Genius.
Those who possess creative and extraordinary mental abilities—individuals who exceed the expectations of ordinary humans, pioneering unknown fields others haven’t even considered, suggesting better methods than those that exist, or producing results that leave their competitors far behind.
That is the dictionary definition.
However, in Liam’s mind, the meaning of “genius” was different.
「Do not be so full of yourself, young descendant.」
To him, the true meaning of a genius was this:
「Nothing is over yet.」
Those who find the answer no matter the difficulty.
Just like the protagonists of chivalric novels.
*
One minute remaining.
In seconds, that was sixty.
A short time.
Yet, victory was far from certain.
The Black Bride had suffered a shoulder injury from an unexpected, erratic attack. But to put it another way, that was the only “problem” I had managed to pose to her.
In contrast, what were my problems?
‘My stamina is at its limit.’
My breath was ragged, and my strength was depleted from the strain of parrying a 「Sword Walker’s」 strikes. Due to the injury to my flank, I could no longer replicate the fluid movements characteristic of the swordswoman Mary. Because my stamina had waned, my second heart was no longer as firm as it had been moments ago.
In short, I had sacrificed far too much just to wound her shoulder.
At this moment, I was no different from an ordinary 「Sword Beginner」.
‘Can I do this?’
Even the Needle had been flung to the ground. All I had left in my hand was the assassin’s dagger. A mere blade, utterly insufficient for facing a true swordsman head-on.
“Whew— ha—”
Of course, regardless of the situation, I couldn’t give up.
I struggled to steady my breathing as I glared at the Black Bride. She turned her body with agonizing slowness. The gaze visible through the slits of her helmet was chillingly cold.
Simultaneously, countless 「Paths」 stretched out from her.
I pulled back, my mind racing.
‘I can’t use the technique of the 「Fang」 I just displayed again.’
I still didn’t fully understand the specialized skill used to break through a Sword Walker’s path. The digestion of the 「Fang」 wasn’t complete; it was still in progress. This sword was more powerful than the Needle, but it was still imperfect…
“Phew—”
I did my best to flee from the Black Bride’s 「Paths」.
But running didn’t last long.
‘How is she so fast?’
The Black Bride was no longer walking. She summoned every ounce of her superhuman strength to sprint at full speed. It was a velocity that transcended human limits.
Realizing it was only a matter of time before she caught me, I spun around and leveled the Fang at her. I had to observe her head-on, doubt her, and then predict her perfectly to survive.
Drip.
A single drop of blood fell from the Black Bride’s wound.
Before that falling drop could even touch the ground, her sword lunged forward.
It was a trajectory I had already anticipated.
Clang!
A sharp ring echoed as sparks flew.
But the Black Bride’s sword didn’t stop there. Ever since the look in her eyes changed, her swordsmanship had turned violent.
Her blade was pushed back slightly, only to fly forward again. The long blade scraped along the short edge of my dagger. A grating, unpleasant screech of metal on metal rang out.
Her sophisticated and beautiful swordsmanship was aimed at my wrist.
Instead of twisting my wrist to deflect the path and retreating, I stepped inside her guard. The moment the distance closed, I thrust my dagger without hesitation.
“…!”
The Black Bride stepped as if dancing, spinning her body to evade the thrust. As she completed the rotation, she swung her sword with the momentum.
I barely dodged the horizontal slash, only for a linear strike to fly at me from a blind spot. I parried with the dagger, forced my strained body to dodge, and rolled across the ground to create distance.
The Black Bride quickly pursued me as I scrambled away.
I retreated further and further until I hit the opposite wall of the amphitheater. I bit my lip, feeling a dull throb of pain. Pressing my soles against the wall, I leaped high.
I vaulted over the Black Bride.
Like an acrobat.
She immediately spun around and charged at me again.
The scene looked like a rabbit fleeing from a lion. A small creature that had to run for its life because it was outmatched by the predator in strength, size, and speed.
Clang!
As the exchange continued, the wounds on my body multiplied.
My stamina was now hitting rock bottom, and my clothes were soaked through with the blood seeping from my body. I could feel my limbs growing heavier in real-time.
It felt as if the earth itself was dragging me down.
Down, further down.
Clang!
Yet, I didn’t lose focus.
I had to face her. I had to keep my eyes on her until the very end to resist.
Clang!
My 「Mana Heart」 was no longer firm. Deprived of sufficient mana, the heart of steel was weakening. I felt as if my heart might shatter at any moment.
But I had to stand my ground.
It was then that Liam’s voice echoed.
「Young descendant.」
I twisted my dagger to deflect her sword. My elbow throbbed with agonizing pain.
「Do you know the meaning of genius (天材)?」
It wasn’t just my elbow. My knees and thighs felt as if they were about to break.
「I believe geniuses are those who find the answer no matter the difficulty.」
「To put it bluntly, you lack the talent to be a genius.」
Perhaps focusing on specific parts was meaningless.
In truth, my entire body felt like it was crumbling.
It hurt. It hurt so much.
「However, those most praised on this continent are not the geniuses.」
Even so, I did not back down.
「Geniuses accomplish difficult tasks, record brilliant achievements in history, and are respected by many.」
「But there are those in this world who are praised even more than them.」
Even so, I did not give up.
「Those who cannot find the perfect answer in the face of hardship, yet refuse to give up regardless.」
「Those who refuse to retreat, regardless.」
I felt my heated body grow cold.
The sound of the Black Bride’s approaching footsteps was vivid.
「Such individuals have all succeeded in incredible feats that seem impossible for a single person to achieve.」
「People call what they have accomplished a Legend.」
Had a minute still not passed?
Had time slowed down?
Haa. I took a breath.
I knew instinctively.
This was my last breath.
And this strike would be the final sword my body would allow.
「Then, do you know what those who achieve legends are called?」
Could I withstand the Black Bride’s terrifying violence with this pathetic sword, scraped together from the very bottom of my strength? I couldn’t be sure. Honestly, I was filled with nothing but doubt.
「Heroes (英雄).」
But I couldn’t retreat.
I leveled my dagger and spoke to the Black Bride.
“Come.”
A heavy silence fell.
「You have the talent to become a Hero, young descendant.」
Crunch. The Black Bride took a step forward, crushing the sand beneath her feet.
Her 「Paths」 stretched out in every direction to ensnare me. Those paths were lethal, but they weren’t firm. It was because of the wound on her shoulder.
If not for that wound, my limbs would have been severed long ago.
A smirk escaped me, ill-suited for the situation.
The last of my strength scraped from the bottom, the final tremor permitted by my second heart, the last sword my body could swing. Logically, an action executed with such meager, squeezed-out power should have been pathetic and clumsy.
But this strike shattered my common sense.
My second heart beat with astonishing power. My sinking body rose again, and strength surged through my muscles as if they were about to burst. I widened my eyes.
The world slowed as if time itself had ground to a halt.
And then, I saw the Line. In a world as hazy as blue mist, there was a distinct Line that bisected everything. I thrust my sword as if drawn to that Line.
The Black Bride’s sword, swung with the elegance of a serpent, collided with my dagger.
Screeech.
“…!”
My Fang, which had been pushed back ever since my stamina ran out, did not yield this time. Instead, it pushed her sword back. Like steel.
Like an unbreakable Steel.
For some reason, the words Liam had spoken came to mind.
A Caravan grows greater with every battle.
Like steel that grows harder the more it is tempered.
Perhaps I, too, had moved a little closer to greatness.
“What is… this—”
The Black Bride’s pupils shook violently.
I was certain. That woman could not block this single strike. This Fang was harder than any sword I had ever swung. It would not break, never.
And then…
「Ah.」
Had he said geniuses were those who found the answer no matter the difficulty?
「Just a little. You were just a little short, young descendant.」
The fighter, the Black Bride.
The Genius had finally found the answer amidst the hardship.
「The talent of a genius is inherently violent.」
The Black Bride’s waist bent, and her body dropped low. Her muscles stretched with a flexibility unique to a woman. What she displayed in the next moment was, surprisingly, the very sword I had swung countless times.
“…Was it like this?”
A thrust that shot out like a lightning bolt from a bizarre angle, as if performing an acrobatic feat.
The Needle of the swordswoman Mary.
That technique was recreated by the Black Bride’s hand. In a manner far more sophisticated, beautiful, and lethal than I had ever managed.
“Ah…”
My dagger failed to strike down the Black Bride once again. It ended with nothing more than a long scratch on her helmet.
In contrast, her sword pierced my lower abdomen. Along with a burning pain in my gut, the strength drained from my body. My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the sand with a thud.
And—
「But do not be too disappointed, child.」
A thunderous roar erupted from the spectator seats.
“Time is up! The winner is the small gladiator, Liam!”
Liam looked down at me with a smirk.
「You survived today as well.」
「All you need to do is survive. Then, next time, you will be the one to win.」
Liam’s face gradually grew hazy and blurred.
「As I have always said, the blood of steel flows within you.」
I lost consciousness and collapsed. Just like that.
“From this moment on, the small gladiator Liam will wear the Silver Medal in the Arena!”
*
“From this moment on, the small gladiator Liam will wear the Silver Medal in the Arena!”
Cheers echoed throughout the stadium.
The Black Bride, Seol-yoon, looked down at the fallen boy.
The thought suddenly occurred to her—was he always this small?
Looking at his frame alone, he seemed like a young girl. Just like herself.
And yet, how could he have been so firm?
The girl became curious about the boy.
Amidst her curiosity, Seol-yoon thought:
‘As expected, one cannot be merciful when holding a sword.’
It had been that way since she was a child. Whenever she gripped a sword, she would commit acts of violence without “moderation,” as if consumed by the blade itself. Some called it talent, while others called it madness.
This time, that madness hadn’t run wild, but it had been dangerous.
The boy’s final strike, in particular, had been perilous. If she hadn’t suppressed her instincts, the tip of her sword would have pierced the boy’s throat instead of his abdomen.
‘Though it’s also true that I won because of it.’
Evading the boy’s final strike and mimicking that bizarre swordsmanship had been a matter of instinct. It wasn’t a rational thought, but an instinctive reaction. Like breathing.
As Seol-yoon looked down at the boy, a voice echoed in her head.
— Black Bride, this is not what we agreed upon. I cannot give the Dragon Sword to someone who has lost.
— However, our agreement is not entirely over. Cut off his arm now.
— If you take the fallen small gladiator’s arm as a trophy, I will give you the Dragon Sword.
It was the voice of the Arena Planner.
The voice, echoing intensely through magical means, was telling Seol-yoon to break the rules of the duel and harm her fallen opponent.
Seol-yoon could not do it.
No matter how much she craved the Dragon Sword, how could she defile a match that had already ended?
‘As expected, this place is disgusting. To the point where I don’t want to stay a moment longer.’
Seol-yoon bit her lip.
As Seol-yoon stood frozen, the Planner continued to urge her.
And then—
“……?”
Seol-yoon saw something strange.
Something that hadn’t been there a moment ago.
‘Am I seeing things?’
Above the fallen boy stood an old man with a translucent, ghost-like body. The old man, who had been looking down at the boy with gentle eyes, slowly raised his head as if sensing her gaze. At that moment, Seol-yoon’s eyes met the old man’s.
「Young girl, you can see me.」
「I do not know if it is because my descendant’s consciousness has faded, or because you clashed swords so intensely with him, but regardless.」
Seol-yoon gasped for breath.
It was just eye contact, but for a moment, it felt as if her heart had stopped.
「Among the women from the East, there were those whose power to sense souls was exceptionally strong. Was it said they were born with the blood of shamans?」
「Such people could sense my presence even without inheriting the blood of a Caravan or being a witch of the Sky Empire.」
Though the old man was aged to the point where his hair was snow-white, his eyes flashed sharply. Like a lion’s.
「With your talent, we shall eventually meet in the Land of Swords, young girl.」
The shimmering old man was like a mirage.
But Seol-yoon instinctively felt that the old man was not a mere illusion.
Because.
「I shall thank you then for the splendid duel you fought with my descendant.」
She could feel the “Sword” from the old man.
The symbol of a Swordmaster. The mark of a transcendent who had reached the limits of the blade.
And as Seol-yoon felt it.
「I trust you will not spread word of today’s meeting, young girl.」
The “Swords” she felt from the old man were countless. Truly, beyond counting.
It was a heavenly realm that no Swordmaster recorded in history had ever achieved.
“…Ah.”
That day, Seol-yoon saw a glimpse of the greatest Swordmaster who had vanished from history.
And.
“The legend… was true.”
The girl no longer craved the Dragon Sword promised by the Arena. Such things had long since vanished from her mind. Watching the small gladiator being carried to the infirmary, Seol-yoon’s eyes began to sparkle like jewels.
“He really existed… an Immortal.”
*
The small gladiator Liam’s promotion match was over.
Though it was merely a Bronze Medal gladiator being promoted to Silver, that day’s match became quite a topic of conversation. Hadn’t someone who was a mere 「Sword Beginner」 triumphed over a 「Sword Walker」?
And against an undefeated gladiator, no less!
The small gladiator was a major new talent the likes of which the Arena hadn’t seen in a long time—a brave warrior who had shattered the “rookie crushing” or “execution ceremony” that was the Arena’s inherent malice.
Those who worshipped Lefri, the Goddess of Struggle, couldn’t help but be excited. Moreover, the victory of an underdog is something that always thrills the masses.
Because of this, the small gladiator Liam gained considerable fame despite being only a Silver Medal fighter.
While that was a good thing in some ways, it also had side effects.
For instance.
“…So, what did you say?”
“I want to be with you, small gladiator.”
The Black Bride, Seol-yoon, was now kneeling before Arhan, making an earnest request.
“You can make my dream come true. I’ll do anything if I can just be with you. Truly, anything.”
Arhan, who had just woken up, had to face the girl bowing her head without knowing what was going on.
Arhan muttered sincerely.
“…No, seriously, what is this?”
