Part 2, Episode 135.
Humans are animals that find it difficult to be self-objective.
You can think rationally about the worries and visions of others, yet aren’t your eyes and ears closed to your own affairs?
Self-esteem, narcissism, emotional or environmental factors, etc.
There may be various reasons, but if I were to pinpoint the fundamental reason that runs through them all in common… it was because, by nature, I could not see through the eyes of a third party.
No matter how similar the tastes and tendencies may be, they are still just strangers.
They are bound to be different from me.
Unless you meet a doppelganger.
Therefore, it can be said that life is about a person gradually discovering who they are and what kind of person they are through countless experiences.
You must constantly explore and learn about yourself.
This was also the fate of a prosecutor.
For those fighting a life-or-death battle, knowing oneself was not merely a matter of objectification.
In that respect, Sirgan thought of himself as a prosecutor who knew himself well.
After all, I thought that the public’s evaluation of me was not much different from what third parties were saying.
Above all, his experience proved this.
Is this the gaze of one who has reached a mastery…
It has been several months since he broke away from the framework of traditional Western swordsmanship he had honed and discovered a new talent alongside his abilities in God of Sekai.
At some point, I got the feeling that I had crossed a wall.
And after that, everything was trivial.
Even the swordsmen who had made quite a name for themselves could no longer properly parry a sword, let alone face their opponents, and after exchanging blows a few times, one could see the path their opponents had walked.
Are the peak masters in martial arts novels like this?
The new sensation was very fun and exciting, but at the same time, it was a bit disappointing.
I wish I could meet a prosecutor of my level.
Even in modern times and in virtual reality games, it was impossible to find a rival that could be called an opponent.
And so, setting out in search of strong opponents, engaging in battle after battle numerous times.
Through countless experiences, Sirgan realized.
Yes. I can say it for sure now. I have crossed the wall.
He said that his black sword had deviated from its normal trajectory.
It says that we have entered a new realm.
No, as far as his swordsmanship is concerned, he has reached the pinnacle!
That is why I was very curious about the Sword Saint, the greatest swordsman of Joseon in the East and the only disciple of the Sword Emperor.
Will she really be able to parry her own sword?
Now that I have obtained the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity…
Scrape! Shh!
“K-Kaaaak!! This is unbelievable. It’s impossible!!”
With their swords clashing, Sirgan let out a cry as if gritting his teeth while blocking the continuous barrage of sword strikes aimed at blind spots.
If you block by twisting your wrist once, an attack comes in from the very next blind spot.
An intangible blade? A single flash like lightning?
What is the use of all that!
It was meaningless to clash invisible black swords, and adjusting the length of the blade was also impossible to control proactively as one was preoccupied with blocking the opponent’s attacks.
Whoosh! Shh!
‘That woman… she’s manipulating the length of the sword blade to her liking…!’
Rather, it feels like being dragged around according to the other person’s will.
Even Lightning Strike has been sealed away for a long time. You have to detach the sword to unleash a single strike, don’t you?
There was only one thing I could do right now.
Gaining the upper hand through swordsmanship. It was such an easy method.
The opponent is an Eastern swordsman.
On the other hand, he was known as the number one in Western swordsmanship.
As long as they were clashing swords like this, gaining the upper hand should have been easier than eating a piece of cake.
… … Yes, that was definitely necessary.
“Why? Why can’t I catch up to that woman’s sword!”
It doesn’t reach.
It was clearly the same swordsmanship, yet his own sword was half a beat slower, as if flailing in the water.
The bizarre feeling of dancing while looking in a mirror, as if seeing your reflection performing faster and more efficient movements.
It was beyond bizarre; it was enough to instill fear.
But that was only for a moment.
Is he an unavoidable prosecutor, too?
Srrr- Seok!
“……!”
As I was parrying my sword, at some point, her movements caught my eye.
The movement did not merely reproduce his swordsmanship, but presented a more effective movement.
‘Ah, like this here… My God, you twist the sword like that in that part?’
Parts where I hadn’t even realized the problem.
With just a slight shift in perspective or a subtle adjustment of angle, his swordsmanship had evolved into something a step above.
Flash-
Sirgan’s eyes changed.
Eyes gleaming with a thirst for knowledge, as if they had completely forgotten that their pride was hurt.
Sirgan, who had been glaring to absorb even the slightest movement she showed, suddenly let out a sigh.
‘My sword… was it really only this much?’
My swordsmanship, which I thought was perfect, could not have been more pathetic.
Just when I thought I had crossed the wall, there was an even bigger one.
A remark made carelessly by an NPC, like the wind blowing past, flashed through my mind like a sudden jolt.
Ah, so that’s how it was.
I crossed the wall. That is a fact.
What I thought I had reached the end of was actually not the end of the road.
It was simply that he had reached a wall so massive that, to the eyes of a criminal, he could not even perceive it as a wall.
Only those who set foot there had truly entered the realm.
Whoa-!
As soon as I realized that, my mind cleared.
The sensation of seeing the world more widely and a sense of exhilaration enveloping the entire body. A strange pleasure akin to a dopamine burst.
Ironically, by realizing his own shortcomings, he broke through the wall and entered a realm beyond.
“ah.”
I could feel it at the same time.
I realize just how much of a frog in a well I have been living all this time.
That the level he had devoted over a decade to achieving was merely the basics. The woman reflected in his eyes as he realized this was…
Gulp.
He had become a completely different being from before.
Breathing refined to the extreme, to the point of doubting if it is the same person, and a perfect sword trajectory without even the slightest tremor.
Even a chilling aura, as if one with the sword.
At that moment.
Swoosh-
The swords that had been in contact all along flipped over in an instant, and before she knew it, the tip of her sword touched near her heart.
It seems you have attained enlightenment. You have reached a new level.
“…….”
“What did you feel in that sword strike just now?”
Sirgan’s face turned pale at the question that popped up again.
A sword strike similar to the one that first targeted his own carotid artery.
It was clearly the same movement, but unlike before when I couldn’t see anything, this time I could feel it, albeit vaguely.
It was small enough to be merely the tip of the iceberg, but the shock he received was far from that.
‘… … What, what was I even fighting against!’
What? Rivals?
Who’s the strongest?
What kind of nonsense is this, like a puppy that doesn’t know to fear a tiger?
I can feel it for sure.
The realm where he had barely managed to set foot on the threshold. And she, who had long since entered that place and was looking down at him from far above.
It is in a different league.
The surprising thing is that even she has not yet reached the end of that level.
To be precise, I was doing it at the end.
The tempering process to advance toward a new realm unknown to oneself.
I am saying, for what reason do you think I am giving it my all?
I understand now.
I wonder why she said that.
The countless intricacies of swordsmanship she felt from her sword as they clashed. To her, they were not special techniques.
It was just basic skills that flowed out naturally, like breathing.
It was as if I was spamming skills with all my might, only to scoff at the passive effect I felt from the opponent’s basic attacks.
Sirgan, who had been stepping back involuntarily, aimed his sword with a trembling hand.
It was because, while the survival instinct in my head was loudly sounding a warning to run away, my instinct as a swordsman was shouting to clash swords for even one more exchange.
Is that so?
She chuckled at the sight.
The faint smile that bloomed on the corners of his mouth contained no mockery or contempt. On the contrary, he even looked pleased.
At the same time, her posture changed.
A stance holding a sword with both hands and aiming at the target’s neck.
It was the standard posture, the most basic of all… but why?
Saaa-
The atmosphere changed.
The heavy atmosphere in the room created the illusion that the density of the air had changed.
A phenomenon that is hard to believe resulted from merely assuming a single Kendo stance.
No, that isn’t a Kendo stance.
To be precise, it wasn’t an ordinary Kendo stance.
As the saying goes, the ultimate tuning is returning to stock.
For the fundamental attitude of a prosecutor who has returned after indulging to the farthest reaches of existence could not possibly be the same as that of an ordinary prosecutor.
Sirgan’s senses, having torn down the wall, were crying out.
That is more dangerous than any swordsmanship I have ever seen, and it is absolutely perfect.
Sirgan could get a glimpse, however slight, of the foundation of why he felt this way.
There is… no sense of strangeness.
No matter how skilled a swordsman is, he cannot help but feel a slight sense of unfamiliarity when holding a sword.
Exhaling breath or center of gravity.
The mindset or tension of aiming a sword, or a competitive spirit.
Because the human mind, body, and spirit were sensitive enough to be affected by even such a trivial thing.
Therefore, minimizing this sense of alienation could be considered a lifelong aspiration that prosecutors had to resolve.
And when people see swordsmen who have achieved that long-cherished dream beyond a certain level, they say
It is the state of the sword and self becoming one.
“No, that is… …beyond the level of Sword-Self Unity.”
There were no more swordsmen here.
Only a single sharp sword, terribly well-abandoned, stands facing him.
She is clearly holding a sword, but it is not visible unless you are conscious of it.
The hands, lightly waving in the air, were as free as floating air, and the footwork, like a beautiful dance performed while entrusting the body to the moonlight, was chillingly silent.
All of that process disappears if you take your eyes off it for even a moment.
It is so infinitely beautiful that if you follow it with your eyes, it eventually scatters like a mirage, making it feel as if you are possessed by a ghost.
“iced coffee…….”
At this moment, ridiculously, Sirgan thought.
Could this really be the Ghost Sword?
Isn’t this precisely the true pinnacle of swordsmanship and the right direction, made possible only by virtual reality?
And at that moment.
Saa-
The moonlight that had risen by chance just moments ago settled gently.
[Signature trait cast.]
Rustle-
A sharp, cutting sound stimulated my ears like a whisper.
