Chapter 14

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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– ?

– Excuse me?

– But he only swung it once?

– Is the game bugged?

– Guess it’s a script error?

– Please replace the NPC.

“Heol…”

The flustered viewers and Yeon-woo, who had lost his wits.

Han-bit gradually scattered the mind he had focused.

“Phew.”

He never hoped for perfection.

He simply strove to embody everything he possessed into that single motion.

If it were Swordsman Balder, he would realize that it was somehow different.

That certainty was within his heart.

Swoosh.

Setting down the liquor barrel, Balder grabbed the wooden sword on the table and stood up.

When he stood squarely in front of Han-bit, a message popped up.

Ding.

[Quest completed.]

[The linked quest is unlocked.]

[Quest]

Engage in a sparring match with Swordsman Balder.

The difficulty is adjusted according to the player’s level and stats.

Objective: Emerge victorious in the spar.

Reward: 500 Gold, Basic Swordsmanship Training Manual (Rank 1 – ? Grade), 1 Stat Point, 200 Experience Points.

– Ah, f*ck lmaoo

– You mean it really passed with just one swing?

– Trash broken game.

– It’s not a bug;

A quest that popped up acting as proof that it wasn’t a system issue.

On the serious face of the swordsman standing before him, even the intoxication had vanished.

“This time is a spar. I will adjust to your level, but merely receiving my sword will be overwhelming.”

“Alright.”

– Bout to become not alright soon.

– It’s stat adjusted, but you get beat up like a dog.

– If you struggle to block till the end, he gives you Uncommon.

– If you do a full-body contortion and graze it once, he gives Rare.

– I blocked it with my head and got Uncommon.

– We decided to call that getting beat up.

The sparring match was quite notorious, but the reward standards were generous.

It was merely that the perception portraying it to be too difficult to block even a single attack from the swordsman was overly prevalent.

“Ah, the prize money!”

Right then, the dazed Yeon-woo came back to his senses.

However, a message popped up along with the notification sound.

[SwordGod has supported 10,000 won.]

[Want to fold or double? Success if you properly block 2 attacks with the wooden sword. If fail, the mission is invalid.]

– Ugly, ugly;

– Bullshitting about 2 times. Lol.

– Look at how desperate he is.

– Want to double? (Please do it)

– Absolutely not. Can’t even block 1;

– NPCs are different from static targets. Lol.

– Exxxquisite moving targets.

“Huh? Fold or double?”

Yeon-woo scratched his cheek and looked at the challenge mission.

[Success if finished within 25 minutes. If fail, don’t take the money and go bungee jump off a cliff.]

[Prize Money: 975,000 won]

The slightly larger amount nearly reached 1,000,000 won.

As expected, it was due to the absolute sheer number of Swordsmanship players.

“Hyung, what are you going to do? But honestly, blocking an attack is really tough.”

“… If it’s double, that’s 2 million?”

Han-bit’s eyes widened at the massive amount.

‘If it means blocking attacks twice…’

Moving as a game character requires quite a lot of contemplation.

Because the more precision was required, the larger the disconnect between mind and body grew.

‘I absolutely have to succeed this.’

Even amidst such restrictions, Han-bit had confidence.

The mental fortitude and concentration that many people nonchalantly brought up.

In reality, these made far more things possible than expected.

His own experiences of repeatedly surviving the threshold of death proved that.

“Alright. Let’s try it, what the heck.”

“… Really?”

– He didn’t chicken out;

– You just take it.

– Yeah, this really is ‘don’t give, won’t do’.

– Our Black Dragon getting beat up like a dog. T-T

– Looks like he’ll lose the 1 million won he already acquired;

The surprised viewers mostly tilted towards an atmosphere of mourning.

However.

Ding.

The flow changed at the message from the viewer ‘SwordGod’.

[SwordGod has supported 1,000,000 won to the challenge mission.]

– Are you seriously a crazy person?

– Didn’t blow your entire fortune, right?

– Tell me he can’t clear it. (Please)

– Is this really a safe asset?

– Since it’s Black Dragon, we never know.

– Only you don’t know. Lol.

The motivation was sufficient now.

Becoming the most serious he had been so far, Han-bit corrected his grip on the wooden sword.

“…”

The two, aiming their swords, fell into silence.

Gazes meeting, as if probing each other’s minds.

The first to take a step was the swordsman.

Tap!

He closed the distance in an instant with just a light leap.

Swoosh!

An attack flying from below the narrowed field of vision without a sliver of an opening.

Having read the trajectory beforehand, Han-bit twisted his upper body and tried to pull the wooden sword towards himself.

However, the character’s reaction followed slightly delayed.

Whoosh!

Balder’s wooden sword grazing past the hair on his forehead.

Han-bit kicked the ground and retreated backward.

– Wow, thought he blocked it right away;

– Not even close.

– Do you look down on the Swordsman?

– But didn’t he almost block it?

– Nope.

The swordsman was moving in accordance with Han-bit’s level and stats.

Therefore, reading the attack with his eyes was at an easy level.

The problem lay in manifesting that reaction with the character’s body.

To make this possible, he had to move almost predictively.

‘At least it’s a relief I learned Swiftness.’

The Swiftness skill learned from Ria had created a truly minuscule increase in speed.

However, that small difference was immensely important to Han-bit.

Should it be described as putting a needed screw back into a misaligned sensation?

“Phew.”

Taking a deep breath, Han-bit focused on the swordsman’s body.

The arms and legs, the hand and fingers gripping the wooden sword.

The degree of force load when kicking the ground.

The time it took from the twisting of the upper body until it connected to the preparatory motion.

For now, when only his eyes and mind remained intact, he had to observe everything.

“You look like you have many thoughts.”

The swordsman, who had been studying him, spoke quietly.

“You look like you do too?”

“… That leeway will soon vanish as well.”

Tap!

The swordsman closed the distance once again.

Swoosh!

This time as well, an attack flying in from below exploiting the narrowed field of vision.

However, having concentrated all his mind, Han-bit was certain.

That was a feint.

Whoosh!

As Han-bit raised his wooden sword to the right, the swordsman’s true attack immediately flew in.

Clack!

The sharp sound that followed.

Han-bit succeeded in his first block.

– Wow.

– Are you an actual crazy bastard?

– He didn’t fall for that feint;

– I went after watching strategy guides, but I just couldn’t distinguish the feint.

– Look, even if you know it, normally you get beat up;

“…”

The swordsman, whose attack was blocked, widened his eyes and retreated.

His slightly furrowed eyebrows revealed his uncomfortable inner thoughts.

Of course, Han-bit, who succeeded in the block, wasn’t satisfied either.

Tap!

The swordsman kicked the ground once again.

Whoosh!

The sword that flew in this time became slightly faster than before.

Han-bit drew up his concentration correspondingly.

Swoosh!

Whoosh!

The sound of swords cutting through the winds filled in for the silence instead.

The swordsman’s movements consciously avoiding the wooden swords clashing.

The speed of the attacks also continuously became faster.

‘He seems to be getting impatient.’

The swordsman before his eyes had strong pride and honor.

Equally, he was considerably strict with himself.

This situation where he couldn’t overwhelm with pure technique would become a massive stress to him.

Whoosh!

Swoosh!

The flying attacks gradually concentrated on power and speed.

Adjusting to his level, stats being compensated.

These words had lost their meaning by now.

Because now, beyond the swordsman’s technique, he even had to overcome the gap in their physical bodies.

‘Just a bit more.’

In this kind of situation, an opportunity was needed.

One that could overturn the gap and stab at an opening.

He waited for just that single moment.

Swoosh!

Right then, the swordsman, completely immersed in combat, was about to thrust his sword toward Han-bit’s neck.

He read the precursor to that movement.

‘Now.’

Dash!

Han-bit kicked the ground and instead rushed straight ahead.

The unexpected swordsman instinctively moved his wooden sword.

That formulated into a shape resembling an awkward defensive posture.

Clack!

The wooden swords that naturally clashed against each other let out a loud sound.

However.

Swish!

Suddenly, the swordsman spun his body around and launched a counterattack.

A murderous intent equivalent to holding a real blade.

That stark emotion conversely made reading the movement easier.

Whoosh!

The destination his sword tip would reach was perfectly clear.

Han-bit, slightly leaning his upper body backward, immediately swung his wooden sword horizontally.

Smack!

The two clashing swords created a loud sound.

And Han-bit’s wooden sword, unable to endure the force, bounced far away.

At the same time, the swordsman’s gaze changed.

“Ugh…”

The swordsman, heavily contorting his expression, finally seemed to realize what he had just done.

In the end, it was a result achieved by pressing down with physical capabilities, not technique.

A sense of self-shame, anger, and humiliation were plainly exposed on his face.

Han-bit let out a brief sigh and looked at the chat window.

“Two blocks. It’s a success, right?”

– Uh… pardon?

– Wait, didn’t you say you haven’t learned Swordsmanship yet?

– Even more so, where did the stat compensation get thrown away to?

– The swordsman flipped out ever since Black Dragon blocked for the first time.

– But he succeeded in the mission in that state?

– Black Dragon, let’s reveal your real-world job first. We’ll even understand contract killing.

– So if an otaku reaches the limit, they look like that…

“Hyung, were you seriously doing some work using a real sword?”

The viewers and Yeon-woo could only show a surprised reaction.

To Han-bit, however, it was an opportunity to realize many things in various ways.

Ding.

[SwordGod has supported 100,000 won.]

[Mission Success Go Go. When are you starting the tutoring?]

– Oh.

– Tutoring. Lol.

– The man who teaches SwordGod.

– 2 Million won acquired.

– This deserves to be accepted.

– Setting aside jealousy, this is incredibly fascinating;

“Thank you for the 100,000 won donation! We will immediately receive the prize money too!”

The excited Yeon-woo swiftly moved his hands.

[You have succeeded in the challenge mission.]

[You received the prize money of 2,253,000 won.]

– Shivers.

– Pissed my pants.

– Wasn’t this Black Dragon’s second day?

– And it’s not even his own broadcast. Lol.

– Do not worry. All the mission prize money is going straight to Black Dragon~

“Crazy…”

“Thank you everyone! The one who donated the most, SwordGod! Please drop by often!”

Han-bit, who had genuinely marveled, and Yeon-woo, who conveyed endless gratitude.

Looking at the amount several times over, Han-bit said to the viewers.

“Thank you. But about the tutoring… how am I supposed to tutor this?”

– Why is he serious. Lol.

– It’s a joke, a joke.

– Look at his nickname, seems he genuinely wants to learn.

[SwordGod has supported 10,000 won.]

[Just use the sword a lot. So I can watch and learn a bit.]

The person in question immediately appeared and added a comment.

That request wasn’t difficult at all.

Because the sword was the weapon Han-bit favored the most.

“I will use it often. To do that, first… I should wrap this up.”

Han-bit turned his gaze to the swordsman he had forgotten for a moment.

‘I should leave quickly.’

Perhaps his feelings were very complicated, as his body was trembling.

That personality where emotions lay fully bare on the outside.

It was a weakness as a swordsman, but he was a man who silently walked his own path.

Perhaps he’d try to engage in training right this instance.

“The spar is over, right?”

“… Yes. Wait a moment.”

Along with the heavy answer, the swordsman went into the cabin.

A yellow book was held in his hand as he came back out.

“Take it.”

Ding.

[Quest completed.]

[Based on Balder’s evaluation, the reward is adjusted upwards to the maximum.]

[Adjusted from 500 Gold ⟶ 3,000 Gold.]

[Basic Swordsmanship Training Manual (Rank 1 – Unique) is distributed.]

[Stat Points increased from 1 ⟶ 5.]

[Experience Points increased from 200 ⟶ 700.]

[Level has increased.]

[1 Stat Point is acquired.]

[An Economy-grade Sword is distributed.]