Chapter 27

The Swordsmanship Genius Possessed by a God — Chapter 27

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Allen steadied his breathing as he looked at the tall man who had appeared before him.

‘Supreme Commander Hiren.’

His appearance was unexpected even to Allen.

Why was this man here?

He was not someone who would bother attending a mere squad leader appointment ceremony.

“Interesting! Truly interesting! Wahahaha!”

He was even approaching Allen while laughing loudly.

As though openly advertising that Allen was his intended target.

“By the way.”

“...?”

“How long do you intend to keep playing these children's games?”

His real question followed through telepathy.

—“Are you hiding it deliberately?”

He seemed to know that Allen had overcome the Curse of Mana Deprivation.

‘Well, I suppose I couldn't escape the notice of someone at his level.’

Things might have been different in the past, when his mana had been insignificant, but the situation had changed.

More importantly, Allen had no intention of going to great lengths to conceal the fact that his curse had been lifted.

“I wasn't trying to hide it. The squad members just seemed to want this, so I went along with it.”

“Hehehe. That's a relief. So you're not a coward.”

“What brings you all the way here, Supreme Commander?”

“I heard some wet-behind-the-ears brat was becoming a squad leader, so I came to have a look.”

“What did you think?”

“Not bad at all.”

Hiren surveyed the squad members lying on the ground as he spoke.

“Your techniques and ability to adapt were far superior to those of the fellows here. How did you learn swordsmanship? You're still so young, yet you move like a swordsman who's fought hundreds of battles.”

“I learned according to the family's training manuals.”

“What nonsense. What training manual in the world teaches something like that?”

Allen merely smiled instead of answering. At his expression, Hiren laughed heartily and asked,

“Would you like to fight me?”

“...!”

Mary, who had been listening to their conversation nearby, was so startled that her eyes widened.

Lucas was equally surprised.

“Supreme Commander!”

Lucas shouted.

He was concerned that an unplanned sparring match might prove dangerous.

But Hiren ignored him and continued.

“However, you may use as much mana as you like. I won't use any. What do you say?”

“Is there any reason I should agree?”

“Why? Do you want something in return?”

“I should gain something from it too.”

“Something to gain? Hehehe. Look at this brat. When the supreme commander gives an order, you should simply obey.”

“My appointment ceremony is still in progress.”

Hiren burst into hearty laughter at Allen's shameless reply.

“Fine, very well. Then let's do this. If your sword touches my body even once, or if you force me to use mana, I'll give you this.”

Hiren held out the sword hanging at his waist.

“This is Griffin, one of the Thirty-Two Famous Swords of the Continent. I obtained it twenty years ago after defeating that fellow Guillotine in a sparring match.”

Guillotine was one of the Seven Great Knights of the Empire.

The fact that he and the supreme commander had fought was surprising enough, but that Hiren had won a famous sword from him was even more astonishing.

Allen's eyes gleamed at the mention of the Thirty-Two Famous Swords of the Continent.

How many swordsmen wouldn't covet a fine sword? Allen had already been thinking that he needed a decent sword.

“In exchange, since a sword is at stake, we'll spar with real swords as well. What do you say?”

It was then.

[A mission has been registered.]

[Category: Wager]

[Supreme Commander Hiren has proposed a wager. Win the wager against him.]

[Time Limit: ∞]

[Reward: All stats +3]

An unexpected and welcome message appeared.

Allen had already confirmed the existence of missions once before, when he was assigned to eliminate the leader of the Iron Shackles Society.

If he won this wager, he would obtain not only an extraordinary famous sword but also additional stat points.

There was no reason to refuse.

“Are you sure you won't regret this?”

The determination to win at any cost appeared in Allen's eyes.

Hiren chuckled at his words.

“I have plenty of useful swords besides this one. And do you really think you can win?”

“I only need to touch you once.”

“I'll take that as a yes.”

“That's correct.”

“Hahahaha! I like you, boy. Has having your curse lifted changed your personality? When I saw you a few years ago, you were such a gloomy fellow.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“Yes, yes. What business does a swordsman of Vishken have playing with wooden toys? Steel is the very heart of a swordsman.”

Laughing heartily, Hiren turned toward Mary.

“What are you doing? Clear away those fellows lying on the ground.”

“Pardon?”

“Don't want to? Shall I do it myself?”

“N-no, sir! I'll do it!”

Startled, Mary hurriedly began moving the squad members who had collapsed on the ground.

Dragging away the large squad members, one in each hand, her mind was in turmoil.

‘What on earth is going on...?’

She recalled the conversation between Hiren and Allen just moments ago.

‘Use as much mana as he likes? His curse was lifted?’

Anyone who wasn't a fool could understand.

The Curse of Mana Deprivation that had afflicted Allen had been lifted.

‘Is this really true?’

Then what did that make all the disrespect her squad members had shown him?

Mary lowered her head. Without knowing any of this, they had ended up sprawled across the ground, and she felt an urge to smack each of them on the head.

While Mary cleared away her comrades,

“Third Star... No, Fourth Star?”

Hiren muttered as he casually rested his sword on his shoulder.

At those words, Allen, who had been standing with his eyes closed to calm his mind and body, opened them in surprise.

“I heard it hasn't been long since your curse was lifted, yet you've already reached that level in the Celestial Star Style? You're even more extraordinary than your brother.”

“You can tell?”

“Of course. Do you think I wouldn't know after all the years I've spent watching the family head?”

Hiren was the comrade who had fought back-to-back with Axion longer than anyone else in Vishken.

Perhaps that was why, despite never having learned the Celestial Star Style himself, he seemed very familiar with the swordsmanship passed down through the Vishken family.

“When your Celestial Star Style reaches the Sixth Star, you'll be able to attain the Master level. By then, you might even succeed your brother as commander of a sword division.”

“Master...”

Allen's grip on his sword tightened involuntarily.

Master.

The mere sound of the word resonated deeply within his heart.

It was the realm of superhumans that every swordsman dreamed of reaching when first taking up a sword.

Beings who transcended human limitations and could single-handedly change the course of a battlefield.

Hiren was speaking of that very level.

“At the Fourth Star, I suppose you'd be somewhere around the upper-intermediate Expert level. That's excellent for someone your age. No, considering how recently you escaped your curse, it's downright astonishing.”

“Thank you.”

“Still, don't become too conceited. Some swordsmen reach the threshold of Master at remarkable speed yet never achieve that feat in their entire lives, while others progress slowly but eventually reach it. If you become intoxicated by the poison of rapid progress, you may never awaken from it.”

Allen realized why Hiren had gone out of his way to say this.

He was concerned about Allen's condition after being freed from the Curse of Mana Deprivation and advancing faster than anyone else.

Those who ran too quickly tended to suffer serious injuries when they fell.

Some never rose again, while others remained trapped at the threshold for the rest of their lives, just as Hiren had warned.

There were as many swordsmen who had made names for themselves as geniuses only to disappear without a trace as there were stars in the sky.

Allen lowered his head.

“Thank you for your advice. I'll keep it in mind.”

It was timely advice.

He had already begun feeling an increasing desire to reach the next level.

But as Hiren had said, becoming intoxicated by rapid progress could prevent a person from seeing the road ahead.

‘What a clever brat.’

Hiren chuckled as he observed Allen's attitude and the look in his eyes while he bowed.

He could tell that Allen wasn't merely offering empty words of thanks.

Through Hiren's advice, Allen seemed to have genuinely realized something.

Some people heard advice and let it pass straight through them, while others truly gained something from it. Listening to and accepting appropriate advice was itself a kind of talent.

And when someone already possessed ability, that talent became all the more valuable.

The training ground had been cleared.

Standing in the center of the now-empty training ground, Hiren beckoned with his fingers.

“Come at me.”

He still hadn't drawn his sword.

Allen did not ask why.

He intended to win this match by any means necessary.

“Understood. Then—”

Holding a real sword, Allen charged forward without hesitation.

“Excuse me.”

Flash!

Ting!

The sword aimed at Hiren's shoulder was deflected by a finger.

As though he had expected this from the beginning, Allen showed no surprise and continued swinging his sword.

Ting, ting-ting-ting.

Whooooosh!

Sword and fingers collided repeatedly.

Even amid the rapid sword strikes, which moved at speeds almost impossible to follow with the naked eye, Hiren precisely deflected the blade.

It looked so precarious that a single mistake could cost him a finger.

Amid the relentless barrage of sword strikes,

Hiren's eyes gleamed with disbelief.

“Have you no fear, boy? What would you do if you cut off the supreme commander's hand?”

Ordinarily, someone facing an unarmed opponent like this would hesitate at least a little, but Allen showed no such restraint.

“You're going to block everything anyway, aren't you?”

“What?”

“If I even wound one of your fingers, you lose.”

Allen wasn't surprised that Hiren was facing him with his fingers.

He hadn't expected Hiren to draw his sword from the beginning. After all, the difference between their abilities was like heaven and earth.

‘While his sword is still sheathed, just once.’

Allen regarded this very moment as an opportunity.

The difference between one of the continent's greatest swordsmen and an ordinary squad leader.

The inevitable carelessness that came from such a disparity.

Right now, at this very moment.

‘I'll cut him.’

Whooom.

At that moment, sword energy appeared around Allen's blade for the first time.

As though genuinely intending to sever Hiren's hand, he swung his sword without hesitation.

Celestial Star Style, First Form.

Behold.

Whoosh!

Clang!

Sparks flew as two swords collided.

For the first time, Hiren had drawn and swung his sword.

Even the supreme commander couldn't block a sword imbued with sword energy, especially the First Form of the Celestial Star Style, with his bare hands.

And that wasn't the end.

Whiiiiine.

As though he had been preparing for precisely this moment, Allen already had his next technique ready at the tip of his sword.

Celestial Star Style, Second Form.

Rainstorm.

Whooooosh!

Powerful sword energy swept toward Hiren's body. The sword energy split into dozens of blades in an instant and poured down like a rainstorm.

For a moment, an unbelievable sight unfolded.

Hiren's sword spread out like a fan, dispersing every single blade of the descending sword energy.

Whoosh!

Through the scattered sword energy,

Allen poured everything he had into his next move.

‘I can't cover a hundred steps in a single stride, but—’

The Hundred Lotus Steps, which had reached the Second Star.

It closed the distance between the two in an instant.

‘At this distance!’

The two techniques he had unleashed earlier had been distractions meant to create this very opportunity.

Allen's sword flew toward Hiren's waist.

But at that moment—

Grin.

A broad smile appeared on Hiren's lips.

It was then that his sword vanished from sight.

As Allen's blade swept toward Hiren's waist, he instinctively gripped his sword with both hands.

It was an instinctive decision.

Clang!

Whooom, whooom, whooom.

Allen's sword, which had been aimed at Hiren's waist, was knocked away, and his feet lifted nearly a handspan off the ground.

The force was tremendous. If he hadn't hurriedly gripped his sword with both hands, he might have lost it.

Bang!

Screeeeech.

Allen's body was hurled backward.

He hadn't merely been pushed away.

Even though Allen had been the one using sword energy, his wrists throbbed from the collision.

Clenching his numb hands tightly, Allen looked ahead.

Hiren stood holding a sword that shimmered with a faint green light.

Although Allen couldn't sense any mana from him, the man before him seemed like an enormous giant whose presence filled the entire training ground.

“Hah—”

The sight drew an involuntary sigh from Allen.

‘He's enormous.’

Hiren hadn't even released his energy.

Simply drawing his sword seemed to have filled the training ground with his presence.

Even in his previous life, Allen had encountered a presence of that magnitude only a handful of times.

“I didn't expect to have to draw my sword so soon.”

Step.

Hiren took a step toward Allen.

Sweeping his white hair backward, he revealed his white teeth in a grin.

“Not bad at all, brat. You've got quite the skill for someone with such a fresh-faced look.”