Raising A Hero – Chapter 7

Ch 7: .Academy

━ *Clang clang clang clang*

The first dawn of the second week began with that clamorous bell sound.

“Wake up, wake uuuupㅡ!”

Instructor Andrei-kyogwan-nim burst open the door and raised his voice towards the squirming trainees. The harsh sound pierced their ears mercilessly.

Rolshar was the first to finish getting ready and stood before the instructor. His expression was very triumphant, as if to say, “Am I not the most suitable person for the team leader position?”

Right next to him, Huang Zau stood tall. The other three moved slowly, taking their sweet time.

“Move quicklyㅡ! Are you joking right now, huh?! A snail would befriend you, you bastardsㅡ!”

Once everyone had finished preparing for the meal, the instructor led the trainees out of the dormitory.

Ji-hyuk turned his head around and happened to spot a group of Orcs.

Orc Giranosh’s fierce eyeball was the same as ever. He also happened to spot Ji-hyuk and his expression changed to one that wanted to chew him to death immediately. Of course, Ji-hyuk gave him a sly smile and even a wave.

“You, son of a, b*tch…!”

But the Orc couldn’t act according to his personality. If he did, he would be caught by the instructor and beaten to a pulp again.

That bastard, he’s still the same idiot.

For some reason, Ji-hyuk was itching to torment that Orc bastard whenever he saw him. It must be because of that damned personality of his. …So, you shouldn’t get on the bad side of a regressor.

Anyway, Ji-hyuk went into the restaurant, finished his meal, and returned to the dormitory to prepare for training.

Finally, the incredibly boring indoor training of the first week was over. The academy was now entering the second week of the training curriculum. It was combat training.

Of course, before training, the first thing that needed to be done was to determine the roles.

Just as everyone has different personalities, they were bound to have different combat specialties. You couldn’t put someone suitable for a healer position into a tanker position. …Ah, of course, there are those damn bastards who act as tankers even though they’re healers, but let’s consider those as exceptions.

“So, it’s important to know what you’re good at.”

However, most people usually know what they’re good at, so not much time was spent on this. It was extremely rare for a complete newbie to survive the Tutorial. It wasn’t called a selection process for nothing.

Instructor Andrei-kyogwan-nim was well aware of the roles of Rolshar, Huang Zau, and Ungorap. The ones he needed to clearly distinguish this time were Anna and Gang Ji-hyuk.

“I heard before that you, Anna, use magic? How good are you?”

“I can do my part well enough.”

“Don’t give me such a vague answer. Tell me in exact numbers.”

“Around Level 2.”

Although the names were slightly different in each world, Level was also a kind of circle concept, so it roughly matched.

A Level 2 magician at Anna’s age was considered to have decent talent. In the first place, magicians themselves were a rare role.

…And, soon, everyone’s attention turned to one person.

The weakest, Earthling Gang Ji-hyuk.

At first, the trainees didn’t know what kind of beings Earthlings were, but after spending a week here and hearing things here and there, they learned that Earthlings were as weak as Goblins. So, they naturally thought that Ji-hyuk had passed the Tutorial by pure luck.

“You?”

Actually, Andrei-kyogwan-nim had no expectations for the Earthling. Usually, they had excellent technology, but their combat power was terrible.

But they heard a rather unexpected answer.

“I use a sword.”

“…A sword?”

The one who showed the most interest was Huang Zau. He also used a sword, so he considered him a comrade walking the same path.

“How long?”

“It’s been quite a long time.”

Even if you exclude the time he dabbled in various other things, he had used a sword for at least 70 years. However, no one would believe him if he said that outright, so he vaguely said it had been quite a long time.

“Is that so?”

Still, Andrei-kyogwan-nim had an indifferent expression. It was because of the perception of Earthlings in the first place. Ji-hyuk had no intention of forcibly correcting that perception. He wasn’t such a low-level being that he had to explain himself to these lowlifes.

Anyway, once you become a Hero, everyone will grovel on their own.

In any case, since everyone was clearly aware of their roles, there was no need to waste any more time. They now had to go to the instructors appropriate for their roles.

Fortunately, since Andrei-kyogwan-nim was in charge of swords, Rolshar, Huang Zau, and Ji-hyuk didn’t need to go to another instructor. Only Anna and Ungorap moved to find their respective instructors.

“Let’s go too.”

Instructor Andrei-kyogwan-nim and the three headed to the sword training ground.

Before long, other races who used swords also joined. However, there were few who used swords. At most, there were only two Lizardmen. …Well, it was natural that blunt weapons, axes, or spears, which were easier to use than swords that required advanced skills, had more users.

The instructor was also fully aware of this, and he didn’t seem disappointed at all by the small number. No, he even seemed to feel proud of it.

He gathered the mere five and said this first.

“The sword is not an easy weapon to handle. The five gathered here prove that.”

Then he began a long speech.

“I think the sword is the closest weapon to perfection among all weapons. Because it is not biased towards any one side. At first glance, it may seem to be inferior to the advantages of other weapons, but it’s not because the sword is at a disadvantage. The reason it’s inferior is that you haven’t mastered the sword yet. When you reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship, you can attack and defend in any situation.”

Ji-hyuk nodded lightly. It was true. That was the characteristic that best explained the weapon called the sword. That’s why Ji-hyuk ultimately chose the path of the sword.

“Honestly, when you leave the academy, it’s rare for swords to clash against swords. Because there are few users. Therefore, you must learn how to fight against other weapons. That is the inevitable fate of the sword.”

Instructor Andrei-kyogwan-nim drew his sword with a *swoosh*. It was a well-forged masterpiece.

“However, all of that ultimately starts with the basics. There’s a saying that the sword starts with the basics and ends with the basics. Techniques are important, but you must be faithful to the basics for the techniques to shine. …Of course, that applies to other weapons as well.”

The instructor lightly demonstrated the basics of slashing, stabbing, and parrying. Of course, it wasn’t a satisfactory level in Ji-hyuk’s eyes, but it wasn’t bad enough to be criticized.

“To exaggerate a bit, if you do just this properly, you won’t starve anywhere. So, learn it well during the remaining time.”

He told Rolshar to bring the iron bucket placed in the corner of the training ground. He went with an expression that asked why he was being told to do such chores instead of the Earthling.

The iron bucket was filled with training swords. Instructor Andrei-kyogwan-nim told them to pick a sword that fit their hands. The instructor also carefully observed that process.

Ji-hyuk took out each sword, held it, and swung it lightly. It wasn’t a very cheap sword, but it was still far from being called a masterpiece. It was just an ordinary iron sword that you could see anywhere.

He compared several and chose the one that was relatively better. Honestly, he wouldn’t take it even if it were given for free, but he had no choice now. He should be grateful for even this, given his circumstances.

In terms of time, it was only two weeks since he last held a sword, but it still felt fresh. The changed body, the changed situation, the changed sword, all those things combined to give that feeling.

“Now, if everyone has chosen, spread out.”

The trainees spread out appropriately and took their own space. Andrei-kyogwan-nim glanced at them once and nodded lightly. The preparations seemed to be roughly over.

“I’m guessing that everyone has some level of skill. But I’m going to go step by step. Got it? Of course, if I think it’s enough, I’ll move on to the next step quickly.”

“Yes.”

Andrei-kyogwan-nim started with the basic slash. Everyone watched his posture and attempted the slash several times.

Of course, everyone was a little awkward at first. It was natural. The sword wasn’t familiar to their hands yet.

Still, the posture became more refined with each slash. However, it didn’t seem to satisfy the self-proclaimed perfectionist instructor.

Ji-hyuk also attempted the slash. Of course, he was also a little clumsy at first. But he quickly adapted to the sword.

In fact, his level had already far surpassed the level of being attached to tools.

To borrow the words of a martial artist, the state of *sword and body as one*.

━ *You call me a genius, but I’ve never seen a genius like you. To achieve that much at just over thirty, I’ve never heard of it in my life. …Are you perhaps reincarnated?*

The Heavenly Demon-nim had said that to Ji-hyuk, who had regressed for the 14th time. …Actually, it’s understandable to hear that after dying and coming back to life that many times.

━ *Sometimes I’m scared of you. It’s like you see through everything. Like you know everything. Like you’re looking down from above. …I don’t think you’ll understand.*

Of course.

Because he knows that much.

Because he’s experienced it so much.

Ji-hyuk had really done everything. Sword, spear, axe, blunt weapon, scythe, fist, hidden weapons…. Actually, it wasn’t his intention to learn a variety of things. It was to survive. So he was more desperate in his learning.

He ended up choosing the sword, but he didn’t regret learning other weapons. In the end, that experience made him even stronger.

━ *A weapon, you see, is ultimately an extension of the arm. Think of the sword as your arm. Then you’ll know how to swing it most effectively. No one knows that but yourself.*

His swordsmanship teacher long ago said that. Ji-hyuk learned and realized a lot from that.

An extension of the arm.

Ji-hyuk gradually moved towards a state of selflessness. Andrei-kyogwan-nim’s gaze, which was examining the trainees, moved around and at some point, it was fixed on Ji-hyuk and wouldn’t come off.

…Huh…?

Ji-hyuk was slashing.

Once, twice, three times, four times….

It was gradually accumulating, one by one, to the number of times he had swung the sword so far.

It wasn’t just hundreds of thousands, or millions of times. It reached tens of millions of times. …A number so distant that it was impossible to reach in just one lifetime. But it was a number allowed to him.

As the number of times increased, the precision became as sharp as a honed sword.

At some point, it even surpassed that of the instructor.

At that, Andrei-kyogwan-nim was completely captivated. He stared intently at Ji-hyuk’s movements with his eyes wide open.

If people who didn’t know saw it, they might think this slash and that slash were all the same, but to someone who knows, it was absolutely not. Just like the sound of a piano key struck by a beginner and the sound of a piano key struck by a master are different….

That subtle difference.

Perhaps a difference smaller than the dirt under a fingernail.

That tiny bit of subtlety that the instructor hadn’t been able to reach for over ten years.

…That, this Earthling did it.

“…Instructor…. Instructor-nim?”

Andrei-kyogwan-nim suddenly came to his senses. His gaze fell on Rolshar.

“Ah, uh…. Why?”

“Do you think it’s okay to move on to the next step?”

Rolshar looked bored with just slashing. The instructor instantly moved his gaze back to Ji-hyuk. He was standing there calmly, looking at the instructor as if nothing had happened.

…What did I just see?

Andrei-kyogwan-nim was momentarily stunned. It was the aftermath of seeing something so incredible.

Ji-hyuk chuckled as he saw the instructor who couldn’t get his act together. Still, his eyes aren’t just for show, it seems.

In fact, meeting Ji-hyuk was an incredible opportunity for the instructor that he would never have again in his life. A single strike from a Hero who stood at the pinnacle of the continent was something precious that couldn’t be bought even with ten million gold.

“Then…, let’s move on to stabbing.”

Instructor Andrei-kyogwan-nim put his heart and soul into the stab. But what had been somewhat satisfactory until now strangely didn’t feel right.

The trainees started stabbing on their own. But the instructor’s gaze was once again fixed only on that Earthling.

Did I see it wrong?

The instructor had a doubtful look in his eyes.

Seeing that, a deep smile was etched on Ji-hyuk’s lips. He held the sword with the thought of rehabilitating one guy for the first time in a long time.

Ji-hyuk took his stance.

And, the moment he closed his eyes and opened them again, his presence completely changed.

Hero Gang Ji-hyuk, had descended on this land again.