I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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Benjamin, sitting in the audience, sighed as he looked at Oliver, who was still in a daze.

It was a sigh filled with relief.

‘Thank goodness it worked out.’

When he witnessed Kim Il-sin’s aura being unleashed right after the duel, he thought the plan might fail.

The difference in strength between Kim Il-sin and Oliver was just too great.

The silver lining was that Kim Il-sin had an arrogant personality.

If he hadn’t toyed with Oliver to show off, marking him would have been impossible.

‘Other methods would have been… tough.’

It was fortunate that Kim Il-sin chose Oliver as his duel opponent.

Seeing his abilities, it seemed unlikely to assassinate him through any other means.

The most critical aspect of an assassination is stealth, and maintaining stealth against him would be a challenge.

“How vulgar.”

At that moment, a voice came from next to Benjamin’s seat.

Startled, Benjamin turned his head and was met with eyes as red as blood.

“Herb…!”

Immediately bowing his head, cold sweat rolled down Benjamin’s forehead.

The being sitting next to him was someone he couldn’t dare to look in the eye, a simple day laborer.

“Wh-what brings you here, Bishop…?”

The bishop, the practical power and head of the Bloodsky Church.

Among them, the vampire Vernika, present here, was notorious for her ruthlessness, regardless of who it was.

Just making eye contact could lead to a horrifying death.

“This is something the Church Master requested. You must not have been trustworthy. It seems my worry was not unfounded.”

“……I apologize for showing you disappointing results. However… our plans are proceeding well.”

Benjamin lamented in a trembling voice. It was a statement made at the risk of his life.

Fortunately, the disaster he feared did not occur.

Vernika’s gaze did not leave Kim Il-sin as he walked outside the arena.

“That’s not what I mean.”

“…Huh?”

“It must be handled properly.”

Benjamin, momentarily lost in thought, understood Vernika’s meaning and responded.

“……Of course. I will certainly fulfill the Church Master’s order with my life on the line!”

Soon, one by one, the people sitting in the audience began to stand up and head outside.

The exchange match that had concluded all its schedules had come to an end.

Swish, swish.

Vernika gestured to Benjamin, who kept his head lowered.

It was a sign that he could leave now.

“Then, may the blessings of the deity be with you.”

Benjamin deeply bowed as if his forehead would touch the ground and then stepped backward, distancing himself from Vernika.

Droplets of sweat trailed behind him as he walked.

Once everyone around had disappeared, Vernika thought.

‘……It’s dangerous.’

When she first received the Church Master’s orders, she felt resistance.

Having the bishop personally involved in a simple assassination operation didn’t seem worth the trade-off.

But upon confirming the target for the assassination just now, she could fully understand the Church Master’s intent.

‘Very dangerous…’

He was too much of an anomaly.

He was different from other transcendent beings such as legendary heroes or sword saints.

Vernika saw an infinite abyss in Kim Il-sin.

Swoosh…

A thick mist billowed from below, filling the floor.

As the mist moved, Vernika flicked her dark-stained fingers and began to murmur, her red eyes gleaming.

“It’s dangerous. He must be killed.”

*

Inside a smoothly moving vehicle, Hazuki stared vacantly into the air, murmuring softly.

“That was really amazing…”

Kim Il-sin’s movements, seen during the final duel, still lingered vividly in her mind.

Even though it had already been over two hours since the exchange match ended, that scene hadn’t left her thoughts.

“How can he do that…?”

It felt dreamlike.

What Hazuki desperately desired was to break free from the limits of swordsmanship and integrate technique into motion.

Kim Il-sin was displaying that seamlessly, as if he were breathing.

Every small step, finger gripping the sword, even his breaths, were imbued with countless intricacies.

It almost seemed as if every inch of his body was made of sword.

It was a realm far beyond the unity of sword and the self.

It was hard to believe they were the same age.

Unless he had undergone a transformation worthy of legend, how could that be possible?

It was even more shocking that it hadn’t been an intentional motion.

‘I wanted to see more.’

The only regret was that the duel opponent hadn’t drawn out Kim Il-sin’s full potential.

Kim Il-sin had overwhelmed his opponent without revealing all of his strength.

He had hardly even used swordsmanship.

‘I wish I had been the opponent…’

Hazuki imagined how it would have been if she had faced Kim Il-sin instead of Oliver.

Victory would be out of the question.

But she would have seen and felt much more compared to just watching from the outside.

“Kim Il-sin left right away, right?”

“Yes. It seems he went home immediately after the schedule ended. I heard he went to meet his acquaintance, the hero Park Eun-ho.”

“Ah…”

Hazuki deeply regretted. If she had known, she would have at least tried to talk to him before the exchange match began.

Just then, the secretary driving in front spoke up.

“Don’t be too disappointed. You’ll meet him again soon.”

“Huh? How so? Weren’t we heading back right now?”

Hazuki asked, surprised.

Since she missed this opportunity, she thought the next one would take a long time to come, or maybe would never come.

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Then how do we meet again…?”

“It seems the family is planning to invite Kim Il-sin directly. It should be in about a week.”

“Wow…!”

Hazuki let out a cheer of joy.

She didn’t know the reason why the family was inviting Kim Il-sin.

But the mere chance to see his movements again made her happy.

When the time comes, she wanted to attempt a conversation for sure.

If possible, she hoped to receive advice on training methods or tricks of movement.

As she was in high spirits, a sudden thought crossed her mind.

“By the way, will he accept the invitation…?”

An ordinary person would have no reason to refuse the invitation of the esteemed Endo family, but Kim Il-sin was anything but ordinary.

It wouldn’t be easy to exchange courtesies. They had quite a distance between them.

“He won’t have a choice but to come.”

“Is that so…?”

However, the secretary seemed firmly convinced that Kim Il-sin would surely accept the invitation.

At first, Hazuki was puzzled, but once she heard the reason, she quickly understood.

“The head of the family personally invited him. I also heard it was a request from the Hundred Families.”

Among the people from the Hundred Families, only Baek Ho-san could directly request a sword saint.

If that’s the case, the invitation delivered to Kim Il-sin would carry the will of both Baek Ho-san and the sword saint.

There was no way he could decline.

“What’s the reason for the invitation?”

“I’ve heard it’s some sort of reward… but I don’t know the details myself.”

It was surely not a regular reason, but Hazuki had no time to mind that.

She was wholly focused on imagining the meeting a week later.

She was looking forward to spending a meaningful time exchanging swordsmanship with Kim Il-sin.

*

Inside a crumbling abandoned building on the outskirts of the city. Standing under the flickering light, Benjamin spoke.

“Are you okay?”

“……Yes, Master.”

Oliver, who answered Benjamin’s question with difficulty.

His faltering body was in a bad condition, quite the contrary to his outward appearance.

There were no visible injuries from the outside.

The only attack he received was a single punch at the end, and the traces of that attack had been completely erased by healing magic.

The problem lay within, not on the outside.

Along with a significantly reduced lifespan, his mana storage in the lower dantian was completely ruined.

The mana that periodically rampaged continued to inflict dreadful pain upon Oliver.

It was obvious that he couldn’t properly utilize mana.

If he had received an external injury from a sword wound, he would have completely regenerated during the healing process.

But Kim Il-sin’s punch had caused shock from within the lower dantian.

‘…What a vicious guy.’

Even if he tried healing by calming the mana, he had no idea how long it would take to recover.

In such a state, if he couldn’t receive treatment in time, he might never recover throughout his life after this incident.

However, Oliver prioritized the Church Master’s orders over his future.

Given the sacrifices he had made, he thought the deity would surely be pleased.

“Will you be able to perform the ritual without any issues?”

“Of course.”

The preparations for the ritual were perfect. He had been preparing ever since the moment the duel opponent was decided.

Thanks to that, he was able to activate the curse through the ritual even in poor condition.

Goooh…

Following that, Oliver, now positioned in the center of the prepared room, began the ritual.

Thump.

Oliver’s head helplessly fell to the cold floor.