The Old Man Tells You The Strategy

Chapter 4

Killian turned his body slowly upon hearing the deep voice behind him.

“…..”

Before him stood a man—a figure draped in black from head to toe. His long, unruly black hair hung over a shadowed face, and his body was encased in pitch-black armor.

Everything about him exuded an aura of darkness, as if he had emerged straight from a nightmare.

But the most striking thing wasn’t the man’s ominous appearance—it was the fact that his body was semi-transparent, as though he were a ghost from an old tale.

‘Wow, he’s a bit gloomy… Who the hell is that?’ Killian thought.

「That’s Gale Hilt, the ‘Dark King’. A legendary swordsman. His spirit was sealed in the pendant, and meeting you has finally freed him.」

Jun-hyuk expected no further explanation would be necessary. Anyone familiar with swordsmanship should recognize the name of the Dark King, one of the greatest swordmasters in history.

But Killian’s reaction was far from what Jun-hyuk anticipated.

‘Dark King? I have no idea who that is… But why did my mom’s pendant have this weird guy in it?’

「…What?」

Jun-hyuk couldn’t wrap his mind around it. How could someone skilled enough to kill dozens of kobolds not know who the Dark King was?

「How can you, a swordsman, not know about the Dark King…?」

But then Killian’s next words stunned him even more.

‘I’m not a swordsman. What gave you that idea?’

「What?」

‘Yeah, I’ve barely held a sword a couple of times. Calling me a swordsman feels like an insult to real swordsmen.’

Jun-hyuk was convinced Killian was bluffing. The way Killian had fought—his skill was at least at the level of someone who had trained for five years, maybe more. If he could wield mana, Jun-hyuk would have even praised his talent. But now Killian was saying he had no formal training? That he had just picked up a sword casually?

It was such an outrageous claim that Jun-hyuk could only sigh.

「Whatever. I can’t even argue with you anymore.」

Not that he had much time to argue, anyway.

Schwing!

The spirit of Gale Hilt, the Dark King, who had been silently watching, suddenly drew his sword.

“The time has come to fulfill the ‘contract,’” Gale Hilt intoned in a deep voice.

“…?”

For now, Jun-hyuk could only watch as the Dark King and Killian faced each other.

“Pick up your sword. I will show you this technique only once.”

Without waiting for a response, Gale Hilt began to demonstrate his swordsmanship.

Whoosh!

Killian, with his usual indifferent expression, simply observed the spectacle.

—

In truth, Killian had never been particularly interested in swordsmanship.

So, when he said he had only held a sword a couple of times, it wasn’t an exaggeration.

However, it hadn’t always been that way.

Killian had once been intrigued by the sword. But over time, his encounters with swordsmanship had left him bored and disillusioned.

[This is it? That’s all there is to it?]

[You mustn’t underestimate it, my lord!]

[If you move like this, and then like this, isn’t that good enough?]

[Please don’t insult my swordsmanship, my lord. Even if you are the young master, I won’t stand for it!]

The reason was simple.

Every sword technique he had ever encountered was dull, to say the least.

Once he watched someone demonstrate it, Killian could mimic it perfectly on the first try.

Worse, every technique was full of obvious flaws and weaknesses. There was no challenge, no excitement.

[This is the most skilled sword instructor from the eastern kingdom, my lord.]

[It’s a rare opportunity. If you learn from him, you could become a true master!]

Even the so-called skilled instructors that had been brought in front of him were no different in Killian’s eyes.

So, he came to believe that swordsmanship was inherently boring and shallow.

[I’m not going to learn swordsmanship anymore.]

[My lord!]

It seemed like anyone could teach swordsmanship—how primitive and uninteresting it was.

[Boring.]

But today…

There was something different about the swordsmanship of this odd old man, the Dark King.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The rapid flurry of strikes Gale Hilt unleashed was too fast to count. Instead of tiring, his attacks seemed to grow stronger and sharper with each blow.

Every movement of the sword was precise and calculated, amplifying its power with each step. To the untrained eye, it almost looked like the sword was defying the laws of physics.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

It was obvious that this went far beyond the simple act of swinging metal. This was real swordsmanship.

‘Oh. If you move like that, you can strike your opponent even more cleanly.’

‘Ah, by twisting the sword at that angle, you can save energy and prepare for the next attack.’

Jun-hyuk had called him the “Dark King,” hyping him up, but now Killian was starting to think there might be some truth to that.

This was the first time swordsmanship actually seemed… well, interesting.

At least, it was for the first few minutes.

But then…

“Hmph.”

After a little more time passed, Killian’s interest started to fade once again.

‘Is this really all there is to the swordsmanship of someone called the Dark King?’

The Dark King was supposed to be one of the greatest swordsmen on the continent. And in reality, Gale Hilt had been such a figure.

But now Killian had already started to understand the flow of the Dark King’s techniques. For something that should have been considered legendary, it was disappointingly easy for Killian to grasp.

With this realization, Killian’s excitement quickly drained away.

‘Tch. In the end… this isn’t much, either.’

The spark in Killian’s eyes dulled, leaving only the same sleepy indifference that was always there.

‘Swordsmanship is boring.’

And before he knew it, Killian let out a yawn.

Yaaawn.

At that moment, Jun-hyuk’s voice rang in his mind.

—

Jun-hyuk knew the spirit of the Dark King better than anyone.

And he was fully aware of the technique being demonstrated before them.

‘Ugh, it’s that Slashing Sword technique again. Why does he always show off the wrong sword style?’

The truth was, Slashing Sword wasn’t even the Dark King’s original technique.

Gale Hilt’s true mastery came from the Dark King’s Sword, a style he had created himself, earning him his legendary reputation.

Sure, Slashing Sword wasn’t a bad style, but it was far from the peak of swordsmanship.

Unlike the Dark King’s Sword, which was considered one of the greatest on the continent, Slashing Sword had a significant flaw.

‘Why is he so obsessed with showing that technique? It’s such a waste of effort.’

Slashing Sword was notoriously difficult to master, yet its power didn’t match the effort required. To Jun-hyuk, it was the very definition of a high-risk, low-reward style.

‘Guess he won’t be showing the good stuff this time either.’

Even when Jun-hyuk asked why he was being taught the Severance Sword Technique instead of the Underworld King Sword, the King of the Underworld merely smirked and shook his head without offering any answer.

Had he been taught the Underworld King Sword instead, Leah’s pendant wouldn’t have been classified as a unique-grade artifact, regardless of the martial arts technique he would have received as a reward.

Nevertheless, Jun-hyuk had one reason why he frequently used Leah’s pendant.

‘Well, there’s no other artifact better for checking a swordsman’s talent.’

The King of the Underworld always demonstrated the Severance Sword Technique and passed down a martial arts technique suited to the recipient’s understanding.

There was simply no better artifact for assessing one’s talent than this.

Of course, now that he had half given up on “clearing” the challenge, it was a useless function…

Still, he was curious.

‘How will this eccentric be evaluated?’

This lazy madman, who always defied expectations, would surely be judged interestingly by the King of the Underworld.

But Jun-hyuk couldn’t dwell on that thought for long.

Killian, who had been observing the swordsmanship somewhat diligently, suddenly began to yawn.

Jun-hyuk could only let out a deep sigh inwardly.

The faint sense of anticipation he had felt since meeting this guy had vanished once again.

「As expected, you can’t understand a single thing, can you?」

‘What are you talking about?’

「That swordsmanship. It must be incomprehensible for someone like you, who has never used mana.」

‘…?’

But the yawning was only the beginning.

‘What are you even saying? Incomprehensible?’

「What?」

‘It looks flashy on the outside, but there’s really nothing to it. That’s why I didn’t bother watching more.’

「You think it’s simple?」

‘Yeah.’

Killian had dismissed the complex Severance Sword as nothing more than “simple swordsmanship.”

「Then why are you still watching?」

‘Hmm?’

「You could just tell the King it’s simple and stop watching.」

‘Oh, now that you mention it…’

Moreover, Killian seemed to genuinely take Jun-hyuk’s sarcastic remark seriously and began to act on it.

“Hey, old man, this is way too easy.”

「This lunatic…」

Jun-hyuk’s head started to throb.

“I’ve understood everything, so if you’re tired, you can stop.”

Jun-hyuk had encountered the spirit of the King of the Underworld dozens of times.

That means he had met him in dozens of different situations, using the bodies of dozens of characters.

But never once had something like this happened before.

He had never encountered someone this novelly insane.

「Hey, you lunatic!」

There were times when he had brought a talentless person to the King of the Underworld and watched them be treated like an insect.

There were times when he had brought someone greedy and watched them get thoroughly scolded.

But there had never been someone like this.

In this Endless Saga, the King of the Underworld was a man with an immense amount of pride in swordsmanship, more than anyone else.

And yet, in front of him, Killian had said, “Old man, this is way too easy.”

For a brief moment, Jun-hyuk wondered if Killian might be the first to be killed by the King of the Underworld’s spirit.

If the spirit could physically harm him, that is.

‘Hmm. That might not be so bad…’

But while Jun-hyuk was lost in these idle thoughts, things escalated.

There was no way the King of the Underworld hadn’t heard Killian’s voice.

Clang

The King had stopped his sword dance at some point and was sheathing his sword.

“…What did you just say?”

Every word was laced with killing intent.

It was the very definition of an icy voice from the King of the Underworld.

「Hoo. I’m out of this.」

The atmosphere in the dark chamber grew even heavier.

* * *

Killian answered.

“I said I’ve understood everything.”

“No, before that.”

“Oh, I said it was too easy.”

The King of the Underworld was at a loss for words.

“…”

The only person who didn’t understand the situation was Killian.

He especially couldn’t comprehend Jun-hyuk’s reaction.

I mean, he had just called the swordsmanship, which had made him yawn, easy.

Why were they reacting so intensely?

‘Hmm…’

But Killian’s serious (?) contemplation didn’t last long.

The King of the Underworld, ‘Gale Hilt,’ spoke again.

“You will have to prove those words.”

“Prove it?”

“Yes. Draw your sword.”

Killian’s face turned slightly sour.

Was it really necessary to prove something so trivial?

‘He could just watch and know.’

Fortunately (?) It wasn’t a difficult task, so Killian drew the rusted iron sword of a kobold.

He figured that once he showed them what they wanted, they would let him go home.

With that in mind…

Shiiing

But at that moment, Jun-hyuk’s voice rang out again.

「What are you doing?」

‘Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to show him.’

「Show him what?」

Killian didn’t answer Jun-hyuk this time.

He was too focused on his desire to go home.

Wouldn’t it be wise to quickly show what needed to be shown and then get out of here?

Without hesitation, Killian began swinging his sword.

Whoosh…!

He made a vertical slash, and then gradually accelerated the rusty iron sword through the air.

In the midst of the silence, Killian’s sword began slicing through the air.