I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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Seoyeoryeong kept asking. She hoped she was wrong.

“Don’t you know the Blue Dragon Warrior? Then, what about Sangdeok Village?”

“I don’t know where that is either.”

Seoyeoryeong covered her mouth with wide eyes.

Ignoring Kim Il-sin’s reaction of questioning why, she continued to think.

Based on his answer, it was clear that Kim Il-sin had amnesia.

He couldn’t even remember the name of the village he lived in.

‘If there’s a reason for the amnesia… it can only be that.’

There was a reason she could guess.

Kim Il-sin had a past where everyone around him was murdered overnight.

His brain, unable to endure the horrific moment, had erased all memories of the past.

But even in that state, the desire for revenge against the Jeokcheon Church remained, causing him to act as he was.

The possibility that the reason he came to the academy was for revenge was high.

Because the Jeokcheon Church was the enemy of heroes.

‘I guess the amnesia must have happened after the entrance exam. He couldn’t endure it any longer.’

She thought she could understand to some extent why he had suddenly become stronger.

The Jeokcheon Church, which had hidden away for years without any significant activity, had begun to rampage recently, causing various incidents.

Kim Il-sin, who had lived with lost memories and power, had heard that news and instinctively regained his original strength.

But his memories did not return.

‘How big of a shock did he have to experience to end up like this?’

Seoyeoryeong recalled Kim Il-sin’s past before he regained his strength.

He had been bullied for being weak and powerless, and she hadn’t helped him.

Partly out of pride, and perhaps because she thought that he was intentionally hiding his strength.

But that wasn’t the case. Kim Il-sin was a true weakling who had lost both memory and strength.

‘Because of that trivial pride…’

A heavy sense of guilt pierced Seoyeoryeong’s heart.

Thinking about how troubled and painful he must have been while being bullied, she realized that she, as a bystander, was also a clear sinner.

She looked at the still confused Kim Il-sin and contemplated.

Should she awaken the root of his inexplicable desire for revenge against the Jeokcheon Church along with the forgotten past?

‘…No.’

Seoyeoryeong thought that it was not something she could choose.

With a sympathetic gaze, she said.

“If you want to know about your past later, come find me. It will be shocking, so brace yourself.”

Having said that, Seoyeoryeong turned around. She intended to gather more information about Kim Il-sin’s past for the future.

It was a form of atonement for her previous indifference.

She was a wannabe hero and had been taught that debts must be repaid.

Therefore, she had to repay the emotional debt to Kim Il-sin as well.

As she walked with that resolve, Kim Il-sin thought.

‘…Is she crazy?’

That shouldn’t happen.

*

“Match end! The winner is Kim Il-sin!”

The duel between Namgungmin and Kim Il-sin ended as many had predicted—with Kim Il-sin’s victory.

“Damn…!”

The defeated Namgungmin vented his frustration on the ground. The way his fist struck the earth suggested the depth of his emotions.

On the surface, he seemed to be despairing over a regrettable defeat.

In reality, some audience members voiced their support for Namgungmin, praising his fight.

However, knowing the reason behind Namgungmin’s intense anger left Kim Il-sin feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

‘Is he that curious…?’

Before the duel began, Namgungmin had proposed a strange condition.

If he won the duel, he wanted to know what request Kim Il-sin had made to Joo Chaerin.

It was the same condition Namgunghyuk had laid down in a previous duel, and he too ended up losing to Kim Il-sin.

“Sorry, bro… I failed too…”

From just his reaction, he looked like a tragic protagonist who had failed in his revenge.

In reality, he was just a weird guy.

If left as he was, it seemed like he would dig into the ground, so Kim Il-sin decided to help Namgungmin with his request, regardless of the victory or defeat.

It wasn’t something worth hiding, nor did he plan to.

“Should I just tell you?”

“W-What…?”

Namgungmin’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Is that okay…?”

“If you don’t want it, then forget it.”

“No! Please tell me!”

Namgungmin clung to Kim Il-sin’s pants as if pleading.

Wanting to quickly shake him off, Kim Il-sin shared the story that Namgungmin had been curious about.

As the story began, Namgungmin’s face filled with joy, only to crumble into despair in an instant.

“What have we been fighting for all this time…?”

Namgungmin began to realize the meaninglessness of life, like an astronomer who had uncovered the futility of existence.

Seeing that pathetic sight, Kim Il-sin clicked his tongue and turned away.

“Ah, what have we been fighting for—!!”

The wailing from behind signaled the end of the duel exam.

*

A few days later, when Kim Il-sin arrived at the classroom and opened the door, all the students inside turned their gazes toward him as if they had been waiting.

Their gazes held surprise, envy, awe, and among those who used to bully him, fear.

Due to what had happened during the duel exam, Kim Il-sin had unintentionally become the most famous student in the academy.

He had gained recognition for his skills from the great hero Baek Hosan and even received an offer to become his disciple.

Everyone had realized the immense power and potential Kim Il-sin possessed.

It wasn’t something to worry about too much.

If one continued to build their skills with overwhelming talent, becoming famous was inevitable.

The timing had just been significantly accelerated.

“…Hello. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

Once he sat down, Seoyeoryeong greeted him. Since their last encounter at the exam site, she had been persistent in talking to him.

She looked at him with sympathetic eyes, leaving him completely puzzled about why.

“Here, the results are out.”

At that moment, the teacher who had entered the classroom began handing out the report cards.

The students accepted it with a mix of hopeful and anxious feelings.

Kim Il-sin stepped forward to receive his report card and returned to his seat.

‘What will it be like?’

He had no fear of being expelled. There was no way his grades would be that bad.

Yet even so, he felt nervous because he might be able to aim for the top spot.

His theoretical grades were mostly upper mid-range, and his practical exam scores were extraordinary.

Particularly in the duel exam, he had achieved a significant score by winning three consecutive matches against students who had higher scores than him.

Moreover, after the previously presumed top student Baek Hayun lost in the duel against Kim Il-sin, he forfeited the following two duels, severely impacting his grades.

He heard that Baek Hayun had been holed up in a personal training area, skipping meals for days.

He wasn’t even visible in the classroom now.

‘If that’s the case, I might have something to hope for.’

As long as he wasn’t expelled, it didn’t matter how the grades turned out, but if he could aim for the top spot, that was different.

Every exam, the top student received a scholarship from the school, and this time it was for a elixir.

Furthermore, it was an elixir personally crafted by the academy’s principal. If he could get it, he certainly wanted to obtain it.

“…Huh.”

Slowly, Kim Il-sin unfolded his report card and checked his grades.

[Rank: 1]

It was a result that met his expectations, and his fist clenched tightly.

The scholarship would be granted quickly, so he would soon be able to consume a high-quality elixir.

As he was basking in joy, a text message arrived on his phone.

The sender was Joo Chaerin.

[Il-sin student. Please stop by my office after class. I have something for you.]

He didn’t know what she meant by “something,” but he decided to head to Joo Chaerin’s office.

*

Inside the office, which was so messy and dark that it was almost hard to take a single step, a monitor brightly illuminated the space, showing a video.

Lee Yeon-woo, the martial theory teacher at the academy, stretched his neck forward, focusing on the video.

“As it falls from above, it builds up power and then draws it back up to explode from a single point…”

The content of the video was the duel between Kim Il-sin and Baek Hayun.

The moment Kim Il-sin had struck his first blow was being replayed repeatedly.

“Yes… this is it…”

His eyes, glued to the monitor, dissected and analyzed Kim Il-sin’s movements and the flow of mana one by one.

After the video had been replayed hundreds of times, Lee Yeon-woo rummaged through the clutter on the ground and pulled out a book.

The title of the book was [The Record of the Mad Demon].

As he opened it, he would periodically check the video while deeply engrossed in reading.

And finally, he reached a conclusion.

‘…I need that student.’

Her long-time research subject, the ancient ruins she had been devoted to studying.

To open the entrance to that place, Kim Il-sin’s power was absolutely necessary.

‘If I go and ask directly, will he… help?’

He would likely be busy, but she thought he wouldn’t refuse after hearing the explanation.

The ruins Lee Yeon-woo was researching were the tomb of the Mad Demon, the founder of the ‘Il-sin Pa Cheon-gong,’ which Kim Il-sin was learning.

‘…I hope he helps.’