Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The Swordsmanship Genius Who Transcends Through a Pact Chapter 8

The boss slowly looked toward me before speaking.

An undead.

And among undead, it was a fairly high-ranking type known as a Draugr.

You could think of it as an advanced form of skeleton or zombie.

“Hmm.”

Considering that a demon would've appeared here originally, this was definitely an easier opponent.

But a Draugr was no pushover either.

For someone like me, who had only just begun perceiving mana, it was still a difficult enemy.

“Are you going to fight?”

“I have to.”

Even so, I had no intention of giving up.

Coming all this way only to rely on Tarian to clear it would practically mean throwing away an opportunity to grow.

“That sword...”

“Oh, this?”

I tightened my grip on the hilt and stepped forward, and the Draugr's gaze turned toward me.

“Picked it up on the way.”

“You, defeated, the warrior, guarding, outside.”

The Draugr looked at me with slightly sunken eyes.

I met that gaze directly and shrugged.

“I, will be, different.”

“We won't know until we try.”

“You would, challenge, me, a great warrior, of the North?”

“I would.”

The instant I said it, the Draugr vanished from sight.

‘...Above!’

It had leapt into the air in an instant and swung its greatsword down with tremendous force.

Boooom-!

Ice shattered across the floor, cracks spreading through it.

I barely avoided the strike with Frost Step.

Seeing that, the Draugr's mouth twisted into a wide grin.

“You, dodged, that.”

“Hah. You've been dead so long you've gotten slow as hell!”

The instant I said it, I drove straight toward him.

Large movements inevitably created openings.

‘I can definitely see them.’

And this opponent was weaker than Tarian.

That meant I had a real chance.

With that conclusion, I immediately closed in on the Draugr and swung.

Clang—!

It felt like striking something brutally hard.

The enemy was definitely strong.

Even though it hadn't defended, my own hand hurt more from the impact.

‘This won't be easy.’

The instant I tried to create distance again.

“You are, like a fly!”

The Draugr swung its sword with enormous force.

“Ugh...!”

Thooom—

I drew upon the essence of Northern Swordsmanship and firmly blocked the sweeping blade.

The instant I did, the world around me seemed to shift.

One hit.

That alone sent me flying through the air.

“You're insane.”

“I'll take, that as, praise!”

The Draugr immediately followed after me in midair and raised its sword for another heavy swing.

In the past, I wouldn't even have been able to react to an attack like that.

But now I could see it.

‘Mana.’

How the opponent intended to trace the path of the attack.

And how powerful the strike would be.

‘If I can see it, that's a completely different story.’

The instant my feet touched the ground, I moved in the opposite direction instead.

Toward the sword trying to cut me down using its own momentum.

Whoosh—

I ducked just beneath the blade as it passed over my head, then aimed my sword for the enemy's leg.

Crude and heavy, but solid.

I poured the Northern Swordsmanship I'd trained all this time into the strike.

“That, tickles!”

Scrape.

My sword still failed to bite in properly.

But it wasn't as though it had done no damage.

‘A scratch.’

There was clearly a wound where my sword had passed.

The instant I saw it, I realized something.

‘His senses are dulled.’

Unlike the demons that moved too quickly to even leave such marks on them.

He probably couldn't feel pain.

Seeing the Draugr put even more strength into his movements because of that, I smiled.

“Found it.”

An opening.

I narrowly avoided the incoming greatsword and this time aimed for his shoulder.

Clang-!

A sharp sound rang out as my sword bounced away.

But once again, it left a mark.

“You are, irritating!”

Maybe it was because I kept dodging him so well.

The Draugr began swinging its greatsword wildly in every direction.

I calmly watched.

‘If one lands properly, I die.’

That wasn't a joke.

I could see clearly that he was genuinely swinging his sword with the intention of killing me.

Mana rippled through the blade as shards of ice scattered in every direction.

Yet even seeing such devastating attacks made me smile.

“This is fun.”

“Show me, the bearing, of a warrior!”

Apparently annoyed by how I kept dodging, the opponent swung his sword heavily once again.

“Who the hell gets hit by swings that huge?”

Laughing, I avoided the blade again.

Frost Step let me glide across flat ground, and on a frozen surface like this, it became even more effective.

I moved even faster than I could on normal terrain.

I crossed short distances almost like I was blinking from place to place.

Scrape—

More and more scars accumulated across the Draugr's body.

I still hadn't landed a truly penetrating strike, but what mattered was that those marks continued to increase.

“I will, no longer, hold back.”

Apparently enraged by that fact, the Draugr's expression changed.

Its face twisted like a vengeful spirit, and the flow of its mana changed from before.

Thoom-

The enemy charged at me again.

The pattern itself hadn't changed much.

But there was definitely a difference.

‘Fast.’

He'd become faster.

And stronger.

Boooom—!

In an instant, the frozen floor shattered, enormous cracks spreading through it.

“Young Master!”

Tarian tried to rush in, but I shook my head.

“Stay out of it.”

This was my battle.

I immediately used Frost Step and searched for an opening.

‘None.’

There wasn't one.

So what?

“Huuup!”

Kagagak—!

I tightened my grip and blocked the incoming attack.

The pressure was so intense that even defending against it was difficult.

But I held the sword firmly, bringing out as much of Northern Swordsmanship's weight and stability as I could.

Whoosh-

Sometimes I dodged.

Clang-

Sometimes I blocked.

Scrape-

And even while doing so, I never missed an opening when one appeared, slipping in an attack of my own.

Everything I'd learned from Tarian.

Everything I'd understood while sparring with the soldiers.

And everything I'd realized while training alone.

I used all of it to endure the opponent's assault.

“Huh, haah...”

My heart felt ready to burst.

Perhaps because I'd been staring at mana continuously, it almost felt like blood was running from my eyes.

But my mind remained unbelievably calm.

‘Is this Cold Heart's effect?’

As expected.

I'd been right.

This was a moment when collapsing on the spot would've been perfectly understandable.

And yet my mind merely observed the situation in silence.

‘Block with Northern Swordsmanship, then exploit the opening with Frost Step.’

Beneath it all was Cold Heart.

My basic northern warrior build was complete.

As I silently marveled at the greater synergy than I'd expected, the Draugr muttered.

“You endure, remarkably well.”

The Draugr—the ancient northern great warrior—still appeared perfectly fine.

But I could evaluate the situation calmly.

“Endure? Me?”

Was that really what was happening?

I failed to completely evade the charging Draugr's next attack, and a shallow cut opened across my shoulder.

Even through the sharp sting of pain, I didn't grimace.

Instead.

Crack-

“There.”

“Hmm?”

Before his questioning voice could even fade.

Crack—

Fractures began spreading across the opponent's body.

“...!”

Even the Draugr that had been rushing to split Ian apart showed surprise.

Watching from behind, Tarian couldn't help but marvel as well.

‘So this is how he intended to defeat him.’

It was a completely different approach from when he'd sparred with Tarian.

He endured and evaded his opponent's offensive, turning the battle into a contest of attrition.

That strategy was supported by the exquisite use of Frost Step and the calm maintained by Cold Heart.

And beneath both was Northern Swordsmanship, now even sturdier than it had been during their sparring.

“Monster.”

Now Tarian was certain.

Ian wasn't merely a genius.

He was a monster beyond that.

He was staring at the Draugr with a broad smile, almost as though he wanted to devour it whole.

‘Is he watching to see what he can learn from this?’

The thought sent goosebumps across Tarian's entire body.

He had remained ready to rush in the instant Ian was truly endangered, yet Ian had turned even this moment into another opportunity for training.

And more than that, he had successfully accomplished what he'd intended.

Tarian wondered whether anything like this would've been possible for himself at Ian's age.

‘He's insane.’

No matter how Tarian thought about it, Ian really was insane.

“Warrior, you were, aiming for this.”

“You're pretty calm. I thought you'd get angry.”

Meanwhile, the Draugr inspected the cracks across its body and looked toward Ian.

It had existed for ages under the duty of guarding this place, eventually becoming a Draugr.

But even so, it remained a northern warrior.

One who knew full well there was nothing more foolish than raging over one's own mistake.

“Your, target is, Frostfang, isn't it?”

“As expected, you figured it out immediately.”

“I can see, where your gaze, goes...”

Ian stared directly at the Draugr.

After battling the boss before him, his practical combat sense had been honed almost to its limits.

There were other rewards as well, including Pacts and the countless weapons scattered behind it.

But the most important one was still Frostfang, embedded in the center.

Its shape resembled an icicle honed to a deadly edge.

‘Mana cold enough to make you shiver just from looking at it.’

For Ian, who had only just awakened to mana, it possessed exactly the kind of properties he needed.

At those words, the ancient northern great warrior tightened his grip on his greatsword.

“This sword, is a sacred weapon, containing the soul, of the North. If you want it, prove yourself.”

“I was already...”

Planning to.

The instant he said it, Ian gripped his sword and shot forward like an arrow.

Considering that the Draugr had always attacked first until now, this was practically a first.

‘But.’

Unlike before, Ian was now confident in taking the initiative as well.

Especially in a place where the entire floor was covered in ice.

Clang—!

Using Frost Step, Ian accelerated in an instant and thrust forward like a bolt of lightning.

The great warrior barely managed to block with its massive greatsword, and fragments of ice fell from its body.

“This much, will not...!”

“Bring you down.”

Ian accelerated even further, as though he'd known that already.

Because he'd spent every single day training Frost Step, Ian understood it better than anyone.

How to move faster.

How to apply it in combat.

‘And how to deceive the opponent.’

Ian had been moving straight forward, but suddenly slid diagonally and immediately swung his sword.

Slash-

For the first time, he felt the unmistakable sensation of cutting into something properly.

When Ian lifted his gaze slightly, what he saw was...

“Hah, young warrior.”

The great warrior stood above him, holding its enormous greatsword.

If that struck him properly, there wouldn't even be bones left to collect.

Ian immediately tried to retreat.

Crack—

But with a sound even louder than before, the fractures across the great warrior's body spread further.

“You, have won.”