I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game

As soon as I explained that the Demon Tree was beneath us, the Sword Emperor’s collar fluttered.

She was ready to draw her sword and cleave the ground apart.

“Sword Emperor.”

The Sword Emperor turned to me abruptly.

“What, are you trying to stop me?”
“No, just endure as long as you can. Don’t attack, just take the hits.”

Even with this one-sided command, the Sword Emperor nodded calmly.

“Simple and straightforward, I like it. I’ll trust you.”

‘She trusts me more than I expected.’

Goooooooo—

The Sword Emperor drew her sword and infused it with mana, slamming it down towards the ground.

Kwaaaarrrrrrrrrrr—!!!!

The earth shattered in an instant, sending shockwaves through the heavens and the earth.

‘…Is the Sword Emperor not affected by the mana absorption?’

No, that’s not it.
She’s just able to withstand the absorption to this extent.
I could understand why Lina had spoken so highly of her.

‘But, because of that, I didn’t get proper training from her…?’

She just locked me in a dark place and starved me.
I let it slide because Alice’s situation was urgent, but I would need to address this after this mission.

Yoo-ri, with her blank expression, suddenly turned her head.

“…But, isn’t that a bad idea? Isn’t her granddaughter captured? What if she gets swept up and hurt?”
“… .”

Honestly, I didn’t have an answer.

I could only offer this explanation:

“But the Demon Tree has a habit of storing humans, so she should be fine.”
“Are you expecting protection from a demon?”

Well, even so… She must have a sturdy body from growing up in this place.

“Disciple. So, what do you need me to do?”

At that moment, Master turned to me and asked.

I looked at Master for a moment, then opened the tattoo of the pocket dimension.

Flap—

And took out a pure white uniform.

《Guardian Jade of the Verdant Grove》

[ Swordsman ], [ Female ], [ Ice Attribute ]

An item with wearing restrictions.
This was originally meant for Alice.

‘The real owner was right next to me.’

It was originally intended for Alice, but I didn’t feel any regret giving it to Master.
After all, Baek Seol-hee was my master.

It made more sense to give it to someone who had taught me, cared for me, and saved my life, rather than to Alice, whom I had only met briefly.

“Master, here.”
“… Disciple? What is this…!”

Master was taken aback by my sudden offer.

“It’s a gift.”
“… A gift.”

Master alternated her gaze between me and the clothes, biting her lip.
Then, she composed herself and spoke seriously.

“I’m sorry, disciple. I can’t accept your gift. I’ve wronged you too much…”

I already knew why Master felt guilty, as the Sword Emperor had explained it to me when she pulled me out of the pit.

‘Don’t worry about it. It’s not dangerous anymore.’

Now that I could see the path of life and death, it was no longer a threat.

But I knew that these words wouldn’t ease Master’s mind, and I had something else planned to address this.

“Master, you saved my life. Please accept it.”
“… But I taught you a sword that I shouldn’t have…”
“We can talk about that later. Please take it, it’s necessary for our plan.”
“… For the plan?”
“Yes.”

.

.

.

Excluding Baek Seol-hee,

The three of us—me, Lee Yoo-ri, and Kang Do-hee—

Descended into the huge cavity that the Sword Emperor had created in the underground of Mountain.

“…Was there a place like this?”

Lee Yoo-ri looked around, and her voice echoed.

“I feel my strength draining away.”

Kang Do-hee spoke in a stiff voice.

I was familiar with this sensation too.
I had already experienced it.
Fortunately, we were still connected to the outside, otherwise, we would have been completely drained of our strength like in the pit.

Bang! Kwaang! Bang! Kwaang!

A huge vibration sounded from a distance, and dust fell from the ceiling.

“Grandma—!”
“Malsook—!”

Alice and the Sword Emperor desperately called out to each other.

‘It’s the Demon Tree’s characteristic to deliberately leave some consciousness and pit them against each other… As expected.’

Soon, the Demon Tree revealed itself.

“Hiss.”
“Hmm…”

Even Lee Yoo-ri and Kang Do-hee, who had fought various monsters, couldn’t help but swallow their saliva at the repulsive sight.

“Khhhhhhhhhhh—”

The twisted and bumpy shape,

It was unclear if those reddish branches should be considered branches or blood vessels, as they stretched out like tentacles.
At the ends of the thorny branches, human heads hung like fruits, their faces twisted in a macabre smile, their ears pulled up to their lips, all staring at one spot.

“This is fun. So much fun…”

Yes, one of the bosses that appears in the final chapter.
A Demon Legion Commander, the Demon Tree.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

In front of the Demon Tree, Alice was swinging her sword while shedding tears, exchanging attacks with the Sword Emperor.

No, it wasn’t an exchange of attacks.

“Ha, Grandma, my body… It’s not listening to me! What do I do… I don’t want to attack you…”

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

Alice, controlled by the Demon Tree, swung her sword one-sidedly,
and the Sword Emperor took the hits.

Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!

The Demon Tree swung its branches one-sidedly,
and the Sword Emperor took the hits.
Her body rolled helplessly in the cavity.

If the Sword Emperor so much as glanced at the Demon Tree or
tried to block the attacks, Alice, with bluish veins popping out all over her body, would let out a painful gasp.

“Cough!”
“Malsook—!”

The Sword Emperor could only bite her lip and take the attacks helplessly.

Gradually, the Sword Emperor’s uniform was soaked in bright red blood.

It was exactly as I had expected.

My party members and I watched the scene quietly, taking it all in.

“Pay attention. Those are the kinds of enemies we’ll have to face later.”

At that moment, Lee Yoo-ri shuddered and turned to me.

“Jin Yuhua… Can’t we really do something?”

I shook my head at her question.

“No.”

No matter what, this was a boss that appeared in the final chapter.
If we confronted it head-on, all of us could end up as hostages, as it could drain our mana and stamina with just its aura.

Only someone of the Sword Emperor’s caliber could match it in a direct fight…

“Indeed, in our current state, it would be difficult… But if our bodies were normal…”

Kang Do-hee spoke in a cold, detached voice.

‘What…? If our bodies were normal?’

Could it be possible to face a final chapter boss head-on if our bodies were normal?

As I wondered about Kang Do-hee’s reaction, my gaze shifted to the Demon Tree.

“Hmm?”

Soon, I couldn’t help but voice my confusion.

The tree branches flying violently towards us, the mana spewing out…
The sharp aura…

I tilted my head to the side, perplexed.

‘Is it really doable?’

Of course, it didn’t mean we could capture it without a scratch.
I ran a simulation in my head.

If our Utopia party was at full strength and.
If we took measures to defend against the Demon Tree’s mana absorption, just like in the original game…

‘…It does seem doable…’

Could it be that the Demon Tree was weakened because this wasn’t the final chapter?

I pondered, but that didn’t seem to be the case either.

The way it stretched its branches towards the Sword Emperor was exactly as I remembered from the game.

“…..”

Something was off.
A cognitive dissonance was building in my head.
Why was I feeling that a boss from the final chapter seemed manageable at this point?

I remembered the unfairness and countless retries I had experienced with that firewood bastard in the game.

‘Come to think of it, the Shin family episode with Shin Do-hwa was also much easier than expected…’

Originally, we should have faced Shin Do-hwa along with the Shin Family Royal Guards.
But I had taken on the Shin Family Royal Guards alone to acquire them all at once.
When facing the mid-boss, Shasha Fong’s father, I had also fought alone.

Now that I could see the path of life and death, it seemed like a crazy thing to have done.

‘It’s like I soloed an episode boss.’

In the original game, episode bosses were supposed to be taken down by a squad of six.

In a world without gachas, had all that training to keep up with the game been in vain?
Had I,
and our Utopia party, truly become stronger?

“Jin Yuhua.”

Lee Yoo-ri grabbed my hand, breaking me out of my thoughts.

“Huh?”
“Don’t we have something we should be doing?”
“… Ah, right.”

I nodded reluctantly.
Yes, now wasn’t the time for such thoughts.

“Here, I’ll distribute these high-grade magic stones among you. Place them everywhere to prevent those branches from touching your bodies. The Demon Tree detects its enemies mainly through its branches, so its vision is quite narrow otherwise.”

I handed out the high-grade magic stones I had brought to Lee Yoo-ri and Kang Do-hee.

As I did so, I kept my eyes on the Demon Tree, thinking to myself.

‘…Once we get back, I need to test something.’

Our party’s level in the Velvets world had likely increased.
It was necessary to verify our progress.