Chapter 28 - The Boss Is Too Weak (8)

I did think it would be fucking hilarious if I tore my palm open learning swordsmanship here and regressed, but that never happened.

Choi Jiwon simply had me watch, sword in hand.

WHOOSH. WHOOSH.

Choi Jiwon swung her sword slowly, her form precise. After repeating a movement several times, she would look at me and ask, "Got that memorized?"

Each time, I gave a small nod. As soon as I did, she moved straight on to the next technique.

WHOOSH. WHOOSH.

This was my first time learning by watching Choi Jiwon's swordsmanship, rather than having her correct my own.

"This stance is useful when you've lost your balance."

Her swordsmanship wasn't flashy.

How to put more power behind the blade. How to maintain a stable stance. How to respond effectively to an enemy's movements.

I wasn't an expert on swordsmanship, but it struck me as firmly grounded in the fundamentals.

Rather than the legendary techniques of the Mount Hua Sect, it felt like I was watching Swordsmanship: The Definitive Guide [Basic Edition].

Really, I shouldn't expect modern swordsmanship to be all style. I was more amazed that Choi Jiwon knew how to wield a real blade.

Had about an hour passed since she began swinging her sword?

-[You have acquired a trait.]

-Swordsmanship [F]

"Whew..."

As Choi Jiwon caught her breath, I decided to share the good news.

"I got a trait."

"... Really? What rank?"

"... F."

Only now had I acquired the Swordsmanship trait.

After all the hell I'd put myself through learning the sword, my skills had finally reached rank F.

Actually, wasn't this how you were normally supposed to get traits? Getting them from emotions was the abnormal way.

"As far as the sword goes... I think I've taught you everything I can. You can gradually get used to it as you keep regressing. Or you might pick up some impressive new swordsmanship."

Choi Jiwon wiped a bead of sweat trickling down her forehead with her arm.

Her movements had been incredibly slow, but she must have concentrated intensely to maintain perfect form.

"But why are you teaching me swordsmanship?"

"... Because I want to help."

"I mean, even if you say that... Huh?"

I stopped mid-sentence and closed my mouth.

Suddenly, yet slowly, Choi Jiwon bent into a deep bow. Her waist formed a perfect ninety-degree angle.

"... What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry."

"..."

"Because I hadn't trained my mind and body enough... I made things hard for you. I'm sorry."

I immediately understood what she meant.

The account of my past runs I'd shared earlier had included dozens of instances of Choi Jiwon going 'slice.'

"First... straighten up. Let's sit down and talk. It's not even something you did this run."

In fact, from her perspective, she hadn't done it at all. There had been no 'slice' this run.

She was apologizing based entirely on my word.

Receiving such a formal apology made me uncomfortable, too.

"... Okay."

She obediently straightened up and sat down in front of me.

"Whew..."

My feelings were complicated enough that putting them into words was incredibly difficult.

I liked Choi Jiwon.

I liked her kind heart that wanted to protect the weak, her sense of justice, and her tremendous strength. All of it.

But at the same time, I fucking hated her. She was like a crazy bitch.

She sliced the bridge of my nose with a sword just for asking what college she went to.

She knocked me out for being suspicious because I'd lied.

She decided on her own that I was a pervert and kicked the shit out of me.

"You. What's wrong with your temper? Why do you always hit first?"

She was so barbaric it was hard to believe she'd come from the modern world.

Actually, it wasn't a question of the era.

Even in the barbaric Stone Age, if she'd acted like that, someone would have painted a cave mural saying, 'Choi Jiwon is a crazy bitch.'

"That's... Ugh..."

In an exceedingly rare sight, Choi Jiwon blushed.

After a long deliberation, she unfastened the scabbard at her waist and laid it on the ground.

"It's this one's fault."

"... What?"

Seriously? Even if she had nothing else to blame, she was blaming her sword?

I'd seen plenty of people blame their parents or the world, but this was my first time seeing someone blame their own sword.

Yet her expression was far too serious to dismiss it as a joke.

Choi Jiwon gently stroked the sword on the ground.

"One of my traits is... Unity of Body and Sword. This is what it says in my Status window."

She began writing in the dirt with her fingertip.

-Unity of Body and Sword [SSS]

-A state in which the human becomes the sword, and the sword becomes the human. To the human, the sword's sharpness and strength; to the sword, human wisdom.

"... Reading that doesn't tell me much. The description's way too vague."

"It literally brings Whoosh and me closer to each other's essence. Oh, Whoosh is the name of this sword, by the way."

"..."

Whoosh, huh. That was a fucking cute name for a sword.

More importantly, I didn't quite understand what a trait that made a person and a sword become one actually meant.

"I think you'll have to explain a little more."

"To put it simply... my body became strong like a sword. My muscles got stronger, my senses sharper... Basically, my overall physical abilities improved."

"... Aha."

"The reason I'm always swinging my sword in the clearing is to adjust to those improved physical abilities. Not to find some hidden rewards, like you thought."

So that was it.

I'd thought she was going for something like 'Hidden Achievement: Swing Your Sword 10,000 Times in the Tutorial.'

Apparently, she'd had a perfectly reasonable explanation.

"But... what does that have to do with hitting me?"

Her explanation was still lacking.

What did needing to adjust to improved physical abilities have to do with flying off the handle every time and beating the shit out of me?

Her face still flushed, Choi Jiwon shook her head.

"... I wasn't the only one who needed to adjust."

"... What?"

"Whoosh... gained a sense of self thanks to the trait. We share memories and thoughts. Whoosh can even move my body at will. Because we're one."

"..."

Unity of Body and Sword. A state in which human and sword become one.

Had Choi Jiwon and Whoosh literally become one?

It was like two personalities coexisting in one body, cooperating with each other.

Choi Jiwon scratched the back of her head in apparent embarrassment.

"Whoosh is still mentally very young... and terrible at controlling emotions. When angry, Whoosh starts swinging. When suspicious, Whoosh subdues the person first and asks questions later."

"Uh... Um..."

"Normally, my will stops Whoosh from acting... But when I'm worked up or suspicious too, it's hard to stop the punches. Actually, we'd already knocked out two people before joining up with you..."

"..."

At a loss for words, I opened and closed my mouth like an idiot.

The shocking truth: the one who'd been beating the crap out of me all along was actually a sword called Whoosh.

Age: seven days. Not seven years. Seven days.

Come to think of it, Choi Jiwon had always muttered to herself.

I had a habit of muttering like a web-novel protagonist too, so I'd brushed it off. But now it occurred to me that she'd actually been talking to her sword.

"... But you said you can read each other's thoughts. Doesn't that mean you don't need to speak out loud?"

"... I was just talking out loud to organize my thoughts..."

"Aha."

Whatever the case, the truth behind Choi Jiwon, the crazy bitch whose blade was faster than her words, had come to light: it had all been the work of a young sword that had only recently gained self-awareness.

That made Choi Jiwon more of a bystander, or a passive accomplice.

Of course, that didn't suddenly make me like her.

You threw those punches because you agreed with Whoosh's feelings too, Choi Jiwon. You said you could stop it when you disagreed.

In the end... she did seem to have a short fuse. And it was still true that she was fundamentally rude as hell.

The only difference was that Choi Jiwon had the self-control to stop her fists, while Whoosh didn't.

"I want an apology."

I crossed my arms like an arrogant CEO and stared at her.

"Okay. If my apology wasn't enough, I'll..."

"No. I want an apology from the one responsible. Tell Whoosh to come out."

I'd already received an apology from Choi Jiwon. This was something I needed to discuss with the actual culprit.

"... Give me a moment."

She closed her eyes and entered a heated debate with Whoosh.

How much time passed?

Her deeply furrowed face suddenly became completely expressionless.

Choi Jiwon's face was usually impassive, but this went beyond that.

It was slightly unpleasant to look at.

"... You want an apology."

Human voices naturally had changes in pitch and intonation, but Choi Jiwon's voice now had none.

"... Are you Whoosh?"

"Yes."

Choi Jiwon—no, Whoosh—spoke with an utterly blank expression.

Apparently, Whoosh wasn't used to acting human. The sword needed some lessons in making facial expressions.

This was incredibly uncanny. Something was... something.

"Kim Junho. I'm sorry."

Whoosh delivered the apology without any expression.

"But being sorry doesn't mean it was my fault. I've never tried to kill anyone. I only subdue them. Rather than me being at fault, it's your trait that's strange."

"..."

I'd asked for an apology, and Whoosh gave me excuses. Still, there was some truth to it.

"Hey! Is that how you're going to act?"

This time, Choi Jiwon's personality surfaced and snapped at Whoosh.

"Whew... I'll talk some sense into Whoosh and have—"

"No. It's fine. There's some truth to that."

Again, this was a sentient being who'd been born seven days ago.

Expecting a mature apology was asking too much. I'd have to be satisfied with hearing the words "I'm sorry."

And my trait really was strange, so I wasn't even angry.

Besides, what was I going to do, punch a sword because I was annoyed? I'd probably scrape my knuckles and regress.

Well, I'd gotten the apology I wanted...

"... So what are you going to do now?"

I asked Choi Jiwon the fundamental question.

Our chat had been fairly enjoyable, but the situation hadn't changed much.

There was no hope left here. Everyone was simply waiting for their inevitable doom.

Choi Jiwon was the strange one for remaining so calm in a situation like this.

"... Kim Junho. Shouldn't you take something away from this before you regress?"

She said my name as though savoring it.

"You said that when someone feels a strong emotion, you can get it as a trait, right?"

"... That's right."

"Have you gotten a trait from me?"

"No. Not once."

Even now, with death looming over her, Choi Jiwon remained calm.

Getting a trait from her could hardly be easy.

"Hmm..."

She closed her eyes and sank into thought.

Her lashes were long against her closed eyes.

"I've been thinking... I don't think we know each other very well. Isn't it hard to feel strongly about someone you don't know?"

Suddenly, she was stating the obvious.

"... Well, sure."

We'd met in the tower in the first place. What was there for us to know about each other?

"Then we can start getting to know each other now, can't we?"

Once again, she gave me a small smile. There was nothing exaggerated about it, and it was quite lovely.

"Then... starting now."

On an island destined for destruction.

"I'll tell you about my life. Tell me about yours."

Choi Jiwon began her story.

A Word from the Author (Afterword)

Whoosh, you little rascal...!

How dare you put my dear readers through all that frustration...!

I'll take you aside and give you a proper scolding...!

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