Transcendent Warrior with a Dimensional Shifting Inventory

10

Minhyuk guessed why General Drake had come here.

Perhaps he had come here at the behest of the princess.

To bring him to the palace.

Otherwise, there was no reason for the general to show up here at this ungodly hour.

“I will take you to the Imperial Palace.”

As expected.

“Why me?”

Since the other person had spoken informally first, he responded in the same manner.

“His Majesty the Emperor wishes to meet you.”

The emperor wants to meet him?

Minhyuk roughly imagined the situation there in his head.

The princess must have told the emperor about him.

However, he had no intention of obediently following the general.

“Why should I meet your emperor? I have no business there.”

“Whether or not you have business there is irrelevant! Everything is as His Majesty the Emperor wills it. Once you set foot in Asdel, even you are no exception!”

“Oh yeah? What will you do if I refuse to go?”

Swish-

The general drew the sword he was wearing on his waist.

“I will have no choice but to drag you by force.”

Even though he was facing an opponent who had drawn his sword, Minhyuk was relaxed.

Because he knew that his opponent did not intend to kill him.

“If you can, then go ahead and try.”

Minhyuk also adjusted his grip on the dagger he was holding and lowered his upper body.

He had entered a combat stance.

Ever since he had come to this world, he had only fought beasts and goblins,

So he wondered how skilled a swordsman would be.

The general looked at Minhyuk’s dagger and said,

“You intend to fight me with that? Pick up a proper weapon!”

Near the torch that Minhyuk had stuck into the ground, there was a broadsword and a spear.

The general had already seen them.

To ensure a fair fight, Minhyuk gave him time to properly arm himself.

However, it was an unnecessary kindness for Minhyuk.

“I don’t need it.”

“What?”

Minhyuk, who had no knowledge of swordsmanship or spearmanship, was most comfortable with a dagger.

He had become somewhat proficient with it after hunting dozens of vipers.

The blade was completely ruined, but it didn’t really matter.

Minhyuk had no intention of killing his opponent anyway.

It was enough to block his opponent’s sword.

Minhyuk had chosen the dagger after calculating everything.

However, General Drake, unaware of the circumstances, couldn’t help but misunderstand.

‘He dares to mock me!’

However, he wasn’t the kind of general who would lose his composure and become enraged by such provocation before a fight.

He decided to use his opponent’s arrogance against him.

“The whelp is brimming with confidence! Fine! How about we raise the stakes?”

“What kind of stakes?”

“If I win, you must join the army!”

It was the most advantageous move for the general in the current situation.

If he made Minhyuk join the army, he could not only take him to the imperial palace and present him before the emperor, but he could also discipline him with military law so that he wouldn’t act so arrogantly.

He could also tame him and turn him into a loyal subordinate.

In fact, the general rather liked Minhyuk.

If only he wasn’t so cheeky.

Minhyuk, who had been lost in thought for a moment, readily accepted General Drake’s proposal.

It was also a very good opportunity for him.

“Fine! But what will you do for me if I win?”

“Name it! I will grant you any wish within my power!”

“Teach me swordsmanship.”

The general smiled inwardly at Minhyuk’s condition.

‘He’s a man of focus, commitment, and sheer will!’

He must have been obsessed with martial arts to choose such a condition for their bet.

However, he could understand.

He himself had been captivated by the romance of collecting all the secret sword techniques scattered throughout the world when he was young.

“Very well. If you defeat me, I will pass on my family’s swordsmanship to you!”

“You must teach me everything from the basics!”

“You speak as if you have already defeated me! Fine! I will teach you everything from the basics to the ultimate!”

Swish-

As soon as the conversation ended, Minhyuk charged at the general.

They had only made a bet, but they hadn’t set any conditions or rules for the outcome of the duel.

They weren’t having a match right now.

Minhyuk and the general were both thinking the same thing.

“Let’s just incapacitate him without killing him.”

Whoosh-

Minhyuk approached the general, cutting through the wind.

His enormous frame approaching at such a great speed, the sense of intimidation the general felt was no joke.

‘He really is like a beast!’

Clang-

The general swung his sword at Minhyuk.

His sword passed through Minhyuk’s waist.

However, it wasn’t Minhyuk’s real waist that was cut, but an afterimage left in the air.

Minhyuk’s movements were so fast that it appeared that way to the general’s eyes.

‘Oh my god! This isn’t human movement!’

The general realized it right away.

The one who had been arrogant was not his opponent, but himself.

The words about Minhyuk that he had heard from the princess and Raymond echoed in his head.

‘He’s not an ordinary person!’

Whoosh-

Before he knew it, Minhyuk’s dagger was falling, aimed at the general’s crown.

It was a simple attack with no technique at all, but because of its overwhelming speed, it was as powerful as any finishing move from a skilled swordsman.

‘How much physical training must one do to reach such a level of human movement!’

There was no way to avoid Minhyuk’s attack like this.

‘I have no choice!’

Pop-

A blue light flashed on the general’s sword.

Light radiated not only from his sword but also from his body.

Minhyuk was momentarily taken aback.

Not because of the light, but because the general’s movements suddenly became faster.

Just as his sword was about to reach his crown, he disappeared from his sight like smoke.

‘Where did he go?’

Minhyuk used his extraordinary senses to locate the general’s position right away.

He was behind him.

Whoosh-

He quickly turned his head.

Clang-

The tip of the general’s sword was piercing towards Minhyuk’s chest at an incredible speed.

It was too late to twist his body and dodge it.

Minhyuk blocked the general’s sword with his dagger.

Clang-

As soon as the steel dagger touched the general’s glowing sword, it shattered into pieces.

However, thanks to the sacrifice of the dagger, the trajectory of the sword that was attacking Minhyuk was slightly distorted.

Minhyuk seized the opportunity and used all his strength to move his body and evade the attack.

“That was close!”

The outcome, however, was already clear.

If the general launched another attack of the same kind, there was no way I could block it now that I had lost my dagger.

But I refused to give up.

I looked around to see if there was anything I could use instead of a dagger.

“It’s not over until it’s over!”

The general, however, stopped attacking as if he saw no point in continuing our duel.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you attacking me?”

To my exclamation, the general uttered something unexpected.

“I’ve lost.”

“What?”

Stagger-

The general swayed as if he could not control his body properly.

I was at a loss.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

Thud-

The general fell forward and collapsed on the ground.

I asked him with a bewildered look.

“What’s wrong with you?”

I wondered if he had some kind of chronic illness that had suddenly flared up.

Groan-

The general managed to raise his body and sat cross-legged.

Then he began to breathe deeply.

I watched his actions in silence.

A short while later,

Clatter clatter-

Dozens of mounted soldiers appeared.

They surrounded me, pointing their spears at me.

“You bastard! What did you do to our general?!”

Just as the soldiers were about to attack me,

“Stop!”

The general shouted at his men.

The soldiers lowered their spears.

The general scolded his aide-de-camp.

“I clearly told you to wait without moving.”

“We came running because it seemed like the general was in trouble!”

The aide-de-camp, who had been watching everything from the hill, had brought the soldiers after seeing the general collapse.

“Everyone, fall back!”

“General···.”

“Now!”

“Yes! I will follow your command!”

The soldiers turned their horses and disappeared into the darkness.

After a while, the general spoke to Minhyeok.

“You are truly amazing! You made me pull out my secret technique with just one strike!”

The swordsmanship the general used at the end was his ultimate secret technique.

It was also his last secret technique.

He could only use it once by releasing all his strength at once, so it was difficult to use multiple times during battle.

In his prime, he could use it about three times in a row, but now that he was older, he could barely use it once and end up like this.

Even though he used his ultimate secret technique, his sword did not reach Minhyeok.

So it was a complete defeat.

Thud-

The general gritted his teeth and stood up.

Totter-

He still had difficulty controlling his body.

“Since I have lost, I will teach you my swordsmanship as promised.”

Minhyeok’s expectations grew even more after facing the general.

A mysterious swordsmanship where light emanated from the sword and body, making the movements several times faster.

He definitely wanted to learn it.

“Where should I go to learn swordsmanship?”

Swish-

The general took something out from his arms and threw it at Minhyeok.

He caught it and checked to see that it was a metal badge.

The Drake family’s crest was engraved on both the front and back.

“Grab any soldier in the castle and show them that! Then they will guide you to me!”

“Okay! How about three days a week, two hours a day for the lessons?”

“What?”

Chuckle-

A laugh escaped the general’s mouth.

“Do as you please. And take this too!”

Swish-

The general threw something else at Minhyeok.

It was a thick cloth bag that was quite heavy.

“What is this?”

“It seems like you don’t have a single penny, so buy some food with that.”

It was a money bag.

Minhyeok’s eyes saw the general in a completely different light after receiving the money.

To Minhyeok, the person giving him money was an elder and a teacher.

“I will use it well!”

Seeing Minhyeok suddenly become respectful, the general smiled inwardly.

‘It’s about time.’

I was like that when I was young.

I neglected my work, ate, slept, fought, and only practiced swordsmanship.

I was so poor that I had to beg in the streets.

Back then,

Someone took pity on me and gave me some money as charity, and I was so grateful that I cried.

“Well then, I’ll see you again.”

The general left those words and disappeared into the darkness.

Minhyuk, now alone, checked his pockets.

There were several kinds of coins inside.

‘Which one is the most valuable?’

Anyway, he decided to check it later after entering the castle.

Minhyuk decided to do what he had planned before the general showed up.

He would return to the real world.

He would go back to his studio room and check what the colorful potions he had put in the refrigerator had turned into.

“Return!”

BAM-

A flash of light appeared before his eyes.

Swish-

After a moment, the light faded, and he could see his surroundings.

He had returned to his studio room.

BANG-

Minhyuk opened the refrigerator and checked inside.