Chapter 104 – The Tower of the Forgotten Warrior (3)

“It’s just so absurd! Why on earth do the Skeleton Soldiers know our Taeseong Sword Style!”

Since she couldn’t ask the skeletons directly, Heo Jeong-ah could only complain.

“Why do you keep questioning things in the Abyss. It’s meaningless.”

“But it’s just too strange. This isn’t some hidden camera show.”

“You won’t get an answer anyway. Not right now.”

“Not right now? Then, does that mean an answer might come later?”

“Who knows. Maybe at the very end of the tower, we might find the truth. If there’s a story to it, that is.”

“A story…”

Heo Jeong-ah mulled over the word ‘story’.

Then she soon shook her head and continued speaking.

“No way. There can’t be a story! There’s no way someone from our Taeseong Sword Family would have taught swordsmanship to some skeletons.”

She jumps to conclusions too easily.

Without knowing anything.

“Shall we go up to the 2nd floor first?”

“Alright. By the way, when did Family Head Kim Jeong-rak go through the portal?”

He had left about 30 seconds ago.

Kim Jeong-rak must be in a hurry.

He hadn’t found any clues yet in this place where he came to find his two sons.

When Heo Jeong-ah and I passed through the portal, the same scenery appeared before us.

A world identical to the 1st floor.

The only difference was that the portal to the next floor was already created from the start.

Of course, it was made so that one couldn’t pass through right away.

The area around the portal was surrounded by a hazy barrier.

“What is this place!”

In any case, this was a space of nothingness.

A huge circular void surrounded by outer walls.

And at that moment, a small spark appeared in the air.

Zzzzt.

Tearing through space, what appeared again was a Skeleton Soldier.

As expected, it held a sword in one hand.

“Skeletons again?”

It was unexpected.

It was the same type of entity as the skeletons we met on the 1st floor. And just one of them wouldn’t be able to do anything against us.

“I will fight first this time.”

Kim Jeong-rak declared that he would step up immediately.

A display to make up for the disgrace on the 1st floor.

“Please do.”

When I thought about it, humans were quite amusing animals.

He planned to kill me anyway, so was there really a need to manage his image?

Well, since he himself wanted to restore his honor, I had no intention of stopping him.

Kim Jeong-rak immediately raised his sword.

An energy as if to split the skeleton in two emanated from his entire body.

It was an interesting situation for me as well, to see if he could show the dignity of a family head this time.

But the skeleton’s steps were not directed towards us.

Clatter.

Clatter.

The exact opposite direction, with us at its back.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

Heo Jeong-ah gestured with a dumbfounded expression, but the skeleton did not stop its steps.

Clatter.

Clatter.

Eventually, the place where the skeleton stopped was the barrier spread out in front of the portal. In front of the barrier, the creature raised its sword.

‘What is it trying to do?’

A completely unexpected development.

The skeleton began to calmly swing its sword towards the barrier surrounding the portal.

A vertical slash followed by a horizontal slash, and occasional diagonal slashes and thrusts.

Simple movements continued.

“The basic forms.”

As if to show us, all of the skeleton’s movements were equipped with discipline and restraint.

“That bastard!”

Heo Jeong-ah, who was watching, finally spat out a curse.

The sword style that the skeleton was performing was, once again, the Taeseong Sword Style.

“Warriors who are first initiated into the Taeseong Sword Style must learn that.”

“That bag of bones! What the hell is it!”

“I guess it’s a skeleton raised by your family, or something.”

“This isn’t a situation to joke around!”

Heo Jeong-ah couldn’t close her agape mouth, as if she was dumbfounded.

And when the skeleton stopped all its movements.

Craaaack!

The barrier shattered.

“What the! No matter how great our Taeseong Sword Style is, does the barrier break that easily?”

Since it only utilized the basic forms of the Taeseong Sword Family, it wasn’t actually of great power.

That Skeleton Soldier was just a small fry like the ones on the 1st floor.

However, all the movements the creature showed were so clean and disciplined that they could have served as teaching material.

A moment later, the Skeleton Soldier entered the portal and made a graceful exit.

At the same time, a barrier formed around the portal again.

Kim Jeong-rak, who had been preparing for battle, could only let out a hollow laugh.

“That skeleton was a guide.”

It was showing us that we had to break the barrier to go up to the 3rd floor.

Heo Jeong-ah grumbled again.

“But why the Taeseong Sword Style again! It’s annoying!”

There was something I had to check.

The reason why the barrier from a moment ago was dispelled so easily.

Even though the Skeleton Soldier hadn’t launched such a great attack.

“Family Head. Will you go first?”

“Isn’t it obvious, since I’ve already drawn my sword.”

Kim Jeong-rak did not back down.

He must want to restore his pride by breaking the barrier with his dignified swordsmanship.

Kim Jeong-rak raised his sword.

Formidable mana began to surge.

An will to end it in a single blow was felt.

A power incomparable to what the Skeleton Soldier had shown a moment ago was imbued in his sword.

And.

Craaaaaaaash!

Truly the momentum of a one-hit kill.

The tip of the sword, shot like a venomous snake, struck the center of the barrier.

Kim Jeong-rak wore an expression without a hint of doubt.

Since a satisfactory blow had been delivered, he must have thought this barrier would soon collapse.

But the reality he faced was completely different from his expectations.

Only a loud noise echoed. The barrier remained intact.

“…This is strange!”

Kim Jeong-rak was so shocked that he couldn’t continue his words.

He couldn’t possibly accept the fact that his swordsmanship was inferior to that of a Skeleton Soldier.

That was a part I also acknowledged.

A moment ago, the blow Kim Jeong-rak had unleashed carried a formidable power that couldn’t be compared to some skeleton.

[The barrier will not break unless the method is the same as the Skeleton Soldier’s.]

“Hah!”

Kim Jeong-rak let out a hollow sigh.

But within it, a sigh of relief must have been included.

It was certified that the reason he couldn’t break the barrier was not due to his skill.

[The next Skeleton Soldier will appear in 24 hours.]

The Abyss’s message made the theme of this quest clear.

To learn the basic forms of the Taeseong Sword Style and disable the barrier.

But there was a person here who didn’t need that process.

As if I had known that in advance and brought her here.

Heo Jeong-ah looked at me with a hardened face.

“It’s a bit strange, but I should step up, right?”

I nodded my head.

“You’re the star of this 2nd floor.”

“Still, I don’t like it. To think our Taeseong Sword Style is being used as quest material in the Abyss.”

“Thanks to that, we don’t have to wait another 24 hours.”

“What 24 hours. Honestly, without me, 100 attempts would be far from enough, don’t you think?”

I admit it.

No matter how basic the forms are, grasping the subtlety of a sword style just by watching is a very difficult task. For most people, it’s a difficult task even if they spend their entire lives, not just 100 attempts.

“It would be amusing in its own way if you failed.”

“What are you talking about. There’s no way that would happen.”

Heo Jeong-ah walked steadily towards the barrier and aimed her sword.

“Ah! Something feels off.”

Kim Jeong-rak, who was suddenly made awkward, could only step aside.

“That wasn’t directed at you, Family Head.”

“…I know.”

“Then, could you move aside a little more?”

Kim Jeong-rak moved further away with an awkward expression.

Heo Jeong-ah took a deep breath.

It might be a bit of a burden for her.

She had to do much better than the skeleton, at the very least.

Swoosh!

Swoooosh!!

Heo Jeong-ah began to perform the basic forms of the Taeseong Sword Style.

Movements she must have repeated thousands, tens of thousands of times since she was a child.

Naturally, there was no room for fault.

[The barrier has been disabled.]

“There was no twist.”

“That’s a given.”

But there was one thing I hadn’t expected.

[Only the one who has disabled the barrier can pass through the portal.]

No free rides.

In the end, it meant that every individual had to perform this quest.

[Do you wish to pass through the portal? If you refuse, the barrier will be created immediately.]

The choice was Heo Jeong-ah’s.

Now, I had to keep in mind the possibility of a showdown with Kim Jeong-rak.

I didn’t know what he would do once Heo Jeong-ah left.

My friend! Things are getting interesting. Kehehe.

But if the situation escalated to that point, it would deviate from the big picture I had drawn.

Kim Jeong-rak had to stay alive until the very last moment.

Only then could my curiosity be satisfied.

“Refuse!”

Commendably, Heo Jeong-ah did not choose to go to the 3rd floor right away.

“Why?”

“Let’s call it loyalty. If I leave, you, Seo Ji-han, might never be able to escape the 2nd floor.”

“Your worries are excessive.”

“You should bow to me once.”

Heo Jeong-ah suddenly spouted strange words.

“What do you mean by that.”

“You should show courtesy to your teacher for a day. Shouldn’t you?”

It turned out she meant she would teach me the basic forms of the Taeseong Sword Style.

I was so dumbfounded that I could only laugh.

“What! Are you laughing right now?”

During my time as Johan Raven, I traveled the entire continent and learned many of the world’s sword styles.

But no one was ever treated as a master by me.

Everyone thought of it not as teaching me, but as having their own swordsmanship tested.

“I guess the Taeseong Sword Family is okay with teaching the family’s sword style to others just like that.”

“The basic forms aren’t a secret. And we’re not as stingy as the Haewon Sword Family.”

“So if I show the courtesy of a disciple, you’ll teach me the sword style?”

“So bow first. I won’t force you to do the full nine prostrations.”

“I refuse.”

“What?”

I didn’t know if she was joking or serious, but there was no reason to play along with this.

I had already seen the basic forms of the Taeseong Sword Family twice just now.

The beginning and end of all sword styles, though different in form, are ultimately connected.

It wasn’t that I, who had mastered numerous sword styles, needed to be taught the basic forms of a single family to be able to use them.

“I can imitate it right now.”

“You’re funny.”

“It’s just the basic forms.”

“Don’t you know that the basics are the hardest?”

“I’ll succeed within three tries.”

“What kind of bluff is this!”

“Move aside.”

Heo Jeong-ah’s eyes widened, as if daring me to try.

I raised the Holy Sword Bastian.

I closed my eyes.

And then, I replayed the situation from a moment ago.

How the Skeleton Soldier and Heo Jeong-ah had broken the barrier.

The form of the technique is just a shell.

What’s important is the way mana is imbued into the sword.

The breathing.

The connection of all movements starting from the tips of the toes.

The space between the straight lines created by the sword.

And even the seams.

My friend! But wasn’t saying three tries a bit of an overstatement!

Actually, I agree.

I just said it in case, but why three times.

It seems I’ve become much more humble since being reincarnated as Seo Ji-han.

Swoooosh!

Swoooooosh!

Bastian cut through the barrier, creating a sound of tearing air.

A sword path being filled perfectly without a single gap.

I was certain.

Even I had to admit, the statement about three tries was too much of an exaggeration.

[The barrier has been disabled.]

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