Taesan moved his arms smoothly. The movements that deflected the swords held a naturalness that wasn't there before. 'Is this how I should move?'
He traced the trajectory in his mind and moved his body accordingly. He corrected the sword's movements in real-time. It was a crazy thing to do.
Swordsmanship was something perfected by being slowly established over countless long years. Changing it suddenly during a battle, far from bringing any meaningful change, would only result in awkward movements that would cost him his life. But the Ghost said nothing, and Taesan too corrected his form as if with conviction.
He pulled back his elbow and flicked his wrist. Until now, the hand holding the sword had moved roughly, like a beast's. It couldn't be called bad, but it was blunt and heavy, like ink splattered on white paper. But the swordsmanship he was now unfolding was the complete opposite.
The tip of the sword swayed. Like a sword dance. But it held killing intent.
It brushed past smoothly like a dance, but every single trajectory was a fatal attack.
Kaggak.
Sparks flew as the swords clashed. Taesan's sword slid smoothly down the knight's sword and scratched its armor.
Seogeok.
The hard armor was cut away as if it were cloth. Taesan held the sword in a reverse grip and smoothly deflected an attack aimed at his blind spot. The knights wavered at his completely changed movements, and it showed in their actions.
Not missing the opening, Taesan pressed forward. As he moved both hands, a knight raised its sword to block. Taesan instantly twisted the trajectory of his hand, slipped past the sword, and pierced the knight's chest.
As he pulled out his sword, he blocked an attack aimed at his back.
Kaggak.
He slid down the blade as it was. Moving like flowing water, he slashed the forearm, shoulder, and armpit. The knight could do nothing and lost an arm.
'A little more.'
Smoother.
But not so much that the characteristics of the swordsmanship disappear. He moved both hands simultaneously. As if they were another person's hands, he smoothly performed completely different movements.
He parried a sword and smoothly deflected it to counterattack. The knights began to waver greatly. The pressure that had worked so well until now became completely ineffective, and hesitation and disbelief crept into their movements.
In such a situation, there was no chance of victory. Another knight finally fell to Taesan's sword strike.
Two remained.
The knights' confusion subsided. They perfectly coordinated with each other and aimed for Taesan. Taesan moved his fingertips.
Sword strikes like a dance unfolded, just as before.
Kagagak!
The swords made a clamorous sound. There was no wavering from the knights as before. They moved their swords in response to Taesan's changed movements.
They began to push forward with force. They tried to trample the dance with violence. Taesan stomped his foot.
He rotated his body, pulling his left hand to the right. He pushed his right hand to the right. His body leaned to the right and rotated.
The sword of the knight on the left missed. The knight on the right's point of impact was deflected, and its force wasn't properly applied. He deflected the force with a dance.
And his sword strikes changed. He drove towards the knight on the right. The movement was less like a dance and more like a storm, with the ferocity of a beast.
First Sword.
Wolf Fang cut down the knight. It was the same swordsmanship as when the knight first faced him, so if it didn't panic and recalled its memory, it could block it. But the knight couldn't fully block the trajectory of the completely opposite swordsmanship.
It moved its sword in a flurry, but its armor was wounded in various places. Just as the knight barely began to respond, his movements changed again. Smoothly like a dance, like a dancer.
Kaggak!
The knight couldn't withstand the constantly changing swordsmanship and collapsed. Taking down the last remaining knight was not difficult at all. He pressed on with movements like a dancer's. The knight blocked desperately, but alone, its strength, speed, and everything else were lacking.
Moreover, since Taesan's level of swordsmanship was superior, the knight couldn't hold out for long and fell.
“Hoo.”
Taesan stared blankly down at his hands. A completely different swordsmanship from before had unfolded from his hands.
“Skill Window.”
[Advanced Skill: Sword of the Storm Scar] [Proficiency: 22%] [A swordsmanship passed down from a ruined world. Currently, only one person has mastered it. A level where you can confidently say you've begun.]
It had reached 22% at some point. The watching Ghost burst out with the admiration he had been holding back.
[I was thinking of teaching you soon, but I never imagined you would realize it on your own.]
“What is this?”
The swordsmanship unfolded on its own, as if this was the correct answer all along. The Ghost explained.
[The Second Sword. The Dancer’s Step. If Wolf Fang is a sword that drives forward, The Dancer’s Step softly approaches and takes off their head. It minimizes the roughness characteristic of the swordsmanship and slashes with optimal movement. Not bad, right?]
“Quite.”
Neither could be said to be superior. Wolf Fang was good when facing lower-ranked enemies, and The Dancer’s Step was good when facing enemies of the same level or multiple opponents. But the fact that the two sword forms were completely different in style was a great advantage.
If he had used The Dancer’s Step from the beginning, the knights would have responded accordingly. But since his style changed to the complete opposite in the middle of the battle, they were momentarily flustered and defeated.
It might not have worked on those with no intelligence at all, but against those with even a shallow intellect, it was sure to be effective. This made a big difference in battle.
[I guess you really have to be pushed to your limits, huh? It's a complicated sword form, so I was planning to teach it to you step by step... but this is impressive.]
Leaving the continuously admiring Ghost behind, Taesan composed himself. He had defeated all the visible monsters, but there was still one monster left.
“It's not even attacking anymore.”
The invisible monster that had been constantly bothering him. It was time to catch that one. During the battle, out of annoyance, he had gradually deduced and found a rough answer.
'It's not one that goes to another dimension.' The so-called monsters that hide their bodies in another dimension and launch surprise attacks. At first, he thought it was one of them, but the possibility was quite low.
Perhaps because of the advantage of hiding in another dimension, their other abilities were often trivial. But there was no way it would have both stealth and dimensional shifting. Even if such a monster existed, it would only be found deep in the Depths, not one that would appear like this.
Then it became simple. Space transfer was a much lower rank than dimensional shifting. So, stealth and space transfer.
There were quite a few monsters that used both simultaneously. 'The high-level Succubus was one of those.' Taesan activated his magic.
Frost Arrows began to fill the space one by one. Before long, twenty Frost Arrows filled the room. Taesan clenched his fist.
[You have activated Magic Explosion.]
Jjeo-eong!
The Frost Arrows exploded all at once, and shards of ice struck the room. Magic Explosion damages friend and foe alike. Since Taesan's Health was very low, he was also in danger, but it didn't matter.
[Your Fortitude has been activated. The fatal attack has been nullified. For 1 second, all damage becomes 0.] Fortitude was a skill that allowed him to use even self-destruct moves without issue.
Taesan's prediction was correct, and a scream erupted.
“Gyaaaaaa!”
[43 Damage dealt to the Goblin Shaman.]
[44 Damage dealt to the Goblin Shaman.]
[You have defeated the Goblin Shaman.]
The moment he defeated the last monster, a series of system windows appeared.
[You have passed Maria’s Trial. You will be given a reward according to Maria’s evaluation.]
[Maria is greatly pleased with your honest choices and achievements. Maria wishes to give you a fitting reward.]
[Maria’s domain of interference has been reduced.]
[Maria gives you a reward. You have received [Weapon of Morphing Form].]
[You have cleared the Enhanced Trial. An additional reward follows.]
[You have received the Special Active Skill [Freedom of Choice].]
As always, it was a weapon and a skill. Besides Maria's rewards, perhaps thanks to the battle that pushed his limits, the proficiency of several skills had greatly increased, changing their descriptions, and he had also obtained a new skill. Before he could even check them, an offer came.
[Maria proposes an Apostle’s Contract to you.]
“I decline.”
He refused, as always. He had no intention of becoming an Apostle just yet. It seemed as if he could hear a chuckling laugh.
Suddenly, the power from beyond stopped wavering, as if it had decided something.
“Hm?”
Taesan paused.
Suddenly, the atmosphere turned bad. Something huge began to rush in.
[Uh oh.]
“Wait.”
[Maria’s Unreasonable Choice activates. Maria’s domain of interference is reduced.]
[You have been invited. A choice is given. Accept the invitation. VS Accept the invitation.]
[Forced Choice. You have accepted the invitation.]
[The Pantheon welcomes you.]
The world turns upside down. As if being painted over with a darker color of paint, everything began to be overwritten. His body is forcibly dragged into the changed space.
His head spun from the instantaneous spatial transfer. After steadying his motion sickness for a moment, Taesan raised his head. And he let out a hollow laugh.
“What is this.”
If there was an empty space in the universe, would it be like this? A black space stretched out. It was a perfectly black space where nothing could be seen even when looking to the far end.
[...Unbelievable.]
The Ghost lets out a groan mixed with astonishment.
[No. This isn't right. How could a god bring you here. An invitation like this should be impossible.]
The Ghost muttered incessantly. His attitude was as if he had witnessed the end of the world.
“A damn invitation, huh.”
In the empty space, only a single magnificent Divine Temple stood aloof.
“It's ridiculously big.”
Even looking up, the end of the ceiling was not visible. It was the size of a mountain. As Taesan approached the temple, the Ghost was startled.
[W-wait. Hold on. You can't just go in recklessly.]
Seeing the Ghost urgently trying to stop him, Taesan felt a strange emotion. It was the first time he had seen the Ghost so frightened. 'Is it that scary?'
“I was invited, wasn't I? I have to see their high and mighty face.”
Since nothing would happen by just standing still, going inside was the right answer. The Ghost, as if knowing that too, gave off an uncomfortable air but said no more.
Kkiiik.
The huge door opened smoothly. Inside the temple, Taesan let out a breath of admiration.
“What is this now.”
Jewels were spread out splendidly like a flower garden. Black jewels, golden jewels, white jewels, and so on. The quantity and variety were enough to make one's eyes hurt.
The Ghost, who had kept his mouth shut, let out a groan.
[That...]
The Ghost's gaze was fixed on a strangely shaped jewel that looked both silver and golden.
“What's that?”
[...It's a jewel made by compressing a meteor that fell from the stars. Only one existed in our world, and a sword made from it... destroyed an entire continent.]
It destroyed a continent, not a country. There were over thousands of such jewels here.
[Ten Great Mages gathered to barely seal it, what the...]
[You are surprised by such a trivial toy.]
A voice mixed with laughter rang out.
[Then again, what here wouldn't be precious to you? Even a heap of scrap metal would be something you could never see again.]
A clear voice echoes inside the temple. Taesan turned his head. The figure of a woman with hair grown long down to her ankles came into view.
Her abundant golden hair was impressive. She was looking down at them with a somewhat languid face. It was a human form.
But it didn't feel human at all. First, it was huge. The size difference between Taesan and the woman was like that between a kitten and a human.
It was a size difference that would have made his neck hurt terribly from looking up if the woman hadn't been in a reclining position. And the immense power he could feel. The woman smiled.
[Nice to meet you, child.]
With the greeting, numerous judgments were attempted.