Chapter 1. Don't Lie, Kid (2)

'For starters... maybe I'll just use the Sura Sword Technique.'

Sura Sword Technique.

It was the sword technique that became the foundation of Sura's martial arts before he created the 11 forms of the Sura Pacheon Sword Technique, his main sword technique in the past.

Though it consisted only of basic forms, its lethality was top-tier among sword techniques.

A soldier from the enemy line rushes at him.

The form, which boasted top-tier lethality among the 10 forms, sliced through the enemy soldier's throat.

'...Wow. This. It reminds me of my Murim days.'

He felt nostalgic.

The time spent in the hospital and after discharge since returning to Earth.

During this period, Sura hadn't even swung a sword properly.

Even though he had swung his sword every single day back in the Murim days.

'It's fun.'

Sura felt that the new series of Ancient Booklet was fun.

Killing the evil sects and Demon Cult leaders in the Murim days certainly wasn't a fond memory.

However, he couldn't help but miss the Murim world itself.

'...Hoo.'

Sura, who had sighed to himself for no reason while thinking of Murim, continued swinging his sword.

Meanwhile, Roland, who was watching the scene, was amazed.

'What the! Why is he so good with a sword!'

He had barely brought him along because he felt sorry for the kid who couldn't even keep his wits about him, but he was earning his keep like a madman.

'...Ah. I should have bailed by now.'

While Roland was thinking about something for a moment, Sura began to carve out an escape route.

'The soldiers' defense level isn't that high...'

If it were a knight in full plate, there would be no hope, but the ones here weren't at that level.

'I can do this.'

The subtle gaps in the armor visible in between revealed an escape route.

'Now!'

Sura, having cut down another person, sprinted forward.

Roland and the other soldiers followed him before they knew it.

Irresistible force.

Sura cut down everything in front of him, and no one could stop them. The enemy troops were so overwhelmed by the momentum that they even started to clear a path.

"Uraaaaaaaah! You bastards!!!! Let's gooooooo!!!!"

When Roland let out a war cry, the soldiers following him joined in.

"Uoooooooh!!!"

Sura, who observed the scene for a moment, fell into thought.

The past.

He was reminded of the time he broke through the Evil Sect's Heaven-Net-Earth-Trap, known as the absolute encirclement.

It was the same back then. In the end, Sura succeeded in breaking through everything and reaching the Murim Alliance safely.

'It's no different this time.'

His sword moved again.

"Hmm?"

The knight. Goran focused on one part of the battlefield.

This place was supposed to be a graveyard for soldiers due to General Segrik's betrayal.

"That is..."

In the place Goran was looking at, the soldiers were breaking through the encirclement at a single point.

"Hmm. That won't do."

Goran spoke to his subordinate next to him for a moment.

"I'll be back."

"Understood."

He got on his horse and began to move toward the center of the incident.

"Uraaaaaaaah! You bastards! We've broken through the path!!!"

"Uraaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

Finally, Sura, Roland, and the soldiers succeeded in breaking through the encirclement.

If they each ran far away and returned to their base like this, they could live.

The moment they felt relieved.

A knight in full plate mail appeared before them. Goran.

"That won't do. You all have to die here."

Saying that, Goran dismounted.

At first glance, it was an incomprehensible action, but soon the soldiers and Roland realized the meaning.

"Damn it! It's Chivalry! It looks like a knight who has mastered Chivalry!"

"My god! Chivalry!"

Chivalry.

Originally, on Earth, it meant a knight's code of conduct or etiquette, but in this Ancient Booklet game, it was different.

A power that turns humans into monsters, like Qi in Murim or Aura in fantasy worlds.

This is Chivalry.

"Chivalry? Oh."

"It's a monster! A monster that even cuts through steel!"

Sura's face hardened at Roland's serious expression.

He didn't have that kind of power right now.

If he used Qi, he could easily cut through steel, but this was the world inside Ancient Booklet, not Murim.

However.

"I'll buy some time."

Sura chose to buy time.

"What?"

Roland looked bewildered at those words.

Sura shrugged at that reaction.

"There's a way. Roland, you take the others and run."

"...I'll definitely bring reinforcements! Hold out until then!"

Sura nodded.

"You bastards! This is an opportunity given by Sura who cleared the path this far! Hurry to the base and call for reinforcements!"

"Uwooooooooh!!!"

As soon as those words ended, each of them began to quickly leave the battlefield.

Some of the enemy soldiers nearby tried to catch them, but the number of soldiers Sura had helped escape was large.

At this rate, they would surely be able to call for reinforcements.

"Foolish."

Goran shook his head and sneered.

These things. If he stepped in, he could catch them quickly.

"I'll finish this quickly."

Goran drew his sword.

And whether he used the power of Chivalry, an unknown blue light began to permeate the sword.

Seeing that, Sura said.

"Look who's talking."

Goran's brow furrowed.

'Shall I try it.'

Chivalry.

A power that frequently appears in the Ancient Booklet series.

To replace it with Murim terminology, it's basically Ancient Booklet-style Qi.

Sword Qi. The act of imbuing a sword with Qi.

And the way to use Chivalry here.

Chivalry, which makes an ordinary person strong enough that no one can approach just by imbuing it, was something even Sura couldn't be careless about, but he was confident.

In the past. Sura, who had once been in a desperate crisis after being hit by a poison that disperses Qi, had fought and held out against assassins without Qi.

And there were two answers to that.

'Deflect everything, or dodge.'

Parrying or evasion.

These two could be the answer.

Meanwhile, Goran drew his sword and began to approach slowly.

Naturally, Sura also cleared his mind and looked at the opponent in front of him.

The two were in a standoff for a moment.

The attack happens suddenly.

Goran's longsword flies toward Sura's head in an instant.

Sura easily evaded it by slightly lowering his upper body.

Did he not know he would evade?

Goran's movement faltered for a moment.

'Thrust.'

Sura, who shot forward in an instant by stepping on the footwork used in Murim, thrust his sword toward the hole in Goran's helmet for visibility.

Clang!

Goran, who deflected the attack in one go.

In the meantime, Sura, who had parried with incredible sense to prevent his sword from being cut, soon attempted the next attack.

An incredible number of trajectories enveloped Goran.

Sura succeeded in 6 slashes in an instant, but unfortunately, perhaps because of Goran's full plate mail, there was no actual wound.

But it was enough to shake Goran's body.

'Now!'

Seeing Sura step on the footwork again and thrust his longsword into Goran's helmet hole, Goran sneered.

"How laughable!"

Goran deflected the sword once again.

Goran, as if it were his turn now, tried to cut Sura vertically using Chivalry.

If it went like this, Sura would be cut in half in an instant.

But Sura didn't just take it.

If he simply crossed swords, it was a given that his sword would be cut due to Chivalry.

Because of that, Sura attempted to parry again, and this naturally succeeded.

Goran didn't stop after that.

In an instant, over a dozen exchanges occurred between Goran and Sura, and in the midst of those attacks, Sura succeeded in parrying all of Goran's attacks.

The two moved apart for a moment, and Goran was inwardly nervous about Sura's skill.

Then Sura's mouth opened.

"Hey."

"What is it..."

Goran asked at Sura's words.

"If I had mastered Chivalry, you would be dead."

Grin.

Seeing Sura smiling like that, Goran frowned.

Although it wasn't visible to Sura because of the helmet.

"You... you damn brat!"

Even while getting angry, Goran couldn't deny Sura's words.

Certainly, his attacks hadn't worked properly until now.

To hide that thought, Goran got even angrier and rushed at Sura.

The longsword shooting out in an instant was aiming for Sura's heart.

Clang!

At that moment.

Someone rushed in between Sura and Goran and struck Goran's sword.

"My, my. Goran. Why are you so excited."

"Damn it. Salin! When did you get here!"

"Our soldiers came and told me. That Segrik betrayed us."

The knight who came on horseback after striking Goran's sword took off his helmet.

Red long hair and red eyes.

General Salin, who was famous on the continent, appeared in front of Goran.

"Get lost. Goran."

"Ugh..."

While Goran hesitated, the soldiers Salin had brought began to run over.

As soon as Goran saw that, he got on the horse he had left standing and began to return to the base.

"Retreat! Retreat! Salin has appeared!"

Toward Goran who was moving away like that, Sura suddenly stepped forward and shouted.

"Coward! If you are a martial artist, come here!"

"...Crazy bastard?"

Salin looked at Sura with a dumbfounded expression.

Whether or not that was the case, Sura was annoyed by this situation for no reason.

'It was getting fun! Plus, this bastard turns his back in a duel?'

If it were Murim, it would be an understatement to say he deserved a knife wound.

"...You damn bastard!"

Angry at hearing Sura's shout, Goran immediately turned his horse toward Sura.

He intended to cut off Sura's neck while still on the horse.

General Salin, who seemed like he might step in unexpectedly, took no action.

He just watched Sura quietly.

In that situation, instead of avoiding, Sura ran toward Goran.

"Become a Dullahan!"

Saying that, Goran swung his sword, aiming for Sura's neck.

That was when.

"!"

Sura rolled.

It was a move of the Lazy Donkey Rolling that they talk about in Murim.

Hiiiiiiiiiinny!

The reason Sura went out of his way to use the Lazy Donkey Rolling.

The reason was to avoid Goran's sword and at the same time cut the horse's legs.

Unfortunately, instead of rolling ungracefully with the horse, Goran jumped off in advance and avoided the accident.

"To even roll in the mud. You look pathetic."

"You, who even lost your horse to a guy like that, are more pathetic."

"...Damn bastard!"

Goran rushed at Sura, who didn't even lose in a war of words.

A flashing blue sword.

It was a sword approaching quickly, cutting through the air, but in Sura's two eyes, every single movement of that sword could be seen.

'Master. Thank you.'

Expressing gratitude to his master who had made him possess this dynamic visual acuity through 'tremendous training', Sura looked at the sword.

Sura avoided the attack just by twisting his shoulder.

That wasn't all.

Even with Goran's repeated attacks, Sura avoided all attacks.

With the absolute minimum movement.

"...My... my god."

Goran stepped back at the overwhelming movement. His sword shook.

"Now it's my turn."

Sura's body, shooting forward in an instant, aimed for Goran.

But Goran's full plate mail was not something Sura could easily deal with.

"Suraaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

That was when.

Roland, who had returned to the battlefield before he knew it, threw a thick mace to Sura.

Sura, who had clearly heard that war cry, caught the flying mace accurately,

And swung it at Goran.

"Kuaaaaaaaagh!"

Goran's full plate mail was crumpled.

He quickly imbued his sword with Chivalry to attack, but Sura succeeded in avoiding all attacks in the meantime.

"Stop disappearing. Monster! You monster...!"

Goran felt like he was going crazy.

What is this.

This monster that he, who made a name for himself as a high-ranking knight, faced.

What on earth is this monster that deflects or avoids all of his attacks.

Is this a trial given by Garuan Mafras?

If that were true, he wouldn't be able to overcome that trial.

Thud!

Sura, who had brought the mace down on Goran's head, thrust his sword into the gap in the full plate mail created by the mace while Goran was faltering from the recoil.

"Krrk.... Damn... damn it...."

Goran's words didn't continue.

"Sura!"

"...Roland."

Roland, who had been watching the battle anxiously, approached and grabbed his shoulder and shook it.

"Amazing! Sura! To win so overwhelmingly against that Goran!"

"Ah. My head is shaking."

"Haha! I was just so happy! My apologies!"

Meanwhile, General Salin, who was watching from the side, approached him.

"Hey. You."

"...Yes."

Sura showed appropriate courtesy at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the word General.

"Amazing. To defeat that Goran. And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠overwhelmingly at that."

"...It's nothing."

"So, I'm saying this."

Salin smiled.

"Do you have any intention of becoming my disciple?"

"...Yes?"

Sura was dumbfounded by the situation of being offered to be a disciple rather than feeling joy.

'Who is going to teach me?'

He didn't show it, but the pride of Sura, the best in the world, was stimulated.

Today, too, 'Elder Book', which boasts the largest scale among the seemingly peaceful Ancient Booklet communities.

Since the Ancient Booklet series has been a huge series that has continued for decades, it had its own community, and the scale was not small.

Recently, a new work was finally released, so it was even more active.

They were uploading various strategies today and sharing opinions with each other.

While various strategies like this were being uploaded, a post appeared on the question board.

[Guys. An NPC named General Salin wants to take me as a disciple, what should I do?]

At the very beginning, I broke through the enemy lines and fought and killed a knight named Goran?

After doing that, a person named General Salin suddenly asked me to be a disciple?

I don't want to accept this, do I have to?

The users of Elder Book were enraged at this post.

In the end, this question post had "Don't lie, you brat" as the most recommended comment, and Ga-hyeon, who saw the comments on this post, was dumbfounded.

"No, can't these bastards believe what people say?"

Angry, Ga-hyeon wrote a post again.

The capsule had a function that automatically saves videos, so there was video evidence left.

Ga-hyeon uploaded the video to his personal Nutube account and then attached the video to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the post and uploaded it.

[Elderbook Specters, look at this. Are you still going to say it's not me?]

Take a look once. I fought Goran, killed him, and then met General Salin, okay?

Give me some advice on what to do.

{Video attached}

Then, the users who saw the video went crazy.

"Hmm... become a disciple...?"

Ga-hyeon wasn't inclined, but he kept looking at the comments on the post.

Specter was a general term for Elder Book gamers.

"What? Streaming?"

Ga-hyeon tilted his head, but soon decided to do it after seeing 3 comments.

"...You'll give me money? No, that aside, this guy is forcing it."

In the end, Ga-hyeon, who was properly caught by the donation promise and aggro, decided to stream.

[Turning on the stream. I'll verify it.]

Turning it on in a bit, doing it on Twinkle.

If you give me money, thanks.

And the guy who said it was a mod, come and watch. I'll verify it's not a mod.

The address is here.

{Address}

That's how the streaming was decided by chance.