Sword Whisperer - Chapter 8

Chapter 8.  Career Options (3)

‘……What was that?’

It wasn’t like the dreams of sword god Van.  Even after realizing that it was a dream, everything was so clear as if to wonder whether it was in fact a dream.

It was in a white space.  Only Lucas and Lucas’s small sword were everything there were.

Despite that, what caused him to feel that the whole world was full of things.

[Synchronizing with the voice of the sword.]

[The memory preservation rate of the subject sword is ‘low’.]

[The point of memory recapturing is going to be forcefully fixed.]

Van had become Lucas.  The feeling was totally different than when he was absorbing the memory by holding the swords.

The memory did not get recaptured by regurgitating the path of the sword as it was swung.  The path of the sword that he was drawing was the memory of the sword itself.

Right now, he was Lucas.

He swung the sword repeatedly.  He pierced, down swung, up swung, and swung sideways.  He mixed in fake moves, blocked the incoming sword attacks, and swung in zigzag fashion.

It was perfect.

That seemed logical.  It was because the one who was swinging the sword was Lucas, not Van.  However, at the same time, it was Van, also.  It was a strange feeling.   The sense of blurring the border lines of consciousness and reality.  Lucas was him, and the sense of him becoming Lucas.

Again, the light of the sword flashed.

The world was still pure white.  Hence, his focus did not get distracted to anything else.  Only by focusing on the ends of his hands, on the weight of the sword as he gripped on it…..

“Uh…..”

“Are you awake?”

Dolby glimpsed down at Van.

“Get up.  It’s dawn.”

§

‘Ah, should have slept with the sword in my arms, sooner.’

Van sighed inside.  It has never dawned on him that the voice of the sword was going to be initiated even in his dream.

The most shocking aspect was the sense of the grip which he felt in his dream.  Rather than just the simple sense of swinging the sword, but knowing why it was swung that way, how much force was applied and where, and he even knew Lucas’ thoughts in advance.

It could be said that it was the moment that he totally understood the level of Lucas.  As said earlier, he was Lucas at that time.

In fact, it was also the bothersome aspect as his skills progressed.  It was because his physicality was different than Lucas’ which disabled him to perfectly absorb Lucas’ sword skill.  That was, his physique was rather similar with Lucas’, the differences in the specific aspects like the lengths of their arms couldn’t be adjusted.

However, it was OK now.  The fact that he had a peek into Lucas’ thoughts meant that he understood the basics of his sword’s path.  Hence, after a few more dreams like that, he thought that it won’t be too difficult to modify Lucas’ swordsmanship to tailor to his own way.

‘If the memory preservation rate of ‘low’ is like this….what would mid or high look like?’

Having such thoughts, he thought that it might not be a bad idea to ask Yooryung to gift him with a sword of a famous swordsman.  Truly, if he was to train with the sword of a world famous swordsman for few continuous years, wouldn’t that allow Van to reach that swordsman’s levels, as well.

He already had a drink of water, yet he was thirsty.  Each time they stopped riding, he swung his sword at the spot.  Although his legs swayed due the weakness as he was riding the horse all day, he was worried that he might lose Lucas’ sword skill, should he stay put and not do anything.

[The sword’s voice is with you.]

[The ‘highly talented swordsman’s’ sword skill is at the concentrated level.]

The notification windows appeared at a corner of his vision, and then disappeared.  Van swung his short sword without paying much attention.  It was different than the usual times.  If he had been swinging the sword according to Lucas’ skill before… but now, very finely……

‘…..This, is what it is like to swing a sword.’

He felt ashamed that he used to call himself a swordsman before.  It wasn’t that he was swinging the sword as a swordsman, but only imitating one, by copying before.  Of course, people called him a genius just by looking at the imitations, though….

That shame didn’t seem all that bad.  Van laughed, unable to hold back.  Knowing his shortcomings, he could make progress.  As he knew of the satisfaction brought on by becoming strong, he was just thankful that he learned of his shortcomings.

And Yooryung stared at Van with a strange expression.

“…..Are you taking an interest in that young man?”

Kintnell, Yooryung’s knight, asked.  His sand colored beard was overgrown, looking bushy, such that his lips weren’t even visible.  Yooryung contently smiled and replied.

“Jin.  You should know it well, too?  The ones who will make it, as knights, and won’t.”

“When you grow old and wiser, many things can be predicted at a glance.”

“What do you think of that young man?”

Yooryung asked without taking his eyes off of Van.  Kintnell quietly watched Van.  It was a fine sword skill.  Although it was difficult to say that it has been perfected, seeing every little detail, unveiling the hidden talent wasn’t too difficult.

“If he has progressed from being in that little country village, the advancement would be noticeable with proper equipment an environment.  Becoming a knight doesn’t seem much of a challenge.  He does not look like he has only been training for 1 year.”

“Don’t you agree?”

Yooryung laughed pleasantly.  He liked Van.  Even, the aspect of having the wild dream of being the world’s strongest, and the effort that he put into making that dream a reality.

Yooryung waited until Van finished his training.  And he offered water as soon as Van sat down wiping sweat off his face.

“Hot, huh?”

“Ah, thank you.  A little bit, yes.”

“Don’t train too hard.  You know that we are on the run, right now, right?”

“I just warmed up a little.”

“That’s good then.”

The warm up session was very extensive to be called a warm up session, but it wasn’t a lie.  He used to climb the mountains without skipping a day since he was a little kid.  Riding a horse also took a lot of energy, but it wasn’t much compared to climbing the mountain.  As a result, he was still energetic.

“I thought about it.  How I can help you achieve your dream?”

“Do you have a way?”

“After things get settled this time, I’m intending to enroll at the capitol’s academy.  It is a place where the descendants of many great families and talented people like you congregate.  Do you want to join me there?”

“….Me?”

“Of course, you have to take a test, but if you dare to dream of being the world’s most powerful one, I don’t see how you would fail their acceptance exam.  I’ll be your supporter.  Are you prepared to leave the village, and go to the capitol?”

It was a question that did not require any thinking.  Van looked at Yooryung with the eyes which have yet to cool down.

“I can’t be the world’s best inside the village.”

§

They rode fairly peacefully as if to believe that they were on the run.  Each night, Van slept with the sword in his arms, and practiced sword skill at every chance he had.  He even looked way too diligent to those members of the security unit who knew him very well.

‘Close to a 2 star.’

I dared to let him know that as a swordsman.  That was, the wall that was before him was slowly showing cracks.

The major difference between 0 star and 1 star was that he realized how the sword should be swung when he became 1 star.  Then what kind of understanding would 2 star give.  That was, the level which was beyond the level of knowing how to simply slice and pierce.

Each time he dreamed, Van knew the answer, had known the answer, and again forgot as soon as he woke up.  Each and every time that has happened, Van swung, thought and felt even more diligently.

And in that process, Van was transforming into a knight from an ordinary boy, one moment at a time.

It was the night before arriving at the Cho family’s territory.  As usual, Van went to sleep with Lucas’ sword in his arms.  And having become Lucas, he swung the sword many times.

It was when he finished his watch duty, and again was becoming Lucas in his dream when he sprung out of the white space which he was in.  The first things that he saw were the dying embers, and the blurred reflection of Gord’s face on it.  He spoke.

“Get up.  The posse is close.”

“……The posse?”

“Put your ear to the ground.  You’ll hear the horse hoops.  It sounds like at least five.  Wake up.”

“Do we have to fight?”

“The horses are still exhausted.  Not sure how their horses are…. They will be similar to our horses.  It’s better to stay in ambush mode.  Dolby!  Hide the horses.  So that those bastard traitors won’t even sense where we are.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Van.  Follow me and will set traps.  Since you used to climb the mountains, you should see better at night.”

“Yes.”

Holding the sword, Van stood up.  The enemy was at hand.  With that fact alone, his sleep escaped him, as if to think whether he was really tired, at all.

Perhaps, it was because Gord was a hunter, he moved about in the forest with much more ease than Van.  Gord murmured as he tied ropes between the trees.

“Crying out loud.  No matter what, my life never gets easy.  Hey, Van.  Why don’t you just ask for a farm like Dolby after this mission.  What are you going to be by being the world’s best?  In the end, life is better if it can be lived comfortably and easily.”

“You’re probably saying that cuz you’ve lived your life fruitfully already, lieutenant.  I’m still at the age of dreaming.”

“The way the young ones speak these days…..”

“I’m going to the academy.  I’m going to learn, and hang with great people, there…. And I will pass down my name in history.”

“Of course.  Let’s go.  Time to hide.”

Soon, everyone hid near the overgrown grass area around the roped trees.  Aidan asked as he looked at Yooryung.  He appeared to be calm and normal, but he had shown up with critical wounds, after all.  He couldn’t have been all healed, already.

“Do you think you can fight?”

However, Yooryung laughed.

“Our captain does not seem to know what it means to be a member of the Cho family.  This type of wound is nothing.  The enemy should be concerned… by the fact that I, Cho Yooryung, has only suffered this much wound.”

“…..It will be great if the trap works.  Gord.  Are you sure that there are only around five of them?”

“There are only six horses, at most.  Unless two rode on one horse, that is certain.  And had they worked their horses that hard then they wouldn’t have been able to get here this fast.”

“If there are six of them….Each of us has to take on one, at least.”

It wasn’t going to be an easy fight even though the skill level of the enemy wasn’t known.

Van gripped on the short sword.  The true battle that he has so longed for would soon take place.

He could go to the academy if he wins.  That was a later step though.

He wanted to wield his sword.  He wanted to show himself as a true swordsman.  His heart palpitated.  The palms of his hands were moist with sweat.  It was truly the most dangerous moment in his entire life.

Yet, how come he did not feel anxious, at all.

Van raised the ends of his lips, like a wolf.

“…..It’s here.”