I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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Joo Chae-rin, standing on the dais, looked over the students seated in the classroom.

‘This time, I see some decent kids around.’

It seemed nearly all the students known for their swordsmanship talent had shown up. I felt intrigued, but not particularly hopeful.

It had already been seven years since I began teaching at the academy. In that time, hundreds of students had attempted the assignment, and hundreds had failed.

Clinging to a thread of hope, I continued to set assignments, but my heart was nearly at the point of giving up.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Joo Chae-rin, the swordsmanship instructor. I announced all the class details during orientation, so let’s get straight to the point. You all know what the assignment is, right?”

The students nodded in unison. Joo Chae-rin’s assignments were well-known even outside the academy.

There was no way the students who signed up for the class could be unaware.

“Just to explain again, anyone who completes the assignment I submit will receive full marks regardless of their test results or attendance afterward.”

Just this alone was shocking. It meant you could get full marks without even attending the class if you solved the assignment.

But that wasn’t all. The rewards that would follow were akin to the reasons this assignment had gained fame.

“And I’ll grant any request you desire.”

With that outrageous proposal, the students began to murmur, and one person shot their hand up.

“I have a question!”

“What is it?”

“Really, anything at all?”

It was a question that could be seen as rude, but Joo Chae-rin didn’t flinch. Instead, she smiled charmingly as she replied.

“Yep. Whatever you want, I can grant it.”

Despite her brazen confidence, the student who asked the question gulped nervously.

Kim Il-shin stifled a chuckle inwardly. Knowing Joo Chae-rin had never experienced love, he found her mannerisms simply amusing.

“Alright! I don’t think further explanation is needed, so let me show you the assignment.”

Joo Chae-rin calmly turned her head and pulled out a rugged piece from her bosom, tossing it onto the classroom floor.

In that instant, the space around the piece seemed to warp, and a massive rock, appearing to be about three meters tall, emerged.

On one side of the rock were deep, intertwined marks extending in every direction.

Those marks were nothing short of the answer to the assignment. The other students, aside from Kim Il-shin, wouldn’t have a clue.

Joo Chae-rin placed her hand on the rock and said, “Your task is to break this rock and retrieve what’s inside. Who’s up for the challenge?”

Many students eagerly raised their hands. It seemed half of the students in the classroom were willing to try.

Joo Chae-rin singled one out.

The chosen student, Namgoong-min, confidently stood up and walked forward as the other students nodded in approval.

A third-year like Kim Il-shin, he was famous for his swordsmanship using wind magic.

With a confident stride, Namgoong-min approached the rock, drew his sword, and the wind began to swirl around him.

Whooooooosh—

The winds gathering around him intertwined with his sword, forming an intangible blade.

“Haah!”

With a shout, he raised his sword high, and the fiercely rotating blade soared into the air.

Boom!

It came crashing down in an instant.

Compressed wind exploded all at once, tearing apart everything around it.

The wind’s blade shattered the floor, chalkboard, and desks, leaving chaos in its wake.

Every student watched, half hopeful and half anxious, as the rock seemed like it would easily be turned to dust by this strike.

“Um…?”

However, as the dust settled, the appearance of the rock was revealed, utterly unscathed.

Far from breaking, it had no scratches either, leaving Namgoong-min’s face colored with shock.

While he thought it might not succeed at once, he never expected this level of failure.

“What the hell is this….”

Namgoong-min muttered gloomily and sat back down, his face dejected.

That had been his best shot, and if it hadn’t worked even then, breaking it seemed impossible.

“Anyone else want to try?”

Despite the opportunity, the students hesitated to raise their hands, looking around nervously.

Many had given up on the challenge after witnessing Namgoong-min’s failure.

There weren’t many students in this classroom stronger than him, and even those who were saw the rock standing tall after Namgoong-min’s hit and didn’t dare to try.

Joo Chae-rin felt just as disappointed.

She began to doubt the teacher’s words that one day someone would succeed.

‘Is this another failure?’

As she was about to take back the rock, someone at the back of the classroom raised their hand.

“I’ll give it a try.”

To her surprise, it was a familiar face.

‘His name was… Kim Il-shin, right?’

He was a student she had seen on the enrollment list.

She remembered him distinctly due to his overwhelmingly abysmal grades.

“Alright, come on up and give it a shot.”

While she permitted the challenge, she didn’t have much expectation. She thought he was just being reckless.

That was her mindset, at least until that point.

***

Kim Il-shin approached the rock and examined the marks.

The sharp tracks looked as if dozens of blades had raced across the rock’s surface, entangled in a complex pattern.

At first glance, it seemed like several people had haphazardly carved it, but Kim Il-shin could sense the mysterious intricacies within.

These were sword marks (劍痕). A high-level swordsman had drawn his enlightenment into the rock.

In the game, the method to complete the assignment was to trace the appropriate trajectory in accordance with the order inscribed in those sword marks.

By thoroughly reading the strategy guide, even a student with A-class talent could succeed, so with his S-class talent, it should be easy.

‘Never thought it’d come to this.’

However, right now, Kim Il-shin could see beyond that.

The trajectories of the sword marks imprinted in his mind disassembled and floated in the air.

Following the etched order, they gradually transformed into three-dimensional shapes, and soon he could perceive their movements.

Swish—

Only then did Kim Il-shin draw his sword.

The subpar steel sword produced a pure, ringing blade sound that resonated, and at its tip, the flow of mana gathered.

Kim Il-shin’s overwhelming talent was not limited to just understanding the movements.

He absorbed everything contained within the sword marks—the secrets of the sword, the intricacies, and even the intentions left behind by the creator.

Gently and slowly, he moved the sword.

The waves of mana wrapped around the blade began to engulf his surroundings, with Kim Il-shin slipping into a trance.

He focused intently on the scenes unfolding as his eyes closed.

The one who inscribed the sword marks was an old man who had long surpassed dusk.

The grip of a swordsman, tempered through eons, could crush even rock, remaining unyielding despite the trials and tribulations of life.

Grasping the sword was the very essence of a swordsman’s life, and thus, it remained until the very end of existence.

In that sense, the frail strength of the old man, unable to even break a single fragile twig, hinted that his end wasn’t far off.

Yet his swordsmanship touched the heavens, wishing to leave his enlightenment for future generations.

In the last moment, he raised the sword.

The very source of swordsmanship lay in self-defense (護身). It was created as a means for the weak to preserve their own lives.

Thus, the old man didn’t aim for destructive swordsmanship; what he sought was the ultimate in countermeasures.

‘……I see it.’

When he opened his eyes, several trajectories surged toward him.

While they weren’t tangible, he understood they were more than mere illusions.

With that, Kim Il-shin paid them no mind and stepped forward.

The fierce trajectories flowed over him like gentle ripples, while those that intertwined softly turned into crashing waves, bursting forth.

This very process was the path of the sword (劍路), and Kim Il-shin walked it unwaveringly.

Thwack.

Eventually, as Kim Il-shin’s sword met the rock, it touched the very end of the path.

The rock, impervious to any attack until now, finally crumbled as though fulfilling its purpose.

“I’ll call it… Tidal Wave Sword.”

Thus, named for its unceasing flow, Kim Il-shin declared.

“……Huh.”

“Whoa…….”

Aside from the occasional small gasp, all fell into a hush as Joo Chae-rin murmured quietly.

“No way. Could it really be…?”

Her eyes shook violently as she gazed upon the remnants of the crumbled rock.

A student, once seemingly the lowest of the low, had unexpectedly freed her from her long-held wish.

Still struggling to grasp the reality of the situation, Joo Chae-rin stared blankly at where the rock had stood.

The once towering figure of the rock lingered in her mind.

“Teacher! There’s something here.”

It was Kim Il-shin’s voice that roused her.

Turning her head, she saw a small box in his hands. He had found it beneath the remnants of the rock.

“Uh, uh? Give that to me…!”

Joo Chae-rin hurriedly approached him to receive the box.

The small box, bearing marks of time, was something she had desperately longed for over the past few years.

‘Finally…….’

Holding back tears of empowerment that nearly spilled, Joo Chae-rin spoke.

“Today’s class ends here! The rest of you can rest or prepare for the next class, and Il-shin, come with me.”

Saying this, she grasped Kim Il-shin’s wrist and quickly rushed out of the classroom.

With the box held dear in her other hand.

As the two exited, the dazed students finally began to regain their senses, opening their mouths one by one.

Among them were the two most animated—Namgoong-min and his twin brother Namgoong-hyuk.

“…Wow, he really did it.”

“Right? But honestly, I still don’t quite understand what just happened.”

“You too? Hey, me too.”

As Kim Il-shin recounted the process of breaking the rock, questions about the events so far arose.

“Is that the same Kim Il-shin I knew? Why has he been living like that until now?”

“I don’t know; I’m not familiar with him since we’re in different classes. Maybe he’s just hidden his strength.”

“No way, he hid it way too well.”

Their chatter eventually converged on one pressing question.

“What should we ask for? She said she’ll grant any wish.”

“……No idea.”

“Would she tell us if we just ask?”

“……Wouldn’t she keep that to herself?”

“Probably? Should we challenge her to a duel and ask for a favor if we win?”

“I feel like I’ll get wiped out in one second.”

“Dude.”

The two continued their silly back-and-forth until the next class began.

***

Being dragged along by a strong grip, Kim Il-shin felt himself being nearly lifted off the ground.

He couldn’t believe how fast they reached Joo Chae-rin’s office.

Leaving the direction to her, he began pondering about the reward.

He had already decided what he wanted to ask for.

Surely she wouldn’t refuse, and soon he would gain the chance for real-world experience along with a new sword.