at all.
"Relax your shoulders. Spread your legs. Again."
Woong.
"Your grip is strange. Don't let your wrist wobble. Again."
Wooong.
"Again."
"Again."
"Again."
Every time I swung the sword, Choi Ji-won pointed out something to fix and said, "Again."
This wasn't exactly the swordsmanship lesson I'd imagined... but it's fine.
Hwung!
This time, the sound was fairly menacing. My stance is pretty decent too.
Considering it hasn't even been thirty minutes since I started swinging a sword clumsily, this is staggering progress.
No wonder. Before the regression, I'd handled a sword and gotten a rough feel for how to swing it.
Hiding my skill is part of the act too.
Choi Ji-won probably isn't teaching me with a serious mindset. She likely sees this as a way to kill time.
But if she teaches me and discovers I have talent?
If she sees that my absorption speed is unusual?
She might feel like seriously training me. Basically, I'm cosplaying as a talent freak.
Now, marvel at my talent.
Get serious about teaching me. I'll soak it up like a sponge.
But Choi Ji-won's face wasn't marveling. It was twisting strangely.
"...What's wrong?"
I asked carefully, but Choi Ji-won didn't answer.
She tapped her right foot, looking like she was mulling something over.
What? Did I screw something up?
"You."
Finally, Choi Ji-won opened her mouth.
"Was that earlier an act?"
"...What?"
Shing!
Choi Ji-won drew her sword and leveled it at my throat.
"The speed of improvement you just showed is absurd for someone who isn't a genius. But the form you're showing right now is far too clumsy for a genius. It doesn't add up."
"..."
Fuck.
This woman is way stronger than I thought. She saw right through my act just from watching me swing a sword.
"What's your goal? Getting close to me? But it's impossible that you knew about me beforehand. You must have some kind of method. A trait ability?"
Choi Ji-won's eyes flashed sharply.
Overwhelmed by that charisma, I swallowed hard.
"Uh... well..."
"You're tense. Your heartbeat got louder."
"No, see, what happened was—"
Whack!
A violent impact to the back of my head.
My vision flashed white for a second, and I tasted dirt in my mouth.
What the—did I fall? More importantly, my consciousness...
"I'll hear the detailed explanation after you wake up."
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 0.]
***
"Fuck! Where am I!"
"..."
Surprisingly, the story about getting knocked out by a really hard hit to the back of the head turned out to be true.
I never expected to experience it firsthand, though.
Extremely nauseous... dizzy... a sensation I never want to go through twice.
Anyway... Choi Ji-won saw through the fact that I was hiding my strength in an instant.
I guess if the skill gap is too huge, acting doesn't work.
Makes sense. A third-rate warrior hiding a sword behind his back isn't going to fool a transcendent martial artist.
I think I got too arrogant. Trait or no trait, that woman is overwhelmingly stronger than me.
I shouldn't think I can deceive her at my level.
Though I didn't know she was the type to just kill a guy over a little lie... but now I know, so it's fine.
Again. Let's try again.
"Everyone! I don't know whose trick this is, but the more desperate the situation, the more we need to stick together!"
I went through the exact same steps: the passionate speech, the despair at the cold reality.
The difference this time was that I swung the sword without hiding my skill.
But whether I hid my strength or not, I must have looked like the same insect to her. Once again, Choi Ji-won blocked my path.
I got the same offer to teach me swordsmanship, we exchanged names.
"Sword. Swing."
Finally, I'd arrived at the same situation as the previous cycle.
Alright, so hiding my strength gets me caught, huh? Fine. I'll show you everything.
"Hup!"
Hwoong!
I focused and delivered a strike that concentrated all my accumulated experience.
Whew. I know I'm the one saying this, but the sword's trajectory is pretty clean. I really am improving with each regression.
"...Have you held a sword before?"
Apparently, Choi Ji-won felt the same way. She asked the question with a cynical edge.
"...Haha. I was in the kendo club in high school. My form's pretty decent, right?"
I offered the excuse I'd prepared in advance...
"Lie."
Once again, Choi Ji-won's expression twisted.
"The bamboo sword used in kendo and the real sword you're holding are completely different, from the center of balance to the feel. But your current stance is optimized for a real sword. You're hiding something."
"...Ah."
That's a thing too...?
Smack!
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 0.]
***
"A relative of mine handles real swords... I took private lessons from them for a little while."
"What is this person's name? I've memorized the names of everyone in Korea who's worth mentioning with a sword. Tell me."
"..."
Smack!
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 0.]
***
"I learned in the military."
"Dagger techniques or bayonet drills aside, this is the first time I've heard of the military teaching how to handle a real sword. Do you think I'm stupid because I'm a woman?"
"..."
Smack!
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 0.]
***
Fine. I'll admit it.
When it comes to knowledge about swords, that woman knows far, far more than I do.
Even if I cook up some half-baked lie, I won't be able to fool her.
That woman is an expert among experts who handled swords even in the real world. She's not someone I can get the upper hand over when all I know about swordsmanship is the vague imaginary techniques from martial arts novels or fantasy.
In the end, I decided to go with my last resort.
"...Have you held a sword before?"
"Nope?"
Just brazenly deny it.
There's no way I can talk my way to victory here anyway. I've just gotta be thick-skinned and push through.
Please, just let it go. Just teach me how to handle a sword...!
"...Lie. That stance isn't the stance of someone inexperienced."
But she didn't seem inclined to let it go. Choi Ji-won stared me down with suspicious eyes.
Seeing her hand creep toward her scabbard, I hurriedly continued.
"But it's the truth? Earlier, I shouted 'Status Window' and... I just became able to do it. I think it's probably because of my trait..."
"..."
Choi Ji-won shut her mouth instantly.
She also gained superhuman physical abilities thanks to her trait, so she'd know that my story is entirely plausible.
"...What's the trait name."
"Hey, that's a secret. You tell me your trait and I'll tell you mine."
Choi Ji-won, who had been curious about my trait, suddenly clammed up like she'd swallowed a bee when it came to revealing her own.
After keeping her mouth firmly shut for a long while.
"...Just pick up the sword."
In the end, she chose to let it slide.
**
Only after receiving a proper swordsmanship lesson did I finally realize.
I had known absolutely nothing about the sword until now.
I'd barely dipped a toe into the vast ocean of the sword, and I'd mistakenly thought my skill was improving.
I improved more in the three hours I just learned than I did swinging a sword alone for over ten hours.
Just by changing the direction of my foot, power flows into the sword. Just by adjusting the angle of my elbow, the strain on my arm drops significantly.
Truly the profound principles of the body. A golden tower of knowledge built by geniuses.
"Phew."
I wiped the sweat beading on my forehead, feeling good.
My skill is improving by leaps and bounds, so self-esteem bubbles up.
Aren't I a genius?
"...Out of everyone I've ever taught, you seem to have the least talent."
I was not.
Choi Ji-won's lips twitched with a subtle expression.
"To just be able to defend yourself, you'd need about three years... I didn't expect this level of talentlessness..."
It looked like she was regretting offering to teach me.
Am I really that untalented? That stung a little.
"Forget you ever... learned swordsmanship. It might be worse than not using it at all."
Choi Ji-won outright declared, 'Don't use a sword.'
But.
"...Three years, you say?"
Letting it go like this wounded my pride like hell.
Am I really that much of a cripple? Are you sure?
I wanted to see that woman flustered.
I wanted to see that woman praise me.
I wanted to be acknowledged.
Thwack!
As a way of steeling my resolve, I smacked my own chest hard.
I set my next goal.
Until I earn Choi Ji-won's acknowledgment with the sword... I will not stop regressing.
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 0.]