I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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“Hey! Drink up, drink up!”

“Kuha ha!”

As I walked down the corridor, I heard boisterous voices.

I hid behind the staircase leading down and looked towards the source of the sound.

About twenty members of the Black Tiger Gang were seated around a long club table.

They stood guard with no one on watch, showing no sign of vigilance at all.

Just by looking at them, they seemed like the usual lowlives hiding underground.

‘But soon enough, they’ll ramp up their power like crazy.’

And eventually, a group would be born that no governmental agency could touch without suffering great losses.

The reason that could happen was due to the power of the leader, who was currently out of sight.

He had recently awakened the ability to gain power through murder, and could share that ability with his subordinates.

‘Without any restrictions at all.’

A group that easily gains power by giving up their humanity. Naturally, they would expand rapidly.

‘Have they already begun their full-scale activities?’

What caught my eye were the several people tied up next to the gang members.

Clearly terrified, they had been kidnapped and dragged here.

“Hey, let me show you something.”

At that moment, one of the gang members approached the tied-up people with a knife, lifting it without a hint of hesitation.

Swoosh!

Blood erupted from his chest just as he was about to strike.

The sharp piece of broken staircase had pierced his heart precisely.

Kim Il-sin descended slowly down the stairs, operating the Heavenly Mystic Circulation. He felt no guilt. They weren’t even human.

“Ugh, what is this on such a fine day?”

“Nice school uniform! Isn’t that a uniform from Hanam?”

The way he casually got up hinted at their nonchalance about murder.

“Did you come alone, kid?”

One of them approached with a knife in hand.

Even though various weapons were displayed around, they mostly used kitchen knives and sashimi knives.

In a way, one could say they were sticking to tradition.

“I’ll just pluck out the eyes of this bright young future and send him off. That loser’s dead anyway—”

Swish.

A red line was drawn across the neck of the one babbling. Another knife flew in from behind, striking the one who collapsed, clutching his neck.

Whoosh.

I snatched and delivered a spinning kick. The knife that pierced through the enemy’s neck didn’t stop and got lodged in the wall.

Only then did anxiety flicker in their eyes. They realized this was no ordinary situation.

Typically, when facing a crowd, one would face away to minimize angles of attack.

But Kim Il-sin advanced. Seeing the foes rushing from all directions inspired a sudden insight.

Leaping as if stepping on air, Kim Il-sin stood at the center of them.

The blue trajectory of the Blue Moon Sword severed the heads of three enemies.

Clink!

He deflected an incoming sashimi knife with the Heavenly Flowing Sword, then slashed down to split the collarbone.

At the same time, he spread mana thinly like mist around him and intricately wove it into a mana circuit.

This was the mana control method learned while forming the mana circuit.

In a radius of about one meter composed of fine mana. Every movement inside was as clear as looking down from above.

‘Behind.’

I felt a movement of the enemy entering the circle.

A blade aimed at my side. As I turned to evade, another attack came from the front.

“Guh…”

As I was about to decapitate the startled two, a hefty hand axe slammed down.

I dodged while simultaneously knocking away the flying kitchen knife. The deflected knife lodged into another’s neck.

I lowered my posture, spinning like a snowflake guided by the wind, cutting the waist of the axe-wielder.

Immediately following the rising trajectory of my sword, one more fell.

‘I can see it.’

With no angles to attack, they couldn’t touch me.

As Kim Il-sin wove through them, the gang members fell one by one like a house of cards.

“What the fuck….”

“Don’t come here, you bastard!”

Before long, most of the enemies were taken care of.

The few left stood paralyzed in fear, unable to approach.

Kim Il-sin freed the bonds of the people tied next to the table.

They looked panicked and dazed. There was no time to wait for them to calm down.

“Quickly go that way, and have the police come in ten minutes.”

The entrance of police would only cause interference in this situation.

“Understood?”

“Ah, yes…!”

One woman who managed to hold onto her sanity led the others outside.

The Black Tiger gang members, who had been keeping an eye only on Kim Il-sin, couldn’t stop them.

Boom!

The wall to the side exploded shortly after.

Heavy footsteps emerged from the thick dust rising.

“What the hell is going on?”

The leader of the Black Tiger Gang, Song Jong-ho, appeared with a severely distorted expression.

His face was covered with grotesquely bulging black veins.

This was the visage of one who had received forbidden power.

Rumble.

From another door, more gang members rushed out. More numerous than the ones who had been here before.

They swiftly surrounded him. But Kim Il-sin didn’t retreat but rather planted himself firmly. At the end of his path stood Song Jong-ho.

Cling!

As all kinds of attacks surged into the circle, he felt weakened. He approached, slicing through every enemy in his path.

Soon, he was close enough to meet face to face.

“Hooh.”

Interest flickered in Song Jong-ho’s eyes. A gaze as if watching a circus was filled with relaxation.

The reason for this lay in his skin. His skin, enhanced by the power of sorcery, wouldn’t even be scratched by most attacks.

Clink.

Proving this point, the sword that lightly struck towards his shoulder failed to reach the bone.

“Why, does something seem off?”

With a swing that dismissed him like a bug. The power embedded in that clumsy attack was immense.

Even though I deflected it using the trick of the Heavenly Flowing Sword, I was pushed back.

He didn’t attempt any additional attacks. He must have wanted to toy with me upon confirming that his attacks were ineffective.

A wretched smile appeared on his face as he asked,

“Hey, what’s your name?”

“What does it matter to someone who’s about to die?”

I tightened my grip on the sword.

Following the pull of the Heavenly Mystic Circulation, the mana swirling through my body integrated with the power of Il-sin’s Paradox.

The explosive power that rose up was captured entirely in the Blue Moon Sword, flickering momentarily.

“……Huh.”

Song Jong-ho’s head rolled across the floor, expression frozen from the cruel smile it once wore.

Il-sin’s Paradox Swift Blade. Only the beginning and the end exist.

He probably didn’t even realize he had died.

“……”

“……”

Silence fell among the Black Tiger gang members as they stared at the fallen leader’s corpse.

They stood still like statues, unable to accept the situation.

‘It’s over.’

With his sword lowered, Kim Il-sin rummaged through Song Jong-ho’s pockets. He pulled out a fist-sized red gem from a hidden pouch.

The gem was called Blood Gemstone.

An item used to craft or enhance weapons in the game, so rare that one might only see it once or twice until the end.

This was the reason he lured Song Jong-ho into a false sense of security and ended him in one blow.

As the cornered fool smashed this gem to absorb the power within, phase two would begin.

‘How much has it been filled?’

I brought it close to my eyes for a better look. There was a reddish light flickering at the core.

The greatest feature of the Blood Gemstone was that its power increased based on the number of lives consumed. Total capacity was 100 lives.

‘About 20 left, perhaps.’

I turned my head to gauge the remaining number of Black Tiger gang members. It seemed sufficient.

*

‘Still annoying. That guy.’

Reception staff Choi Sang-il was still in a bad mood due to his incident with Kim Il-sin.

His arrogance matched the baldness of his head.

Ding!

At that moment, an email arrived in the official account of the Request Management Office. Upon checking the sender, it was from the Gangnam Police Station.

The email’s subject was “Request Outcome Report.”

‘Finally arrived!’

Choi Sang-il beamed as he opened the email.

He had no doubt it contained news of Kim Il-sin’s catastrophic failure of the request.

“Oh, it was a success? As expected, teacher Joo Chae-rin has a good eye.”

However, his expectations were dashed.

The email from the Gangnam Police contained news of the successful completion of the request.

He had infiltrated the Black Tiger Gang’s base, rescued the missing persons, and killed every member, including their leader, Song Jong-ho, with surprising results.

“To prevent harm to innocent citizens, they executed the operation during the day. Considering the numerical inferiority along with prioritizing the safety and rescue of the missing persons, we can see the qualities of an outstanding hero….”

The elaboration of the request’s execution showed oddly excessive goodwill towards Kim Il-sin.

At this point, it felt more like a fan letter than a request outcome report.

“Furthermore, his instructions to delay police entry for ten minutes while rescuing the missing persons showed outstanding skill and altruistic spirit.”

‘So that’s why?’

Even a young student aspiring to be a hero thought of the safety of the police in a desperate situation.

They couldn’t help but be moved.

Of course, to Choi Sang-il, it was simply infuriating.

‘……What the hell is this?’

At the end of the email, there was an apology directed towards Kim Il-sin and the Request Management Office.

[Upon investigation, we found that the difficulty of the request had been set incorrectly. Considering the severity of the crimes committed by the Black Tiger Gang, the unexpectedly high number of members, and the strength of their leader, Song Jong-ho, we request that the difficulty level be adjusted to Upper-Middle. Additional compensation will be provided personally to student Kim Il-sin.]

“Wow, they’re even offering extra compensation? They’re trying to make contact using that as an excuse, right? Looks like they really liked him.”

“Cough….”

Choi Sang-il clenched his fist tightly. Now, Kim Il-sin had escaped the position where a mere reception staff like him could meddle with him.

Choi Sang-il, his hands trembling, completed the correction of the request difficulty and the processing of its completion.

He also elevated Kim Il-sin’s rank to Intermediate.

Now, he could take on requests below an Intermediate difficulty without needing approval stamps.

At least he found solace in the fact that he barely didn’t rise to Upper-Middle.

That’s what he decided to think.

*

After finishing the request and returning to the dorm, Kim Il-sin looked at the Blood Gemstone filled with a deep red light.

He was excited about the performance of a new sword to be made with it.