Chapter 181

Slash, slash, slash!

For exactly five hours, Jin swung his sword ten thousand times. And with the swings being consistent in quality and speed, Garmund couldn't keep his jaw from dropping.

"Phew. I finished."

Jin flicked his sweaty bangs. 

Although Tantel said that he would return to his quarters, he remained to watch Jin with his task. After around three thousand swings, other beastmen came to watch. At five thousand, the color in Garmund's face drained. And at seven thousand, he was sweating.

At the ten thousand mark, Garmund realized that he had been underestimating Jin's prowess.

The boy genuinely astonished Garmund.

'I would've never known. This situation… I didn't think it'd happen. What the hell?'

"""WHOOOAAA!"""

Disregarding Garmund's conflicting emotions, the other beastmen shouted and screamed. The normal warriors had different perspectives than the Fighting Legends.

They had been waiting for thousands of years for someone to contest Temar's absolute dominance. They wanted to verify that their frozen time was worth it.

"Garmund, why are you speechless?"

A smile grew on Jin's face, and Garmund cleared his throat.

His brethren enjoyed the sight, so he had felt a little guilty for being the only person who wanted Jin to fail.

"…Well done. I didn't think you would execute it so perfectly."

"No, I didn't want to hear some patronizing compliments."

"Hmph! What do you want me to say, then?"

"Please confirm that I am ready to receive your teachings. With your own mouth."

Jin wasn't provoking Garmund without any deep thought. In fact, he relied on all of the spectators around the training grounds. He knew that Garmund was becoming conscious of the others.

Amongst the Legends, Garmund had the strongest ties to his people. And if he didn't accept Jin, then he would be disappointing his brethren.

"Tch, alright! I accept you, Jin Runcandel. You are now ready to learn the secret technique known as Shadow Blade from yours truly, the Eighth Fighting Legend."

"Whoa! So cool!"

"Garmund! Garmund! Garmund!"

The spectators chanted simultaneously, and Garmund began to blush. His heart began to shine a little brighter, moved by his emotions.

"Alright, alright. Everyone, go on your way. The real training is about to begin."

The audience continued to cheer as they left. With gratitude, Jin also waved his hand in the air.

Again, the two stood together in the training grounds. 

"How old are you, Apprentice?"

"Sixteen. After December, I'll be seventeen."

Garmund's eyes widened. Even within the tribe, not many others could achieve Jin's level at that age. Jin had already stepped into the domain of Mind's Blade.

'This is interesting.'

Garmund swiftly drew his sword. 

"Is it a spar?"

"Oho! You overestimate yourself. A spar is only when you are even a tenth of my power!"

Jin clearly could not conceive how strong these beastmen were.

"How big is our skill gap?"

"You're not even close to moving my sword."

Right as Garmund finished his sentence, Jin stabbed him in the throat with Shadow Vacuum.

Clang!

Garmund easily deflected the sword, furious. Fire sparked in his eyes.

"What's this?"

"You said that I wouldn't even be able to move your sword, so I decided to try something. Turns out that I was wrong. You moved your sword."

Garmund's face crumpled. Embarrassment after embarrassment befell him. This was not his day.

'I was going to make him try to move my sword when he was speechless…'

Garmund had been talking about strength. No such warrior existed such that no movement of the sword was necessary to block Jin's attack.

"...That's not what I meant. I meant that, no matter how many times you strike my sword, you won't be able to move it."

"Oh, that's what you meant? Huh. I knew something was weird. I failed to read between the lines."

Of course, Jin knew what Garmund meant this entire time. He just wanted to embarrass him. There was nothing bad about magnifying his strength through these little conversations. 

'More than anything, this guy is fun to annoy.'

Jin didn't hate people like Garmund. 

"Hmmm, alright. Then try again. Don't go for me, but my sword."

"Understood."

Jin stepped forward and swung the cursed sword.

Clang!

'Whoa…!'

Jin could only be impressed. He didn't exert any aura, but he did use a lot of strength. However, Garmund's sword didn't budge.

And of course, Garmund's stance didn't falter either. On the other hand, Jin lost his balance temporarily from the impact.

Garmund let out a snort, seeming to know that this would happen. 

"Just as I said. You can't make my sword move."

"I'll try again."

"As much as you want."

Jin backed off and breathed slowly. He closed his eyes, focusing his energy and concentrating. The blue aura from his palms wrapped around Shadow Vacuum.

"Hup!"

He swung with all his might.

It was a strike that he would never use in a real fight. What kind of enemy would let him close his eyes?

Claaang!

Blade to blade, a loud sound echoed throughout the grounds at the collision. However, Garmund's sword didn't even vibrate, and Jin flew opposite him. From his mouth, a stream of blood leaked.

"Urgh…!"

Garmund originally planned to laugh. He had already imagined the expected result, hoping to see a pathetic sight.

'However… my sword almost broke.'

For the first time in a thousand years, Garmund felt like his palms were ripping apart. The heat scorched his hands, and his arms throbbed in pain.

He wanted to smile. 

It was equivalent to an 8-star in human terms.

Jin was still a 7-star, but as a Runcandel who just crossed the godforsaken desert, he had already grown a lot.

'However, that's not enough for me to treat you well!'

It had only been a day since he came to Lafrarosa.

If Garmund gave him the respect he wanted, the bastardly human would want more. As such, he had to be tough and strict.

"Complete a swing that is able to move my sword!"

"Will you tell me the process?"

"Didn't the three mirages already teach you that? The key is to believe."

"Believe?"

The most important aspect of Shadow Blade was 'belief'. Subliming the belief into spiritual energy was the core of the technique. It was the equivalent of using Mind's Blade, except Shadow Blade had the 'expanding' property.

The secret technique didn't exist only to cut through things efficiently.

"Alright. I'll give you a week. Within that week, you have as many attempts to strike my sword. Use everything you've got. Rip your hands, break your teeth. You must understand the core of Shadow Blade."

Jin's eyes narrowed. 

'A week… He obviously set a tight time limit in his terms. If I succeed, then I'll definitely earn his respect. Hopefully, he won't go back on his words.'

On the other hand, Garmund was contemplating.

'Is one week too harsh? I know this kid is something special, but I have to make it a challenge. Stand after failure, Second Apprentice. Then I, and the others, will accept you.'

* * *

"Is that it, Apprentice?!"

'If your belief wavers, so will your sword. Do you not understand? And you're Solderet's contractor despite being like that? Hmph. I can see it in your eyes. You are not ready. Temar did it in two days. If the others knew, they would've never appreciated you.'

Garmund prepared many comments. He planned to receive Jin's blows thousands of times while standing still to absolutely devastate him.

…However, on the third day, after 27,576 swings, Garmund's sword broke.

He blankly stared at the result of four days of swinging.

Amongst his despicable comments, the only one that stimulated Jin was 'Temar did it in two days.' And for all of the strikes, Jin looked like he was enjoying it. In fact, Garmund was the only one who looked in pain.

"I took one more day than Temar."

Jin picked up a remnant of Garmund's blade as he spoke.

From start to finish, he never showed a face of enjoyment. He was dissatisfied that his results came close to his ancestor's.

'Shit. If only I focused a little more, I would've done better.'

Jin sighed.

Garmund just stared in astonishment. He expected at least a month's work to attain such a feat, yet Jin completed it in only three days. 

Of course, he was still slower than Temar.

'However considering the cursed sword and his age… a one-day difference is insane. In fact, his success is even more impressive.'

Jin sought this place as a complete warrior. There might not be many things that the tribe could teach him.

Garmund thought through Jin's training.

Thump, thump!

He patted Jin on the back and chuckled. 

"Second Apprentice, Jin Runcandel. I'll be honest. You didn't seem like the freak of nature that you are, but you impressed me until the end."

"Are you accepting me?"

"For me, yeah. The other brothers will open their hearts to you. They will feel the purity and strength of your soul."

To Garmund's drastic personality change, Jin smiled.

Then, Garmund spoke.

"I have one small request."

"A request?"

"May I be the first to experience your achievement?"

"The first to experience… my what?"

"Answer me."

His eyes sparkled. Jin couldn't deny him at all. 

"I don't know what you would like, but I'll comply."

Garmund took the blade shard from Jin's hand and tossed it into his mouth. He ground his teeth before swallowing. 

Satisfied, he pounded his chest.

"A very good taste. Starting tomorrow, the Fifth Legend will come out here as well."