---

I bowed to my new swordsmanship master and drew the Yodo sword I had received as a gift.

Though not extravagant, I admired the sleek design of the scabbard. As I gazed at it, my master spoke up.

“From now on, that sword is no different from your lover.”

“My lover?”

Indeed, it was a statement fitting for someone deeply immersed in their concept.

‘Think of the sword as your lover.’ It reminded me of something I’d often seen in martial arts novels.

“Whether you’re eating, sleeping, or showering, since it’s your lover, you must never let it leave your side. It’s specially treated, so it won’t matter if it gets wet.”

“I see. I’m only 14, so I’ve never held a lover while eating, sleeping, or showering, but I’ll do as you say.”

“…”

Due to my young age, there was a disconnect with the Hwarang concept.

At 14, holding a lover? It suggested a rather open-minded view of relationships, and it was surprising coming from Hwarang Kim Yu-shin.

Realizing his mistake, he quickly corrected himself.

“Ahem… Think of it as family, not a lover.”

“Yes, Master.”

But I still think of it as a lover.

Families don’t do that kind of thing.

“Hold the hilt with your left hand, then place your right hand 2-3 cm above it.”

“Like this?”

“Yes, exactly like that.”

I thought holding it closer would be more stable, but there must be a reason for this grip.

Later, when the sword becomes familiar, I can do as I please, but for now, it’s important to learn everything by the book.

But whether he noticed my expression or it was part of the explanation, he continued.

“If you hold it with both hands close together, you’ll have to rely solely on arm strength to cut, which will tire you quickly. By spacing your hands apart and applying force in opposite directions, the blade will flow naturally. This conserves the energy used in cutting.”

Cutting with hands close together, then with hands apart.

Seeing my master demonstrate, I immediately understood.

Pulling with the left hand and pushing with the right, the blade moves forward without much arm strength.

At first glance, it seems like a weak movement, but when combined with the force of the cut?

Whoosh—

“Yes! That’s how you do it.”

The sound of the wind was much stronger than when I swung with just my arm.

Master Kim Yu-shin was truly a one-hit instructor.

“Return to the grip, and from the little finger, apply force in order as you curl your fingers. This will slightly turn your fist inward, naturally straighten your elbow, and lower your shoulders into a relaxed posture.”

“Hmm… It doesn’t feel comfortable at all.”

“That’s because your upper trapezius is overly tense. At first, everything feels unnatural and tense. Just maintain the posture, and you won’t need to focus on relaxing. It will become natural over time.”

“Use your left hand to feel the cut, and your right hand to control the direction.”

The lecture on grip techniques continued for another 30 minutes.

I wanted to just grab it and swing, but since I asked to learn, I listened intently.

“That should be enough to avoid being laughed at as a baby holding a sword.”

Finally, the lecture on grip techniques ended.

But… the theoretical lessons were far from over.

-The sword must flow without interruption, and you must skillfully use the wrist’s twisting force.

-You must sense even a single leaf falling on the sword.

-If the sword shakes, it means you’re putting too much force into your body.

-If you can’t stop the sword at the desired point, it’s no longer swordsmanship.

-When attacking an opponent, don’t just wound them. Killing is the ultimate goal.

-A wound on the back is a swordsman’s shame.

…That sounds like something Zoro from One Piece would say.

Perhaps swordsmen share a common understanding.

I doubt my master has watched One Piece, though.

For over an hour, I was indoctrinated with the mindset of a swordsman.

I couldn’t understand why we had to come outside for this.

“That’s it for now. You can find more lectures on the basic qualities a swordsman should have on the Hwarang app.”

“…Hwarang app?”

“Times have changed, and we’ve adapted by running an app.”

A community for Hwarang practitioners to bond.

Online lectures on swordsmanship.

A library of various sword techniques besides Ra Sword.

Even a marketplace for trading swords.

The app was as polished and robust as something made by a major corporation.

The pinnacle was the swordsmanship feedback board.

Following the app’s guide, you can film the part you want feedback on, and the AI will draw the optimal sword path based on your body type.

Watching the AI-generated video and following along, the AI will point out mistakes in real-time.

They even developed this themselves.

Hwarang Kim Yu-shin was a pioneer in IT, developing and operating an app that was a culmination of modern civilization.

‘He’s not just keeping up with the times but leading them… yet his speech…’

Hwarang Kim Yu-shin, the ultimate concept enthusiast, was truly an enigma.

But now, he’s my master.

I can’t call him a crazy person anymore.

***

“This is the Hwarang Pupil technique.”

“Wow, this is a really unique method. Even while using magic power, it recovers.”

“It’s essential for awakened ones who use martial arts. Among them, the Hwarang Pupil is an exceptionally stable mental technique. Even the Chinese martial world covets it.”

“My sister never taught me this.”

“It’s unnecessary for a Demon King. If I had the strength and magic power of a Demon King, I wouldn’t use such a complicated method to manage magic power.”

“…True, one punch would end it all.”

My sister, often regarded as the world’s strongest, recently opened her 365th magic circuit.

She says there’s no difference, but her magic power has more than doubled, and the speed at which it circulates is almost imperceptible.

She gives off a vibe similar to a queen.

Staring into her eyes feels like being sucked in.

If that’s not transcending humanity, what is?

Perhaps transcendent beings don’t come from monsters but from humans.

‘Is my sister planning something like ascending to immortality?’

***

Hwarang Kim Yu-shin explained the technique and demonstrated it, so it was Jeong Gyeoul’s turn.

“I’ll give it a try!”

“Don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t work the first time. Keep a relaxed mind.”

Kim Yu-shin didn’t expect Jeong Gyeoul to succeed with the Hwarang Pupil on her first try.

Even he, called a genius, could barely infuse magic power into his breath by the second week.

Jeong Gyeoul, also called a genius, was expected to take between two to four weeks.

“Got it! I’ll try it casually!”

But… Jeong Gyeoul didn’t need such a process.

She immediately circulated her magic power along the path Hwarang had shown.

All her magic power was under her control, moving perfectly according to her will.

The deepened breath from the Hwarang Pupil filled her body with a sense of fullness with each inhale.

And with each exhale, all distractions vanished, and Jeong Gyeoul entered a state of no-mind.

With just one breath, she not only awakened the Hwarang Pupil but also reached the wall that took Kim Yu-shin three years to overcome.

“…What? She’s already facing the wall?”

Normally, it takes years of enlightenment, and when the time feels right, one enters seclusion to break through the wall.

That’s called achieving greatness, a stage where no further learning in that mental technique is needed.

But a phenomenon like Jeong Gyeoul, on the verge of greatness the moment she enters the mental technique, was unheard of.

Though extremely flustered, Hwarang was an S-class hero, a descendant of the great Hwarang.

He already knew how to handle this situation.

He surrounded Jeong Gyeoul with magic power, blocking all sounds and setting up a perimeter to prevent anyone from approaching.

Meanwhile, the Yodo sword in Jeong Gyeoul’s hand moved.

‘The sword?’

He already knew she had secretly learned fist techniques from Xiao Lin.

He thought she would use fist techniques to complete the mental technique, but she unexpectedly drew a sword.

Soon, the sword moved.

Ra Sword, Quick Style 1: Thunder Strike.

The quick sword technique Hwarang Kim Yu-shin had shown Jeong Gyeoul.

The Thunder Strike, piercing enemies faster than lightning, unfolded from Jeong Gyeoul’s hand.

But that wasn’t all.

Swish!

The swiftly swinging sword suddenly began to slow.

The weight in the swing seemed to surpass the limit of the 1kg Yodo sword.

Ra Sword, Mid-Level Style 1: Falling Star.

The mid-level sword technique, Falling Star, meant to bring down stars.

Swish!

The sword’s momentum changed again.

The heavily swinging sword became light.

Magic power raced through her body’s circuits following a new method.

The magic power, intensely writhing from the pupil, began to concentrate in her wrist.

Soon, the sword seemed to stretch.

The blade multiplied endlessly, stopping only at a thousand.

Ra Sword, Illusion Style 1: Thousand Changes Strike.

The sword technique with a thousand forms, Thousand Changes Strike.

All the sword techniques Hwarang had just shown Jeong Gyeoul were being perfectly replicated.

“Insane…”

A curse slipped from Hwarang’s mouth.

The Quick, Mid-Level, and Illusion Style 1 techniques.

Normally, Hwarang practitioners spend a year just on the first technique.

Even Kim Yu-shin took several months for each technique.

But Jeong Gyeoul perfectly replicated them in just one day.

“In three years… I’ll be caught up.”

Hwarang Kim Yu-shin felt a sense of crisis he had never experienced while teaching countless Hwarang.

He envisioned a future where all his secrets would be exposed, and his status as a master would plummet.

“Is this it? Nothing more? Ra Sword isn’t all that impressive.”

Hwarang seemed to hear Jeong Gyeoul’s voice in his ears.

Whether searching for the later forms of Ra Sword or creating new techniques.

He had to do something.

Hwarang’s mind began to race.

“Phew…”

Jeong Gyeoul, having finished her breathing, trotted over to her master.

“Well done.”

“Hehe, thank you!”

Hwarang decided to slow Jeong Gyeoul’s learning speed by focusing on physical training.

While other Hwarang practitioners learn sword techniques alongside physical training, Jeong Gyeoul had already mastered the first technique.

He decided to focus solely on physical training for three months.

‘If I teach her the second technique, she’ll master it in a day.’

Five thousand repetitions of various cuts, totaling thirty thousand.

Even Hwarang himself didn’t do this level of intensity without using magic power.

Without the Hwarang Pupil to protect her body, this routine would harm rather than build strength.

If Jeong Gyeoul couldn’t use the Hwarang Pupil, he would reduce the repetitions or assign different training, but since she had already achieved greatness, he believed she could handle it.

***

“Do I really have to do this?”

“It’s the perfect training method for you.”

“…But this is a bit much.”

“Hey! It’s the master’s command.”

“…Understood.”

After seeing my Hwarang Pupil and swordsmanship, my master assigned daily tasks.

He said he would teach me the second technique after three months of training…

The problem is that this routine is something you’d see in manga or novels, meant for protagonists.

-5,000 horizontal cuts.

-5,000 vertical cuts.

-5,000 diagonal downward cuts.

-5,000 diagonal upward cuts.

-5,000 forward cuts.

-5,000 backward cuts.

I guess I’ll have to give up weight training.

Even though the sword only weighs 1kg, swinging it 30,000 times is no joke.

‘But it’s okay, I decided not to be defeated so easily anymore.’

I already do something similar with telekinesis training using weight plates every night.

As the younger sister of a fitness enthusiast, I’ve never skipped physical training, so this mission doesn’t seem impossible.

‘Hwarang is Hwarang. This is it.’

Making a 14-year-old middle school girl swing a sword 30,000 times barehanded.

I thought about using magic power, but since it’s physical training, it’s clear that magic power shouldn’t be used.

‘If I ask, he might look at me like I’m pathetic.’

Suddenly, I became curious about Hwarang Kim Yu-shin’s daily routine.

“Master, how many do you do?”

“About double the routine I assigned you.”

Wow, 60,000 barehanded sword swings without magic power?

Amazing, our master!

 

---