Vol 1 Chapter 63
"...Phew. Found it."
Mu-heon had made up his mind to start training with a sword again today, and he finally managed to find the wooden sword he had stashed away long ago in a gap in the wardrobe.
It was still in its old form inside the long bag, but a little dust had accumulated. He felt sorry and guilty, which made his chest feel tight. He entered the room where he had placed exercise equipment for rehabilitation training, slowly took a deep breath, and fully opened the bag. As he firmly grasped the tip of the wooden sword with one hand, he felt the familiar hardness.
'So far... it's okay.'
His heart was pounding. His breathing started to quicken a little, but it was still fine.
He pulled it out of the bag and gripped it with both hands. And as he stood straight and aimed it at a point in front of him,
"Huff... huff... huff...!"
Suddenly, his heart started racing madly and he felt his breath catch, causing him to unknowingly drop the wooden sword. It was the same symptom as before.
He slumped down and rubbed his goosebump-covered back. He could see the wooden sword lying in front of him, but he couldn't pick it up.
"..."
He felt an overwhelming sense of self-loathing. But he knew he couldn't keep running away anymore. He hated himself for still not being able to escape from the memories of that day, but he decided to think of this as taking a big step forward just by starting this again.
Yes, they say the first step is half the battle, Kang Mu-heon.
"I can do it..."
Muttering the words he used to always repeat in the past, he picked up the wooden sword again. Once more, his heart started beating explosively, but he endured it, forcibly steadying his breath.
'Just look at the tip of the sword. Calm your mind and look at the tip of the sword steadily...'
If he lost here again, he would continue to live the life of a loser.
Even though he was just holding the wooden sword, cold sweat was already streaming down his entire body. After enduring in that state for about a minute, his head started pounding and old memories began to torment him.
"You're the one I hate most in this world!"
Clatter.
He dropped the wooden sword again. He gritted his teeth so hard they might break and picked it up again. The tip of the sword he was glaring at was trembling.
"It wasn't a match with me..."
"Shut up! You think I'll lose!"
As he shouted out loud, this time he was able to keep holding the wooden sword. Feeling a little more confident, he continued to hold it without even thinking of wiping away his sweat. In between, his chest kept hurting and his head was buzzing, but he persevered with all his might.
After 2 minutes, his head slowly started to feel numb.
After 3 minutes, old memories that had long passed began to resurface all at once, along with Jeong Seung-jo's voice echoing in his ears.
"A genius? What does that even mean!"
Mu-heon wasn't a genius. Only people who didn't really know what he was doing had said such things.
"Aaaaah!"
When he finally passed the 5-minute mark, struggling to control his heart that felt like it would explode, he finally put down the sword on his own.
It was 5 minutes. From 0 seconds to 5 minutes.
He sat down next to the dropped wooden sword, wiping his sweat and laughing.
"Hahahahaha!"
Three years had passed. He really wanted to overcome it now.
He could gradually increase it by trying like this little by little. Un-o at the kendo dojo might be stubborn, but Mu-heon was confident he wouldn't lose to him in that regard.
"I can do it...!"
Encouraging himself, he stood up energetically once more. He wasn't a genius. He was just a guy who had nothing but the sword in his mind. Jeong Seung-jo just didn't know that.
How many days had passed since he started this battle with himself again, balancing training and gaming? He was finally able to hold the sword for nearly 20 minutes. It was the result of living a life where he even slept holding the sword, feeling that even sleeping time was precious. This achievement was the result of his determination that if he was afraid to hold the sword, he would not let go until he recognized the sword itself as part of his body.
"Haa... haa..."
As he lowered his gaze to the sword tip that had now become quite steady, closed his eyes, and habitually turned it once before putting it away, joy welled up from deep inside his body and spread through his chest.
"Haha..."
To hold a sword, it's not just the hand bearing its weight that's important. The feet supporting the body are just as important as the hands, and strength and stamina to endure until the end are absolutely necessary.
These were all things Mu-heon currently lacked, but in Mist, it was a different story. He would have to try it in the game to know for sure, but imagining how happy his master would be if he knew this fact made his heart feel much lighter.
'I want to run.'
Now that he had succeeded in holding the sword, which he had given up on for so long, he wanted to feel the joy of sparring with someone again. But that was impossible in reality.
Below his right knee was almost like a cold piece of wood. He couldn't keep his balance and would fall over if pushed even slightly. The aching was always there, so he could bear it now, but it was very difficult on bad weather days. Then, was Mist really the only escape route he could find?
***
"I need to buy a new sword."
At his sudden words, Yu-wan, who had returned to the inn first, looked puzzled. Only Kapros and Yu-wan were in the inn. Kran had been rarely seen at the inn lately, as he seemed to be going out somewhere frequently.
"Why?"
"The Superior swordsmanship skill can only be learned by mages, and it seems I need to buy a sword to learn it."
"Hmm..."
Yu-wan seemed to think for a moment before speaking.
"Right now?"
"Yeah."
Kapros thought it had been a while since he had a proper conversation with Yu-wan, as Kran usually did most of the talking. Both of them were not very talkative, which made it even more so.
"I think I'll need to look around a bit since I don't know the geography of this place well yet..."
Since he had been doing magic training in this room when logged in and sword training when logged out, Kapros hadn't had a chance to go out properly and was still unfamiliar with Tolang's geography.
"I'll go with you."
Yu-wan, seeming to understand Kapros's situation well, extended a helping hand.
"That would be great, thanks."
Kapros smiled and followed Yu-wan outside.
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Jin Soram, the top-ranked hunter representing South Korea's Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters, is stronger than anyone else and lazier than anyone else. As soon as he arrives at the office, he buries himself under a blanket and falls asleep. When he goes out on a mission, he causes accidents and returns to the office, often shirking his duties.
"Do you know how it feels to play a game that's already messed up? ...Anyway, the next round will come, so this time, I'm just going to play it recklessly."
In fact, his true identity is someone who has regressed through three lives, trying to save the world from the Great Rift but failing each time. After repeating a life where he couldn't sleep peacefully even for a day, he became completely exhausted before this life even began.
"I know. You worked hard, Jin Soram."
And then there's Han Tae-un, the man who saved Soram and died in all three previous lives. As he did in every life, he comes to Soram's side once again. The Great Rift is approaching soon. It's impossible to resolve it in this life without any preparation. Soram vows to save Tae-un in this life and die himself. At least, he won't let Tae-un save a failure like himself again.
"For now, until then, let's sleep..."
As Soram sluggishly lives his life waiting for that moment, a gradual change occurs in his heart.
'I thought this was a messed-up round... but I want to live a little longer here.'
Leonardo Blaine, the true war hero of the Raina Logia Empire and the commander of the Armsilver 11th Squad, is dishonorably discharged for disobeying orders during the final battle that could have led the Empire to victory in the territorial war. People criticize and point fingers at him, and after being released on parole from prison, he disappears without a trace.
Three years later, his name has been forgotten by the world. The Council has been persistently pursuing him, but he has proven difficult to capture. Frustrated by this, Hugo Agrizendro, the commander of the Council's army, decides to personally apprehend him.
"Since when have you been watching me?"
Leonardo was calculative and astute, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had been observing Hugo for some time now. However, Leonardo's answer was something that even Hugo had not anticipated.
"From the very beginning."
Graduate student Yi-han finds himself reborn in another world as the youngest child of a mage family.
– I’m never attending school, ever again!
‘What do you wish to achieve in life?’
‘I wish to play around and live comforta-‘
‘You must be aware of your talent. Now go attend Einroguard!’
‘Patriarch!’
My future would be guaranteed once I graduate. For my future!
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