I Became a Swordsmanship Genius in the Game

Chapter 38. An Event Not to be Missed

Lucas sipped his tea without even glancing at Hyunwoo.

For a moment, while I was out at the market, Van and Lucas were sitting opposite each other, enjoying teatime.

As I was bewildered by the bizarre scene unfolding before my eyes, Van spoke up.

“Now that the master of the house has returned, if you have something to say, say it quickly and get lost.”

“……”

“I said, get out.”

“It is basic etiquette to refrain from arguing during teatime.”

“So teatime these days means drinking tea until your stomach bursts? Stop chugging it and get out.”

“Tsk… how vulgar.”

Judging by their sharp tones toward each other, it seemed the two of them weren't exactly enjoying a heartwarming teatime together.

‘What's with these bastards?’

Even with Hyunwoo right in front of them, they paid him no mind and just kept saying whatever they wanted to each other.

I had a rough idea why Lucas had come looking for me.

The Blood Pact.

He had probably come to resolve the pact.

What Hyunwoo was curious about wasn't his purpose for coming.

‘But why are they fighting amongst themselves?’

To sort out the situation, Hyunwoo first spoke to Van.

“Instead of telling him to get out, couldn't you have just not let him into the dormitory in the first place?”

“…The chain of command is important among administrators. That guy's administrator asked for it.”

So.

Van, who had only recently become a Silver Administrator thanks to me, was basically an automatic door.

“You're really useless for anything other than bringing me food.”

“No… that’s….”

“Useless.”

Van fell silent, his spirit broken.

‘One down.’

I took my eyes off Van and looked at Lucas.

He was still drinking tea amidst all this.

As Hyunwoo stared intently, he reluctantly placed the teacup on the table and opened his mouth.

“Have you decided what to ask of me?”

“No. But… how many cups have you had?”

“There was a lot of good tea.”

“……”

His shameless answer, in turn, left me speechless.

Several teacups were placed on the table, as if he had drunk every type of tea.

“Forget the request… do you have any idea how much this costs, drinking it all? And why are you using a different cup for each?”

“You're stating the obvious. If you use only one cup, the scents will mix. Do you not even know that?”

“Ah… is that so?”

A confident attitude that went beyond shamelessness.

It seemed this was a basic trait for those of demon lineage.

He let my sarcasm flow past his ears and lifted a teacup.

“Serving tea to a guest is the basic etiquette of a host.”

“And entering a house without its owner must also be basic etiquette, right?”

“……”

As if he had nothing to say, Lucas turned his head and started drinking tea again.

After he finished the remaining tea, he placed the completely empty teacup on the table.

“For a vampire, keeping a pact is a matter of the highest priority. Therefore, I shall apologize for the slight discourtesy I have committed.”

Lucas closed his eyes, placed a hand on his chest, and bowed his upper body slightly.

Perhaps he wasn't completely without a conscience; he was unnecessarily serious.

That must have meant that resolving the Blood Pact was that important to him.

“Since you have nothing to ask of me yet, I shall take my leave.”

Lucas rose from his seat.

“If, perhaps, you have a request for me later, come find me in Sylvester.”

“Sylvester? Did you take on another request?”

Lucas silently gave a small nod.

I had been debating whether to find him first or go to Sylvester first, but the dilemma had become meaningless.

“That works out. I was planning to go to Sylvester too. Let's go together.”

“……”

At Hyunwoo’s suggestion to go together, Lucas silently furrowed his brow and walked out of the dormitory.

Watching him quietly, I saw him standing still in front of the door.

If he was going to do that, he could have at least answered before leaving.

“What a funny guy.”

I had something to tell Van as well.

I spoke to the still-dejected man.

“Van.”

“…What is it. Do you have something to say to the useless administrator?”

Still holding a grudge over Hyunwoo's single remark, Van grumbled.

What's with this big, dark-skinned man sulking?

Hyunwoo lightly ignored him and continued with what he had to say.

“An item will be arriving from Lotus.”

“An item?”

“An artifact I ordered. Anyway. There's that and something else I asked Pierre to get, so tell him to pack everything up and bring it directly to Sylvester.”

I couldn't just keep waiting when I didn't know when the artifact would arrive.

As it happened, the glass bottles I asked Pierre for hadn't arrived yet either, so I figured I could just entrust it all to him.

“But how is he supposed to find… never mind.”

Van stopped mid-sentence and shook his head from side to side.

He probably realized it as he was speaking.

‘What's the point of saying it. He'll have to find his own way.’

I figured Pierre would take care of the cost of using the gate himself.

Since when did deliveries come with a fee?

“Tell him to bring it as soon as it's ready, as fast as possible.”

“Got it.”

With that, Hyunwoo left the dormitory and headed to the Market’s Request Center with Lucas.

* * *

The Request Center we arrived at was bustling with gladiators.

Even though that whole mess had happened just a short while ago, there was an overflow of gladiators wanting to head to Sylvester.

Are they fearless?

It certainly seemed like Sylvester doubling the commission fee was effective.

“…I'm not really in a position to talk.”

“What do you mean?”“We're also walking into the jaws of death with our own two feet, just to earn one more Mana Stone.”

“Jaws of death?”

“A place to die.”

“Only the weak die.”

“You would've died too, if it weren't for me, though?”

“……”

Lucas shut his mouth.

Well, as long as he could carve a Stigma, he probably wouldn't have actually died, but we weren't close enough to have that kind of conversation yet.

While Hyunwoo was chatting with Lucas, it seemed all preparations were complete.

Just like last time, once a certain number of gladiators had gathered, the guide led the gladiators through the Spatial Transfer Gate.

“Ugh.”

The gladiators rolled on the ground as if it were their own bedroom, dizzy from the immediate aftermath of passing through the Spatial Transfer Gate.

I looked at Lucas; he was covering his mouth, his brow slightly furrowed.

Hyunwoo tore his gaze from him and looked ahead.

After acquiring ‘Balance I’, I felt no aftereffects from spatial travel at all.

However, the bomb collar around my neck was still bothersome.

The chilling sensation of someone else holding my lifeline left a continuous, unpleasant feeling.

‘It’s a relief it doesn’t hinder my movements, at least… but the feeling is absolutely disgusting.’

The muggy weather, hot enough for heat to rise from the ground, was also affecting my foul mood.

It was a terrible heat.

The gladiators walking ahead of us also had their tongues hanging out and let out groans.

Lucas was still frowning, but he didn't go so far as to groan.

Hyunwoo moved closer to him.

“Among the gladiators who came back alive last time, it seems we're the only ones who accepted the Sylvester request again, huh?”

“……”

Lucas didn't even turn his head at Hyunwoo's words.

“Why did you choose the Sylvester request again? Is it because of the Mana Stones, as expected?”

“Is answering you part of the request?”

“Ah, so that's how you want to play it? You must want to be bound by the pact with me forever.”

“…I need Mana Stones. A lot of them. Are you satisfied?”

“What do you need them for?”

“……”

When Lucas shut his mouth and made an annoyed face, Hyunwoo took a step back.

That's enough for today.

Any more and he looked like he might explode on the spot.

‘Well, I guess I should be satisfied with just having a conversation.’

The only reason he was even responding this much was because we had formed a pact.

For now, it was a relief that prefixes like ‘vermin’ or ‘vulgar’ weren't attached to the start of his sentences.

He was just so damn prickly before you got to know him.

Hyunwoo, having moved a good distance away from Lucas, looked up at the sky.

The position of the Demon World's sun in the sky was always similar.

There were no such things as seasons in the Demon World.

But today was ridiculously hot.

‘It wasn't this hot last time… damn random weather effects.’

The daily weather is determined randomly by the mana fragments scattered in the atmosphere.

Even for Hyunwoo, who was confident he knew most of ‘Masal’, he couldn't predict the daily weather.

Hyunwoo wiped the sweat from his forehead and took out the note Verian had given him.

‘Some Gold Gladiators were deployed as scouts… that’s like poking a hornet’s nest.’

It seemed they planned to explore the tunnels left by Anesta in Sylvester, but it was a futile effort.

The inside of the tunnels was already a natural fortress.

There was no way to fight the creature without getting it out of the tunnels.

‘To lure Anesta outside…’

There was really only one way.

Hyunwoo organized in his head what he needed to do.

Just as a plan was starting to form, the sight of Gert Castle began to appear in the distance.

As we approached the castle, the forest began to appear. The perpetually green forest was incongruous with the hot and dry weather.

The forest was noticeably closer than last time.

As I was staring at the forest for a moment, the soldiers who were to take charge of the gladiators appeared.

‘I was wondering when they’d show up.’

The soldiers came out much later than during the last visit.

It seemed the forces at Sylvester were in a state of chaos as well.

The soldiers, who came running in a hurry, received the magic orb—the switch for the bomb collars—from the guide, just like last time, and took the gladiators away.

“Wait here for a moment.”

The place the soldiers guided us to was an area outside the castle gate.

I could see other gladiators who had been waiting first, and once about ten of them had gathered, they were sent into the forest.

Lucas stood still with his eyes closed and arms crossed.

Hyunwoo tore his gaze away from him and looked up at the castle.

The scenery of Gert Castle felt different from before.

For one, the number of guards on the castle walls had decreased.

‘Looks like quite a few gladiators were pulled out to be scouts.’

Moreover, the atmosphere on the castle walls was strange.

A sense of tension overflowed from the rigid expressions of the soldiers on the walls.

‘Well, I guess it makes sense. The forest where the Silvers were massacred has come right to their doorstep.’

Hyunwoo turned his head and looked at the forest.

With a little exaggeration, it was close enough to touch if you fell over.

A forest that was approaching day by day.

I could understand the fear of the soldiers who had to watch such a forest.

As new gladiators joined from behind, a soldier shouted.

“We're moving out now! Hey, you!”

“Yes.”

“Go to the supply depot and bring oil and torches.”

The soldier pointed to a building a little distance away.

The main task of the request Sylvester had given this time was not to hunt Lafre.

A new mission was given to the Silver Gladiators, including Hyunwoo.

The main mission was defense: to burn the forest and prevent the Lafre from expanding their territory.

The gladiators, including Hyunwoo and Lucas, grabbed oil and torches and moved into the forest.

Rustle―

The forest was right in front of them, so they could enter it immediately.

The gladiators who looked around spread out wide and poured oil on the tree stumps.

“This should be enough, right?”

“Yeah? Everyone out!”

Everyone went about their tasks efficiently.

It seemed as though each of them was accustomed to the unique mercenary life of a request.

As the gladiators who had been pouring oil on the stumps exited the forest, torches were thrown onto the oil.

Fwoosh―!

Not a single breeze blew, but in the dry air, the fire caught the oil and instantly spread to the surroundings.

As I watched for a moment, a terrible cry came from the forest.

Kieeeek―! New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on NoveI~Fire.net

Slither, slither―

Along with the cries of the Lafre, the sound of them approaching could be heard.

If all they had to do was set the forest on fire, they could have brought anyone, not just gladiators.

‘When you set a fire, the Lafre come swarming out.’

Hunting the Lafre that swarmed to interfere while they were burning the forest was also a supplementary mission given to them.

If they collected Lafre seeds, they would be exchanged for 40 Mana Stones, double the previous rate.

Instead of raising his sword to prepare for battle, Hyunwoo followed Lucas with his eyes as he joined the other gladiators.

He had already approached the flames, holding a giant greatsword with both hands, waiting for the Lafre to emerge.

A moment later, a few Lafre burst out of the forest, and Lucas began to swing his sword.

It was a scene that perfectly fit the old saying of using an ox-butcher's knife to kill a chicken.

KWAGAGAGANG―!!

The Lafre cleaved by Lucas's sword were shattered into pieces without a trace.

All that remained in the surroundings was a deeply gouged patch of ground.

After watching him swing his sword a few more times, the swordsmanship information appeared.

⌜Po Dienda Swordsmanship (2-Star)―66%⌟

⌜Synthesis Synergy with Sabla Swordsmanship (2-Star): High⌟

‘Thank goodness.’

In order to get closer to Lucas, I had been willing to learn it as long as the synergy wasn't the absolute worst, but as it turned out, the synergy was High.

It was the best possible choice, no need for hesitation.

‘Learn Po Dienda Swordsmanship.’

⌜Name: Kim Hyunwoo

Title: Super Rookie

Skills: ■Sabla Swordsmanship (2-Star)―100%(M), ■Skirma Swordsmanship (2-Star)―100%(M), ■Po Dienda Swordsmanship (2-Star)―0%(New!), ⊠

Unique Traits: Swordsmanship Synthesis, Master of Copy, Swordsmanship Genius, Pain Tolerance, Oxygen Tank

General Traits: Physique I, Swiftness I, Balance I⌟

Finally, I could fill the third slot that had been empty for a long time.

‘The condition for the fourth slot was mastering a 4-star swordsmanship, wasn't it? I can't even dream of a new slot for a while.’

There were no more slots that could be opened simply with Mana Stones.

Hyunwoo tore his gaze away from the status window and focused on the movements of ‘Po Dienda Swordsmanship’ being engraved in his mind.

As befitting a swordsmanship with heavy, single blows, all the movements were crisp and powerful.

The breathing, muscle movements, and even the timing required to use the swordsmanship.

I turned my head and watched Lucas swing his sword.

Unlike before, I could feel the immense flow contained within a simple downward strike.

‘If I were to have a conversation using Po Dienda Swordsmanship….’

Looking at Lucas with a meaningful expression, Hyunwoo took out Cheonbyeondo.

He changed Cheonbyeondo into the form of a greatsword.

Shing―

Hyunwoo held his sword and moved toward the Lafre that were bursting through the flames.

It was time for the proficiency burning event that could not be missed.