I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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“Ugh….”

In the dark night where everyone was sound asleep.

Suddenly waking up, Ddiltilli groaned from the muscle pain throughout his body.

He had no confidence to get up and find water because he was so thirsty.

Every little movement brought unimaginable pain, so he was stuck lying still until his body loosened up.

As he stared at the ceiling, memories of the training from the previous day floated back.

Honestly, he could barely remember clearly.

From the middle of it all, he was just moving his body as if he were losing consciousness.

The only clear memory was that it was painfully exhausting.

“Well, at least I held on until the end.”

A smile crept onto his face. It was a sense of achievement he’d never felt in his life.

There were countless moments during training when he wanted to give up.

To be honest, he felt something was off about thirty minutes into it.

His muscles felt weak, and it felt like his lungs might burst.

It had been ages since he felt any sensation in his limbs, and his mind was flickering in and out.

But he didn’t give up. He’d rather endure and collapse than willingly choose to give up.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Ddiltilli had to give it his all.

‘…If it weren’t for my master, a coward like me would have lived his whole life doing nothing.’

Ddiltilli thought of himself as a coward.

He had mentioned to Kim Il-sin and his group that exploring the outside was his dream.

Yet, he hadn’t even attempted to prepare for it.

Aside from the incidents surrounding the attacks, the guards at the city gate were practically nonexistent.

There was no reason he couldn’t go outside if he wanted to.

But Ddiltilli had never gone outside.

Because it would be reckless.

He had no idea what dangers awaited out there, nor did he know if other villages even existed.

Preparation was the same.

He didn’t know what he should prepare, and even if he did, it might not help in a dangerous situation.

‘…Coward.’

In fact, it was all an excuse. Ddiltilli was afraid to go out.

He always dreamed of adventures in the outside world, yet he lacked the courage to pursue them.

Sometimes, his reckless behavior stemmed from a desire to deny that part of himself.

Getting bitten by a snake out of curiosity, peeking outside the walls to see the ruler fight and getting hit, among other things.

Those acts were all self-hypnosis, like saying, “I’m going this far for curiosity! So someday, I’ll go outside!”

But deep inside, he knew the truth. He was just a coward.

Then Kim Il-sin came to Ddiltilli.

He didn’t ask him for immense courage that could risk his life, but instead offered a chance to follow him with a little courage that would free him from his fears.

An opportunity to overcome his fear and find courage.

Ddiltilli didn’t want to miss that chance.

So, no matter how hard it got, he decided to believe in Kim Il-sin and not give up.

“If I train hard and get stronger, and later, like my master said, drive out the rulers…”

He thought he might be able to muster the courage to fulfill the wish he had kept hidden.

“And, if possible, if I can…”

He wanted to achieve one more wish, different from his desire to go outside, a wish he had never spoken to anyone—revenge.

“…Let’s work hard tomorrow too.”

With that determination, Ddiltilli closed his eyes and faithfully continued his training with Kim Il-sin for the next two weeks.

*

“What have you been up to lately? You’ve gained some weight?”

“I’ve been doing well. What about you, Hyungnim?”

“Same as always. Life has been good lately.”

It was a conversation between architect Hobbs and his junior, Raul, sitting on a bench in the street.

Thanks to the halt in forced labor, they were enjoying a leisurely life recently.

Meeting outside of work after a long time felt refreshing.

“Huh?”

Just then, a sturdy young boy passed by in front of them.

A somewhat familiar face. Hobbs soon remembered the boy’s name.

“Isn’t that Ddiltilli?”

“It looks like him, but… he’s become a completely different person.”

“It’s been a while since I last saw him. What happened?”

Ddiltilli, who used to constantly cause trouble, had completely changed in a short time.

He had been so scrawny just a few weeks ago.

Raul spoke to the puzzled Hobbs.

“Didn’t you hear? He’s been training in the western forest every day.”

“Training?”

“Yeah. I heard he’s been training with an outsider who came in last time. He goes in in the morning and comes out in the evening, completely worn out. There were a lot of other kids there too, not just Ddiltilli.”

“Well… It’s better than causing trouble.”

Suddenly curious, Hobbs asked,

“By the way, what’s the training for?”

“I’m not sure. There’s a rumor about it. Would you like to hear it?”

“Rumor?”

Hobbs became interested as Raul leaned in and whispered.

“Yeah. They say they’re training to fight monsters.”

“What nonsense. How can a person fight a monster?”

Hobbs chuckled at Raul’s ridiculous statement and leaned back on the bench.

The sky looked incredibly peaceful.

Then Raul leaned back too and pointed toward the city wall.

“What are those things for? What do they plan to use them for?”

The gigantic crossbows placed at regular intervals atop the wall.

They had been set up by blacksmiths from Hanarim and the Shield Workshop.

“I don’t know either.”

“Really? Didn’t you help set those up too?”

“The workshop chief asked for help, so I lent a hand. I don’t even know what they are.”

“That’s strange. Why would they set those up?”

Raul stared at the large crossbows and continued talking.

“Come to think of it, haven’t the blacksmiths been looking happier lately?”

“Faces look good all around.”

“That’s not what I mean. They’ve been smiling all day long.”

“Is that so?”

Thinking back, that did seem true.

The guys who used to look exhausted didn’t even show up at the tavern they frequently visited.

“I’m telling you. And even if they had nothing to make, the smithy has been bustling? Seriously, what on earth are they doing? Even if I wanted to ask, they never come outside, so I can’t.”

“Well, maybe they’re all doing some research together. But what’s up with those guys’ faces?”

The people Hobbs pointed to were a group of scholars trudging along.

Each of them had dark circles under their bloodshot eyes.

They didn’t usually exude much enthusiasm, but now they looked ready to collapse from a mere touch.

“They say they’re studying with an outsider too.”

“What kind of study?”

“Hyungnim, are you really curious about that?”

“Nope.”

“Me neither. That’s why I didn’t look into it.”

Anyway, the atmosphere in the city changed a lot since the outsider appeared.

It grew brighter, almost unrecognizably so, but on the other hand, many things were puzzling.

It was also unsettling.

“It’s already been two weeks since the tax was lifted. I wonder what those guys are up to now?”

“Don’t you know?”

“Of course not. Nobody comes out, and they only send their subordinates occasionally to collect food… What if they don’t come out until the next raid?”

Since the day the tax exemption order was issued, the rulers had been holed up in their castle, doing nothing.

They couldn’t figure out what they were thinking.

Had they been the rulers from before, they wouldn’t have let the outsiders run wild like this.

‘Was what I thought before actually true…?’

A glimmer of hope flickered in his mind before quickly disappearing.

As long as the attacks from monsters kept coming, the rulers would never fall.

*

‘Now you look somewhat decent.’

Kim Il-sin thought as he watched the trainees rolling around in the training yard.

Their bodies had grown remarkably after enduring two weeks of training.

If it were just physical ability, they could take down a small monster by themselves.

That would have been unimaginable back in their original world.

They had been able to do so because they had been receiving a high density of mana since birth and trained to the brink of death in a suitable form of martial arts for them every day.

Ddiltilli’s growth was particularly remarkable.

If the process of mastering the martial art was divided into ten stages, Ddiltilli had already reached stage six.

Considering that most of the other trainees were only at stage three and the exceptionally good Roham was at mid-stage four, it was an impressive achievement.

‘He’s putting in the most effort, so that makes sense.’

Ddiltilli hadn’t taken a break even once.

Even after group training ended, he continued with personal training.

He always pushed himself to his limits, and the martial art suited someone like him perfectly.

Even the kids who were about to give up during their training found the determination to press on after seeing Ddiltilli’s growth.

Kim Il-sin benefited greatly as well.

“Gather!”

As Kim Il-sin shouted, the trainees immediately stood up from their places and faced him.

“Today, we’ll end the training for the martial art here.”

“Eh?”

“Why all of a sudden….”

The trainees tilted their heads in confusion.

They were surprised since they were only halfway through the usual progress.

At first, they’d act like they were dying after just a few days, but now they were itching to move.

“From today onward, we’re starting practical training. Gather again with your weapons.”

“Practical…!”

“Finally!”

Seeing the joyful faces of the trainees, Kim Il-sin felt good too.

He was eager to see what expressions they would have in a few minutes.