< being="" tested="" is="" shameful="" in="" itself="" (3)="">
He didn"t use Ki. If Ki was used on this attack it would"ve ma.s.sacred a lion let alone a wolf.
It was enough to spin his body and adding weight to the wooden sword. It was enough to make anyone write in pain for a few days. Even if it was a wooden sword.
There wasn"t an exception for wolves either.
Baan"s wooden sword struck the wolf"s neck exactly on its adam"s apple.
"Kaeng!"
It was an unbelievably smooth strike. Who would"ve thought to aim for the adam"s apple on a wolf when it was running towards them. LeeKyung made a tight fist and looked at Baan enviously.
"Defintely Baan Hyungnim…!"
"There"s no way that monster would lose to a wolf."
"I don"t think he used Ki?"
Cho"s warriors smirked and shrugged their shoulders as though it was something natural. Baan becoming an object of envy was not because of his talent. He was strong enough to warrant his talent. He wasn"t stupid enough to ignore training by just believing in his talents.
Wolf? It would have been better to bring a lion for this to be a real test.
Baan was the strongest among them.
"…Hmm."
The judge who looked at him as though he were just a boy changed. He sighed and went in to have a look down at the writhing wolf.
"I told you to survive for one minute, not to beat up the wolf."
"Ah, then should I do it again?"
"… It"s fine. There"s no need for that. That some clean skill you have. I"ll admit. You"ll be a hoobae worth keeping an eye on."
"Hoobae…?"
"You didn"t hear? All the judges are students currently in the academy."
The judge smiled widely.
"I"m Kamin. If you pa.s.s the exams come look for me. I"ll give you a tour."
"Ok. "Sunbaenim."" (Sunbae is Senpai/uppercla.s.smen)
"Kuheheh, a daring one."
Kamin looked back at the other Cho members with a delighted smile. He looked at them with a provocative face.
"The start was good, makes me wonder how terrifying the other Cho warriors are?"
They all saw how Baan did and have an expression as though their blood was boiling. It may be just a fight with a wolf, but it was also a chance for them to show their power to the world.
That day, the Cho family reputation wasn"t tarnished.
Without a single dropout, they all gained the chance to take the test.
"Did you see LeeKyung pump up his shoulders acting strong and then being terrified in front of the wolf?"
"Hey, Hey! When was I terrified!"
"If that"s not being terrified what is? You were running way for the full minute."
"It was dodging not running away! I didn"t want to hara.s.s the wolf?"
"Ah, so Baan who knocked out the wolf is abusing animals?"
"Why is it about that now! Are you gonna drive it that way? Huh?"
LeeKyung was screaming at the top of his lungs. He was a prime target for the others to make fun of. Baan smirked and put his hand atop LeeKyung"s head.
"Don"t get pent up. This is why they make fun of you."
"Ugh… Sorry, hyungnim."
"Look at him acting all polite to Baan. Whaa, look at the acting."
"It"s not acting, its admiration you animals."
"pfftpfft."
"…You wanna die?"
LeeKyung got worked up again as though he never calmed down. It was about the time when Baan was shaking his head at the troublemakers. A man came up to Baan. One with bronze skin and shaved head. It was Hezelek who was deemed the strongest after Baan.
"Baan. You tired?"
"Why. Wanna have a go?"
"It"s time for you to itch right?"
"Real? Or fake?"
"… is that even a question?"
Hezelek asked back and smiled. Baan smiled back and gripped the sword. Lucas" shortsword.
Baan carried around three swords. Lucas" shortsword, Obun"s longsword. And the longsword specialized for the Cho family strikes.
To be frank, Lucas" shortsword was lacking in quality compared to the others. Enough to make the other warriors ask him why he carries it around.
Baan answered it was because of his childhood memories, but the real reason was different. Lucas" style has been mostly absorbed into him for a while now, but the talent was different. It was something he could sync up to, but not absorb.
So Baan trained in Cho swordsmanship and others that he had already learned while holding Lucas" shortsword. When the sword techniques inside his head merged with the talent within Lucas" shortword… the results always exceeded his expectations in many ways.
And.
"Hezelek. Come."
Baan let his sword hang and looked at Hezelek. To the untrained eye, it was full of openings, but it wasn"t. Cho family swordsmen can make a perfect strike from any position.
Even though Baan told him to come, Hezelek couldn"t readily lunge at Baan. He bit his lips.
"I can"t see an opening."
His swordsman"s intuition was telling him not to go near right now. It wasn"t this bad before. When did this monster improve again. Is he even on the same time as him.
The palms of his hands gripping hard on the swords were already dripping with sweat. Baan looked at Hezelek for a moment, and said with a low soft voice.
"If you"re not coming, I"m going."
It was the moment his words ended. Baan jumped from the ground. Even though it wasn"t utilizing Ki, in an instant Baan"s sword was headed toward Hezelek"s side.
Chang!
"Kuh!"
It was pure luck that he was able to block. But that didn"t mean Baan"s attacks stopped. Baan"s sword swung before Hezelek could make his fotting, and once Hezelek rolled on the ground and raised his head, the sword"s cold blade and on his neck.
"…I lost."
"What the f.u.c.k. Hezelek lost that easily?"
"…I haven"t won against Hezelek even once."
It wasn"t a question of utilizing Ki. The attacks Baan had used just now didn"t use Ki.
Just, as a swordsman his abilities were on another level.
It was that kind of problem.
"Hyungnim…"
"Waaa, look at LeeKyung"s eyes. Tell the truth. You like men right?"
"…Why is it an issue for a swordsman to like a strong swordsman?"
"It"s an issue. Swordsmen shouldn"t like stronger swordsmen, they should want to beat them."
The one fighting constantly with LeeKyung was JeonGill. He licked his lips and mumbled.
"Just wait. I"ll show you what it means to be a real swordsman. Baan! Lets have a go! You still have enough strength left right?"
"Come in. It doesn"t matter."
Baan shrugged and fixed his grip on the sword. And soon, JeonGill wasn"t able to give reason for Baan to use his sword and was rolling on the ground from Baan"s one kick. LeeKyung was laughing uncontrollably and looked down at JeonGill.
"Look. This is what happens when you act like a know it all?"
"….S, guhuk, shut up."
It was a daily sight. Challenge Baan, lose. Everyone that were Cho"s warriors heard the term genius at least once when they were young, but once they came up against Baan they realized talent was just relative.
After that more warriors challenged him, but n.o.body was able to put their blades close to Baan"s clothing. Baan looked as though someone who already knew the perfect answer for where to put their body, how to swing the sword.
When they saw Baan who was already out of the spot they were aiming for, it made sense that he was called a phantom.
"…This entrance exam, the leading role will obviously be Baan right?"
JeonGill mumbled. Hezelek said with a voice split half between proudness and bitterness.
"If it"s not him who would take the lead role?"
Capital, Citadel Academy"s entrance exam wasn"t always the same. There were times when they wanted to cultivate judgment, and it was also taken as a sort of a festival that happened every year. It would be a problem if the festival became stale.
Even so, if there was one thing that hasn"t changed for decades, it was the "tournament".
Swordsmen and Swordsmen. Archers. Lancers on horses. They all charged and cut at each other for victory in this b.l.o.o.d.y arena.
It was the best festival to rile up people"s hearts regardless of time.
The process was simple. The preliminaries start with randomly selected partic.i.p.ants for eight groups until eight people are left. To make sure friends wouldn"t make their own team, all wore the same armor and mask.
The ones who survived were promised entry, but it doesn"t stop there. The ones who made it onto the main round wouldn"t be satisfied with just entry.
There is a saying. The ones who took the entrance exam to enter, their futures are already chosen when they take the test. The ones observing this test aren"t just citizens. From wealthy men, to the important figures in the Nine Families, all had their eyes open to see who would be victorious.
Baan stroke the mask on his face. It was uncomfortable to have his field of view stifled, but it was the same for the others so he couldn"t complain.
"It"s a big festival. I"ll leave it. My footprints."
To make sure everyone who comes to the colosseum can"t help but remember the swordsman named Baan.
Baan gripped his sword.
He was ready.
Ready to become the lead role in this festival.
< being="" tested="" is="" shameful="" in="" itself="" (3)=""> End