Episode 8. The identity of self-talk. (2)
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luck.
It was pure luck that I avoided the Sword Saint’s blow.
“hmm!?”
Geomsung raised his eyes. He probably thought I was a huge expert. So, the master was prepared to hit or dodge his sword or even counterattack… He probably didn’t expect me to roll on the ground so obnoxiously.
“Oh, Sword Saint. Wait. “Listen to me!”
It didn’t matter if I died. Because I followed him to die anyway. However, even if I died, I wanted to die after finding out whether there was a way to resolve the misunderstanding of Geomseong. That way, unnecessary conflicts will be avoided from the next episode.
“I’m a really worthless F-class hunter…”
“Dodging my sword. “He must be a top assassin!”
“Ah, is this old man deaf!?”
It was a big deal. Instead of resolving the misunderstanding, it deepened.
Avoiding the attack earlier was, again, pure luck. I couldn’t even track with my eyes where and how the blade came from. That old man had skills that far exceeded my cognitive abilities.
‘If it attacks again, I will never be able to avoid it!’
In the end, do we have no choice but to give up on persuasion?
I saw the Sword Saint slowly approaching, prepared to die.
“······.”
Stop.
At that time, Geomseong hesitated for a moment. The footsteps had stopped.
At first, I thought to myself:
‘oh? Are you trying to hear me out?’
But no. Geomseong did not look at me. The old man with white hair was frowning into space. I also took a quick look to see if there were any mosquitoes flying around, but there was nothing in the air as expected.
“···Didn’t I say I would take care of it?”
The old man spoke in the empty air.
“···noisy. Let’s capture him and interrogate him. “Is it okay to let a devil like this live?”
I was talking to myself again.
‘what?’
The swordsman, who seemed like he was going to cut me down at any moment, stopped his sword for some reason. Instead, he began mumbling constantly to himself. The imminent crisis has been postponed to some extent.
I narrowed my eyebrows.
‘By any chance… is talking to myself a skill?’
okay. Maybe that was the case.
People at the bar thought that the old man was mentally ill. But now, as I watched him talking to himself right in front of me, something was different. Would you say it’s a bit sophisticated for a mentally ill person? The old man really seemed to be talking to someone.
‘Telepathic skills?’
Suddenly, such a hypothesis occurred to me. Telepathy or transmission. The technology to communicate freely even with people who are far away. I knew that such skills actually existed.
‘Then… are you going to share information about me with other people?’
A chill ran down my spine.
‘Like they found the guy who massacred 4,091 people?’
Wanted order.
The Hunter Management Bureau very rarely designates a wanted criminal. It’s a wanted order in words, but in reality it’s no different from an order to kill someone. The wanted criminal turns all the large guilds into enemies and is chased by the top rankers.
Until he was publicly executed in the public square of Babylon, a city on the first floor of the Tower.
‘That’s not enough.’
I clenched my teeth.
‘You must die immediately!’
So that you don’t get a wanted order even if it’s impossible. So that I can go back 24 hours and erase everything that happened. I had to die immediately, without a moment’s delay.
I glared straight ahead.
“···It was done. My mind has already been made up. No matter how much he is a teacher…”
The old man was still muttering to himself into space. I wasn’t 100% sure if it was just an old man’s mental illness, or if he was actually talking to someone. However, even though I was not sure, I opened my mouth to prevent the worst disaster.
“How are your grandson and granddaughter?”
The old man suddenly stopped talking to himself.
And then he slowly turned his head towards me.
“I’ve been hearing news that the outside world is ugly these days. Sword Saint’s grandson and granddaughter would definitely be pretty. “You must be very worried.”
“······.”
Dark blue eyes.
The eyes were as calm as water scales in the deep sea.
“I heard they were originally from a wealthy family in Northern Europe. Aren’t such families more likely to be targeted by terrorists? You never know. “Unbeknownst to Master Swordsman, his granddaughter has already lost her life to thugs…”
Suddenly.
‘uh.’
A sound like a ripe apple being cut in half.
‘what.’
At first I couldn’t understand what it meant. I was looking at the old man all the time. Obviously the old man didn’t move. He didn’t even move. He was just silent, with his old lips closed.
Where did the sound come from?
The strange things didn’t stop there. Originally, Geomsung was standing straight on the ground. But isn’t the ground turning over more and more?
The horizon tilted. The half moon turned over and floated in the night sky like a ferry boat. In the middle of a world where the night sky was upside down and the upper moon was tilted towards the lower moon, there was only one old man hanging on the horizon.
“······.”
The old man’s blue eyes watched me. The eyes that were tied to the sky resembled starlight, and it seemed like I knew why the old man was called Geomseong (劍星).
And then I realized.
‘ah.’
The ground had not turned over.
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My head was cut off and falling upside down.
One blow.
‘beautiful.’
My eyes could not read the blow the old man swung. Although I couldn’t read it, I was able to see the world after the blow had split it apart. Looking at it, I thought it was beautiful.
A moment later, I bumped into something. Her mind was blank. My ears were deafening. I couldn’t hear anything. It was only later that I realized that my head had hit the ground.
By the time I realized that, nothing was visible to my eyes anymore.
[You are dead.]
What kind of skills do you have?
How long does it take to train to reach that level?
[The skill condition is achieved due to death.]
I was caught up in completely different emotions than when I was killed by the Flame Emperor… completely opposite emotions. I felt betrayed by the Emperor. He wanted revenge.
However, it was not for the Sword Saint.
‘I want to be like him.’
I was just jealous.
‘I want that blow.’
A feeling I felt before I knew the true nature of Flame Emperor Yoo Soo-ha.
‘I want it too!’
Jealousy. Possessive. east longitude.
Endless desires once again set my heart on fire.
And there was a voice that answered my fire.
[Randomly copies Hunter Markus Callenberry’s skills.]
Cards appeared in a darkened world.
[Forms a skill card.]
Sigh!
All cards showed only the back side. Is it to hide which cards contain which skills?
‘Still, the color of the card is more visible than when I was killed by the Flame Emperor.’
Maybe it was because I had already adapted to death. Number 4090. As the Sword Master proved with his [Kill Count Skill], I have already experienced death thousands of times.
There is no hunter more familiar with death than me.
‘I’m not bragging, though.’
It was that moment when I wanted to smile bitterly.
[Please select a skill card.]
The cards that were floating quietly in the air began to fly quickly.
‘Wow!’
It was so sudden that even I was startled. But I soon came to my senses and focused on the cards.
‘I don’t need anything else. golden yellow! ‘You must draw a golden card.’
It was fast. It was almost impossible to consciously follow it.
‘oh my god.’
Even when you were killed by the Flame Emperor, did you pull out a golden card from all the cards flying around so quickly? I? How did you do that? It may be surprising, but I was incredibly lucky at that time.
‘There’s no way that luck won’t come your way once more here! Ego. golden yellow. Where are you, golden?’
however.
Something was strange.
‘ok?’
No matter how closely I looked, I couldn’t see it.
‘I don’t think there is a golden card…?’
Among the cards flying before my eyes, there were poop-colored cards and silver cards. However, the golden shining card was nowhere to be found. I tried to concentrate several times, wondering if I had seen something wrong, but there was nothing there.
There is only one possibility.
‘Seo, really?’
I was astonished.
‘Is it really… nothing?’
From the beginning.
The Sword Saint had no S-class skills.
3.
‘This is ridiculous!’
I felt like screaming.
‘Myeongsaek is the number one hunter in the rankings! He’s a hunter who reigned like a legend until the plague appeared, but he doesn’t have a single S-class skill!?’
It was absolutely hard to believe. But it was true. It was none other than a clear proof of my skills. The sword saint, Marcus Callenberry, reigned supreme alone without any S-class abilities.
Truly shock and horror.
‘no. no! ‘This can’t be happening!’
My reaction in the face of shock and fear… was simply denial of reality.
‘There’s no doubt that among the silver cards there’s a Gaechaki skill!’
Should I call this miserable or disgusting?
Anyway, I was desperate. With great earnestness, I stared at the cards.
‘There are three poop-colored cards. ‘4 silver cards.’
In total, 7 cards were flying around.
‘Poop-colored cards are completely ignored.’
It was a reasonable choice.
Now the question is which silver card to choose!
Probably [Kill Count Skill] is included among them. And there will also be an unidentified fraud skill.
Of course, I didn’t want a skill as subtle as kill count, but a skill that was as deceptive as a regression skill.
‘1 in 4 odds!’
In a word, gambling.
The winner had to be chosen purely by luck.
‘Please leave!’
I stretched out my hand.
‘I’m begging you to do it just once! Sword Saint’s morale skills!’
And snatched the silver card.
[Selection complete. Copy the skill.]
[Returns to 24 hours ago.]
dot
dot
dot
dot
dot
dot
“-Huh!”
I swallowed a groan and jumped up.
A small room.
I was greeted by a spacious, 2-pyeong room that seemed to enrich my heart. The bedding had a musty smell as it had not been washed for a long time.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to look at the single room.
“Did you float!?”
I immediately checked the ability window.
To find out whether I succeeded or failed in a gamble with odds of 1/4!
+
Name: Gongja Kim
Rank: F grade
Skill (3/4)
1. I want to be like you (S+): Passive
2. Returner’s Clockwork (EX): Passive
3. Sword Constellation (A+): Passive
4. None
+
“ah···.”
I sighed. There was a mixture of admiration and lamentation.
“It’s fortunate that I picked an A-Place level skill…”
First of all, wonder.
Even though I didn’t reach S rank, I was still relieved that I had made the best move. Avoiding subtle techniques like the kill count skill was also fortunate.
“···Is this a passive skill again?”
And lament.
What I initially aimed for was combat skills. Some kind of rare martial art. Swordsmanship or something. Or a technology that awakens Aurors. Most of those abilities are active skills.
In other words, I failed to acquire the highest level of combat skills.
“ha.”
A sigh passed.
“No, if you think about it, this is also a complaint of being full…”
If countless low-level hunters hear my lament, they will go crazy. Where did you get A+ level skills, so how dare you complain?
okay.
I decided to think positively. For now, let’s focus on the skill in front of us.
“Skill card open.”
Slurp.
Cards that were visible only to the hunter himself came to mind.
[I want to be like you (S+)]
[Returner’s Wind-Up Clock (EX)]
[Sword Constellation (A+)]
Constellation of swords. Just by looking at the name, I had no idea what the skill was.
“but. “I want to be like you, but my name is really weird.”
It was difficult to judge whether a skill was a failure or a winner based on the name alone.
Maybe it was an amazing technique.
It was the moment I consoled myself and grabbed the silver card.
-ah. What’s so loud?
An unexpected voice came from somewhere.
-Grandpa. This master has said this over and over again. If you go out to practice at night, do so quietly.
“······.”
-When you move, I just follow along. There’s no need to wake me up. Please, let’s live while keeping each other’s manners. huh?
slowly.
Slowly, I looked in the direction the voice came from.
Bedding in a single room. I was in a place where it was too cramped for me to lie down alone. Something vague but definitely present. The thing was lying like a bull with its back to me.
“hey.”
I got goosebumps.
“who are you?”
-uh?
And then I made eye contact with something unidentifiable.
ghost. Ghost.
Something that can never be seen in a living human being.
-Huh?
The ghost had a grim expression. He might have been mistaken for a gorilla if he hadn’t been wearing clothes. Her physique was stretched out and her ghost even frowned its eyebrows, giving her the appearance of a horror movie lead.
-hey. who are you?
“···I want to ask you a question. who are you?”
-Can you see me?
I nodded hesitantly.
“yes.”
-Can you hear my voice?
“Uh oh. “If you look at the way we can communicate now… I guess it’s probably because we use common sense.”
what. Am I talking to a ghost right now?
I thought that a normal ghost would walk around like a monster, filled with resentment from when it was alive. But this ghost was different. Except that her torso was blurry, she spoke like a human being.
-Huh, strange? This can’t be happening.
The ghost tilted its head. It seemed that I was not the only one who did not understand the current situation.
-Where are we? It’s as narrow as a doghouse. Where has Grandpa Marcus disappeared and why is a brat like you in front of me?
Then, for the first time, words that I could understand came out of the ghost’s mouth.
“uh. If it’s Marcus… Marcus Callenberg? “Are you talking about the Sword Saint?”
-Tsk tsk. Well, it’s too much for a beginner like that to be called a sword saint.
The ghost clicked its tongue as if it didn’t like something.
-Anyway, it’s true that you are called that way. Where did you go? It should be around here.
I was dumbfounded.
‘The swordsman is a beginner?’
The current ranked #1 hunter. Since Flame Emperor Yoo Su-ha is destined to be killed by me, he will probably reign at the top until the distant future.
What exactly is the ghost in front of me who calls such a big man a mere beginner? And why did I suddenly start seeing ghosts in my eyes?
“······.”
Just to answer the question, I turned over the silver card.
Then I read the skill description.
+
[Constellation of Swords]
Rank: A+
Effect: From another world. I cleared the Tower of Another World up to the 99th floor, but was frustrated just before the 100th floor. That resentment remained, and he became Bae Hu-ryeong without being able to attain Buddhahood. Although it cannot physically interfere with this world, it is possible to interfere with its owner’s mind.
Ask his wealth of experience and amazing skills for advice!
※However, no one except the owner recognizes Bae Hu-ryeong.
※This skill is copied from Hunter Marcus Callenberry.
+
I am at a loss for words.
-hey. Grandpa, where did you go? Are you chewing my words now? Write it. hey. hey! Even though I was like this, I did well in the past! If you blink just once, most warriors will jump to their feet on their own, but what the hell are you talking about?
oh my god.
I think I copied Bae Hu-ryeong, the Sword Saint.
etc,
