chapter 48
‘That swordsmanship…’
I laughed as I watched the swordsmanship displayed by a doll named Arthur.
‘Is that Lord Sergey’s swordsmanship?’
A Russian Aura Master.
At the same time, one of the most famous Aura Masters in the world.
He is known not only as an Aura Master but also as a politician and a soldier.
I’d heard that if he wanted, he could even become president, but he supported the current president, so that wouldn’t happen.
Incidentally, his swordsmanship is also known as the standard drill swordsmanship for Russian soldiers.
He personally teaches his swordsmanship to soldiers to improve Russia’s national strength.
‘The characteristic of Lord Sergey’s swordsmanship…’
is that the distinction between offense and defense is very clear.
When attacking, he focuses solely on the attack.
When defending, he focuses solely on defense.
And when soldiers perform Lord Sergey’s swordsmanship in unison, their synchronized movements create a sense of intimidation.
‘It’s swordsmanship reminiscent of military drill.’
That’s why it suits soldiers and is sometimes used for ceremonial purposes.
Because there are many records of Lord Sergey’s swordsmanship, the dollmaker could have injected that technique into Arthur.
Clang!
Yeon Mirae blocked Arthur’s attack and simultaneously struck his sword to counterattack.
But the doll named Arthur moved along the optimal path, dodging Yeon Mirae’s sword and maintaining precise spacing while observing her movements.
‘At this rate, unless Yeon Mirae launches an all-out attack with full commitment, it seems her attacks won’t reach Arthur…’
Arthur had not fully mastered Lord Sergey’s swordsmanship.
He focused only on offense.
He executed only the attack stances accurately, while his defense consisted merely of dodging or deflecting Yeon Mirae’s strikes.
Yet that was enough.
Arthur’s physical abilities were superior.
Given that Yeon Mirae wasn’t using her internal power, there was no reason Arthur couldn’t evade her attacks.
But…
‘…No way, could it be…?’
Yeon Mirae’s movements began to change.
It wasn’t just that she was getting used to Arthur’s attacks; her swordsmanship itself was evolving.
‘…Is she stealing the swordsmanship Arthur is using?’
Moreover, she wasn’t simply copying it—she was integrating it into her own style.
[I also taught Yeon Mirae various techniques on a nearby mountain.]
[Mostly non-sword martial arts, combat skills, and types of martial arts like Gyeongsin skills.]
I had taught her various miscellaneous techniques, but never swordsmanship.
I trusted Yeon Mirae’s talent.
Rather than forcing her to learn a swordsmanship style suited for me, I wanted her to develop a swordsmanship that suited her.
And she didn’t betray my expectations—she was creating a style that fit her.
But…
‘I never thought she’d steal someone else’s swordsmanship like that…’
It was as if I were seeing the doppelganger I had killed before, the one that had stolen my techniques.
…Of course, I knew Yeon Mirae’s talent was extraordinary, but copying someone else’s swordsmanship in real-time was beyond normal capability.
Even if it were low-level swordsmanship, it might be possible, but what she was copying was Lord Sergey’s swordsmanship—one of the top-tier Aura Masters.
‘…I think I underestimated Yeon Mirae.’
Well, she was already producing sword energy, so of course she wasn’t lacking in talent.
Clang!
“…!”
The change wasn’t sudden.
But gradually, the cycle of Yeon Mirae perfectly blocking Arthur’s attacks and counterattacking became shorter.
As she adapted to Arthur’s attacks, her swordsmanship for offense was refined simultaneously.
‘…At this rate, it doesn’t make sense that Yeon Mirae lost in the previous sparring.’
Just as Yeon Mirae was growing at an incredible speed now, she must have been improving in real-time during the previous sparring with Arthur.
And yet she lost?
At that moment…
【User Yeon Mirae’s current abilities and growth rate increase when close to the Great Master and object of faith, Han Geonwoo.】
The Awakened System displayed this message.
…Ah.
That explained it.
Even though I had used this to train Yeon Mirae, I had completely forgotten about it.
‘Yeon Mirae grows in real-time because I’m nearby; under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t grow this fast.’
Strictly speaking, it was because my doll was observing her during sparring that her growth rate increased.
No wonder…
“Ugh…!”
With her natural talent and the growth speed adjustment from the Awakened System, Yeon Mirae elevated her swordsmanship to the next level.
At the same time, her sword touched the neck of the doll named Arthur.
Of course, since it was sparring, Yeon Mirae didn’t cut Arthur’s neck.
“Winner! Yeon Mirae!”
The outcome was already decided.
Arthur froze on the spot, and Yeon Mirae sheathed her sword and spoke to him.
“Good work, Dollmaker.”
“!”
Ah.
Yeon Mirae had realized that her opponent was a doll, not a human.
After all, she had seen my dolls before.
In terms of precision, the doll in front of her now was even more refined than mine, but she was perceptive enough to tell it was a doll.
Having said that, Yeon Mirae left the sparring arena.
I hid and followed her to the stands.
“Phew…”
She seemed exhausted from facing Arthur and sighed as she grabbed a drink from her seat.
After watching her finish the drink, I sent her a telepathic message.
‘Good job.’
‘Ah, Master.’
She replied with a telepathic message as well, smiling brightly.
‘How was I? I did well, right?’
She asked like a baby bird craving praise.
Honestly, there were minor points I could have criticized, but…
‘You were the best.’
I decided to put that aside.
I wanted her to fully enjoy the joy of victory and growth after defeating a formidable opponent.
“Next…”
“Ah, wait. Let’s stop the sparring.”
Watching Yeon Mirae smile, a woman entered the arena and halted the sparring session.
‘…That woman…’
A young woman who looked exactly like the one I had seen before my regression.
Yet within her body was an immense amount of mana for her age.
“Director? Why are you personally—”
The director of the Seoul Awakened Academy.
For some reason, she spoke firmly to the instructor running the sparring session.
“There is an intruder inside the academy. Possibly an intruder with even greater abilities.”
“What? But…”
“Immediately move all students to a safe location.”
“Yes! Understood!”
An intruder in the academy…
I had heard that someone had tried to infiltrate the academy before my regression, to eliminate the budding talents in advance.
But all those attempts failed.
The reason was simple: very few could penetrate the barriers laid by the Archmage herself.
If they forced their way in, the director, as the academy’s Archmage, would have to intervene…
‘If someone reaches the level where even the director can’t stop them… then no matter what is done, it’s an unstoppable attack.’
But now, it seemed someone had evaded the director and infiltrated the academy, prompting her to personally search.
‘Who could it be…’
As I thought this, Yeon Mirae stood and asked the director.
“Is there something I can do to help, Director?”
“Yeon Mirae… Normally, we wouldn’t ask students for help in such matters, but given the situation, please follow me.”
Yeon Mirae followed the director, and I followed them both.
I wanted to see who had infiltrated the academy.
“Yeon Mirae, do you sense anything here?”
We stopped at a spot inside the academy—a garden.
“Here?”
“Yes. The intruder’s presence was detected here.”
The director looked at the garden.
“They didn’t teleport, but they bypassed the barriers as if they had. They even circumvented the devices meant to disrupt spatial abilities.”
“…Who on earth…?”
The director and Yeon Mirae exchanged serious words.
“……”
I remained silent.
Because this garden…
‘…is where I cut through space when I entered the academy earlier…’
In other words, the intruder the director mentioned was me.
“……”
Seeing my silence, Yeon Mirae also went quiet, likely drawing the same conclusion.
The academy remained on high alert for hours because of the intruder, and I quietly placed my doll inside Yeon Mirae’s pocket dimension.
It wasn’t feasible to cut through space as I left, just like when entering.
But if inside Yeon Mirae’s pocket dimension, I could exit the academy alongside her when she left.
“Ugh…! How did someone enter and vanish without leaving a trace?!”
“……”
“……”
Yeon Mirae and I quietly left the academy while the director raged in hysteria.
We headed straight to the hospital.
The reason was simple—my main body was currently there.
“Don’t say it’s nothing! It’s Master, going to the hospital… what did you do? You didn’t use that Heart Sword from before, did you?!”
“No, really, it’s nothing.”
Something incomprehensible to the human brain peeked through the space I cut, causing minor brain hemorrhage and ruptured blood vessels.
“That’s nothing?! A brain hemorrhage could be fatal!”
“……”
…Right, that’s probably what happened.
But I’m no ordinary human, so that wouldn’t kill me.
I tried to explain this to Yeon Mirae, but she didn’t listen.
And in the hospital, the scene was…
“The cause of the hemorrhage is unknown, but damage likely occurred to the brain at the time, requiring stabilization. The patient should remain hospitalized for at least a month…”
“Doctor… our son… he’ll really be okay, right?”
The doctor and mother were acting like it was a drama.
Other doctors and nurses looked at me with pity.
No, I really am fine.
