I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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The ritual of the Jeokcheon Church aims to summon a demonic being from another dimension using a massive amount of life force as fuel.

To achieve this, the process of narrowing the distance between the two dimensions must precede it, and the result of that artificial movement is precisely that great fissure.

Unlike decades ago, the collision created by movements that disregarded the laws of dimension.

Thus, the aftermath of the collision could only grow much larger.

‘That’s not the end of it.’

The great fissure of such a size has opened throughout the world, creating immense damage even at this very moment.

We need to take action as soon as possible.

‘The ritual isn’t over yet.’

The fortunate aspect is that the descent of the demonic being hasn’t begun yet.

It had progressed more quickly than originally planned, but we still hit the timing just right.

“What do we do? Did something go wrong?”

“Calm down. It’s not a mistake.”

“Really? The world isn’t collapsing or anything, is it?”

It was when Hanarins looked anxious, her feet shuffling in worry.

Flap!

A white dove flew down from the sky, circling over Kim Il-shin’s head.

It kept flapping its wings wildly, panting heavily.

‘…Kim Tae-sang?’

It was not the typical movement of a dove, so I recognized it immediately.

It was the dove under Kim Tae-sang’s control.

It seemed he had been active on the hero side even after finishing the previous task.

Flap flap!

“Ah! What’s wrong with this bird?!”

The dove that was circling over Kim Il-shin’s head now pulled at Hanarin’s clothes and tugged at them.

As Hazuki observed that, she spoke up.

“…Isn’t it telling us to follow?”

Noddle noddle noddle!

The dove nodded crazily.

Hazuki, unaware that Kim Tae-sang was behind the dove, looked skeptical.

“It’s safe to trust it. It’s a dove controlled by Kim Tae-sang.”

Knowing who Kim Tae-sang was, they readily agreed.

“Let’s follow it.”

With that, Hanarin and Hazuki nodded too.

Following the dove, which kept looking back, they ran towards the underground of Cosmo Academy.

Krooooom!!

A gigantic monster soared through the sky, its wings spread wide enough to block out the sun.

Monsters like it, capable of effortlessly destroying an entire city on their own, filled the sky.

Yet, Kim Il-shin followed the dove without hesitation.

Hanarins and Hazuki didn’t voice any concerns either.

There was no need to worry.

Goooor…

The frigid energy pressing down on the atmosphere.

With every powerful trajectory unleashed, countless monsters were torn to shreds.

The great hero Baek Ho-san was protecting the people, moving across the sky and ground at an unimaginable speed.

As long as he was there, the world wouldn’t fall apart.

*

Kwaaaahhh!!

“Phew. That’s intense.”

“Truly impressive…”

Namgoong-min and Namgoong-hyuk gazed up in awe.

Numerous trajectories were etched high in the sky.

Monsters that had fallen victim to that overwhelming power were descending.

Each of those monsters had formidable strength.

However, standing before Baek Ho-san, they looked no bigger than flies.

“Let’s go again.”

“Oh, are we finally good to go? I thought I was gonna die of boredom waiting here.”

“I’m the one who waited, what are you talking about?”

The two resumed their banter as they gripped their weapons once more.

‘I wish Ahu was with us.’

Swoosh!

Facing a formidable foe only made weak thoughts arise incessantly.

Namgoong-hyuk slapped his cheeks hard, shaking off his inner weakness.

He knew he was still lacking. But even with this insufficient strength, there was much he could do.

“Ugh!”

“Help!”

Like rescuing civilians who hadn’t evacuated yet.

“I’ll hold them off. You take care of those people first.”

“Okay.”

The Namgoong brothers immediately kicked off the ground and dashed.

Namgoong-hyuk leapt, breaking the ground beneath him, and grabbed the claws of the descending monster to divert its attention.

Clang! Kwang! Kiieeek!

“Alright! Evacuation complete!”

In that time, Namgoong-min had safely evacuated civilians and rejoined.

“I’ll finish this in one sweep.”

The two directed their mana toward the encroaching monsters.

“Here we go!”

And just as they were about to finish their preparations and swing their swords—

Swoosh.

“…Huh?”

“What’s that?”

The ground in front of them began to freeze over.

“…This is.”

Feeling a familiar energy, Namgoong-hyuk looked up at the sky.

He saw someone falling with their sword raised high.

‘Is it the great hero…?’

Though the sunlight obscured the figure, he could guess their identity from the aura and chill.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh—!!

Proving that thought right, the torrential strikes came down like a rain of swords, slicing through all the surrounding monsters.

But in that process, Namgoong-hyuk felt something amiss.

The swordsmanship was similar, yet there was something different in it compared to Baek Ho-san’s.

Unlike Baek Ho-san, who swept everything away, each descending strike showed a hint of delicacy.

“I almost didn’t recognize them because they’ve changed so much.”

After all the monsters surrounding them had been wiped out, Namgoong-hyuk stepped on the frosty ground and looked up.

A woman, her white hair blowing lightly, descended like a snowflake.

It was Baek Ha-yeon, who he thought had gone missing without a trace.

“Wait.”

As soon as Namgoong-hyuk landed, he seized Baek Ha-yeon, who seemed about to rush off in some direction.

“It’d be better to head 11 o’clock instead. I heard reports of a signal being picked up there.”

It seemed she wasn’t even connected to the heroes’ communication network, so he handed her a receiver.

“Thank you.”

Baek Ha-yeon slightly bowed her head in gratitude and then disappeared in the direction Namgoong-hyuk had pointed.

The Namgoong brothers set off again to where they were needed.

“Was that really Baek Ha-yeon I knew?”

During their journey, Namgoong-min muttered, tilting his head.

It made sense. Though her appearance hadn’t changed, her aura was different from before.

“She seems more composed now.”

“Yeah. Looks like she’s gained some enlightenment.”

“Still, she didn’t have to help us.”

“That’s true.”

The two carried on their usual conversation as they raced ahead.

In their wake, countless monster corpses began to pile up.

Even as students, they were evaluated as key players among the heroes and were even assigned as aides to great heroes.

Their skill and talents were exceptional to the point that active heroes were astounded by their rapid growth.

They were considered immense prodigies.

However, contrary to the public perception, the brothers’ true talent lay not in their physical abilities but in their mentality.

Even after witnessing realms and talents they could hardly fathom, they never succumbed to despair—instead, they burned with fighting spirit.

That kind of competitive edge was the core of their growth process.

And the Namgoong brothers were once again fueled by Baek Ha-yeon’s transformation.

“Do you think she’ll accept if we ask for a duel later?”

“Who knows? We might not even see her again.”

“Not Ha-yeon, but the great hero.”

“That’s insane. That would be an amazing idea. Alone, you wouldn’t stand a chance, so it’s better to ask simultaneously.”

The two raised their lips in a grin as they extended their swords.

Coooorr!

A storm advancing, ripping through the earth, crushed the monsters and the remains of buildings, granting sunlight to the civilians below.

“Let’s go. We’re still not enough.”

“Yeah. We need to get stronger.”

Knowing better than anyone that there were higher skies above, they nevertheless refused to stop dreaming of ascent.

*

Swoosh! Crash!

The white sword strikes shot out like a blizzard, consecutively bursting the heads of the monsters.

Having exterminated the monsters in the area where support was requested, Baek Ha-yeon immediately moved on to the next destination.

‘The signal went dead five minutes ago. I need to hurry.’

Baek Ha-yeon sought out the hideout of the witch Barbatos as per Kim Il-shin’s suggestion and met its owner there.

Facing the emotionless puppet-like witch, she confronted her own pain and realized how weak and ugly she had been.

Accepting that realization straightforwardly took quite a bit of time.

It wasn’t difficult to accept her mistakes, but admitting her weakness was not an easy task.

However, after countless repetitions, she eventually embraced every part of herself.

Enduring fear and hesitation, she made a new choice.

[Have you made your choice?]

[I want to return to the original path.]

Long ago, when she first took up the sword, she set a goal.

To be recognized by the great captain Baek Ho-san.

But that wasn’t the original intention.

Her true goal was not just to be acknowledged by Baek Ho-san but to become a ‘hero’ acknowledged by Baek Ho-san.

Having made that choice, Baek Ha-yeon committed herself to training and strengthening her power. Feeling an unusual crisis, she emerged to fulfill her duties as a hero.

‘And….’

If only allowed, she wanted to meet him again someday and apologize.

This was not a goal but rather a wish.

Swoosh.

At that moment, Baek Ha-yeon felt someone’s gaze.

It was just a brief instant, but she could sense the identity of the gaze’s owner.

‘Captain.’

She still had much to discuss with him. Of course, after closing that fissure.

Boom…

As she reached her destination and was about to engage in battle, Baek Ha-yeon suddenly turned her head toward Cosmo Academy.

There, a chillingly ominous energy was rising.

Baek Ha-yeon forcibly ignored it and charged toward the horde of monsters.

She believed she could overcome it, for she had the strength.