I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

---

‘Why are these guys here…?’

It couldn’t have been a misunderstanding.

Beneath the mask, the figure’s body, seemingly stitched together, bore the exact characteristics of the bishop from Kim Il-shin’s memories.

With a pallid, ashen complexion that looked like he was afflicted by some disease, yet with dense muscles that seemed unyielding.

The wrapped right hand gripped a dark green sword at his waist, exuding a chilling aura.

‘The Sword Demon.’

This being was none other than the Sword Demon, who had met his end at Baekhosan months ago.

He hadn’t survived through some means; the Sword Demon had completely perished there.

What stood before Kim Il-shin now was merely a puppet made from his corpse.

However, it could not be underestimated.

‘Because this is a puppet created by him.’

Kim Il-shin looked at the man standing before the Sword Demon.

He was tall and scrawny, his body grotesquely contorted.

The puppeteer of the Dark Heaven Sect, Werther.

The puppet made from fragments of the Sword Demon’s soul surpassed the real Sword Demon in strength.

‘Has the hidden route been activated?’

The hellish battlefield they had faced against the Great Hero.

Recovering the Sword Demon’s corpse from that place had been no simple task, and the chances of entering the hidden route were incredibly slim.

Kim Il-shin had only heard of it but had never experienced it himself.

However, he was well aware of the Sword Demon’s infamy associated with that route.

His strength was so renowned that it was clear even without searching for it.

Players unaware of entering the hidden route had met bad endings solely because of him.

He had often seen the posts on the community where they expressed their frustration.

‘First, I need to avoid him.’

Currently, they were unaware of Kim Il-shin’s true identity.

Before a situation they dreaded occurred, they had to escape this place as quickly as possible.

The Sword Demon was assessed to be stronger than Vernica.

With the puppeteer Werther present as well, victory seemed bleak.

Given Hazuki’s skills, she wouldn’t even be of much assistance in a fight against them.

Kim Il-shin tucked away his book deeply and lightly whispered to Hazuki before heading for the door.

“Let’s go now.”

However, he felt no movement from Hazuki, who was following behind him.

When he turned to look, she was staring blankly at the Sword Demon.

‘…What’s going on?’

Noticing the strange atmosphere, Kim Il-shin grabbed Hazuki’s hand and pulled her along.

“Snap out of it. Let’s go.”

“…Ah. I-I’m sorry…”

Only after touching Kim Il-shin’s hand did Hazuki finally regain her senses.

Shaking her head, she followed him, though her steps seemed heavy.

‘The reason can wait for later.’

Kim Il-shin passed by Werther and the Sword Demon, making his way to the exit.

With each step, a chilling sensation crept along his spine, triggering alarms in his mind.

Click.

As he turned the doorknob, he heard Werther’s dry voice from behind.

“Is there a book left behind by the Demon Lord here?”

Kim Il-shin’s hand, which was turning the doorknob, halted.

What they were searching for was the Demon Lord’s book in his possession.

The reason behind their search was not entirely clear to him.

The fact that beings like Werther and the Sword Demon had come personally meant that the book was extremely significant to them.

However, the relationship between the Demon Lord and the Dark Heaven Sect was something that even someone who had played [COSMO] countless times like Kim Il-shin was unaware of.

Kim Il-shin turned the doorknob and opened the door.

Getting out of this place was more urgent than solving this mystery.

What they might do if they didn’t get what they wanted was painfully obvious.

“Oh that? That guy over there already bought it!”

“That’s too bad.”

Thud.

The sound of the old man collapsing. Immediately, Kim Il-shin pushed Hazuki outside and turned around.

“Watch out!”

An attack from the enemy was already pouring in.

The deadly strikes, each with their unique trajectories, were nearing them.

‘Is that Baeksan Swordsmanship?’

The Sword Demon was mimicking the technique that had taken his life.

Though it could not reach the level of perfection achieved by Baekhosan, he had enhanced it by integrating his own abilities.

The sword strikes came at him like leaves swaying with the wind.

Even with his muryeongshi, he couldn’t perfectly read their movements.

Thus, Kim Il-shin concentrated on understanding the enemy’s psyche.

Boom!

As he leaped upwards, the arcs aimed at his limbs became useless and dispersed.

Those fixated on the book would not target places it might be hidden.

Having dodged the attempts at his limbs, what remained was his neck.

Swish—!

Spinning forward, he slashed down with his sword from the momentum built up.

With the dark crimson radiance shining, he cut through the incoming strike that arrived horizontally.

Yet still, he did not stop, crashing down with a black wave of energy behind him.

Kwahwaaaang——!!!

That strike completely obliterated the ground of the vast area, even bursting through the surrounding walls.

“Let’s go!”

As the rising dust clouded his vision, Kim Il-shin grabbed Hazuki’s wrist and ran.

Hazuki didn’t panic and followed closely behind him.

“What, what is this!”

“What’s happening! Guards!”

People who rushed outside without grasping the situation were in a state of disarray.

Kim Il-shin sprinted past them at maximum speed.

Hazuki, unable to keep up, seemed almost to lift off the ground. Their destination was the exit of this place.

“Kim—no, Lord Shin! Behind!”

While trying to call out his name, Hazuki came to her senses and shouted backward.

In her eyes, the Sword Demon was barreling through the crowd without a care.

Thump thump thump thump thump!

Everywhere the Sword Demon’s feet landed, the ground shattered and fissures opened.

He was moving in a straight line, disregarding any obstacles in his path.

“Ugh!”

“Run away!”

People who collided with the Sword Demon were flung backwards like pebbles, crashing into the walls and floor.

It was a horrifying scene, as if reality had detached itself.

With enough distance secured, the Sword Demon raised his sword.

A massive and sinister energy gathered around it, signifying his next attack.

“An attack is coming!”

Despite Hazuki’s urgent warning, Kim Il-shin did not look back.

It was about time the counterattack would begin.

Boom!

“…?”

In that moment, the Sword Demon was blocked by an invisible barrier.

The emergency system of the universe prioritizes the safety of its users and blocks enemies.

What they use to do this is spatial separation.

They suppress the enemy with an indestructible spatial barrier.

Crack…

The barrier that halted the Sword Demon’s movements began to close in rapidly, but that was just a fleeting moment.

Ding—!

The seemingly perfect barrier shattered into pieces by a dagger that had come from somewhere.

It was Werther hiding in the shadows who had thrown it.

Boom!

As the barrier vanished, the Sword Demon leaped again.

The barriers continuously generated to block him didn’t stand a chance against Werther’s dagger and dissipated without completion.

Due to this, the Sword Demon approached without any hindrance and readied a decisive strike.

‘Almost there…!’

Meanwhile, reaching the reception room, Kim Il-shin opened the door.

At the far side of the room, a red door functioned perfectly as an escape route, wide open.

“Bam!”

The moment he entered the room, strikes came at him from all directions, including above and below.

The trajectories closed in as if trying to slice away the whole space leading to the door.

“Eek…?!”

Seeing this, Kim Il-shin didn’t hesitate to scoop up Hazuki.

He then threw himself through the narrow gap between the lethal strikes.

Swish—

A cool breeze flowed through the hole where his garment was smoothly cut.

His heightened senses even caught the sword strikes grazing his clothing.

But that was all. He felt no pain.

Kim Il-shin, having safely passed through the door, rolled onto the dirt floor.

“Phew… cough.”

He couldn’t immediately rise but lay on the ground, needing time to calm his heart and muscles that felt like bursting from reaching their limits.

‘The door is… closed.’

The red door they had used to get here had shut the moment Kim Il-shin and Hazuki passed through.

The entrance ticket had served its purpose.

Werther and the Sword Demon, who likely used a different entrance, could not access that door.

‘…I’m alive.’

Once that thought crossed his mind, other things began to surface.

He considered why they were seeking the Demon Lord’s book and the relationship between the Dark Heaven Sect and the Demon Lord, as well as the identity of the Demon Lord and the content of the book.

For now, he couldn’t uncover anything with the information at hand, so he thought it would be best to read the book later and then reflect on it.

*

Buuuw—

A few minutes later, in the vehicle heading to the academy.

Having finally calmed the turbulent thoughts in her mind, Hazuki recalled the appearance of the enemy she had seen in the bookstore.

Though the face was masked and the physical form was different from what she remembered, she recognized the enemy’s identity at once.

That identity was none other than her biological father.