I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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Kim Il-shin quietly closed his eyes.

He had seen an artifact with similar abilities while playing the game.

It was probably held by an assassin from the Ajeokcheon Guild.

If that’s the reason why it’s currently being used against him, there could only be one explanation.

‘Are they here to kill me?’

It seemed that the higher-ups of the Ajeokcheon Guild judged his talents as a potential threat after observing his last assignment.

Considering they dared to send an assassin inside the academy, it was a clear indication of risk.

‘In the game, they were quite tricky to deal with.’

They attacked suddenly and at any time and if you noticed them, your dantian or mana circle would be sealed.

However, Kim Il-shin was different. He hadn’t sealed his mana in the first place.

Kim Il-shin began to slowly guide the flow of mana.

After completely cutting off the mana flowing from his sealed heart and dantian, he created a new flow.

A new mana circuit created by bypassing two voids.

Its performance was not significantly different from before.

“I know you’re awake.”

A male voice filled with the sound of metal came from the window that had opened unknowingly.

As I turned my gaze, there stood the assassin, Chu Hyun-seung, wrapped entirely in black cloth.

His crimson eyes shone through the gaps of the black cloth, and the moonlight made his dagger glisten with a fierce light.

“Did you come from the Ajeokcheon?”

Kim Il-shin casually asked as he got out of bed.

‘Have you given up on your life already?’

Chu Hyun-seung interpreted Kim Il-shin’s behavior as such.

It was a calmness that couldn’t be achieved otherwise in this situation.

“God has commanded me to punish you. You will pay for your sins with your worthless life, so be grateful for His mercy.”

Seeing Chu Hyun-seung spouting typical lines, Kim Il-shin thought.

‘The fanatic always has a long tongue.’

He could just say he came to kill him, but instead, he droned on about punishment from God.

It was a hassle even when playing the game, having to hit the skip button every time.

How could he focus when the same lines kept coming out?

What could be the reason for that? Did they think that by saying such things, he would kneel and apologize to their God?

‘…Must be just dumb.’

Boom!

The ground shattered with his step. Chu Hyun-seung’s eyes widened at the strength that couldn’t exist without mana.

After blocking the knife that rushed at him with sheer momentum, he disarmed him with rotating mana.

“Ugh…!”

The dagger spun and flew up toward the ceiling.

Below it, a barrage of mana attacks rushed in, feeling like something strange was there.

Crash!

Green particles poured out from Chu Hyun-seung’s side, struck by the mana attack. His artifact had been completely destroyed.

Immediately, the mana around his sealed heart and dantian became activated. An unexpected phenomenon also occurred.

‘Did it just start working?’

The mana that had been cut off began circulating as one, forming a new mana circuit.

Three different mana circuits resided within one body.

It might have been dangerous for someone else, but Kim Il-shin quickly adapted to that system.

‘If it’s like this, it seems possible.’

The three rotating mana circuits each emitted their own wave.

The conflicting waves wove and collided, creating a powerful resonance infused into his right fist.

With the enhanced power of the Moon-Song Technique, plus the energy of the Ilshin-Wall-Crushing Palms, his punch struck Chu Hyun-seung’s abdomen directly.

“Cough…!”

Chu Hyun-seung, who spat blood, collapsed powerless. But it wasn’t over yet.

He saw the hand of the guy heading toward the pocket with the dagger.

He snatched the dagger falling from above and plunged it down.

Thud.

The dagger lodged deeply into his heart. Only then did Chu Hyun-seung’s breath cease.

“…Huh.”

With that, the situation was over. There were no other enemies that seemed to have infiltrated alone.

Kim Il-shin reestablished the split mana circuits back into one.

A singular form was much more stable than a split one.

Thus, it seemed better to separate them only when using the Moon-Song Technique.

He had already mastered the trick of separating the mana circuits and circulating them.

‘In fact, it might have been better for him not to use the artifact.’

If Chu Hyun-seung had acted thoroughly without blind faith in the artifact’s abilities, he wouldn’t have been finished off so quickly.

Thanks to his overconfidence in the artifact, Kim Il-shin was able to finish it off without seeing his real skills.

The enhancement of the Moon-Song Technique was just a bonus.

‘And he probably couldn’t have gotten this either. It must have caused quite a commotion.’

Kim Il-shin pulled out a small red bell from Chu Hyun-seung’s corpse.

It was the key to entering the barrier set by the Ajeokcheon Guild for the Great Hero raid.

Kim Il-shin looked at the open window.

If he went out the door, there was a chance he’d be noticed, so it seemed better to go out through the window.

There was no need to worry about the remaining corpse.

‘It’s about time.’

As he gazed down at Chu Hyun-seung’s body, he thought so.

Rustle…

The body of the fallen Chu Hyun-seung began to dry up quickly, soon crumbling into dust without form.

Literally leaving no trace behind. The blood pooled on the floor and even the clothes he was wearing disappeared.

It was a magic implanted into assassins by the Ajeokcheon Guild.

This magic activates upon the death of the assassin, erasing all traces adjacent to the body.

There was no feeling of sympathy. It was all a result of one’s choices.

‘Now, shall we go?’

Confirming the disappearance of the traces, Kim Il-shin stepped out through the window.

He was curious about what the Great Hero’s sword was like.

***

After Kim Il-shin stepped outside through the window, something formless within the room trembled.

It was Haru, the wind spirit, who had sensed the incident happening in the dormitory and entered Kim Il-shin’s room.

Having witnessed the terrifying sight, Haru quickly flew to Seo Yeong’s room.

She explained in detail the scene she had witnessed to the awake Seo Yeong.

How the assassin from the Ajeokcheon Guild had intruded aiming for Kim Il-shin’s life, and how Kim Il-shin had defeated that assassin.

And how the body of that assassin vanished into dust in an instant, a truly terrifying scene.

After hearing the full explanation, Seo Yeong fell into thought with an anxious look in her eyes.

‘What on earth happened that the Ajeokcheon Guild sent an assassin…’

She had anticipated Kim Il-shin harbored a desire for revenge against the Ajeokcheon Guild, but she hadn’t expected it to be this deep.

The fact that they aimed for Kim Il-shin by infiltrating the academy with an assassin meant he posed a significant threat to them.

But what that was, she did not know.

‘How are they connected…?’

Her mind was in chaos. What about Kim Il-shin posed a threat to them?

One thing was certain: he hid a huge secret related to the Ajeokcheon Guild.

Whoosh—

Just then, Haru, who had gone outside to track Kim Il-shin, came back.

“Do you know where he went?”

The answer returned was negative. During a brief visit to Seo Yeong’s room, he had disappeared somewhere.

“I see. Good work.”

Where could he have gone? Was there another enemy outside? Or did he have somewhere he needed to be?

While contemplating about Kim Il-shin, a thought suddenly popped into Seo Yeong’s mind.

‘But why do I have to worry so much about this?’

Upon reflecting, it wasn’t her concern what Kim Il-shin did or what secrets he held.

Even if she knew an assassin from the Ajeokcheon Guild had come, it wouldn’t change what she could do.

There was no evidence, and ensuring his safety was something the academy teachers should take care of.

She just needed to achieve her long-held goal of victory in her duel against Kim Il-shin.

Although she hadn’t been able to submit a duel request this time.

“……I should just say it myself. I’ll ask if he remembers me, and regardless of his answer, challenge him to a duel.”

Muttering to herself, Seo Yeong looked at Haru, who hopped around joyfully.

At last, she decided to let go of her meaningless pride and approach him first.

For Haru, whose feelings had been pent up for three years, it was like a weight had been lifted.

“So, let’s just get some sleep now. We have a duel tomorrow.”

Seo Yeong lay back on the bed, closing her eyes.

After the duel tomorrow, she planned to find Kim Il-shin.

***

Kim Il-shin arrived at the barrier outside the academy after several dozen minutes.

Despite running as fast as he could, it took that long.

The place he arrived at was on a nameless mountain slope.

To the outside eye, it looked like an ordinary mountain, but there was a sinister energy swirling in the entire front space.

Kim Il-shin fiddled with the red bell tucked away in his robe as he walked forward.

Just as he was about to reach the barrier, two figures approached him.

They were Ajeokcheon members dressed like guards.

“From here on is a restricted zone. Please turn back.”

Surprisingly, they chose a peaceful approach for a bunch of zealots.

It seemed they hadn’t seen the sword Kim Il-shin was holding, but it was evident they didn’t want this operation to be disrupted.

They wouldn’t allow even a hint of noise while disposing of civilians.

“Oh, is that so? I’m sorry. I got lost.”

“…Huh, you say that while holding a sword? Nonsense—”

The moment their vision caught the Hyeonwol sword, Kim Il-shin accelerated. The blade glittered under the moonlight as he swung it wide.

Slash.

The guys collapsed silently, unable to even let out a dying gasp.

Kim Il-shin concealed their corpses in the bushes and approached the barrier.

After walking for a bit, he felt he had reached the barrier.

He took the red bell from his robe and rang it three times.

Wooong—

Then the space in front began to slowly part, and a door to the barrier opened. It was large enough for one person to enter.

Without hesitation, Kim Il-shin stepped into the barrier.

Shimmer.

And then, he witnessed the Great Hero’s strike.