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Chapter 106: Change and Contrast (2)
Chapter 106: Change and Contrast (2)
Chapter 106: Change and Contrast (2)
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“I read all the evaluation reports on Holder Do Jae-hyun in advance before.”
Yoo Eun-seol slightly opened her mouth.
“He entered as an assassin-type but shows more talent as a warrior-type and has grown towards the warrior side. And he is the student Holder who shows the fastest growth among 1st grade Holders. That’s what it said.”
Hearing it directly is a bit embarrassing, but it’s true.
It’s also true that my abilities are focused mainly on the warrior side now, and there was probably no student in 1st grade growing faster than me.
[Rune Hunter] and [Effort of the Seeker].
And [Swirling Tidal Wave] to some extent.
Because there were so many runes related to gaining new abilities and growing existing abilities, my growth rate was hard to compare with others.
Yoo Eun-seol opened her eyes slightly and continued.
“And from what I saw when we conquered the dungeon together… You Look like a versatile Multi-Holder with the abilities of the mage-type as well, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
There was no need to hide it.
It was already known to many groups and individuals like <Judgment of Fire> that I can use attribute magic runes like fire and lightning.
Although I can’t use skills freely like a regular mage by learning arrays and manifestations in [Magic Control], I could use the attributes to some extent and the root was the mage class after all.
‘The abilities are divided into three.’
When tanking is needed, sword and shield, when physical attack is needed, two-handed sword, when magic attack is needed, attribute magic runes.
My combat style was divided like this for maximum efficiency when solo hunting.
“But when I read the report, and when I saw Holder Do Jae-hyun directly in combat. The use of assassin-type abilities assigned at the time of admission was hardly visible. At best, it would be throwing techniques, right?”
Her words were right on point.
The four daggers in my waist, like my trademark.
One of my regular weapons along with the two-handed sword, but when I use them, it’s only when I use throwing techniques, specifically the derived skill [Quarter Knife].
[Quarter Knife], effective for ambushes and preemptive strikes.
But since it has a cooldown, I can’t use it for a while after using it once.
Even ‘throwing techniques’ that I use often is just one of the options in my various combat styles.
“While weapons are not very important for assassin-types if they have decent attack power… We still need weapons of at least common level. And in most cases, that’s a dagger or short sword.”
“Ah….”
In summary, what Yoo Eun-seol was pointing out to me was: You’re an assassin-type, why do you use throwing techniques only?
But I feel wronged.
I have a lot to say about this.
‘How can I use it without common runes….’
Although I’m called an assassin-type, honestly I was a half-assed assassin with only [Dagger].
Typical common runes for the assassin-type are [Stealth], [Agility], [Weakness Detection], etc.
Core common runes that assist the ambush and strike of the assassin-type.
Just like how [Magic Amplification] rune greatly increases the power of the mage, the assassin also needed these support runes to exert their full power.
Without that, using daggers or short swords is a waste of time.
Rather, it was more effective to build up my warrior-type abilities by learning [Water Sword Technique] and [Wave Sword Technique].
But the situation has changed a bit.
Unlike before when I had no foundation, I’m somewhat prepared now.
[Stealth] obtained while hunting Electrophorus has reached level 7, and I have [Agility] as well as [Agile Agility], which is an advanced version of it, in dodging runes.
Although there are other common runes I haven’t acquired yet, just this support was enough to handle the assassin-type abilities fairly well.
Yoo Eun-seol took out two short swords from her arms and said.
“I think it’s because you haven’t learned martial arts runes.”
“Martial arts runes….”
“Yes. Simply possessing dagger runes and possessing sword technique runes related to wielding daggers makes a huge difference in application.”
Tap-
Yoo Eun-seol threw the two short swords she took out at me.
I carefully grabbed their hilts.
“Holder Do Jae-hyun, have you heard of Plum Blossom Sword Technique?”
“Yes. It’s a martial arts rune that is often used in China, right?”
Because China has a long history and legends related to martial arts, martial arts like that are also often registered as runes.
[Plum Blossom Sword Technique] is the same.
‘Volcanic Wave’.
It was one of their representative martial arts, often appearing in martial arts novels.
“That’s right. The exact name is Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique. But after coming to Korea, and assassin-types started using this sword technique with short swords, a downgraded version was derived. That’s the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.”
I didn’t know that much about history.
But at least I could understand why Yoo Eun-seol brought up this story.
“Could it be…”
“Yes. I will teach Holder Do Jae-hyun this Plum Blossom Sword Technique during this semester.”
The dagger or short sword sword technique rune I was going to learn.
It turned out to be [Plum Blossom Sword Technique].
It would be best to learn [Snow Plum Blossom], the epic rune, but…
That’s not something you can just learn because you want to, and Yoo Eun-seol wouldn’t easily teach her core main rune either.
“Then let’s get started. Pick up the short swords.”
Yoo Eun-seol said so with a slight smile.
I realized after 10 minutes.
That the faint smile was the devil’s smile.
***
Ippotranslation
***
I walked around the academy, hitting my waist and shoulders.
“Ouch, I’m sore….”
My whole body was screaming for the first time in a long time.
It’s the result of taking classes pushed to the extreme.
Honestly, there’s no actual muscle pain thanks to my endurance stat and [Tough Endurance], but hitting non-stop makes me feel like that mentally.
Yoo Eun-seol’s lecture was that vicious.
“Hoo….”
To conclude first.
I didn’t acquire the [Plum Blossom Sword Technique] rune today.
It’s obvious.
No matter how much it’s a downgraded derived rune, martial arts runes can’t be easily learned in a day or two.
It took quite a while to learn the two-handed sword martial arts runes [Wave Sword Technique] and [Water Sword Technique] as well.
“But it wasn’t completely fruitless.”
The effect of exclusive lessons from an S-grade Holder was tremendous.
Yoo Eun-seol’s relentless one-on-one guidance without a break.
After receiving all that hard lesson, my understanding of dagger techniques rose rapidly.
One-on-one education itself is much more efficient, but guidance on posture and pointed areas shine even more.
Her feedback comes in immediately on parts I don’t know or get stuck on… And according to that, parts to fix are corrected right away without having to stubbornly run into it.
So the effect was incomparable to sitting in a classroom and receiving many-to-one lectures.
“The rune level went up too.”
It feels like it’s been a while since rune level went up just from training or education.
Today’s lesson greatly increased my dagger proficiency, and as a result, the rune level of [Master of Martial Arts] went up.
On top of that, I obtained a derived skill called [Staircase Slash]…
<Skill Information>
? Name: Staircase Slash
? Derived Rune: Master of Martial Arts
? Cooldown Time: 30 minutes
? Condition of Use: Must be holding daggers in reverse grip
? Effect of Use: –
: Slash rapidly upwards with two daggers held in reverse grip, like climbing stairs. Strong magic can be concentrated in the first slash of climbing the stairs and the final slash upon reaching the top.
Reading the description gave me a very familiar feeling.
The short sword skills were shown by the assassin-type clan member Choi Dong-wook, when he was hunting Electrophorus as part of the Hunting Team 5 party of <Judgment of Fire>.
As soon as I read the skill description, Choi Dong-wook’s movements at the time came to mind.
It seems the skill Choi Dong-wook used at that time was [Staircase Slash].
A practical skill like [Combo] that assists movement when using weapons, and a composite skill like [Quarter Knife] that concentrates physical attack with magic.
It looked like a pretty decent direct combat skill.
“Ah, I’m here already.”
While organizing what I learned today and walking…
I had arrived before I realized it.
– Warrior Class A Building 301
[Private Office – Kim Myeong-hyun]
Professor Kim Myeong-hyun’s office.
I came here countless times after becoming his exclusive disciple, but today I came for a different purpose.
It wasn’t a day for exclusive lessons either, and since he doesn’t have any classes this semester, it wasn’t related to that either.
I slowly knocked on the office door.
– Knock knock
“Yes, please come in.”
I could hear Professor Kim Myeong-hyun’s soft voice.
As I opened the door and entered, Professor Kim Myeong-hyun was sitting preparing tea.
He suggested I sit on the sofa and asked.
“Is cafe mocha alright? I bought it according to my taste.”
“I like sweet things too.”
I don’t just like it, I go crazy over sweet stuff.
I’m the kind of person who loves sugary things.
Having to drink Professor Tak Won-ho’s bitter espresso every time we drink tea together is such a pain, so it was fortunate that Professor Kim Myeong-hyun and I had similar tastes for sweet drinks.
Sip-
I calmly took a sip of cafe mocha after sitting down.
Professor Kim Myeong-hyun smiled peculiarly and asked me.
“Is this our first time seeing each other since the semester started?”
“Yes. I don’t think we’ve met since the ultimate skill issue during last vacation.”
“Haha. That’s right. I was so surprised when you said you had learned Water Sword Dance then….”
No matter how I think about it, the speed was too fast.
Around when the semester evaluations ended and vacation started.
That was when I first received education on [Water Sword Dance] from Professor Kim Myeong-hyun…
And I learned it before the vacation even fully ended.
So Professor Kim Myeong-hyun also couldn’t easily believe it, which is why I remember demonstrating [Water Sword Dance] in front of him at some point.
His face, which had been calm, dyed in shock…
Professor Kim Myeong-hyun’s expression at that time still wasn’t easily forgotten.
“Although I have a lot I want to say since it’s been a while…
Professor Kim Myeong-hyun left his words trailing off vaguely.
Then he glanced at the calendar briefly.
And looked back at me again.
“Anyway, we’ll have plenty of time the day after tomorrow. So let’s get right to the point, shall we?”
“Yes.”
Every Thursday is the day I receive exclusive lessons from Professor Kim Myeong-hyun.
Today is Tuesday.
Just two days left until I have time to unwind.
Today I came for an issue unrelated to lessons…
We needed to focus on discussing that.
After drinking coffee one more time, Professor Kim Myeong-hyun’s expression became very serious as he asked me.
“You want to… make a new circle?”
The real reason why I came to see Professor Kim Myeong-hyun today, not for exclusive lessons.
Regarding that content…
Professor Kim Myeong-hyun was asking me first.
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