Balad taught Hyun-soo the swordsmanship of the Sword King.
He emphasized, “Remember, appearances also matter.”
This is even more important now.
Without Sword Master Rycen and the future heads of the family, Hyun-soo cannot become a king.
Also, because he was moving under the influence of fate as the Sword King, he wanted to see for himself.
Sword Master Rycen.
At first, he had come to test Hyun-soo and even bring him down.
But now, he was testing if Hyun-soo could be trusted to watch his back in the future.
Rycen, who was looking at Hyun-soo with wavering eyes, gripped his sword and looked at him again.
“……”
For a moment, a person flashed through his mind.
It was the image of Lord Balad, looking down at him with a relaxed sword.
Rycen gripped his sword tightly.
“Indeed, the duel isn’t over yet!”
Pushing off the ground, Rycen thought.
They say a fox pretends to be the master in a tiger’s den.
To him, Hyun-soo was a fox.
Heh heh heh heh-!
He believed without a doubt that he was the tiger charging fiercely.
However, all his tiger-like attacks were being blocked.
“How, how, how……!”
What he couldn’t accept was that he was currently overwhelming Hyun-soo in every aspect.
Strength, speed, stamina. Everything.
Yet, he was being outdone in the most crucial skill for the future king of the Sword King’s nation.
Thud-
With minimal movement, Hyun-soo blocked his attack and struck Rycen’s shoulder with his palm.
Scraping backwards, Rycen was pursued by Hyun-soo.
Rycen, trying to swing his sword, was taken aback.
Hyun-soo’s hand pressed down on his wrist, preventing him from moving the sword.
“It was said that you could win by preventing the opponent from drawing their sword.”
Hyun-soo’s left hand, which had blocked Rycen’s sword, struck his torso three times in an instant.
Whap whap whap-
Rycen, groaning faintly, widened his eyes.
NPCs always pursue greater strength.
Hence, they often chase after certain powers.
Rycen had been chasing something for a long time.
He intended to reveal that power when he became king.
But here, he decided to reveal it.
It was part of an ancient legendary power found in a distant cave.
“Taisan (太山).”
He knew that with this power, he could momentarily reach the Sword King.
Blue aura surged from Rycen.
His pupils briefly shone blue.
[All magic power is rampaged to maximize aura.]
Hyun-soo was surprised.
[Sword Master Rycen becomes temporarily stronger.]
[Sword Master Rycen Lv.425]
Rycen’s level was originally very high.
Additionally, high-level individuals display incomprehensible strength as their levels rise.
“You’ve received excellent teachings from His Highness.”
Rycen, who appeared in front of Hyun-soo in an instant, twisted his lips.
“I also intend to give you a small lesson, Marquis Hyun-soo.”
Rycen’s strength in swordsmanship lay in space.
He designated a space with his eyes, and within that space, he exerted extraordinary strength.
Rycen finally designated the space.
Hyun-soo, as a user, could see the space that spread like a barrier around him.
Rycen’s muscles swelled.
The swollen muscles creaked like an overloaded machine.
But his Taisan made that irrelevant.
His transcendent skill and extraordinary strength, combined with spatial dominance, struck Hyun-soo.
Boom-
[HP drops below 28%.]
Hyun-soo was shocked.
The damage Rycen inflicted on him suddenly increased by 50%.
Moreover, despite his swollen muscles, his speed had doubled.
‘Additionally, he’s mastered the skill!’
Rycen surpassed the Sword King’s movements.
Hyun-soo tried to escape the space Rycen created.
But he couldn’t get out.
“Incredible.”
Within this space, Rycen wielded the power of the true Sword King.
Swish-!
Six times.
That’s how many times Hyun-soo was cut in an instant.
But it was a strange thing.
“Amazing… truly amazing…”
“Is that the power of the second patriarch!?”
Hyun-soo’s chest was burning hot instead.
It stemmed from greed and anticipation.
He might be able to have such a person by his side in the future.
That anticipation also came from seeing how much of his power could be exerted against someone like him.
Flame is a Calamity created for people like Rycen.
The world is full of strong individuals like Rycen, and it was made for his still too weak self.
Rycen’s sword, which controls space.
That incredible quick slash was heading straight for Hyun-soo’s heart.
[HP falls below 16%.]
“It was enjoyable.”
At that moment, Hyun-soo finally unleashed his power.
Remembering the lesson from the Sword King that appearances are important.
“Burn.”
[Flame]
[A small spark ignites.]
Flame is a small spark.
It’s too small to be a threat, a mere trivial heat.
But no one can ignore the Flame.
Because this spark attaches to the surroundings, becoming a great blaze and burning the most fiercely.
Clang-!
With overwhelming speed, he parried the sword aiming for his heart upwards.
Rycen’s eyes widened.
As the swords clashed, sparks flew.
Those sparks soon turned into flames on Hyun-soo’s body.
[All stats increase by 20%.]
[All skills increase by 2 levels.]
[HP decreases while Flame is active.]
[A small spark engulfs the world.]
Whish-
The aura from Hyun-soo’s body was like rising flames.
Burning intensely, but not actually hot.
However, the red flames flowed endlessly from his body.
Clang clang clang clang-
The exchange of blows between the two continued.
It was hard for Chaeld to even follow them with his eyes.
“Is this a fight between the one destined to be king and the one pursuing the king…!?”
The aura of the blue energy and the fiercely burning flames collided.
They were so fast, only the sparks from their swords could be seen.
Clang clang clang clang-
And Rycen realized.
“How…!”
The space he dominated was crumbling.
[Hyun-soo Lv.369]
Moreover, the advantage of Flame was that it also raised the level of all passive skills by 2 to 3 levels.
This included the skill ‘Cuts Through Anything’ that the Gauntlet of Calamity possessed.
Hyun-soo’s dominance burned even brighter for a moment.
[Cuts Through Anything]
[Increases cutting power by 5.5 times momentarily.]
Slash-
Rycen was shocked as his sword clashed with Hyun-soo’s.
At the moment their swords met, half of his sword was cut.
Luckily, with quick reflexes, he withdrew the sword before it was completely severed.
With the half-cut sword, he slashed at Hyun-soo.
Splash-
Due to the HP reduction from the Flame and the damage he had taken so far, Hyun-soo’s HP plummeted.
But Hyun-soo had the mineral Asnium.
His HP replenished, while Rycen, who had cut him, was taken aback.
Clang-
The impact from the cut caused Rycen’s sword to break in the end.
But even so, Rycen tried to press on.
However.
Boom-
At the moment their swords clashed, the space Rycen controlled completely collapsed.
Rycen knew.
It was the final move.
“Since it’s the last move, I’ll give it my all…!”
Rycen had also taken significant damage, and his sword was now halved.
Hyun-soo was overwhelming him with explosive power, but his remaining HP was too low.
Rycen’s blood boiled fiercely.
An immense competitive spirit surged.
‘Somehow, I must defeat him’
Swish-
Almost simultaneously.
With a sword split in half, Rycen advanced, while Hyun-soo, with his body ablaze like a flame, moved toward him.
Watching this, Chaeld, who would succeed Sword Master Rycen, shook his head.
“Marquis Hyun-soo has won…”
He felt a sense of pity. It wasn’t for Sword Master Rycen but for Hyun-soo.
Rycen is one of the most renowned of the second-generation patriarchs.
Defeating him now would earn Hyun-soo fame, but it would diminish Rycen’s stature.
Moreover, the elderly patriarch, who always believed himself to be the best, wouldn’t take his inevitable defeat well.
There might be those who wouldn’t mind, but Rycen, as Chaeld knew him, was not one of them.
Just then, Chaeld was startled.
Rycen’s sword, charged with explosive energy, was thrust towards Hyun-soo’s chest.
His belief that Hyun-soo would win was overturned.
“No…”
Chaeld’s pupils dilated.
Having poured all his strength into it, that sword might kill Hyun-soo.
Rycen, momentarily losing his reason, had poured everything into the broken sword.
But then another twist occurred.
With Hyun-soo pressing his foot into the ground with more force, he managed to pierce Rycen before Rycen’s sword could pierce him.
“Ugh!”
Rycen, whose shoulder was pierced, dropped his sword filled with killing intent.
He realized that he had almost lost his reason and killed Hyun-soo.
“How could I lose my reason and attack the heir to the throne…”
It was a grave mistake.
The greatest mistake in his life.
Even if Hyun-soo growled at him now, he couldn’t argue back.
In a fair fight, he had tried to kill him.
So Rycen thought Hyun-soo would mock him with twisted lips.
But Hyun-soo’s reaction was different.
“Indeed, you are Sir Rycen, the Sword Master. It was a valuable lesson.”
“……”
Rycen quickly understood the reason for Hyun-soo’s reaction.
Clap clap clap clap clap clap-!
“Congratulations!!!!!”
“Wooow!”
Only a few knew the truth: himself, Hyun-soo, and Chaeld, and Hyun-soo was covering it up.
“The duel between Sword Master Rycen and Marquis Hyun-soo was incredible!”
“As expected of Patriarch Rycen!”
“I learned a lot from Marquis Hyun-soo as well!”
And Rycen realized.
Winning and losing were important to him, but not to the person before him.
Here, he had already earned the recognition of future patriarchs.
Moreover, he was covering up his mistake.
***
“The most important thing is to embrace. Embrace in your own way.”
This was the most impressive teaching Hyun-soo received from Balad.
After receiving treatment, he met Rycen again.
Rycen subtly probed the reason behind Hyun-soo’s actions.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
Hyun-soo was firm.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
He was a man of few words.
Rycen, watching the still-excited patriarchs with Hyun-soo, spoke.
“It was a good duel.”
Rycen’s voice was gentle.
“And I learned quite a lot.”
And once more.
“And quite…”
Hyun-soo almost felt displeased at the word “quite.”
It sounded like a superior person evaluating someone below.
But that wasn’t the intention.
“I am an old man whose heart is easily moved, so I will watch closely.”
“……”
Hyun-soo turned to look at him.
It was a hint.
He might become Hyun-soo’s ally anytime. But he could also become an enemy at any moment.
The weight of that possibility was immense.
“So you must show me.”
Whether he was someone the Sword Master should support.
It was a small chance he created.
But even that chance was significant, and Hyun-soo knew it.
“Understood, I will show you greatly. And feel free to speak comfortably.”
Rycen was a respected elder, even by Balad.
“I will.”
And this meant that Hyun-soo and Rycen had grown a bit closer.
Also.
“Since your sword is broken, why not buy one from our forge? We have excellent swords. I’ll give you a good price.”
“Really?”
Rycen turned to Hyun-soo like an excited child.
He knew about the exceptional quality of the swords from the Ballas estate, and he actually wanted to have a sword from there.
Hyun-soo also spoke to those who would become future heads of families.
He told them he would give them good swords at a good price, so they should buy them.
Three hours later.
Rycen and the future patriarchs left the Ballas estate, each holding high-quality weapons.
As they rode in their carriage, they conversed.
“It was truly an incredible duel.”
“Both of them were amazing.”
“Patriarch Rycen is truly remarkable!”
They did not see the essence of what had happened.
But it was enough for just one person to see it.
Chaeld, the one who would lead this great family in the future, spoke.
“You may not have realized it, but Sir Rycen almost killed Marquis Hyun-soo.”
It was a shocking statement.
Hearing it, they admired him once more.
Chaeld, the future sword saint leading them, said,
“We have a new sun.”
Everyone laughed as they looked at the weapons they held.
Each one was exceptionally fine.
“Hehehe.”
“To buy these at such a good price.”
“With this sword, I can…”
Watching this from atop the castle walls, Hyun-soo smiled contentedly.
Meanwhile,
“……”
Per, who had sold high-quality artifacts at the Ballas estate, also looked up at the lord standing on the walls.
“The lord said he would give us good swords at a good price!”
“Oh, oh my…!”
“Which sword is the best?”
He remembered their excited faces.
And the lord had quietly suggested raising the price by 20%.
Blacksmith Per could see the lord’s mouth stretching into a wide grin.
Yes.
He had said he would give them at a good price, but he never said it would be cheap.
Cliche Novel 