Became a Swordsman Genius in a Pretty Girl Game - Chapter 322



322. No Self (2)

Me?

Overthinking?

Hmm.

Honestly, I found it hard to agree.

The thoughts I engage in during battle are hardly anything more than:

Arranging party members and adjusting their movements.

Analyzing the enemy’s traits and weaknesses.

Understanding the enemy’s patterns.

Judging the party members’ health and skill cooldowns.

And preparing about fifteen plans for the variables that arise at that moment.

Ah, and I suppose choosing my sword path and dodging could also be considered judgment?

Yeah, that was about it.

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It was absurd to say that I overthink.

As I explained this and expressed my doubts,

the swordsman gaped in disbelief, and the master glared at the party members.

“······You’re saying you have no thoughts in battle while doing all that?”

“Right? Isn’t this the basic level for a party leader?”

“I knew that, but those trashy guys. They should at least be moderate in holding you back.”

No, how on earth are you supposed to face the enemy if you don’t even do this much?

As I continued to show my confusion, the master even glared at the party members with a murderous look. The swordsman clicked his tongue and said,

“Tsk, Seolhee was right. You could become stronger if you learn ‘no self.’ Those who swing their swords instinctively from the start don’t see much improvement from this, but in your case, there will be a clear difference.”

As he spoke, the swordsman let out a hollow laugh, as if he found it hard to believe.

“Not only do you possess the power of an irregular among men, but your judgment is abnormally quick, so you missed it.”

Well… I’m not sure, but if learning about the self makes me stronger than before, that’s good, right? It’s not a bad thing.

In fact, it’s something to celebrate.

Especially since more troublesome beings will suddenly pop up as the demon realm gates start appearing everywhere.

“Instead, all the judgments you’ve made until now must be discarded.”

“…Huh? Discard my judgments?”

Then who will lead, and who will decide?

The one who answered my question was my master.

Swish—

“You must do it yourself. How long have you been sucking honey under the shadow of your disciple? The sweet smell is so strong it’s rotting your teeth. I’ll make those guys realize it through their own bodies.”

With a hardened expression, my master drew his sword and walked toward the party members.

Uh, um.

When my master has that kind of expression, it really doesn’t bode well…

Clap—!

“Alright, enough of playing the caretaker!”

As I looked at the party members with a worried expression, the swordsman clapped his hands to draw my attention.

“Now, leave that side to Seolhee. You will have lessons with me.”

*

However, we didn’t jump straight into training.

“Could you wait a moment? There are restrictions on using my abilities. If I just use them recklessly, this mana will go berserk.”

“Uh, then how…”

“So, I met that little magic kid yesterday, remember?”

The swordsman let out a light chuckle and pulled out a small box from his robe.

As I infused mana into it.

Whooom—

A blue barrier appeared, with a radius of about 100 meters centered around the swordsman.

I too was included within that realm.

“Ah, this is something I received as payment for the debt I owed to the little magic brat, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

Thud. Thud.

The swordswoman lightly tapped the wall.

She smiled with satisfaction and nodded her head.

“Hmm, this should be fine. That little magic brat is certainly capable.”

Then the swordswoman unsheathed the old sword tied at her waist and stabbed it lightly at her feet.

It was a light movement, but the result was anything but light.

A heavy pressure surged forth.

‘!’

I unconsciously took a step back and placed my hand on the sword’s hilt.

She stared at me with an intrigued expression, stroking her chin.

“It’s been a long, long time since I’ve used my abilities, but… I still haven’t repaid the debt I owe you…”

“Y-yes…? That’s for the master—”

Then the swordswoman waved her hand dismissively.

“Ah, come on, researching Baek Seol-hee and your sword. Teaching Seol-hee the Ice Heaven Sword? That’s just too much change left over, isn’t it?”

Then the swordswoman pointed at me with her finger and said.

“You saved my granddaughter’s life. You also provided a safe place for me, who has an infinite amount of mana. Thanks to that, I was able to live and see my granddaughter again. But I put your life in danger, and to call that equal is an insult to the promise I made with my sword.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

I nodded in agreement with her words.

Well, if I owe a debt of the heart to the swordswoman, then using that to my advantage is also a skill.

At that, the swordswoman raised the corners of her mouth in a pleased manner.

“Aha! It’s good to be bold. Now, then, take this—. This is my ability, the Thousand-Hand Sword Form (千手劍形), which has made me known as the Emperor of Swords.”

With those words,

A pure white energy extended from the swordswoman, forming a sword aura in the air.

The sword auras were densely inscribed, like raindrops frozen in the sky.

* * *

The swordswoman called Baek Seol-hee a monster brat and a sword-crazed spirit.

But in truth, that was an incorrect assessment.

Baek Seol-hee was not a sword demon obsessed with how to kill her enemies most efficiently, but rather a flesh demon.

To her, a sword was merely a tool to endure against foes.

She was pathologically fixated on the sword itself, possessed by a madness to collect every sword in the world.

A ghost who had no lingering attachments to dying while swinging a sword, clinging to just one.

The nickname “sword demon” was more fitting for the sword master.

If it weren’t for her encounter with Alice, the sword master would have spent his life swinging a sword in some desolate place, endlessly pondering it.

And he would have ended his life while wielding that sword.

Such was her ability, the Thousand-Hand Sword Form (千手劍形).

A skill that laid out sword energy across the area with immense mana to confront her enemies.

It was the pinnacle of form (形) and style (式), a culmination of her lifelong enlightenment regarding swords.

Enemies facing this would feel a sense of despair, as if they were up against a foe wielding a thousand swords with a thousand techniques.

No matter what sword was thrust at her, the sword energy would fly to intercept it.

From the opponent’s perspective, they would find themselves unable to discover a way to counter it, forced to abandon their own sword in despair!

Moreover, the proficiency of each sword technique she executed had reached an extreme.

It was no easy task to target and counter any single sword technique.

No one had ever faced her Thousand-Hand Sword Form without feeling defeated.

The only ones who had were the extraordinary beings who had completely neutralized the Thousand-Hand Sword Form with a mere finger: the superhuman, Mage Lina.

And Baek Seol-hee, who, as if indifferent to her own life, charged in and thrust her sword into the path of death, piercing through.

Until now, those two had been unique.

And the disciple they cherished and nurtured.

Additionally, the benefactor who saved both her and her granddaughter’s lives.

‘Jin Yu-ha, just how many exchanges do you think you can endure…’

How long had it been since she could use her abilities without restraint?

Indeed, it was good to be alive.

She had used up all the debts she had incurred for this purpose with Lina.

But it didn’t matter.

Those were debts she had originally set aside for Mal-sook.

Using it for the benefactor who saved her granddaughter—what hesitation could there be?

No, setting aside such debts or rationalizations.

I meet a worthy opponent after a long time and draw my sword.

Isn’t that the purpose and reason for living until now?

Chomp─

Before I knew it, I had returned to the madman of the past, obsessed with the sword.

She couldn’t hide her excitement and licked her lips.

“Come on, show me. And prove it. The tip of your sword.”

* * *

For now, I lightly shook my body to gauge my opponent’s reaction,

Swoosh─!

A blade of energy flew in and struck the ground.

Swish!

With a chilling slicing sound, a thread-thin hole appeared where my left foot had just been.

If I hadn’t pulled my foot back, it would have been severed in an instant.

“Crazy!”

I almost lost a foot right from the start due to my carelessness.

Cold sweat began to bead, and a tense chill ran down my spine.

I focused my eyes and tried to analyze the sword paths etched in the air.

However.

Swoosh─!

As if to say there would be no respite, dozens of blades of energy shot toward me instantaneously.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

I desperately swung my sword to deflect the energy blades, but each one carried an immense weight.

It must be a top-tier sword drawn from a gacha.

If it weren’t for the moonlight, it would have shattered long ago.

“I can’t see any openings at all.”

No matter where I moved or where I extended my sword, only a future of being countered unfolded before me.

With such unreasonable power, this character is just a creation that I can’t even use, destined to become a material for Alice’s awakening.

Kakakakak─!!

I cursed the Velvet Sra production team inwardly, as always, and swung my sword again.

Then, suddenly, I realized there was a technique that suited this exact situation.

‘Ah, right. The bow…’

I immediately activated the vision of Saro and the bow.

And then, darkness welcomed me.

All sight was stained with a pitch-black surface.

In other words, no matter where I stepped, it was all a path to death.

Good grief.

How on earth am I supposed to overcome something like this?

Even as I let out a hollow laugh, I kicked off and threw myself forward.

In the pitch-black landscape where not a single ray of light entered,

Towards the faintly flickering line that seemed like it would extinguish at any moment.

‘But, this is a path of escape… Isn’t it not a way to defeat the Sword Master?’

For a moment, such a question crossed my mind.

But for now, surviving is the priority.