Difference in Rank
After Song Minwoo, who had been raging out of control, was dragged away by an instructor, Min Sua’s test began. The swordsmanship qualification test was divided into two stages for overcoming obstacles.
First, she had to conquer her fear of monsters. Second, it tested her qualifications as a swordsman.
“The swordsmanship qualification test will now begin.”
As Min Sua spoke, mana instantly began gathering around her. The entrance exam administrators were using magic.
“Prospective cadet Min Sua, everything you are about to see has been created with Virtual Magic. Anything you feel will also be false, so please proceed with the test according to your own judgment. However, all pain sensations will feel exactly the same as in reality, so if you come under severe mental stress or suffer serious damage, you may faint or even have your heartbeat stop. Please do not push yourself too close to the limit.”
The mage wrote down a few things on the document, then added, “Also, the entire test process for prospective cadet Min Sua can be observed by everyone. If there are any abilities you wish to conceal, please be careful during the exam. In addition, because this test uses Virtual Magic, even if you appear to be injured, once the magic is lifted everything will be restored to normal. But the pain will remain, so please be careful. If you raise your hand, you may end each stage early, so be sure to signal your intention that way. Have you heard the warning and do you agree to participate in the test?”
“Yes.”
Virtual Magic. It was a spell often used when swordsmen or mages trained. Inside Virtual Magic, if you were cut by a sword, you bled. You could smell the blood, and you could even feel the pain. But once the spell was lifted, everything returned to normal as if nothing had happened. The pain and sensations you experienced remained, though, which made it perfect for practical, combat-oriented training.
As soon as Min Sua’s answer ended, fog swallowed the surroundings. Before long, a monster sprang out.
A Dark Hound.
A familiar creature. Among monsters, it was on the weaker side. It resembled a puppy and a wolf, and though its build was small, its teeth and bite force were absolutely nothing to underestimate.
“Hraaaaah!”
Min Sua neatly split the head of the charging beast in two. It was a beautiful arc, supported by excellent sword work and impressive physical strength.
She’s pretty good.
Considering her age, it was excellent skill. In fact, she probably hadn’t even encountered a real monster before, yet she wasn’t trembling in fear.
But the problem was that those things were creatures that moved in packs.
“Grrrraaaagh....”
As a strange howl rang out, Dark Hounds began surrounding Min Sua from the east, west, south, and north. A creature that seemed to be the leader began directing them, and Min Sua fought them off diligently, but in the end, at the last moment, she raised her hand.
“Student Min Sua. Since you have indicated an early termination request, the first stage of the test is over. Your total number of Dark Hounds killed is 17.”
“Wow...!”
“Are you kidding me? She killed 17 of them?”
“No wonder everyone’s been making such a fuss over Min Sua before she even enrolled.”
“How many did second place get?”
“I think second place was 5...”
Min Sua did not resent her decision to end early. She already knew the gap between herself and second place. She had produced an outstanding result, several times better than the runner-up’s, so there was no reason to push any further. If she got bitten by a Dark Hound and her mind faltered, she might ruin the even more important second test instead. From Min Sua’s perspective, this was the best choice.
Then, almost out of habit, Min Sua looked at Lee Taehoon. Just how much was he going to be shocked by her performance?
What the...?
But his expression was utterly calm. As though this were only natural, something anyone ought to be able to do.
“Would you like to begin the second test? After this exam, the final score for the ‘qualification’ test will be totaled and announced.”
Min Sua clenched her teeth and nodded.
“Yes.”
This time, she would definitely make that bastard’s eyes pop out of his head in shock.
“Please take the sword in front of you, and do not let go of it under any circumstances.”
The second test was simple. It evaluated the most important virtue of a swordsman. No matter what kind of situation arose, all she had to do was not let go of the sword. Depending on the difficulty, the score would be determined by how well she endured it.
“What difficulty would you like?”
“I’ll take A.”
Instantly, the crowd erupted.
“Ooooooh!”
“As expected... A rank, huh... That’s impressive.”
The mage asked with a worried look, “Let me say this again: this qualification test is extremely painful. Since any damaged body part will be restored afterward, that doesn’t matter, but because the pain sensations remain intact, you may suffer tremendous agony.”
“I know.”
Min Sua was willing to take the risk. She absolutely had to become the top student. From what she knew, so far only people had challenged the B-grade difficulty; no one had tried A-grade yet. She didn’t think anyone would attempt it later, either. From A-grade onward, a person had to endure what humans found most agonizing of all—burns.
“...Then I wish you good luck.”
The mage stepped back and cast Virtual Magic. Flames suddenly surged up all around her.
“Aaaagh!”
Min Sua screamed and endured it, and even as horrific blisters and third-degree burns covered her hand, she did not let go of the sword. In the end, she set an excellent record.
“Prospective cadet Min Sua. You have surpassed the three-minute mark required to receive the highest score for A-grade difficulty. With top marks in both the first and second stages of the qualification test, your overall score is A.”
“Wow!!!!”
“An A? Didn’t that student also get all A’s in the physical test?”
“Wow... to be the overall top scorer... this is insane.”
Everyone praised her with admiration and awe.
Everyone except one person.
Lee Taehoon.
That much is nothing.
Before his regression, Taehoon had often been forced into far more extreme situations. In fact, before his final death, even while thousands of monsters were tearing him apart and eating his flesh, he had never let go of his sword, so what he was seeing now looked like child’s play. I came back from hell with no safety rails.
“Wow—she’s hot. Great stamina, and her swordsmanship is impressive too. But Song Minwoo, seventeenth-generation heir of the Song Clan, doesn’t have that. Want to grab a meal with me sometime?”
By then, Song Minwoo, with a huge lump on his head, clapped loudly and started hitting on Min Sua. Ignoring the idiot’s behavior, Min Sua stepped down, and he shook his head as he muttered to himself.
“Today’s just a damn bad day. Everyone’s ignoring me.”
Instructor Jong Junhyeok stood beside him and said, “Enough. Watch your face and act with some dignity. I can only lament that someone like you somehow came from our family.”
“Uncle, that’s a little...”
When Jong Junhyeok raised a hand, the bastard made a ridiculous squeak and clammed up. At least he had an upright man like Jong Junhyeok for an uncle. Without someone keeping him in check, that idiot would have become irredeemable garbage.
“All right, then I guess it’s my turn.”
As Song Minwoo stepped forward, Instructor Jong Junhyeok said, “No. You’re later. Prospective cadet Lee Taehoon has agreed to take the test first.”
“What? Uncle!”
Song Minwoo shot Jong Junhyeok a resentful look, but Jong Junhyeok’s eyes did not waver.
“Can you begin right now?”
The instructor asked me. But Song Minwoo was whining beside him.
“If I go first, that bastard will get totally crushed and won’t even dare to try... You’re lucky, you know.”
I looked at the idiot and let out a faint snort.
“Instructor, would it be possible to let Song Minwoo go first? I don’t mind being moved later.”
“...Is it because you’re worried about retaliation? If that’s the case, don’t worry. I’ll make sure no harm comes to you.”
“That’s not it. I just want to watch the skill and technique of a swordsman with excellent ability, so I can imitate him.”
Whether he knew I was being sarcastic or not, Song Minwoo nodded in satisfaction and boasted grandly.
“Uncle... you heard that, right?”
“I’m your instructor! And use honorifics.”
“Anyway, Instructor, you heard him, right? I’ll go first?”
Instructor Jong Junhyeok looked at me, and only after I nodded did he finally give Song Minwoo his orders.
“Since Lee Taehoon has agreed, you may go first.”
Song Minwoo climbed onto the test platform, and in the first stage of the qualification test, he killed 11 Dark Hounds. In the second stage, he chose B-grade difficulty and endured the agony of his palms being torn open for 3 minutes and 15 seconds, earning the highest possible score for B-grade.
“Prospective cadet Song Minwoo’s final qualification test score is B+.”
The bastard stepped down from the arena with a satisfied look and said to me, “So, Lee Taehoon, right? How about it—feeling like giving up now? I’m really just worried about you, you know. Nothing’s sadder than someone with no talent grinding away like that. Don’t take it the wrong way; think about reality coldly. I’m only saying this out of goodwill, not malice.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
Talent, huh. Yes. I’d originally had none. I understood better than anyone how hard it was to claw your way forward with talent you didn’t have. Until I became the Sword Saint, I had to survive tens of thousands of battles and more than a few thousand close calls with death.
But what about me now?
For someone like me, who had reached the realm of the Sword Saint and returned from death, who could possibly say I lacked talent? I had earned it through effort. The ability others called talent. If I had to give my talent a name, it would be effort.
And now it was time to show that talent to the world.
“Once the Virtual Magic begins....”
The mage started reciting the warnings, and I nodded. Then the first stage of the test began.
Dark Hounds came rushing in.
“Hey... is that really okay? That Dark Hound looks heavier than he does.”
“I can’t watch. What if he gets seriously hurt for nothing?”
“Even if a Dark Hound bites him, he’ll be fine once the test ends, won’t he?”
“But he still feels the pain, and until the magic is lifted he’ll be injured. That seems way too cruel...”
“Why in the world did he even enter the test with that build...? I heard he was dead last in the physical exam too.”
The mocking voices around me didn’t matter. Before my regression, I’d dealt with truckloads of idiots who mocked me for being one-armed and looked down on me. This kind of reaction was nothing to me.
- Clang
Then I threw the sword in my hand to the ground.
“L-Lee Taehoon! What the hell are you doing? Pick up your sword! The test has already begun! Be careful!”
Instructor Jong Junhyeok shouted urgently, but I ignored him and began circulating mana.
A worthless body. A mana core with nothing in it. And a pathetic frame. But I still had something greater than any of those.
Experience.
I didn’t need a sword to kill a stupid Dark Hound like this. I didn’t need any impressive mana, either. I knew their habits and weaknesses perfectly.
Then I started running toward the Dark Hounds. The opening pattern was the same as always. Not the entire pack rushes in—only one comes first. The moment the beast opened its mouth, I thrust my hand straight into it.
“Kyaaah!”
“Uuugh...”
The people watching all turned away, expecting my arm to be torn off, but the result was different. I grabbed the Dark Hound’s tongue hard with one hand, and its jaws remained open instead of snapping shut.
“Krrk... grrr...”
The beast shook violently, as though in pain. In that instant, I slammed my head into its eyes.
“Keeegh!”
Then, as one eye bulged out, I jammed my fingers into the remaining eye, temporarily blinding it. Grabbing its body, I poured all my weight into it and drove it straight into the ground.
- BOOM!
The Dark Hound’s greatest weakness was its neck. For all its bulky body, that part was absurdly thin and fragile. So when it crashed in headfirst, it bled profusely and its neck snapped at once.
Silence fell over the test hall.
Song Minwoo swallowed hard and muttered, “Wh... what the hell was that...?”
I looked at the idiot staring blankly in confusion and thought to myself, Too early to be surprised.
The test was only beginning now.
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