I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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As soon as Kim Il-shin entered the waiting room, the exchange match began.

The duel took place in the arena where only the academy officials were seated in the audience.

Ordinary people could not directly watch the exchange match.

Kim Il-shin’s turn was last.

While the first three duels were going on, Kim Il-shin observed the entire process and soon made his evaluations.

‘Below my expectations.’

The skills of those who were the top students of the academy were consistently disappointing.

Putting aside their clumsiness, there were those who couldn’t properly understand their strengths and weaknesses.

‘They are still in the third year, after all.’

The exchange match was a gathering of promising talents who were still growing, not of the academy’s top experts.

Therefore, he had expected that the skills of those gathered here weren’t fully matured yet.

Still, it was frustrating, nonetheless.

He thought that encountering a new kind of talent might inspire new insights.

‘But I was expecting something from the Sword Master.’

He had thought that being a descendant of the Sword Master would mean something different, but there was nothing to take away from her swordsmanship as well.

She was certainly stronger than others, but that was all.

He could find no trace of the Sword Master’s legacy in her abilities.

Seeing the chaotic flow of her sword, it seemed she did not truly understand the intricacies contained within her own swordsmanship.

The sword used by the Sword Master was solely the Quick Sword.

He had trained just that one sword to its limits.

Thus, the strikes he created could even slice through space.

However, her sword couldn’t even scratch the surface of Kim Il-shin’s Quick Sword, let alone separate space.

‘It’s disappointing, but it’s still disappointing… Let’s focus now.’

Rising from his seat, Kim Il-shin stepped out of the waiting room. It was now his turn.

There was someone following behind him—his duel opponent, Oliver.

Patter. Patter.

Kim Il-shin knew that Oliver was gunning for his life.

However, he walked without any signs of vigilance as if he knew nothing.

Since their goal was assassination, it was wise to act normally now when they couldn’t reveal their true colors.

“That guy is Kim Il-shin.”

“Is he the student who was acknowledged by the Great Hero?”

“I’m looking forward to it. I hope it’s not just a fluke.”

“I wonder how much he has grown since that time…”

As they entered the arena, he felt the sharp gazes of the people seated in the audience.

It was not a gaze of wariness, but rather one of analysis.

Kim Il-shin stood in the arena without concern, checking his plans while looking at Oliver across from him.

‘That guy’s core ability is a curse.’

Oliver would be trying to assassinate Kim Il-shin using that curse.

For them, it would be the most covert and certain method.

Oliver’s ability, [Death Sentence], allowed him to place a mark on his opponent, leading to death through a curse ritual afterward.

Once a mark had been engraved, if the curse ritual was not interrupted, death could not be avoided.

The method for Oliver to leave a mark was through contact.

His palm had to be in contact with the opponent’s body for more than 3 seconds to inscribe a mark.

Moreover, it could only be done when the opponent’s mana was fully activated.

This was because the curse of the mark had to travel through the mana.

For those reasons, it was difficult to inscribe the mark outside of combat situations, and here was another issue.

‘Powerful abilities come with substantial risks.’

For Oliver, that risk was the shortening of his lifespan.

His lifespan would shorten by ten years every time he activated his ability to leave a mark.

Regardless of whether the use of his ability was successful, his lifespan would unavoidably reduce, making it a very deadly risk.

If things went wrong, he might not even leave a mark and simply die from running out of lifespan.

‘I’ll let him leave a mark.’

That was the best way to limit the assassination attempts.

They would surely think that if they could only leave a mark, the assassination would be considered successful.

They would never think that Kim Il-shin would be aware of Oliver’s abilities.

He had compiled those elements into a plan.

First, he would allow Oliver to leave a mark, causing them to let their guard down, and then take them all out in one fell swoop.

He already knew where they would head after the exchange match.

Of course, he had no intention of letting them easily leave a mark.

This time, he was thinking of incapacitating at least one of them.

‘Five should be fine.’

As he finished thinking, he stepped forward.

He hadn’t drawn the Hyeonwol sword yet. He hadn’t deactivated his concealment either.

It was all for a definite twist in the story.

“…Start!”

As soon as the referee’s words ended, the suppressed energy of Kim Il-shin exploded.

The chaotic energy of Cheonji Myowongong turned wild. The dense mana settled like a deep lake.

All of that occurred in a flash, and immediately afterward, Kim Il-shin’s new form accelerated explosively.

“Oh my…!”

“Whoa…”

At that moment, everyone realized. Kim Il-shin had already surpassed the realm of mere students.

There was no lie among the accomplishments he had achieved.

Swoosh!

The sharply refined aura aimed at the opponent’s neck, and the startled Oliver reflexively thrust out his right hand.

Swish!

The hand imbued with [Death Sentence] sliced through the air.

‘With this…’

In the blink of an eye, another ten years of lifespan vanished. Oliver, gritting his teeth, formed the shattered bone fragments in the air.

The spinning bone fragments descended at irregular intervals.

Thud.

As Kim Il-shin lowered himself to the ground, ready to touch the earth, his blurred form slipped like flowing water between the pieces of bone, silently stalking Oliver’s back.

It was a perfect opportunity, but he intentionally hesitated.

He relinquished his legs to the bindings bursting from the ground and withdrew the force behind his sword.

Crash!

The Hyeonwol sword had become trapped within the defense barrier they had built.

Feigning panic by waving his arms, Oliver’s hand reached through the barrier as he seized the opportunity.

Crack!

Using sheer strength, Oliver tore apart the bindings and retreated. The Hyeonwol sword had never been embedded in the first place.

‘Twice.’

This part had gone smoothly, but moving forward, he would need to weave in more advanced strategies.

Oliver’s expression, who had foolishly wasted twenty years of his lifespan, was ferocious.

Infuriated, his eyes shone with a malevolent glint.

It seemed he would not fall for ordinary traps anymore.

‘There’s plenty of time.’

However, the initiative in this duel was endlessly tilted in Kim Il-shin’s direction, and the outcome for Oliver was already set.

*

‘…Have I just thrown away fifty years? In such a short time?’

It was so absurd that he couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief.

He had never imagined he would waste more than half of his life in a place like this.

‘This… snake-like bastard…’

Gritting his teeth, Oliver glared at Kim Il-shin with eyes filled with malice.

Since long ago, his chipped teeth had made no sound.

From the moment the duel began until now, Kim Il-shin had continuously toyed with Oliver through disorienting movements.

‘He couldn’t have known about my ability… right?’

That thought did cross his mind.

However, only Oliver himself and his master, Benjamin, knew about the existence of [Death Sentence].

Even the higher-ups of the Jeokcheon Cult were unaware, so it was impossible for Kim Il-shin to know about Oliver’s abilities.

Since there had been no way for information to leak from the start.

In the end, Oliver concluded that Kim Il-shin was toying with him.

Kim Il-shin’s unexpected strength and his filthy disposition. Those two elements had brought this situation about.

‘But still, I succeeded.’

There was a harvest. Oliver had managed to leave a mark on Kim Il-shin’s body during his last fifth chance.

‘May the blessings of the gods be upon me.’

If he could fulfill the Great Leader’s orders, his lifespan was not a loss.

Devoting one’s life to the return of the god was an unparalleled glory.

Oliver firmly believed that all of these sacrifices would return to him as the blessings of the gods in the future.

‘What remains is the ritual.’

To him, the outcome of the duel was unimportant now that he had achieved his goal.

Oliver created a gap in the defensive barriers surrounding him.

He intended to allow an attack and then immediately forfeit.

He wanted to quickly finish the exchange match and kill Kim Il-shin through the curse ritual.

Boom!

A fierce punch, filled with wild energy, came crashing toward Oliver.

Oliver tightened his abdomen as he thought.

‘Since this is the last, let’s enjoy it now.’

The allowed punch connected with Oliver’s abdomen, and an unexpected phenomenon occurred.

“…Ugh! Cough!”

The force surging from within struck Oliver’s organs.

A pain he had never experienced in his life spread out like a slow wave.

“Ugh, ugh…!”

The worst spot was his lower dantian.

The mana within the dantian, struck by the impact, boiled furiously and rampaged.

The out-of-control mana ate away at Oliver’s body from the inside.

“Gah… Aaaaaah!”

The fallen Oliver began rolling on the ground, surrounded by healers.

They rushed in to suppress his convulsing body and cast healing magic.

However, it would be difficult for them to stabilize the chaotic flow of mana.

He had already sustained injuries in the dantian that would be hard to recover from.

Of course, Kim Il-shin would bear no responsibility.

Since this was a match, it’s common for the flow of mana to get tangled during combat.

Clang.

As he pocketed the Hyeonwol sword, he looked down at Oliver, being treated.

With the dantian destroyed by the artistry of the Moon Valley, further combat would be tough for him.

The curse ritual would still be possible, though.

‘That was successful up to this point.’

Now, he had nothing left but to take out those guys in one swoop.