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Chapter 181

He had blocked the synesthetic mindscape attack that came at him with his own Sword Control and moved with optimal efficiency until the blade touched his neck.

Yet he was given a mere C? For once, Se-Hoon was completely lost.

“Why? You can\'t accept it?”

“No, it\'s not that, but...”

“Well, I understand. I did think you’d struggle a bit.”

Hearing Kwang-Soo talk like he had somewhat expected the result, Se-Hoon fell into thought.

“Then... if my guess is wrong, what exactly is the grading criteria?”

If the goal wasn\'t to observe how skilled they were in their movements, what was he looking for?

But unfortunately for Se-Hoon, Kwang-Soo just grinned and playfully said, “I’m not telling you.”

“...”

“Shouldn\'t you figure it out yourself? Have you ever seen an examiner give away the correct answers for their exams?”

Se-Hoon squinted his eyes in annoyance. They were taking a practical exam not a normal exam, so shouldn\'t he at least tell them the grading criteria? Alas, he was well aware that right now, Kwang-Soo held the most authority and could freely decide not to tell them anything.

About to accept his fate, Se-Hoon suddenly heard Kwang-Soo murmuring something while glancing at him.

“If you\'d just learned when I offered to teach you, you would have aced the exam already...”

Doubting his ears, Se-Hoon stared at Kwang-Soo in disbelief.

Is this old man really holding a grudge over being rejected by a student...?

Apparently, a lot of resentment had built up.

But despite knowing that, Se-Hoon couldn’t help but grind his teeth in frustration at Kwang-Soo’s elation.

“Excuse me...”

Jumping into the conversation, Jake, who had been watching until now, made a cautious request.

“I\'d like to go again... if that\'s okay?”

To be honest, Jake was more concerned about Se-Hoon\'s reaction than Kwang-Soo\'s. He was quite motivated by their rivalry, but he still recognized that Se-Hoon was the only blacksmith capable of forging his sword.

So, wary of provoking his only blacksmith unnecessarily, Jake made sure to act cautiously. But not knowing that, Kwang-Soo smiled at Jake’s cautious attitude.

“Of course. With a bit more effort, you might get an A.”

“W-wait, Professor...”

“What are you doing? Go stand over there.”

Seeing Kwang-Soo wave his hand dismissively at him, trying to shoo him away, Se-Hoon bit his lip before agreeing after a brief pause.

“Okay.”

Telling himself that indulging in such childish quarrels would only bring him down to the same level, Se-Hoon stepped aside obediently. He would take the chance to find out the grading criteria.

“The same three seconds, okay?”

“Yes!”

Counting down from three, Kwang-Soo pulled out his sword and touched Jake\'s neck almost instantly after reaching zero.

“Ugh...”

Despite having experienced it once before, the speed and precision of the strike still sent chills down Jake\'s spine. Like before, he broke out in a cold sweat.

“This time, your grade is a B+.”

“...B+?”

Jake looked up in surprise at Kwang-Soo, who was withdrawing his sword. His sword had only barely managed to intercept Kwang-Soo\'s near the middle, and he didn\'t feel any different from before.

Yet his score improved?

Seeing Jake\'s confusion, Kwang-Soo calmly explained, “You must have subconsciously refined your actions after that first experience. Because, unlike that guy, you have the basics down.”

“The basics...”

“So, what now? Want to try again?”

“Huh? Oh, um...”

At Kwang-Soo\'s question, Jake reflexively glanced at Se-Hoon, who nodded.

“Go ahead. I need to see just a bit more to figure out the grading criteria anyway.”

“Thanks.”

Relieved, Jake lowered his sword and looked at Kwang-Soo.

“One more attempt, please.”

“Good. Take this chance to get a perfect score and put that arrogant guy in his place.”

“No, please don\'t say things like that...”

Taken aback by how Kwang-Soo seemed to enjoy teasing Se-Hoon, Jake kept fumbling with the conversation. Preparing, they both readied their swords.

Time passed, and Jake’s retakes soon numbered more than thirty. Even including the time to swing their swords, each test took just over three seconds, so it was quickly piling up.

“Hmm...”

Having observed all of the accumulated samples, Se-Hoon had found a few patterns in Kwang-Soo’s movements.

He keeps aiming for the neck with his blade.

And though Kwang-Soo was moving fast, he was still perfectly controlling the sword to leave no mark on the neck. Initially, Se-Hoon thought it was just a display of his swordsmanship skills, but as the attempts began to exceed thirty, Se-Hoon mind also changed.

If it were just about showing off, he would have stopped long ago.

However, he did it each time. And instead of controlling his strength from the start, Kwang-Soo pulled back his strength only just before the blade touched to avoid injury. Of course, with Kwang-Soo\'s skill level, it likely didn’t require much effort to pull off, but convenience and effort were different matters.

Moreover, he\'s using mana embedded with a synesthetic mindscape with each swing...

Unlike himself, who completely blocked the synesthetic mindscape attack using Sword Control, Jake was hit by them each time, causing him to tense up and respond late.

From a grading perspective, it was a clear negative.

“Hmm. Not bad. I\'ll give you an A.”

“T-Thank you!”

However, Jake\'s score only improved with each test. It was incomprehensible. Racking his brain to figure it out, Se-Hoon remembered something he had heard before he regressed.

“People\'s true intentions always come out just before they die. Their thoughts and skills are also all included in it.”

Remembering what Kwang-Soo used to always mumble when he was heavily drunk, a thought struck Se-Hoon. Back then, he had always thought it was just drunken rambling, but perhaps that wasn’t the case.

If that\'s what he’s looking for...

If the grading criteria were what he was thinking right now, then everything clicked into place. Now it made sense that his score was only a C. Smiling to himself, Se-Hoon checked his body and the range of Fatestones he had.

“I\'d like to take you on this time.”

Hearing Se-Hoon\'s words, both men turned to look at him, with Kwang-Soo narrowing his eyes.

“You want to challenge me again?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

Se-Hoon\'s confidence made Kwang-Soo feel slightly uneasy, but he quickly brushed it off.

There\'s no way he figured it out so fast.

Certain that was the case, Kwang-Soo looked at Jake, who was catching his breath.

“You can take a rest over there.”

“Ah, yes.”

Obeying, Jake stepped aside and made way for Se-Hoon, who moved to stand before Kwang-Soo. He was once again holding his Forgefire Hammer.

“Are you confident that you’ll win?”

“I should at least be better than before.”

“...Alright. Then, in three.”

Both men relaxed their stances and faced each other. Beginning the countdown, the three seconds passed and—

Thud-

Kwang-Soo\'s mana, imbued with his synesthetic mindscape, struck Se-Hoon\'s forehead. It lacked physical force, so there was no pain, but Kwang-Soo’s synesthetic mindscape flooded in like a tidal wave, engulfing and paralyzing Se-Hoon\'s thoughts.

Normally, he would quickly try and shake off the effects before counterattacking.

Thump!

But this time, he decided to use it.

[Bond Imprint ‘Enchanted Aquamarine’ has been activated.]

Using his blood flow, specifically the memories filled within it, with Soul Honing, he activated Bond Imprint on his left arm while still mentally paralyzed.

Woong-!

Enchanted Aquamarine’s ability was synchronization and specialization. It was a reflection of Luize\'s unique skill, Mana Assimilation, which she had yet to awaken. And with it, Se-Hoon could ensnare and draw Kwang-Soo\'s synesthetic mindscape into his left arm.

Squeeze!

The muscles in his left arm began to move erratically, and then even his mana started to act on its own. It was a strange sensation like his left arm had become someone else\'s. But instead of trying to regain control, he fully surrendered his body to it.

Click-

At the same time, Kwang-Soo drew his sword, and in that fleeting moment, before he attacked, the memories imbued in Se-Hoon\'s left arm reacted, forcibly moving his body.

Assisting the familiar yet alien controller, Se-Hoon, eyes shining, unleashed a technique.

Celestial Infinity Blade: Exalted Steel

Clang!

A clear metallic sound echoed loudly.

“...”

Silence fell. While Jake was staring dazedly, still trying to process everything that had happened in the blink of an eye, Kwang-Soo, who had thought his blade had reached Se-Hoon’s neck, stared ahead with wide, gaping eyes.

“This is...”

There was black sword aura forming a blade from Se-Hoon’s left hand. Seemingly both solid and flexible, it managed to block his blade, which should have reached Se-Hoon’s neck.

What the hell... what did he just do?

Se-Hoon had just effortlessly created and wielded a blade made of sword aura directly from the hand—something several times harder than just swinging a sword, especially with the Celestial Infinity Blade.

And while that alone was astonishing, the real reason for Kwang-Soo\'s utter shock was something else.

How did he create Exalted Steel?

Exalted Steel was a sword Kwang-Soo had broken during the time when he was known as the Sword Demon rather than the Broken Sword.

In other words, it was impossible that Se-Hoon had seen it himself, and Kwang-Soo was sure that he had never shown it to him. So then how could he perfectly replicate not only Exalted Steel’s appearance but also its effects?

It\'s as if it’s the real thing...!

Flabbergasted, Kwang-Soo looked at Se-Hoon to seek an answer.

“You...”

“I’m not telling you.”

“...”

Se-Hoon’s answer came before he could properly ask, leaving Kwang-Soo at a loss. That was when he noticed the smug smile on Se-Hoon’s face, and his eyes twitched.

This... brat...

Realizing that Se-Hoon was holding a grudge against a grown man playing a little prank, Kwang-Soo cursed him inwardly.

Keeping the smug smile on his face, Se-Hoon confidently spoke up. “The grading criteria for this exam. It was about how well one could execute the technique imprinted on their synesthetic mindscape, not just the body, right?”

“...Yes.”

There were two types of techniques: those that were imprinted on the body and those that were imprinted on the synesthetic mindscape. And while some might think they were the same since they were both executed reflexively, there was a slight but definitive difference.

“Techniques imprinted on the body are like insurance, meaning they are the most efficient and safest response. But techniques imprinted on the synesthetic mindscape are different. They are the decisive moves that one usually performs during their counterattacks since they’re decided based on the opponent\'s synesthetic mindscape.”

Just like how sometimes one could get an instinctive feeling like “I think this will work,” without any concrete reason during competitions, heroes would have an attack they would think would work.

In actuality, it was the result of their subconscious performing thousands of calculations about the opponent\'s and their own movements, thought processes, and synesthetic mindscape during their battle. That was what a technique imprinted on the synesthetic mindscape was.

“You even used Sword Control to limit us from using our techniques because we lacked practical experience. It helped us bring out the technique embedded in our synesthetic mindscapes by removing all other options. And the strike to the neck was meant to create a realistic situation.”

Despite complaining about the hassle, Kwang-Soo had paid attention to the details. It forced Se-Hoon to reassess Kwang-Soo a little.

Even though he grumbles a lot, he’s good at it when he’s actually doing it.

Perhaps Ludwig forcibly made him a professor because he knew that.

“If you understood the grading criteria, you could have just said so instead of explaining everything...” grumbled Kwang-Soo, dissatisfied.

Unfazed, Se-Hoon made a relaxed smile and casually remarked, “I just wanted to confirm if there was any mistake. So? What’s my score for this attempt?”

“...”

Kwang-Soo\'s mouth twitched, but it wasn’t long before he realized there was no other appropriate response. Giving in, he sighed deeply.

“A+.”

From the original score of a C, Se-Hoon had jumped several ranks and even surpassed Jake.

However, there was a frown on Se-Hoon’s face.

“It’s not a perfect score?”

“Do you think I\'m that easygoing? If you want a perfect score from me, you need to do twice as well as you just did.”

Hearing the genuineness in his response, Se-Hoon thought about his attempt before nodding.

“Well, alright. There’s still plenty of time before the college-wide exam, so I’ll probably manage it by then.”

“Ugh...”

“I guess I’ll leave it at that for today. Oh, and...”

Stopping right before leaving the training ground, Se-Hoon turned back and flashed a casual smile at Jake.

“Try to do your best. You can’t lose to me, right?”

“...”

Speechless, Jake watched Se-Hoon depart with a vacant expression.

“That disrespectful brat...”

Clicking his tongue at Se-Hoon, Kwang-Soo turned his gaze to his sword’s blade, which now bore a nick from a recent clash.

The only way he can use Exalted Steel is... probably that.

It was just a guess, but Kwang-Soo had a feeling Se-Hoon had taken the synesthetic mindscape that he had sent out and reproduced a part of it in his left hand—a technique that only one person in the world was capable of.

...I\'m exhausted.

Feeling deep fatigue, perhaps due to the unexpected outcome of the recent duel, Kwang-Soo looked at Jake.

“I\'m way too tired, so let\'s call it a day—”

“Professor.”

Interrupting him, Jake looked at Kwang-Soo with a serious expression.

“I would like to try again.”

“...”

At the request for a retest, Kwang-Soo’s eyes shut for a moment before he sighed.

“You\'ve done enough for today. You’ll have plenty of time for retests, so don\'t overdo it today. Just go back and—”

“Professor.”

Interrupting Kwang-Soo once more, Jake used an even firmer voice to say, “You said we could retake the test anytime before the college-wide exams. Please let me take it again.”

At Jake\'s repeated insistence, Kwang-Soo’s expression fell.

This kid...

Wondering why youngsters these days had no respect for their elders, irritation surged within Kwang-Soo. However, before he could say anything, Jake added one more thing.

“If you refuse again, I\'ll report you to Chairman Ludwig.”

“What...”

“I’ll tell him everything, starting from how you skip classes regularly.”

At Jake\'s threat, Kwang-Soo’s face went blank, and he tightly shut his eyes.

That brat... he must have known this was going to happen.

Jake usually wouldn\'t push this hard, being aware of Kwang-Soo’s temper, but it seemed Se-Hoon’s provocation had fired him up to improve his grades.

To retaliate so harshly against an old man...

Cursing internally, Kwang-Soo opened his eyes wide.

“Fine. Let\'s do it. Go ahead, try as much as you want!”

If he had Jake for an hour or two longer, he would make sure to give Jake a hard time. Kwang-Soo’s eyes gleamed as he grabbed his sword again.

.

.

.

“I would like to retake the test...”

“...I\'m sorry. I was wrong.”

However, unlike Kwang-Soo’s expectations, they sparred for the next twelve hours straight without leaving the training ground.