I Became a Swordsmanship Genius in the Game

Chapter 04. Master Event

There was something Hyunwoo learned after spending a few days in the waiting room.

The space he was in was not the Bronze waiting room but a ‘temporary’ waiting room.

Being here only meant that he had earned the qualification to be promoted to Bronze, not that he was a Bronze grade yet.

[There will be a promotion match in three days.]

He recalled the Orc's words, spat out casually as he delivered food like usual.

“Things are getting tough already.”

To become a Bronze gladiator, one had to go through a promotion evaluation and succeed in surviving.

And so, today.

The evaluation for the Bronze promotion was scheduled to take place.

The evaluation was a one-on-one death match.

Naturally, the price for failing to be promoted was death.

Gwaak―

Hyunwoo's grip on the rusted iron sword tightened.

He had swung the sword like a madman for three days and nights, without rest.

His whole body was bruised and his palms were blistered, but he couldn't stop.

To live, he had to move without resting.

“Hah!”

The best he could do right now was to get the proficiency of the Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship to 100%.

Hyunwoo swung the iron sword he had received for training all day long.

He let out a ragged breath and sat down.

He checked his swordsmanship proficiency with a sliver of hope, but it was as he expected.

‘…Just when the hell will I master this?’

⌜Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries (1-Star)―99%⌟

As a result of clinging to swordsmanship day and night, he had succeeded in raising his swordsmanship proficiency to 99%.

But since yesterday, the proficiency had not risen from 99%.

“…Damn it.”

Even for a 1-Star swordsmanship, its power when it became Master (M) was considerable.

He needed to raise the remaining 1% to become a Master, but one piece was missing.

For instance, something like a flash of insight was needed.

‘What is… insight?’

In the game's setting, ‘insight’ meant a momentary flash of realization through practice or real combat.

In game terms, it would be something like, ‘Upon reaching 99% proficiency, you can reach 100% through a random encounter,’ but….

He had no feel for it at all.

‘Why did I have to put in this damn setting….’

It was a device created for dramatic effect within the game.

The unique event that occurred upon reaching 100% proficiency was a system that users had mixed feelings about.

Shwiik―!

Hyunwoo swung the sword a few more times before stopping and plopping down.

His faintly trembling arm was telling him.

If he moved any more, he wouldn't even have the stamina left for the death match.

Recalling his stamina, Hyunwoo clicked his tongue briefly.

“I have too little stamina. It would have been great if I had at least one trait related to stamina… but there’s nothing I can do here, ahh.”

‘Swordsmanship Genius’ was certainly a broken trait.

A trait that not only allowed one to skillfully wield a sword right away, but also to quickly raise its proficiency.

But Hyunwoo's body, which was the foundation for it, was no different from trash.

The body of an ordinary human.

It was too weak a vessel to fully contain the swordsmanship.

Instead of complaining about his weak body, Hyunwoo steeled his resolve.

If his spirit broke here as well, it would truly be the end.

‘I can do it.’

Even if his swordsmanship proficiency wasn't 100%, even if his human body was too weak, he could do it.

As Hyunwoo was strengthening his resolve, he heard the sound of familiar footsteps.

Jeobeok―

There were no other gladiators around the waiting room where he was located.

There was only one person who would come all the way here.

The Orc who approached the front of the waiting room unlocked it and opened his mouth.

Kkiik―

“Come out.”

It seemed the promotion match was about to begin.

Hyunwoo came out without a word.

When he came out, the Orc turned without a word and began to move somewhere.

A long corridor continued.

A short while later, the Orc, who had stopped at the end of the corridor, turned and opened his mouth.

“Choose one.”

Various types of weapons were prepared, such as swords, spears, sabers, shields, flails, bows, and whips.

The weapon he would choose was already decided anyway.

‘A sword, what else.’

However, there were quite a few types of swords.

Among them, Hyunwoo picked out a sword that suited the Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship.

Seureung―

Leaving behind the plausible-looking swords, he took a crude sword with a practical appearance in his hand.

The well-oiled scabbard and the sharp-edged blade showed signs of having been maintained.

It was a crude but practical sword, a perfect fit for the Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship he used.

Hoo―

As he gripped the sword, his heart began to pound like crazy.

To be honest, he was afraid of the current situation.

He also thought about wanting to run away, but Hyunwoo bit his lip and headed for the arena.

‘There’s nowhere to retreat to anyway.’

Behind him was the Administrator Orc, watching him with an axe hanging down.

In front of him was the arena.

He would die if he ran, and he would die if he was defeated.

‘I will fight and win.’

The best among the available options was already decided.

There was no longer any hesitation in Hyunwoo's steps as he moved forward.

As the closed wall of the arena began to open to the left and right, the cheers of the crowd poured through the gap.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah―!

Hyunwoo hardened his expression and looked around.

Perhaps because it was a match for a one-on-one death match, the scale of the arena was not large.

The audience also seemed smaller than last time.

It seemed that the match, being merely a Bronze promotion match, hadn't received much attention.

But the enthusiasm of the attending audience was quite remarkable.

“Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!”

Seeing the audience, in whom a hint of madness could be glimpsed, he could roughly guess.

‘I guess betting is possible from here on out?’

From the Bronze promotion match onwards, betting on the gladiators existed.

As expected.

On the large screen to the left, numbers that appeared to be the payout rates were written.

[8.92 : 1.08]

‘To have an opponent's payout rate of 1.08, shit, I must look like a real pushover.’

Conversely, Hyunwoo's payout rate was 8.92.

Even by simple calculation, it meant that an amount close to 10 times more had been bet on his opponent.

The human gladiators who had been dragged here as slaves were nothing more than sacrificial lambs who mostly ended up dying.

He could tell that fact just by listening to the cheers from the audience seats.

“I bet all my mana stones! If you lose to the human, I’ll pull out your soul and make you my slave for life!”

“Kill the human right now!”

“Tear him apart!”

Curses and insults poured down on Hyunwoo from the audience seats.

It was brutal.

Hyunwoo muttered a curse and stepped onto the stage.

A moment later, Hyunwoo's death match opponent slowly revealed himself.

Krrrrreung―

A gray werewolf that had already finished its preparations for battle, with its fur bristled.

Its sharp teeth and claws shone, reflecting the light that illuminated the arena.

Looking at its vertically long, slit yellow pupils, his body naturally began to tense up.

‘Of all things, a werewolf….’

It was not an easy opponent.

Hyunwoo recalled the werewolf's attack patterns and gripped the hilt of his sword.

Seureung―

As he drew the sword from its scabbard, his tension eased a little.

If it was one-on-one, it was still worth a try.

The things to be careful of were its teeth and claws.

He was outmatched in physical ability, but holding a sword gave him a slight advantage in terms of distance.

Kreung―

The werewolf let out a low growl.

Soon, its lips twisted.

It seemed to be sneering at the fact that its opponent was a human.

The creature certainly looked strong.

But it was a Bronze promotion candidate, same as Hyunwoo.

It was no different from himself.

“So what, you're just a son of a bitch. Come at me, you bastard.”

At Hyunwoo's provocation, the werewolf charged in an instant.

Conversely, instead of charging to meet it, Hyunwoo held his ground.

Through the life-and-death struggle with the goblins and his swordsmanship training, Hyunwoo had been able to realize one thing.

‘I have to conserve my stamina.’

Stamina management was more important than anything else.

In a state where there was already a large difference in physical ability, if he also lacked stamina, the only result would be death.

⌜Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries (1-Star)―99%⌟

He thought about how to utilize his swordsmanship to the fullest.

The werewolf threw itself at Hyunwoo with the speed of a beam of light.

It was an opponent that was impossible to beat without getting hurt in the first place.

With a response of trading flesh for bone, he did not back down and kept the werewolf in check with the tip of his sword.

He aimed only for the neck and heart.

Because of that, the werewolf also couldn't swing its sharp claws widely and repeated a pattern of hit-and-run.

Small and large scratches began to appear on Hyunwoo's body one by one.

After that, the same exchange was repeated over and over.

Keueong―!

The werewolf attacked,

“Hah!”

And Hyunwoo would counterattack.

Hyunwoo managed to land a few attacks.

‘Damn it….’

They were shallow.

He had tried to trade flesh for bone, but the creature's movements were too fast.

While the werewolf had only minor scratches, Hyunwoo's armor was already dyed red.

Droplets of blood dripped from his armor.

At that sight, the audience let out cheers.

‘Keuu….’

Hyunwoo, who had dodged the claws, staggered and retreated.

Blood seeped through his clothes.

“Damn bastard. It’s testing the waters.”

The creature maintained a certain distance and did not approach any further.

It seemed to know that if it dragged out the time, he would die from excessive bleeding.

As if to prove this, the ground beneath Hyunwoo's feet was already soaked with blood.

His body slowly grew heavy.

His consciousness also began to fade.

But he never let his stance break.

‘I definitely felt something.’ The rıghtful source is N()velFire.net

⌜Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries (1-Star)―99%⌟

His proficiency was still stuck at 99%, but he felt his swordsmanship changing slightly amidst the fierce exchange.

The feeling of a wall breaking down.

‘Just one more time….’

Mastering the Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship.

Right now, that was the only thing Hyunwoo believed in.

The moment a drop of blood formed on his eyelid and made Hyunwoo's vision flicker.

Keoheong―!

The werewolf, which had been waiting for an opportunity, charged.

And at that moment.

‘……?’

Sharp claws came in, aiming for Hyunwoo's neck. It was a hair-trigger moment, but Hyunwoo stared blankly at the claws with his eyes wide open.

Slow.

The speed of the approaching claws was gradually slowing down.

The surrounding scenery was the same.

The gestures of the cheering audience slowly decelerated.

And when even the sound disappeared.

Tuk―

The world stopped.

In an instant, the world had changed.

The scenery before his eyes split open, and a pure white snowfield unfolded.

He was, at some point, standing on fluffy snow.

‘The Master Event!’

A phenomenon that appears when one reaches the Master stage.

A moment later, his body moved on its own.

There, dozens of wolves were surrounding Hyunwoo.

As if his only purpose was to leave footprints on the pure white snowfield, he walked naturally among the wolves.

The wolves bared their teeth and charged.

His body swung the drawn sword without hesitation.

‘Ah!’

He cut, and cut again.

With one slash, a wolf's head soared into the air.

Seogeok―!

It was a special experience where the sensation was engraved in his mind.

One stroke, one stroke.

Like calligraphy brushed with force by a master.

The wolves' bloodstains were etched onto the pure white snowfield.

A rough and sharply honed slash.

‘This is the real Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship.’

The moment the flashing sword cut the neck of the last remaining wolf, the scenery of the snowfield was also torn to shreds.

And the arena unfolded before his eyes.

The stopped time began to flow quickly again.

The werewolf in the arena, which had come right up to his nose at some point.

Keong―!

Its claws had reached just short of his neck.

Seueuk―

The enlightened Hyunwoo exuded a different aura than before.

After naturally deflecting the claws swung by the werewolf, he swung his sword.

Seugeong―

“……!”

The blade cut through the werewolf's arm without any resistance.

A difference so great that he was certain of it even without the system telling him again.

⌜Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries (1-Star)―100%(M)⌟

That was how big the difference between 99% and 100% was.

It was definitely the same swordsmanship. Even though he swung with the same sword path, the energy contained in the strike was different.

The creature retreated backward.

He could see its face stained with pain and bewilderment.

‘Oh no you don’t!’

After all the trouble he went through to get this chance.

He didn't miss the retreating creature and followed it closely.

The wounds all over his body opened up due to the sudden movement.

But if not now, there would be no other chance. Because his stamina wouldn't hold out any longer.

“Kraaaaaaah!”

Hyunwoo, who had closed the distance, swung his sword like a madman.

The Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship unfolding from his hand was an exact replica of the movements he had performed in the illusion just a moment ago.

The sharp wind of the rough north.

At that fierce offensive,

Keoheong―!

As the werewolf lost its balance and tilted its body, Hyunwoo did not hesitate and aimed the tip of his sword, thrusting it forward.

Puk!

He drove the sword into the werewolf's mouth.

With a small final cry, the creature collapsed and then, thud, it fell.

“Heok… heok….”

Through his ragged breaths, the dead werewolf came into view.

Its tongue was hanging out limply.

The blade had pierced the werewolf's mouth and completely penetrated the back of its head.

Hyunwoo felt his eyes slowly closing and let go of the sword.

‘Shit, again….’

Perhaps because he had lost too much blood, his consciousness faded as the tension was released.

‘In any case.’

The most important thing was.

That he had survived once again.

Even as he was losing consciousness, Hyunwoo could manage a smile.