Part 2, Episode 140.
Since when?
Since a faint light began to dwell in the sword?
Or is it from the moment you feel that the light is gradually getting darker, even though it is so subtle you wouldn’t notice it if you looked closely?
[Taking a step closer to the next level.]
[The rank is temporarily raised.]
[The opponent is overwhelmed by the difference in status and is unable to demonstrate their true strength.]
[Severed the target’s flame.]
[As the flames subside, the buff effects the opponent is receiving weaken.]
Or perhaps it is when you realize you are taking a step closer to a realm beyond?
Yes, it might have started from this point.
Slow.
In a world that feels as slow as when broadcasting UFC highlights, the feeling that only one’s cognitive abilities are intact.
It wasn’t really that extreme, but if I had to use a metaphor, it was close to that feeling.
Because every single cell reacted more acutely than ever, and the sensations were conveyed as vividly and distinctly as a slow-motion video.
but…….
It’s still not enough.
Even this feeling right now was lacking compared to the decisive battle with Demisus.
A difference of one sheet of paper… no, it feels like it can’t be filled by a difference of about three sheets of paper.
Just a little more.
I feel like it could be filled if I focused just a little more.
Whoosh- whoosh!
No matter how much I speed up or increase my concentration, that empty space simply cannot be filled.
As if the amount of vessel that can be filled immediately is fixed.
It feels as if I am filling a well of a different size than the one I had back then.
Did he feel impatient because of a thirst that simply could not be quenched?
Swoosh-! Swish!
“……! It’s getting faster from here?”
Dohyeon’s movements began to quicken as if he were being chased by someone.
What is even more surprising is that it doesn’t just get faster by one level, but gradually gains speed as it parries swords, as if accelerating.
The more that happened, the more Dohyeon’s concentration reached its peak.
Saa-
At some point, I had the illusion that the sounds around me had stopped.
What stance is taken when swinging the sword, and what the breathing is like when swinging the sword.
Things I had previously done without realizing it felt concrete.
Swish- Swish!
The more that happened, the darker the light became.
Whether it was flames or bodies, the moment they touched that sword, they were easily cut as if paper were being sliced, and the flames engulfing the area no longer posed a significant threat.
“Just fuck off, you son of a bitch!”
Asion was so flustered that he let out a torrent of profanities from the mainland, but even those did not reach Dohyeon’s ears.
He focuses solely on swinging the sword.
This very moment.
There existed only the faint lines of light drawn whenever the Heavenly Blade was swung, and the flames of Asion rising around them.
It is truly the state of oneness with nature.
“That… could it be that he has reached a higher level?”
The swordsman watching him had a sparkle in his eyes as if interested.
Her jade-white skin was flushed slightly, showing signs of excitement. Seeing her like this, the Empress suddenly asked.
“Level? Are you talking about the tip of the sword that you’re always talking about?”
“No. That is literally the tip of the sword.”
“? What’s the difference? Isn’t reaching the tip of the sword what they call a realm or whatever?”
It was a remark that the Empress, who had never learned martial arts separately, could not understand.
Her fighting style is truly raw. Just like a wild beast instinctively knows how to hunt without being taught by anyone.
She, too, has been utilizing her strengths by engaging in close-quarters combat using her insane physique.
Since I had never delved deeply into martial arts on my own, naturally, I had no way of knowing what it felt like to reach the pinnacle of martial arts.
“Tsk. Even if I advise you to learn something other than swordsmanship, you won’t listen… It is impossible to reason with you.”
“As I always say, I’m strong because I haven’t learned it. What’s the point of martial arts having forms? In my realm, I can’t even hold those kinds of shapes or stances anyway.”
“…….”
It was a remark that was not only arrogant but even conceited, yet the Sword Saint could not refute it.
It was because, although it was bad luck, what he said was true.
The Empress is the beast itself.
True to her nature of pursuing freedom, her current fighting style, unconstrained by any form, actually exerts its greatest power.
This was a method that only she could employ, one that even Kaiser, who displayed genius in every aspect, could not replicate.
A guy who is the complete opposite of me in every way, as I race toward the pinnacle of ‘swordsmanship,’ which can be considered a martial art.
“Tsk.”
She clicked her tongue, thinking he was a strange guy anyway, and turned the subject to the main point.
“……To answer your question from a moment ago, they are strictly different. The tip of the sword is a realm that can be described as something beyond the level of mastery. It is having surpassed the level of attaining mastery and reached the very end of it.”
“Oh, I see. So that means he’s earned some kind of qualification to reach that realm?”
“Qualifications… yes, that seems to be the most appropriate expression.”
She let out a chuckle and watched Dohyeon swinging his sword with eyes filled with half satisfaction and half surprise.
“I only taught him a single swordsmanship, yet he has grown to the point of reaching such a mastery in the blink of an eye…… Anyway, he is quite the guy.”
“So that bastard has grown even more than before…… I’m getting excited.”
The Empress also cracked her hands open as if she were dying to fight right then and there, unable to take her eyes off Dohyeon.
With hands trembling as if barely holding back the urge to join the fight.
Bang! Crash!!
“Ugh!”
“Ugh, this bastard is tough. Let’s just wrap this up here!”
“No, you’re the one who’s going to fall, Master of the Armory! Aaaah!!”
Alright, let’s just go all out today.
I felt sorry for the middle-aged man fighting tooth and nail on the other side, but their gazes were fixed solely on Dohyeon and Asion.
Dohyeon, who possesses such overwhelming talent that he reached the number one ranking during the Demrok era without a single legendary skill.
A deep sense of excitement and anticipation welled up inside me at the thought of witnessing in real time him break the mold and take another step forward in his growth.
And as if to live up to those expectations, it was then that the change occurred.
Pow-!!
“uh?”
“! What is that…?”
A radiance emanated from Dohyeon.
It was a light they were also well aware of.
However, that familiar light was enough to shock them.
“That’s the Light of Transcendence! You already broke that?”
“Indeed, was reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship achieved through the process of perfecting one’s own unique style?”
“No, actually, with that kind of light… isn’t that at least a huge hit?”
What was even more surprising was that the light emanating from Dohyeon was becoming increasingly intense.
Even now, they don’t lag far behind compared to when they acquired transcendent traits… but at that level, they are at least top-tier.
No, maybe… … .
‘You might gain more than that…’
For example, ‘unique-class transcendent traits’ like themselves.
As if reaching a high level wasn’t enough, you even acquire top-tier transcendent traits?
I got goosebumps all over my body thinking about how much stronger he would have become after this battle.
Perhaps we have reached a level where we no longer need to hold back our strength when sparring?
That moment when such a thought suddenly came to mind.
—-!!
As if squeezing out its last remaining strength, a fierce light engulfed the world.
The women watching, and the people involved, Dohyeon and Asion.
“Ugh! What is this again!”
“……Kaiser? What is he causing this time?”
Even Ast and Karmail, who were fighting on the other side, had no choice but to stop what they were doing for a moment and close their eyes.
And when the light stopped, they saw.
Whoosh!
The sight of Dohyeon swinging his sword toward Asion, drawing a halo of light.
* * *
A neat and sophisticated top cut of the track.
True to the level of a master swordsman, it is sharp and chilling.
Kaang! Kang!
Whoosh!
There was no special skill.
Upper slash, lower slash, diagonal slash… … .
It was just a series of cuts, with only differences in the place and location of the cut.
Basic swordsmanship skills that even those who have never learned swordsmanship can perform.
Rustle-
What is this… …!
However, Asion’s pupils were shaking incessantly as he faced that basic skill.
Ordinary basics?
A slash that even someone holding a sword for the first time knows how to do?
‘That’ wasn’t just that.
I have seen many states of perfect unity where offense and defense occur simultaneously, but that bastard’s sword had surpassed even that.
[Parry successful.]
[Deflects the attack.]
It goes beyond mere defense and deflects.
It seems like nothing but a continuous barrage of attacks, yet there are no weaknesses.
If you think you have a weakness and clash with his sword, you will be helplessly swept away like a wave.
I already knew he was an unrivaled genius at parrying, but…
‘… … Is this even possible? How is it possible to utilize it to this extent in such a short time?’
Clearly, until just a moment ago, there was a distinct limit to his parrying.
When parrying, only parrying was possible.
Should I say that attack, defense, and parrying movements all exist separately?
But now it was different.
Whoosh- Bang!
Attack and defense occur simultaneously.
At first glance, the sword appears to be recklessly charging forward, but it ghostly devours Asion’s space, severing the flow of attack and producing a defensive result.
The same was true for parrying.
Whoosh, slash!
An attack was executed simultaneously with the parry, and a parry was executed simultaneously with the attack.
There was no other choice.
All of this is the result of being performed in one action, not two.
Dohyeon was also feeling that.
Ah. Is this the power of swordsmanship?
The secret of the one and only swordsmanship learned from the Sword Saint.
Yuneung Steel.
I once felt the power of swordsmanship through it.
But that is only when you demonstrate your capabilities.
If it was only felt when using Capable Steel, as if using a kind of skill… … .
It’s not just the parrying. The attacks you usually use have become sharper.
This was close to a passive.
Trajectories that were previously invisible become visible, and movements that were not perceived before emerge.
As a result, the utility of various skills, including parrying, has changed incomparably.
It’s fun.
Was it really this bad?
The difference between the world seen by someone who has reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship and the world seen by someone who has not.
I think I know why that Sword Saint is so obsessed with swordsmanship.
Hadn’t he experienced this kind of catharsis countless times? Moreover, since he is a swordsman with talent superior to anyone else’s, it is only natural that he would become addicted.
In that sense, Dohyeon was lucky.
Sss-
Now, as if the world has slowed down, every single cell is activated to the extreme.
Because I was feeling this thrilling change more vividly than ever before.
No, is it because the situation is similar to the time of Demisus that these movements are possible?
I don’t know what will happen once the state of concentration ends, but that wasn’t important right now.
Whoosh, slash-!
Simply letting myself be carried by the flow, swinging the sword like an excited child.
Asion, startled as if he had seen a ghost, took a big step back and flew upwards as if fleeing.
He looked like a crow that had run away with its tail between its legs after encountering a tiger in the mountains, but Asion now had no pride or anything of the sort.
That monstrous bastard… …!
No more opponents are allowed.
As the close-quarters combat continues, I can feel that bastard’s sword becoming even more refined.
[The sword of the man overcoming adversity cuts through the flames, upholding his will.]
Even the guy’s sword splits the flames he boasts of as easily as they are futile.
It appears that he has attained enlightenment and entered a kind of awakened state, so it would have been better to run away and attack him as much as possible until he lost his focus.
A underhanded but most suitable strategy for now.
It was a cold-blooded judgment befitting someone who had been a top-tier villain in the past, but Asion had momentarily forgotten.
The brilliant radiance that had been emanating from his body just moments ago.
What that meant.
Ding-
And the fact that Dohyeon hasn’t yet demonstrated what he gained through it.
At the cheerful notification that rang out the moment Asion rose into the air, Dohyeon, who had been dazed and dazed, woke up and his eyes gleamed.
[I achieved my own level and realized my limits.]
[A new realm has opened due to swordsmanship that has reached its peak.]
[Swordsmanship proficiency has reached LV61.]
[Completed the Hidden Transcendence Quest ‘Martial Arts at the Pinnacle’.]
[congratulations!]
[Through the first transcendence, the dignity of existence has been elevated.]
[Acquire the Transcendence trait of the ‘Weapon Master’ trait.]
[You have acquired the first Transcendence trait by completing the only hidden Transcendence quest at present.]
System windows that have been open for a while.
However, what Dohyeon was seeing was not those things.
A cheerful notification, followed by a single line of message window.
[Activation conditions have been met.]
[Casting the ‘Weapon Master’ Transcendence Trait ‘… …’.]
Smirk.
This is it.
Dohyeon’s first transcendence ability was about to activate.
