Chapter 4: There An Old Man Inside Me – 4

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After the onslaught of surprises yesterday, Kang Shin-Hyuk was so tired in the morning that he couldn’t even train in the morning, and sleepily walked to school. As soon as the morning roll call was over, Baek In-Ha laughed as he looked down at the figure slumped on desk.

“Is little Shin-Hyuk okay now?”

“Ah… Uh… Yeah. Are you the one who brought me to my room? Thank you.”

“Was that sword really okay? No curse or anything like that?”

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“It’s not that; it’s my Trait. Something happened with the sword because of that.”

“Oh oh.”

Baek In-Ha’s eyes twinkled.

“Is your Trait growing or something like that?”

“It’s something similar, I’ll explain later. Anyway, thank you very much. I’ll definitely pay you back for this.”

“But the more I think about it, the more I wonder, did the 1.5 million won second-hand sword have some sort of ability that stimulated your Trait? Or is it because your Trait affects weapons in general?”

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“Both.”

“Hmm really… but you know… There’s more important news than that. You actually lost out a lot yesterday.”

“Huh?”

Baek In-Ha pulled a chair from the desk in front and sat down. The chair originally had a separate owner, but he couldn’t complain outright to Baek InHa, so he had to find another friend to sit with.

“Look at this. I found it while carrying you back.”

“Huh? …What.”

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Kang Shin-Hyuk was astonished to see the figures in the photo, which appear to have been taken by Baek In-Ha himself. He gestured not to make a loud noise, but he was too surprised to stop himself in time…

“This… This is that.”

“The Thunder Empress and the Alchemist.”

“Crazy.”

There were two people captured in the photo, and they were both breathtakingly beautiful women.

With striking golden eyes and beautiful black hair, the Thunder Empress Shin Eun-Ah.

Crimson hair and fiery eyes, and a mole on her lazy smile all excluding a self-indulgent charm with her glamorous body, the Alchemist Claire Boyle.

Both of them were eye-catching beauties, but more importantly, they were ridiculous figures of the current generation who ranked among the top 500 on the international rankings.

“Why are they going to the superhuman commercial street?”

“I have some information that I have obtained from a reliable source.”

“That’s a really suspicious intro.”

“In fact, there’s something they’re looking for in a store. It seems to be some sort of hidden weapon, so they appeared yesterday for that reason. So…”

“They’re going to appear there again today, is that right?”

“Our little Shin-Hyuk is going to come right? We’re going to go hunting for sexy noonas, right?”

Baek Inha faced Kang Shin-Hyuk with a face full of anticipation. I even bought him a birthday present. He won’t reject me! However, Kang Shin-Hyuk responded politely.

“I’m sorry, I’m not going.”

“Ah, come one!”

“I don’t have time to play for a while.”

“The midterms are already over, so why!?”

“For the time being, I have to hold onto the sword you’ve given me.”

“Ahh…”

Beak In-ha’s expression crumbled at Kang Shin-Hyuk’s serious voice. However, what could he do, when it was because his gift was too liked. He had dug his own grave.

“So find another handsome guy and try your hunting together. I’ll watch you deflate in the distance.”

“Did you just say deflate?”

“I need to sleep for a bit.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk then rammed his head on his desk after kicking out Baek In-Ha. Of course, he was also interest in the high rankers who visited Seoul’s commercial street yesterday, but there was currently something more important than that.

‘Spirit power, Godslayer Sword, Hero Universe … and the sword dance.’

Last night, the moment he succeeded drawing the power of his sword with spirit power, Kang Shin-Hyuk was once again forcefully pulled into another memory.

It was the memory of an unrecognizable human shadow, endlessly dancing under the moon’s shadow, whilst beautifully wielding a sword.

It was just a memory, but the short but crystal-clear dance refused to leave his mind.

‘It was advanced to the point where I couldn’t even understand it…’

It was a memory that could not be shaken out of his head. Just thinking about the possibility of recreating that sword dance made his body shake with excitement.

He knew very well, since he also possessed a relatively advanced sword dance. The fact that the sword dance in the memory was in a realm that was out of his reach.

However, the memory was so real, that just comprehending a little part of the dance helped him immensely. If he could just see more, then it just might be possible to fully recreate the dance.

‘Touching the sword’s origin with your spirit and accepting everything in the sword, also means accepting everything that the sword has experienced. Spirit power is such a ridiculous ability. Now I just feel stupid for trying to compare it with mana…”

Spirit power. That was the strength that had allowed for him to move through frustration in the past.

After sharpening the Godslayer’s blade and stimulating his spirit, he realised that there were countless other ways to use spirit power. That what happened yesterday was only a small part of what spirit power was capable of.

He wanted to delve deeper into spirit power to the point where it was almost unbearable. Just like how the memories within the Godslayer Sword were awakened, could he also awaken something buried deep within him?

…But the opportunity came to him sooner than later, in a way that Kang Shin-Hyuk never would’ve imagined.

“Today, we will conduct student-to-student duels. You will only use training weapons, but you could be seriously injured if you aren’t careful. Keep your mind straight. Do you understand?”

“”Yep!””

Class 3 [Weapon Training 2]. As one the basic subjects in the Shinyoung Knight Department, it was a necessary and dangerous subject that covered mastery with weapons and even real combat with monsters.

“Then, first is… Do Woo-Jin.”

“Yes.”

Dowoojin, an outstanding student in the C-class boasting mana comparable to Baek In-ha. His status window has not been disclosed to others so although they couldn’t be sure, there was a rumour that his mana reached C+ Rank. C+ Rank was higher than the some of the superhumans who had already graduated and was currently active in the field.

“Then, Kang Shin-Hyuk, come out.”

“…Yep.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk responded calmly to the call of the teacher in charge, Gong Jun-Pyo, and walked out. In fact, he expected to some extent that his name would be called. That’s because this teacher didn’t like Kang Shin-Hyuk so much.

In fact, most of the people in Shinyoung didn’t like Kang Shin-Hyuk. It was because they felt that the value of Shinyoung was diminished if a manaless person was one of its students.

However, among them, Gong Jun-Pyo’s hate towards him was particularly strong. He always tried to trample him whenever a chance arose, and a dueling session where he could just pair him an outstanding student and watch him be trampled was a very good chance.

“Do Woo-jin, what weapon?”

“I will use a one-handed sword and shield.”

“Kang Shin-Hyuk.”

“Sword… No, I’d like a spear.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk almost unconsciously answered sword as he recalled the sword dance thoroughly engraved on his mind, however, he soon changed his answer.

The sword dance’s power was not yet reproducible in his hands. He couldn’t even strengthen his body with mana, so having a close-quarters match with Dowoojin, who has C+ Rank mana, was a pointless effort.

‘No, wait a minute… Isn’t it not like that anymore?’

Only after his hands were gripping a spear did he have this thought. Didn’t he awaken the new power of spirit yesterday? Although it was different from mana, he was convinced that it was a power that didn’t lose to mana. He gained that conviction after yesterday night’s ordeal.

‘I haven’t tried it yet, but …’

Yesterday, he figured out how to breath spirit power into other objects while sharpening the sword. Although he never tried to strengthen himself with spirit power, it didn’t seem that impossible. He even had the thought that it would be easier than touching the origin of another object.

He might be able to win. In the first place, Do Woo-jin wasn’t even a worthy opponent in terms of their techniques. But now that his physical abilities had risen, now that his martial art skills grew dramatically, now that he had gained a new ability called spirit power…!

“Both of you go inside the duelling arena. The fight continues until either side surrenders or is stunned. Just make sure you know that if you surrender too quickly, I’ll have no choice but to deduct your score.”

“Yep.”

He felt strands of ill will pointed towards him as he replied. Kang Shin-Hyuk ended up bursting into laughter as he watched Gong Joon-Pyo and Do-jin quickly exchange gazes.

They really hate him that much, it was really a mystery as to what he did that made the duo hate him with all their might.

“And this guy is somehow a teacher… it hurts my eyes just by watching their unsightly figures.”

Behind him, his only ally, Baek In-ha, was mumbling something with an eerie expression, but as there was no way to prevent an official class duel from happening, he could only grit his teeth and watch the duel.

magic ‘What a good guy.’

Kang Shin-Hyuk bid Baek In-ha farewell, who was outraged for him and entered the specially-crafted sparring arena. The state-of-the-art facilities developed from the peak of magic engineering would absorb all the impact produced from the duel.

“I’ll warn you in advance. You should surrender. I won’t go easy on you.”

Dowoojin, armed with a one-handed sword and shield, declared coldly. He had more pride in Shinyoung than anyone else, so consequently, his hate for the ‘Incompetent’ Kang Shin-Hyuk was also greater than anyone else.

In response, Kang Shin-Hyuk raised his spear and smiled widely, not backing down.

“Hmm? You’ve never went easy on me so far, are you perhaps talking to someone else?”

“Impudent. There’s no way you’ll be able to beat anyone in Shinyoung without any mana.

“Wow, your speech so far has been a real gem among gems. Kind of like a vicious chub? ”

“Watch your mouth…!”

But those kinds of expression will run dry really fast. Does he make them up on the spot?

He wasn’t certain about this match. Even if he had awakened spirit power, his rank was only F+ Rank and the opponent was estimated to be C+ Rank.

‘But I have no choice but to try.’

However, thanks the long session of sharpening the night before, his heart was serene without ripples even before the duel.

Maybe it was the influence of a faint memory of his past life? It was like before the rush of hot blood in battle, an old man’s relaxed touch approached him, and calmed his rough breath.

Kang Shin-Hyuk gripped his spear, breathed in deeply, then carefully awakened the spirit power that had been sleeping inside him. He looked upon himself, not the spear, and focused on the himself. At that moment, the teacher exclaimed,

“Duel start!”

“Ha!”

As soon as the teacher’s signal dropped, Do Woo-jin rushed in. His body was wrapped in a brilliant blue light, as if proving that his whole body was overflowing with power.

Fast. Overwhelmingly fast. He was rushing in to crush him with all of his power, regardless of whether Kang Shin-Hyuk could handle mana or not.

However, it wasn’t a bluff to say that he possessed C+ Rank mana. No matter how strong Shin-Hyuk was in martial arts, there was no way Kang Shin-Hyuk could react to a speed beyond human recognition.

This would’ve been the case, if it was yesterday.

“Ugh…!”

“He avoided it!?”

Do Woo-Jin, who missed him by a hair’s breadth, turned his head and spat out in dismay. Meanwhile Kang Shin-Hyuk, who avoided his rush without much difficulty by only moving one step, was also amazed.

‘I could see it. I could react!’

Despite the fact that it was only the first attempt, he had succeeded. He had succeeded in controlling spirit power, stimulating the origin, and temporarily awakening his flesh!

Physical performance was amplified explosively in an instant, and it became possible to read the enemy’s movements as well as avoid them quickly. Only.

‘Crazy, the speed my spirit power decreases at also exploded!’

His spirit power was still F+ Rank, with its quantity and quality still on the level of a toddler!

What’s more, unlike the time when he was calmly controlling his spirit power by slowly sharpening his sword last night, this time, he was ignorantly pouring it into his body without any knowledge on how to control spirit power efficiently!

‘It’s dangerous, I have to finish this quickly!’

Kang Shin-Hyuk, who knew he would not be able to hold on for more than a few seconds, went straight to the next step. It was of course, to attack.

Only a short time had passed since Do Woo-jin froze in surprise after Kang Shin-Hyuk dodged his attack. If he didn’t take advantage of the gaps that were revealed now, the battle would again instantly shift in Do Woo-jin’s favor.

‘Help me!’

Kang Shin-Hyuk, who could not be satisfied with only strengthening his body, squeezed out the last drop of spirit power in his body and focused all of the divine energy on the training spear in his hands.

In an instant, the image of the spear was engraved on his mind. The spirit power that flowed into the spear had sensed the origin of the spear and was strengthening it. Only.

‘It’s a lot different from the Godslayer Sword. It is easy to understand the source… but I don’t think there’s much power to amplify. The will of the weapon itself is too weak.’

Compared to the Godslaying Sword, which currently resided in his own origin, the origin of the spear was too weak, but it was definitely not a failure.

The training spear, with a weak enough will for one to almost believe that it didn’t exist, had started to vibrate as it resonated with Kang Sin-Hyuk’s own will.

‘Good, now I ask of you…’

The tiny amount of spirit that still remained in his body was concentrated in the spear, and wave of exhaustion came crashing down upon him.

He endured it and took a quick step forward. The target was Do Woo-jin’s stupidly hard abs!

“Hup!”

The spear was thrown forward in a straight line. Within it, contained the might of the S- Rank martial art with a proficiency of C-Rank, the Fanged Dragon Dance.

However, the moment Kang Shin-Hyuk launched an attack; he realized something new. His new S-Rank skill, had a distinctively different feel than the martial arts he was already accustomed to, the Eighteen Techniques (A).

‘It’ has a same motions, but contains more power in the move. As expected, skills are decided by ranks!’

Furthermore, as soon as he struck, he wanted the spear to shine a faint light, and a faint picture was engraved there according to his wish. A picture of a squirming little dragon!

Kang Shin-Hyuk did not realize it himself, but this was the power of his Trait, Awakened Fledgling Dragon. This is the first time that the power of Trait which strengthens the power of weapons in his hands was manifested.

-Bang!

“Kuk!”

The training spears tip squarely landed on Do Woo-jin’s stomach. With his body unbalanced after his charge, Do Woo-jin couldn’t withstand the impact and bounced off like a cartoon character, spewing blood from his mouth, and crashed into the opposite wall of the arena.

He then fainted and didn’t move from his spot.

“…”

“What!?”

“Why did Do Woo-jin suddenly fly off?”

“Kang Shin-Hyuk won? For real?”

Only a few seconds. That was the length of the duel from start to finish. Most of the jaws of those watching ended up dropping to the ground in shock.

“What, did he use magic? Did he have a double awakening?”

“Do Woo-jin definitely rushed in, but he also went flying off by himself as well?”

“What, that’s crazy! Why did Do Woo-jin lose! ”

“I knew Kang Shin-Hyuk was good at martial arts, but still, winning against Do Woo-jin?”

“Do you think Do Woo-jin was anemic?”

The exchange was so fast that no one knew what happened. Except for a few students, the rest were confused to the point where they almost believed that Do Woo-jin had fallen over by himself.

Kang Shin-Hyuk lightly ignored the downpour of questions coming from his classmates and calmly looked at Gong Jun-Pyo. He was hoping for the announcement of the results, but Gong Joon-Pyo instead narrowed his eyes and asked him.

“…Did you use auxiliary magic or any artifacts Kang Shin-Hyuk?”

“If I had done that, the alarm in the arena would’ve been set off. I didn’t use them.”

Gong Jun-Pyo, who grasped both the movements of Do Woo-jin and Kang Shin-Hyuk, was also unable to believe the results.

He could understand why Gong Jun-Pyo was suspicious of the results of the duel, but to ask him these kind of questions… Kang Shin-Hyuk could only smile bitterly.

“But it’s impossible for you to beat Do Woo-Jin without any magic.”

“Then did you make a duel while you were convinced that it was an unfair match? But fortunately, my talents and skills have improved recently, so I’ve been able to win. You know how I got into Shinyoung.”

He didn’t lie. It was true that his Trait had evolved, as well as his skills.

However, although spirit power was added to the equation, there was no need to tell this person. It would be different if he was able to sense spirit power, but it seemed as though he hadn’t, so that was even more of a reason to keep his spirit power hidden.

“I won. Fair and square.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk calmly received the intense gaze of Gong Jun-Pyo. There was no reason to be not calm. Because without his permission, other people had no way of reading his status window.

Eventually, Gong Jun-Pyo nodded. Even if he wanted to nitpick, he couldn’t. He knew best that Kang Shin-Hyuk had won fairly.

“…Yes. You won.”

“Sir, I’m exhausted right now, so can I go to the infirmary?”

“Oh, yes. That must have been tiring. Do whatever you want.”

Gong Joon-Pyo, who realized that he would not be able to properly conduct other duels with Kang Shin-Hyuk here, did not reject his request. No, it was probably because he was shaking from head to toe.

Kang Shin-Hyuk returned the training spear to its original spot and exited the arena.

He ignored his classmates who were still slandering him, and after gesturing to Baek In-Ha, who was looking at him worriedly, stumbled out of Gym No.1.

“I’m going crazy, so hungry…”

He then grabbed his rumbling stomach and headed straight to the bathroom.

He needed the help of the Administrator.

Author’s Notes:

- Ah, the name of the Thunder Empress..!?

- Who might’ve given him the sword dance?

- In this world, mana and spirit power are different types of energies. No one would react particularly strongly to both terms, but what about the Hero Universe!?

- The chapter lengths are really rocketing. I guess it’s because I really want to share this story with you guys that it’s rocketing…

- If you want anything in the story, like an element, or a weapon, or anything like that, then send me a message!

- Then I will return at 9:40pm tomorrow!

Translator and Editor Notes:

Hi, sorry for not updating for a while, I’m the translator of VIP, and last week I took a week break because I was too busy irl, but then towards the end of the week, I caught the flu! That’s why I couldn’t upload for a while after that an as Toika said, the chapter lengths are going crazy. Keep in mind, I’m still not fully recovered so expect unstable updates! ~Magicfishcat