Chapter 32
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Master of Arms (3)
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Kang Seoyul thrust his spear.
It was as if he were fighting an invisible opponent.
He slashed, parried, and stabbed, repeating the motions.
His movements were elegant, precise, and beautiful.
...A heaven beyond the heavens.
Watching Kang Seoyul wield the spear in a trance, Pi Jinho felt a shiver run down his spine.
He definitely wasn't this good before.
Seoyul had shown flashes of genius with daggers and archery, yes.
But with other weapons, he was no different from a novice.
That was certainly the case up until last Friday's class.
This is insane.
In his nearly ten years as an instructor, Pi Jinho had seen countless superhumans hailed as geniuses.
Among them were even S-rank superhumans currently in the world's top 100.
They were owners of talents so exceptional they elicited gasps of admiration.
But today was the first time he had ever gotten genuine goosebumps.
Would calling Kang Seoyul a genius be a compliment, or an insult?
The thought crossed his mind unbidden.
That was why he thought of a heaven beyond the heavens.
Another sky above the sky.
Kang Seoyul, whose Master of Arms had begun to blossom, had far surpassed the realm of geniuses.
Haha.
If he told anyone that this was a man holding a spear for the first time, would they believe him?
Probably not.
Even I wouldn't believe it.
This was a monster.
Pi Jinhos wife had been a genius, but she was never like this.
After Minji awakened, it took her about a year to reach that level, didn't it?
He remembered it well since they had just started dating. Kang Minji reached that state at the age of 24.
And three years to enter the Full Bloom stage, where she could wield Aura.
It took a total of four years.
But Kang Seoyul?
Three days at most.
It was so absurd that all he could do was laugh.
To think hed skip right past Blooming and go straight to Full Bloom.
The Master of Arms trait had three stages of growth.
Stage 1.
Germination.
A sprout emerges.
This is the period where the Master of Arms forges the owners body into one suitable for using the trait.
In the case of Pi Jinhos wife, Kang Minji, it took 23 years.
During this period, a severe penalty is imposed on the users stats.
He speculated it was because the Master of Arms drew on all the bodys power for physical assimilation.
At this stage, only the proficiency of a few weapons receives bonuses and accelerated growth.
For Kang Minji, it was the sword and spear. For Kang Seoyul, it would be the dagger and bow.
Stage 2.
Blooming.
A flower blossoms.
This is the stage where growth truly accelerates.
The penalty on stats disappears, and a massive bonus is applied to all weapon proficiencies.
During this process, mana begins to grow, and once it has fully matured, the user moves on to the final, third stage.
Stage 3.
Full Bloom.
The flower is in full bloom.
From this stage, one can use Aura, which is the act of cloaking a weapon in mana.
As if in reward for the preceding twenty years, one can imbue their weapon with immense mana and wield it freely.
The user can freely control everything, including its size, intensity, and sharpness.
Just as Kang Seoyul was doing now, one could sharpen the mana cloaking the spear shaft to cut like a sword.
One could also extend only the Aura to freely adjust the reach of a thrust.
At her peak, Kang Minji could extend her Aura over 10 meters.
When I fought Minji, conventional combat wisdom was more of a hindrance than a help.
Her free-spirited and flexible transitions between offense and defense were the very definition of difficult to deal with.
Its like watching Minji in her youth.
Faintly, Kang Seoyul wielded the spear, freely manipulating the flickering, flame-like red Aura.
Even his excited expression was a perfect match.
Minji
Pi Jinhos gaze grew distant as he watched Kang Seoyul.
* * *
That night.
Ugh. Im dead.
I collapsed onto my bed.
Id had too much fun.
Wielding the spear was so enjoyable that I couldn't hold back.
Its still so amazing to think about.
I never imagined a trait-restricted item would have such a function.
Who would have thought that equipping the Essence of Arms would allow me to use Master of Arms?
Heh. Awesome. Seriously awesome.
Perhaps this is a rule unique to trait-restricted items.
There is the drawback that the trait only applies while Im wearing the Essence of Arms.
But its not like theres a time limit like with Ancient Artifacts.
I have to wear the necklace continuously, but that barely even counts as a drawback.
I also gained a little bit of mana.
The reason I could use Aura was, of course, thanks to the effect of [Master of Arms].
According to Pi Jinho.
When Master of Arms blooms, you gain the ability to use mana.
I guessed that I must have acquired mana by obtaining Master of Arms this time.
And the synergy with Flames of Stigma resulted in a fire-attribute Aura.
So good. So damn good.
I thought collecting racial traits through Ancient Artifacts was the best, but it turns out collecting trait-restricted items is.
The problem is that items with trait restrictions are incredibly rare.
Well, I can start looking for ways to get them from now on.
Ah. This is great.
I went to bed with a cheerful heart.
* * *
The next morning.
Todays class was a virtual ruin exploration.
Since the score is reflected in the rankings, I had to get a high score.
The road to the top 10 is long and arduous.
This is a first. Being in the same group as you, Seoyul.
Jia approached me with an excited look on her face.
Youre right.
The other two team members came over.
Huh? What the. Seriously? Two archers in the same group for a four-person party?
Are there too many archers left over?
The two said, looking puzzled.
Wait a minute. Isnt Seoyuls position frontline?
Ah. Is he planning on using daggers?
Hmm
The two of them looked at me with ambiguous expressions.
I understood.
My current reputation at the academy was something like, Well, hes better than I thought.
But that was only limited to interpersonal combat.
It was a different story when it came to fighting monsters.
Can he even pierce a monsters hide?
Ugh. What a waste. He should just stay back and draw aggro with his bow.
Eh, well, with Shin Jia here, we wont fail at least.
In interpersonal combat, skill can cover for a lot.
But against monsters, skill alone isn't enough.
Whats important in monster combat is stats.
You need high strength to pierce a monsters hide, and high agility to dodge the erratic attacks unique to beasts.
So, it was only natural for everyone to show their disapproval when I said I would stand on the front line.
Lets think positively. Hes pretty good with daggers, right? I think I saw him use a skill that ignores defense last time.
Still, an F-rank on the front line is just wrong. Ugh, guess well just have to pretend were one person short. Ah, so annoying Eek!
Suddenly, the team members faces turned pale.
Why? Go on.
Jia smiled brightly.
Her lips were smiling, for sure.
But her eyes were gleaming with a murderous intent that would put a serial killer to shame.
N-no, thats not what I meant.
Not what you meant?
Just watching from the side sent a chill down my spine.
She was genuinely terrifying.
The atmosphere was so tense it felt like she could commit murder at any moment.
I was the only one who could stop Jia right now.
Its fine. Theyre not wrong.
I said, blocking their view of Jia with my body.
I didn't forget to mutter, Tone it down a bit, from an angle only she could see.
Tsk.
Jia clicked her tongue softly, at an angle only I could see.
Then, as if she had no other choice, she let out a small sigh and returned to her usual self.
Please refrain from saying things that lower our morale before we even start the raid.
Uh, yeah. Got it.
Sorry.
Fortunately, the situation was resolved smoothly. But the eyes of the two team members were still filled with discontent.
It felt like they were only backing down for now because of Jia.
For now, that was enough.
Next! Group 7!
It was finally our groups turn to enter the virtual ruin.
Final equipment check. We will depart in one minute.
Yes, sir!
We replied and opened the large carrier where Group 7s equipment was stored.
Oh, right. You said earlier that nothing you guys said was wrong, right? Let me correct that a little. Thinking about it, there was one thing you got wrong.
What?
I have no intention of using daggers today.
Path of the Wind is an excellent trait.
But my stats are too poor to fight monsters up close with daggers.
The risk is too high.
Youre not going to use daggers?
Nope.
Then what a spear?
I picked up a training spear from the end of the carrier.
* * *
About two hours had passed since we entered the virtual ruin.
The atmosphere within the team, which had initially been filled with complaints, had softened considerably.
It was likely because they had come to acknowledge my abilities to some extent.
Ah, Im exhausted.
Are real ruins this tough?
I dont know. Never been to one.
Even though it was a virtual ruin made for training, a ruin was still a ruin.
The difficulty was considerable.
In fact, it was even more difficult because it was designed to be safe for training.
Since the mana field's safety settings prevented serious injuries.
Stop.
Jia, who was in charge of scouting and long-range support, gave everyone the signal to halt.
Monsters?
Yeah. Two of them. They look like guardians, but
Jias eyes sharpened.
Ive never seen monsters like these before.
Jia also excelled in academics.
There was a monster that she didn't know?
What do they look like?
They look like lions no. I guess you could say they look like Haitai.
Haitai?
Two Haitai.
A monster immediately came to mind.
By any chance, is one of them red and the other blue?
Jias eyes widened.
Thats right. How did you know?
When you said two Haitai, the only thing that came to mind was the [Taegeuk Haitai].
Ooh.
The other two team members looked at me with surprised expressions.
Jias eyes were filled with respect.
Then do you also know what kind of traits the guardians up ahead have?
I do, but
Ugh. Which satanic instructor did this? Who in their right mind would put the [Taegeuk Haitai] as guardians in a first-year class?
Why? Is the strategy a bit tricky?
Its not just tricky. I think we just drew the short straw
How bad is it?
Jia asked, tilting her head.
All three of them were looking at me.
The Taegeuk Haitai. A pair of twin guardians, one red and one blue.
I began to explain.
The red Haitais trait is absorbing melee damage. The blue Haitais trait is absorbing ranged damage.
Wait a minute. Absorb? You mean they recover health?
Jia asked, her eyes wide like a startled rabbit.
Exactly.
This is what makes the Taegeuk Haitai so terrifying. If you fight them together, attacks are bound to hit the one with the opposite attribute, whether theyre melee or ranged.
This guardian probably wasnt put here for us to defeat. It was put here to see how wed react.
Ah!
How would we react when suddenly faced with a rare pair of twin guardians with no prior information?
That must be what they wanted to see.
Thats for sure. If they have traits like that, fighting them without knowing anything would have been a huge pain.
Yeah, no kidding.
The two team members let out sighs of relief.
So what should we do? Try to hold out as long as possible?
Before we entered, the two of them had shot me looks full of discontent, but they had completely changed in the past two hours.
Hmm.
Now they were even willing to let me give the orders. Since I hadn't really shown off my skills, they must be trusting my intellect. In this regard, being top of the class in written exams helps.
Let me think for a moment.
Ah, okay.
All school exams, including the virtual ruin exploration, are reflected in the rankings.
To enter the top 10 within six months, I need to raise my ranking even a little bit right now.
In that case, theres only one answer.
Lets kill them.
We take down the Taegeuk Haitai.
And in a way that makes me stand out as much as possible.
Huh? Kill them?
Thats right.
How?
Its simple. We just have to completely separate the two.
You mean split into a melee team and a ranged team of two each, right? But wouldnt the archer and mage combination be in danger? I feel like they should have at least one guard.
Hmm.
I glanced at Jia, who was listening quietly. Feeling my gaze, Jia looked at me and smiled softly.
Needless to say, Jia was the strongest one here. She could probably handle the red Haitai without a frontline fighter.
If it were a real monster, things might be different, but this one was clearly a fake created with mana.
There was a high chance Jia could handle it alone.
However, in that case, Jia would be the one to receive the spotlight.
My evaluation would undoubtedly be Cadet A who got a good carry from Shin Jia.
My ranking would barely budge.
That went against my objective.
Then lets split 3-to-1.
3-to-1? You mean Shin Jia takes on the red Haitai by herself?
No.
Well, theres only one way then.
You three handle the red Haitai.
My teammates stared at me with surprised expressions.
The three of us?
Yes.
What about you, Seoyul?
Jia, who had been listening quietly, asked as she looked at me.
Me? Ill
I clutched the [Essence of Arms] on my chest.
Ill take on the blue Haitai by myself.