In the game, the Guncheon Sword was what Do Gyeon-u obtained as a reward for resolving an issue involving the Singeom Doga alongside Gang Han-byeol.
The Guncheon Sword could be said to be the weapon among those obtainable in the game that had the best compatibility with Do Gyeon-u.
To the extent that it could be said to elevate Do Gyeon-u, who specialized in the Suwang-ryu, to a higher realm.
‘So the sword I choose from the vault can only be this one.’
There were also swords in the vault that were not mentioned in the game.
But I felt there would be no sword that suited me as well as the Guncheon Sword.
More than anything, I felt drawn to it.
Zing.
Had Do Si-eun felt this way too?
The moment I perceived the Guncheon Sword, no other sword caught my eye from then on.
It gave rise to an illusion that only the sword and I existed in the world.
It felt as if the sword was calling to me.
No, was I the one calling?
‘The sword is crying.’
It was not an illusion.
The sword gripped in my hand trembled faintly, as if delighted, and conveyed a clear sound.
At that moment, I was certain.
That this was the only sword for me.
I examined the Guncheon Sword’s information.
[Guncheon Sword]
◆ Equipment Classification
— One-Handed Sword
◆ Detailed Description
— One of the swords cherished by the second patriarch of the Singeom Doga, Do Min-geon.
— A unique sword in the world, forged from the horn of a Lightning Horn Beast and quenched over the course of a hundred days.
— It tests its master.
◆ Detailed Effects
— Constitution +3, Agility +3
— Upon equipping, consumes internal mana to convert into a reverse-blade sword.
— Upon equipping, increases the level of all skills bearing the name ‘Suwang-ryu’ by 1.
— Skill: 「Current Affinity」
— (Unlock Condition: Agility 50 or higher)
As expected, it did not betray my expectations.
The Guncheon Sword boasted performance that did not fall behind the Suyeon Sword.
No, to me, the Guncheon Sword was superior.
While the Suyeon Sword converted mana into water droplets, using them as conductors to freely raise the attack power of the Suwang-ryu,
the Guncheon Sword elevated the realm of the Suwang-ryu simply by being equipped.
For me, who preferred the path of low mana consumption, the Guncheon Sword was more attractive.
Moreover….
‘How do I channel the mana?’
There was also a reverse-blade sword mode where the edge and spine were reversed.
It symbolized the weakness of Do Gyeon-u, who feared wounding his opponent; on the other hand, it was an unnecessary function in the game where reducing an opponent’s HP to zero did not unconditionally result in death.
But in a world where the game had become reality, the story was different.
If you reduced an opponent’s HP to zero, you would truly kill them.
Since I would be entering the Academy City in the future and facing many enemies, I needed a weapon capable of subduing foes without killing them.
The Guncheon Sword fit that purpose as well.
‘Ah, so I just channel it like this.’
It wasn’t that I intended to uphold a doctrine of non-killing like Do Gyeon-u from the game.
If there came a time when I had to kill someone, I would duly do so to reach the ending I desired.
But if they were not an enemy that had to be killed, and if there was no reason to kill them, I preferred not to.
I was not a killing machine that moved with calculated precision for the future to the extent of treating murder as routine.
If I lived like that, there would come a moment when I was isolated by the people of the world.
“Oh, got it.”
After several attempts,
I converted the Guncheon Sword into a reverse-blade sword and carefully ran my finger along what was originally the edge.
It had dulled enough to be used as a striking tool, like a spine.
Conversely, the spine was sharpened, and merely touching it lightly drew blood at my fingertip.
‘At this level, I can beat the hell out of anyone picking a fight, right? Still, I should be careful not to strike vital spots by mistake.’
A reverse-blade sword is still a sword.
If you swing it recklessly believing you’re using the spine, you might accidentally kill someone.
I licked the blood from my fingertip and returned the Guncheon Sword to its original state.
Then I sheathed it.
“Noona, I’ve picked everything, so let’s get going.”
“Yes, everyone must be waiting outside.”
Both I and Do Si-eun,
having obtained the swords we wanted, were in high spirits.
Our steps leaving the vault were light.
When we exited, Grandfather and the others were waiting.
“Did you choose what you needed most? Oho, it seems you both chose swords.”
“….”
All eyes gathered on us.
Grandfather turned his back to their gazes and received the swords we had brought out from the vault.
“The Suyeon Sword and the Guncheon Sword, is it? Both are excellent swords. Somehow, you both ended up choosing swords cherished by the second patriarch.”
“Yes, Patriarch.”
“Cherish them. Here.”
The Patriarch handed the swords back.
Do Si-eun and I received the swords back and did not forget to express our gratitude to the Patriarch.
Meanwhile,
“Patriarch.”
“Yes, Gyeon-u. What is it?”
I brought up my business to Grandfather, who looked down at me with a pleased gaze.
It was the purpose for which I had come to the main house, something I had been waiting for a chance to mention.
“I’ve obtained a new sword, and I’m glad to see the Patriarch after so long, so…”
“So?”
As if to say, ‘Look at this kid.’
Grandfather twitched one brow and urged me on.
I replied brazenly.
“That’s why I’d like to receive a bout from Grandfather. Would you teach me?”
“…!”
“Hoo.”
“I ask this of you.”
Behind the Patriarch,
Father, Mother, and the others showed signs of panic.
They had not expected me to say such a thing.
“To exchange a bout with my grandson… Hehe, come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever crossed swords with you.”
Meanwhile, Grandfather was greatly intrigued by my request.
Grandfather stroked his beard, his eyes sparkling.
“Very well. As a grandfather, there is nothing I cannot do for my grandson’s enlightenment.”
“…!”
“Yes. Thank you, Patriarch!”
“However, the hour is late, and it would be difficult to spar immediately with you, who suffered inside the Gate. So let us do it tomorrow morning.”
The Patriarch readily agreed.
I turned my gaze away from my family and the others clicking their tongues, and bowed deeply to the Patriarch.
‘This will give me nerve.’
* * *
I had asked the Patriarch for instruction.
The story spread through the main house in an instant, on everyone’s lips.
It was said that members of the clan, who had been planning to leave the main house without even eating breakfast upon waking, stayed to watch my spar with Grandfather.
According to rumors, even the servants were showing interest and looking for excuses to observe the spar.
They truly have nothing better to do.
To this, Father said,
“Me and your other uncles. We all find it hard to face the Patriarch, so we don’t even dare to request a spar. For you, a grandson, to suddenly ask for one, it’s no wonder there’s an uproar.”
“Then you’ve never sparred with Grandfather, Dad?”
“…There were a few times when I was young. The Patriarch wanted to check my skills, so we sparred.”
“You never requested one yourself.”
“That’s right, you brat. Among us brothers, only your second uncle and fourth aunt would have requested a spar.”
“Dad… was a coward.”
“Son.”
“Yes, Dad.”
“There is no fight as foolish as one you enter expecting to lose. I don’t fight battles I will lose.”
“Ah, yes… I admit that.”
“Wasn’t that the same person who followed me around begging me to date him?”
“Hey, you! When did I do that? It wasn’t me who followed, it was y—…”
“Hmm?”
“…I followed you around because I liked you. Son, a man must sometimes enter fights even prepared to lose. Only then can he seize victory.”
“Ah, yes…”
“But if there’s losing, there’s also gaining. Even if I lose during the day, at night I—…”
“You have no filter in front of the children.”
“I win both day and night!”
“Ahem! Anyway, I don’t know about our generation, but among your cousins, you’re the first to request a spar with the Patriarch. So everyone is bound to be surprised. Whether you’re fearless or… I’m your father, but I’m truly amazed.”
The conversation went off on a tangent, but I was able to hear those circumstances.
Anyway.
“Have you loosened up properly?”
“Yes, Patriarch. I’m all warmed up.”
I headed to the training ground to exchange blows with Grandfather.
“….”
The spectators for our spar occupied one corner.
Ignoring their presence, I drew the Guncheon Sword.
“I shall yield the first move. If you wish, I can yield even more.”
Grandfather gripped a wooden sword used for training.
And yielded the first strike to me.
But I shook my head.
“You don’t need to yield the first move. I want to receive a strike that the Patriarch swings with full intent.”
“…It seems you need to learn to distinguish between courage and recklessness.”
“I’m not being reckless.”
“….”
“Anyway, what more is there to a spar with the Patriarch than me losing? And even if I receive instruction, wouldn’t any teaching I can receive at my current level be merely typical?”
“…If you know that, why did you ask me to teach you?”
The Patriarch’s eyes grew sharp.
Displeasure seeped into his voice.
Even so, I continued without faltering.
“Because the Patriarch is incredibly strong.”
“….”
“The strongest in the country.”
“Ahem… Do not speak so rashly. I am merely one of them. Anyway, say more.”
“So rather than receiving instruction, I thought it would be more helpful to learn with my body directly. When else would I have the precious experience of receiving a strike from a strong person like the Patriarch?”
“In other words, you mean to raise your threshold for facing strong opponents by receiving my strike?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
To be honest,
it was to gain nerve by enduring the Patriarch’s pressure.
Still, there would surely be things I would realize with my body while receiving the Patriarch’s strike.
I waited for the Patriarch’s answer.
Soon, the Patriarch smirked.
“You are not wrong. To become stronger, one must experience that world. I truly like your thinking. That is how a lion of the Singeom Doga should be.”
“Then…”
“Very well. Since you ask so earnestly, I shall show you the world I see.”
“…Thank you, Patriarch.”
“Save your thanks for after you’ve received my strike. And don’t regret it afterwards.”
“….”
“Of course, I will not use my full strength. Because if I did, the world I showed you might become the afterlife.”
“….”
“I shall show you my sword up to the point you can barely endure.”
The Patriarch took a middle stance.
In that instant, the flow of air changed.
A tremendous pressure unfurled.
And that was when a message appeared.
[You have been exposed to Pressure.]
[All stats are reduced by 80%.]
…Did I just see that wrong?
I doubted my eyes.
But even as I stared at the message, the numbers did not change.
“Where are you looking?”
“….”
“Look straight at me.”
“….”
“If this were real combat, your head would already be flying.”
“….”
“I know you are afraid. Yet if you do not face your fear, you cannot move forward. Look at me.”
…Breath did not come easily.
It felt as though my body would be crushed by something pressing down on my shoulders.
At the same time, my body trembled violently.
My evasion instinct was reacting.
‘Damn it.’
I gritted my teeth.
I gripped my sweat-soaked hand tightly so as not to lose hold of the Guncheon Sword.
Somehow, I raised my head to look at Grandfather.
He looked like a giant.
That giant warned,
“Here I come.”
The Patriarch’s wooden sword came.
To evade that wooden sword, I—…
‘……Huh?’
What is this?
Why is the wooden sword right in front of my eyes?
───!
My thoughts couldn’t keep up.
Therefore, I couldn’t make a judgment.
Therefore, I couldn’t move.
If so….
Crack!
I had no choice but to leave it to instinct.
* * *
Bang! Whoosh! Thud! Smack! Thud! Clatter….
With a tremendous racket,
Do Gyeonu, who had been thrown into the air and spun several times, rolled across the floor.
Only after crashing into the outer wall of the training ground did he finally stop rolling.
“…”
It had happened in the blink of an eye.
No one could say a word about the sight they had seen with their own eyes.
No, they were not even sure they had seen it.
By the time most of them came to their senses, Do Yeik had already closed in on Do Gyeonu and was swinging his sword down.
That was how far beyond perception Do Yeik’s movement had been.
“Ha…”
But as time slowly passed, the awe they felt began to fade.
They looked at Do Gyeonu lying face down on the floor and let out sneers.
“I knew this would happen.”
“Why did he even challenge him if he was going to lose like that?”
“He should have just listened when the Family Head said he’d give him the first move.”
“So he spouted all those impressive words just to end up looking like that? How embarrassing.”
“He was just trying to curry favor with the Family Head. Isn’t he a wolf cub, not a lion?”
Do Gyeonu, who at the age of twelve had produced Byeongnoe and broken the record of the second Family Head.
Those who had secretly found it displeasing that his value had risen overnight did not miss this opportunity.
They laughed at him, looked down on him, and mocked him.
Even if they had to resort to that, they struggled desperately to drag down Do Gyeonu’s worth.
“Hmm…”
Do Yeik showed no interest whatsoever in their chatter.
His thoughts were directed solely toward Do Gyeonu, who lay collapsed on the floor.
‘I meant to slam him into the wall.’
Do Yeik looked at the wall in front of him and traced the path Do Gyeonu had taken after being struck by his sword and sent rolling across the floor.
Contrary to the direction he had intended, Do Gyeonu had rolled to the left and crashed into the wall there.
What could be inferred from that was…
‘He reacted to my sword?’
At the moment he had swung the wooden sword down.
In that instant, as brief as a flash, Do Gyeonu had twisted his sword, received his attack, and evaded in that direction.
“…”
And the reason he had rolled so noisily must have been to lessen the impact.
By doing so, he had let the attack flow past him.
“Hah…”
A child only twelve years old.
Had he really responded to his attack?
So dumbfounded was Do Yeik that a hollow laugh escaped him before he knew it.
Soon, the corners of his mouth rose.
“What a frightening fellow you are.”
What an adorable lion cub.
He murmured softly.
* * *
An attack beyond perception.
Looking at the wooden sword that had arrived right before my eyes, I could not make any judgment at all.
—Crackle!
All I could do was move my body as my instinct to evade screamed at me.
The moment I was attacked, brief as a blink.
I could not quite remember how I had moved then.
“Ah…”
Because when I came to my senses, my face was pressed against the floor of the training ground.
I blinked.
Then, to grasp the situation, I carefully lifted my head.
“…”
At a distance, people were looking at me and whispering among themselves.
I did not know what they were saying.
Still, judging by how things were going, there was one thing I could guess.
‘It’s obvious.’
They were probably laughing at me, saying I looked ridiculous after failing to properly receive even the first move and getting blown away so disgracefully.
‘Then why don’t you try taking it yourself?’
That was what I wanted to say in my heart, but they were not worth dealing with, and I had no strength to do so either.
I had only taken one attack, yet it felt as if all my energy had been drained away.
I could barely put strength into my body.
Still, lying face down was uncomfortable, so I turned over until I could see the ceiling.
That was when Grandfather approached.
“Are you all right?”
“…I don’t think I am.”
“Seeing as you can talk, you must be fine.”
“…”
“Well, you did deflect my attack at the last moment, so there’s no way you’d be badly hurt. Even if you were injured, it would only be abrasions from rolling around.”
Grandfather laughed heartily, as if it had nothing to do with him.
I could not laugh along.
“Now then, since it seems you still have some energy left, shall you try receiving my sword one more time?”
“…”
He wanted me to take that attack again.
I could not see my own face, but I was probably making the kind of expression one made after chewing on a bug.
At that, Grandfather grinned.
“Or shall we stop here?”
But I could not very well end it when I had not obtained Guts yet.
I worked my tangled thoughts.
And right then, a message appeared.
[You have acquired a skill.]
[Guts Lv 1]
[Guts Lv 1]
◆ Skill Classification
—Condition-Activated
◆ Detailed Effects
—Preserves up to 5% of stats reduced by Pressure.
—When exposed to Pressure, concentration and evasion rate increase by 5%.
“Ah… thank goodness.”
“What’s there to be thankful about?”
If it was going to appear, it should have appeared earlier.
After confirming that I had obtained Guts, I let out a sigh of relief.
Grandfather, who could not see the message, seemed puzzled.
To that Grandfather…
“I don’t think I need to continue anymore. Thank you for teaching me a move.”
I expressed my gratitude to him in a voice that came from the heart.
Grandfather clicked his tongue.
“Hah, and here I thought things were getting good. If your body is fine, why not go one more round? Next time, I’ll go easier on you than before.”
“No, Family Head! Thank you!”
I had already gotten what I needed.
There was no need to fret over receiving Grandfather’s sword any longer.
I flatly refused.
In the end, Grandfather had no choice but to withdraw, though he looked regretful.
But he did not give up completely.
Grandfather’s eyes turned toward the people who had been watching the spar.
“Still, I said I would teach, so I can’t let it end so anticlimactically. I’m in a generous mood! Anyone is fine. If there is anyone among you who wants to receive my sword, step forward!”
“…!”
“And everyone who participated in yesterday’s evaluation match is to come out without exception.”
Every single person who had been observing the spar looked as if they had been struck by lightning.
I chuckled as I watched them.
“Serves you right.”
Go on, try taking it yourselves.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss