I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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[Restrictions have been lifted.]

[As a cost of the restrictions, abilities are enhanced.]

[Held Abilities]

▶ Sword Master (S)

▶ Martial God (S)

▶ Perfect Mind (S)

▶ Strength (A)

▶ Agility (A)

▶ Stamina (A)

▶ Mana Capacity (A)

▶ Mana Control (A)

▶ Regeneration (A)

▶ Mana Affinity (A)

▶ Understanding (A)

▶ Reaction Speed (A)

▶ Artistic Sense (A)

I barely had a moment to check my abilities. I had to savor the amazing changes in this world.

I closed my eyes while still seated. As I took a deep breath, the cold air seeped deeply into my lungs.

At the same time, I grabbed the mana I felt in the air and let it flow into me.

With the release of my mana-related abilities, the vessel to contain mana also expanded.

It was like an empty jar thrown into a deep ocean. The mana in the air rushed into my body like it was in competition.

“Whew…”

The exhale I released was longer than the breath I had taken in.

Most of the mana I had taken in was pushed out with my breath.

The remaining mana was just enough to work with.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t accept any more.

Using my talents in mana control and mana affinity, I only retained the purest and highest quality mana in my body.

This gathered mana would prove to be far more efficient than the haphazardly gathered, messy mana.

Though this was my first serious mana training, I could confidently say this method was right.

The process of steadily accumulating mana was enjoyable. I didn’t even notice how time was passing.

“Whew…”

After taking my last breath, I opened my eyes. Checking the clock, I noticed roughly 40 minutes had passed in an instant.

This was all I could manage for now. The amount of mana I originally possessed was simply too small.

However, as I repeated my mana training, the amount of mana I could accumulate would undoubtedly increase significantly from now.

‘I’ve confirmed my mana, next up is the body.’

Before that, I stood up from my chair and made my way to the switch on the wall.

Without needing to focus, I casually let my mana flow in, and the lights turned on. This was the brightest room I’d ever been in.

What used to be an arduous task I could barely manage once a day was now as easy as flipping a light switch.

At last, I was liberated from the dark world.

“Cough…”

Stifling the tears that threatened to spill from my overwhelmed heart, I stood in the middle of the room. There was something I wanted to try right away.

I closed my eyes again and took a deep breath, calming the excitement in my heart.

‘Shall I give it a shot?’

The thought that came to mind was the technique of Ilshin Pacheonggong, something I had read in a book before.

Despite having read it multiple times, I hadn’t even understood a single principle of that martial art.

But now, in Jin Il-shin’s head, the principles and intentions of Ilshin Pacheonggong were surging like a tidal wave.

The ability of Understanding (A), which I had set aside for this moment, had exceeded its original performance due to the influence of other abilities.

Ilshin Pacheonggong (一身破天功) meant to shatter the heavens with one’s own body.

To break the heavens with human strength. Achieving that requires no other power.

Such is what this martial art declares.

I slightly lowered my stance and took a step forward with my left foot.

Then I awakened all the mana in my body, pulling it upwards, and condensed the raised mana to a single point on my crown.

‘……!’

In an instant, the mana dove downward. The muscles and nerves of the path it took activated.

Boom.

The recoil from stepping with my left foot sent the mana in my left foot surging into my right hand.

The mana flowed along the activated nerves, brimming with a fierce momentum.

As my fist was launched forward, it reached its destination as well.

Kwah-ah-ah!!

The punch I threw in the middle of the room shattered the opposing wall. The floor where I had stepped caved in.

Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the collapsed wall.

Even though I managed to retain my composure and control my strength at the last moment, it was still this much.

If I hadn’t controlled it or had thrown the punch from closer in, it wouldn’t have ended with just a cave-in.

‘This is… amazing.’

My astonishment regarding Ilshin Pacheonggong outweighed any worry about the cleanup afterwards.

There was a reason I hadn’t grasped it in the game.

The talents you can gain from just playing are limited. No matter how much your strength increases, the abilities remain the same as when they were first generated.

To learn this martial art, at least one S-rank talent and two A-rank talents were required.

First, [Understanding (A)], which allows comprehension of the martial art’s principles, and [Martial God (S)] and [Mana Operation (A)] to be able to execute it physically.

If even one of those were lacking, it was a martial art that could never be executed.

Considering that if I put in one S-rank talent, I wouldn’t have room for other talents, the difficulty of acquiring it was nearly insurmountable.

‘It’s worth the performance.’

Even though my body was not fully prepared and due to the characteristics of the martial art, the recoil was intense, and I still achieved this much.

If I were to succeeded in the future, I’d be able to unleash even greater destructive power.

Someday, I might even really break the heavens.

‘Should I have moved the mana more smoothly? Or faster instead? What about focusing more on my lower body…?’

Non-stop, detailed feedback about the recent movements played out in my mind.

Meanwhile, the corners of Jin Il-shin’s mouth quirked up brightly.

I felt delighted. The joy of growth. The second hand of the clock, which hadn’t budged for two years, had finally started to move.

I wanted to try using Ilshin Pacheonggong again right away, but that was impossible.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Student Jin Il-shin! What’s going on?!”

First, I had to resolve this situation.

*

The dormitory’s headmaster, Ahn Young-soon, was a strict individual who emphasized principles and rules above all else.

It was because of that personality that she was one of the few people at the academy who did not neglect Jin Il-shin.

She judged people solely on whether they followed the rules or not, disregarding everything else.

However, today, she was caught up in that very personality.

In addition to demerits and a lecture, I had to write an explanation for the late-night commotion and property damage.

In the explanation, I wrote it was due to training.

Had it been anyone else, they wouldn’t have believed that I could smash the wall with my fist, but Ahn Young-soon never doubted her students.

After submitting the explanation, the clock read 2 AM. After a brief nap, it was now 4 AM.

With curfews and exhaustion in the mix, I planned to train later, but ended up waking up now.

Although I had only slept two hours and awoke earlier than usual, I felt as refreshed as if I had slept for eight hours.

It must have been the combination of high stamina and Regeneration (A).

The increase in wakeful hours also meant more time to dedicate to training.

With Perfect Mind (S) easing my mental fatigue, I didn’t need to worry about that.

‘First, let’s start with mana.’

I crossed my legs on the bed and began my mana training.

The pure mana I was accumulating more rapidly than before made my mind even clearer.

*

The mana training ended after about an hour.

Since I had done some earlier, the mana training was completed in about 30 minutes.

In the remaining time, I focused on meditation. I had a lot to think about.

Most of it was pondering about the future.

What actions should I take, what should I prepare for, what are my goals…

I couldn’t make all decisions with just a short meditation session, but I managed to organize my thoughts somewhat.

‘I will not leave the academy.’

I considered dropping out due to unnecessary classes, but there were too many things to gain from the academy to do that.

From the familiar bedroom and great training facilities to easily obtaining equipment and elixirs.

Just being a student of the academy granted me luxurious treatment in various places, and there was a system to take on commissions through the academy.

Of course, there was an even bigger reason.

After the restrictions lifted, a new message appeared.

[Prevent the apocalypse of the world.]

[Clear Reward: Ending]

I didn’t know what that “Ending” referred to.

However, if it meant returning to the original world, that would be perfect, but regardless, I had to stop the apocalypse.

Cosmo Academy was at the center of the main scenario, so I had to keep attending to prepare for the impending doom.

‘The top priority is to get stronger.’

I could consolidate all my worries into that one goal.

By aiming to grow stronger, I could prepare for the future dangers and potential apocalypse.

So now all I had to do was train. Jin Il-shin quickly finished getting ready and stepped outside.

I left my student ID behind. I no longer needed it.

I jogged lightly towards the training center.

Even though I arrived faster than usual, my breathing was completely steady.

It was the result of my consistent physical training combined with my talents.

[Student Jin Il-shin. Confirmed.]

‘…… I no longer need to come here.’

That thought came to me as I was about to open the door to the physical training room out of habit.

The only reason I had been training strength and stamina here was that there was nothing else I could do.

However, the greater reason was to create a foundation for utilizing the talents I was to gain after the restrictions were lifted.

With the foundation I had built over the past two years, it was finally time to plant my seeds.

Jin Il-shin took a position in one corner of the physical training room and began his routine exercises.

The familiar movements unconsciously sped up. I could hardly contain the excitement in my heart.

‘Today, I finally get to wield a sword.’

*

Soon after completing my training, Jin Il-shin quickly exited the physical training room and headed for the training hall on the same floor.

His nearly-running footsteps revealed his excitement.

‘……’

There was someone who was carefully watching Jin Il-shin’s back.

It was Baek Ha-yeon, the white-haired woman who had been in the physical training room with him.