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Chapter 265: A Truly Bizarre Sensation

I could see the beginning and the end, but the middle was utterly invisible.

Reaching the realm of late Expert, the unwavering eye I acquired—along with the dragon’s eye I had overlayed—could only barely capture the initiation of a swift strike and the sword’s path.

I thought if I knew the sword’s path, I could block it. I assumed it was an unchangeable truth.

But I felt that kind of common sense shatter into pieces.

Reacting by sight was too slow. Even feeling and responding was sluggish. It was a final strike that required pre-reading to even hope for a defense.

It felt like a painfully clear answer. The way of drawing the sword is a martial art that draws a straight line in the air. There’s no guiding force, no transformation.

Simply seeking pleasure is insufficient. One must reach the extreme pleasure realm to earn their worth as a swordsman.

And Raymond is the pinnacle of such mediocre sword arts.

If one says it’s blocked because it’s fast yet linear, then he means to say that he’ll just accelerate until it can’t be blocked, no matter if it’s linear or not.

“Crazy, isn’t it, Raymond?”

“Cool, right?”

In other words, that’s a challenge. If you can dodge, then dodge. If you can block, then block. A challenge laid out to all swordfighters who share blades.

A wolf’s howl, revealing sharp fangs and painting a broad smile.

There was something different about him compared to ordinary swordsmen. They generally develop a habit of retreating when they feel it’s impossible, but they were different.

If pushing doesn’t work, they push harder. If that fails, they keep pushing.

They were insane. A madness that could be described as somewhere in their mind being sick, felt from a person who had reached the exalted realm known as Master.

That was a starting point, not a finish line. The only guidance Raymond could offer to Choi Yeon-woo, who stood on the verge of the exalted realm of Aura Master in the late Expert stage.

Just as Raymond was consumed by speed, just as Yuri was consumed by the sword, just as Pilar was obsessed with creating blades.

It was a teaching that one had to be consumed by something to break through the wall of Master.

“Isn’t it too early to be telling a greenhorn who hasn’t even seen the wall yet!?”

“Is there anything wrong with knowing in advance? It’s career counseling, career counseling.”

With a sound that shattered the air, the sword sheathe flew toward Yeon-woo’s temple.

If facing each other, Raymond’s sword would head straight for Yeon-woo’s upper body. Realizing this after getting hit a few times, Yeon-woo rolled to the left to minimize the damage.

But out of nowhere, the sword’s trajectory caught the corner of his vision.

‘A straight line… What!?’

The sword that came flying like a Brazilian kick curved in a dramatic arc. The path aimed at his right side suddenly bent and flew toward his left.

“Gah!!”

Startled, Yeon-woo hurriedly pulled his left arm to his waist. A tremendous shock struck his left forearm.

Yeon-woo’s body, which had jumped to the left, was thrown to the right like a ragdoll.

“Oh ho, you blocked that? As expected, your vision is good?”

“That hurts…!!”

“Nice! You won’t give up, will you!?”

“I can’t give up until I at least score a hit!!”

“Good tenacity! You’re a student worth teaching!”

“I’ll be a student with great spirit, right!!”

“That’s not entirely wrong!”

You’re not denying it? Feeling absurd, Yeon-woo chuckled as he rolled on the dirt to regain his stance.

Raymond, seeming to enjoy himself, retrieved the sheathe and fixed it at his waist. Normally, it should have had more gaps than any sword art, but it was surprisingly tight.

Even as Raymond slowly retrieved the sword that had been swung widely, it felt as if that was part of the attack process.

Yet, the fact that there was no choice but to jump in is why Yeon-woo could not win the psychological battle.

A dark shadow leapt from the ground he was pressing down on. Yeon-woo, whose body bounced back like a spring, shot forward like a bullet.

“A straight-line breakthrough!? Quite manly!”

Raymond shouted cheerfully as he gripped the sword’s hilt.

For an attacking enemy, simply placing the sword in their path would typically suffice. However, Raymond did not trust that judgment or his own comfort.

His opponent wasn’t a dull fool; they likely picked the straight-line breakthrough knowing he would.

Thus, Raymond blurred the timing. He swung the sword but lightly gripped the end of the sheathe as if holding a gun.

The sheathe, which should have slid out freely, encountered resistance on Raymond’s index finger, which pressed down with his thumb.

Tick, the sheathe flicked off Raymond’s fingertips, accelerating. He had swung the sword slower than his own charge, yet it was suddenly right in front of him.

Could one truly bring forth the ridiculous term “post-initiating after achieving peak pleasure” into reality?

A choice had to be made. Yeon-woo’s body was enveloped in shimmering mana. Using the forward momentum, he hurled himself into the attack. He had no choice but to select the Yeon-gyeong Gong, which allowed him to see further situations.

Raymond’s sword cleaved through the air. It seemed to slice through several more meters, narrowly grazing Yeon-woo’s chest.

That 2-meter-long blade was naturally difficult to retrieve.

This was definitely an opportunity. If he had gotten this far and was now in a retraction motion, there appeared to be a pin-sized gap in a series of processes that seemed thoroughly unbreakable.

Thinking so, Yeon-woo shattered the mana of Yeon-gyeong Gong to generate thrust.

When Yeon-woo landed right in front of Raymond, Raymond slowly bent down his outstretched arm.

“This tightness…!!”

“Ha-rah!!”

Amidst the rising cloud of dust, Yeon-woo, poised to strike, realized his vision was now enveloped in a familiar dark blue hue.

It didn’t take long to figure out what it was. It was a spinning kick executed alongside Raymond’s battle cry.

“Whoa!?”

It was powerful and fast, but not quite as swift or powerful as the sword; instinctively, Yeon-woo managed to defend against it.

His body was pushed back, and as he turned, Raymond retrieved the sword once more, settling back into stance.

“Wow, that was close!”

“Wow, did you block that? That was really close, huh?”

With an expression void of any sense of danger, Raymond smiled mischievously. Ugh, that’s so annoying. I could have landed a hit. What a waste, seriously.

“That’s quite immature of you, Raymond!”

“There’s no age in the world of swords. Are you seriously going to judge me because I look younger than you? I could be an old monster!”

“Fair point there. Sigh, that old coot isn’t any help anyway.”

“I’ve never seen anyone talk like that to their own master. So you’re really going to keep it up?”

To be honest, having missed that chance, this duel was more or less over. There was little chance of catching another.

It was a big mistake to think that what worked once would work a second time.

But he didn’t want to give up. Even if it meant taking more hits, he wasn’t about to let go of the chance to catch some clue. With that thought, Yeon-woo gripped the sword tighter with both hands.

Watching from a distance, Raymond burst into hearty laughter.

He wasn’t mocking; it was pure admiration that Yeon-woo could grasp.

“Seriously, you’re doing great, kid. Alright, I’ll throw you a bone. If you have any complaints about that old coot’s teaching later, feel free to come to me!”

“I don’t think that’ll happen.”

Becoming Raymond’s disciple sounded like it would result in turning his body into a machine, honestly, so he hesitated.

Noting Yeon-woo’s serious demeanor, Raymond gripped the sword. Uh-oh, is he mad?

“I just wanted to say that I thought you might be thinking something strange, but I’m not angry. I just pondered what I could show you… Hmm, the old coot probably showed you that already?”

Pointing at the sky as he spoke, Yeon-woo, recalling the previous display, nodded in understanding.

“Then let me show you something cool too. You might just lose consciousness after seeing it, so make sure you take it all in?”

As he said this, Raymond gripped the sword sheathe and took his stance, while Yeon-woo instinctively shrank back.

He had no idea what it was. However, he had no confidence in being able to dodge or defend against it.

“Whooo.”

With a short breath, Raymond’s body flinched. And just like that, it was over.

Yeon-woo realized his vision was inexplicably tilting. Just after that, a light, almost feather-like pain brushed against his mind.

“…?”

“Sleep well. I’ll take you to the hospital.”

The last thing left in Yeon-woo’s memory, filled with questions he couldn’t comprehend, was Raymond grinning as he said this.

*

“… A strange ceiling.”

“Oh, Dad’s awake!”

As Yeon-woo murmured, his eyes meeting the green ceiling, a familiar voice chimed in from beside him. It was Shar.

“Oh my, running around and getting hit. You’re so clumsy.”

Following that was the harsh voice of Dawn. What was it? It felt like something extraordinary had happened…

Thinking this, Yeon-woo sat up, wincing at the tingling pain.

“Are you alright? The quick swordsman said you’d be fine…”

“Feels… okay? I think I’m fine, but…”

With Nea’s worried voice, Yeon-woo hurriedly flailed his whole body to affirm his own wellness.

He was healthy. Apart from that, his mind was in utter chaos.

He wasn’t sure, but as Raymond indicated, it seemed like a hospital. It felt more like he had just rested for a while than receiving treatment.

He couldn’t be sure what had happened, even if he recalled the scene right before he fainted.

Unlike Yuri, who displayed sword energy strong enough to deceive the very world, Raymond had showcased a technique steeped in practicality.

Particularly, the fact that he had perfectly controlled the power struck him. It was clear that the body of an Aura Expert wouldn’t be weak enough to lose consciousness from mere pain.

If the force didn’t carry enough pain, it wouldn’t be easy to pass out.

An Aura Expert doesn’t faint from a light slap on the back of the neck.

Moreover, it wasn’t like he had been pierced in the vital point as described in martial arts. It didn’t feel like that either. It felt as though his concept of consciousness had been sliced off by a sword.

Until that moment, he could see the beginning and the end, but in that instance, not even the beginning was visible; nothing was apparent at all. By the time he caught on, the process of swinging the sword was all finished.

‘… He swung the sword without my retina even registering the image…?’

What kind of mad, nonsensical idea was that? Did it even make sense to swing a sword at the speed of light?

“… Is this even possible?”

Realizing the mad impossibility of it, made it clear that he was indeed encountering something truly insane—like the realm of Aura Masters.

(To be continued in the next episode)

 

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