I Became a Swordsmanship Genius in the Game

Chapter 05. Mutant

The Arena Administrator Orc, Van-Grogue, thought.

‘Humans are a weak race.’

The humans he had encountered throughout his life were ‘a weak race that overcomes their weak bodies by living in groups.’

However.

“They are a strange race, too.”

Humans were different from the races of the Demon World, whose limits were set once they grew to a certain extent.

A very small number of mutants.

Humans who split mountains with swords and parted seas with magic.

Among humans, mutants as strong as a Demon King would occasionally appear.

“Ugh….”

Looking at the human who had fainted and collapsed again, the Orc suddenly thought of such powerful beings, like those mutants.

“What nonsense….”

It was an excessive leap in logic, a futile delusion.

He shook his head, brushing off the pathetic thought.

Then he looked down again at the fainted human.

If he were to think of such monsters from the human before him, anyone would call him a madman.

The human before him was nothing more than one of the countless bugs infesting the Demon World.

But!

The Orc narrowed his eyes as he recalled the human’s battle.

Certainly, in the first match against the goblins, the human had looked as if he was holding a sword for the first time.

But the result when such a person gripped a sword and swung it was completely different from his expectations.

‘…The speed at which he’s getting stronger is ridiculous.’

The human grew stronger each time he swung his sword.

When he fought the goblins, when he swung his sword alone in the waiting room, and in the Bronze promotion match.

The human grew endlessly stronger.

‘I thought the human race wasn't suited for the Arena….’

To the Orc, who had managed the human cages for several years, the fainted human before him was a curious one.

After reflecting on the human's actions and results so far, the Orc finally reached a conclusion.

‘I don't know.’

The Orc had watched countless gladiators die and grow in the Arena.

He couldn't be certain whether this human would grow like the mutants.

But there was one thing he could be sure of.

‘For now, he just seems like a bug, but.’

The human before him, despite being weak, possessed a growth speed on par with that of a strong human, like a mutant.

Since even the mutants were not strong from birth, there was no telling what would happen later.

He brought the moved human out from the infirmary.

The mana stones used for treatment could be deducted from the man’s match allowance.

The human let out a groan of pain.

“Ugh….”

The Orc watched him quietly for a moment, then slung the human over his shoulder and headed somewhere.

* * *

A familiar sound reached Hyunwoo's ears.

Thud―

The sound of food falling to the floor.

At the same time, he felt the hard floor of the waiting room.

“Eat, human.”

He regained consciousness at the familiar voice.

It was the Administrator Orc.

He was glad to hear his voice.

Because it was proof that he had survived this time as well.

As Hyunwoo let out a groan and sat up, the Orc's words continued.

“You have been promoted to Bronze. This is the Bronze waiting room.”

No wonder the surroundings felt different somehow.

Though bleak, the space was larger than the previous waiting room he had been in.

It seemed he had earned the qualification of a formal gladiator by rising to Bronze.

The Orc had another pouch in his hand.

He lightly tossed the pouch to Hyunwoo.

Hyunwoo snatched the flying pouch out of the air.

Then he met the Orc's eyes.

“……”

He had never had a conversation with the Orc, who had only ever given him food and left.

The administrator was just a kind of warden who watched over the gladiators.

As long as he didn't commit any major wrongdoing, the Orc had no reason to harm him.

After pondering how to talk to him, he just decided to treat him comfortably.

“What’s this, a special meal?”

He tried speaking casually, but the Orc didn't seem to care much.

“It's your victory allowance.”

“Victory allowance?”

Hyunwoo recalled the fight money.

From the Bronze arena onwards, those who survived a match were given mana stones as a reward.

Jjalgeurang―

The opened pouch contained small, reddish-glowing stones.

Mana stones were used as currency in the Demon World.

“Purchase what you need with the mana stones.”

“What I need? What can I buy with these?”

“Various conveniences and items necessary for survival. And….”

The Orc paused for a moment, then looked down at Hyunwoo and slowly continued.

“Weapons. Or you can get information. Focus on buying weapons and information. Because those are the most important things here.”

Hyunwoo fiddled with the mana stone pouch as he listened to the uses of mana stones the Orc was telling him.

He had no plans to buy a weapon yet.

‘For now, the regular weapons supplied by the Arena are enough.’

The same went for information about matches or news about the Arena.

‘These are settings I created, what do I need information for.’

Of course, he didn't remember every single minute detail himself.

But all the special or important things were in his head.

When Hyunwoo showed no particular reaction, the Orc, as if he had said all he needed to, turned and left without looking back.

Jeobeok―

As the sound of the Orc's footsteps faded and he was left alone, the first thing he did was call up the status window.

⌜Name : Kim Hyunwoo

Title : None

Skill : ■Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries (1-Star)―100%(M), ⊠

Unique Traits : Swordsmanship Synthesis, Master of Copying, Swordsmanship Genius⌟

The Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship, the first style Hyunwoo had learned.

He had finally achieved 100% proficiency in it.

He recalled the match with the werewolf.

He had been losing one-sidedly until just before the end.

‘If I hadn't mastered the Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship, the one who died would have been me.’

Master (M) of the Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship.

He recalled the illusion he had seen when he reached 100% proficiency.

The Master Event.

The world in the illusion had delivered a complete enlightenment to him.

‘Ha, looking at it like this feels new.’

He had learned just one swordsmanship style, and had only just mastered that one style.

But he was certain that though the beginning was humble, the end would be great.

Because the swordsmanship styles he would learn in the future were endless.

Of course, there were many problems to solve as well.

“…I wonder if my body will be able to withstand it when I learn a higher-grade swordsmanship?”

Although he had won consecutive matches, he had always lost consciousness at the end.

Because of that, his humble physical abilities felt even more serious.

As the power of his swordsmanship increased, the burden on his body would become even greater.

If a mere 1-Star swordsmanship was like this, what would happen when he learned 2-Star, 3-Star swordsmanship later on….

Hyunwoo shook his head and brushed off his worries.

‘I just have to find a way to raise my physical abilities before then.’

There were many ways.

He would be able to do it somehow.

Of course, in his current state with restricted movement, he couldn't solve it right away.

Hyunwoo, who had been thinking of ways to raise his physical abilities, took out the mana stone pouch.

Where to use the mana stones had been decided from the beginning.

‘Swordsmanship Slot.’

For now, opening the second, currently locked swordsmanship slot was the priority.

When he pressed the ⊠ in the status window floating in the air, a message flowed out.

⌜Would you like to open the second slot? The cost is 10 mana stones.⌟

The condition for opening the second slot was 10 mana stones.

There was no reason to hesitate.

“Open it.”

Wooooong―!

A strong vibration was felt from the pouch he was holding in his hand, and then the mana stones inside disappeared.

When he opened the lightened pouch, it was empty.

‘There were exactly 10 in there.’

He let out a dry laugh and threw the pouch on the floor.

The reward he had obtained by fighting for his life disappeared in an instant. Putting aside his slight disappointment, Hyunwoo examined the changed status window.

⌜Skill : ■Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries (1-Star)―100%(M), □⌟

The box that had been marked with a cross was now cleanly empty.

The second swordsmanship slot had been created.

‘Now I can learn a new, second swordsmanship.’

Hyunwoo mentally reviewed the list of 1-Star swordsmanship styles.

⌜Lizardman's Bug-Catching Swordsmanship⌟

⌜Red Orc's Basic Swordsmanship⌟

⋮

Come to think of it, there were a great many types of 1-Star swordsmanship. At a rough guess, dozens came to mind.

Although the types were that diverse, Hyunwoo had no intention of learning his second swordsmanship carelessly.

‘Rather, I should choose even more carefully.’

This wasn't simply about obtaining and synthesizing swordsmanship like in a game; it was directly linked to his survival.

‘A swordsmanship that would create synergy when combined with the Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship.’

He had to narrow down the scope and choose carefully.

Moreover, the swordsmanship he would learn this time was one that would also be used for synthesis with the ‘Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship’ later on.

If you master two 1-Star swordsmanship styles and synthesize them, a 2-Star swordsmanship is created.

It was possible to learn and synthesize 1-Star swordsmanship styles randomly, but that was too high a risk.

‘Because I didn't set the results of swordsmanship synthesis in detail.’

He couldn't learn just anything.

Since he had only created the framework and left the detailed parts to the AI, he had to learn in the most conservative way possible.

‘That being said, the synthesis result won't be random.’

There was always a rule and logic to the creations in the game that he had left to the AI.

Hyunwoo raised his sword. Get full chapters from novelFɪre.net

He swung it lightly and recalled the characteristics of the Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship.

‘A practical, slash-focused basic swordsmanship.’

In addition to that, upon mastering it, it contained the wild sharpness of the north.

As befitting a swordsmanship used by mercenaries, it was a style that had a strong feeling of being raw, rather than having a set form or style .

What kind of swordsmanship would have synergy with this style?

A swordsmanship that complemented its weaknesses would also be good.

As Hyunwoo pondered, a suitable swordsmanship came to mind.

⌜Mameluke Basic Swordsmanship⌟

It was a relatively well-known swordsmanship among the 1-Star styles.

A swordsmanship known to have been created by a demon tribe called the Mameluke.

It was a common swordsmanship, to the extent that anyone in the Demon World who used a sword would have tried learning it at least once.

‘Just because it's common doesn't mean it's bad.’

1-Star swordsmanship styles were treated as common and ordinary in the game.

It meant that among swordsmanship styles, it was one of the easiest to obtain.

The fact that it was universally learned among them meant that the ‘Mameluke Swordsmanship’ was excellent, not that its value was low by any means.

‘Mameluke Swordsmanship is a hegemonic, piercing-focused swordsmanship specialized for real combat.’

If the Mameluke Swordsmanship and the Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship were combined, a sharper and more practical swordsmanship would be born.

‘But it’s too attack-oriented, so risk management is poor.’

There was one swordsmanship specialized in defense and deflecting attacks. It was the

⌜Kilij Basic Swordsmanship⌟

The ‘Kilij Swordsmanship’ was not as common as the ‘Mameluke Swordsmanship,’ but it was a swordsmanship used by the residents of the Demon World.

‘Considering the disposition of the Demon World residents, they would be more drawn to an offensive swordsmanship than a defensive one.’

If the Kilij Swordsmanship and the Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship were synthesized, there was a high probability that a swordsmanship with a good balance of offense and defense would emerge.

Mameluke Swordsmanship and Kilij Swordsmanship.

For now, both of these swordsmanship styles boasted the best performance among the 1-Star styles that could be obtained in the Arena.

He was conflicted.

Because each had its pros and cons.

He sat down and agonized for a moment.

“……”

It hadn't been long since he had regained consciousness after the Bronze promotion match.

Perhaps because he had worried too much, Hyunwoo's eyes slowly began to close.

They say no one is a match for drooping eyelids.

‘Mameluke… Kilij….’

The deliberation at the crossroads of choice was hidden by his heavily settled eyelids.

It seemed he would have to postpone his worries until tomorrow for a while.