Disciple (2)

This boy…

He seemed so ordinary in Musashi's eyes when they first met but now his eyes were burning fiercely with an extraordinary determination. But he looked barely 15! How could someone so young have such a fierce will?

'It's abnormal…'

A wandering boy suddenly appeared in the Forest of Death only to be saved by Musashi. He didn't leave even after that, as if he had nowhere to go. He stayed and only observed Musashi's sword. No matter how much time Musashi gave to his training, the boy never missed a single movement. With the eyes of a hawk, he gazed and gazed, burning everything in his brain.

'He is not faking it…'

He was sincere with every word. Everything was his true feeling. The wish to be taught by Musashi and wanting his sword… all were true and loud.

'And…'

Musashi's mind went back to when the boy woke up from sleep.

'He has the body of the Sword God.'

The body of Sword God, a body that surpasses the limits of a human, almost reaching Godhood. In the history of the Tower, there was only one person who could be called the Sword God, the one and only master of Musashi in the Tower, the Heavenly Demon of the Murim Realm on the 30th floor, the most potent human that ever existed since the appearance of the Tower and the only Climber that reached the 99th floor— Chunma.

'I couldn't believe it then and couldn't completely trust this suspicious boy. But now that I see it, he is the only one who can understand the will of my master. I must take him as my disciple, for the sake of my family and master.'

"Fine, I will take you as my disciple."

"...!"

The boy's face lit up in an instant. A sweet innocence was radiating from his face. Musashi's heart warmed as he watched the boy smiling so innocently.

'It's just a gut feeling but… I think a storm is going to strike the Tower.'

***

'Yes!'

I finally did it.

{Quest updated}

-Learn the ways of the sword from Miyamoto Musashi.

{Reward(s)- Song of the Sword Saint, Lightning attribute, 100TP}

{Time limit- none}

{Failure consequences- none}

The quest was updated to something way more straightforward and clear.

'Learn the ways of the sword from Miyamoto Musashi.'

I only had to learn the sword now.

'That again…'

I couldn't stop grinning. That beautiful thing… it would be mine, finally! And as a bonus, maybe the Crimson Eyes would be mine too.

But first, I had to take care of the thing in front of me— training.

'I will excel in everything until there's nothing he can teach me.'

After all, failure didn't scare me anymore. I could simply kill myself to regress. That way, I could do a single technique or a movement over and over again until I mastered it.

Yes, I still had hope.

***

"We will start tomorrow."

"Yes."

Musashi got up with a smile, another emotion showing on his face. Was this the effect of my sincerity? I could not tell. But I was certain that Musashi was trusting me a little. Maybe I could also use him to my advantage. But let's leave that for another day.

"I'll be going away for a bit now. You can do whatever you want, just don't touch the blades."

"Yes."

I grew curious. It was not the first time he went out like this. Every day, almost randomly, he would leave the Plum Locus and wander forth to the Forest of Death. Of course, he never told me why, but I had a rough guess.

'The dens…'

It must be the dens. I remember that the Crimson Eyes were in a den near the Plum Locus. Musashi probably went there to scout for any potential dangers.

"Hmm…"

I had free time now. Normally, I would have taken a stick lying somewhere and swung it around, trying to imitate Musashi's amazing techniques, but I would fail miserably. But I had another thing on my mind right now.

'What if I killed myself now?'

Would I return to the time when I was lying in a blood pool at the bottom of the cliff? Or would something else happen?

I had to try it. Seeing the mark still there, I knew that I would still regress but I had no idea how this new regression worked. Would I regress to a specific time every time I die? Or would the regression overwrite itself after a certain duration of time? There was only one way to find out.

'I have to kill myself.'

Now that a week has passed since I last died, this was the perfect time for me to test this new regression.

"Haa…"

But killing myself… the image of the knife penetrating my forehead still floated in my head like clear water. The thought of me drowning in the pristine lake still choked me. And now, I had to kill myself again.

The thought made me flinch a little but I wanted death… true death. This was nothing compared to my goal.

I turned to neatly arranged swords and blades.

'Let's do it.'

I'd just have to do everything from the start, not a big deal.

I took out one of the swords. It was a katana. It was so Musashi-like. Clean and polished, a sharp edge that could probably cut through a soft falling paper.

Wonder how smoothly it would slice my neck off.

Only one way to find out.

I held the sharp edge of the katana by my neck softly. The icy metal touched the skin of my neck and already made a scratch. The blood flowed down from my neck.

'A bit more…'

Just a bit more push and the blade would be halfway through my neck.

'"Ugh—"

And a little bit more, and my neck will fall off.

Shiik!

I died.

***

"Hah!"

I looked around frantically.

"Haa… haa… haa…"

My breathing was rough and unstable. My head was like a raging volcano. I couldn't think straight. The sensation of the cold metal going through my neck still lived vividly within me.

"Haa…!"

I put my hand on my neck. It was still there, attached to my shoulder.

"Fuu…"

My head was spinning but I was calmer than before.

'Where is this…?'

I looked around and saw the swords and blades neatly arranged. But the katana was missing.

"You are awake?"

I heard a sound. It was Musashi.

"Um! How long has it been since I first came here?"

"One week and one day. Why do you ask?"

"No, it's nothing…"

I couldn't stop grinning.

I finally figured out the regression. It was a one-day regression from the time of death.

'Haha… now there's nothing that can stop me.'

I could learn everything I come across now. From magic to swords, anything.

'Who knew the curse I had would turn into such a great boon… haha…'

This was delightful.

***