Chapter 29
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: The Old Man Who Hones Iaido (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In this world, madmen exist.
Obsessed with magic, or faith, or 'technique'.
Ian Korpe.
He was a madman obsessed with 'technique'—specifically, iaido.
"You've got good eyes."
Ian Korpe said.
Then he slowly approached me and moved his arm.
It seemed like a gesture for a handshake, but it was the arm that had already been severed.
"Whoops, my mistake."
Ian Korpe raised his right hand to unwrap the bandage tightly pressing down on his severed left arm.
His left arm began bubbling up, and after about ten seconds, it regenerated perfectly.
"Sorry about that. I've been training to use iaido even with one arm missing."
Ian Korpe's eyes were those of an ordinary Westerner.
They just brimmed with madness enough to overshadow the blue of his irises.
Ian Korpe offered his regenerated left arm for a handshake.
"My name is Ian Korpe."
"I'm Lee Han-su."
"Good name."
Ian Korpe grinned, baring his teeth as he spoke.
I accepted his handshake.
"Talking to someone with common sense is always a pleasure, isn't it?"
Ian Korpe spotted a student passing nearby and scowled as he spoke.
A sword hung from the student's back.
"Disgusting. Born a swordsman, yet not using iaido."
He was already a first-rate iaido practitioner.
Just by looking, you could tell what kind of swordsmanship the student wielded.
"There are many sword styles, but only one pinnacle."
He was looking down on him.
On everything besides iaido...!
"You've got talent. I can tell you'll make a fine hero."
Ian Korpe said, crossing his arms.
"But at the same time, it frightens me. The thought of you getting tainted by other sword styles."
His face filled with sorrow and rage.
As he scowled in anger, the wrinkles made him look several times fiercer than most.
And hot liquid streamed from his eyes.
His tears held the sorrow of the entire world.
Sometimes cold, sometimes hot.
They weren't easy tears to shed.
After the years Ian Korpe had lived, sorrow had become familiar—yet dried up at the same time.
But in this moment, intense grief washed over him once more.
He was truly grieving.
The fact that a young swordsman using iaido would learn other styles and become corrupted...!
It tormented him so deeply that sorrow overwhelmed him.
"I... I can't just stand by and watch. Let me teach you my iaido."
What is technique?
Manifesting something through mana.
People call it 'technique'.
Over time, techniques grow more refined and diverse.
Because everyone has different images and thoughts.
Even the same punch—some do it fast, some slow, some hard.
I looked at Ian Korpe.
His eyes burned with madness.
At the same time, I remembered why I'd played an iaido build.
I'd started as a mage, then as the game grew familiar, I tried other builds.
And when I picked swordsman...
I met a crazy character.
[This bastard!!! Iaido... Iaido is the strongest swordsmanship...!]
At first, as a rambling lunatic.
[Stop!!! Drop everything now and learn iaido!!! It's not too late!!!]
Later, still rambling nonsense.
[Dying without drawing the sword more... such a regret.]
And at the end.
Back then, I thought:
Why does this guy keep harping on iaido?
So I started making various iaido builds.
At that point, curiosity alone made it worth trying.
And right before coming here.
I completed an all-in early-game iaido build and saw the game's ending.
It was tough, but manageable.
It wasn't impossible to clear.
But...
[Starting with the traits and build from your last playthrough.]
'Fuck.'
"Your eyes have changed. You're seething with rage—like you want to draw your sword right now. I can tell at a glance."
Ian Korpe said proudly.
His gaze kept drifting to the katana at his waist, as if he wanted to draw it right then too.
"I can't hold back on iaido anymore. Let's move."
All instructors at Orbis Academy are active heroes.
And among them, the elite.
To produce the world's greatest heroes, you need the best teachers.
Though strength isn't always the criterion.
Instructors can apply for 'research labs'.
Mages for magic research rooms, swordsmen for swordsmanship dojos.
Ian Korpe had applied for one too.
He needed a place where he could unleash full-power iaido.
I arrived at Ian Korpe's research lab.
Not sure if you could even call it a lab.
It was a massive room walled entirely in Odensril, the famously durable metal.
Bigger than I'd expected.
"Now, show me your iaido."
Ian Korpe said, standing before me.
Then he pointed to his own arm with a finger.
"Slash my arm with your iaido."
A truly insane demand.
"Don't hold back. Use all your strength. Even if I lose the arm forever, I won't resent you."
At the same time, chilling killing intent washed over me.
"I'll forgive accidentally taking my head, but not holding back."
Something seems off here.
Tirbing, who had been quietly watching, spoke without thinking.
The madness in Ian Korpe's eyes was like that of demons.
"..."
I felt fear too.
Every word he spoke screamed insanity.
I lowered into stance.
And executed iaido.
Whoosh—!
Flame Sword.
One Sword Ends Heaven
My trait.
Curse of the Sword
Shackle of the Sword
Penalties included.
As all my stats surged in an instant, I drew my sword.
Boom!!!!!
The slash severed Ian Korpe's arm and carved a deep sword mark into his research lab.
Thanks to the materials, it didn't shatter completely.
"Uh... uhahaha!"
Ian Korpe's hearty laughter echoed at the same time.
He lifted his cleanly severed left arm, laughing in disbelief.
Heat and the smell of roasting meat rose from the cut surface.
"Impossible!!! It won't regenerate!!! What superb iaido!!!"
Ian Korpe said, pulling out a bandage and wrapping his severed arm.
5th Grade Relic: Sealing Bandage
"Perfect timing—I was just training iaido without my left arm! Heh, this works out great."
Ian Korpe's trait was 'Super Regeneration'.
He'd cut off his limbs whenever bored, training to wield iaido without panicking in crises.
In truth, it'd regenerate once the Flame Sword effect wore off in a day, but Ian Korpe didn't know that.
"My eyes never lie."
Then he placed his right hand on his sword hilt.
"Ah, my mistake. I should've shown you this first, then had you cut me."
He grinned at me.
"Don't worry too much about the left arm. True swordsmanship can only be judged by experiencing it firsthand."
Ian Korpe said, drawing his sword.
With that level of madness, he might've said, 'Now you take my iaido,' but he knew how to cherish iaido-wielding swordsmen.
As his sword cleared the sheath, it rent the wall.
Boom!
I saw the sword mark he left.
Swordsmanship is divided into five broad categories.
Strong (強), Fast (快), Illusory (幻), Soft (柔), Ki (氣).
Iaido belongs to Fast (快).
But the mark Ian Korpe left was less Fast (快) and more...
Ian Korpe had no talent for martial enlightenment.
But he never gave up.
Ten thousand draws a day, fueled by madness.
The result of pushing his 'technique' and body to their limits, agonizing over every detail.
What he attained was endless madness toward iaido.
'Why can't it be faster, stronger?'
Gathering mana, deep breath.
Take stance, draw sword.
Draw until both hands are ruined.
Then 'Super Regeneration' to heal the body.
Repeat endlessly.
'I knew it.'
He had no talent for enlightenment.
But...
But!!
What's wrong with a talentless man dreaming of supremacy!
One Strike of Stillness — [Quaking Abyss Flow (震淵流)].
Boom!!!!!
Ian Korpe's one sword.
"Speed leaves afterimages, but weight leaves traces."
He said, straightening up.
"But this isn't true iaido. True iaido is extreme speed (快)."
Then he bellowed at me.
"I haven't perfected the 'technique'. It's for some genius who comes along someday...! So iaido doesn't end at this level!!! Iaido must be the strongest swordsmanship!!!!"
Shing!
With the sheath-resounding sound echoing around, Ian Korpe charged at me.
In this moment, nothing in the world could stop him.