NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10 - Why Are They So Weak?
The spectator seats where the
In those seats sat about 30 academy instructors who had requested to observe and 10 admission committee members.
They all had sight expansion artifacts that could zoom in on distant places.
Rustle-
One of the committee members scanned the list of the next 20 test participants and opened their mouth.
“It’s obvious. This round. Here, Woo Taeseong, the valedictorian of Korea Hero School, will take first place. Easily.”
Korea Hero School. Though the name reeked of a bygone era, it was an awakened training high school like
These two were the only hunter high schools in Korea.
Other committee members slowly nodded, agreeing with those words.
“Indeed, this guy has the highest probability.”
Although Korea Hero School’s status and level were far behind Athena’s, it was different for a valedictorian.
Most hunter prospects awaken their mana at 18.
By then, the Korea Hero School students, whose physical abilities were somewhat behind Athena students, also start to develop their physique.
In other words, Korea Hero School was also a fierce battleground for promising talents.
Becoming a valedictorian there meant a student who would likely survive and rank high even if thrown into Athena’s A class.
“What do you think, Sword Empress? You’ve predicted all the exams so far. How about this one?”
The specially invited committee member, Sword Empress Yoo Seol-ah, smiled gently at the committee member who asked her.
“Well…”
Yoo Seol-ah’s hand was placed on one student’s documents.
Lee Dojin.
Final education: Dropped out of Athena 2nd year.
Combat type: Close combat
Weapon: Sword (劍).
‘…Dropped out of Athena.’
Although this part differed from what her disciple had said, she had an almost certain intuition.
That this person was the same ‘Lee Dojin’ her disciple Baek Hwayeon had mentioned two years ago.
“Perhaps an upset might occur.”
The magic circle leading to the virtual circular arena
I stepped onto that magic circle.
Light flashed in my vision.
I looked around.
“It’s wide.”
Though it’s called
Seeing trees here and there, it felt a bit like Mistilteinn’s world.
Swish-
I gripped the wooden sword.
I still didn’t have a grasp on the extent of my strength.
After all, the only person I’d crossed swords with recently was Master.
Even that was 9 months ago in real time.
“Aaaaargh! You bastard!”
I heard a groan mixed with curses and the sound of weapons clashing.
Seems like the battles are starting.
I moved.
Walking quickly, I saw two men.
“Anyway, they’re going to calculate points based on how many people we killed, and they don’t care if we teamed up or not, right? If we attack together, we might be able to kill everyone.”
One guy with yellow hair was holding a sword.
“Sweet. Let’s move.”
The other was holding a spear.
I readjusted my grip on the wooden sword.
“What’s with that guy?”
I made eye contact with the yellow-haired one.
“A wooden sword? Crazy, that bastard came to take the exam with a wooden sword. Hey. Even for a concept, he chose a stupid one.”
“Let’s go!”
The two guys rushed at me.
I operated the Reverse Heaven Divine Technique. Colorless sword energy rose on the wooden sword.
Those guys could handle mana too.
After all, that’s a prerequisite for combat division entrants.
The yellow guy swung his sword vertically downward. Blue sword energy plunged down.
And I swung my wooden sword horizontally.
The vertical and horizontal sword energies clashed.
The colorless sword energy created a shockwave around it, drawing a semicircle.
Slash!
The blue sword energy split in half and evaporated.
The sword the yellow guy was holding had its blade completely halved, and blade fragments scattered like rain.
“Huh…?”
A dumb sound flowed from the guy’s mouth.
Due to the
The upper body of the yellow guy, completely bisected at the waist, rolled on the ground.
Thud
The lower body, which had been standing upright even after losing its upper half, soon fell face-first to the ground.
I had bisected both the guy’s sword and waist simultaneously.
That was my intention from the start, and it went as intended.
Only, I didn’t expect him to go down so easily.
“F-fuck! Haaaa!”
The guy holding the spear let out a battle cry and extended his arm.
The mana wrapped around the spear rotated, aiming for my heart.
A strike I could avoid just by taking one step.
I twisted my body and swung the wooden sword.
The guy’s head rolled on the ground.
I couldn’t help but have an obvious question in my mind.
Why are these guys so weak?
“……”
Everyone in the spectator seats was enveloped in silence.
Until Lee Dojin held up the wooden sword, the committee members had just let out scornful laughs.
-I wondered why he dropped out of Athena, turns out he’s a bit mentally unstable.
-Seems like he wanted to stand out in some unique way. Looks like an immature delusion.
-There’s never a proper martial artist among guys like that.
-Maintaining sword energy on a wooden sword requires tens of times more concentration than on a regular sword. It just looks like he came out to fool around.
Everyone had criticized and mocked him like that.
But now, they all had their mouths wide open, unable to utter a word.
Wooden sword.
Sword energy.
Bisection in one strike (一刀兩斷).
One hit, one kill (一擊必殺).
These things that don’t mix at all, like oil and water.
That applicant who had just become an adult was accomplishing them.
As if it were something he did daily.
“…Monster.”
One of the committee members muttered unconsciously.
Imbuing a wooden sword with sword energy and bisecting the opponent in one strike.
Is that something no one else can do?
That wasn’t the case.
Including Sword Empress Yoo Seol-ah present here.
Swordsmen who have reached a certain level can do that.
But they are people who have swung swords and trained for at least 20 years.
Not this 20-year-old fledgling before their eyes.
Grin
Yoo Seol-ah smiled.
A genius.
Not the vain genius that others easily talk about, but one of the true geniuses that this world rarely produces.
It seems such a genius had come to the academy again this time.
It was a smile mixed with pleasure, one she rarely made in her life, only when competitiveness filled her to the brim.
A red current rippled on her back.
Fighting spirit (鬪志).
An undisguisable fighting aura had bloomed throughout Yoo Seol-ah’s body.
“S-Sword Empress. Please calm down.”
Only when one of the committee members, unable to bear the tingling sensation throughout their body from the fierce fighting spirit emanating from Yoo Seol-ah, spoke up, did Yoo Seol-ah withdraw her fighting spirit.
“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s just that I saw such a rare sight after a long time.”
That rare sight continued.
As Lee Dojin ran, all the applicants in the places he passed through clutched their necks and collapsed.
A spectacular swordsmanship worthy of admiration.
10 out of 20.
Half were eliminated, dying by Lee Dojin’s hand.
It was literally like a fighting demon (鬪鬼).
‘Seems like he was toying with my disciple two years ago.’
Two years.
According to Baek Hwayeon, they were equal two years ago.
One can’t achieve that level of accomplishment in two years just by being equal to Baek Hwayeon.
That was common sense.
So Sword Empress Yoo Seol-ah was certain that Lee Dojin had been toying with Baek Hwayeon two years ago.
‘I hope you’ll play with me soon too, young monster.’
Yoo Seol-ah smiled with her eyes shining.
Very brightly.
Other committee members continued to buzz with excitement.
“Why is someone of that level carrying around a mere wooden sword?”
“Is he deliberately suppressing his overflowing power?”
Misunderstandings about Lee Dojin were forming.
Misunderstandings so solid they were unshakeable.
Lee Dojin swung his wooden sword.
Slash-
Another one died.
Korea Hero School valedictorian, Woo Taeseong, also had a corpse in his hand.
They had died from being hit by Woo Taeseong, a martial artist (拳士).
Lee Dojin and Woo Taeseong stared at each other.
Woo Taeseong was the first to speak.
“Wow, what kind of bastard are you? Slicing everyone up with a wooden sword?”
Woo Taeseong was full of confidence after taking down 6 people alone.
He knew there was someone on his right who had killed as many as him, but he didn’t think this guy had killed more than himself.
“Yeah, it wouldn’t be fitting for a valedictorian to only beat easy ones. I knew there’d be someone like you too.”
Woo Taeseong rushed at Lee Dojin with a confident face.
Lee Dojin had realized while killing numerous applicants.
What level he was currently at in this world.
How big a mountain the Sword Emperor Dan Cheonwoo, who he had clashed swords with every day for 365 days a year, had been.
Reverse Heaven Sword forms?
Such things weren’t even necessary.
When he cut where he needed to cut, they died.
When he stabbed where he needed to stab, they died.
Unlike his master, whom he couldn’t touch a hair of no matter what he tried.
‘It’s boring.’
To the point of being irritating.
The movements of the guy rushing at him now were also boring.
Lee Dojin swung his sword without hesitation.
Towards Woo Taeseong, who was extending his fist.
Flash.
A beam of light fell on Woo Taeseong’s crown.
“Huh?”
Woo Taeseong felt that his vision on both sides was too unbalanced. Soon after, Woo Taeseong’s body turned into a mass of light and scattered.
He had died, split in half.
Swish!
An arrow rushed from Lee Dojin’s left.
Lee Dojin swung his wooden sword in the air while wrapped in sword energy.
A defensive screen created by spreading sword energy in the air.
Dan Cheonwoo had called this the Sword Membrane (劍膜) and taught it to Lee Dojin.
Whoosh!
The arrow burned in the colorless sword membrane and disappeared without a trace.
“Eek!”
A high-pitched groan was heard.
Lee Dojin rushed towards the source of that groan.
A female archer fleeing through the dense trees came into view.
Lee Dojin stepped hard while operating the Reverse Heaven Divine Technique.
Flicker.
Lee Dojin’s form, stretched like taffy, overtook the female archer.
Slash!
The archer’s body slowly tilted towards the ground.
-Battle Royale ended
As the end was declared.
Lee Dojin, who had become the final survivor, was also immediately moved from the
Lee Dojin opened his eyes.
In front of him stood five people.
“What is it?”
The people who had been staring blankly at Lee Dojin. One of them slowly approached when Lee Dojin spoke, with a fierce face deeply furrowed.
“Just what the hell is your identity…”
Someone pressed firmly on his shoulder. It was Sword Empress Yoo Seol-ah.
“Wait, would you like to have a chat with me, Applicant Lee Dojin?”
Yoo Seol-ah said with a smile in her eyes.