Turns Out To Be a Genius Duelist
chapter-135

Chapter 135 Opportunity (2)

Fake and real. At first, when he said that, he thought that this person was treating him as a reproduced being. But from his tone and gaze and looking at his opponent’s sword, he realized that wasn’t the case.

Whoosh! Slash-!

Something that could not be said with the skills and stats existing within the system was contained in that man’s sword. It was hard to explain, but if he kept digging, as always, time would tell.

“…”

Come to think of it; the man said his body had no power from the start. Nevertheless, he hadn’t lost and always won. Yoon-seok repeated it over and over. For some reason, he thought the answer resided there.

‘It’s a little weird no matter how I look at it…?’

Seheranbad, Moorim, Kilian. While their terms and way of manifesting it may differ, they all used energy. Was it possible to survive as a swordsman without magic in those words? No, it was impossible. However, it didn’t feel like the man was bluffing.

‘…The answer must be in his Unique Skill.’

Unique Skills were closely related to the challenger’s talent, life, and experience. Magic-related skills were given if they were magicians, stealth if they were assassins, and so on. This man’s Unique Skill was b Cultivator}, an offensive skill that sealed all skills and powers.

‘With this ability, there must be a handicap. Is that why he doesn’t have magic powers?’

According to the basic stat, even one’s energy lost due to old age was normalized when one became a challenger. But no magic power? It was reasonable to see it as a penalty due to the Unique Skill.

Shift.

Yoon-seok observed his opponent’s sword, struggling to fight without catching the chance to win. Then, he realized one more new fact. The man’s sword didn’t break Yoon-seok’s sword energy. It just looked like that because it was naturally scattered like spring snow melting down before the sword energy collided with metal.

“…”

He felt like he understood now what kind of Unique Skill b Cultivator} was. And what kind of life that man had lived, including why he said he was fake.

Magic Eater. The innate ability to return all powers made of energy to nothing just by touching them. However, there was a fatal disadvantage in that he couldn’t use magic. Most who lived that way couldn’t survive for long. However, Lavan Vargas was different.

“There’s someone I must kill.”

He held his sword for revenge and trained his body to the extreme. Magic Eaters couldn’t become swordsmen? Bullshit. If his opponent couldn’t use their energy, wouldn’t the conditions be the same? They were people, too. If a sword went through their heart, they would die.

Punch-!

A messy bar in a remote city. He knew the reality only when the fist of a C-class mercenary landed against his face. Even though the Magic Eater’s ability could block auras, it couldn’t prevent Physical Enhancement that used magic. In the end, it was useless to train his body for a hundred days. The mercenary with a bulging belly from constant drinking was several times faster than his sword.

One day, as he was wandering.

“Why are you so angry?”

Lavan met his mentor. He was a prestigious swordsman, but now he had lost his magic. In a way, the swordsman was in a similar situation to himself. At that time, he thought so. That was until he cut down a steel knife with his wooden sword without magic.

Slash-!

“Something contained in the sword that is not magic. What do you think? Don’t you think you can take on the world?”

“…”

“If you give up on revenge, I’ll teach you the sword.”

Lavan gave up on revenge, and he learned the master’s sword. It was a sword that denied the world’s regard toward magic. It was something that he, born as a Magic Eater, desperately longed for.

“If you don’t want to die, move faster. You can’t? Don’t make me laugh. It’s a shitty world, but nothing’s impossible. It’s just that you can’t do it now.”

Under his mentor’s instruction, he continued with his harsh practices. He erased all doubt from his mind and abandoned his anguish. Then, Lavan’s sword gradually changed. His will made sense. If he wanted, the sword became like wind, fire, and even lightning. Even without magic, his body moved quickly as if he had Physical Enhancement.

“At least you won’t die in a harsh place.”

Leaving his gray-haired teacher behind, Lavan went out into the world. Wherever he went, he was met with a turbulent place full of blood.

“Magic Eater?”

“How can a half-wit have such power…!”

Lavan defeated many strong people. He even faced the strongest man in the current continent, and sadly, they failed to reach a proper conclusion. Their match ended in a tie, but it felt like something he had lacked all his life was now satisfied. Only then did Lavan realize what he wanted to prove in this turbulent world.

“…”

What was wrong was not him but the world. He could achieve anything without magic, but everyone was deceived by falsehoods.

「The Tower chooses you.」

Then, one day the tower appeared.

{Cultivator}

Rank F – Magic is sealed. Middle Qi is open.

If he could reach the end, would he prove it?

Although he had {Divine Ultimatum, his opponent still held the upper hand. His sword energy disappeared even before it touched. Of course, Physical Enhancement could still be used with magic, but he didn’t see a point in that. If he were in that state, it would have been better to be pushed back.

‘There’s no way his basic stats are that high… does he have something that can replace magic?’

He had no clue. However, in the end, the difference in technique would determine the outcome. But…

‘Crap.’

Sadly, it was his foe, not Yoon-seok, who was ahead in technique.

Whoosh!

It was crude. His foundation was strong, but should he say that was all? Originally, Yoon-seok’s sword technique would’ve been able to suppress a sword like that.

‘Why?’

He was strong. Even though it didn’t contain magic, it kicked up a strong wind.

Whoosh!

Of course, in the past, Cheon-ma formed a tsunami with only her sword and no energy. But this was fundamentally different from that. Not just the realization of the sword, this man’s sword contained something.

‘Maybe that’s what that man meant by real.’

Yoon-seok wanted to know what it was. Therefore, he searched for it while evading in a black and white world full of lines. As he silently stretched out his sword.

“…?”

He felt a strange sense of incompatibility. The sword that seemed to contain no magic was surrounded by something else.

‘…What is that?’

It couldn’t be seen with a way to see. However, Yoon-seok held no doubt about the existence of that being. The moment when he recognized it faintly, the outline started to become more clearly defined.

‘…I don’t think it’s magic at all.’

Something that was so naturally harmonized with the world like air. Was it a new kind of energy derived from a Unique Skill like the Azure Dragon? He wasn’t sure, but Yoon-seok somehow felt it was familiar.

‘When and where have I seen it?’

He couldn’t remember. However.

Whikkk!

Once again, when the opponent’s sword was swung like lightning, he could figure out the basis of this energy. Normal magic circulated from the lower part of the navel, but that energy started from the heart. The heart was where Middle Qi was located. Was this a coincidence?

‘No way.’

Yoon-seok’s smile deepened. He found a clue from an unexpected place. Now it was time to check if it was right.

“…”

Yoon-seok began to examine his own body. Then, as if looking at a model of the human body, the path of his blood vessels and the minute movements of his muscles could be seen in his head. It was one of his talents that he developed through constant meditation. Yoon-seok focused all his attention on his Middle Qi.

“…”

The space was still full of Skywrath Energy converted into magic. As always, he couldn’t move it no matter how hard he tried. But that was the trap in the first place. Middle Qi was completely different.

‘It wasn’t related to magic in the first place.’

It was just that magic found an empty place and settled down. Because of that, he misunderstood its nature. Middle Qi wasn’t a place to store magic. It was something closer to nature than magic, a form of Natural Energy. It was accumulated in the body and converted into practical force.

Then, a question arose.

“How do I use Natural Energy?’

He recognized its existence, but that was not enough. The Natural Energy trapped in the Middle Qi wouldn’t budge. As it differed from magic, the method of utilizing it must’ve also been vastly different. But he wasn’t lost.

There was a good textbook in front of him.

Whoooosh! Whik!

He would find out if he imitated him.

“…”

Yoon-seok stopped using magic. His overflowing magic naturally assisted his body, but he tried his best to suppress it. To learn from his opponent, he needed to throw himself into a similar environment.

Boom! Slash! Whooosh!

When Physical Enhancement vanished, it was difficult to receive his foe’s sword. He used Yin and Yang to react, but he still struggled. Yet, without knowing, he somehow fell into a trance.

And from that moment, Lavan Vargas’ expression also changed a little.

“…You punk.”

He noticed he was trying to copy him. Originally, he would’ve snorted. It took a long time for him, even while being taught by his mentor. The most important thing to becoming ‘real’ was unwavering faith. But he’d only seen fake things all his life, so how was he going to see the truth now?

It would be right to think it was impossible.

Whoooosh!

The stats and skill of the system, and magic. His sword, which used to be full of lies, changed every moment to become more and more true. It was hard to accept; he was filled with jealousy that he possessed incomparable talent compared to him.

Was he going to become real even though he was fake?

“…Is that even possible?”

Even if heaven allowed it, he wouldn’t tolerate it. Lavan leaped back and widened the distance from Yoon-seok. Then, he gently lowered his sword. He didn’t want to continue fighting this match anymore.

“I’ll finish it in a second.”

The essence of the sword and the secret technique left by his mentor. The real that could see through any powerful enemy.

—You want me to give you a name?

—Mentor, this is a great sword technique. At least for those like us, it will provide plenty of strength!

—Hmm…

After much consideration, his mentor gave this name to the sword.

— This heart keeps people alive and breathing. The place where the will and faith of each person exist. It is a sword that uses it as a source. So…

Heart Sword.

-Yeah, that’s good.

Something huge, blurry to Yoon-seok’s eyes, arrived in the arena. Not in the sky, but the heart of this swordsman.