The difference between one day of training and the next was significant and noticeable. Willow had moved past simply manifesting mana in her hand to actively casting spells. An encounter with monsters meant a combination of crossbow bolts, [arcane shot], [ember] and [frost] to overwhelm and distract while Jinyoung moved in and cleaned up their enemies.
For Jinyoung, his new ability was a mixed blessing. On the one hand, having [charge+] made everything significantly easier. The increased strength meant that Jinyoung could bear more weight while the increased agility allowed him to move quicker and react faster. But on the other hand… Dae increased the weights on his legs. And instead of focusing on movement and skill use, his instructor had moved on to weapon proficiency.
“You’re still holding the goddamned sword wrong, boy!” Dae shouted.
The party encountered four lizardmen and, again, the two elder players stood back while Jinyoung and Willow worked overtime to defeat the monsters.
“What does it matter? I’m still killing them,” he shot back.
The bastard sword was doing its job and, as far as Jinyoung could tell, he was wielding it just fine. Moving faster with the [charge+] meant Jinyoung could take advantage of openings and kill his opponents more easily. As if to make his point, Jinyoung cut down a monster, splitting it down the middle.
“It means that you’ll dull the blade faster, but more than that you’re using too much energy, boy.”
Is it just my imagination or is he getting more annoying as the day goes on? Jinyoung wondered to himself. He moved to cut through a lizardman holding a halberd before it could complete a swing while another lizardman’s hands caught fire. Willow followed up with two crossbow bolts to the head.
“How would you know?” Jinyoung countered. “And why am I even taking orders from you? You don’t even use a sword!”
“Because I don’t need one, onion knight. I’ve forgotten more about swords than you’ve ever learned.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Jinyoung saw Willow raise a hand. The [arcane shot] hit the last lizardman as it tried to run and get out of range of the party.
“Then prove it, old man.” Jinyoung walked over to the corpse of a lizardman and picked up a rusted sword and tossed it to Dae’s feet.
“One-on-one, the first one to land a blow wins. Full-contact.”
Hana closed her eyes. She’d been expecting this for some time now. Mr. Han’s taunts had been getting to Jinyoung and her brother was not one to take insults well. No matter who was sending them his way.
Dae bent low and picked up the weapon. It was a rusted two-hand sword. Old, but usable. He grinned a wicked smile.
“Sure, boy. I’ll play this game of yours. But I won’t be needing any of my skills to teach you this lesson.”
Dae hadn’t fought with a sword in a decade. Not since he’d focused on the way of the fist. But the sword felt like an old friend in his hands. He shivered at the thought.
“Mr. Han?”
Dae looked up and met Hana’s eyes. For a second, he saw her as a little girl and her brother as a petulant little boy.
He’s a petulant little boy, he thought.
Dae nodded back.
The shield knight’s face was grim. She raised both hands and then lowered them quickly. “Begin.”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
***
image [https://i.imgur.com/pqHXXrs.png]
Holy shit he’s fast.
Jinyoung had seen Dae fight, but he had assumed incorrectly that it was the use of skills to move quickly during battle. But the second Hana lowered her hands, the veteran fighter moved closed the distance and swung his rusted sword before Jinyoung could take a breath. He barely raised his own sword in time, but the awkward angle meant he took the full brunt of the swing.
image [https://i.imgur.com/RM5CLgP.png]
CLANGG!!
The force pushed him back and it felt like his entire right arm was vibrating.
“Not a great start, boy.”
“Screw you, old man.”
Jinyoung activated his [charge+] and immediately [dashed], positioning himself behind Dae. And just as he had in multiple battles, he put both his hands on his sword and swung it with his entire body. The sword moved quickly and where it should have encountered resistance, it swung through empty air.
image [https://i.imgur.com/gua7Bha.png]
The old fighter simply ducked and waited the spin to bring Jinyoung’s sword back around (this time much slower) and parried hard.
CLANGG!!
The force of the blow knocked Jinyoung off his feet.
“That only works against weak monsters and idiots, boy. I am neither.”
It had only been 20 seconds and Dae had already knocked Jinyoung off his feet. All the while taunting him which only made him angrier.
This time Dae moved in with his sword and pushed his advantage. Each time Jinyoung missed his timing on a block or attacked at an awkward angle, Dae punished him with a hard-parry or a stiff shove.
“Stop swinging so hard, boy. You’re pulling yourself out of line and leaving yourself open.”
CLANGG!!
“Bad parry, boy. Your timing was too early.”
CLANGG!!
“You missed, boy. Is that [charge+] skill the only one in your arsenal?”
CLANGG!!
Only two minutes in and Jinyoung was exhausted. Not just exhausted, he had employed every trick he’d learned or come up with during his career as a player. None of it worked. And any mistake he made was punished.
“What happened to, ‘Screw you, old man’?”
And he was getting really tired of the old man’s taunts.
Since leaving the black shrine, all of Jinyoung’s opponents had been monsters that, while sometimes stronger than him, were never smarter than him. He never had to outsmart a monster, only outfight it.
He needed a new strategy. One that didn’t involve powerful strikes that left him wide open or difficult parries. He needed to move faster and read his opponent’s movements better.
Jinyoung slowly got back up, took a breath, and [scanned+] Dae. The skill alerted Jinyoung of the next attack with just enough time for him to block it.
“Finally getting the hang of it, eh?”
image [https://i.imgur.com/MqB8v3c.jpeg]
Using [scan+], he blocked the follow-up barrage of slashes and cuts. Jinyoung was waiting for a heavy strike, one that required Dae to commit. It finally came in the form of a two-handed overhead slash that sent Jinyoung’s skill blaring.
He raised his sword to telegraph a block, but [dashed] back instead, letting the slash fall harmlessly in front of him. And a split second later he [dashed] back in, but instead of cutting with his sword, he [charged], putting his full power into a shoulder tackle. The momentum of the dash and the power of the [charge+] crashed into Dae and pushed him backwards until he fell over. Jinyoung was on him in a [dash], the tip of his blade on Dae’s chest.
Willow and Hana cheered. Even Dae cracked a smile.
“Good job, boy. You’re getting the hang of it.”
Jinyoung wanted to respond, but something caught his eye.
“Jinyoung?”
He looked up at the mountain and saw it. A glint.
“Guys, I think I see something.”
***
It was another 300 meters up the mountain when they found it. An empty riverbed that was once fed by a waterfall that had since dried out, probably due to a rockslide during Cyrus’ battle with the Nox Viper. But the waterfall had covered a cave entrance that led deep into the mountain.
“Be careful, Jinyoung,” Hana cautioned.
He took a look at his sister and slowly made his way to the mouth of the cave. After a few steps, he could see it.
QUEST: Seorak Mountain DUNGEON
OBJECTIVE: Kill the BOSS of the Seorak Mountain DUNGEON
REWARD: Clear the Seorak Mountain DUNGEON