###
After finishing his meditation, Kang Hyun went to find Yoo Chae-young after hearing good news.
“How are your body and mind holding up?”
“I’m fine. I was just a little startled.”
“Good to hear. So the training room is already finished?”
“The interior isn’t done yet, but I figured… you’d need it urgently.”
“Good call. Forget the interior.”
It was a tough request I made.
But it’s already done?
Impressive, as expected of Seonghwa.
“Here’s the gravity magic circle you asked for.”
“Nice.”
The magic circle filled the center of the spacious training room.
It was a training tool designed to increase gravity.
‘This kind of technique was impossible in the past. When I first heard about its invention, my heart was racing.’
Modern advancements are great.
Though very expensive.
The cost of production was all left as a debt—not monetary, but performance-based debt.
“Oh, right, Chief Choi?”
“I’ve explained it to him. Since you weren’t answering your phone, he contacted me instead.”
“He’s not upset, is he?”
“Of course not. On the contrary, he was fussing about, worried.”
Apparently, Choi Young-ho really wanted to meet Kang Hyun.
However, upon hearing that Kang Hyun had gone straight into training, he backed off.
He must have sensed something.
“Send me the intel on that guy, Park Cheol-woong. I need to know.”
“Got it. I’ll provide as much detail as possible.”
As Kang Hyun adjusted the gravity magic circle, Yoo Chae-young began her briefing.
“First, just give me an overview.”
“He’s an unarmed combat type, S-rank. His main stat is endurance.”
“My sword won’t stand a chance against him, then.”
“…Are you planning to fight him?”
“Just joking.”
If I said it seriously, she’d try to stop me.
“He’s also known for his undefeated record.”
“But he has a few draws, right?”
“Yes. Even if he can’t win, he absolutely refuses to lose. He’s just that tough.”
What an annoying type.
A person of that caliber isn’t going to succumb to 【Die】 easily.
“Oh, it’s working.”
The gravity magic circle began to glow.
I set it to a light 5x gravity to start.
“Ah. While you’re sending information, include data on Oh Hyuk-jun, B-rank Song Hyun-soo, and B-rank Lee Ji-seong. You have it, right?”
“Yes, but why?”
“Just send it.”
Those are Oh Hyuk-jun’s bodyguards.
As Kang Hyun stripped off his shirt and drew his sword, voices chimed in behind him.
“Whoa! You’re totally the muscle statue type, huh?”
“Mister, your muscles look like a sculpture!”
Mar and Aden had snuck in and were watching.
“Aden, you’re not even surprised?”
“I’ve seen this a lot.”
“Huh?”
Stepping into the magic circle, Kang Hyun felt the pressure bearing down on him.
“Ah, refreshing!”
“Wow, he’s like a complete beast….”
“Kang Hyun. About the U.S….”
“Later. Let me sort things out first.”
“Understood.”
Yoo Chae-young left the room.
Mar and Aden stayed put as Kang Hyun retrieved an item from his inventory.
“Finally putting this to use.”
[Elixir of Accelerated Growth (Physical)]
[Upon consumption, physical growth speed increases tenfold for a set period.]
This was a reward for an A-rank Perfect Clear of the dungeon where 【Die】 was first used.
I’d been saving it for when Seonghwa could set up the perfect training environment.
The time had come.
I downed it in one gulp.
“Ugh, tastes like cold medicine.”
“Uncle, you’re usually fine with bitter stuff.”
“This isn’t just bitter—it’s disgusting. Did it go bad?”
Ding!
[You have consumed the Elixir of Accelerated Growth (Physical).]
[For the next 4 days, your physical growth speed will increase tenfold.]
Four days, huh?
A bit stingy, but fair enough.
‘Still, it’s just the right time limit.’
Alright, decision made.
I’ll cause a stir in four days.
He began practicing swordsmanship in the air.
Whoosh.
Swiishhh—
Man, it’s been a while since swinging a sword felt this exhausting.
Because of that, it was easy to get immersed.
Whoosh!
###
Tiring!
[‘Endurance’ has increased. (F- → F)]
‘Yes!’
The elixir’s effect was undeniable.
Stats were increasing rapidly!
This thrill was something only the weak could enjoy.
As one’s abilities advanced, whether physical or technical, growth slowed to a crawl.
Kang Hyun accelerated his sword swings.
Swishh—!
Mar and Aden, watching nearby, let out exclamations of admiration.
“Whoa….”
“Wow….”
At some point, they had brought drinks from a café and were sipping as they watched.
These two… they were a distraction.
“If you’re going to watch, at least do it quietly.”
“Mister, I have a question.”
“What?”
“Why are you just swinging your sword? You’ve been doing it for hours on repeat.”
The swordsmanship of Hero Kyle was rooted in extreme practicality.
‘Simple movements like those in workouts lack utility.’
Swinging the sword trains the exact muscles used in combat, enhancing the strength of each strike.
It’s a natural principle.
The key, however, lies in mimicking real combat movements.
Every tiny muscle involved in a cutting motion—those cannot be trained through repetitive, isolated exercises alone.
Sure, simple movements might provide a quick boost in stats.
But they would lack real-world application in the end.
“More importantly, training isn’t just for the body. When the body cuts down an enemy, the mind must also strike. The act of ‘cutting’ must be trained in the mind as well.”
“That’s so… metaphysical.”
It wouldn’t make sense with modern ability-centered thinking.
Modern stat-focused mindsets couldn’t grasp this.
But to Kang Hyun, they were the foolish ones.
“You’re such an unusual person.”
“That’s why he’s so strong!”
“Strong? Hmm….”
Mar had never witnessed Kang Hyun’s true power before.
“For your rank, your sword technique is surprisingly smooth.”
Even so, in Mar’s eyes, Kang Hyun would have grown stronger if he had spent this time clearing dungeons instead.
“But aren’t you a mage?”
“He’s a Magic Swordsman!”
“Huh?”
Magic Swordsman?
What kind of childish nonsense was this?
Mar was starting to wonder if Kang Hyun was just another flashy show-off.
‘Mister doesn’t seem like the type, though…’
Mar tilted her head in confusion like a curious sparrow.
However, even she eventually fell silent.
Aden, too, stopped speaking.
Both were soon absorbed in Kang Hyun’s swordsmanship.
To witness the technique of someone who had once been the strongest—it was a stroke of incredible fortune.
Mar didn’t realize it yet, but this was a rare opportunity in itself.
The countless letters sent to Kyle’s dwelling in the past—many of them came from powerful individuals offering huge sums just to watch his swordsmanship for an hour.
Kang Hyun glanced at the dazed Mar.
‘Must be her quarter-harpy blood; her eyes are sharp.’
Harpies, being half-human, half-bird, had exceptional vision.
Mar’s striking blue eyes were closely following every intricate movement of Kang Hyun’s sword.
A rare talent, indeed.
Ding!
[‘Endurance’ has increased. (F- → F)]
The notification chimed, and Kang Hyun halted his movements. Immediately, muscle fatigue hit him hard.
The gravity field was no joke.
“Phew… huh?”
Kang Hyun frowned.
“Who installed a TV in the training room?”
“Well, training alone in an empty room gets boring, doesn’t it?”
“This is ridiculous.”
Media addiction was getting out of hand these days.
Who thought it was a good idea to watch TV while training?
<The death toll from the collapse incident two days ago has been tallied at 1,500.>
“Hmm.”
His body had reached its limit, so Kang Hyun decided to take a short break.
“Mister, you’re watching too?”
“Quiet! This is my rest time!”
Another dungeon collapse.
Collapses were frequent, but this one was massive.
Enhanced anomaly detection had significantly reduced their frequency,
but it was impossible to cover every dungeon alone.
<Once again, this was an anomaly dungeon, breaking last month’s death toll record and raising alarm….>
The screen switched to a crowd of protestors filling the streets in front of the Blue House.
<Arrest Oh Hyuk-jun and the Palan Guild Master immediately!>
<Disband the filthy group of traitors!>
Over the past few days, Palan’s internal scandals have been exposed nonstop.
The most critical revelation came from the executive board.
Not just Oh Hyuk-jun, but the guild master and several others were revealed to have made deals with demons.
This caused protests to intensify even further.
Experts passionately debated the issue on broadcasts.
<Park Cheol-woong has committed heinous crimes. Last month, 1,000 people died because of him. This time, the death toll reached 1,500.>
<A horrific disaster indeed.>
<Yet, the government remains passive. They cannot act rashly against an S-rank like Park Cheol-woong.>
<It’s true that he’s an irreplaceable asset.>
<At the same time, he’s a traitor to humanity. He must be punished….>
“Tsk.”
See? They should’ve cut ties sooner.
If they had, I could’ve taken care of Oh Hyuk-jun cleanly, and it would’ve been better for everyone.
‘Park Cheol-woong is being backed into a corner.’
He’s an unpredictable guy.
I need to deal with this quickly.
“Disciple, follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“Let’s run a dungeon while my body recovers.”
“Yay!”
Aden was as excited as a dog going for a walk.
Mar tilted her head in confusion.
“Running a dungeon to recover?”
“There’s such a thing. Anyway, don’t slack off on your training.”
“I’ll run a dungeon too.”
Sigh, these kids these days.
Feeling a tinge of pity, I decided to give one last piece of advice.
“When you lose an arm, when pain fogs your mind, what do you think will save you in that moment?”
“…Your comrades?”
“Do you think your comrades will be twiddling their thumbs while you’re getting torn apart? Or maybe they’ll team up with the enemy?”
“T-then what?”
The countless swings of your sword.
“And the body that remembers those swings. That’s the only thing that will save you.”
Even when you’re on the brink of blacking out from pain, your body will still swing the sword.
“Sounds absurd, right? It’s from experience.”
“Mm….”
“Figure it out yourself.”
Leaving the conflicted Mar behind, I stepped out of the training room.
###
We moved to a secluded location.
“Can we go with that? That thing!”
“【Open】.”
“Wow!”
Aden’s eyes sparkled as she put on a little show.
Touching the edges of the portal.
Stepping in and out.
Pausing halfway, with one foot in each side, looking around.
“Ooooh…!”
“Hurry up.”
“Yes, Master!”
We entered the dungeon.
Today’s target was another E+ rank dungeon.
I deliberately avoided crossing into the D-rank range.
“I think I like this grassy field setting—aaah! W-why are there so many rabbits!?”
“They’re weaklings, but there’s so many of them that it’s classified as E+.”
It was an absolute swarm.
There were probably close to 100 of them.
Under normal circumstances, even I wouldn’t have dared tackle this many.
At this scale, you’d usually need a specialized strategy.
But my strategy was simple.
“【Stop】.”
Bzzzzzz
“…Huh?”
Aden blinked in disbelief.
“Did you stop all of them? That many?”
“My magic is D-rank now.”
“What!? When did that happen?”
I shrugged.
“It’s a rule of thumb—you get stronger after a closed-door retreat.”
“But you were only in there for ten hours!”
“Just grab your sword. We’ve got 100 necks to cut.”
“This is going to take forever….”
No joke, this was real work.
As the dungeon rank increased, using Aden’s magic to sweep through didn’t result in Perfect Clears anymore.
[Perfect Clear! (Solo)]
[A tremendous achievement! You have completely thwarted the invasion of the World Tree!]
[Due to your achievement, a ‘Blessing’ will be bestowed upon the surrounding area! Everyone will praise your achievement!]
For four days, I alternated between training and clearing dungeons.
