I Became a Swordsmanship Genius in the Game

Chapter 43. The Negotiation Table

When Hyunwoo nodded, a resplendent light flowed from the status window, and a new swordsmanship was created.

⌜Crux Swordsmanship (3-Star)― Two movements, a vertical slash and a horizontal slash, are unleashed in a single moment. The ultimate secret technique of Crux Swordsmanship is the cross slash, which combines these two movements. By using mana, the cross slash can be fired as a sword ki.

Proficiency: 0%

Trait: None⌟

The movements of Crux Swordsmanship were engraved in my mind.

However, unlike the previous swordsmanship styles, there were a few movements that I couldn't understand at once.

Hyunwoo silently recalled the movements of Crux Swordsmanship and identified which ones he couldn't comprehend.

‘They’re movements that require mana.’

Recalling the movements of Crux Swordsmanship engraved in my mind, I could clearly understand why I couldn't use a 3-star swordsmanship properly without mana.

Being told to use a 3-star swordsmanship without mana was like being told to fly without wings.

Therefore, raising the proficiency of a 3-star swordsmanship would have to wait until after I obtained mana.

Knowing in advance that it was impossible, Hyunwoo gave up easily.

‘The condition to open the fourth slot is mastering a 4-star swordsmanship. First, I need to get mana and….’

Hyunwoo recalled his future growth plan once more and examined Cheonbyeondo.

⌜Cheonbyeondo―1st Awakening

…If you specify a desired form, the sword can transform.

1st Awakening Ability: Attribute Endowment⌟

In ‘Masal’, items basically had no attributes.

Here, there were attributes related to each element, such as fire or water.

While there was the effect of adding damage with an attribute, what was more important was the boss battles.

For example, when facing a Calamity-level demonic beast like Anesta, if you didn't attack with its weakness attribute, the damage wouldn't even register properly.

This was the reason why Cheonbyeondo was a broken item.

By offering an artifact with an attribute as a sacrifice to Cheonbyeondo, it could create a sword that used that attribute as is.

Just with the ability to change attributes to match the opponent, it was considered a Tier 1 item in ‘Masal’.

‘The problem is what attribute to put into Cheonbyeondo.’

I already had an attribute in mind.

Naturally, it was an attribute related to ‘fire’, the weakness of Anesta, which I had to face right away.

Now, all that remained was how to obtain an artifact related to it.

‘I can get a simple fire attribute artifact right now, but….’

Not all fire-related artifacts produced the same effect.

As it happened, there was a good item related to that in Gert Castle.

‘If I play my cards right, I might be able to get it easily.’

I had no intention of missing the opportunity if it came, but I couldn't be sure yet if that opportunity would come.

As I took a moment to organize my thoughts and rest, evening had arrived.

A commotion was felt from outside.

‘Is it time?’

Hyunwoo left Pierre behind and came out of the barracks.

Soldiers and gladiators were running around busily.

Just then, the sight of a soldier on the watchtower shouting came into view.

“The Lafre are swarming in!”

My head was a mess, but they came at a good time.

Now, all I had to do was hold on in the castle and wait.

Hyunwoo picked up Cheonbyeondo and headed for the castle walls.

The corrupted walls would not be able to protect Sylvester for long.

Running, Hyunwoo looked at the castle walls, then at the inner castle where the lord resided.

‘It won’t be long now.’

The day the tedious Lafre hunt would end was not far off.

* * *

Several days passed as the siege of Sylvester continued.

In that time, the pact with Lucas also came to an end.

[It doesn't seem you need to learn more swordsmanship from me.]

The pact was over, but he didn't treat me coldly.

It seemed the experience of fighting together had helped.

The days in Gert Castle went by like a hamster wheel.

During the day, they maintained the castle walls, and at night, they blocked the invasion of the Lafre.

However, the soldiers were becoming more and more exhausted, and the number of invading Lafre was, on the contrary, increasing.

The tattered castle walls were in a state where they could collapse at any moment.

In such a situation, a knight came to find Hyunwoo.

“Follow me.”

“Yes? Where to…?”

“The lord is looking for you.”

It seemed the opportunity I had been waiting for had arrived.

‘By now… he must be quite desperate, right?’

I couldn't grasp the lord's exact thoughts, but if it wasn't a desperate situation, he would never have summoned a mere slave gladiator.

It must be about ‘Anesta’.

Hyunwoo obediently nodded and made a request.

“By any chance, I'd like to bring a companion with me, would that be alright?”

“A companion?”

“His name is Lucas, he’s a fellow gladiator.”

“Are you perhaps talking about that vampire?”

“That’s right.”

“If that’s the case, it’s fine. We’ve summoned him as well.”

They summoned Lucas too?

I couldn't tell what business the lord had with him.

Hyunwoo tilted his head and moved his feet.

The knight guided him to the inner castle where the lord resided.

I had wandered around the distance between the castle walls and the inner castle, but this was the first time I had come this far.

The inside of the castle was similar to Gert Castle.

The achromatic, desolate interior scenery seemed to represent the dry sensibility of the demon race.

After walking down a corridor following the knight for a while, we arrived at the lord's office.

“My lord. I have brought them.”

“Let them enter.”

The owner of the low, deep voice coming from inside was the lord.

Upon hearing his voice, my body began to tense up on its own.

A being who was the master of a castle was, naturally, a demon.

Moreover.

‘He’s qualitatively different from those sponsor guys who just hand out business cards at the arena.’

Even among demons, not all were on the same level.

In the room, a creature with the head of a cephalopod, an octopus, was sitting in a chair.

‘Even when I saw him on the monitor, I got a similar feeling to Davy Jones from the Caribbean… but this is, well, a complete carbon copy.’

The creature, with impressive tentacles dangling around his mouth, looked as if he would be pirating on the high seas.

However, he was not a pirate, but a demon.

‘Bation Sylvester.’

In Masal, the name of a region meant the surname of its ruler.

The fact that the ruler's surname was the same as the name of the region indicated a high level of authority.

The Bation before my eyes could be said to be the first demon Hyunwoo had encountered in the true sense of the word.

‘He’s not a character with a meticulously crafted backstory, though.’

Hyunwoo carefully observed Bation and recalled his profile.

‘A magician, cautious and suspicious personality. And….’

Even when Bation was just sitting still, an overwhelming presence was felt.

It was similar to the mana I had felt from the knights, but it felt heavier.

The moment our eyes met.

‘Urk… a damnably authoritarian personality!’

I hurriedly cast my eyes down, but it was already too late.

Suddenly, my vision narrowed, and I couldn't breathe. The pressure constricting my heart was intense. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novᴇlfire.net

Hyunwoo stumbled and barely regained his balance.

⌜Balance I⌟

Without the power of the trait, I would have collapsed on the spot.

“Hoh.”

Bation, seeing Hyunwoo endure, let out an exclamation of interest.

“You seem to have some tricks up your sleeve.”

He spoke shamelessly as if it were nothing and dispersed his mana.

In fact, from a demon's perspective, revealing one's class with mana was indeed nothing special.

This was probably just a form of greeting.

“Hoo….”

Hyunwoo gasped for breath.

Only then could he spot the others who had been hidden by the lord’s presence.

To Bation's left was Noctis, the knight who had gone out on reconnaissance as a scout and had barely returned.

The sight of him coughing up blood as if he were about to die was vivid, but it seemed it wasn't fatal.

On the opposite side of Noctis was Lucas.

Lucas’s expression was dark, as if he had already had some discussion with Bation.

“Sit.”

At Bation’s word, Hyunwoo and Lucas sat down.

He looked back and forth between the two and continued speaking.

“The reason I called you two is to commend your merits in defending the gate.”

“Thank you.”

“……”

Hyunwoo answered promptly, but Lucas kept his mouth shut.

As if something else was displeasing him, Lucas kept his lips firmly sealed.

Bation stared intently at Lucas.

Hyunwoo gave Lucas a signal with his eyes before the atmosphere became even more hostile.

He reluctantly opened his mouth.

“Thank… you.”

“Indeed. If you have achieved merit, you should receive a reward.”

Fortunately, Bation did not take issue with Lucas's attitude.

Hyunwoo was expecting something other than a reward.

‘He wouldn't have called me just to give me a reward.’

Commending meritorious service was something that could be done in a public setting, or just by delivering the reward separately; it wasn't something to be done so secretively.

As Hyunwoo had expected, he changed the subject.

“Before that… there is something we must discuss first. Human.”

Bation looked at Hyunwoo.

When their gazes met, a pressure was felt even though he wasn't using mana.

Hyunwoo hid his nervous heart and answered.

“Yes. You called for me?”

“I hear you brought information about a creature called Anesta?”

Hyunwoo glanced at the knight, Noctis, who was guarding Bation’s side.

My story must have been relayed through his mouth.

“That is correct.”

“I heard about you from Sir Noctis. However… a question suddenly arose.”

Hyunwoo swallowed hard internally and tensed his body.

“How do you know about the monster called Anesta?”

Bation’s question.

From now on, it was important.

Hyunwoo opened his mouth with a nonchalant expression.

“During my time in the human world. The village I lived in was annihilated.”

“You're speaking nonsense.”

Hyunwoo continued, unperturbed by Bation who was narrowing his brow.

“The creature that appeared had a face in the shape of a giant flower and used its stems like arms.”

After that, Hyunwoo vividly described Anesta's appearance as if he had seen it with his own two eyes.

As Hyunwoo's realistic explanation continued, the knight Noctis, who was beside him, let out a groan and spoke in a low voice.

“…It matches exactly what I saw. My lord.”

“Hmm….”

Noctis gave weight to Hyunwoo’s story.

“You asked how I know Anesta? Anesta is an enemy I must take revenge on, even if it takes my entire life! How could I not know of it?”

After hearing Hyunwoo’s words, Bation fell into thought for a moment.

Then, as if he felt something was strange, he opened his mouth.

“When I first received the report, I did not hear anything like this story. Why did you not say this then?”

Bation had a suspicious and cautious personality.

Knowing his personality well, I had even prepared an expected answer to a surprise question in advance.

“Who would listen to the words of a mere slave?”

Bation threw out other necessary questions by surprise, and Hyunwoo answered according to the situation while observing him.

A moment later, Bation turned his head to Noctis.

When Noctis nodded, Bation narrowed his brow and leaned back in his chair.

He looked at the human before him and thought.

‘To think I’d have to ask a favor of a mere human slave….’

On the outside, it looked as if Gert Castle was defending well against the Lafre.

However, they had only been holding on, and now they had reached their limit.

A report had come in that the breeding speed of the Lafre was also increasing with time.

‘In the end, it means that monster must be eliminated.’

The problem was that it wasn't easy.

According to Noctis's report, Anesta was a monster that moved elusively through tunnels.

The annihilation of the Gold Gladiators who participated in the scouting party was a painful blow to Bation as well.

Even for him, he had no confidence in breaking through the Lafre’s interference inside the tunnels and facing Anesta.

He needed some other way, so he had called the human, clutching at straws.

He had grasped the fact that the human before him knew well about Anesta.

Bation straightened up from his leaning chair.

“I have something to ask.”

The moment Hyunwoo saw Bation's face, he knew what he wanted.

“Do you want a way to kill Anesta?”

“…You’re a quick-witted one. Do you happen to have a way?”

“I need a Lafre corpse.”

“A corpse?”

“Don’t you want to hear the answer?”

Hyunwoo was consistently nonchalant, as if talking about something obvious.

Watching Hyunwoo, Bation, who had finished organizing his thoughts, gave a slight nod.

At that signal, Noctis quickly went outside and brought a Lafre corpse.

As the corpse was placed on the office floor, Hyunwoo took out a glass bottle containing a golden beetle from the subspace.

“This is the answer.”

“…A bug?”

“It’s a creature called the Golden Beetle of Arum.”

Showing is faster than telling.

Hyunwoo opened the lid of the glass bottle over the Lafre placed on the floor.

Buzz―

The golden beetles, with a small flap of their wings, instantly latched onto the Lafre corpse.

Then they began to gnaw at the Lafre corpse in an instant.

Crunch― Crunch―

The body of the Lafre was pulverized in the blink of an eye.

A moment later, only a little powder that had fallen from the corpse was scattered in the office.

Everyone in the room wore a surprised expression.

“What is that bug?”

“This bug is the natural enemy of the Lafre. By using them, we can lure Anesta out of its tunnels.”

Hyunwoo took out a glass bottle containing golden beetles from the subspace in his pocket.

Bation stood up from his seat, examined the bugs in the bottle, and then looked at Hyunwoo.

No longer could I feel pressure or an intimidating feeling from him.

The atmosphere had changed.

“It seems this conversation will be a long one. Would you care for a cup of tea?”

“Yes.”

Hyunwoo cheered inwardly.

The most difficult first step of the negotiation with the lord.

He had succeeded in getting him to the negotiation table.