CHAPTER 22

022 Déjà Vu

With a look of disbelief, Rona stared at her broken sword. The blade had been cleanly severed, leaving it half its original weight.
‘My sword broke? Not Jinwoo’s, but my sword?’
As a knight, she had sparred with other Elven knights many times. But never once had her sword broken during a match.
For that to be possible, there had to be a significant difference in skill with her opponent. While there were knights stronger than her, none were so much stronger that they could break her sword.
To think it would be shattered in a single blow by Jinwoo's sword...
Of course, she hadn't used her full strength as she would in a duel with other knights, nor had she used any spirits.
But even for pure swordsmanship, this was embarrassing.

Perhaps because of that, her face flushed red.
No matter how fond she was of Jinwoo, losing a sword duel was a separate matter.
After her family's fall and being orphaned, the only reason she had received the title of knight was thanks to the swordsmanship she had desperately trained.
Her pride in her sword was matched by her embarrassment, and she had wanted to show Jinwoo a cool side of herself with her hard-won skills...
"Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to break it."
Misunderstanding her embarrassed expression, Jinwoo apologized. His apology only made Rona’s body burn hotter.
"Let's go again."
"Do you have another sword? If not, I can lend you one... no, you can just have it."
As Jinwoo moved to take an iron sword from his inventory, Rona raised a hand to stop him.
"I also carry a few swords in my dimensional pouch. But let's continue like this."
"Like this? With the broken sword?"
"Yes."
Spurred by a pointless stubbornness, she faced Jinwoo with her broken sword. Jinwoo blinked and spoke with innocent sincerity.
"Your perfectly good sword broke, so with a broken one..."
But his words were another scratch on her pride, even though Jinwoo had only spoken out of genuine curiosity.
Rona's form vanished in an instant and reappeared above Jinwoo's head. With a sensation similar to before, Jinwoo deflected her sword.
Kang—!
‘Huh?’
Jinwoo was startled. It was completely different from before. The last time they clashed, her sword had broken and flown away, but this time, the impact that shot through his hand was on another level.
Faster than before, and heavier.
‘Where is this strength coming from...!’
Rona’s sword whipped around in a continuous storm, pushing Jinwoo back.
Jinwoo blocked the flurry of strikes, which were almost too fast to see, relying solely on instinct and feeling. He continued a mad tightrope walk, maintaining a balance that would collapse with a single misstep.
To be this strong with a broken sword... just how much had she been holding back until now?
Kang—!
This time, it was Jinwoo's sword that went flying. The white jewel sword he had received from Rona soared high into the air and landed behind him.
Perhaps because it was a treasured sword, it didn't break, but he had still lost his grip on it.
In that brief moment, his eyes met Rona’s. Her eyes were asking: would this be the end of the round, or would he try his next move?
The moment their eyes met.
A fang dagger, wreathed in shadow, was already in Jinwoo's hand, shooting toward her neck.
Thwip.
Of course, Rona caught his wrist, stopping it. The dagger froze in place, unable to cut a single downy hair on her neck.
"Whew! Not so easy, right?"
Rona let go of Jinwoo's wrist, which was still holding the dagger, and exhaled.
‘That was okay this time, right?’
Rona praised herself, thinking she had done alright that time. It felt like she had managed to save face.
She tried to push away the thought of whether she had really just barely saved face against a swordsman who only roamed the 1st Floor...
"It's definitely not easy. That was my trump card, in a way."
"Did you let go of your sword on purpose?"
"Not exactly, but I had a plan to quickly pull out my dagger and stab if a situation like that happened."
"The spirit to never give up! I like that. It's an essential quality for a swordsman."
The praise didn't feel bad to Jinwoo. He had lost, but losing was to be expected.
"So, shall we go again? Or should we review the match?"
"Let's review. One round, one review."
Rona explained that just sparring endlessly was not an efficient training method. All that improved were reflexes and impromptu gambles.
That was learning how to fight, not learning swordsmanship.
Swordsmanship was something more substantial, something that had to be built up step by step.

‘Yes, this is the kind of teaching I needed.’
It was exactly the kind of lesson Jinwoo wanted. Taking the opportunity, he poured out all the thoughts and questions he'd had while swinging his sword alone and received answers.
Rona didn't give clear-cut solutions to his questions. She would present her own opinion, then offer a completely opposite counterargument, and then refute that as well.
In that way, she layered multiple discussions on sword theory to derive the most optimal conclusions and various possibilities.
It was an approach Jinwoo would never have thought of on his own.
"You're smarter than I thought."
"I know my way around a sword. You know, my sword skills are good enough for the 5th Stratum."
Hearing that made her words incredibly persuasive. Swordsmanship that worked even on the 5th Stratum.
Listening to Rona, Jinwoo felt his own swordplay, which had until now been based on instinct and sensation, become organized for the first time.
"Just a moment."
Asking for her patience, Jinwoo sat down on the pebbled ground and closed his eyes.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Rona took a step back, giving him space without disturbing him.
Under her protection, Jinwoo delved into the world inside his mind.
It wasn't a new epiphany. It was simply a review of his swordsmanship up to this point.
He looked back on every swing he had made from the moment he first awakened, applying the sword theories he had heard from Rona.
He recalled every single one of those countless swings. It felt so natural that the thought of how he could even remember it all didn't cross his mind.
After recalling everything, he realized something: his swordplay, surprisingly, didn't deviate much from theory.
‘I was just swinging, but it was pretty close to the right answer?’
He had definitely swung based only on instinct and feeling. Yet those swings hadn't strayed far from the correct path.
There were some parts that were slightly different, but even those differences didn't feel like mistakes.
On the contrary, he even felt that in those specific instances, his own instincts were more correct than Rona's sword theory.
Was he just deluding himself, caught up in self-satisfaction? There was no need to wonder alone. If he didn't know, he could just ask.
The distinction between what he knew and what he didn't was complete. Jinwoo opened his eyes and let out a long breath.
"Hoo..."
His vision was clear. His mind was sharp and refreshed, as if he had just woken up from several hours of deep sleep.
Actually, the sky had grown dark. The sun had been high in the sky just a moment ago.
"What, how much time has passed?"
"About seven hours."
"That long? You were here the whole time?"
"Yes. It's dangerous to leave you alone."
He was surprised that seven hours had passed in what felt like the blink of an eye, but he was even more surprised that Rona had stayed by his side the entire time without leaving for a single moment.
"I feel a little bad."
"Don't be. It was a moment of enlightenment for a novice swordsman. As a senior, it's my duty to watch over you properly."
"It wasn't something as grand as enlightenment... If anything, the number of things I don't know has just multiplied."
"That's proof that you've gained enlightenment."
Enlightenment doesn't end with discovering an answer. The path of the sword is endless; learning one thing inevitably gives rise to two new questions.
The process itself—of endlessly posing questions, finding answers, and posing new questions—was the process of mastering swordsmanship.
"It's similar to the circulation of souls, isn't it? We spend a lifetime searching for the meaning of life, return to death, and are reborn as new beings to find new meaning."
"..."
"The training of the sword is no different. They say that if you endlessly elevate your state, your soul can escape the cycle of circulation and reach the realm of a divine spirit."
"Though divine spirits are just things you hear about in old tales," she added.
Reaching the state of a divine spirit through the sword. It sounded like a story about cultivating the Dao to become an immortal.
Jinwoo looked at her with surprise. This girl, who was always smiling lackadaisically, now seemed as intelligent as a university professor.
"You really are smart, aren't you?"
"I told you. A knight is also a scholar who studies the sword."
True, he'd heard that contrary to the perception that athletes only used their bodies, they were all smart people.
When you thought about it, it made sense that someone studying the human body, the most complex of mechanisms, couldn't be slow-witted.
‘I’m in trouble. I’m not smart.’
He felt a pang of worry. Ever since he was young, he had been a dim-witted student whose class rank had never been in the top half.
Learning the sword wasn't too difficult yet, but would it get more and more mentally taxing as he went on...?
Well, he could worry about the future when it came.

"I'm sorry for making you wait seven hours, but while we're at it, can I ask for one more favor?"
"If you're asking for another round, I'm in."
"We're on the same page."
Rona smiled warmly as she watched Jinwoo brush himself off and stand up. She had expected this from the moment he fell into meditation.
After such a deep exploration of his spiritual world, there was no way his body wouldn't be itching for a fight.
"I'll use a proper sword this time."
Putting away the broken sword, Rona drew a new one.

The sword Bulkar was making was complete.
It was an incredibly beautiful sword with a pale, sky-blue blade that, depending on how you looked at it, resembled the rippling surface of water.
In truth, it wasn't an incorrect comparison, since the blue of the water's surface and the blue of the sky were caused by the same scattering of light.
"Wow..."
A genuine sound of awe escaped Jinwoo's lips. The Sky Sword that Bulkar had made possessed a beauty that made one stare blankly. He felt like he could just gaze at it for hours.
‘But it doesn't feel like a mere ornament at all.’
The beauty Jinwoo spoke of wasn't that of a flashy decoration or a gemstone. While it had ornamentation, he was captivated by its functional beauty as a sword.
He had felt something similar when he first saw the white jewel sword Rona had given him, and this Sky Sword was no different.
‘So I have a hobby like this. Maybe I should start collecting real swords when I get back.’
He never thought he'd have a hobby where he was crazy about swords. Now that he realized it, he thought about becoming a collector.
Just as Chartia found fulfillment in planting trees and cultivating a forest, he thought it would be nice to have something he could lose himself in as well.
A rare, famous sword would cost a fortune, but couldn't he just earn that by working hard in Gates...?
"Use it carefully. It's harder than a normal iron sword, but the metal isn't that durable."
"Does it break easily?"
"Relatively. Instead, as I said, it has an affinity for wind, water, and lightning, so it would be good to utilize it in that direction. As much as possible, avoid clashing it against other blades or directly cutting hard monsters."
"You mean I should have it engraved with magic or a curse."
"Using it that way is the safe bet. Find a sorcerer to engrave it for you."
In any case, the white jewel sword was sufficient for direct combat.
Being told to find a sorcerer himself wasn't a particular concern.
‘If I keep searching for Erosion Cores, won't I eventually get an ability with those attributes?’
Jinwoo already possessed the abilities of the Rock Sword and Shadow Sword. He might have a chance to obtain sword abilities with wind, water, or lightning attributes in a similar way.
"Hmph. One job is done. It's a bittersweet feeling."
"What are you going to do now?"
"What about you?"
"I'm planning to go back."
A lot of time had already passed since he entered the Gate. It wouldn't be bad to stay longer, but now he wanted to return.
When Jinwoo said he was leaving, Rona looked at him.
"Jinwoo. You're leaving already?"
"I've been here a long time. And the Dark Elves who attacked us might still be around."
"Those guys are..."
"They are?"
"Ugh. It's nothing."
Swallowing her words, Rona rummaged in her pouch and pulled something out. It was three white feathers that glowed faintly.
"Then take this, Jinwoo. And one for you too, Bulkar."
"What is this?"
"Is this...?"
"It's a Feather of Connection. I picked and stored them myself on the 3rd Stratum."
Jinwoo's eyes widened. So this was a Feather of Connection.
He had only heard about them; this was the first time he had seen one in person.
"But why this? Isn't the Feather of Connection an item used to enter a Gate with a companion?"
"That's right. It's useless when you're leaving... but we have a culture like that. When you meet someone in a Gate and you click, you exchange Feathers of Connection. It's a custom to wish for a future reunion."
"So there's something like that."
He wondered if there was a similar culture among Earth's Hunters. He'd never heard of it, but it wouldn't be strange if there was.
No, wait. Feathers of Connection were consumables, yet quite expensive, so maybe they didn't, thinking it was a waste of money.
Bulkar carefully tucked the feather away and spoke.
"If you're giving it, I'll take it gladly. But I have no plans to leave the Gate just yet."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Dwarves tend to stay put once they've settled down. I lived in that cave for over a year when I was mining sky-steel."
Hearing this, Jinwoo was quite surprised. He had lived there for a whole year.

"I'll probably be in this waterfall cave for a while, so if you're ever in the area again, stop by."
Bulkar and Rona, and then Jinwoo, shook hands. Since the two of them planned to leave through a Blue Portal, this was where they would part ways with Bulkar.
"Thank you for the sword."
“I’m the one who should be thankful. You saved my life. Use the sword well.”
After a final farewell, Jinwoo and Rona left the waterfall cave. They then headed for the nearest of the Blue Portals they had marked earlier.
Blue Portals also disappeared after a lot of time had passed, but the one they went to was still there.
Once they passed through it, Jinwoo would return to his world, and Rona to hers.
"It was fun, even if it was just for a little while."
"Me too."
It had been fun, and there were many things to be thankful for. He had learned countless sword theories from her, and they had sparred well over a hundred times.
When he returned from holding off the werewolves on the 0th Floor, Jinwoo had felt that he had grown significantly.
It was the same now. He had grown plenty, but in a different way than with the werewolves.
Most importantly, he had learned the fundamentals of sword theory, which was a huge gain as it would allow him to study on his own to some extent in the future.
Until now, "training" had just meant mindlessly swinging his sword until he was completely exhausted.
"Thank you. You are my sword master."
"It's an honor. To think the day would come when I'd teach the Spirit of the Sword how to use a sword."
"I told you I'm human... and didn't you say it was a demonic spirit, not just a spirit?"
"A demonic spirit is a type of spirit, so it's the same thing."
Just as he had with Bulkar, Jinwoo extended his hand to Rona. She smiled and took it.
At that moment, a look of puzzlement flickered across her face.
His hand was firm from training, unlike the soft hands of Elves, no matter how much they trained. It wasn't that such hands were rare. Elves didn't have them, but other races—Bulkar's hand just moments ago had been far more like iron than Jinwoo's.
But something... holding Jinwoo's hand, unlike when she shook Bulkar's, she felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.