I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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“But the monster’s front leg resembled the weapon that person used, so I accidentally messed up without realizing it. I shouldn’t have done that…”

“No! That’s understandable! You did well, you did well!”

Diltiri awkwardly smiled as Hanarin fussed over him.

“Nothing happened, right? Just be careful next time! Um! Then!”

Her anxious demeanor, as if she had done something wrong, actually made Diltiri laugh.

Even though it hadn’t been long since they met, Hanarin was already looking after him like a younger brother, so she understood why he was acting that way.

“Thank you for saying that. And you don’t need to worry so much. There’s not much time left now.”

Diltiri turned his head toward Kim Il-shin and asked.

“Right, Master?”

“Yeah. There’s not much time left.”

Hearing the answer, Diltiri smiled.

Hanarin also felt relieved and began to look forward to the upcoming meal.

‘…It really isn’t long now.’

Then suddenly, a thought occurred to Diltiri, and his expression stiffened.

‘You said you would return when the job is done.’

Kim Il-shin mentioned he would return once the work was finished, also adding that he wouldn’t go back until it was perfectly complete.

However, Diltiri didn’t know what Kim Il-shin considered “perfect.”

So he also didn’t know when the day he would return would be.

‘Is he going right away…? Or will he stay a bit longer…?’

He was overwhelmed with curiosity and wanted to ask, but Diltiri decided against it.

He didn’t want to think about parting just yet.

*

Two weeks later on a morning.

Kim Il-shin visited the shield workshop where Hanarin was, to check on what he had asked her to do.

“How is it?”

Hanarin proudly held out a small camera with a satisfied expression.

It was a form even better than he had imagined. It had all the functions he had said would be necessary, perfectly integrated.

“That’s impressive… I was worried you’d have a lack of resources, but that was unnecessary worry.”

“Hmph! A craftsman doesn’t shy away from tools! Aren’t I awesome?”

“You are awesome. Now all it needs is to be attached.”

“That’s a piece of cake! I’ll bring it tonight!”

“Thank you.”

“Hehe. Oh, there’s something I want to show you! This is something I just made…”

After seeing all of Hanarin’s inventions, Kim Il-shin left the workshop at the right time.

“See you later!”

Waving to Hanarin, he headed toward the training ground in the south.

“Hello! You’re heading to the training ground, right? Have you eaten yet?”

“The apples I just picked are really sweet. Want to try one?”

“What kind of meat are you having today? Beef? Pork? Just let me know and I’ll prepare something good ahead of time.”

On his way, people who spotted Kim Il-shin approached him with friendly voices.

‘Things sure have brightened up.’

Kim Il-shin thought as he checked the quest window.

[Deliver the citizens of the walled city from their complete fear.]

[Progress: 76.7%]

Along with the smoothly increasing progress percentage, the scenery of the city had changed significantly as well.

When he first arrived, the faces of the citizens had been lifeless, but now they were filled with vigor.

Yet amidst this peaceful scenery, there were things that didn’t blend in.

‘…That’s grotesque.’

The weapons set up far above on the castle walls were ominous in size and shape.

The crossbows looked like they were from the same family but had grown several times larger, and the size of the arrows had increased correspondingly.

Moreover, alongside the arrows, explosives were attached, and there was even an automated system to make reloading easy.

With those, even large monsters would find it hard to escape unharmed.

He had wondered why the blacksmiths had been on the walls all day lately, thinking they were doing repairs, but somehow it turned into this.

He had asked if it was Hanarin’s doing, but she had a troubled expression and said otherwise.

“I don’t know… I tried to stop them. Once they got a taste of firepower, they went crazy.”

Just as she had said, ever since the attack, the blacksmiths had become obsessed with firepower.

They were building larger and stronger weapons to install on the walls, and the madness surrounding this was overwhelming.

Nevertheless, there seemed to be no need to stop them.

It wasn’t like they were abandoning their duties, and it also helped protect the city.

‘Can’t help it, given the aesthetics.’

Taking his gaze away from the eyesores on the walls, he noticed people walking down the street holding large books.

They were all students attending Hazuki’s classes.

“Where did you get to yesterday?”

“To Chapter 31.”

“Oh man… You covered a lot of ground… Can I keep up?”

“Then why did you take a day off?”

“My mom’s birthday.”

“Well, that’s unavoidable.”

Recently, the number of students attending Hazuki’s classes had increased significantly.

Not just scholars, but ordinary citizens had begun to take classes.

The idea that accumulating knowledge to develop the city was also an important role had spread.

‘Even if the number of people increases, it doesn’t change much,’ they said.

He had worried that, with all these students suddenly rising, it might be hard for a single person to manage, but Hazuki said it was not a problem.

They could just find a bigger space, and the other scholars who were already there would help out well.

He said it was also quite fun to teach.

‘But what’s that?’

There was a single book that all the passing students were clutching to their chests.

It was too far to see the title, but the covers were all made of luxurious leather.

‘How important must that content be?’

Kim Il-shin briefly wondered before stopping. He had already arrived at his destination.

The training ground in the southern forest of the city boasted facilities much larger and better than the previous makeshift ones.

There were high-quality weapons, exercise equipment, and even food.

Compared to the days of carrying logs, it was an excellent place for training.

“Master, you’re here!”

As Kim Il-shin entered the training ground, Diltiri was the first to greet him, and behind him stood eager-looking trainees lined up.

Seeing that, Kim Il-shin thought.

‘It’s almost time.’

In two weeks, there would be another attack. Kim Il-shin planned to clear the quest that day.

That meant there were only two weeks left until he would return to his original dimension.

He didn’t know how things were progressing over there, but if things stayed on course, it seemed he could match the timing.

*

“Ugh… My eyes are about to pop out.”

Feeling the stiffness, Kim Tae-sang loosened his abilities for a moment and pressed his eyelids with his fingers.

He hadn’t slept much over the past few days, and his body was screaming.

His eyes felt like they were going to fall out, and his head was spinning.

Clink.

Kim Tae-sang naturally picked up a nearby can and gulped down coffee.

Despite being filled with a tremendous amount of caffeine, it didn’t wake him up; it just upset his stomach.

“Tsk. Should I ask for an even stronger one?”

“No need for that.”

“Oh, you’re here?”

As Kim Tae-sang turned his head back, Park Eun-ho was standing there.

Unlike his pale self, Park Eun-ho had the same usual expression as always.

‘How can this guy not be tired at all?’

Even when Kim Tae-sang couldn’t hold out and would sneak in a quick nap, Park Eun-ho was awake.

He had never seen him sleeping, which made it all the more mysterious how he could appear so normal.

“I’ve told you how harmful this is. How many times?”

“What’s the point? Once I drink it, my mind clears up completely, and I can’t stop.”

“How about stretching instead?”

“I’ll pass on moving my body.”

In the past few days, Kim Tae-sang had grown much closer to Park Eun-ho.

He could still seem a bit scary when he was expressionless, but now they had a relationship where they exchanged jokes.

“You’re doing a lot.”

“Aw, what have I done?”

Kim Tae-sang spoke humbly, but Park Eun-ho thought what he had done was truly remarkable.

So far, Kim Tae-sang had been monitoring the Jeokcheon-gyo while helping develop plans and at the same time preventing other victims.

Although Jeokcheon-gyo was hiding to devise their plan, there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t create more victims in the process.

What Kim Tae-sang had been entrusted was safeguarding against that.

Every time such events occurred, Kim Tae-sang’s abilities shone.

As a result, there had been no civilian casualties up to now.

“No, you saved many people.”

Park Eun-ho emphasized that point before continuing.

“You’ve done well up until now.”

A short sentence. Kim Tae-sang instantly grasped the meaning behind it.

“Does that mean…?”

“Yeah. The planning is finished. The principal has completed preparations.”

“…What’s the start date?”

“Today.”

“You’re starting right away.”

“There’s no good in dragging it out.”

Kim Tae-sang felt a mix of relief and unease.

He did feel liberated from Kim Il-shin, the demon, but something felt off.

“You’ve really worked hard so far. …Hmm.”

Kim Tae-sang sensed some strange hesitation in Park Eun-ho’s demeanor.

Normally so confident, he seemed to be hesitating about something.

‘Looks like the team leader is nervous too.’

However, Park Eun-ho wasn’t hesitating for that reason.

“Kim Tae-sang. Once this is over, where do you plan to go?”

“Hmm. I guess I’ll rest for a bit first. I’ve been through a lot.”

“If there’s nothing to do, how about joining my team and trying out the hero’s work?”

“That sounds good. …Huh?”

Kim Tae-sang answered without thinking and was suddenly startled by what he just said.

He stepped back and mulled over Park Eun-ho’s words.

‘I, a hero…?’

No matter how he thought about it, being a hero didn’t seem to suit him.

How could a coward who gets startled by a passing leaf be a hero?

‘But…’

Kim Tae-sang glanced at Park Eun-ho’s face.

The trust he had extended to him, along with the sense of achievement and pride he had gained over these past few days, felt irreplaceable.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Kim Tae-sang spoke.

“I will be waiting, Team Leader.”

“…Thank you.”

Having received the desired response, Park Eun-ho smiled, and the second operation to eradicate Jeokcheon-gyo commenced.