I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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Hoo! Hwiik!

Inside the personal training hall number 6, which hadn’t been opened for several days.

The static atmosphere lingered there, with the only sound echoing being that of a sword swinging.

Hoo!

The one wielding the sword was Baek Ha-yeon, but her appearance was vastly different from usual.

Her lifeless white hair fluttered weakly, and beneath her dazed eyes were dark circles that hung low.

Her skin was as pale as a corpse, and her lips were dry to the point of cracking.

Thud.

The floor of the personal training hall she stood on was soaked with her blood.

Having not put down her sword for even a moment over the past few days, blood leaked from the wounds on her burst and bruised hands.

It was a state where fainting and collapsing wouldn’t be surprising.

However, Baek Ha-yeon did not stop swinging her sword.

I could finally understand the words Kim Il-shin had told me on the day of the dueling examination.

Swoosh!

Baek Ha-yeon’s swordsmanship had changed. The sword cutting through the air was laced with a chilling aura.

Two years ago, Baek Ha-yeon was solely focused on mastering the Baeksan Sword Technique.

She believed that if she could perfectly wield the Baeksan Sword Technique, Baek Ho-san would acknowledge her.

‘…That was completely mistaken thinking.’

Yet, that was no easy task.

The upward-moving sword technique that Baek Ho-san had created.

It was exceedingly difficult for Baek Ha-yeon, who had just entered the academy, to learn it.

No matter how much she trained, progress was sluggish, until Kim Il-shin appeared during that time.

His advice allowed Baek Ha-yeon to quickly learn the Baeksan Sword Technique, and at that time, she mistook it for her own ability.

Without even realizing how foolish she was.

‘His advice wasn’t limited to the Baeksan Sword Technique. No, it was never advice about the Baeksan Sword Technique in the first place.’

Baek Ha-yeon could finally grasp the true intent of Kim Il-shin’s words.

He had been offering her advice on the fundamental concept of ‘sword.’

Swoosh—

Ice shards clung to the sword as they scattered into the air.

The bright light reflected and created a dim mirror image in front of Baek Ha-yeon.

The trajectory of the sword that bisected it effortlessly made Baek Ha-yeon feel her own growth.

“……”

However, there was no joy. This wasn’t a growth achieved by her own power.

Clang.

Feeling her vision darkening, Baek Ha-yeon dropped the sword.

The sword, stained with her blood, rolled on the floor, making a tearing sound.

Standing with her eyes closed, Baek Ha-yeon felt an endless sense of despair. She couldn’t get a grasp on what to do next.

The only one who had provided her with a definitive choice was none other than one person.

‘I need Kim Il-shin…’

She desperately required Kim Il-shin’s advice to lead her to the right answer.

*

“We finally arrived…”

After a long journey, Kim Il-shin and Lee Yeon-woo reached the entrance of Baekdu Mountain.

The grandeur of Baekdu Mountain was overwhelming, not something that could be fully captured at a glance. Being this close gave a sense of being overwhelmed.

Even before entering, the density of mana in the air was noticeably higher.

The quality of mana was far better than anywhere else.

If they were to perform mana cultivation in such a place, it seemed they could yield much higher efficiency.

‘I didn’t expect to come here and see Baekdu Mountain.’

In this world, there is no South Korea or North Korea.

As soon as Japan was liberated in 1945, the Great Rift occurred, leaving no time to choose sides based on ideology.

Survival itself was impossible without combining their strengths.

Thus, the history of division did not occur.

The North from the original world is within the territory of the Republic of Korea and is sufficiently developed.

However, the area around Baekdu Mountain is classified as a danger zone, forbidden for civilians to reside.

Who knows when monsters might descend from the mountain and attack people?

In fact, similar incidents had occurred several times.

The absence of tall buildings in the vicinity stemmed from the same reason.

High-rise buildings make easy targets for the monsters.

“Ugh…”

As Lee Yeon-woo stretched, a groggy voice escaped her lips.

Having sat without doing much for the entire journey, Lee Yeon-woo looked quite tired.

It was hard to gauge how weak her stamina was.

She thought that someone who only researches all day wouldn’t have good stamina, but Lee Yeon-woo seemed to be a bit extreme even considering that.

Right behind her, they would have to climb the treacherous Baekdu Mountain, making her uncertain about the possibility.

However, since she had claimed she could manage and had been there a few times, she decided not to worry too much.

‘The security is tight.’

The road to Baekdu Mountain was blocked by a long barbed wire fence.

To enter, one had to have their identity checked by the soldiers at the checkpoint, and it was not uncommon for entry permits to be denied.

The Baekdu Mountain here was far more dangerous than the Baekdu Mountain of the original world.

Strong monsters were abundant, and due to the mana densely permeating the air, strange phenomena frequently occurred.

It was entirely natural that access was restricted.

“C-class hero Kim Ji-hoon and three others confirmed. You may pass.”

Most of those waiting in line at the checkpoint to enter Baekdu Mountain were either current heroes or researchers.

Within Baekdu Mountain were numerous rare materials, as well as creatures that could only be found there.

Thanks to that, it was a good environment for gathering expensive materials or conducting various studies.

Though it was quite dangerous, there were things worth the risk.

“We should line up as well. We contacted them in advance, so there shouldn’t be any problems… Hopefully.”

While the academy’s teachers could pass without issue, Kim Il-shin, being a student, might not get approval.

For that reason, Lee Yeon-woo had contacted the checkpoint ahead of time to give them Kim Il-shin’s detailed information.

With a record of successfully completing high-difficulty requests and being the top student at the academy, they would be hard-pressed to deny him entry.

“Hey, Lee Yeon-woo? That’s you, right!”

As they stood at the end of the line, someone in front shouted loudly and waved in the direction of Kim Il-shin and Lee Yeon-woo.

It was a middle-aged researcher in a tattered gown, and it wasn’t hard to tell that he wasn’t on good terms with Lee Yeon-woo.

“Ugh…”

The moment Lee Yeon-woo confirmed the identity of the person calling her, her expression began to crumple uncontrollably.

“Do you remember me? Level 1 researcher Park Seong-jun from the Seongwi Research Institute! Wow, we meet here. What brings you here?”

Park Seong-jun approached without caring about Lee Yeon-woo’s negative reaction, showing off a messy demeanor.

“Why are you here? You hardly ever come out… Did you discover something new?”

He behaved as if he knew Lee Yeon-woo well, throwing a question with unpleasant intentions.

“You don’t need to worry about that, so just mind your own business.”

Despite Lee Yeon-woo’s sharp response, Park Seong-jun didn’t back down.

Judging that there was nothing for him to glean from her, he turned his gaze toward Kim Il-shin.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you before, are you her boyfriend?”

“He’s my student. Please stop your rude behavior and leave.”

“Oh dear. My apologies. I didn’t mean any offense, just excited to see you, really.”

Only after Lee Yeon-woo said that did Park Seong-jun move back to his original position.

However, he continued to shoot strange glances.

When he left, Lee Yeon-woo let out a sigh of relief.

Treating others coldly was something that was very hard for her.

“…Phew. I’m sorry. That must have been uncomfortable…?”

“It’s fine. But who was that person? He doesn’t seem like a good guy.”

“He used to work at the same research institute as me. He was my superior, but he got kicked out for trying to steal my thesis.”

Lee Yeon-woo continued, glancing toward Park Seong-jun.

“After that, he supposedly joined a low-quality guild and even reached the position of research institute head. There’s a lot of rumors that it’s all stolen achievements.”

It was an entirely one-sided hatred. It was impressive that he could flaunt such an expression after doing such things.

Someone like Park Seong-jun likely thought this was his survival skill.

Otherwise, it would be hard to be so brazen.

“Let’s not worry about him and focus on our work…”

“Yes, that would be best.”

Kim Il-shin decided to just keep an eye on things for now. The gaze that Park Seong-jun cast at Lee Yeon-woo when he turned away was rather peculiar.

The line quickly shortened after that, and Kim Il-shin and Lee Yeon-woo passed through the checkpoint without any difficulty.

Thanks to sending Kim Il-shin’s personal information ahead of time, they were able to enter immediately without unnecessary procedures.

‘Looks dangerous.’

As soon as they passed through the checkpoint, the dense entrance of Baekdu Mountain came into view.

The path was clear, but the densely growing trees made it hard to discern the distance ahead.

“I’ll guide you from here. It’s not too far away.”

Lee Yeon-woo took the lead, pinning a brooch to her chest.

It was an artifact called ‘Motion Assist Device’ designed to support the muscle movement of those with physical disabilities.

Lee Yeon-woo seemed to be planning to use that expensive item to climb the mountain.

‘That’s a new usage I’ve never seen before.’

Following behind the energetically moving Lee Yeon-woo, Kim Il-shin expanded his magical senses widely.

Now, he could spread it up to 30 meters, focusing solely on his magical sense.

But at that moment, a specific movement was detected within his magical sense. The location was in the right diagonal bush, and there were three of them.

‘…Following us? I think I know who it is.’

Kim Il-shin concluded that the people were Park Seong-jun and his group from earlier, and it was close to certainty.

It was a very traditional cliché for such suspicious characters to cause trouble.

And it was even more of a classic cliché for such characters to get their comeuppance.