The orc that threw an axe at me had already dashed past the point of keeping distance and was heading straight for the stronghold, the starting point.
‘Look at that! He’s even making a clean getaway…’
If I had backed off just a bit too hesitantly, I would have taken him out right there. That guy was just that—a guy.
Sticky—
The orc’s blood clung stubbornly to its bone armor. Their blood is hard to clean and it severely reduced the effectiveness of my stealth.
‘Even if my location is marked because of the blood, do you think you can touch even a hair on my body?’
The number of orcs within the range of my senses was still countless.
I glanced over the crested ridge, characteristic of orcs, marked by their skyward canine teeth, and I felt a sense of déjà vu from when I faced the orc legion in my past life.
Blood, whose it was unknown, bloomed high into the sky, and the clang of metal clashing echoed everywhere, mixing with the boiling screams of orcs and hunters, all of which reminded me of forgotten memories.
The tension that had sat lightly on my skin throughout today’s dungeon exploration swirled within me, igniting those colors of fear and rage that I had felt back then.
Let’s kill them. Orcs— kill! Let’s shove them all into a pit and blow them up!
It felt like someone was whispering in my ear that way.
‘The one who decides is me.’
Not that I needed such a hallucination; there was no reason to deal with them moderately.
‘Huh… I need to focus a bit more.’
As I looked at the vast blue sky, distinctly different from the outside world, when I suddenly caught a glance of Ah-rin’s movements out of the corner of my eye.
Her movements, steeped in strong will, were sharp and flexible like a raptor, and her piercing attacks carried the ferocity of a predator.
Every time the light reflected off her sword, the orcs’ movements faltered, and despite the rough roars from them, Ah-rin danced in rhythm, unabashed.
Her graceful yet desperate movements served as a reminder for me, who had been preparing leisurely.
“Gwuhhh!!”
An orc, showing off its rotting teeth, charged at me with a threatening stance.
‘Ah… right. Should I try this out…’
Quickly switching to the Rune of Levitation, floating 14mm in the air, I activated [High-speed Flight].
According to the skill description, I should be in the air, so it should activate.
Whoosh—
As expected, I moved quickly toward the intended target. However, the speed was noticeably slower than usual, making me frown.
Still, it was much faster than the orc’s charge, so I managed to close in behind it in one swoop.
I switched the Rune of Levitation to the Rune of Absorption again. This kind of rapid switching was an unconventional maneuver that hunters of this tier wouldn’t dare to attempt.
Usually, middle and low-tier hunters take several seconds just to equip a rune in their inventory.
Squeak—
‘What the…’
The strong smell of burning leather filled the air. Out of all my senses, smell was the least effective, yet this scent was bad enough to make me feel unwell.
The smell came from the friction of my feet, hastily covered with the leather of a Big Boar, dragging quickly against the ground.
‘Tsk… Not very efficient. It’s being dragged on the ground.’
The idea was good, but combining the mid-level Rune of Levitation with [High-speed Flight] didn’t prove to be as effective as a variation of Lightning Step.
Maybe a higher-grade rune would work…
‘I guess I’ll have to seal it for a while.’
I swallowed my regret and struck hard with my dagger at the exposed torso of the orc.
Slash—!
“Gurk!”
‘Shallow.’
My swing was too lacking to take down a reinforced low-rank warrior in one blow, leaving the follow-up movement fraught with urgency.
But soon enough, I steadied my fluttering heart, and just before the orc reflexively spun around to counter, I plunged my dagger.
Phew—
“Kergh―”
The somewhat poorly executed cut pierced into its flesh, hastening its remaining life.
With that, uncontrolled urine flowed down from the orc’s lower body.
I quickly slashed its throat, putting an end to its life. It didn’t seem dignified for a warrior.
‘Hmm…’
I quickly recalled the series of events.
While my skills were still rough and unrefined, it was definitely an improvement compared to last month when I could barely move without creaking.
I was getting stronger at an astonishing pace. It was just that, since I started from such a low point, I was still at D rank despite all my efforts.
The moment I recognized the fruits of my diligence and ambition, if I had been human, adrenaline would have surged to the point of bursting, but reason remained cold as if carrying a massive ice block inside me.
“The most important thing is, do not lose yourself. Always maintain your composure.”
Having a clear mind on the battlefield, where boiling blood is the norm, used to be something I’d scoff at as the fancy chatter of someone at their peak. Now, I found myself acting according to that lesson whether I wanted to or not.
Thinking back, the various words shared moments ago had become an echo, all worth savoring deeply.
‘Did that old man really have a fondness for me… Maybe he wasn’t joking when he said he wanted me as a son-in-law…’
Even amid the ongoing boss battle, such fleeting thoughts crossed my mind. It served as proof of my humanity, but it was also a concern.
Leaves blown by the rough autumn wind whirled around me, and a flock of red birds constantly bothered me, making this battlefield feel like a raging storm.
In such a place, focusing entirely was indeed a difficult task.
But it was precisely because life and death were at stake that it wasn’t enough to simply draw out the strength lying within; I had to strive hard every moment to pull myself to greater heights.
Fortunately, the orcs kept charging at me as if they thought I had hidden treasure within me.
I sliced through those guys, over and over again.
‘Tsk…’
Drawing blood at this level would require me to drop down from the sky and plunge with full force to take them out quickly.
‘No, this isn’t right.’
My swordsmanship was unsatisfactory. Even I could tell, with only a single stance to draw from, I was much closer to imperfection than to perfection.
Let’s focus on stripping the unnecessary movements from my swings.
The posture should be just enough.
Vroom—!
Make the swing concise.
Swish—!
The footwork is aiming to be in a position to maximize effectiveness using minimal effort, right?
“Hoowoo!!”
The orc roared, a near-scream, bringing down a giant axe, half of which seemed to have already left the realm of the living, right at my head.
Instinctively, I sharply pulled my upper body to the side to evade. Seeing the orc stagger from its missed attack made me greedily wish to completely take it down.
This was a pleasure that had nothing to do with efficiency— a kind of joy that only I could enjoy, unknown to others.
If I could topple it once more like this, I might see the orc floundering comically.
‘No. That kind of useless behavior should be discarded now.’
Adjusting my thoughts, I used the tension in my stance to spring back and aimed to pierce at a single point.
Whoosh—!
Crack—!
A moment of hesitation to use a feint only led me to suffer an attack in return. But since it was a reflexive swing while under attack, it didn’t exceed my defense.
I shouldn’t make such mistakes going forward.
After defeating one, three or four orcs charged at me simultaneously. Even if they came in numbers, a low-rank warrior wouldn’t be a threat.
Still, it was best not to experience being besieged. Why? Because it just feels dirty.
‘Clear your mind. But that doesn’t mean you should stop thinking.’
… Was that old man just teasing me? It was one thing to say “Look left, then look right.”
But who knows? For now, I will just do my best to try.
I’ll discard unnecessary feints and guide myself toward maximizing my strengths. That was gold advice from my master Ah-rin.
What are my strengths…
A high Agility stat combined with a natural sense makes for a body specialized in evasion. If thought in reverse, it’s a good ability for counterattacking.
Moreover, there’s the Rune of Giants, greatly enhancing my Strength, alongside various skills that create variables.
Taking all of these into account, I surmised that there was unlikely to be anyone stronger than me in this area.
So I swung with confidence.
Crack! Crack!
The gaze that had been searching for intermediate warriors was now fixed solely on enemies within the range of my swing.
As I swung and swung repeatedly, surpassing a hundred, two hundred times, rather than exhausting me, it left me invigorated.
A white light flashed and signaled to me. It was happening. Something was coming together.
The waves of sensations coalesced around my body, then spread outward, repeating the process.
Goohhh—
I found myself dancing on the thin line between the instinct to explode with power and the reason to remain composed.
The precarious nature of that line felt deliciously thrilling.
As I swung, I lost track of whether I was cutting with a sword or piercing with the thorns on my body.
Before I knew it, I had entered a space of pure white. The realm of martial arts that the system spoke of.
The vastness of that space made my head spin slightly.
‘It’s been a while… This space.’
That thought soon faded.
This space was different from before. Unlike when I faced just the orc high-rank warrior, I could keenly sense the presences of others.
Far away, I felt Ah-rin struggle against the orcs at a significantly reduced speed.
Despite her roughened breathing, her face was full of smiles.
It was funny. What was so good about it? I thought maybe I should try smiling too.
Did Ah-rin realize that even in her drained state, she was closer to the movements of a high-level knight?
Even from a distance, I attempted to match her rhythm with my movements.
And then I remembered. There were so many things I wanted to achieve. One of the most fervent desires was one I had held onto since long ago.
In my past life, I had sought to pour everything into a single swing.
When had that started? I thought back to the old man I refer to as “that uncle”— Hyeon Joong-gil. It was when I became entranced by the pure beauty encapsulated in his swings.
Ever since then, I had practiced that single movement at home every day—the motion of raising the sword high above and bringing it down.
I thought I might have even done that ritual the morning I was killed by Jo Gi-man.
Every day I swung mindlessly like that, hoping for at least one stunning attack skill to manifest within me. Yeah, at first it was just naive wishful thinking.
But over time, I became captivated by that simplicity and from then on, I merely repeated that motion whenever I had nothing else to do.
It was a desire different from wanting to become strong. By that point, I had been joining parties filled with far stronger individuals.
Just the thought of a single, brilliant flash encompassing all my potential—my body, heart, and mind united in a single swing. That was all I wanted.
The desire to see what I had seen again.
If I could at least touch that completeness, neither too much nor too little…
I moved my arm according to memory. It felt as natural as it should be, just like how I should swing.
Creak—!
Even though it was fundamentally different from the swing I’d seen long ago, there was a brilliance in it.
As my dagger passed, an intermediate orc warrior looked down at me in disbelief.
Splat—
Miraculously, the orc split precisely in half, tumbling as it fell.
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