Chapter 643 – #130_Sword Witch
#643
1.
If one were to pick the widest space in this Hyangwol House, it wouldn’t be the inner courtyard or the garden, but this training ground.
The overall shape was a modification of the central courtyard.
The rectangular, flat dirt floor was firmly packed so that not a single speck of dust would fly, and here and there, cherry trees were dropping their petals.
“Let’s spar.”
Rinne throws the words out without asking for Siwoo’s opinion.
Strictly speaking, it’s probably because she doesn’t think there’s a need to.
The Shin Siwoo that Siwoo is playing would be itching to fight after seeing a martial artist of a similar level.
“Sounds good.”
Knowing that, Siwoo pretended to accept readily.
Even though he ‘pretended,’ he wasn’t dissatisfied in the first place.
Rinne is a powerhouse in close combat.
He understands how much sparring can help improve one’s skills.
While gaining Rinne’s favor and trust, he can also face a completely new type of swordsman and aim to improve his own skills?
It’s like killing two birds with one stone.
Rinne moved towards the stone lantern at the corner of the training ground.
A heavy magical power emanated from her body and seeped into the stone lantern.
-Kooong!
At the same time, a magic circle crawled across the ground she was standing on.
The heavy wave of magical power that started from the stone lantern covered the entire training ground before stopping.
Just like the underground prison of the Jemernai Count’s family, it was a formation that utilized feng shui.
The effect was intuitive.
First, the already firmly packed ground became even more solid, like asphalt.
A kind of boundary also appeared on the wooden veranda facing the central courtyard.
Also, the amount of usable magical power was instantly limited.
The limit was about 10% of the magical power that could normally be used.
Even though it was relatively wide, it seemed that the power was limited because the training ground wouldn’t be able to withstand the intense sparring of two great witches.
In the first place, it seemed that what Rinne wanted was a spear versus sword match, not a magic battle.
“Wait, before that, can I ask a few things?”
Siwoo first stops Rinne, who had drawn her sword without any explanation.
Siwoo still had a lot to talk about and was curious about many things.
Rinne’s brow furrowed in dissatisfaction, as if she had been robbed of a package she had been looking forward to opening.
“Speak.”
“Where is the witch who was with me? Did she come into this city with me?”
Along with Alice, Manya and Malisha were also captured with Siwoo.
In fact, there was no obligation to care about those who attacked first, and Siwoo wasn’t asking about their whereabouts out of a sense of philanthropy.
It was due to the rational judgment that even one helper in this city where no one could be trusted would bring him closer to Exodus.
“It’s not my concern. The Silent Witch probably handed them over to the auction house.”
It was roughly as expected.
Even if they were exiles, there was no way they would give citizenship to a kidnapped witch.
“What happens when they’re handed over to the auction house?”
“Is it important?”
Still, after exchanging a few words, he could now roughly guess her emotions.
Of course, the accuracy couldn’t be guaranteed, but she was very annoyed right now.
“If they’re lucky, they’ll be sold as slaves, if they’re unlucky, they’ll be dismantled and sold as materials.”
Dismantled?
He didn’t show it, but it was a gruesome expression to use on a person.
It wouldn’t be some vague metaphor.
Rather, judging from the public’s actions he had heard about, it was too realistic to be a problem.
“Why are you asking that?”
Is it right to just leave them like that?
Is there a way to bring them here with a suitable excuse?
However, if he were to meddle and arouse the Sword Witch’s suspicion, that would be a problem in itself.
Even if he wanted to bring them from the auction house, he had no justification to offer, and it was uncertain whether she would even listen.
Let’s give up for now.
“No, it’s nothing. More importantly, where’s my spear?”
For now, it was more important to figure out the location of Red Branch, the ultimate variable maker.
“It’s being stored.”
“If I don’t have my spear, what about the spar?”
“I won’t use my ceremonial attire either. I’ll return it when the need arises.”
It would have been very upsetting if she had said she had handed it over to the auction house as well, so it was a relief.
In any case, Red Branch was too dangerous to use for sparring.
With the magical power limited to about 10% of its usual output, even controlling it was difficult.
It seemed that Rinne’s dissatisfaction had reached its limit, so it was difficult to delay any further.
“Okay, let’s go at it.”
When he stretched his arm out to the side, a black shadow formed the shape of a long spear.
The spear, which was perfectly replicated to match Red Branch in length and center of gravity, felt familiar in his hand.
-Whoosh! Swoosh!
He swung the spear a few times.
Since his use of magical power was limited, he had to check how far his body could move and how well his movements matched the actions he had in mind.
It didn’t take long to adjust.
Even when sparring with his teacher, his magical power was self-restricted.
“I think that’s enough.”
When he looked at Rinne with an awkward tone, she was already in position, as if she had been waiting.
“I’ll start.”
-Clang
The tips of the spear and sword lightly touched, making a clear sound.
It was similar to the act of touching gloves on the ring.
At the same time, Siwoo’s consciousness shifted.
He had already fought Rinne with his life on the line, so he knew her level.
She was not an opponent he could handle with his mind wandering.
Her interest in Siwoo was like a spark.
Depending on the results he showed here, it would either fizzle out or become a hotter flame of interest.
In other words, he had to fight for his life.
2.
A barrage of spear strikes and gracefully scattering sword blades.
Like a performance with choreographed moves, the intense sparring clashed and separated without an inch of error.
Although limited, the movements of the two people far exceeded the limits of humans.
Five exchanges took place in the blink of an eye, and the ear-splitting, sharp shattering sounds indicated that their movements were approaching the speed of sound.
“Hoo!”
He thrust out his spear with one hand while tilting his head back.
Rinne’s sword barely missed the spot.
A fatal blow that would have torn his mouth open if he had been just a little late was close to a killing blow.
And here’s an important fact.
Even if Siwoo hadn’t dodged, she wouldn’t have stopped her sword.
As proof, Siwoo’s body was already covered with red and blue spear wounds and cuts, and every time he moved, drops of blood scattered on the training ground floor.
That’s right.
Rinne wasn’t holding back at all during the sparring.
Every attack came with the same angle and power as in a real battle, and even in situations where it was certain that she would land a hit, she didn’t reduce her power at all.
He had resolved to fight for his life in this spar, but he never expected that it would really turn into a life-or-death struggle.
This is sparring?
If it was something like a sparring match between martial artists, he would have accepted it.
But the two of them were holding blades.
If he were to allow a direct hit in the wrong place, he could easily die.
However, what was reflected in her eyes was not a sticky murderous intent.
It was a pure, utterly clean passion and a smile etched on her lips, as if she was enjoying this game.
“Kuh!”
This time, his thigh was stabbed.
It missed the artery, and it wasn’t deep enough to reach the bone, but for a moment, his entire thigh stiffened like a log.
There was no pain reduction like during the trials, and if he lost his life, he would die without a doubt.
Such a heavy burden pushed Siwoo to the edge.
-Whoosh!
Just as he reflexively spun his spear to push Rinne away, she had already completely moved out of range.
Clearly, he had the advantage in reach, both in terms of physical condition and weapon characteristics, but she was freely moving in and out of range, taking the lead in the battle.
“Hoo…. Hoo…”
Blood flowed from his forehead, which he didn’t even know was torn, and covered his eyes.
His thigh had just been stabbed, and his arms had already been cut at least six times.
There were no fatal wounds, but compared to Rinne, who didn’t have a single scratch except for the sweat dripping down, he was a mess.
It was the result of small injuries gradually accumulating.
If there had been a referee, he would have declared a TKO right away.
Unfortunately, there was no referee in the training ground, and she didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping either.
He had to admit it.
Rinne possessed skills comparable to Eloa, if only in pure swordsmanship.
If his teacher had engaged in a spar without holding back under the same conditions, the results would have been similar.
No matter how brilliant his talent was, no matter how outstanding the contract with the King of All Diseases was.
It was difficult to catch up with the years of experience in an instant.
Was he really going to die like this?
What was even more frightening was Rinne’s demeanor, as if she would just say, ‘That’s a shame,’ even if an accident happened.
“Are you already tired?”
Rinne spoke, seeing Siwoo, who was stiff with a creeping sense of unease.
He forced a smile and answered through gritted teeth.
“No way.”
He had chosen the wrong concept.
He should have gone with something like a lazy genius and just coasted along…
It was pointless to regret it now.
3.
He struggled desperately, but the gap was solid.
The spar ended only after Siwoo became a rag and collapsed on the floor.
“Haa…. Haa….”
He felt like he was going to die.
He felt like he was going to throw up.
The pain that pierced his entire body, as well as the fact that he had been moving his body non-stop, left him with no strength to even move a finger.
Even so, he felt a sense of relief in one corner of his heart.
The spar had ended without the worst-case scenario of losing his life or having a part of his body torn off.
“Doctor, heal him.”
“W-what is this…”
“Heal him.”
As he lay with his eyes closed, trying to hold onto his fading consciousness, he heard Rinne’s cold voice.
He felt a warm energy circulating in his body, and his wounds were healing.
Still, she was healing him, so that was something, right?
“Go, I’ll call you if I need you.”
Yebin was pushed out and chased away.
When Siwoo, who had been lying there for about two minutes, staggered to his feet, Rinne was still holding her sword.
No way.
No way….
“Let’s start again.”
As soon as he heard those words, his mind went blank.
Of course, his magical power reserves were still the same, and only the output was limited, so both Siwoo and Rinne still had plenty of magical power left.
But they had been fighting for over an hour, clashing weapons.
He thought they would rest for a bit.
But after healing and resting for about three minutes, she was telling him to spar again right away?
That brutal spar from before?
“Okay. Come at me.”
There was no choice anyway.
Let’s just endure one more time.
No matter how obsessed she was with training, she wouldn’t be doing this all day.
Thinking that, Siwoo gripped his spear.
Even at that point, Siwoo was underestimating Rinne’s harshness.
————
This is Sharon using water elemental magic.
Provided by Teacher Lin.
This is already the third fan art, and I am always grateful.
