Chapter 12: Tutorial (12)

“No! Noooo!”

As Dark Priest Yang Yong-hyun’s Mind Break took effect, archer Im Yeon-ji screamed and thrashed, her mind unraveling.

Horrific hallucinations assaulted her senses, triggering trauma and shattering her composure.

“You goddamn b@stards! I’ll kill you all!”

After a fit of madness, she picked up her bow again. Unlike before, she notched an arrow and drew the string with lightning speed.

“Die!”

“Gah!”

The arrow flew with deadly accuracy, embedding itself deep in her target’s back.

“Aaaaagh!”

“Aaaaah! Joon-ho oppa!”

But she hadn’t aimed at Yang Yong-hyun or Yoon Jae-ho, the enemy. Her arrow had struck Park Joon-ho, her own party leader.

“Unnie, what have you done! Are you crazy?”

“…Huh? No… No… I shot at them… That’s… That’s not possible… Ahahaha… It’s a dream. I’m dreaming…”

Park Joon-ho, the party leader and main tank, was dead, killed by his own teammate.

Horrified, Lee Ji-hye lashed out at Im Yeon-ji, but the archer, snapping back to reality, was stunned by her own actions.

“Tsk, I told you not to interfere. He died so easily.”

“What else could I do? Even you wouldn’t appreciate being shot with an arrow.”

“The priest can just heal him, can’t she?”

“I specialize in mental manipulation, I can’t use healing magic.”

“Sigh… Well, I guess we’ll just have to entertain ourselves with these women while we have some time.”

“Please refrain. We’ve been here too long. We need to erase our tracks and return to base. We can enjoy ourselves later.”

“D@mn it… Hey, fatty! Hurry up and finish this!”

Only three members of Park Joon-ho’s party remained. With Im Yeon-ji out of her mind and Lee Ji-hye, a healing priest, lacking in combat ability, only Choi Seung-hoon was left standing.

“Oooh, alright…”

He, a greatsword warrior, was facing Shin Yu-geon, the largest of the trio. Strangely, Shin Yu-geon was fighting with a serpentine dagger.

At first glance, Choi Seung-hoon seemed to have the upper hand.

Speed was a dagger’s strength, and Shin Yu-geon, morbidly obese, was anything but fast.

“Ugh! Why won’t this b@stard die!”

Despite his advantage, Choi Seung-hoon was growing frustrated. He had chopped the fat man into mincemeat at least sixteen times already.

“Ooooh… That hurts…”

But each time, the fleshy mass regenerated, reforming into a human shape.

A regenerative ability that bordered on the grotesque. It was the passive ability of the ‘Cult Fanatic’ class, granted to Shin Yu-geon after choosing the ritual dagger.

“Die! Die, d@mn you!”

Choi Seung-hoon, witnessing the endlessly regenerating flesh, felt a fear that transcended mere terror.

The fat man wasn’t an undead or an immortal. He was something far more disturbing and repulsive.

“Hey! Stop messing around and finish him already!”

“Oooh… I’ll be done soon…”

Seeing the prolonged fight, Yoon Jae-ho, who had finished his own battle, shouted impatiently. At his urging, Shin Yu-geon plunged the ritual dagger into his own abdomen.

A transformation began.

Shin Yu-geon’s already substantial body began to swell uncontrollably. It expanded, and expanded, and expanded, until it was nothing more than a grotesque mass of flesh.

“Ooooh… Hungry… Must… finish… quickly…”

The transformation complete, a massive, horrifying upper body, devoid of a lower half, remained, a grotesque mound of pulsating flesh.

“W-what is that?”

Choi Seung-hoon, the once-confident greatsword warrior, was horrified by the sight of something no longer human.

He dropped his weapon, his fighting spirit extinguished. But Shin Yu-geon showed no mercy.

“Oooooh!”

A massive, fleshy arm slammed down on Choi Seung-hoon. Thud! A heavy impact.

The fleshy mass dispersed upon hitting the ground, but the sheer weight of it had devastated the surrounding area.

“It’s over.”

“Indeed. That guy’s ability is creepy as hell. Ugh, so disgusting.”

With Shin Yu-geon’s battle concluded, the trio had only one task left:

Collecting the spoils. Their gazes naturally fell upon the catatonic Im Yeon-ji and the despairing Lee Ji-hye.

“No… No!”

“Well, we’ll finally have some fun.”

“Indeed. The ones back at base are all broken.”

Greedy, rough hands reached for their prizes, claiming their spoils of war.

“Noooo!”

Lee Ji-hye’s screams echoed across the desolate field, unanswered.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Lee Han-seong, as he had warned, hadn’t shown his face. So, Yoo Ha-na and I focused on our training.

And on the morning of the fourth day, I visited Instructor Moo-yeon for my usual training session.

“You’re starting to develop a solid foundation.”

“Haha, is that so? I guess I’m a cold-faced killer now.”

“Don’t get cocky. Your foundation is as sturdy as a straw house.”

Classic Moo-yeon. He had some serious dissing skills. They say the tongue is sharper than the sword, so Moo-yeon must be dual-wielding.

“So, today, I’ll teach you a new sword technique.”

“Ooh, I’m all ears.”

My bruised ego was quickly soothed by the promise of a new technique. I was already buzzing with anticipation.

“So far, you’ve been using a modified version of your existing swordsmanship. You added lethal moves to your static forms to quickly cut down your enemies. Death comes swiftly, so a sword that takes lives is called a ‘fast sword.’”

Instructor Moo-yeon demonstrated the movements of my “Vagabond Bongukgeombeop” as he explained.

Swift, decisive, and concise movements. In a life-or-death struggle, speed was paramount.

Hence, the fast sword. A sword of instant death, stripped of all unnecessary flourishes.

“However, the fast sword has a clear limitation. I’ll demonstrate. Attack me.”

He picked up a round shield from a corner of the training grounds. A sword in one hand, a shield in the other. The classic sword and shield combination.

“Here I come!”

With Instructor Moo-yeon’s permission, it was time for some sanctioned patricide. I was still holding a grudge for his earlier diss.

But I froze the moment I raised my sword in a high stance for a Jin-jeon-sal-jeok (Advance and Kill the Enemy) attack. He immediately raised his shield to protect his head.

“Hya!”

I tried a Jwa-yo-gyeok (Left Waist Strike). Same result. He anticipated my attack and blocked it perfectly.

“So, this is the limitation of the fast sword.”

“Indeed. The fast sword relies on exploiting openings. Therefore, it’s vulnerable to a solid defense.”

People usually died when struck by a sword. That was the principle behind the fast sword. A swift, unexpected attack could end the fight before the opponent could react.

But the fast sword, focused solely on speed for quick kills, neglected defense. Against a well-prepared opponent with a solid defense, its attacks were useless.

Our brief spar had proven that.

“Let’s switch roles. You take the shield, I’ll take the sword.”

After the first round, where I had accomplished nothing, we switched weapons and resumed the spar.

“Here I come.”

Instructor Moo-yeon assumed a low stance. Starting low meant he would likely swing upwards, so I lowered my shield accordingly.

But he swung his sword without hesitation. His movements were wide and exaggerated, his swing unnecessarily long.

He knew it would be blocked, yet he swung his sword in a manner completely different from the fast sword.

And…

Clang!

I felt a tremendous impact, as if struck by a hammer. My shield arm trembled.

“Interesting, isn’t it? Depending on your stance and the way you swing, a sword can generate this much power.”

He followed up with a powerful downward strike. I quickly raised my shield to block, but the impact reverberated through my already trembling arm.

“Ugh!”

Just two strikes, and my arm was numb. My muscles twitched uncontrollably. Losing strength in my arm, my guard faltered.

“Huh?”

My arm went limp. I couldn’t raise it, no matter how hard I tried. While I was struggling, Instructor Moo-yeon exploited the opening with a fast sword attack, aiming for my throat.

“W-what was that?”

Two attacks that defied the logic of the fast sword. And they had completely broken my guard.

“The fast sword is a sword of assassination, focused on quick kills. Therefore, it’s weak against defense. Wouldn’t it be useful to have a sword that prioritizes something other than killing?”

A shiver ran down my spine. Even if I could learn skills through the status window, it wouldn’t be as exhilarating as this moment.

“A sword that is the opposite of the fast sword…”

This feeling. It was as if my preconceived notions were shattering, my vision expanding. There were many words to describe this: A paradigm shift, creative thinking, a flash of inspiration.

But in webnovels with decent writing, they called it:

Enlightenment.

Instructor Moo-yeon, sensing my enlightenment, smiled faintly.

“‘If there’s no path, create one. If there’s no opening, make one. Discard the sword’s purpose, add unnecessary weight to its swing, and it becomes an unstoppable force.’”

We spoke the same phrase simultaneously, a mental connection between the enlightened and the newly awakened.

“What is the name of this sword technique?”

“A sword that crushes defenses and overwhelms resistance. It is called the ‘heavy sword.’”

Fifteen days after being dropped into this world, I had a small epiphany.