I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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When Hanarine was blankly staring at Kim Il-shin, Hwang Deok-su, who had followed her up to the gate, shouted.

“Narine! Let’s get down quickly! No matter how worried you are about your friend, this place is too dangerous!”

Hanarine didn’t respond.

She didn’t even look back, merely peering down from the gate.

“Narine! We must hurry—”

Hwang Deok-su walked urgently and grabbed Hanarine’s shoulder, but he couldn’t complete his sentence.

It was because he could finally see the scene beyond the gate properly.

“That’s…”

He began to doubt if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

But even when he rubbed his eyes and looked again, that shocking scene remained unchanged.

Along with surprise, a sense of relief washed over him.

After all, the rock spirit that had threatened Jangsan Cave was dealt with.

But that thought was short-lived as Hwang Deok-su’s gaze shifted to the sword in Kim Il-shin’s hand.

It was the Hyunwol Sword that Hanarine had made upon Kim Il-shin’s request.

‘…It’s beautiful.’

It was such a fantastic sword that the thought naturally crossed his mind.

Not merely as a sword itself, but the way the sword looked in Kim Il-shin’s hand was impeccable.

It stirred the instinct of a blacksmith within him, urging him to examine it.

There was indeed a reason Hanarine hadn’t shown the Hyunwol Sword to Hwang Deok-su.

Weight, length, strength, pivot, grip friction, mana transfer, and so on.

It was a sword crafted specifically for Kim Il-shin.

It was an immensely challenging task compared to just making a strong weapon.

To make that possible required fundamental talent and sensitivity.

Without those two, regardless of how skilled one might be, reaching that level would remain impossible for a lifetime.

The fact that someone so young had reached that level was astonishing beyond belief.

“However… it seems like it’s not just a sword. It feels like something else is imbued in it; am I right?”

No spirit can be dealt with without magic.

Even with magical aid, completely annihilating something like that is difficult.

Yet, Kim Il-shin over there appeared to have successfully eliminated the rock spirit completely.

From the shattered remnants of the rock, not the slightest hint of life could be felt.

When he had seen it before, it didn’t seem like there was anything particularly special, so it could only be explained that he utilized the power bound within the Hyunwol Sword.

“Yes. But to be precise, I’m not sure yet. I plan to find out later.”

“Can you tell me after you find out?”

“To the mayor? It’s been ages since he laid down his hammer and retired.”

“…I think it’s time to pick it back up. I don’t know if I can do as much as before, but I should at least give it a try.”

Hanarine and Kim Il-shin. The sight of those two sparked a flame in the long-burned passion of the old man.

‘Who will be the next mayor…’

Hwang Deok-su began to think about his third life.

At that moment, Kim Il-shin, who had placed the Hyunwol Sword into its sheath, walked toward the gate.

Hwang Deok-su shouted with all his might toward the inside of Jangsan Cave.

“Open the gate quickly! Our benefactor is coming!”

***

Hwang Deok-su held tightly onto Kim Il-shin’s hand, repeatedly bowing his head in thanks.

“Thank you so much! Thanks to you, our city can be safe.”

“It was nothing. It’s only natural for a hero-in-training to do this.”

Kim Il-shin replied formally. There was fatigue in his voice.

It was due to having repeated this conversation dozens of times over the past few hours.

At first, he felt proud of receiving such gratitude.

However, as sincere thanks followed each time they locked eyes, it was only natural he grew increasingly fatigued.

He had to deal with not just Hwang Deok-su but others as well.

Park Kwang-seok, who had made a wager on liquor, dropped by as well.

Without much conversation, he simply expressed his gratitude with a blank look before leaving, promising to bring him some good alcohol next time.

‘I’m sick of even looking at alcohol now.’

“Bring more bricks over here!”

“We need timber too!”

Jangsan Cave was undergoing reconstruction.

Though the gate hadn’t opened, many buildings were affected by the tremors caused by the rock spirit’s attack.

Since most citizens had expertise in construction and craftsmanship, the reconstruction seemed likely to proceed smoothly.

There didn’t seem to be many buildings that required complete reconstruction.

“We should be going now.”

Having started the conversation, I said it. It was time to head back.

Kim Il-shin had classes tomorrow, and Hanarine had overdue work.

However, Hwang Deok-su didn’t want Kim Il-shin and Hanarine to leave.

He resembled a grandfather trying to stop his grandchildren from heading home after a holiday visit.

“Why leave already! I haven’t even treated you to a proper meal!”

“I have class tomorrow, so it can’t be helped.”

“Is that so… then it can’t be helped…”

As soon as the topic of class came up, Hwang Deok-su readily accepted.

It was fortunate that they had a definitive reason to return.

If they hadn’t, they might have been stuck here for another week.

“Well then, it seems we should discuss the rewards now.”

Hwang Deok-su, without releasing Kim Il-shin’s hand, brought up a different topic.

The release of the rock spirit was an unexpected situation, and he hadn’t even thought about rewards.

“Of course, all the by-products from the rock spirit will belong to you.”

Even the by-products of the rock spirit were beyond comprehension in value.

Especially the heart of the rock spirit, buried deep below, was so rare it could probably be found in a ‘Rare Goods Shop’.

“And it would be unacceptable not to offer a reward for protecting Jangsan Cave. I’ll arrange to convey that to you later. While I’d like to hand it to you personally, well… due to circumstances as you can see. I hope you understand.”

“Just hearing that is enough. Thank you.”

“Sure, you can look forward to it.”

The by-products of the rock spirit plus the reward for guarding Jangsan Cave.

It was still unclear what the reward Hwang Deok-su was talking about was, but it surely held a value that was far from insignificant.

“Oh, and I sincerely apologize, but could you wait just a moment before you go?”

“Is there something you need?”

Since rewards were on the table, I intended to help with whatever I could.

Who knows, maybe they might add something more.

But Hwang Deok-su shook his head, indicating it wasn’t that.

“There was a guild that sent an emergency support request earlier. The Wind God Guild, you might know it. One of the top three guilds in our country.”

“Yes, I know of the Wind God Guild.”

“They should be arriving soon, but since the rock spirit has already been dealt with…”

“Is that a problem? It would be something good for the Wind God Guild too.”

Dealing with the rock spirit with minimal damage and securing Jangsan Cave was a result the Wind God Guild would certainly appreciate.

“That’s not the issue.”

“Then what is…?”

“The problem is that you’re the one who defeated the rock spirit.”

Kim Il-shin, who didn’t quite understand, began to grasp the situation with Hwang Deok-su’s next words.

“Because it’s a contract connected through the country, an emergency support request must include a report to the government about the situation. Given that, the Wind God Guild wouldn’t want any discrepancies during the incident.”

“Ah…”

“Normally, I could wrap things up myself, but for this matter, it seems essential for the one who defeated the rock spirit to be present.”

They would likely find it hard to believe that a mere academy student took down a rock spirit, so he wanted to have him testify in advance.

“Otherwise, it would be a hassle for them to cross-check everything. I think it’s better for you to sort it out here before you go.”

“If that’s the case, I understand.”

It seemed wise to resolve things here, as Hwang Deok-su suggested.

Being dragged around for investigations would only waste time.

“Oh, they’ve arrived.”

At those words, he turned his head toward the entrance, where four people walked in with baffled expressions.

“Are you the ones from the Wind God Guild? I’m Hwang Deok-su, the mayor of Jangsan Cave.”

“Ah, I’m Seong Ji-woon, the team leader of the 3rd team of the Wind God Guild. These are my team members.”

After a brief self-introduction, Seong Ji-woon immediately asked.

“First of all, could you tell me what happened? I heard clearly that a rock spirit had appeared…”

“In that case, it’s already been resolved.”

Hwang Deok-su explained everything that had happened previously.

From the emergence of the rock spirit attacking Jangsan Cave to Kim Il-shin single-handedly eliminating it.

Upon hearing the whole explanation, Seong Ji-woon muttered with a confused expression.

“That’s… hard to believe. An academy student captured a rock spirit all by himself.”

“What can I say if it’s true?”

“However, we still need to verify the facts. I hope you understand. Where is Kim Il-shin?”

Of course, it was hard to believe just by listening. Kim Il-shin stepped forward from beside Hwang Deok-su.

“I am Kim Il-shin.”

“Oh, then you can comfortably answer my questions.”

Just as Seong Ji-woon’s questions were about to continue, an unexpected person interrupted between them.

“There’s no need to go that far. I know him.”

It was Park Eun-ho, a B-rank hero who had been with them on the previous request.