The Essence of 300 Years (2)
Falling off the cliff, Najin thought to himself, ‘Fighting that thing without using Sword Aura? With nothing but this longsword in hand?’
He glanced at the golem roaring below.
It looked absurdly tough.
Of course, a longsword was not designed for breaking hard objects. Many swordsn, including Sword Experts, mistakenly believed otherwise because they could slice through stone and steel with Sword Aura.
Originally, longswords were ant to pierce through gaps in armor or slash flesh and not for splitting stone.
Sure, with Najin’s transcendent strength and a sword made of rare tal, he might manage to break regular stone even without Sword Aura, but the rocks that made up the golems’ bodies were far from ordinary.
Infused with starlight, they were extrely durable.
He felt it was unreasonable to demand he defeat a golem without using Sword Aura.
Glancing over at Helt Knight, he thought, “If it were him, he might manage.”
Helt Knight’s strike was so powerful it could split the earth and cut cleanly through stone, even without Sword Aura. If anyone could defeat a golem in such a manner, it would be him.
The sa could be said for Karan, Yuel, and Gerd—they had all easily countered Najin’s attacks with their swords, even when he used Sword Aura.
Obviously, what Sword Masters could do, Najin could not.
Taking a short breath, he adjusted his grip on his sword. He had no choice but to try.
Gwoooohhh!
The charging golem let out a monstrous roar as Najin raised his sword. Drawing Sword Aura was as natural to him as breathing, so he had to consciously suppress it while swinging his blade.
Swish.
The blade’s cut through the air wasn’t as sharp as usual, but it was still enough to take off a human head. Unfortunately, what stood before him wasn’t human; it was a golem made of teoric stone.
Clang!
The golem’s outstretched rocky hand collided with the sword. If he had been using Sword Aura, he could have cleanly sliced through the stone or at least deflected the golem’s hand with the pushback, but without it…
Ting.
Neither happened. Najin’s sword was deflected, leaving him staring at the golem’s advancing fist with a sinking heart.
“Is it even possible to cut this?”
Twisting his body to dodge the punch, he ran along the golem’s arm and readjusted his grip. There’s a saying: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
If one strike wasn’t enough, he’d strike ten tis.
Holding the hilt with both hands, he swung the blade like a pickaxe.
Drawing on the lessons he’d heard from miners in the Underground City, he continued swinging. Any miner who’d worked in the mines for decades would have applauded his flawless pickaxe technique.
Ten minutes passed like that.
During those ten minutes, Najin realized sothing: the saying, “No tree can withstand ten strikes,” only applied to trees. Stones that didn’t crack after ten strikes were surprisingly common, and there was one such stone right in front of him.
“Damn it…” Swallowing his frustration, Najin massaged his aching palms.
The golem roared and struggled to shake him off, but he shifted his position each ti and continued pounding on its body with his sword.
Another ten minutes passed.
By the ti Najin’s swings numbered in the hundreds, he was ready to give up.
“Damn it all,” he cursed.
Fortunately, Najin’s sword was made of rare tal, so it wasn’t dulled by a re beating. The blade wasn’t called a masterpiece by the Order of the Sword for nothing. After all, the Sword Saint himself had awarded it to him.
Still, he couldn’t help but lant that even such a masterpiece couldn’t cut through starlight-infused stone. Of course, it was unfair to bla the sword. Who would expect soone to break stone without Sword Aura?
“Tsk.” Clicking his tongue, Najin continued running around on the golem’s body, experinting with different strikes—he swung his sword like a pickaxe, hamred with it like a mallet, and more.
Did these efforts yield any enlightennt? Not really, but they weren’t entirely aningless either. After about an hour of striking stone, he began to get a feel for it.
Crack!
When he struck the stone again, a small piece chipped off. Though it was a tiny crack compared to the golem’s massive body, the fact that his sword had penetrated the stone was a aningful achievent.
Reflecting on the strike, he resud swinging with renewed vigor.
“Maybe this is actually helping.”
- Really? Doesn’t look like it to …
Najin glared at rlin, who yawned dismissively.
‘What would a wizard know?’
Naturally, rlin heard the thought and screeched in indignation.
Using her protests as background music, Najin continued swinging his sword and realized how heavily he had been relying on Sword Aura.
Sword Aura was incredibly convenient. Even the Sword Aura of a re Sword Expert could surpass the sharpness of most master-crafted blades, and the Sword Aura of a Sword Seeker or higher was practically unparalleled.
It could effortlessly cut steel, generate heat capable of lting rock, repel monstrous beasts with its sheer force, and even carry the wielder’s Imagery.
With such versatile power at his disposal, Najin had grown too dependent on it.
“Every movent I make is optimized for when I’m using Sword Aura.”
From the way he applied force to the angle of his strikes and the path of his blade, everything was designed around Sword Aura.
Najin began to adjust each action, step by step.
Ten minutes turned into twenty, then into an hour. By then, the golem’s entire body was covered in small cracks, and its movents had noticeably slowed from exhaustion.
Najin, on the other hand, showed no signs of fatigue. Despite swinging his sword nonstop, he only moved faster as ti passed. Standing on the golem’s shoulder, he raised his sword high.
Taking a deep breath, he focused all his energy on the next swing.
It was as if he was back to his first lesson, focusing on every tiny movent. As the sword cut through the air, the sound reached his ears.
It was the foundational movent of Imperial Swordsmanship, the sa motion Helt Knight had demonstrated.
When the blade struck, it sounded just like Helt Knight’s strike. The result was also similar—instead of lodging into the stone, Najin’s sword cleaved through it.
The golem’s arm, cleanly severed, fell to the ground.
Boom! Boom!
The rocks crashed with a loud noise.
Having jumped down and watching from below, Helt Knight spoke. “That’s it. Sword aura is convenient, but relying on it hinders growth. What is a Sword Master? Soone who has mastered the sword as a weapon. If all you can do is use aura, you’re not a Sword Master… you’re an Aura Master.”
He shrugged. “Don’t rely on Sword Aura. Wield the sword, not the aura. Never forget what it ans to use a sword as a weapon.”
Helt Knight swung a dull blade.
Najin watched closely. Earlier, he couldn’t understand how such movents could produce such results, but he was beginning to grasp it.
“Stay steady. Believe in yourself. A Sword Master can split anything with just a sword. If you aspire to be a Sword Master, shouldn’t you at least be able to break stone without Sword Aura?”
The simplicity of the swing belied its essence. Helt Knight’s strike perfectly exploited a non-existent gap in the golem’s body.
Like water flowing through a narrow channel, or light seeping through a crack, the blade found its way in.
Crack.
Helt Knight’s sword severed the golem’s leg. The clean cut was almost unbelievable without Sword Aura.
Gesturing at the staggering golem, he smiled. “Now you try.” He wasn’t the type to teach through long speeches. He believed in showing and letting others experience it firsthand. “This ti, use your Sword Aura.”
Najin complied. Concentrating on every movent, sweat dripped from his brow. The ticulous focus made his actions painfully slow. Against a moving opponent, the technique would have been useless.
Light glead at the tip of his sword. Though he wielded Sword Aura, he swung as if that weren’t the case. Raising his sword high, he brought it down like a guillotine aid at the golem’s head.
Crack.
A single line appeared from the golem’s head to its feet. The golem split along the line, falling apart. Even Najin’s eyes widened at how effortlessly it happened.
“That’s it,” Helt Knight said. “Rember that feeling. For now, you have to consciously focus on every movent to achieve such a strike, but…” He pointed at himself. “A Sword Master can do it as naturally as breathing. If you want to be one, shouldn’t you aim for that? Do you feel like you’re learning?”
“Yes. At first, I didn’t understand what you were saying… but this thod really does help.”
“Doesn’t it?” Helt Knight grinned mischievously. “Alright then, let’s have you cut down ten more golems today. Without using Sword Aura, of course.”
Taking out a horn, he blew it enthusiastically before running up the cliff. Najin soon realized why.
Boom! Boom!
Drawn by the horn’s sound, a swarm of golems approached. More than ten of them, easily.
Looking at the approaching army, Najin chuckled bitterly. “Fine. Let’s do this.”
He adjusted his grip on his sword.
By the ti he finally collapsed, his hands were so numb he couldn’t feel them anymore. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been swinging his sword, but it felt like an entire day without rest.
“I’ll take watch,” Helt Knight offered. For once, he seed to show consideration for Najin. “Rest well. Tomorrow, we’ll start proper sword training.”
“Didn’t you dislike teaching ?”
“I did.”
“But now you seem to enjoy it.”
“Do I?”
“Yeah.”
Helt Knight chuckled. “Maybe it’s because you pick things up so quickly. Give you a hint, and you find the answer on your own. Teaching soone like that is quite enjoyable.”
“I’ve always been a fast learner.”
“It’s less learning and more stealing. With those abnormal eyes of yours.” He gestured at Najin’s eyes. “When we first fought, and again when you fought Crunbelle, your eyes never missed a single movent. You didn’t just observe—you understood and made it your own. That’s why your sword carries the weight of decades of experience from seasoned swordsn.”
He was right. Najin remained silent, and Helt Knight caressed the hilt of his sword. “Take whatever you can. Steal as much as possible. I’ll show you everything I can.”
“Sounds good.”
“Now, get so rest. Tomorrow will be even harder.”
Najin leaned against a rock and closed his eyes. Having once slept soundly in the trash-filled alleys, he fell asleep quickly. Despite Helt Knight’s offer to take watch, he awoke within a few hours.
“…” Rubbing his neck, Najin’s expression stiffened. His heart pounded in his chest, echoing loudly.
“What’s wrong? Nightmare?”
“Sothing like that.”
“What kind of dream?”
“A dream where I was beheaded.” He rubbed his neck as he spoke. Like the ti he had experienced the mories of Schlain, the leader of the Holy Fire Guard Knights, he had just relived the mories of the Silent Knight, Crunbelle.
The experience was so intense that it left Najin’s heart racing.
In the dream, Najin had been beheaded 317 tis…
By a woman known as the Carnival King.
User Comments
0 comments from readers