I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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“That’s truly… amazing.”

Principal Pan Haeyul marveled at the report of the operation to purge the Jeokcheon Church.

It wasn’t common for Pan Haeyul to open his eyes so wide in surprise. Throughout his long life, he had witnessed various mythical spectacles, and thus rarely displayed any significant emotional disturbance at most events.

The flawless success of a synchronized operation was impressive, but what had truly astonished him was that Kim Ilshin and Hazuki had eliminated both the Puppeteer and the Sword Demon.

“To take out not just one but two at once, and without sustaining any injuries in the process. Hah… it’s hard to believe.”

The bishops of the Jeokcheon Church had always been symbols of fear. The number of victims created by those with abnormal powers and abilities was countless.

Tracking such elusive beings was a challenge in itself, and even if they managed to corner them, it remained uncertain whether they could successfully eliminate them.

Even if they did succeed in killing them, it would come at a heavy cost with numerous sacrifices.

Kim Ilshin’s accomplishments were truly extraordinary. Capturing a bishop with such minimal damage was unheard of, except perhaps in the case of the legendary hero Baek Hosan.

“What do you think, brother? As someone who has faced the Sword Demon?”

Pan Haeyul, with his eyes narrowed, asked Baek Hosan, who was sitting across from him. They had a close relationship and often found themselves in discussions like this, coincidentally reading the report together that day.

Baek Hosan ignored Pan Haeyul’s question and continued to read the report. It was a perfect dismissal, yet Pan Haeyul refused to give up.

“How was the Sword Demon? Come on, brother, I’m curious!”

He seemed poised to stick around all day if not answered.

With a glance at Pan Haeyul, Baek Hosan set the report down on the table and spoke.

“The Sword Demon is… merely a fool who swung someone else’s sword.”

“So, you’re saying it was less skilled than the rumors suggest?”

Baek Hosan replied firmly.

“No. That one has seen my sword. Had it had the chance to see my sword before, it wouldn’t have ended with just one strike.”

“So, its power was real, then.”

Baek Hosan answered without a word, their silence emphasizing the weight of his validation.

Since he had vouched for the Sword Demon’s strength, it only intensified the curiosity about Kim Ilshin, who had taken down both the Sword Demon and the Puppeteer simultaneously.

“So, what level is Kim Ilshin at? I’ve never seen him fight,” Pan Haeyul inquired.

“I don’t know.”

“But you could at least make a rough guess, right?”

“No, I can’t.”

“Surely you could say he would hold up against me a little, right?”

“I can’t say that either.”

“Not even who would win?”

“Correct.”

The unexpected answer left Pan Haeyul shocked, his mouth agape.

The inability to predict the victor implied that Kim Ilshin’s prowess was rivaling that of Baek Hosan.

“…There sure are a lot of surprises today.”

Even more so since those words had come from Baek Hosan’s mouth. Knowing better than anyone else the strength he possessed, Pan Haeyul couldn’t help but be astonished.

“I would like to meet him in person.”

Having calmed his surprise with that thought, Pan Haeyul shifted the topic.

“Have you received a request to join the hunting squad?”

The hunting squad formed primarily around the Wind God Guild, which had located the headquarters of the Jeokcheon Church. Recently, requests to join the squad had been discreetly sent to verified heroes worldwide.

“I declined.”

“I figured you would, but is there a specific reason?”

“I don’t have a good feeling about it. I’ll be staying here.”

“I trust your instincts. By the way, I’m in charge of the rear guard.”

Just as the conversation seemed to be wrapping up, Pan Haeyul cautiously asked.

“…Has there been any word from Haeyeon yet?”

He had heard that Baek Haeyeon hadn’t returned home for several months. While she maintained occasional contact with the academy, her absence felt closer to running away than truly missing.

“……”

Baek Hosan didn’t respond and walked outside.

“Oh dear….”

Things had become quite tangled. Of course, much of it was Baek Hosan’s fault.

“He’s been stubborn since long ago…”

Muttering to himself, Pan Haeyul sat back down and picked up another report.

Now that it was time to get to work, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

“A student who achieved something great deserves a gift.”

Pan Haeyul packed various presents into a bundle. Among them was a mana bomb that had regrettably gone unawarded and had ended up collecting dust in the storage.

*

“Ta-da! What do you think!”

Standing proudly in front of her was a wooden doll.

It was a carving resembling Kim Ilshin, equipped with six arms, each gripping a long sword.

“Slasher No. 2! Slice!”

At Hanarin’s command, the wooden figure sprang to life, its six swords shaking with energy as it sliced through the sandbag in front of it.

‘That’s intense.’

It wasn’t just about swinging swords. The sensors on its head detected the enemy, and depending on the approach, its six swords all targeted the enemy’s vital points simultaneously.

Although it had never been used in combat, it was clear that no mere rabble would stand a chance.

It might even be able to handle high-level foes.

The exterior wasn’t just regular wood but rather a composite that was both tougher and more flexible than metal. Inside it housed several cores, boasting an incredible output.

That wasn’t all.

“Does this… have electricity flowing through it?”

“Yup. It even spits out fire. Awesome, right?”

“It sure is.”

A doll swinging six flaming swords? Now that was undeniably cool.

“Can it also collapse? Look!”

When she pressed a button on the back, the wooden doll collapsed into a cube about the size of two fists.

It was small enough to fit into Hanarin’s anti-gravity pouch.

Hanarin stuffed the cube into her pocket and pulled out more items.

“This is the world’s strongest sticky bomb, this is a small mana shield, and this one… what was it? A spider bomb? Anyway.”

Recently, Hanarin had become engrossed in creating offensive magical tools.

It all started because she wanted to help in combat, and surprisingly, it seemed to suit her abilities well enough.

There was no need to even mention how effective they were.

“This one is a spear gun. The spear is compressed in the bullet, and when you shoot it, boom! It launches. This one is an electric net gun but… I think I turned the output up too high. It burned instead of electrocuting. Hehe.”

…Though she might be going a bit overboard, she would surely calibrate it as needed.

“That’s it! This is all I have for now. What do you think? With this, I could definitely take on about ten people!”

After showcasing dozens of kinds of magical tools, Hanarin eagerly asked.

It seemed as though she didn’t fully grasp the worth of the inventions she had created herself.

Kim Ilshin and Hazuki exchanged unsure glances.

“It doesn’t seem like ten would be the limit?”

“…I thought you were aiming to start a war or something.”

“Hmph!”

Hanarin took that as praise, starting her cleanup.

Three bags stuffed with magical tools filled to capacity were tied around Hanarin’s waist.

All of that fitted into just three small bags?

They were undoubtedly high-performance bags given their price.

“Ilshin.”

“Yeah?”

Just as they were marveling at the impressive sight, Hazuki called out to Kim Ilshin.

From Hazuki, who was uncomfortably close, an enticing scent wafted through the air.

Her unusually strange movements and hard-to-see attire had changed since earlier.

Whatever the reason for it, she seemed entirely set on something, leaving little room for reaction.

“Yesterday, I received a call from the Japanese government. They asked if you could join the hunting squad. I said I’d think about it, but I haven’t replied yet. What will you do, Ilshin?”

“Hmmm….”

It seemed the hunting squad was being quickly organized with various groups cooperating.

But Kim Ilshin didn’t want to make any hasty decisions yet.

Clearly, they were targeting something using the location of the church as bait.

He intended to piece together their intentions before making a move.

“Just wait a little longer. It won’t take more than a few days.”

“Yes. I’ll let the government know as much.”

“Alright.”

He had already made a request to his informant, so it wouldn’t take long before he needed to choose.

‘It’s not like I have no idea what’s going on.’

The results would soon come.

“Shall we go have a meal? It’s already noon, and I hear you skipped breakfast.”

“That sounds good. What should we have?”

At that, Hanarin raised both hands enthusiastically.

“Pastrami sandwiches! We said we would try that!”

“Right! Then let’s eat that today.”

“Awesome!”

Just when the three of them had quickly settled on the menu and were getting ready to head out…

Boom!

With a small explosion, something fell in the middle of the shop.

Kim Ilshin and Hazuki instinctively touched their weapons, fearing an attack.

Hanarin, guided by Kim Ilshin’s hand, moved to the back.

“What… what is that!”

“Is it a bundle?”

“Is it… dangerous?”

Just as Hanarin nervously asked, a small note sprang from the bag on the floor and flew right to Kim Ilshin’s face.

“Oh dear…”

“What is it…?”

Having read it, Kim Ilshin sighed in relief while a curious Hazuki picked up the note to read.

“A gift for students who have achieved great feats… from Principal Pan Haeyul…?”

Hazuki displayed an expression of disbelief.

Though rumors swirled around the principal of Cosmo Academy being eccentric, she hadn’t expected it to be to this extent.

“It’s safe, right?”

“Yeah.”

It couldn’t possibly be a trap.

Only Principal Pan Haeyul could utilize such high-level space magic in this world.

“Then let’s open it quickly!”

With safety confirmed, excitement gleamed in Hanarin’s eyes.

What could the principal’s personal gift contain? Kim Ilshin was just as eager to find out.

He quickly approached the bundle, opened it, and peered inside with Hanarin and Hazuki closely behind.

“W-wow…!”

“Wow…!”

As soon as they saw what was inside, they all gasped in unison.

The value of the gifts contained within the bundle exceeded their wildest imaginations.