NOVEL NEXT chapter 36
36 – Wherever One Step
“If you really want to show me… I won’t stop you…”
“It’s sharp, isn’t it? That sword.”
Jihoon lowered the sword he received from Guseongjun once again.
Swwwsh
The sword cried.
A sword that responds to the swordsman.
Compared to the famous swords he had received as gifts during his time in the martial arts world, it seemed like a sword that would never be surpassed.
“Writing is nice… but treasures like these always bring trouble.”
“It’s a really good knife, isn’t it?”
“You recognized it, after all. This friend here is called ‘Baekwol.’ It’s one of the 12 swords created by the master swordsmith Yu Deok-hyun.”
“It must be quite valuable…”
Ji-hoon, feeling uneasy.
A master doesn’t discriminate against weapons.
Ji-hoon, whether in the martial arts world or now, wasn’t particularly interested in fine weapons.
He didn’t want to get involved in noisy affairs…
“Baekwol is an unmatched masterpiece in terms of sharpness and craftsmanship, but it does have one flaw. Well, I can’t really call it a flaw, as it’s something that only doesn’t suit me.”
“…?”
In front of Go Seung-jun, who was eagerly sharing information without being asked, Ji-hoon began to feel bored.
“Baekwol inherently doesn’t match well with magic power. Therefore, it’s excellent at unleashing magic skills using magic power, but…”
Roaring.
As Go Seung-jun raised his magic power, a powerful pressure descended, as if the vast training ground had sunk.
“For a mage-hunter, it can be considered the worst sword.”
“…”
Ji-hoon watched as Go Seung-jun raised his magic power right before his eyes.
Sensing that intense power, Ji-hoon realized that this person was different from any other hunters he had met so far.
“Yoo Seong-hyun… the A-rank hunter who aimed for Egel’s heart… Is he beyond that…?”
Ji-hoon adjusted his grip on Baekwol.
“Ah… Wait, why did that guy suddenly…”
Professor Joo Sung-ho began to panic, thinking that Go Seung-jun, who he had thought was going down to teach a lesson briefly, was raising his magic power too much.
“What… what’s this pressure… Hunter Go Seung-jun, aren’t you exerting too much force?”
“Well… even from this distance, if the magic power feels this strong…”
“Isn’t this more like trying to catch a small child than a sparring match?”
The murmurs in the audience grew louder.
Students from grades 9 to 11 simply thought it was unbearable, powerful magic power, but students from grades 4 to 6 could clearly feel it.
Hunter Go Seung-jun was now sincerely raising his power.
It was like he had placed a gate spell in front of him, or like he was facing off against a wicked Black Hunter who had committed a heinous crime.
The magic power he was raising was not at all for a training match.
Guseongjun’s new model moves instantly to Han Soo-young’s side.
“Wow, it didn’t even look like it!”
“What kind of outrageous speed is that!”
Cheers erupt from the audience.
“The inspector who fights while protecting the healer must maintain a one-step radius with the healer, no matter how much he wants to attack.”
On the pretext of map training, Guseongjun is giving advice to Jihoon, who doesn’t listen.
This guy is interesting, isn’t he?
Jihoon’s mouth curls slightly upwards as he watches Guseongjun’s movements.
The explosive magical power is once again focused on Guseongjun’s lower body, just one step away.
As he takes one step, he instantly reaches Jihoon’s nose.
Guseongjun swings his sword and Jihoon blocks him.
An explosion of flames occurs between the two swords colliding.
Boom
“Wow… the Swordmaster… right, it was Guseongjun, the Swordmaster.”
“Wow, that’s amazing… but he rarely used his Swordmaster skills, right? There were rumors that he only used them in B-rank or above gates.”
“That’s right… wasn’t he an 11th class hunter? What kind of map training is this…”
After a moment of collision, Guseongjun returns to Han Soo-young’s side.
“I don’t know why you’re hiding your strength, but if you continue to fake it so poorly, you’ll get caught.”
Guseongjun advises Jihoon while holding his sword up.
“Did anyone except you notice?”
Jihoon responds with a puzzled expression.
Was my acting awkward?
Jihoon was starting to feel proud of his acting.
“hahahahaha. Not noticing, Professor Joo must have already known in advance.”
Guseongjun looks at Jihoon with a worried expression.
“Why is Sungjun like this… he’s exhausting himself…”
Guseongjun was overestimating Professor Joo more than necessary.
Whoosh
As he takes another step, this time Guseongjun moves in a circle behind Jihoon.
Shoosh
As Geoseongjun swings his sword, flames that take the form of arrows are shot towards Jihun.
Fwoosh
As Jihun gently swings his sword, the incoming flame arrows are deflected in mid-air.
“Like this, while attacking, always keep the healer within a step of the center and move.”
Geoseongjun moves rapidly, drawing a circle with Hansuyeong in the middle.
Even while moving, his sword continues to shoot out flame arrows, so the flame arrows continue to fly towards Jihun from all directions.
Boom
Fwoosh
Boom
Boom
“hahahaha… just as expected!”
The corners of Geoseongjun’s mouth rise inexplicably as he continues to shoot out attacks.
As if enjoying a fun game, Geoseongjun swings his sword with an excited expression.
Fwoooosh
In between the flame arrows, powerful flame storms accompany them.
Standing in place, Jihun casually swings his sword, parrying all of them.
“Well… what… what is that… Geoseongjun’s dark swordsmanship is incredible, but…”
“That… that’s right… that guy parries everything without even blinking an eye?”
“Baekwol… it must be because of the Baekwol that Geoseongjun gave him.”
“Oh…!”
Continuous admiration bursts from the audience watching.
Whooong
Boom
Whooong
“To call it teamwork, you’ve kept too much distance from the healer… it’s because you’re facing friends who are not of your level, in a real battle, you would have lost the healer while showing off your strength.”
Jihun skillfully parries Geoseongjun’s dark swordsmanship by repeatedly swinging his sword.
Countless exchanges of attack and defense happen in an instant.
“Indeed, my eyes were right. It’s not an attack that can be easily parried without using magic. Finally…”
And then, at that moment.
Jihun’s new technique created by his inner energy vanishes in an instant.
And then, he follows every move of Koo Sungjun, who draws a circle with Han Suyeong as the center.
“Haak…!”
As soon as he catches up with his speed, Sungjun desperately swings his sword towards Jihoon, who appears in front of him.
The sword he wields cuts Jihoon’s armor in half.
“No!! No!! Seongjun-ah!!”
Professor Joo rises from his seat.
For some reason, Seongjun, his most promising disciple and the academy’s biggest output, has made a big mistake.
No matter how skilled he is with the sword, it’s an attack from the 17th ranked Ranker.
To survive this blow, Jihoon is nothing more than a first-year student.
“Hu…hu…”
Professor Joo, wiping his eyes again, spots Jihoon standing next to Han Suyeong, unharmed.
It’s not Jihoon’s form, but his afterimage that is split in half.
“As you said, you’ve lost your healer too, haven’t you?”
Suddenly, Jihoon, standing next to Han Suyeong, raises his left hand and feeds Suyeong a healing potion.
“Ouch! Jihoon…”
Suyeong clenches her head.
“…How can you move at that speed without using magic…”
Sungjun knew Jihoon was holding back, but he couldn’t grasp to what extent.
Without giving Sungjun a chance to be surprised, Jihoon’s form reappears in front of him.
“I’ve never once left a healer alone. To me…”
The white moon in Jihoon’s hand trembles with a spine-chilling sound.
Sungjun envelops his sword with a massive flame of magic and strikes again. Jihoon disappears once more in front of his strike.
Swish
An indistinct, sharp energy flies and grazes Sungjun’s shoulder.
!!
Sungjun looks at his bleeding shoulder.
Jihoon, who moved again at an unknown moment, stands next to Han Suyeong, sheathing his sword.
“…To me, it’s a one-step radius anywhere.”
It could have been his shoulder, or it could have been his neck.
In a way he couldn’t even perceive, Jihoon could snatch away his life in an instant.
Koo Sung-Jun stood frozen in amazement for a while, his feet firmly planted in that spot.
Then, with a hearty smile, he lowered his sword and walked over to Ji-Hoon.
“As expected! My intuition was right! I didn’t know it would be to this extent, but…”
What is this man talking about again…
Ji-Hoon’s wary gaze turned toward the excited Koo Sung-Jun.
Why is he so excited again…
He couldn’t help but feel an unease he couldn’t quite place in Ji-Hoon, as if he had experienced something similar before.
“Such movements without any magic, such swordsmanship… You’re exactly the person I’ve been looking for!”
“You?… Oh well… You were looking for me?”
Ji-Hoon responded to the ecstatic Sung-Jun with a measured tone.
The more Ji-Hoon maintained his cheerful expression, the stronger an odd sense of unease grew within him. He quickly moved aside to hand over the sword.
“……?”
Koo Sung-Jun stared at the offered sword without accepting it, puzzled.
“Why… Why aren’t you taking it? Hurry and take it.”
Anxious Ji-Hoon urged Sung-Jun to take the sword.
“It was never meant for me from the beginning.”
“What are you talking about again…”
As Sung-Jun kept refusing to take the sword, Ji-Hoon politely threw it in front of him.
“When we’re done here, we’ll be leaving. Soo-Yeong, let’s go.”
Sung-Jun’s voice pierced through as Ji-Hoon was about to change positions in a hurry.
“You’ll be in charge of the sword. This sword rightfully belongs to you.”
Snap.
Why is he doing this again!
Ji-Hoon’s expression contorted with seriousness.
“Ji… Ji-Hoon, what are you saying?”
“No, no, I must have misheard. Let’s go quickly.”