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Due to the nationwide monster outbreak, the academy attack incident remained largely unnoticed for several days.

However, thanks to the government’s swift response and the efforts of heroes, the damage caused by monsters was less than expected.

As a result, the academy attack incident began to resurface.

Unlike the 12 Apostles incident, where there was only one victim, this time all the administrative office staff had died, making it difficult to cover up.

Eventually, Kim Bong-du, the president of the academy, called a press conference, and a tense Q&A session began in an atmosphere that felt more like a hearing than a press conference.

“Is it true that all 24 administrative office staff members died?”

“Yes, unfortunately, it is true.”

“The academy has pointed to an A-Class villain as the culprit. If an A-Class, not even an S-Class, could cause such damage, what was the academy doing at the time?”

“At the time, I was not on-site, so I can’t say for sure, but many instructors were absent to deal with the monster outbreak, which I believe was the main cause.”

Kim Bong-du could have fabricated an alibi to make it seem like he was at the academy, but he chose to tell the truth without any lies.

His refusal to evade responsibility, despite knowing the repercussions, was something rarely seen in politics.

“Where were you during the academy attack, President?”

“…I was outside the academy on official business.”

“The culprit was an A-Class villain. Experts say that if you had been there, everyone could have been saved. What do you think about that?”

“Everything you said is correct. I don’t deny that it’s my fault, and I take full responsibility.”

Kim Bong-du had only been away on official business, not for personal reasons.

However, he announced that he would personally support the bereaved families for life and step down from his position as president.

The reporters who came to criticize Kim Bong-du and create sensational headlines had no choice but to leave empty-handed.

-What, he was on a business trip when the incident happened, what else could he have done? Do you think being a hero makes him invincible?

-What have you reporters been doing to speak so confidently? It’s laughable.

-I have a relative who works at the academy, and they were on their way back to the academy to deal with the monsters as soon as the incident happened.

-What do you mean by “relative”? Are you lying or what?

-You can’t even grasp the context and just nitpick on one word. Your level is showing. Disgusting, please leave.

-Honestly, where is Kim Bong-du at fault here? The incident just took a wrong turn.

-But isn’t it right for Bong-du to take responsibility? It happened at the academy, and he’s the top guy.

-Is Kim Bong-du your friend or something? You little brat, tsk tsk.

Even in the chaotic internet community, people stood up to support Kim Bong-du, saying he wasn’t at fault, but that wasn’t the opinion of all citizens.

In the end, Kim Bong-du stepped down from his position as president.

“The situation is taking a strange turn.”

“Yeah, that guy didn’t seem like a bad person.”

Apart from messing up his child’s education, he didn’t seem to have done anything particularly wrong.

“If things go like this, who would want to step up as president now?”

“How about you do it, sis?”

“…That’s a bit much. What kind of president would I be at my age?”

It was a major incident, but the information about the victims, the administrative office staff, and me was thoroughly concealed.

Some immature students who saw me at the shelter seemed to be posting about it online, but Dae-hyeon and Tae-baek were controlling the situation, so I wasn’t exposed.

Thanks to that, I was comfortably lying in the hospital, eating apples that Jeong Ha-yul was peeling for me.

“Just think about it, sis. If you were president, things would be so much easier.”

“Are you saying that just so you can have an easier time at the academy? That’s mean.”

“I’m already having an easy time at the academy.”

“…?”

Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have said that.

Jeong Ha-yul, who didn’t know what my academy life was like, widened her eyes in surprise.

“What’s so uncomfortable about a student diligently going through school life? Thanks to being your sister, no one bothers me.”

“…Something feels off.”

Thanks to my recent acting skills, I managed to get through without any change in expression.

As Jeong Ha-yul’s suspicions and my desperate attempts to dispel them went back and forth several times, Hwarang Kim Yu-shin arrived.

“Ah, you’re here?”

“Yes, today’s nursing is very enthusiastic as well.”

After exchanging greetings with Hwarang, Jeong Ha-yul naturally left.

“Sis, I’ll be going home for a bit.”

“Okay.”

Hwarang was holding something long and tightly wrapped.

It looked like a sword no matter how you looked at it.

“A gift, I picked it up on the way.”

“…Who picks up a sword that’s already wrapped?”

“…Ahem.”

A real extreme concept enthusiast pretending to be a modern-day old man.

Sometimes the concept breaks, but Hwarang Kim Yu-shin, in his mid-to-late 30s, tries his best to maintain it.

“Anyway, thank you.”

“It’s a Yodo. Weighs 1 geun 8 nyang, about 1 kg. In the swordsmanship I’ll teach you, you’ll need to use this Yodo.”

“If you just picked it up, how do you know so much about it?”

“…Well, as a martial artist, you can tell just by hearing about it.”

It was amusing to see him flustered and making excuses, so I thought about teasing him a bit more…

But, the relationship between a leader, teacher, and parent is one.

In this day and age, there’s no one to serve a lord, so instead of the military-leader-parent unity, it’s the leader-teacher-parent unity.

Anyway, Hwarang is now my swordsmanship teacher. I should show proper respect.

“But if you’re using a sword, why is it called swordsmanship? If you’re using a Yodo, shouldn’t it be called blade technique?”

“Swordsmanship is the art of killing enemies with a sword or blade, and in reality, swords and blades are often used interchangeably, so there’s no need to distinguish between blade technique and swordsmanship. A Yodo is a form that allows both slashing and stabbing.”

I had no interest in weapons, so everything Hwarang said was new to me.

I didn’t even know the difference between a sword and a blade.

‘I think it was something about single-edged and double-edged, but whatever.’

Whether it’s a sword or a blade, what’s important is learning Hwarang’s swordsmanship.

As I nodded in agreement, Hwarang continued.

“The swordsmanship I’ll teach you is called Ra Sword.”

“Ra Sword?”

It was a strange name, whether it referred to Allah or the sun god Ra.

“Ra Sword (羅劍) is the swordsmanship of Silla. The people of Silla called themselves Ra people (羅人), and since it’s the swordsmanship of Silla, it’s called Ra Sword.”

“Ah, I see.”

There was a story behind Ra Sword, but… I wasn’t particularly interested.

Still, since it’s the swordsmanship I’ll be learning, it seemed good to listen, so I paid attention.

“Bongukgeom is known as the swordsmanship of Silla, but I don’t know much about that either.”

He said that with great confidence.

“There’s a passage in Volume 3 of the Muyedobotongji about Bongukgeom, but even for us who carry on the Hwarang tradition, the exact details are unknown.”

I was starting to get tired of the history lesson.

“Anyway, during the Great Cataclysm, Hwarang who awakened as Physical types devised a way to make Ra Sword stronger, and my master and I eventually perfected it. Before, there was no such thing as magic power, and Physical types weren’t as physically strong, so it was essentially a swordsmanship for ordinary people, but we evolved it into a powerful swordsmanship for the Awakened.”

“Ah, I see.”

“You’re reacting just like I did when I first learned Ra Sword. Bored?”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Very much so.”

“…Hehe.”

Even with my improved acting skills, I couldn’t hide the boredom of the history lesson.

“In times like these, it’s better to practice than theory. Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

It was definitely more comfortable to move my body than to sit still and listen.

I thought we were going to rent a training ground, but it was the hospital backyard.

“Is it okay to do this here? In martial arts novels, they say you shouldn’t let others see your training, or you have to kill anyone who sees you training in a martial arts hall.”

“…Even if ordinary people see it, they can’t replicate it. Even if they could, martial arts don’t gain power just by knowing the form, so it doesn’t matter.”

“…I see.”

Not really…

As someone who once said ‘Your martial arts are awesome’ to some guy named Xiao, Hwarang’s words didn’t resonate with me.

But that was like painting my own face with gold, so I decided to keep quiet.

“Watch closely.”

Kim Yu-shin drew the sword from his waist and held it with both hands.

The posture of lifting the sword to his torso. His breathing was calm.

In just three breaths, his breathing deepened.

‘Even with clothes on, I can see his back swelling. With that kind of core strength, he could probably deadlift 1,000 kg easily.’

From a gym rat’s perspective, Hwarang’s posture was incredibly efficient.

Yeah, if your core is strong, you can do anything.

At that moment, the sword moved.

Swish!

His leg stepped forward while his torso rotated, and the blade sliced through the air.

An incredible fast sword.

If I hadn’t focused my magic power on my eyes, I wouldn’t have even seen the sword falling.

At that moment, the grip of his hand changed, and the blade flew diagonally upward.

Is that… a middle sword?

It seemed to carry tremendous destructive power.

You could tell at a glance that it was a heavy and powerful strike.

Kim Yu-shin stepped forward again and thrust the sword forward.

The tip of the sword seemed to split into dozens of strands.

What is that… magic or something?

After that, Kim Yu-shin didn’t stop.

He made a total of thirty-three attacks before sheathing his sword.

“Did you see it well?”

“…Yes.”

“You look impressed.”

Even as a swordsmanship novice, I could tell it was an incredible swordsmanship.

“Are you sure it’s okay to teach me this?”

-You know Ra Sword? You must die!

I wondered if assassins disguised as Hwarang would come after me for knowing this level of swordsmanship.

“As I said earlier… it’s ultimately a swordsmanship perfected by my master and me. If I say I’ll teach it, who’s going to object?”

“Thank you!”

This was a total win.

Without caring about others’ opinions, I bowed right there.

Once.

Twice.

Just as I was about to go for the third time, Hwarang stopped me.

“…Why are you bowing so much?”

“Isn’t it supposed to be nine bows or something?”

“…Nine bows aren’t nine times. You just need to bow according to etiquette.”

“Ah, I see.”

Fitting for an extreme concept enthusiast, he seemed quite knowledgeable in this area.

I didn’t know much about etiquette, so I decided to stop there.

Then suddenly, Hwarang got upset.

“…But that doesn’t mean you should only bow twice, you brat.”

Hey, if the concept breaks right after praising it, what am I supposed to do?

Even my new swordsmanship teacher wasn’t normal.

 

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