Sowol instinctively knew that the enemy before her was a dangerous opponent.
No wonder, as she already had goosebumps all over her body.
‘Can I do this?’
It’s only been a few months since she properly learned swordsmanship.
So, it’s natural to wonder if she could take down such a powerful monster alone.
Nevertheless, Sowol didn’t retreat.
Instead, she only walked forward.
‘No thoughts.’
She recalled what Lee Hyun had taught her. There is no fear. There is no terror.
There isn’t even the confidence that she can do it.
Erasing everything, Sowol was feeling the emotion of nothingness.
– Aaaaaaah!!
A terrible scream was heard.
But that didn’t stop Sowol’s steps.
Was it irritated by that?
With a flash of red light inside its empty eyes, the Wraith flew quickly to take Sowol’s life.
– Aaaaaaaaah!!
A white energy shot out with a terrible scream.
Sowol avoided it by taking one step aside and swung her wooden sword.
But the wooden sword just cut through the air in vain.
“Hup!”
But she didn’t get disappointed.
Even disappointment is a luxury.
She must not have anything. She must not possess anything.
How was it when Lee Hyun cut down the Skull Gang last time?
His sword was free, as if unbound by anything.
It showed that because there was nothing, anything could be accomplished.
She wants to have that sword. She wants to achieve that sword.
Sowol shook her head at the small desire that arose.
‘This, too, is just a distracting thought.’
Only one thing.
She etches only Lee Hyun’s teaching of ‘no-thought’ in her mind.
– Aaaaaaaaah!!
As if annoyed that Sowol had avoided its attack, the Wraith shot out white energy in the form of arrows several times. But none of those attacks reached Sowol.
She was able to avoid them with just light movements.
‘It’s slower than Master’s attacks.’
These are attacks full of hostility.
If she couldn’t avoid attacks like these, all the training she had received up until now would have been a waste of time.
There’s no way she would do such a sloppy thing.
Sowol kept avoiding the attacks and then gripped her sword tightly.
What she desires is that sword dance.
She just swings, imagining a sword that resembles the pure white moonlight.
– Wooong…!!
It was just a moment.
It was just a single moment, but what gathered on Sowol’s wooden sword was clearly a faint white energy.
Everyone present knew what that was.
“…Good heavens.”
An’s lips parted as if she had seen something unbelievable.
Yes. If what she saw was correct, that was…
“…Sword energy…?”
Sword energy is something that even swordsmen who have trained for decades cannot create without talent.
That sword energy.
An was at a loss for words because Sowol, who had only been learning properly for a few months, had created it.
– Aaaaaaah!!
Although it fluttered on the wooden sword as if it might disappear at any moment, the Wraith knew that sword energy was dangerous.
Was that why? The Wraith’s movements became more constrained.
And,
That became the Wraith’s downfall.
“Haap!!”
With a low shout, Sowol’s body moved.
With movements like the wind, Sowol quickly ran towards the Wraith and swung her sword with flashing eyes.
And that sword.
It clearly resembled Lee Hyun’s sword, if only a little.
“Phew…”
Watching the Wraith that had been properly hit by the sword energy crumble away, Sowol turned her head.
An, sitting on the ground and staring blankly this way, and Lee Hyun, standing with his arms crossed as if looking at something unremarkable.
Sowol felt a little pride at An’s gaze, but then she saw Lee Hyun.
‘What have I done…?’
What she had just done was merely an imitation.
It was nothing more than arbitrarily doing a part of the sword dance that Lee Hyun had shown last time.
How ridiculous must it have seemed from Lee Hyun’s perspective, who knows the complete form?
He might think she was trying to fly when she couldn’t even run yet.
‘I’m ashamed.’
She had never felt this emotion in her entire life.
She is the precious daughter of the giant Eastern Trading Company.
Not only was her family background good, but she was also lovely enough not to be outdone in terms of appearance, so all her actions were full of pride.
That’s why she couldn’t help but feel more shame.
To think that someone of her caliber had done nothing more than this imitation.
Sowol clenched her fists and bit her lip as she met Lee Hyun’s gaze fixed on her.
‘Next time, I will definitely show you your sword dance.’
***
What did she just do?
Sword energy? No matter how great her talent is, how could she use sword energy when she’s only been learning properly for a few months?
Of course, I did awaken her magical power, but I didn’t know she could materialize it.
Have I given wings to a tiger?
No, that’s not all. The sword she used to catch the Wraith at the end was clumsy, but it was clearly the Moonlight Sword.
“…I understand why Master Lee took Miss Sowol as a disciple.”
An’s voice, sitting on the ground, awakened me from my thoughts.
Although inwardly flustered, I maintained an expressionless face and nodded at her words.
Then Sowol, who had defeated the Wraith, started to approach me.
What should I say to her?
Should I praise her for doing well? Or…
“… I’ve dealt with it.”
“It was clumsy.”
“…Yes.”
Sowol’s shoulders flinched. There was worry in her gaze.
Although I didn’t teach it, if what she displayed was the Moonlight Sword, now is the time to scold her for using it clumsily.
After all, a sparrow trying to follow a heron will end up with torn legs. There are plenty of swordsmen whose lives are ruined by imitating advanced sword techniques they haven’t properly learned.
As such, it’s not wrong to scold Sowol for suddenly using the Moonlight Sword now.
“Don’t do it again from now on.”
“…I understand.”
Sowol’s shoulders drooped as she became gloomy.
Well. That’s enough scolding.
“But you did well.”
I took out a praise sticker and stuck it on her forehead.
Was my praise unexpected? Sowol looked at me with wide eyes.
“Creating sword energy and imitating the Moonlight Sword. It shouldn’t have been something you could do at your current level, but you managed to do it.”
“That’s…”
“Just as it’s natural for a master to blame their disciple for going the wrong way, it’s also natural for a master to celebrate their growth.”
I patted Sowol’s head.
She accepted my patting obediently, and only then did her gloominess seem to lift as she smiled slightly.
“Did you imitate the Moonlight Sword from what you saw then?”
“Yes.”
“From now on, I’ll teach you properly, so follow that.”
“I understand.”
Sowol was happy.
And I was happy too.
Because it means I can raise Sowol faster.
“By the way… The appearance of a Wraith and a Ghoul means that there are definitely cult members nearby.”
“What do you mean by that?”
An, who had stood up, asked. Now, her gaze no longer held hostility or jealousy towards Sowol.
It must be because of the skill Sowol showed earlier.
That’s not bad.
“It’s exactly as I said. Wraiths and Ghouls are not monsters that would appear in a place like this.”
“Despite that, the fact that they appeared here… Does it mean someone released them here and controlled them?”
“Yes. And the only ones who have such techniques should be the cultists.”
One of the things you learn in the religious war event, which you can do around the middle of the main story, is that among the artifacts they possess, there are artifacts that can seal and control ghost-type monsters.
Normally, only the cult utilized it to draw ghost-type monsters to fight.
“The range of that control is not very wide. So…”
I drew my sword and threw it with all my might.
“Aaaaargh!!”
A scream coming from the darkness. I ran towards it with Sowol and An, and we could see a man screaming with a knife stuck in his thigh.
“If we catch this guy, we should be able to learn a lot about the cult spread in the territory.”
There was a shattered crystal ball on the ground. That’s the artifact that controlled the Wraith.
Recalling what I saw in the game, I grabbed the collar of the man in pain.
“Now, shall we talk about your backers and headquarters?”
The interrogation didn’t take long.
He spilled everything easily after I broke a few bones.
With that information, we headed towards a small warehouse on the outskirts of the territory he mentioned, along with the soldiers An had brought.
Recalling the guy’s story about using a normally unused warehouse as an altar, we could clearly see it when we opened the warehouse door.
“…This is.”
I nodded at An’s low murmur. This was the place.
“Master. There are fallen people over there.”
Could they be the missing people? They were tied up with ropes and staring blankly into space with empty gazes.
“Why are they like this?”
“It seems they’ve been drained of life force to maintain the Wraith. And it looks like they planned to turn them into zombies when they died.”
I picked up a nearby document, checked it, and then nodded to An.
“Start investigating the surroundings! There might be other guys, so investigate thoroughly!”
“Yes!”
While the soldiers were moving busily, I searched the desk. As expected, it’s here.
I reached for the seal in the corner of the desk.
[Cult’s Secret Seal]
[A seal for accessing the cult’s secret base]
“What’s that?”
Sowol approached me and asked. What is this?
“Something to exchange for things to help you grow more.”