Chapter 438: Harmonized Flow

Chapter 438: Harmonized Flow

The Group 4 preliminaries had finally reached their end.

The first-years, unfortunately, were eliminated, while the disciplinary committee members and club presidents of the second and third years earned the right to compete in the main tournament.

Of course, that included Song Cheon-gi, Hong Ye-hwa, and Kim Gap-doo.

At the same time, a notification message popped up in the corner of my vision.

[Side Quest: Fixed Zone Tournament] (Completed)

▷ Objective: Proceed through the tournament

▷ Round of 32 Reward: [Copy-Skill] Slot +1

For first-years, the highest achievement possible was the round of 32.

So my goal was only to reach the main tournament and then drop out. Yesterday, I went to Lee Soo-dok to inform him of my intent to forfeit.

That’s the end of Copy.

Four skill slots, four trait slots.

I had essentially regained my full power from my prime.

With special items, I could expand the slots even further.

But like the Fixed Pin, those items were extremely rare, and in any case, future slot-related skills/traits were more likely to take priority.

So realistically, 4/4 would be the max.

For now, I do have plenty of room.

▷ Copy – Skill [3/4]

1. Feather Step (B+)

2. Destructive Gale (C+)

3. Ice Wall (B)

4. (Empty)

▷ Copy – Trait [3/4]

1. Crown of the Wise King

2. Time Resistance (S)

3. Pain Delay

4. (Empty)

And on top of that, I still had a Fixed Pin stored in my inventory.

Of course, having room isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Empty slots in Copy were practically wasted potential.

I needed to fill them soon.

And I already knew whose “help” I was going to borrow.

The Sword Queen.

She’d reached S-rank ages ago, so she had to have at least one ability worth copying.

Right on time, I got a message from her asking to meet. Looked like she’d already finished clearing the depths and returned.

When I arrived at the meeting spot, the Sword Queen was waiting.

Her arms were crossed and she looked annoyed. She stared at me with a displeased expression.

I bowed politely and asked,

“Did everything go well with your mission?”

“Mhmm, more or less.”

“More or less?”

At my question, the Sword Queen began explaining what had happened in Dungeon No. 24.

The intruder wasn’t a Blood Cult elder but rather the Witch of Exhaustion, who had been absorbing the life force of soldiers to craft a powerful undead. S̩

So the principal and the Sword Queen destroyed the undead and gave the witch a good beating, but in the end, she still slipped away.

It was unfortunate, but unavoidable.

An S-rank powerhouse always has more than one lifeline.

“Will you keep pursuing her?”

“Of course. The principal’s going to investigate further.”

I could already guess what that meant.

He’ll probably ask the Wall of Wisdom.

That was one of Dragon Slayer Academy’s top secrets, but of course, I knew about it.

Still, there was no need to act like I did.

One way or another, once the Witch of Exhaustion’s location was pinned down, they’d share it with me too.

“What about the Blood Cult?”

“They’re quiet as well.”

But it was certain they were lurking somewhere, waiting for an opportunity.

So for the time being, security would remain tightened. At least until the tournament ended, and perhaps even beyond.

After saying that much, the Sword Queen’s face once again turned sulky.

“……”

“What’s the matter?”

“…You cheeky brat.”

Then she pulled an old, worn-out pocket watch from her inventory.

It had stopped long ago, was rusted all over, and the glass was completely shattered.

[Commander’s Old Pocket Watch (A+)]

It was the very item I had asked them to retrieve while they were inside Dungeon No. 24.

If you defeated the legion stationed at a specific location, the opposing commander would drop it.

The Sword Queen handed it over with a grumble.

“Do you have any idea how much trouble the principal and I went through for this thing?”

“I’m truly grateful. But you did benefit from the guide, didn’t you?”

“If you weren’t so good with words, I’d really hate you. So, what do you even use this thing for?”

Looking at its description, it didn’t have any particularly outstanding effects.

It could easily be written off as a junk item.

But since it was ranked A+, her curiosity was understandable.

There was no reason to keep it secret, so right in front of her, I began dismantling the watch.

I removed the shattered glass, then took out the hour hand, the minute hand, and the second hand one by one.

When I gently wiped the second hand and infused it with magic, what had looked brown due to the grime gradually revealed its golden hue.

[Golden Second Hand (S)]

“As you can see, it’s a crafting material.”

A component used to craft a time-type, end-tier item. The Golden Pocket Watch.

It was still beyond my current capabilities, but there was no reason not to collect the parts bit by bit in the meantime, in case the opportunity ever came.

Getting an S-rank material for just one guide? More than worth it.

The Sword Queen gave a small nod, seemingly convinced.

“I see. Use it well. If there’s nothing else, I’m off.”

“There’s one more thing.”

“What.”

“That favor I mentioned before…I was hoping you could help me with it now.”

The Sword Queen furrowed her brow.

“After putting me through all that trouble, now you want something else?”

“As I said before, I’m deeply grateful for everything. But that was in return for the guide, wasn’t it? This should be a separate matter.”

“Ugh, no. I refuse. You’ve got to have a conscience. That one favor was it.”

She was now in full-on “over-my-dead-body” mode.

I looked at her for a moment, then gave a small nod.

“Understood. Then I’ll be on my way.”

Maybe it was because I backed down more easily than she expected, but the Sword Queen gave me a strange look.

I hadn’t even taken a few steps when she called out to me again.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“Just stopping by the principal’s office.”

“Wow! You’re seriously gonna go tattling right away?”

I replied in the most natural and calm tone possible.

“Of course not. I just have something to discuss with him regarding the Blood Cult. Naturally, during a conversation between two people, a variety of topics might come up. And among them, maybe the preliminary round could be mentioned—”

“Arghhh!!”

The Sword Queen cut me off with a shriek and rushed over to grab me by the collar.

Trembling with frustration, she asked,

“Spit it out. The favor. What is it?”

“My friend uses a sword. I was hoping you could give him some guidance.”

“…Not you?”

“I’d be more than satisfied just watching from the side.”

At that, the Sword Queen seemed to calm down a little.

“You’re using your favor for something like that? Pointlessly admirable.”

“So you’ll do it?”

“What kind of guidance does he want, exactly?”

“I’d like you to explain the principles of ‘Harmonized Flow’.”

“……”

The Sword Queen didn’t take long to decide.

Since it was “Harmonized Flow”, she figured it might be a bit obscure, but not too much trouble.

I had made the request while staying within reasonable bounds, too.

“Fine. But I have a condition.”

“I’m listening.”

“I’ll try teaching it, but if that friend of yours doesn’t get it, that’s the end of it. Got it?”

In other words, she wouldn’t be repeating it over and over until it clicked.

I agreed without hesitation.

“That’s more than enough.”

“And since I’ve held up my end of the deal, don’t even mention the word ‘preliminaries’ in front of that principal.”

“Didn’t I already say? I’m good at keeping secrets.”

“Hmph. Call your friend.”

Saying that, the Sword Queen began sending a message somewhere.

She fumbled awkwardly, clearly not used to it, typing away with eagle-claw fingers.

I asked her,

“Are you calling Han So-mi too?”

“I was planning to teach that disciple of mine eventually. Might as well do it all at once now.”

“That works out perfectly.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

“……?”

The Sword Queen gave me a puzzled look, but it didn’t take long for her to understand what I meant.

Han So-mi and Go Hyeon-woo showed up together.

They were probably consoling each other after being eliminated from the preliminaries.

As soon as they saw us, each said a word.

“Master! You called?”

“Greetings, Sword Queen.”

With a very displeased look, the Sword Queen turned to me and asked for confirmation.

“That friend you mentioned… was him?”

“Yes, you’ve met him before.”

“I don’t like him. He’s number three on my list of people I can’t stand.”

“Who’s number one and two?”

“You and the principal.”

“I see.”

It seemed I’d truly earned her resentment by exploiting her weak spot.

But it was a necessary sacrifice. For world peace.

As for why she didn’t like Go Hyeon-woo, the reason was obvious.

Probably similar to how a father feels about the guy dating his daughter.

Her beloved disciple was swooning over some shady-looking guy, so of course she couldn’t be happy about it.

“Still, he’s a promising talent, isn’t he?”

“He has the skills… Ugh, whatever.”

The Sword Queen shook her head, then stepped forward to stand before Go Hyeon-woo and Han So-mi.

Unlike before, she spoke with a tone that carried real weight.

“That one over there asked me to give you some instructions. That’s why I called you.”

“……!”

Go Hyeon-woo looked at me with a face full of emotion.

I could almost hear him whispering, “Kim-hyung…!” right in my ear.

But with the Sword Queen standing before him, it seemed he decided to save our talk for later.

He gave a respectful martial arts salute and spoke.

“I will gratefully accept your teaching.”

“So what are you gonna teach us~?”

Han So-mi tilted her head and asked curiously.

The Sword Queen replied,

“You’ve probably heard of the ‘Harmonized Flow’ technique. For now, step back.”

“Understood.”

Go Hyeon-woo stepped aside to make space, and the Sword Queen and Han So-mi faced each other.

It looked like she planned to explain by demonstrating through a light sparring match.

As Han So-mi drew her sword, the Sword Queen instructed her,

“Come at me slowly.”

“Okay~!”

Since it was only a sparring match for demonstration, it was more important for the movements to be clear than for either side to overpower the other.

Han So-mi seemed to understand the intent. She gathered her sword energy but swung so slowly it was almost yawn-inducing.

The Sword Queen nodded and began her explanation.

“Disciple, it may not be easy to see everything, but your sword energy moves with a steady flow.”

“I can see a little bit!”

“Always observe carefully.”

In her hand was a tree branch who knows when she’d picked it up.

She held it up to meet the blade slowly while continuing her explanation.

“When sword energy clashes, it’s natural for the flows behind them to collide as well. Usually, the stronger one pushes the weaker aside.”

The sword and the tree branch inched closer to each other.

“But flows naturally blend before they clash. If you can control that process precisely—”

Swoosh—

The sword and the branch touched and slid sideways together.

Han So-mi could only follow along helplessly.

“Huh?”

“—then you can redirect the force as you wish, or even return it entirely to your opponent. This is the core principle of the Harmonized Flow technique. Do you understand?”

“A little bit!”

The Sword Queen then glanced briefly at Go Hyeon-woo.

He was wearing a very serious expression, as if he had already realized something.

Because he uses wind-type sword techniques.

Reading and controlling flow is the core of the swordsmanship he’s mastered.

Even one of his defensive moves like Clear Current shared a lot in common with Harmonized Flow.

If he can take something from this, his martial arts will surely advance even further.

Of course, controlling flow was just as important for me, a wind mage.

That’s why I made this request and why I was just standing here watching.

To copy it.

[Activated ‘Copy – Skill’.]

[Skill ‘Harmonized Flow (S)’ has been registered in the slot.]

▷ Copy – Skill [4/4]

1. Feather Step (B+)

2. Destructive Gale (C+)

3. Ice Wall (B)

4. Harmonized Flow (S)

From now on, I’ll be able to redirect or deflect incoming attacks far more efficiently.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to deflect every single one. Just as the Sword Queen mentioned, it only worked at the precise moment when one flow touched and merged with another.

There were many types of attacks, and it wouldn’t always happen. On top of that, the timing would be tricky.

But if the conditions were met—

It’d be practically an invincible defense.

After all, it was an S-rank skill.

While I was thinking that, the Sword Queen continued her demonstration, effortlessly deflecting Han So-mi’s sword again and again.

Then, she glanced at me and said,

“Don’t just stand there watching. Come try it yourself.”

“Shall I?”

I obediently took the Sword Queen’s place.

Soon, Han So-mi’s sword swung slowly toward me.

I raised my staff to meet it.

Screee—

The sword and staff met and lifted upward together.

Exactly like the Sword Queen had done.

I asked innocently,

“Like this?”

“This is ridiculous! That’s cheating!”

The Sword Queen looked genuinely upset.