I Became a Swordsmanship Genius in the Game

Chapter 07. The Second Swordsmanship

Hyunwoo was able to find the Administrator Orc in no time.

“Kill him!!!!!”

He was hanging onto the iron bars and screaming.

I had always thought he was just the quiet type, but this was an unexpected side of him.

Hyunwoo approached him and tapped his shoulder.

“Kill… huh?”

The Orc turned around.

“I’d like to fight a match now too.”

The Orc, perhaps recalling his own appearance, suddenly cleared his throat.

“Ahem… Have you decided on an opponent?”

Even if he tried to act dignified now, in Hyunwoo's eyes, he already looked like nothing more than a fine gambling addict.

Hyunwoo once again scanned the opponents he had been eyeing within the gambling den.

The reason I had watched every match so intently was not only to acquire a swordsmanship, but also for the purpose of choosing an opponent.

I first excluded the gladiators who didn't use swords.

Because I couldn't be sure how strong they were.

The ones whose skills Hyunwoo could assess were the gladiators who used swordsmanship.

I could gauge their skill level by the difference in their swordsmanship proficiency.

‘The guys with about 20-30% swordsmanship proficiency.’

I judged that level to be moderately weak and suitable for raising my swordsmanship proficiency.

“Set up a match with that one.”

The Orc's finger moved, following Hyunwoo's gaze.

“Who? The Gremlin?”

It was a dark brown Gremlin with bat wings on its back.

‘Mameluke Swordsmanship at 23% and a small species.’

An opponent that perfectly fit the conditions I had in mind.

When Hyunwoo nodded, the Orc told him to wait and headed off somewhere.

The match system in the gambling den was simple.

You propose a match to an opponent you want, and if the opponent accepts, the match is made.

Therefore, there was no way my match request would be rejected, as I was of the human race, rumored to be weak.

While I was waiting, the Orc returned and reported the match order.

“It's the match after next. Go and wait in the waiting room.”

“Alright.”

As expected, the opponent accepted my challenge.

The so-called waiting room was nothing special.

It was just a narrow space between the ring and the iron bars.

Hyunwoo sat down and turned his gaze to the arena.

―Waaaaaaaaah!

Just then, a sound mixed with cheers and curses echoed through the gambling den.

It seemed the current match had ended.

The event moved on to the next match right away, and Hyunwoo’s turn came quickly.

“Fighters, enter!”

As soon as the referee's words fell, the Gremlin strode onto the ring.

The one who was already on the ring let out a roar.

The guy glared at Hyunwoo with eyes full of killing intent.

Then, Hyunwoo entered the arena.

“Begin!”

Hyunwoo took steps and quickly created distance.

Swoosh―

The Gremlin's blade, which flew toward my side, missed by a wide margin.

Hyunwoo had sensed the Gremlin's murderous aura even before entering and was prepared.

“Look how impatient he is.”

The Gremlin made a ferocious expression, as if frustrated that its surprise attack had been nullified.

Hyunwoo looked at the guy and drew his sword.

‘If I want to farm proficiency, I need to incapacitate him first.’

Instead of the unfamiliar Kilij Swordsmanship, I took the stance of the Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries.

Hyunwoo thrust the drawn sword straight out.

Swoosh―!

A slash that resembled the gales of the North.

The swiftly advancing sword slashed the Gremlin’s shoulder.

Kieeeeeeeeeek―!

The Gremlin's face filled with pain.

After a few exchanges, Hyunwoo was certain.

‘This is manageable.’

I was able to handle the Gremlin with ease using the mastered Northern Swordsmanship.

The only thing to be mindful of was managing my stamina.

Hyunwoo fought the Gremlin while paying attention to his stamina.

A short while later, when he had grown accustomed to the Gremlin's swordsmanship, Hyunwoo changed his stance.

⌜Kilij Basic Swordsmanship (1-Star)―5%⌟

Before the match, I had already managed to build up 5% proficiency just by swinging it for a bit in the training ground.

From now on, I planned to alternate between the Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries and Kilij Swordsmanship.

‘Because the proficiency of a swordsmanship rises easily in the early stages.’

The key now was to continue the fight with the Gremlin for as long as possible.

Hyunwoo exchanged blows moderately.

‘I'll raise my proficiency as much as I possibly can.’

Hyunwoo's eyes sparkled as he deflected the Gremlin's sword with Kilij Swordsmanship.

* * *

Clang―

The staggering Gremlin dropped its sword and backed away.

The act of raising both hands above its head and showing its palms.

It was a clear sign of surrender.

“Human wins!”

With the referee's shout, the match came to an end.

Hyunwoo watched the retreating Gremlin and sheathed his sword.

‘I was worried if I could use multiple swordsmanships at the same time, but there doesn't seem to be a problem.’

Even if this was a game-like world where a system window existed and I could copy swordsmanship, I, the one wielding the sword, was a real person.

It meant that swordsmanship wasn't something that could be executed like a command being inputted with a 'click'.

I had to use two types of swordsmanship according to the changing situation, and after one match, I vaguely got the hang of it.

⌜Kilij Swordsmanship (1-Star)―13%⌟

I couldn't raise the proficiency as much as I had thought.

It was because I had been experimenting by moderately mixing the two swordsmanships.

“This is your victory allowance. Take it.”

Jingle―

The Orc handed me a pouch of mana stones.

When I opened the pouch, there were 5 mana stones inside.

‘The Bronze promotion match gave 10 mana stones. This is only half.’

Although I hadn't come to the underground gambling den with the purpose of collecting mana stones, I felt a sense of disappointment when I actually saw them.

‘Should I entrust my mana stones to him and ask him to bet for me?’

Hyunwoo looked at the Orc and fell into thought.

Seeing that he diligently gave me my victory allowance, he wasn't a bad guy.

Among the Administrators, there were some who would even intercept the gladiators' allowances.

But if you asked whether I could completely trust him and entrust my mana stones, that was another matter.

Hyunwoo, who had been pondering, soon shook his head.

‘Not yet.’

At the very least, time was needed for trust to build between the two of us.

While I was thinking, I felt my exhausted body recover to some extent.

The next opponent he had his eye on was the Gnoll glaring at him from right across.

The Gnoll immediately accepted Hyunwoo's challenge.

The battle with the Gnoll unfolded in a similar pattern to the one with the Gremlin.

I alternated between the two swordsmanships and steadily raised the proficiency of my Kilij Swordsmanship.

Keoheong―!

“This bastard…!”

However, unlike the Gremlin, the Gnoll did not surrender easily.

The guy, his body covered in wounds, charged forward aggressively with killing intent.

Seeing him charge with white foam at the corners of his mouth, having even thrown away his sword, it seemed he had lost his reason to excitement.

“…Kuk!”

A Gnoll's bite is fatal.

It was a situation where getting bitten could lead to death.

The word 'moderately' disappeared from my mind.

“Damn it! You brought this upon yourself.”

Hyunwoo spat out a curse and cut off the guy's head in a single stroke.

I was only trying to follow the rule of not killing the opponent as much as possible.

There was no reason to risk my life to save him.

In the first place, this place, the Demon World, was a place where you die if you can't kill your opponent.

Like the Goblins who died because they couldn't kill me.

And likewise, the Werewolf who died.

⌜Kilij Swordsmanship (1-Star)―39%⌟

Therefore, looking at the increased swordsmanship proficiency, Hyunwoo focused on scouting for his next opponent.

‘The next opponent is….’

My thoughts were brief.

“Ugh―!”

As soon as I stepped down from the arena, I almost collapsed on the spot.

My legs were trembling.

The same went for the arm holding the sword.

‘Am I already out of stamina?’

I once again felt the necessity of physical training.

Swordsmanship was important, but since the body that formed its foundation couldn't endure, the limits were clear.

It seemed I would have to pay attention to physical training.

It wasn't that I couldn't fight if I wanted to, but there was no need to fight more in a poor condition.

This was enough for today.

Hyunwoo said to the Orc.

“Let’s go back now.”

“Already?”

The Orc showed a look of disappointment, but he quickly erased that expression and moved to leave the gambling den.

Hyunwoo dragged his tired body and followed him.

Although his steps were heavy, his expression was bright.

Because he had succeeded in learning Kilij Swordsmanship.

Now, it was time to move on to the next step.

* * *

After that, several days passed.

During that time, Hyunwoo visited the underground gambling den several times.

He fought life-threatening duels in the gambling den and did physical training in the waiting room.

The only exercise he knew was the bodyweight exercises he had learned in the military.

Hyunwoo struggled to lift his arms from a push-up position.

How many was that?

200?

No, was it 300?

Keu-eung―!

The floor was already soaked with the sweat he had shed.

Through the continuous matches, I was keenly feeling the need for physical training.

Heok― heok―

Hyunwoo looked at his arms that wouldn't go up any further and collapsed onto the floor.

‘…The speed at which my stamina is building up is too slow.’

It would have been nice if I had a trait like 'Stamina Genius' in addition to Swordsmanship Genius.

Physical training, where no tricks worked, was no different from hell for me.

I trained hard out of necessity, but there was a limit.

Of course, there were other ways to increase stamina.

‘…No. If I start looking for the easy way out now, it will only get harder later on.’

Building up basic stamina myself was the right choice, even for the future. Thıs text ıs hosted at nοvelfire.net

Keu-eung―!

Hyunwoo arduously repeated the physical training routine once more and then lay on the spot, panting as if he were about to die.

Heok― heok―

Now, even if you beat me to death, I can't move anymore.

Hoo―

Hyunwoo slowly caught his breath and thought of the Kilij Swordsmanship.

‘Certainly… each swordsmanship has its own characteristics.’

I could feel a clear difference from the Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries.

When I had learned only one swordsmanship, I didn't even know its characteristics, but comparing the two made the difference obvious.

A short while later, Hyunwoo, having regained some of his energy, got up.

The practice sword in his hand was swung sharply.

Swish―!

‘The basis of the Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries is the slash.’

All the movements of the swordsmanship were derived from the 'slash.'

The rough swordsmanship, which focused solely on cutting down the opponent, had no moves that could be called 'defense.'

It had only worked so far because my opponents were relatively weak.

If I had met an opponent far stronger than myself, I could have been easily defeated.

‘I'm glad I chose Kilij Swordsmanship.’

Kilij Swordsmanship was a style specialized in 'deflecting.'

In other words, since it was a swordsmanship that focused only on defense, it not only added the defensive ability I lacked but also had a synergy with the Northern Swordsmanship that wasn't bad.

Slashing and deflecting.

Hyunwoo was able to learn a stable fighting method by moderately mixing the two swordsmanships.

As I reviewed the swordsmanships I had learned, I again lamented my lack of stamina.

Hyunwoo was about to do more physical training again but paused and smiled bitterly.

Seeing himself, who had hated exercise so much, moving nonstop for survival, he thought that a human's ability to adapt was truly frightening.

‘Still, I'm continuously getting stronger.’

Compared to when I first set foot in the world of 'Masal', I had made great strides.

But it was still not enough.

To survive, I had to become endlessly stronger.

* * *

The next day.

Hyunwoo headed to the gambling den with the Orc, as if it were a repeated routine.

Walking through the passage, Hyunwoo stared at the system window.

⌜Kilij Basic Swordsmanship (1-Star)―82%⌟

My second swordsmanship was also gradually approaching mastery.

I was now at a level where I could perform Kilij Swordsmanship proficiently.

But what Hyunwoo needed was a swordsmanship with 100% proficiency.

I had focused on raising the proficiency for a week, but I still hadn't reached master level.

The problem was that I had only picked opponents weaker than myself to fight.

After 70%, the proficiency gain was too slow.

While Hyunwoo was pondering about it, the Orc stopped for a moment.

“Ah, right. I didn't tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“An Arena match has been scheduled.”

It was a sudden notification.

“…What?”

“The match is in two days.”

‘What is this Orc saying right now?’

Absurdly, he was telling me now that there was a match in two days.

Hyunwoo was about to argue but just closed his mouth.

It was a match that had already been decided anyway.

I couldn't cancel the match, nor could I not participate.

Arguing with the Administrator Orc would only be a loss for me.

The remaining time was two days.

Since I needed to manage my condition the day before, the conclusion was that I only had today.

‘I don't think it will be easy to hit master before the match….’

I have to reach master level before the Arena match to increase my chances of survival.

Hoping to become a master during the match, like in the fight with the Werewolf, was far too foolish.

There was no guarantee that such a fluke would happen twice.

I had wanted to grow in as safe a manner as possible, but it seemed the time had come to take a risk.

When you have to do something, you have to do it.

In the Demon World, being cautious was just a shortcut to ruin.

Tension filled Hyunwoo's body again.

His steps toward the underground gambling den were now filled with determination.