Chapter 64 - The Brat of the Cheolyeong Sword Family (2)

The date for the Bimu requested by the Cheolyeong Sword Family was two weeks from now.

It was possible to adjust it through mutual agreement, but I had no intention of postponing it.

Song Ju-seok was a kid in urgent need of a good lesson.

“What should I do, Unit Leader?”

Since Im Seong-jun belonged to my Chamryongdan, the one who could give the final approval for this Bimu was me.

He seemed to be secretly hoping that I would refuse.

“Do it.”

“Pardon?”

“I said do it. The Bimu. As the Unit Leader, I'll give the final approval.”

“B-But.”

His pupils wavered.

The two participants in the Bimu were the top and second-place students who obtained their licenses in the same batch. Although it was a close call, it was also true that there was a certain level difference.

It was somewhat understandable that Im Seong-jun was showing a lack of confidence.

“Why? It's a good thing, isn't it? I was actually thinking of pitting you against Song Ju-seok, and they read my mind and sent a Bimu request. Did you think I was just talking back then?”

“No, sir!”

“Then do it.”

“…I understand.”

Im Seong-jun had no more complaints.

“And just in case, you're not planning to lose, are you?”

“Rather than planning to lose, in terms of objective strength…”

“For your information, I'm someone who really doesn't like the way the prestigious sword families have been acting. After the young masters of the direct lines get their licenses, they pick an opponent they can toy with to boost their morale and give them a grand debut, right? In that process, Hunters with humble bloodlines were sacrificed. You know that, right?”

“I know.”

“That's why I'm asking. If you're willing to become a sacrificial lamb.”

“As I've said, it's certain that I'm at a disadvantage in terms of strength…”

“If you think you're going to be a sacrificial lamb, you can leave our sword unit right now.”

At my words, Im Seong-jun's face turned pale.

He hadn't expected me to be this firm.

“Bring Shin Ah-yeon here right now.”

“Understood!”

A short while later, Im Seong-jun and Shin Ah-yeon entered the physical training room side by side.

It seemed they had a conversation on their way here.

A faint smile was visible on Shin Ah-yeon's face.

“You have a rough idea of why I called you, right?”

“You want me to train him until the Bimu, don't you?”

“You know well.”

Shin Ah-yeon was more suitable for this role than Choi Ho-joong.

She had the experience of splendidly crushing Han Ye-ji of the Muwon Sword Family in a Bimu under similar circumstances not long ago.

Even then, Shin Ah-yeon was the clear underdog.

“Give him a proper mental education first. Swordsmanship comes later.”

“Understood.”

“If he doesn't straighten up, you can beat him up a bit. This guy is a former rascal, so he might act like one.”

At my words, Im Seong-jun hung his head low.

He would have nothing to say about this, even if he had ten mouths.

“And I'll check on him myself in five days, so you, Ah-yeon, get him into some shape before then.”

“Five days?”

“Why? Is it too long?”

“No, sir!”

The smile had also disappeared from Shin Ah-yeon's face.

***

D-3 until entering the Hatchling's Nest.

There was nothing special to prepare.

It was impossible for me to reach a level where I could subdue the Hatchling by force, no matter how much I prepared in the remaining time.

I just healed my body, accumulated mana, and reviewed the Haewon Sword Style as usual.

And one more thing.

I was using my spare time to analyze the swordsmanship of the Cheolyeong Sword Family.

The civilization of this place called Earth had developed to an astonishing degree, and with just one smart device, you could find most materials in the sea of information.

What was publicly available through the internet was the first 24 movements of the Gyehwa Sword Style, the basic swordsmanship of the Cheolyeong Sword Family.

It would be very different from the advanced martial arts of the Cheolyeong Sword Family that Song Ju-seok would have learned, but in any case, it was the foundation of the Cheolyeong Sword Family's swordsmanship, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to analyze it.

This was also to prepare for Im Seong-jun's Bimu, but researching and analyzing various swordsmanship had been my most enjoyable hobby since my time as Johan Raven.

After reincarnating, I had to put it aside for a while to take care of this shabby body.

‘Thanks to the rascal, I'm enjoying my hobby after a long time.’

Although it was a basic swordsmanship, I could somewhat guess the basic philosophy of the Cheolyeong Sword Family's sword style.

It pursued softness rather than strength. The advanced sword styles of this family would surely not be much different.

What was disappointing was that the information released on the internet was too limited.

There were too few clues to fill in all the blanks with my imagination and reasoning.

I was planning to create and deliver basic training guidelines to Shin Ah-yeon before leaving for the Hatchling's Nest, but I might have to postpone it a bit more.

At that moment, my phone vibrated, signaling the arrival of a message for the first time in a while.

In fact, the places where I could get a call were limited.

‘It must be one of the three.’

Either the daily messages my mother sends several times a day, the occasional random news information the old man from the Muwon Sword Family sends, or a loan solicitation message.

But my prediction was wrong for the first time in a long while.

-Oppa. Are you doing well?

The sender was Han Ye-ji of the Muwon Sword Family.

Thinking it would be some trivial talk, just as I was about to close the message window, the phone vibrated once more.

-I heard the news! One of your subordinates is having a Bimu with the youngest of the Cheolyeong Sword Family?

For a moment, I thought, what is this?

No matter how outstanding the information network of the Muwon Sword Family was, this Bimu was nothing special. It was unlikely to have been exposed to the media yet.

I thought about ignoring it, but then I moved my fingers busily and sent a reply.

-How did you know?

The reply arrived almost in real-time.

-Our families know each other well! I've known Ju-seok since we were snot-nosed kids!

Well, it's common for prestigious sword families to socialize with each other.

Now that the minor question was resolved, I thought I should close the window again, but another message was sent.

-I know you probably don't care about things like this, but do you need any information on the Cheolyeong Sword Family?

What a ridiculous kid.

Their families know each other well, and she's even friends with Song Ju-seok, yet she's asking if I need information.

Of course, I had no reason to refuse.

-I am curious.

-Then can I come over to the Haewon Sword Family's place to hang out?

The reply came at almost the speed of light.

If she came over here, it would be good for me as I could save time.

When I told her to do so, Han Ye-ji ended up rushing all the way here.

***

In fact, the Haewon Sword Family was not a place with good memories for Han Ye-ji.

The opponent she was miserably defeated by in her debut match was none other than Shin Ah-yeon.

To add one more thing, her best friend Min Ha-rin was defeated in my debut match.

But Han Ye-ji seemed completely unfazed.

“How is it? Your impression of being at the Haewon Sword Family.”

“It's nice. Just a slight look around the family's manor and I can feel the wealth of the Haewon Sword Family, should I say?”

“Wealth…”

That Song Ju-seok kid from the Cheolyeong Sword Family said something similar that day.

Frankly, it wasn't a very pleasant thing to hear.

A sword family should be judged by its swordsmanship.

In fact, it was true that the Haewon Sword Family had not produced any outstanding Hunters in swordsmanship for a long time compared to other prestigious sword families.

There had been titles referring to the representative Hunters of the era, such as the Three Sword Gods or the Four Sword Saints, but it had been a long time since the Haewon Sword Family had put its name on that list.

My father, the Family Head, always lamented that point.

But this was by no means because the level of the Haewon Sword Style was low.

On the contrary, the Haewon Sword Style itself was very excellent and even profound.

To the point where it wouldn't fall behind at all even when compared to those from Kalia, the continent of swords.

‘If there's a problem, it's that it's too abstruse.’

Because everyone hits a wall at some point.

In any case, now that I have a connection with the Haewon Sword Family, I will not just stand by and watch this public perception and evaluation.

It would be a problem that would naturally be resolved when I recovered my strength, but I thought it was also important to build up from the bottom before that.

In that sense, it was necessary to win this Bimu with the Cheolyeong Sword Family.

“Then shall we get straight to the point? You said you had information to give about the Cheolyeong Sword Family.”

“Tch. You're still no fun.”

“People may change, but being no fun doesn't seem to change.”

“I get it. I was a fool to come all this way so happily.”

Saying that, Han Ye-ji held out her phone in front of me.

What was playing on the screen was a video.

It was a scene of Song Ju-seok performing swordsmanship in a real battle.

It seemed to be a scene from the 2nd stage of the license exam.

“Where did you get this?”

“Where else? Song Ju-seok sent it to me to brag. As a commemoration of taking the top spot in the license exam.”

I took the phone from Han Ye-ji and carefully observed his form.

This that Song Ju-seok was performing must be the unique sword style of the Cheolyeong Sword Family.

It was indeed an interesting sword style.

The forms of the swordsmanship were interesting, but the operation of the footwork combined with it was even more impressive.

That footwork, which pursues elegance, always maintains softness in both attack and defense.

“It's usable.”

“Song Ju-seok? Of course. He's a bit of a jerk, but he's the top of the batch.”

“No, not Song Ju-seok, I mean the sword style. I don't know who created this swordsmanship, but it makes me want to meet the creator.”

“What?”

Han Ye-ji looked at me with an expression of disbelief.

I paid her no mind and played the video two more times, observing Song Ju-seok and the forms of the swordsmanship.

This alone was enough to get a grasp of it.

What style of swordsmanship it was, and what Song Ju-seok was good at and what he was weak at.

“I've seen enough.”

“If you want, I can give you more information about Song Ju-seok.”

“That's enough.”

“Are you really okay with just watching one video?”

“Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times. Besides, I've replayed it three times, so I can say it's enough.”

Han Ye-ji stared at me blankly and then shook her head from side to side.

“Oppa, you're a really strange person. Just by listening to you talk, it's like you think you're one of the Three Sword Gods or something.”

“No way.”

The Three Sword Gods.

Comparing me to just that level was simply laughable.

“But what's even stranger is that when I come to my senses, I've unknowingly understood your words. It's quite absurd.”

“Enough. By the way, why did you willingly cooperate with me? You said you've been friends with Song Ju-seok since you were kids.”

“We're friends, but he's a bit of a jerk. Think about it. I was shamefully defeated in my debut match, so what would happen if only Song Ju-seok won? He even sent me a video during the license exam, lording it over me that he got the top spot.”

Hearing that, the explanation was convincing.

I too had fully felt his jerky aura.

“Got it.”

“If Song Ju-seok wins the Bimu, he'll probably think he avenged me. When I lost to Ms. Shin Ah-yeon, he was really angry."

“Why?”

“Because he likes me. Since that day, Song Ju-seok has also become an anti-fan of the Haewon Sword Family for an absurd reason.”

Suddenly, I understood all the situations.

Why he was so hostile to the Haewon Sword Family and Seo Ji-han in the Spring of the Abyss.

It turned out it was because of such a childish reason.

‘Still, I can't just let him get away with insulting our family.’

The proper lesson will be carried out as scheduled.

Very brutally.