I Obtained Sword God Level Talent

24 – 024. Different Stances (3)

“Why is such a young lad acting so melancholy?”

“Ah, I was deep in thought, I suppose. What brings you here, Elder?”

Swoosh.

I straightened up and bowed my head. Sword Demon watched me, pleased, and approached slowly, saying,

“Chance is fate. Fate is necessity. Necessity is destiny.”

“……”

“That we met on this deserted road, that is surely what chance means.”

With a faint smile, the Sword Demon was suddenly standing calmly beside me.

“I wish to impart a simple martial art to you.”

“…To me?”

“Humans, by nature, like to leave their mark. Don’t fret over it too much.”

I feigned surprise and looked at him.

‘Sword Master…’

I knew of the Sword Demon’s generous nature, how he gave freely to his juniors.

Therefore, I had put in my best efforts to catch his eye. Thankfully, he seemed to hold me in high regard.

‘Jackpot, a mega-jackpot. Is it swordsmanship? Or maybe a mana cultivation technique? If I had my pick, it’d be a movement technique.’

I was curious about what martial art he would grant me.

The fact that ＜Sword Demon＞ was an incredibly powerful warrior was undeniable. But what made him an even more special being was… his ability to create martial arts, an ability that bordered on the divine.

“The myriad things return to their origin, all divine techniques ultimately merging into the same flow. I hope you won’t feel burdened.”

“Martial arts are inherently insular. If what you teach me could later become a hindrance to you, I will resolutely refuse.”

“Hah! This one, honestly.”

It was a calm declaration, spoken with a voice that seemed to wear a mask of steel.

The Sword Demon’s eyes, as he burst into laughter, were overflowing with affection. He then shook his head and continued.

“What I will teach you is a footwork technique and a movement technique. I guarantee that no one can find fault with you or me.”

Footwork and a movement technique?

‘Oh, ohh!’

The very words I had longed to hear flowed from the Sword Demon’s lips. Footwork and movement techniques were, in simple terms, ‘mobility skills.’ Abilities that could be used anytime, in battle or otherwise… the kind of skills that were universally useful.

*Swish.*

“Watch me closely.”

The Sword Demon shifted his steps slowly, yet smoothly.

“It’s called the Heavenly Wandering Footwork. It is arrogant, but holds a power just as strong. Think of it as neither footwork nor movement technique, but something else entirely.”

Heavenly Wandering Footwork? I didn’t remember it. It was, quite literally, a ＜Sword Demon＞ handmade martial art.

*Saaah.*

It was clearly a stride across the dirt ground. Yet, ridiculously, his steps were incredibly light. It was as if he was walking not on the ordinary earth, but… a ‘cloud.’

“A masterpiece that combines footwork and movement technique into one.”

As the Sword Demon had said, I watched his movements with the utmost seriousness. My hands tightened instinctively, and a subtle tension rippled through me.

‘I can’t let this incredible opportunity slip by.’

Eyes straining, I trace the Sword Demon’s steps.

Truly, there’s a mystical depth to his light gait. Soft and swift. Yet, neither frivolous nor showy.

‘Zeun-jong…? No. Something slightly different from that?’

The Sword Demon is a martial artist from the Wudang Sect. Therefore, the martial arts he wields or creates are deeply imbued with a softness. However, the steps he’s displaying now aren’t just limited to that one characteristic.

‘…Ah.’

Only then did I find the word to express this strange feeling.

‘Loneliness.’

The Sword Demon’s footwork was filled with loneliness.

If someone who didn’t understand martial arts saw it, they might sneer, saying, “Pointlessly sentimental,” but what I see now is a detached, utter loneliness.

“A tiger climbing a mountain. A hawk soaring in the sky. Like a dragon playing in the clouds.”

*Thud thud!*

“The internal qi flows to the legs, eyes scan the twenty-four directions, the mind analyzes the space where combat will occur.”

The wide open space began to fill with the phantoms created by the Sword Demon.

“……!”

Afterimages born of a realm that reached the extreme.

‘…Can I even follow a movement of the 8th stage?’

Apart from that astonishing scene, and from the highly abstract explanation of the Sword Demon, a groan involuntarily escaped me.

‘It’s harder than I thought.’

In ＜Silver Ring＞, footwork and body techniques were just things where you read a book or were taught by a master, and a message like “You have awakened to the Flying Shadow Step!” would just *ping*.

But reality was cruel. The already difficult studying felt like jumping into advanced problems without even knowing the basics.

“Seeing with your eyes and internalizing it with your body are entirely different matters. Don’t be so tense, and move your body, follow me.”

“……Understood.”

“Move the internal qi. And like the water flowing in a deep mountain valley. Let it flow naturally to your legs.”

“……”

A problem arose right from the start.

…Flow qi to my legs?

I’m different from ordinary mana awakeners. Unlike them, who store mana in their dan-jeon, mana flows throughout my entire body.

“Understanding with your mind, learning it with your body is a difficult matter. The answer is only time. Therefore… before I leave, I will help you understand it fully in your mind.”

“Understood. For now, I’ll try to follow your movements as best as I can remember.”

The Sword Demon nodded and replied briefly.

“Just so. Embodiment is like that, by nature.”

“Yes.”

*Swish, swish!*

Lucky for me, my head remembers his movements perfectly.

‘A tiger climbing a mountain. A hawk soaring the sky. A dragon playing in the clouds.’

The intense focus made my back strain. But I didn’t stop moving.

‘Flowing qi to my legs. Eyes on the twenty-four directions in front. Mind on the space where the fight is taking place.’

*Whoom.*

Depending on understanding… the flow of mana throughout my body naturally reversed. As if it already knew the direction I intended to go, the energy in my lower body guided my legs forward.

There was no path. I become the pioneer. My two legs create the way forward.

*Tap tap!*

‘Light yet heavy. Fast yet slow. Flashy but not frivolous. Soft yet rough.’

And…

‘Lonely, but not lonely. Like a sturdy tree that grew alone on a cliff.’

It was then that something incomprehensible and mystical happened.

*Whoosh!*

‘A path… opens. No, is seen.’

It felt like a dazzling ‘path’ materialized on the floor. The flow of mana, my every step, the path I was going to take, followed my vision like a road sign on the ground.

‘So this is it.’

What the Sword Demon called ’embodiment’ wasn’t anything special. Head and body naturally leading the way the legs should go. That’s embodiment, that’s assimilation.

*Hooom!*

I felt the illusion that space was compressing.

It was a unique experience, like teleportation in movies or dramas, the feeling of actually jumping through space itself.

‘This…is fun?’

Before I knew it, my lips curved into a smile. I wondered if I’d ever have an experience as enjoyable as this in my entire life.

* * *

“W-What?!?”

The Sword Demon stumbled backward, his jaw dropping.

Forgetting all decorum befitting an elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

He rubbed his blinking eyes, checking what was directly in front of him. The scene he’d glimpsed for a moment wasn’t a delusion; it was still vividly replaying itself.

“How can this be…”

It wasn’t enough to just gasp in admiration.

To perfectly replicate a footwork technique after only seeing it once, hearing it explained only once?

It was almost impossible to believe. If his colleague had told him this, he would have scoffed and told them to stop talking nonsense.

But.

What was happening before his eyes was no illusion. Like an incarnation of martial arts sent by the heavens, the cute junior he met today was perfectly understanding and showcasing the martial arts that had been etched into his very soul.

“Hah… it’s the footwork itself that’s different.”

Frey, who didn’t seem to possess a deep understanding of it yet.

Naturally, he couldn’t create afterimages like him, but the movement itself was flawless. How could he not be astonished?

‘Tsk, if only I could take him to the Sacred Sect, I wouldn’t envy any wealth or power.’

The situation, as it unfolded, only amplified his regret! Perhaps even searching across the entire Eastern Continent, no, the entire world, one wouldn’t find another talent that shined so brightly.

‘What a shame.’

…Actually, it wasn’t just a shame.

For the first time in his life, he felt his stomach churn with frustration at the fact that he couldn’t acquire this talent.

“Who will end up taking a talent like that…”

As he saw it, this junior didn’t have a master. Which meant, he had awakened the martial arts on his own, reaching the verge of the peak of the 5th realm with his own power alone.

“Heh heh.”

Then, a somewhat plausible piece of information flashed through his mind.

There was a way…! What if, instead of taking this phenomenal successor as a disciple, he could bring him in a slightly different way?

“Heh heh heh heh.”

That’s it. That was it. The Sword Demon marveled at his own ingenuity. From the start, if he couldn’t take him as a disciple, wouldn’t it be a simple matter to bring him into a closer relationship?

‘I need to contact the Sect Leader quickly.’

The Sword Demon’s calmed gaze turned forward. There, stood Frey, stepping on the ground like a butterfly.

* * *

“This is where we part ways.”

The next day, inside the carriage in the early morning, the Sword Demon announced their separation.

“You’re already leaving?”

A slightly wistful feeling couldn’t be helped.

Regardless of the fact that he’d been expecting his favor and received instruction on martial arts, the Sword Demon was a great adult, a worthy role model for everyone. Parting from him felt undeniably sad.

‘…Sword Father.’

A warmth-tinged smile from the old man made my mood shift strangely. His warm encouragement, back when I was on the ＜Demonic Cult＞ path, patting my back, was still vivid in my mind.

“The ties of fate aren’t so easily severed, you see. Who knows? Maybe we’ll meet again soon.”

Thump!

The Sword Demon, having mumbled softly, stepped out of the carriage.

“And, be careful. The fact that I, who belongs on the Eastern Continent, am here, means there’s a reason for it.”

“……Huh?”

“A group from the Blood Cult has infiltrated this vicinity. They are extremely wary of exposure and won’t readily show themselves, but if you happen to encounter them, don’t look back, just run. You are not their match, not yet.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

I bowed deeply, my sincerity genuine. With that brief farewell, the Sword Demon vanished as if he were a phantom.

And then.

We ran into the remnants of the Blood Cult that very afternoon.