Sword Master Rycen.
Despite approaching sixty, he exuded elegance.
Rycen’s house was supported by dozens of sword-wielding families.
In the kingdom of Goyard, the land of swords, his position was exceptionally firm.
Part of the swordsmanship currently used by the royal family was developed by his house, which indicates the extent of his influence.
[Sword Master Rycen Lv.401]
Seeing that level, it was almost intimidatingly high.
Indeed, it showed that his reputation was not undeserved.
If it were before the creation of the Flame skill, Hyun-soo would not have welcomed him with open arms.
Demonization.
The power that Hyun-soo created through a hologram and forcibly named was this:
(Demonization)
Active Skill
Grade: Calamity
Level: 1
Penalty: None
Mana Cost: 1,000
Effect:
– Draws out the power of the demon within, temporarily becoming as strong as a demon.
– All stats increase by 15-31% depending on probability.
– The level of all skills increases by 3.
– However, while Demonization is active, your HP decreases.
– The duration varies depending on probability, lasting from 3 to 20 seconds.
– There is a chance of activation failure.
Strength increases by 15-31%.
Hyun-soo was inspired by the rampaging sword to create this Demonization.
‘A power that can surpass me, even if only for a moment.’
Assuming a 20% increase, Hyun-soo could instantly become over 60 levels stronger.
‘Maybe even stronger.’
Hyun-soo’s stats were overwhelmingly higher than those of users of the same level.
But there was a fatal flaw.
It could only be activated by burning HP.
‘And it might only last for 3 seconds.’
But the newly acquired Flame skill surpassed even this.
(Flame)
Grade: Calamity
Level: 1
Penalty: None
Mana Cost: 1,500
Effect:
– Burns the flame within your body, becoming a great blaze.
– All stats increase by 10-23% depending on probability.
– The level of all skills increases by 2-3.
– However, while Flame is active, your HP decreases.
– If HP falls below 20%, there is a 5% chance that the true flame will activate, burning the hottest, and HP will no longer decrease.
– The duration varies depending on probability, lasting from 3 to 20 seconds.
– There is a chance of activation failure.
The reason Flame surpasses Demonization is that it contains both active and passive effects within one skill.
Although the stat increase is lower than during Demonization.
Moreover, the passive activation of Flame states:
The true flame activates, burning the hottest.
‘And the penalty of HP decrease is less severe.’
Reflecting on it, Hyun-soo had achieved significant growth after hunting Helena.
He obtained two Calamity Artifacts and gained the effects of a set artifact.
‘I want to test Flame soon.’
Flame was the power that could surpass the current Hyun-soo, even if only for a moment.
Therefore, it was difficult to test this power against just any opponent.
With the appearance of Sword Master Rycen, how could Hyun-soo not welcome him with a smile?
“Welcome, Sir Rycen. I have heard much about you.”
‘This isn’t right…?’
Rycen was taken aback.
Quickly regaining his composure, he hid his true feelings and spoke.
“I could not remain still after hearing about Marquis Hyun-soo, who will lead this country. Although many have accompanied me, it was to familiarize themselves with the face of the future king, so please understand.”
“I understand.”
Rycen was also a person of Marquis rank.
However, his influence in the kingdom far exceeded that of Hyun-soo.
“And I was curious. About the hero’s power who saved the kingdom by defeating the first Calamity, Helena.”
At that time, Rycen was beyond the barrier.
Rycen had seen everything.
‘Was it called Twin Dragon Sword?’
That sword was extraordinary.
Because of it, Bella briefly became a legend, and an archer displayed transcendental prowess.
But that was all.
To Rycen, who was over level 400, Hyun-soo was someone he could easily trample.
“Are you suggesting a duel?”
“Yes, I wish to find my weaknesses by sparring with the future Sword King.”
“Very well.”
Hyun-soo and Rycen each took a step back.
‘An exceptionally skilled opponent.’
Hyun-soo was glad for the opportunity to use his Flame skill.
However, he didn’t forget Rycen’s true nature.
Even with Flame, he could still be defeated by Rycen.
Yet, he agreed to the duel for a reason.
‘There was no avoiding it anyway.’
Soon, Rycen sprang forward.
In that instant, Hyun-soo’s eyes widened.
‘He’s fast….’
Helena’s strength lay in her primal defense.
Rycen also possessed an extraordinary physique.
What Hyun-soo didn’t know was that Rycen’s skill was second only to the Sword King.
If Rycen were younger, he might have taken Bella’s place.
Swooosh-!
Rycen, closing in on Hyun-soo who wielded the Supreme Sword, engaged in a fierce exchange of blows.
‘Slow, crude, and lacking!’
At this level of skill, he was worse than the scions of ordinary swordsmanship families.
Perhaps it was to be expected.
Even though Hyun-soo had learned from many, the duration was far too short.
Conversely, Sword Master Rycen had risen to his position through sheer skill alone.
Screeech-
‘It’s so easy to bring you down!’
Seizing an opportunity, Rycen’s sword thrust at Hyun-soo’s vital point, his solar plexus.
After all, outsiders like him revive even if they die.
‘After killing him, the reborn Hyun-soo will be scorned by those here.’
However…
Clang-
[The Armor of Calamity shines.]
[Triple defense is applied.]
“…?”
Rycen was taken aback.
His sword had struck the armor.
Despite channeling powerful aura into the thrust, it couldn’t penetrate the armor, as if hitting a rock, and the sword tip went no further.
Tremble-
The tip of his sword quivered.
What was more surprising was this:
[Anything cuts through]
[Cutting power is quadrupled momentarily.]
The bizarre power of the Calamity Gauntlet activated.
Rycen watched in shock as a dark current was absorbed into the sword through the gauntlet.
‘If I get cut by this, I’ll be sliced apart too.’
A power that utterly disregarded even a superhuman physique.
Barely dodging, Rycen conceded.
‘Indeed, you possess strange things.’
But that alone couldn’t solve everything.
Screeech-!
Hyun-soo slashed madly at Rycen, who was attacking from all directions.
[HP has dropped below 80%.]
[HP has dropped below 70%.]
Hyun-soo was astonished by the Sword Master’s strength.
The reason he didn’t immediately activate Flame was to gauge his own abilities.
You must know your enemy and yourself.
At this moment, Hyun-soo was learning how much he lacked.
This realization became his strength.
Knowing his deficiencies, he would strive to improve.
Rycen, who had been pressing him, was caught off guard.
[Pull]
Whoosh-!
Suddenly, his body was pulled in.
And he was shocked the moment he was slashed once.
[Nine Slashes]
Crash-!
One allowed attack dealt nine impacts.
Crack-
More surprising was Hyun-soo’s sudden disappearance.
“Ghost Step.”
Rycen was impressed.
He knew it well.
The gap between his and Hyun-soo’s levels was like heaven and earth.
Rycen tracked the vanished Hyun-soo using only his senses.
Clang, clang, clang, thud-!
Of the 14 consecutive attacks, he only allowed three, deflecting the rest.
“The Sword Master is truly remarkable!”
“Marquis Hyun-soo, you’re not to be underestimated either!”
And Hyun-soo’s HP plummeted below 40%.
The force with which Rycen lunged madly was immense.
Hyun-soo tried to activate his Flame skill against him.
He realized the skill gap between them was too vast.
Then, he locked eyes with one of the talents standing behind Rycen.
The man shook his head.
Through him, Hyun-soo understood one thing.
‘Even if I win, it won’t be considered a true victory?’
He grasped the essence of this country and the worldview of this world.
‘It’s like the old aristocracy.’
Like the Joseon Dynasty, they had their own rigid structure and unnecessary stubbornness.
‘If I use a power that seems like a mysterious force, they won’t accept me?’
Even though Hyun-soo wasn’t losing to Rycen at the moment.
Hyun-soo realized.
‘Even if I win, it will be a hollow victory.’
And Rycen seemed to understand him.
Slash-
Rycen, who had knocked Hyun-soo back, quickly surged forward.
‘You’ve just now realized!’
But Hyun-soo smiled invisibly.
‘If I use that….’
He felt sorry for Rycen, but there was a way to temporarily overwhelm his swordsmanship.
It was created through the power given by Arte.
It was called Connection.
Connection had this power.
‘You can use the power of your connections, just like the real ones, once.’
Connection was the power of those who had briefly touched him.
And Hyun-soo could use their skills, just like the real ones.
When Arte came to Ballas’ territory, he told Hyun-soo.
‘The current connection is only a segment; the real connection will gradually reveal itself.’
One small segment had revealed itself to Hyun-soo recently.
[Connection is activated.]
***
Scions of prestigious families.
They are the treasures of the Goyard Kingdom.
Though not yet adults, their power was greater than expected.
These individuals could elevate or dethrone a king.
Some had come not just because of Rycen’s words but to see the true heir to the throne.
In any group, there is always a leader.
The future Rycen.
And the one leading dozens of prestigious family scions.
His single decision changes their thoughts, and they follow his lead.
His name is Chaeld.
Chaeld was observing the situation calmly.
He was the most important person here.
Why?
Whether Hyun-soo or Rycen becomes king.
That’s a story for the future.
When that time comes, Chaeld will have become another sword saint.
Watching both, Chaeld thought.
‘Who is more exceptional?’
Someone deeply biased by the Sword Kingdom.
Believing that in the Sword Kingdom, superior swordsmanship is paramount.
Believing that foundation moves and protects the country without doubt.
‘Even if Marquis Hyun-soo wins, I will side with Sir Rycen.’
Overwhelming skill has been proven. Not that it means he would make Rycen king.
His siding with Rycen meant everyone here would side with Rycen.
At that moment, Rycen’s bizarrely curved sword aimed at Hyun-soo’s back.
‘What incredible swordsmanship!’
No one here could block it.
At that moment.
‘What?’
Hyun-soo’s eyes changed dramatically.
Without turning around, he raised his sword to block the incoming strike.
Clang-
“How did he block that?”
“What the…!”
And Hyun-soo did not forget the essence.
‘I am a user.’
How could he, with his skill, defeat those born with swords in this world?
They have their advantages, and he has his.
The power of the realized connection was this.
[For 30 seconds, you move like someone you know.]
[He must be someone with whom you have formed a deep bond.]
Hyun-soo relaxed his body.
Rycen’s eyes wavered.
‘Why, why…?’
Being close, he felt it more clearly than anyone.
‘Does I see the king in him!?’
Rycen, taken aback, prepared to unleash a flurry of attacks.
With power concentrated in his feet, he launched forward like a storm.
Swoosh-!
And Hyun-soo, moving like Barad, recited the words he had been taught.
A sword aimed at his waist was blocked by the flat of his own sword.
Clang-!
“A sword must be flexible rather than rigid.”
Within the storm, a single sword approached.
Rycen swung his sword powerfully again.
The descending blade was halted by the tip of Hyun-soo’s sword.
Clang-!
The sword within the storm, once swung, subdued all the wind.
A brief moment of calm.
Slash-
Hyun-soo dodged the thrusting sword with a simple twist of his foot.
Rycen, a master of unconventional swordplay, changed the trajectory of his sword with dazzling movements, aiming again at Hyun-soo.
“I also learned that a sword can generate great power with little force.”
Dodging easily, Hyun-soo struck Rycen’s chest with the hilt of his sword.
Thud-!
Rycen, sent flying backward, was bewildered.
Regaining his balance and advancing again, he was soon shocked.
“Sometimes you must seize the enemy’s sword and aim for their neck.”
Clang-!
It happened in an instant.
Rycen’s sword flew from his hand and embedded itself in the ground.
Thud-
“…”
Rycen’s eyes shook violently.
He had come here to test and trample on him.
But Hyun-soo, pointing his sword at him, spoke.
“The duel is not yet over.”
Rycen realized.
‘How… how…!’
It was he who was being tested.
Cliche Novel 