The instant we heard the alarm, we moved almost at the same time.
But my Agility stat was 72.
I was faster in taking that first step.
“…!”
A single step decides offense and defense.
Stepping into Kang Hanbyeol’s domain, I swung my sword at him.
His eyes flew wide.
Twisting his foot out of his charging stance, he quickly put strength into his waist.
The sword drawn back behind his shoulder shot forward with the motion.
──!!
Sword collided with sword.
Our strength was about equal.
But our speed was not.
The Ultramarine Sword, with speed behind it, knocked Kang Hanbyeol’s sword away all too easily.
──!!
I continued my offensive.
I couldn’t let this flow slip away.
The Ultramarine Sword flashed with a dark-blue light, endlessly carving arcs before my eyes.
Kang Hanbyeol was forced to block my sword again and again, unable to find an opening.
‘How are you going to respond to this?’
If one of us stepped back, the other stepped forward; a stalemate was barely maintained.
But the situations Kang Hanbyeol and I were in were not equal at all.
While I was receiving his attacks with composure, Kang Hanbyeol was gradually being driven backward.
If I put a little more strength into it here, it wouldn’t be difficult to press him hard.
If he couldn’t change this flow, there would be no chance of victory for him.
He must have felt it too.
“Whoo.”
To change this flow, he needed to be bolder.
Holding his breath, Kang Hanbyeol struck my sword away with all his might, immediately retreating and opening a wide distance.
Mana rose around him.
A blue haze writhed roughly in time with his breathing.
His sword began to shine.
It was coming.
Kang Hanbyeol was running toward me with a sword imbued with light.
The distance closed rapidly.
The light let out a fierce sound, and wind gathered around it.
Moonlight.
The sword path was extremely simple.
A diagonal slash rising from below.
But the power released the moment the sword ascended could not be ignored.
──!!
A cluster of light shaped like its trajectory swept in with a gust of wind.
A sword-type area technique that sent slashes flying at multiple monsters.
Should I block that light, or dodge it?
My choice was the former.
It wasn’t as if I couldn’t block it.
Gripping the Ultramarine Sword with both hands, I immediately bisected the cluster of light.
Passing through the scattering particles of light, I charged at Kang Hanbyeol.
That was when his Gift activated.
“…!”
The attack just now was a feint.
Kang Hanbyeol was no longer in front of me, but beside me.
He brought down the sword he had raised over his head.
I quickly twisted my stance and defended against the falling attack.
──!!
Before I knew it, the offensive had been reversed.
Kang Hanbyeol knew how to read the flow.
To avoid losing the opportunity he had finally grasped, he pressed his attack.
‘Not bad.’
But I had no intention of just taking it like this.
Just as Kang Hanbyeol had shown the techniques of the Battle Demon, now it was my turn.
I inhaled, then held my breath.
I activated my mana circuits.
I put strength into my feet and supported my body.
Lion’s Wild Dance
I took back the flow that had been stolen from me.
Blue currents crackled from my body.
* * *
She was not worried about the outcome of the spar.
She knew Do Gyeonu’s skill.
She had been watching him by his side all this time, so there was no way she wouldn’t know.
It was hard to imagine him, who did not fall behind even against adults, losing to someone his own age.
Even if his opponent was the Battle Demon’s disciple, he still wouldn’t reach him.
That was how firmly Yeon Haneul believed in his victory.
In reality, the spar was unfolding just as she thought.
“Wow, both of them fight incredibly well.”
“Gyeonu is one thing, but he really does seem worthy of being called the Battle Demon’s disciple.”
It was a continuous exchange of hit and retreat.
When Kang Hanbyeol took one step back, he soon came forward again.
In other words, when Do Gyeonu advanced, Kang Hanbyeol retreated again.
To the eyes of Go Eunbi or Lisa, who did not know much about swordsmanship, it might look as though the two were trading exchanges evenly.
“He looks quite relaxed.”
But it was different to Yeon Haneul, who had learned basic swordsmanship, and Yong Haerang, who knew how to measure an opponent’s skill.
In truth, they were not trading exchanges; Do Gyeonu was leading the flow.
Kang Hanbyeol was merely struggling to break free from that flow.
Even so.
‘He’s worth Gyeonu paying attention to.’
Kang Hanbyeol’s skill was also considerable.
He was desperately holding on so he would not be pushed back any further.
He maintained the flow even as the number of exchanges reached double digits.
“….”
It would not be easy even if the triplets all charged at him together.
Perhaps they felt something too, because they did not take their eyes off the spar.
It was around then that the flow changed.
‘The offensive has reversed.’
Do Gyeonu had intentionally given him room for that.
But it was Kang Hanbyeol’s ability that seized that opening without missing it.
Having caught the momentum, he pressed Do Gyeonu in an attempt to seize victory.
Even so, Yeon Haneul watched the spar calmly.
Until her eyes met Min Arin’s.
“Gyeonu! Do your best!”
“….”
Min Arin, who had been quietly leaning against the wall, put on a smile as if to show it off, then abruptly shouted toward Do Gyeonu.
“Gyeonu! If you win, I’ll buy you a meal! Kyaa! Gyeonu! That’s it! Push him just like that!”
“….”
“You’re doing great! You’re doing great! Do Gyeonu!”
“….”
All the while, she glanced over to check Yeon Haneul’s reaction.
Min Arin hopped in place or cheered in a shrill voice.
Yeon Haneul’s face stiffened at her behavior, which seemed meant to provoke her.
That only made Min Arin enjoy it more.
‘I really hate her.’
She did not like her. She was annoying.
If she were not Do Gyeonu’s friend, Yeon Haneul would have wanted to smash her with an iron hammer in a fit of anger.
Whether she turned her into a pancake or pounded her like rice cake, she wanted to do something to her.
The fact that she couldn’t was stressful.
Refusing to lose to Min Arin for no reason at all, Yeon Haneul shouted at the top of her lungs.
“If you win, I’ll let you touch my tail! So you have to win! Gyeonu!”
It did not suit her personality.
Go Eunbi and Lisa looked at her.
It was embarrassing. So embarrassing she could die.
Her face was hot, and tears welled in her eyes.
But she did not want Min Arin to draw Do Gyeonu’s attention.
She could not allow that.
Even though she knew Do Gyeonu would win, Yeon Haneul still offered up her tail.
* * *
It had been a move aimed at a reversal in its own way.
Unfortunately, contrary to Kang Hanbyeol’s expectations, it did not work on Do Gyeonu.
He had noticed, just before it landed, Kang Hanbyeol’s intent to catch him off guard and avoided it.
Not stopping there, he even overturned the flow Kang Hanbyeol had finally seized.
Crackle!
Mana flowed out from Do Gyeonu.
A blue haze drifted and swayed around him.
As if it were rubbing against the air, it made crackling, sparking sounds.
Particles of mana sublimated into electricity, and the haze developed into a current.
‘…Amazing.’
It was Blue Thunder, the blue current said to manifest only when the Beast King Style, the sword art symbolizing the Divine Sword Do Clan, was properly displayed.
Thin and thick.
Long and short.
Strands of blue current, each differing in thickness, length, and shape, writhed as though alive.
Having once heard from his master, Seo Jeongjin, about the Divine Sword Do Clan, Kang Hanbyeol could not help but marvel at the phenomenon unfolding before his eyes.
Crackle!
It was magnificent.
Beyond the blue-flashing current, the black hair, confident eyes, and sharp facial lines came clearly into view.
Do Gyeonu, clad in Blue Thunder, looked like a different person.
It felt as if his aura had changed.
The moment Kang Hanbyeol thought that—
Lion’s Fierce Assault
“…!”
Do Gyeonu accelerated.
There was no warning.
As if the ground itself had pushed him forward.
The instant he took a step off the ground, the distance shrank at once.
Blue Thunder rapidly swelled in intensity.
The currents that had been sparking sporadically around him merged into thick streams following the direction of his movement.
Immediately after, lightning came crashing down.
“Kh!”
A black blade emerged from within the Blue Thunder.
Kang Hanbyeol hurriedly blocked Do Gyeonu’s sword as it struck down from above.
The Blue Thunder he emitted stung his skin, and the blow was unbearably heavy.
His feet were lifted off the ground.
Screech!
Kang Hanbyeol desperately gritted his teeth and put strength into his legs.
Barely enduring the force that threatened to send him flying, he was pushed backward as if sliding.
Do Gyeonu did not miss that opening.
Lion’s Iron Whip
Seeming to leap to the right, Do Gyeonu quickly changed direction to the left and swung his sword horizontally.
Without even having time to think, Kang Hanbyeol took his stance and tried to knock the sword away.
At that moment, Do Gyeonu’s sword suddenly appeared to bend in his eyes.
‘…It bent!?’
No, it was not the sword that had bent.
The sword strike itself had bent like a whip.
It was a sword strike that would catch him off guard if he tried to honestly block the blade.
The bending sword strike of the Divine Sword Do Clan.
Attack Form Three, Lion’s Iron Whip.
Kang Hanbyeol, who had once heard about it from Seo Jeongjin, realized the identity of the sword technique.
But by then, it was too late.
It was too late to think and judge.
──!!
Then he would judge by instinct.
Kang Hanbyeol, who had been about to knock it away with his sword, immediately stopped his action and widened the distance.
As he suddenly pulled his body against the direction of his force, his balance wavered.
He displayed the exceptional sense of balance he had trained over many years.
While his head was falling toward the floor, he slapped his left hand against the ground, using the recoil to launch his body into the air.
Then he flipped several times through the air and landed safely on the floor.
‘So this is the swordsmanship of the Divine Sword Do Clan. I’d only heard about it from Master, but experiencing it firsthand, it really is endlessly variable.’
He had expected Do Gyeonu to press him immediately without giving him time to regain his stance.
But Do Gyeonu did not move from his spot and waited up ahead.
He was being considerate.
That was how clear the difference in their skill was.
Their strength might be equal, but Do Gyeonu surpassed him in sense and delicacy when handling a sword, and above all, in speed.
In truth, if Do Gyeonu had decided to take him down from the start, the spar would have ended long ago.
‘He’s strong. Really.’
His fist clenched on its own.
There was no way it would not be frustrating to receive his consideration like this.
But being able to fight someone strong made his heart race.
It throbbed.
For Kang Hanbyeol, who had come out into the world, this was the first powerful opponent he had ever faced.
He wanted to cross swords with him a little longer.
He wanted to make this experience his own and use it as a stepping stone for growth.
Tap!
But he had no intention of losing like this.
Even if he acknowledged that Do Gyeonu was strong, one did not win a battle simply because one was strong.
Battle was simple, yet complex.
Behind the surface of a battle, which seemed to require only swinging a sword in an instant and taking the opponent’s life first, countless contests of tactics were taking place.
Therefore, to win a battle, one had to win every tactical exchange.
So he would not give up until the very end.
It was not over until it was over.
One must never let go of an intense attachment to victory and life.
The weak must seek their chance in the way of the weak.
The strong must seek theirs in the way of the strong.
—It is not the strong who win. The one who wins is strong.
The Battle Demon, Seo Jeongjin.
It was his master’s teaching.
Kang Hanbyeol, who had been taken in by him and had never once forgotten his teachings until now, ran toward Do Gyeonu.
Crackle!
Do Gyeonu also kicked off the ground.
The distance narrowed in an instant.
With only a little space left between them, blue lightning flashed.
The lightning roared ferociously.
The sound of it rushing in as it burned the air was like the roar of a lion.
‘Ah….’
His vision was dyed blue.
Suddenly, Kang Hanbyeol recalled a conversation he had once had with Seo Jeongjin on Taebaeksan.
The stars had been particularly bright that day.
—Hanbyeol, someday you’ll also come to know just how vast this world is.
—How vast is it?
—How vast, you ask…
Looking up at the night sky.
At that time, Seo Jeongjin had grinned and said,
—Vast enough that there are as many people stronger than you as there are stars up there.
—Come on, really? That’s impossible.
—Experience it for yourself. Someday, when you meet someone your age who is stronger than you, you’ll understand.
—Will I? Is there really someone my age who’s stronger than me?
—You brat, don’t get full of yourself just because you broke one boulder. Don’t think the world will be easy on you. It’s vast, and that’s why it’s the world.
With his large, rough hand.
At that time, Seo Jeongjin had roughly stroked Kang Hanbyeol’s head.
Kang Hanbyeol felt as if he finally understood.
‘Master… the world really is vast.’
It felt as though his field of vision had opened wide.
It felt as though he had finally come out into the world.
A smile formed on Kang Hanbyeol’s lips.
—Then what about you, Master? Are there as many people stronger than you as there are stars too?
—Do you think you and I are the same?
—….
—There is no one stronger than me. You should be grateful that you became the disciple of the strongest Hunter.
—Yes…
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss