I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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The Undead Hound was definitely strong.

Beast-like speed and immense strength. And a ferocious nature programmed solely to take down its enemies.

Additionally, the sharp attachments on its teeth and front paws could leave deadly marks just from brushing against them.

On top of that, with its endless regeneration ability, facing it in a narrow cage was a daunting task.

It even seemed to be aware of its regeneration ability and used it to its advantage.

Ignoring attacks from its foes, it relentlessly charged forward.

‘Sly creature.’

For the Undead Hound, it wouldn’t matter if its attacks weren’t effective.

Repetition of that process would gradually drain the opponent’s stamina, and eventually, its attacks would hit.

‘A strategy that can only succeed if you don’t know about the core.’

If one didn’t know the method to counter it, even seasoned heroes would find themselves at a loss, which was no wonder as to why the fighters here were so fearful.

‘But it’s still just a beast.’

Having figured out all the patterns after several exchanges, the Undead Hound soon became a punching bag for Kim Il-shin.

During the ensuing match with the Undead Hound, Kim Il-shin tried many things.

First, he repeatedly used the Il-shin-pa-chun-gong wave technique to nail down the feel of it.

After that, he began to train in other techniques.

He practiced avoiding attacks with his eyes closed, embedding the Wul-gok-kyung into the creature’s body while observing the changes in the waves.

He managed to train thoroughly in techniques like Seol-jong-bo, Il-shin-pa-chun-gong, and others without exception.

Krrrk…

However, something unexpected happened.

The Undead Hound, sprawled on the ground, was just panting heavily and couldn’t get back up.

‘… Why can’t it get up?’

Even if the Il-shin-pa-chun-gong hit a bit harder, it shouldn’t have reached the core.

It didn’t seem to have the patience to feign weariness given its weary appearance.

This was a creature whose only instinct was to kill the living beings in its sight.

Tap, tap.

Kim Il-shin approached the Undead Hound and poked it with his sword, and at that moment, its breath stopped.

The core of the Undead Hound had shattered on its own.

“Uh-oh.”

It was then that Kim Il-shin realized it was not an immortal being.

He had thought that as long as the core remained intact, the life force of the Undead Hound would be infinite, but it seemed that concept had its limits.

He had never dragged a fight with the Undead Hound on this long, so he didn’t know.

In the game, he destroyed the core as soon as the match began to end it.

If there had been no purpose for his training, he might have done just that.

‘This is good enough, I guess.’

Having trained as much as he wanted, he felt no disappointment.

With his sword sheathed, Kim Il-shin turned his head toward the announcer, who was still dazed.

Only then did the bewildered announcer snap back to reality and hurriedly announced the end of the match with a stammering voice.

[The match, um, has ended! The winner is challenger Kim Il-shin! A new champion is born in the underground arena!]

The announcer’s proclamation of the new champion’s birth did not elicit cheers among the spectators.

All that filled the arena was a murmur now blanketed in silence.

The shock from the preceding match had been immense.

“That monster…”

“That’s a monster… can’t be a human…”

The ‘monster’ the spectators were referring to was Kim Il-shin, not the deceased Undead Hound.

It was that brutal of a match.

Throughout the fight, Kim Il-shin toyed with the Undead Hound as if he were playing.

The Undead Hound couldn’t even step on Kim Il-shin’s shadow until the match ended.

In contrast, every ruthless attack from Kim Il-shin cut, tore, and shattered the Undead Hound’s body.

“I used to envy immortals, you know? … But not anymore.”

“If I were in its place, I would have gone mad long before it got this far.”

“What does it mean to be alive…? Can a mere state of holding onto life be called living…?”

The brutal confrontation between Kim Il-shin and the Undead Hound left a deep impression on the audience.

Even fighters with muscles for brains began pondering philosophical musings.

Watching the Undead Hound being horrifically toyed with by Kim Il-shin led to various thoughts.

“I never thought I would find that thing pitiful.”

“I didn’t think so either. Honestly, now the one standing there looks more like a monster.”

“Still, I hoped it would at least land a hit…”

There were even some who cheered for the Undead Hound from the beginning of the match.

Even when slammed to the ground by the overwhelming wall that was Kim Il-shin, the relentless Undead Hound kept getting back up to challenge again.

That sight was utterly inspiring.

“But it can’t be helped. If it doesn’t, it might die.”

“Seriously, how many times has it come back to life?”

Many showed rational responses, but had they known Kim Il-shin’s intentions, their reactions would have been different.

Even though they knew the countermeasures, he had purposely left it alive for training.

However, apart from the various reactions to the match, the fact remained clear.

Kim Il-shin completed the champion’s route and also won the bet with Chu Kyung-seok.

‘Now it’s just time to collect and leave.’

As he opened the cage door and stepped down, eyes filled with fear and awe were directed at him.

Kim Il-shin walked toward the bar without caring.

The moment he began moving, the path before him split as if parting the Red Sea.

No one here could block Kim Il-shin’s way.

Approaching the bar, Chu Kyung-seok, who had been waiting, rushed over with shining eyes.

He tried to grab his hand, so Kim Il-shin took a step back. Chu Kyung-seok’s hands danced in the air.

Yet, undeterred, Chu Kyung-seok gestured like a conductor and began speaking.

“Truly remarkable…! This was the most shocking match I have ever witnessed in my life. The way you easily defeated the rampaging Undead Hound was like a matador taming an enraged bull, and your sparkling blade shimmered like moonlight in the sky…”

“Enough with the monologue. I just want to collect my winnings.”

“Oh, right. Of course, I should hand it over.”

Chu Kyung-seok opened his palm, revealing the Stone of Eternal Life.

Just as Kim Il-shin reached out to take it, Chu Kyung-seok pulled it back.

“What’s this? Are you out of your mind?”

“Are you suddenly valuing it too much?”

The atmosphere grew tense at his reluctance to keep the promise.

“However, I can’t hand it over immediately. It isn’t that I’m trying to break my promise. It’s just that doing so without caution might put you in danger.”

Chu Kyung-seok continued, gazing down at the Stone of Eternal Life.

“I mentioned it contains hundreds of lives, so where do you think those spirits went? They are all contained within it. I’m fine thanks to my lineage, but you’re different.”

In a hushed voice, conveying a sense of dread, Chu Kyung-seok finally dove into the main subject.

“However, I have a way to lift the curse. It’s difficult for me alone, but with your power combined, it can be done! Of course, I’ll give you sufficient compensation. If successful, I’ll reward you with treasures beyond comparison to the Stone of Eternal Life! So, how about—”

“I’m not interested.”

He was talking nonsense. Kim Il-shin snatched the Stone of Eternal Life into his hand.

“Uh, uh, uh?”

The flustered Chu Kyung-seok froze in place, his previous stance intact.

Stunned, he could only ask with trembling lips.

“Are, are you okay…?”

“I’m completely fine.”

“Impossible… That shouldn’t be normal. You should have gone insane right away…”

Chu Kyung-seok’s words about the spirits being bound to the Stone of Eternal Life were not lies.

It was also true that if someone other than his blood touched it, danger would loom.

However, nothing could intrude upon Kim Il-shin’s mind, protected by [Immaculate Mind (S)], so the spirits could do nothing at all.

‘If that idiot couldn’t break through, how could mere spirits hope to?’

After putting the Stone of Eternal Life in his pocket, Kim Il-shin turned to the waiter.

“Deposit all the money into my account. I’ll verify it, so don’t try anything funny.”

He was talking about the money he had earned from the twenty matches he had fought up to that point.

He would receive a portion of the betting amounts, so even in the worst-case scenario, it should amount to the thousands.

“Yes. I will check it thoroughly to ensure there are no issues.”

“Also, don’t hang up my photo in the Hall of Fame.”

“Understood.”

After hearing the response, Kim Il-shin left, while Chu Kyung-seok remained with a vacant expression.

A few minutes later, having grasped the situation, he muttered in disbelief.

“That monster…”