NOVPUBAmidst the cheers, Kwang Gyeong-gu and I materialized our weapon item cards.
Although it wasn’t a promise, we both chose the school-issued items.
As the swords of identical design solidified, they were drawn toward each other like magnets, pointing directly at our opponents.
〈The skill ‘Manmul Usage’ has been activated.〉
Clang!
As soon as the system's notification rang, the sound of blades clashing echoed.
Kwang Gyeong-gu, who had been beyond the starting line, was now right in front of me.
He had moved swiftly, without the sounds of stomping or preparing to leap, as if he had cut through the air with ease.
I silently admired him.
‘Kwang Gyeong-gu usually prefers to overpower his opponents with strength rather than technique, yet he’s fast.’
Despite the impression he gave off, as though he would patiently and skillfully wear down his opponent, Kwang Gyeong-gu preferred quick, decisive victories.
Because his Gwangrim could only be used for 100 seconds a day, he developed a tendency to avoid prolonged battles.
This is why the first strike against Kwang Gyeong-gu was always the most critical.
‘When fighting Kwang Gyeong-gu, one must remain calm even if the fight drags on and practice not giving up.’
Perhaps in an effort to cultivate this mindset, Kwang Gyeong-gu had participated in chess tournaments.
Last year, when we met in the semifinals, the match had been far from over, and there were still opportunities, but Kwang Gyeong-gu declared his forfeit early.
I hoped that wouldn’t happen this time.
This time, it was swordsmanship, not chess, so Kwang Gyeong-gu wouldn’t give up so easily, I thought.
"Surprise attacks and strength won’t work."
Kwang Gyeong-gu, who had been pressing down with heavy force, said something that could almost be considered a compliment.
Despite the restrictions we had imposed, there was no way I would have immediately fallen to this much force.
I had once felt the weight of a massive sword swung by Baek Ho-gun, the greatest weapon master of the Ho Clan. If I had fallen so easily, it would have been disrespectful to the tiger who had taught him.
Swish!
Instead of answering, I swept the sword’s edge to the right and lowered my body.
I aimed to use my size advantage to dive inward and disrupt my opponent’s balance.
However, before I could execute that, Kwang Gyeong-gu quickly stepped back two paces and then leapt forward in an instant.
Screech!
The sound of the blade cutting through the air reached my ears.
Kwang Gyeong-gu had gripped his sword with both hands and was swinging it downward toward me, who had lowered my stance.
I could see the falling sword tracing a clean, straight line in the air.
Seeing the line of the blade that seemed ready to pierce through me, I thought of my next move.
‘Kwang Gyeong-gu is putting all his strength into both hands. If I block it with just my sword, my stance will collapse. I can’t dodge. Thinking of the key techniques of the Iron Blood Twin Sword style...’
Even though Kwang Gyeong-gu was using just one sword now, he could still strike a follow-up attack easily even without the other sword.
Having made up my mind, I stopped my feet and gathered my Inungpa.
The black aura flowing from the hand holding the sword seemed to devour the blade as I channeled the power.
Swish!
Just as Kwang Gyeong-gu’s sword was about to strike, I released my Inungpa, and it enveloped the blade.
The once ordinary iron sword appeared to transform into a black sword instantly.
Kwang Gyeong-gu’s eyes widened as he saw the sharp black sword refined by Inungpa.
Clang!
The swords collided with such force that Kwang Gyeong-gu had to immediately pull his sword back.
It was foolish to meet an Inungpa-enhanced sword with a regular item.
As Kwang Gyeong-gu pulled his sword back, he quickly scanned the blade to check if there was any damage to it.
"This isn’t the effect of Manmul Usage, is it?"
It wasn’t because of Manmul Usage that I could respond like this.
Manmul Usage only helped me wield the sword well, but how to control Inungpa or respond to the situation was entirely up to me.
I had learned to channel Inungpa so quickly into my sword from Baek Ho-gun, who would wrap his white Inungpa around his Baek Ah to strike.
I couldn’t say that, though. I just wanted to make it clear that it wasn’t the effect of Manmul Usage.
"I practiced," I answered. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝙗.𝒄𝒐𝒎
"Right," Kwang Gyeong-gu replied shortly and adjusted his grip on his sword.
In his hands, the Inungpa surged again.
"Then I’ll show you what I’ve practiced."
Kwang Gyeong-gu’s sword blade was now infused with Inungpa.
It was clear he had decided to respond in the same way I had.
The audience, who had been murmuring, was now full of exclamations.
Using Inungpa to enhance one’s weapon and fighting was far more physically taxing on stamina, Inungpa, and mental focus than just fighting with a regular weapon. It was no surprise the audience was amazed.
Although there was no official starting signal, both Kwang Gyeong-gu and I charged at each other again.
Swoosh!
Instead of the sound of metal clashing, the Inungpa energies of both blades repelled each other, and the small explosions reverberated repeatedly.
Even though we were fighting with swords, it seemed as though we were using magnificent Inungpa skills to fight instead.
In terms of swordsmanship, Kwang Gyeong-gu had the upper hand, but when it came to Inungpa control, I was better, so for now, it was still a draw.
My head was spinning from controlling the sword movements and Inungpa flow, and my breath was becoming irregular, but neither Kwang Gyeong-gu nor I was giving an inch.
Waaaah!
The longer the exchange continued, the more enthusiastic the audience became.
Whether they were cheering for me or just watching the match without support, they couldn’t take their eyes off the competition.
I wasn’t bothered by the attention.
I had been used to the attention from spectators since my time as a chess player.
But perhaps because Kwang Gyeong-gu, who was my opponent, had also been in the previous chess competition, and because my classmates were here, I found myself strangely distracted by them.
"...Ugh."
"Jeong-muk, are you jealous of Eui-shin’s Inungpa color? Stop being jealous and cheer!"
"Jeong-muk, your Inungpa color is also beautiful... It's such a delicate and rare color, almost impossible to reproduce with dye."
I could hear the voices of my classmates cheering from afar.
No, it wasn’t just cheering; there were also comments.
The Darkness swordsman, Jeong-muk, who obsessed over black, seemed envious of my Inungpa color.
Also, the already confirmed representatives, Maeng Hyo-don and Dokgo Miro, were cheering, even adding some tactical advice.
"Vice president, stop just swinging your sword, use your fists too!"
"Yeah, one hand can wield the sword, and the other can throw punches."
"Isn’t that easier said than done?"
"It would be easy for you two."
"Right, Miro, I saw you fighting with a mace in one hand and throwing punches with the other."
Manmul Usage was a skill for handling weapons and armor, so I wasn’t sure how much it would help with hand-to-hand combat.
If I used Maeng Hyo-don’s combat skills from the game, I might be able to fight like they were suggesting, but I wasn’t planning on using Gwangrim in this match.
The physical and mental toll was making my head feel fuzzy, but seeing my classmates like this brought me back to my senses.
But unlike me, who drew strength from their support, Kwang Gyeong-gu seemed shaken.
‘The student council members are looking at... Ju Su-hyeok.’
Kwang Gyeong-gu was a diligent student who now fit the role of the student council president, but when he first obtained Gwangrim, he had temporarily gone astray, even engaging in underage drinking.
This was due to the conflict between his father, the famed swordmaster Iron Blood Twin Swords, and the unparalleled genius Ju Su-hyeok who succeeded him.
Although Kwang Gyeong-gu had been influenced by Ju Su-hyeok just before entering Eun-gwang High and regained his composure, it wasn’t without some lingering effect.
Since Ju Su-hyeok recently showcased overwhelming martial prowess, Kwang Gyeong-gu must have felt something upon seeing it.
Thanks to training with Anda-in, Ju Su-hyeok had grown even more, and the gap between him and Kwang Gyeong-gu had widened.
Though Kwang Gyeong-gu’s appearance had already surpassed adulthood, his heart was still that of a teenager, making it difficult to maintain composure when faced with the now much stronger Ju Su-hyeok.
‘Although Kwang Gyeong-gu and Ju Su-hyeok both come from the same dual sword dojo, their roles in an attack team would be different based on their Gwangrim and personalities. To understand that, he needs to handle Gwangrim better.’
But practicing Kwang Gyeong-gu’s Gwangrim wasn’t easy.
Kwang Gyeong-gu’s Gwangrim required him to get hurt to learn and could only be used for 100 seconds a day.
Iron Blood Twin Swords, Kwang Gyeong-gu’s father, trained him strictly and harshly, and with the help of his fans, he had become somewhat familiar with its use, but it was nothing like the growth I had experienced in Plmago.
‘If I could train Kwang Gyeong-gu’s Gwangrim like I did in the game...’
The thought of the game suddenly flashed through my mind, and a plan came to me.
However, before I could think it through, the situation changed.
The Inungpa surrounding Kwang Gyeong-gu’s sword began to fade, and his stance wavered.
As the match dragged on and distractions crept in, Kwang Gyeong-gu, who was weak in prolonged fights, was the first to falter.
I wouldn’t let that opening slip by.
I moved to strike, aiming to completely knock his sword out of his hands.
“...!”
Kwang Gyeong-gu, realizing his situation, tried to react too late.
He instinctively moved to keep his sword from being knocked away.
Unfortunately, in doing so, he moved to my left, and I noticed his movement only after a delay due to my blurry vision.
Kwang Gyeong-gu stretched out his bare hand to intercept the trajectory of my sword.
In a hurry, he raised his hand without any armor or Inungpa protection.
Rather than losing his sword, he chose to block with his arm.
‘No, I’m really going to cut Kwang Gyeong-gu!’
I vividly pictured the scene where my blade would slice through his uniform sleeve and dig into his arm.
I had seen my playable character bleed countless times on screen.
But even after replaying it and seeing the ending of Plmago, I had never gotten used to the blood.
I couldn’t make that scene with my own hands and see it in front of my eyes.
It was the obvious choice Kwang Gyeong-gu would make with his 100 seconds of grace, but I couldn’t accept it.
Fwoosh...
I pulled back the Inungpa wrapped around my sword and forced the blade to change direction.
Instead of cutting Kwang Gyeong-gu’s arm, the sword veered toward the blade.
The speed was fast, but the sword I swung in a collapsed stance drew a sloppy curve.
Clang!
The moment the blades collided, my sword slipped from my hand.
Without Inungpa flowing through the hand that had been holding the sword, I felt a sharp ringing in my hand.
Only after feeling the pain did I feel a bit relieved.
That meant it was now impossible for my sword to cut Kwang Gyeong-gu.
Whoosh!
My sword flew far and fell weakly above the arena.
Due to the noise from the crowd, the sound of my sword hitting the ground might have been hard to hear, but strangely, it echoed loudly.
Seeing me unarmed, the teacher who was overseeing Class 0 shouted.
"That’s enough!"
Kwang Gyeong-gu, still trying to figure out what had just happened, looked on in horror.
People from far away or those who couldn’t follow my movements were still unaware of what had occurred.
But there was no way Kwang Gyeong-gu wouldn’t know.
He must have realized that I had pulled back my Inungpa and intentionally aimed for the wrong target.
Kwang Gyeong-gu, in a hurry, was about to speak to the referee about something.
But the referee spoke first.
"Kwang Gyeong-gu wins!"
Amidst the applause, as I exchanged greetings with Kwang Gyeong-gu, my mind cooled down.
‘If it hadn’t been for me, Kwang Gyeong-gu would have been seriously hurt.’
In Plmago, Kwang Gyeong-gu dies in his senior year of high school, the same age as me now.
But the Kwang Gyeong-gu in Plmago didn’t take things so easily.
The scenes of those I had seen during the selection tournament flashed through my mind.
As a player in Plmago, it seemed the time had come for me to take responsibility for the growth of my playable characters.
