The moment Ian faced Satan, yet another quest notification appeared before him.
[You have encountered a Lord of the Abyss!]
[An emergency quest has been issued! Defeat the enraged Demon KIng Satan and obtain Ian’s Memoir as a reward!]
It was a slightly different format from those he had seen countless times before, causing the corners of his mouth to twitch upwards.
‘It has changed… In the past, at least there was a choice. This time, there’s no such thing.’
It felt like a one-sided compulsion. In any case, unlike before when they gave me a choice, they are forcing me to do the quest.
The reward was also changed from a hidden secret to a memoir.
‘A memoir… I’m not sure how it differs from the secrets I could obtain as rewards before. But if they went so far as to make a distinction like that, there must be something to it.’
Even if he couldn’t be certain yet, the thought stirred his curiosity. Perhaps once he learned the memoir’s identity, he’d uncover new knowledge previously unknown to him.
‘Right. I’m not at a stage where I can make conclusions.’
Pondering alone wouldn’t change anything. Though a part of him felt restless, he knew it was pointless.
‘If I’m curious, I can always find out.’
As he had done before, if there were obstacles, he’d overcome them to discover the answers himself.
Having prepared himself for so long, he was naturally confident.
‘All I need to do is defeat Satan.’
With his resolve firm, Ian raised his sword and prepared for the fight.
[You are facing a formidable opponent! A significant adjustment has been made based on the comparative battle power assessment.]
[Activating the Guardian’s Silver Ring! Temporarily changing user’s attribute from Dark to Holy.]
[Due to attribute incompatibility, you have acquired Rebrion’s Curse! Mental erosion is underway.]
[Unyielding Will has activated! You have gained strong resistance to mental attacks! Resisting Rebrion’s Curse!]
“It’s time to apply what I’ve learned.”
Ian assumed the basic stance of the Volkanov swordsmanship and readied himself for the battle.
***
Alex Volkanov’s swordsmanship was both complex and abstract.
Abstract swordsmanship? Perhaps difficult to grasp at a glance.
‘Based on fundamental movements, the technique allows for adaptation in various situations, bundling them into forms. That’s swordsmanship.’
Simply put, it involved combining basic and advanced moves to suit each situation.
Although the structure was intricate and challenging, if it followed a proper sequence, it wouldn’t seem so complex.
‘Right. If structured correctly, there’d be no issue.’
However, without predetermined steps, learning the motions haphazardly naturally made it challenging to understand.
‘Our great ancestor didn’t even bother to classify things, let alone offer much explanation.’
Sadly, Alex Volkanov’s swordsmanship fell into that category.
Gifted with unparalleled skill, he learned the sword independently, without any proper guidance.
That’s why.
‘What was it he said? Something about cramming all the moves in and using them as needed?’
The revered techniques of the Sword God had baffled Ian upon first sight.
It wasn’t just the lack of proper classification; that wasn’t the only problem.
‘If he’d demonstrated the movements, it might’ve helped. Instead, he gave vague analogies and expected me to figure it out.’
In the original story, Haley had taught the basics, like how to grip the sword or the angle to strike.
But Alex had a different approach.
‘The horizontal slash was supposed to be ‘soft yet firm, while also light.’ That’s how he put it.’
For someone like Ian, who had desired a systematic approach, it was a frustrating experience.
There was even a moment when he wondered if Alex hadn’t classified his techniques because he himself had never learned swordsmanship in any formal manner.
There’s an old saying: even a skilled athlete may not be a great teacher.
Though Alex possessed the skill to slay an ancient god, he lacked a structured approach to impart his skills.
‘Yeah, that’s what I thought at first.’
But as Ian mastered the advanced forms, he no longer found Alex’s swordsmanship incomprehensible.
That’s when he realized.
‘I forgot an important point… Alex never intended to teach the fundamentals in the first place.’
A prodigy beyond measure, he simply couldn’t relate to the average swordsman’s experience.
‘When I first trained in swordsmanship, my aim was to replace Haley’s teachings with Alex’s techniques completely.’
But Alex hadn’t intended for that.
The moment he held a sword, he had grasped basic stances, horizontal slashes, downward slashes, and thrusts all at once.
Having done it from the beginning himself, he assumed others would do the same.
‘He thought, ‘Basics should be easy for them, so there’s no need to teach it.’ Instead, he decided to just add color.’
Not a complete replacement, but an overlay of Alex Volkanov’s unique style onto existing swordsmanship.
That was Alex’s true intention, and the moment Ian learned the forms, he fully understood.
“Learning without foundational knowledge was challenging, but…”
As he had repeatedly said, the body didn’t forget what it had once learned, and as he continued training, his posture naturally began to emerge.
It was at that moment.
‘Once I got used to it, I no longer found it difficult.’
By the time Ian was fully prepared to embrace the unique essence of Alex’s swordsmanship, he continued to train tirelessly, his hands bruised and his legs exhausted.
In the end, Ian was able to fully master Alex’s swordsmanship.
He had fully embraced the power of the being known as the Sword God.
Thanks to this, he was able to maintain an overwhelming advantage against Satan, one of the highest-ranking Demon Kings.
“What the hell! What are you even doing?!”
“Shut up.”
Swish! Slash!
“Gah!”
Satan, who was covered in wounds and breathing heavily, recalled the swordsmanship he had just witnessed.
‘I couldn’t read it… I have no idea what he’s doing!’
Ian’s attacks were utterly unpredictable, oscillating between offense and defense in a way that left Satan baffled.
At first, he tilted his head, unsure whether it was an attack or a defense, but as his regenerating right arm was severed in the blink of an eye, he had no choice but to snap to attention.
He thought to read and respond to his opponent’s swordsmanship, but it was already too late to rectify the situation.
Whoosh! Swish!
“Ugh! My… my leg…”
Ian moved like a flash, cutting down everything in his path, and Satan couldn’t keep up.
In a moment of desperation, he attempted to buy time by creating a magical shield, but—
Swish! Slash!
“Gah! How… how is this happening?!”
“Don’t think that you can block that.”
Even the shield he had conjured with all his might was torn apart like paper by Ian’s casually wielded sword.
In that moment, for the first time, Satan felt a tremor of fear in his eyes.
‘What… What is this? Ian Volkanov is this strong?’
He was terrified.
For so long, he had commanded the demons and been worshipped by all in Astelgia.
Satan was a ruler who had never experienced the pressure of someone else’s dominance.
‘Me… Me!’
Though he was a predator, he had never been prey to anyone; how could he be in such a humiliating position?
Even as he delivered lethal blows that could leave wounds with just a graze, Ian effortlessly defended against them, and as Satan began his counterattack, he found himself the one taking damage.
What had happened in the end?
Hadn’t he been forced to retreat, knowing his shield had been torn apart?
As one of the seven Demon Kings ruling Astelgia, this was the height of disgrace.
‘Did I let my guard down? No, that can’t be…’
In that moment, Satan began to think rapidly.
He couldn’t accept the fact that he had been pushed back this far.
Was it because he had dismissed Ian and let his guard down that things had turned out this way? He searched his memories, hoping to find clarity.
‘Ugh…’
Sadly, no such memories existed.
What this situation meant was painfully simple.
‘I….’
His strength was starting to falter against Ian Volkanov, and the gap was far greater than he had imagined.
‘Weak? Nonsense… A Demon King like me being bested by a mere mortal?’
The feeling of being weak for the first time was dizzying.
At the same time, he was curious.
Why was Ian Volkanov stronger than him? How had he grown so much in such a short time?
With a resolve to find answers, Satan fixed his gaze on Ian.
In that instant, he could see it.
Flash!
“What… what is that?!”
The radiant mana emanating from Ian.
The holy mana enveloping Rebrion had crystallized, forming a solid mass.
‘No way… It can’t be!’
Satan was well aware of the stages of mana proficiency among humans.
It began as a spiritual form, gradually transforming from gas to liquid, then becoming a viscous liquid before crystallizing into a solid.
“Ian Volkanov must have reached the Expert level…”
The Ian he knew handled both solid and liquid states.
While the surface had begun to crystallize, the inside was still a soft liquid.
But what he was seeing now was entirely different.
Crack!
‘Perfect crystallization… That means…’
The mana had transformed into a flawless solid state throughout. This could mean only one thing.
‘A Mana Master… He has reached that level at such a young age.’
At barely in his twenties, he had risen to the level of the strongest individuals on the continent.
It was a moment of realization that struck him.
