*
I instinctively knew that the enemy in front of me was a dangerous opponent.
Well, with goosebumps all over my body, how could I not?
‘Can I do this?’
I hadn’t properly learned swordsmanship for even a few months.
But could I really take down that powerful monster by myself? It was only natural to doubt.
And yet, Sowol didn’t retreat.
Instead, she stepped forward.
‘No thoughts.’
She recalled what she learned from Lee Hyun. No fear. No terror.
Not even the pride of being able to do it.
Erasing everything, Sowol began to sense the nothingness.
– Aaaahhhh!!
A horrific scream echoed.
But that didn’t halt Sowol’s advance.
Was it bothersome to her?
With a flash of red light from its empty eye, the wraith swiftly lunged at Sowol to claim her life.
– Aaaahhhh!!
With a terrifying scream, a white aura shot forth.
Sowol stepped aside to avoid it and swung her wooden sword.
But the wooden sword merely cut through the air uselessly.
“Ugh!”
However, she didn’t feel disappointed.
Feeling disappointed would be a luxury.
She had to hold nothing. She had to possess nothing.
How did Lee Hyun feel when he wiped out the skeletons?
His sword was free, untethered to anything.
With nothing, he showed that he could achieve anything.
She wanted to have that sword. She wanted to embody that sword.
As a small desire bloomed through her void, Sowol shook her head.
‘This is just a distraction.’
Only one thing.
She imprinted Lee Hyun’s teaching of ‘no thoughts’.
– Aaaahhhh!!
Angered by Sowol evading its attack, the wraith launched several white auras like arrows. But none of them touched Sowol.
With just light movements, she dodged all of them.
‘It’s slower than Master’s attacks.’
These were attacks filled with hostility.
If she couldn’t avoid such an attack, all the training she did so far would have been a waste of time.
There was no way she would do something so pathetic.
Continuing to evade, Sowol gripped her sword tightly.
What she desired was that sword dance.
Just swinging it as if embodying a pure white moonlight sword.
– Woooom…!!
In that instant.
In just a single moment, a delicate white aura formed on Sowol’s wooden sword.
There was no one here who didn’t know what that was.
“…Oh my God.”
Anne’s lips opened as if she had seen something unbelievable.
Yes. If what she saw was correct, that was…
“…Sword Energy?”
It was something even seasoned swordsmen who had trained for decades couldn’t create without talent.
And now, Sowol, who had barely learned for a few months, had made it, leaving Anne speechless.
– Aaaahhhh!!
Dangling perilously like it was about to extinguish, the sword energy clung to the wooden sword, but the wraith knew that the energy was dangerous.
Was that why? The wraith’s movements grew more timid.
And that became the wraith’s mistake.
“Haap!!”
With a low shout, Sowol moved.
Like the wind, she dashed towards the wraith, eyes gleaming, swinging her sword.
And that sword…
Surely resembled Lee Hyun’s sword, even if only slightly.
“Whoo…”
Watching as the wraith crumbled under the sword energy, Sowol turned her head.
Anne stared blankly at her, sitting on the ground, and Lee Hyun watched nonchalantly, arms crossed.
While Anne felt a bit of pride, Sowol felt shame at Lee Hyun’s demeanor.
‘What have I done…?’
What she had done was merely a mimicry.
Had she just randomly attempted a part of the sword dance Lee Hyun had shown last time?
How ridiculous must it seem to Lee Hyun, who knew the complete form?
He might think she was trying to fly without even being able to run.
‘That’s embarrassing.’
She had never felt this way throughout her life.
She was the treasured jewel of the Eastern Trading Company.
With a good lineage and looks that could tangle anyone’s heart, she had always been filled with pride in her actions.
That’s why this shame was more pronounced.
For someone of her caliber, to only manage a mere mimicry was unacceptable.
Clenching her fists, Sowol bit her lip, meeting Lee Hyun’s gaze.
‘Next time, I will definitely show you your sword dance.’
*
What did she just do?
Sword Energy? No matter how great her talent is, has she really used it after only a few months of proper training?
Sure, I did awaken her magical power, but I never thought she would be able to manifest it.
Did I just give wings to a tiger?
No, it’s not just that. The sword she used to defeat the wraith was clumsy, but it was definitely the Moonlight Sword.
“…I understand why Master accepted Miss Sowol as a disciple.”
Anne’s voice, sitting on the ground, snapped me back to reality.
I was panicking internally, but my expression remained stone-faced as I nodded at her.
At that moment, Sowol, who had knocked down the wraith, began to approach me.
What should I say to her?
Should I praise her for doing well? Or…
“…I handled it.”
“That was sloppy.”
“…Yes.”
Sowol flinched at my remark. Concern was evident in her eyes.
Though I hadn’t taught her, if what she unleashed was the Moonlight Sword, now was the time to correct her sloppy execution.
After all, when a bird tries to catch a stork, its legs might get torn apart. Many swordmen have ruined their lives mimicking high-level sword techniques they hadn’t properly learned.
So it wasn’t wrong to scold Sowol for using the Moonlight Sword so recklessly.
“Don’t do that next time.”
“…Understood.”
Sowol’s shoulders drooped.
Alright, that much scolding was sufficient.
“Still, you did well.”
I pulled out a praise sticker and slapped it on her forehead.
Was my praise unexpected? Sowol’s eyes widened as she looked at me.
“Creating Sword Energy and mimicking the Moonlight Sword. Those weren’t things you should have been able to do at your level, but you managed to pull it off.”
“That’s because…”
“When a disciple takes a wrong turn, it’s only natural to blame them, but as a Master, it’s also my duty to celebrate their growth.”
I gently patted Sowol’s head.
Receiving my affection, she seemed to shed her earlier gloom and smiled gently.
“Did you imitate what you saw of the Moonlight Sword?”
“Yes.”
“From now on, I will properly teach you how to execute it.”
“Understood.”
Sowol was delighted.
And I was happy, too.
That meant I could raise her quickly.
“By the way… the appearance of the wraith and ghoul means there must be heretics nearby.”
“What do you mean?”
Anne rose from her seat and asked. Her gaze towards Sowol was now free of malice or jealousy.
Surely it was because of the prowess Sowol had displayed earlier.
There was nothing bad about that.
“Literally. Wraiths and ghouls are not monsters that would appear in a place like this.”
“Yet they have shown up here, which means… someone unleashed and controlled them?”
“Exactly. And the only ones with such capability are heretics.”
One of the revelations from the mid-game event of the religious war would be that among the artifacts they possess, there are ones that can seal and control ghost-type monsters.
The heretics had used it to summon ghost-type monsters to fight.
“Their control isn’t vast. So…”
I drew my sword and threw it with all my might.
– Kyaaah!!
A scream echoed from within the darkness. I dashed toward it alongside Sowol and Anne, where we found a man screaming with a knife lodged in his thigh.
“If we catch this guy, we’ll likely learn a lot about the heretics spreading in the territory.”
There was a smashed crystal ball on the ground. That was the artifact controlling the wraith.
Recalling what I had seen in the game, I grabbed the man by his collar.
“Now, why don’t you tell me about your backers and where your base is?”
*
The interrogation didn’t take long.
After breaking a few bones, he readily confessed.
We gathered the information and headed to a small warehouse on the outskirts of the territory along with the soldiers Anne had brought.
Thinking back to the story about how they had used a seldom-used warehouse as a shrine, I opened the warehouse door and indeed saw it.
“…What is this?”
I nodded at Anne’s quiet murmur. This was the place.
“Master, there are fallen people over there.”
Could it be the missing persons? Bound by ropes, they stared blankly at the sky with vacant eyes.
“Why is this happening?”
“It seems they drained their life force to maintain the wraith. They probably intended to turn them into zombies upon death.”
After checking some nearby documents, I nodded at Anne.
“Start a thorough investigation! There might be others around, so check carefully!”
“Yes!”
As the soldiers busily moved, I started rummaging through the desk. As expected, there it was.
I reached towards the seal tucked in the corner of the desk.
[Secret Seal of the Heretics]
[Seal for entering the secret base of the heretics]
“What’s that?”
Sowol approached and asked me. What is it?
“It’s something for your growth and a bargaining item.”
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