I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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In the personal office of Joo Chae-rin, pulled in by a strong hand, a tidy and calm atmosphere lingered.

It was a practical space, arranged neatly with only the essentials.

“Coffee or green tea?”

“Green tea is fine.”

Joo Chae-rin seated Kim Il-sin at the table and served him warm green tea. Then she sat down opposite him and spoke up.

“First, thank you so much. That box is incredibly important to me. That’s why I’ve been submitting those assignments.”

As soon as Joo Chae-rin arrived at her office, she placed the box into her safe, handling it with care to avoid any scratches.

“It is precious, indeed. It’s an artifact that can enhance one’s abilities by several levels.”

But she didn’t feel greedy about it. It was entirely useless to him, and he had obtained something better while breaking the rock.

“As I mentioned before, your grades will be treated as perfect. This assignment is a kind of practical exam, and it was approved in advance, so there’s no problem.”

This meant that not only the exam but also attendance in classes was no longer required. More time to focus on training had opened up.

“Next is about the reward you want, Il-sin. I’m serious when I say I’ll grant you anything, so don’t hold back. How about money? I could give you all my fortune if you want. Really.”

Joo Chae-rin’s words were genuine. She was deeply grateful to him.

No one who attempted the assignment had ever come close to the solution Kim Il-sin had offered.

Globally renowned experts had failed to break the rock too. After searching around, their last hope lay with the young talent from the academy.

Of course, they were almost ready to give up.

“If it weren’t for Il-sin… I might have completely given up.”

A talent capable of reproducing a sword merely by seeing traces wouldn’t easily reappear in the world.

However, he didn’t want any money. Kim Il-sin declined.

“How about swordsmanship instruction? Oh, I guess that wouldn’t be necessary… How about equipment? I have a storage room. You can choose anything from there. I could even give you the whole storage.”

“That would be fine too.”

Kim Il-sin rejected several outrageous offers without a moment’s hesitation. As a result, Joo Chae-rin began to feel increasingly anxious.

She knew well how people typically reacted to rewards when someone offered anything.

In reality, many individuals harbored physical desires while challenging these assignments.

Of course, she hadn’t offered rewards without being prepared to accept such demands…

“I haven’t even held a guy’s hand or been in a relationship yet…”

When it came down to it, she started to panic. Yet, there was no turning back. Joo Chae-rin concealed her anxious feelings and waited for Kim Il-sin’s response.

“I have a request I’d like to make, and I need your permission. But my grades aren’t great, so I don’t think the other teachers would agree. I was hoping you could.”

She could have made an even bigger request, but this was what she needed at the moment. There was a task that had to be handled right away.

Once Kim Il-sin finished speaking, Joo Chae-rin visibly relaxed.

Seeing this, Kim Il-sin thought, “I can guess what she’s been thinking.”

If that’s the case, she could’ve set limitations.

“Is that really enough for you?”

Joo Chae-rin asked back, as if wondering if that would be alright. It was a weaker request than she had anticipated.

The academy, where aspiring heroes gathered, received many requests. From gathering, clearing out bandits, to investigating incidents, they varied widely in type and difficulty.

If students took on requests mismatched to their abilities, there was a great chance of mishaps occurring. One means to prevent this was the “grade consideration system.”

As the name implies, it divided the grades of academy students based on the grade of requests they could take on. Even if one had abilities, they couldn’t take requests without proper grades.

However, if they had the permission of the practical exam’s teacher, they could disregard this and take requests.

Of course, it wasn’t a privilege to be abused. If an unpleasant incident occurred from an inappropriate request, the teacher who gave permission would bear significant responsibility.

“That seems unlikely.”

However, Joo Chae-rin concluded that it was based on what she had just seen of Kim Il-sin’s swordsmanship.

Also, it seemed unlikely that Kim Il-sin would take on a request he couldn’t handle. He didn’t strike her as someone who would make such foolish decisions.

To Joo Chae-rin, Kim Il-sin appeared to be the type of person who wouldn’t move if he wasn’t confident.

“Yes. That’s sufficient.”

As Kim Il-sin responded, Joo Chae-rin nodded in understanding.

“Copy the request form and send it to me, and I’ll stamp my approval. And… do you want to wait just a moment?”

Joo Chae-rin rose from her seat and opened the safe where she had placed the box.

What she pulled out was a small pouch. Without hesitation, she placed it into Kim Il-sin’s hand.

“Here, take this. It’s a elixir from the Fire Governance Society, which will have a better effect on you.”

“…Is it okay for me to accept this?”

“When an adult gives something, you just say thank you~.”

“Then, I will gratefully receive it.”

Kim Il-sin accepted the pouch. The fiery warmth radiating from the elixir felt heavy for its size.

He felt dazed by the unexpected windfall.

If rated, it would be an A grade. No matter how much money one had, it wouldn’t be easy to obtain.

It was a precious item to simply give away like this.

“Thank you so much. I will send the request form after the afternoon class.”

Kim Il-sin bowed again and exited.

He couldn’t wait for the afternoon class to end. He wanted to consume the elixir as soon as possible.

Clunk.

Once Kim Il-sin left, Joo Chae-rin, left standing in her office, recalled his figure in front of the rock.

A talent so astonishing it was hard to believe.

It felt as if she had witnessed a scene that would be passed down through legend.

However, aside from his swordsmanship talent, he didn’t seem to possess such immense strength.

It made her wonder if a talent that never existed suddenly came to be.

But soon enough, it was clear he would grow endlessly strong. That was the frightening aspect of geniuses.

It wouldn’t take long for her own level to be overtaken as well.

“I need to train harder.”

Joo Chae-rin didn’t want to be surpassed by Kim Il-sin.

She also wished to be a strength to him in the future, and there was her competitive spirit too.

When facing an extraordinary talent, one might feel despair, but it could also ignite a greater flame within them.

Joo Chae-rin belonged to the latter group.

This was the moment a new goal appeared in her life, which had been consumed by the need to break the rock.

***

The news that a student had completed Joo Chae-rin’s assignment spread quickly throughout the academy.

First, they were shocked at the fact that a task that hadn’t been solved for years had finally been completed.

Then they were stunned again to find out that the one who completed it was Kim Il-sin.

Many didn’t believe it.

Kim Il-sin was famously known as the overwhelming bottom of the academy.

“Did you see it wrong?”

“How could everyone there have seen it wrong? It’s true.”

“No matter what, it’s hard to believe…”

The suspicious gazes didn’t last long. Thanks to the testimonies of the students present in the classroom, it quickly became clear that the rumor was indeed a fact.

Yet it was not readily accepted.

“Did he use some strange ability or something?”

“There might have been some sort of deal with the teacher.”

A variety of speculations circulated. Some even doubted the relationship between Kim Il-sin and Joo Chae-rin.

It was so unbelievable that such absurd statements arose.

The rumors reached Baek Ha-yeon as well.

She wasn’t very surprised, as she had already sensed Kim Il-sin hiding his strength.

However, what grew was her curiosity.

Kim Il-sin had meticulously hidden his strength so no one could take notice until now.

Suddenly showcasing his power and quickly gaining fame raised questions about his intentions.

Moreover, she was curious about his true strength to have completed the assignment by executing such extraordinary swordsmanship.

Baek Ha-yeon was still convinced that her duel with Kim Il-sin would lead to her significant growth.

Yet it didn’t seem likely that Kim Il-sin would accept a duel.

As the heir of her family, whose approval she desperately needed, she only felt anxious.

There was a way. To target him in the upcoming duel exams in a few weeks.

If he refused, he wouldn’t be able to turn down the request since he would face a penalty on his grades, which could lead to expulsion.

Baek Ha-yeon decided to wait until that day.

“…Ha.”

At that moment, Seo Ye-rin, sitting next to her, let out an incredulous chuckle.

She was holding the newly published student newspaper, which had just been rushed out.

It featured a bold headline about Kim Il-sin completing the assignment.

To Baek Ha-yeon, Seo Ye-rin seemed to be in a bad mood lately, but she couldn’t figure out why.

***

As soon as the afternoon classes ended, she skipped physical training and swordsmanship practice and headed straight to the dormitory.

It was to consume the elixir she obtained as quickly as possible.

She turned on the light and sat cross-legged on the floor. In front of her lay the pouch of the elixir she received from Joo Chae-rin.

The elixir had various effects, but what she desired the most was an increase in her mana capacity.

“This requires time, after all.”

Kim Il-sin possessed the ability and physique to use mana efficiently.

Furthermore, his speed in accumulating mana was incredibly fast.

However, that didn’t mean he could catch up with decades of time in a single leap.

The units of time invested in mana training were different.

“There was a reason she said it would be more effective for me.”

If he consumed the elixir, that time difference could be significantly reduced.

Of course, how much power he could absorb from the elixir would depend on his skills in handling mana.

The amount of force that could be absorbed varied greatly depending on one’s control over mana.

Typically around 40%. If one’s mana control was outstanding or if someone skillfully guided them, it could reach up to 70%.

However, Kim Il-sin’s goal was higher than that.

“I’ll pull out at least 80%.”

With that determination, he took out the elixir from the pouch and placed it on his palm.

A pleasant earthy aroma wafted up with the warm heat.

He closed his eyes and placed the elixir into his mouth.

As soon as it touched his tongue, the elixir melted away. As he slowly swallowed, a fiery energy surged within him.

While circulating his mana, a warm feeling spread through his body before quickly dissipating.

“…Hmm?”

Feeling something strange, Kim Il-sin opened his eyes.

As the hot sensation disappeared, the energy from the elixir that had entered his body vanished as well.

Did something go wrong? Kim Il-sin tried circulating his mana and soon detected an anomaly.

All the power of the elixir had merged into his body.

It had absorbed instantly, just like sugar dissolving in water.

The amount of mana had suddenly multiplied several times over, approaching a remarkable efficiency of 100%, far surpassing the initial target of 80%.

“Is this even possible?”

Even he found it hard to comprehend the phenomenon.

Typically, consuming elixirs took several hours, leaving one vulnerable to the dangers of the outside world, an unchanging common knowledge.

But he was different. At this rate, consuming an elixir mid-battle would pose no problem.

“This much should be enough.”

As he gauged the increased amount of mana, he felt the time to finally form his mana framework had come.

It was also the time he could level up further.