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Chapter 10
‘I knew this bastard was a bit unhinged, but this is a whole new level of stupid.’
Yujin shook his head in disbelief.
“Use common sense. How could you not recognize someone you taught yourself?”
“There were times I lost my mind to the sword. I’ve regained control now, but back then, I was practically a ghost.”
Was he suspecting that he’d trained someone during that period?
“Well, it’s not me. I only awakened recently. I was stuck in a reinforcement workshop.”
“Reinforcement workshop?”
“A place where they grind up people to mass-produce reinforced gear.”
“Sounds like garbage.”
The Sword Ghost’s eyes narrowed in disgust.
“For reinforcement sorcerers with no money, there aren’t many options. That place is garbage, no doubt about it.”
“If it were me, I’d have wiped the place out.”
“There’s the Mir Guild backing it.”
“…Mir Guild?”
His eyes widened slightly.
“Isn’t Mir one of Korea’s top five guilds? Why the hell would they do something like that?”
“People with power are often worse. Not that those without power are saints either.”
The Sword Ghost’s face twisted with displeasure.
Yujin took comfort in that expression.
‘At least I can be sure he’s not the type to do the same thing.’
If someone asked whether the Sword Ghost was a good person, the answer would be uncertain.
In a world like this, trying to define good and evil was mostly meaningless.
“Anyway, I was just saying—I’m not your guy.”
“I see. So it was just a coincidence.”
The Sword Ghost seemed satisfied.
…Was he not even going to consider any other possibilities?
“What about the idea that I might be another disciple of your master?”
He nodded.
“The style is definitely derived from my master. But I’ve modified it so much that the original form is gone. It’s meaningless now.”
“I see.”
“If anything, someone similar to me would’ve trained under Seo Hyewon… but she’s not in any position to be teaching anyone.”
That name—Seo Hyewon—made Yujin scratch his chin.
‘Hm. They must’ve been close.’
In fact, the Sword Ghost’s deduction was spot on.
Seo Hyewon.
It was true—Yujin had learned swordsmanship from her.
Flashback
Reinforcement sorcerer? Oh, so you’re that guy he cherishes so much? I heard you use your soul to power your reinforcement. Are you really that serious about it?
I’m being literal.
Huh?
I literally use my soul.
What the hell…
They had met at the training hall.
At the time, Yujin had been trying to train his body.
His ability was horrendously inefficient—it used his soul in exchange for exceptional results.
To minimize the damage and protect himself, he figured he’d at least need some martial arts basics.
Whether it was monsters or human spies sent to take his life, he needed to survive.
Hmph. That’s not how you do it.
Then teach me.
Do you know how expensive I am?
…Wait a minute. Did you just say you use your soul? And you use it that freely?!
It’s worth the investment. If I rest a bit, it recovers on its own.
Sigh… You should’ve learned from that Sword Ghost bastard instead. Would’ve been way more efficient.
Seo Hyewon. A master swordswoman who became a candidate for Korea’s top swordsman after the Sword Ghost’s death.
She’d often mention him fondly—though she claimed they were just childhood friends.
‘He seemed deeply connected to her.’
No way they were just “friends.”
Were they lovers?
‘Now that I think about it, their fighting styles were a bit similar.’
Watching the way the Sword Ghost had just swung his blade made it clear.
‘Hm. I wonder what she’s doing now.’
They hadn’t even exchanged names.
After a moment of thought, Yujin spoke up.
“Just asking out of curiosity.”
“?”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
The Sword Ghost’s expression instantly twisted.
“I’m not into men.”
“Damn it. I’m not either.”
That’s not what he meant.
“I mean, if your girlfriend also likes swords, I was wondering if she might’ve trained at a sword dojo. I trained at one myself.”
“…I don’t have a girlfriend. But there is someone I like…”
“Oh. Okay.”
Yujin clearly couldn’t care less, but the Sword Ghost continued anyway.
“She and I trained together.”
“Then you’ve known her for a long time. So why haven’t you confessed? Oh—did she already reject you?”
“She did NOT!”
The Sword Ghost snapped.
From what Yujin remembered, the Sword Ghost had been relatively young, and it showed—he got flustered easily.
“I just… haven’t told her yet.”
“Why not?”
Yujin looked him over before he could answer.
Ah.
“Never mind. No need to explain. I get it.”
“…Pick up your sword. I’ll drive it into your bones.”
The Sword Ghost said, raising his blade with a dead-serious face.
A Bit Later
“Ugh…”
Yujin winced at the full-body pain.
That bastard.
Beating someone just because you’re in a bad mood?
“You don’t have much talent.”
The Sword Ghost gave his blunt assessment.
Yujin, groaning, nodded in agreement.
‘Yeah… I really am lacking talent.’
[You have unlocked the Talent: “Swordsmanship (C)” by following your mentor’s instruction.]
A skill appeared.
But it was only Grade C.
Swordsmanship skills scaled by the user’s inherent talent, so—
‘That means I’m just average.’
Yujin accepted the reality.
‘I’ve never learned how to move my body properly before, so… makes sense.’
Groaning, he stood up and swung his sword a few times.
It felt more intuitive than before—his brain automatically sorted the movements.
But it still felt lacking.
‘Wait a sec.’
What he lacked now was talent.
So—
‘Why not just reinforce my talent?’
He was a reinforcement sorcerer. And not just any kind.
He was a soul reinforcement sorcerer. His enhancements had no ceiling.
Depending on the target, there were limits, but not for something like “talent.” That could possibly be improved infinitely.
‘And I can reinforce skills too.’
The downside was that it consumed an enormous amount of soul power, possibly because it was permanent.
But right now, he could just use magic power instead.
‘Still not enough. I’ll have to borrow external power.’
“Hey, Sword Ghost.”
“Hm?”
“Lend me your mana stones. You don’t need them anyway, right?”
“Hmm… Fair enough.”
During a quick break, the Sword Ghost had wiped out nearby goblins and now handed over his mana stones to Yujin.
‘About 15 of them.’
“Think this dungeon alone will be enough for 1,000 monsters?”
“We’ll just raid multiple dungeons.”
“Good point.”
Yujin nodded and gathered the mana stones.
‘Alright. I’ve got enough.’
What he planned to reinforce—
‘—is my swordsmanship skill.’
[Using Skill: “Soul Reinforcement”]
[Not enough mana.]
Instead of canceling, Yujin gripped the mana stone tightly.
“Reinforce.”
FWOOSH—
Mana drained rapidly from the stone.
[Skill “Swordsmanship” has been upgraded to “Swordsmanship (Reinforced)”]
“…Done.”
He’d used a few stones, but it was worth it.
Skills, after all, were permanent as long as you didn’t die.
“What was that just now?”
The Sword Ghost walked over with a curious look.
“I just reinforced my talent.”
“…You reinforced your talent?”
His expression turned to disbelief.
“That’s… possible?”
“You reinforce your sword, don’t you? Why not my talent?”
“…Hmm. Fair enough.”
Fair, my ass.
“Other reinforcement sorcerers can’t do this. I’m special. Be more amazed.”
“…”
“Boring guy.”
Clicking his tongue, Yujin grabbed his sword again and took a stance.
His mana was drained, and he felt a weird lightness, but he could still fight.
“Alright. Let’s go again.”
The Sword Ghost nodded and mirrored the stance.
He’d already gauged Yujin’s capabilities—now Yujin had to memorize the Sword Ghost’s movements.
The Sword Ghost deliberately moved slowly, letting each motion be seen clearly.
Yujin mirrored them one by one.
‘Shame I don’t have an Analyze skill yet. Gotta get that next.’
Clang!
Their blades clashed. The recoil made the Sword Ghost’s eyes widen.
‘!’
Something had changed.
A subtle yet undeniable difference—he could feel it.
Not just from practice—something fundamental had shifted.
‘He really can reinforce talent?’
The Sword Ghost’s eyes darkened.
‘If he can reinforce skills… then—’
Could he become even stronger too?
At first, he thought fixing his sword was enough.
But seeing this…
He was starting to crave more power.
Maybe he could grow beyond what he thought possible.
Not just stronger gear or levels—but expanding the capacity of strength itself.
‘I need to stay close to this man, Yujin.’
That was his conclusion.
Whoosh! THWACK!
Yujin’s sword flew from his hand and embedded itself in the wall.
He clenched and released his tingling hand.
‘Same result. Same pain. But—’
This time, something was different.
He understood something.
“Nice. A few more rounds and I’ll have it.”
“Then we’ll keep going.”
“Right. You don’t need sleep, do you?”
“…?”
The Sword Ghost felt an ominous chill at Yujin’s words.
Yujin’s eyes blazed like fire.
“Tonight, you and I aren’t sleeping.”
Not until I master this sword.
[You have acquired the skill: “Ghost of the Sword (S)”]
[Current Swordsmanship skill level is too low.]
[Skill effectiveness is reduced.]
He got the skill.
It felt like he’d spent a whole day swinging his sword.
[Strength +2]
[Stamina +2]
He’d worked so hard that both stats increased from physical training alone.
For just a single skill upgrade from C-rank, that was a fair price.
‘Too bad I didn’t gain much EXP.’
That could be fixed later.
Yujin stood up, his mana replenished just enough.
“I want to try the skill out.”
“Be my guest.”
The Sword Ghost tossed over a goblin he’d captured.
Yujin faced it, sword in hand.
Kiriik?
The goblin tilted its head, confused.
It was larger and had an odd skin tone compared to the others he’d fought—natural for a C-rank dungeon.
‘I need to finish this in one blow.’
Reinforce.
[Using Skill: “Reinforcement”]
[+1 Reinforced Basic Iron Sword]
– Sharpness +30%
– Damage increased on surprise attacks
Perfect. Just the right level of boost.
KIIIIEEEH!
The goblin raised its weapon.
Unlike before, it no longer held comically weak tools—probably part of a balance patch.
Still—
‘I can handle this.’
[Using Skill: “Ghost of the Sword (S)”]
