Chapter 12: Auditore da Sicilia (1)

When I arrived at the training field, Chloe was already sitting on the platform, cheerfully swinging her legs.

She seemed so upbeat that she was even humming a happy tune. When I approached, she turned her head toward me and waved enthusiastically.

“Oh! Geom-Ma, you’re here already!”

“What’s up? You’re already here? It’s not even seven-thirty yet.”

“Ah, I just got here too!”

“You just got here…? What time?”

“Around six-thirty…”

“The meeting was at eight, right?”

Instead of answering, Chloe scratched her head with an embarrassed smile. I sighed softly as I looked at her.

She was wearing a different outfit than usual, something more form-fitting. Similar to what Abel had worn a few days ago, she had on a crop top with leggings and, over it, a sports jacket with loose sleeves.

She always wore a loose school skirt, so I hadn’t noticed before, but now I could see the curves of her body, which didn’t match her petite frame.

“This is unexpected.”

Her toned abs and the defined muscles visible through the tight leggings made it clear why Chloe was so strong.

While I stared at her, Chloe covered her mouth with the long sleeve of her jacket and watched me discreetly, her round eyes forming a slight, mysterious smile.

“She’s cute.”

With a calm expression, I handed her a practice wooden sword I had strapped to my waist. I had bought it at the campus store for 30,000 won each, so it felt a bit light, but there was no other choice. Chloe took the wooden sword and examined it for a moment before speaking cautiously.

“Aren’t we going to use real swords?”

“Huh?”

Had I heard wrong? We weren’t in a fight to the death; what kind of lunatic trains with real swords? It was already odd that Chloe had a sharpened katana at her waist. She was a girl who could appear adorable but sometimes managed to make my skin crawl in unexpected ways.

“It’s just training. If we use real swords, we could hurt ourselves a lot. For now, we’ll use wooden swords.”

“You’re so considerate.”

Chloe muttered softly as she swung the wooden sword with one hand, cutting through the air with a menacing sound. How much strength did it take to make that noise with just a wooden sword?

Watching her, I couldn’t help but stick my tongue out in amazement. If Chloe got serious, she could probably crack someone’s head open like a watermelon.

I gripped the sword with both hands. Normally, I used one hand to wield it, but even though it was a wooden sword, it felt different holding a long sword. Fortunately, my “divine blessing” didn’t activate outside the rules.

‘Not bad.’

Before starting the duel, I opened the “status window” for a final review.

Whoosh-

== ==

[Blessing of the God of the Sword]

If you slash, it will be slashed.

◎ Body Level: (2▶5) ▷ The restriction on sword size is relaxed.

◎ Spirit Level: 3 ▷ Your presence commands respect in your words and actions.

◎ Weapon Level: 1 ▷ Unlock conditions have not been met.

☆ Synchronization: 2%

★【???】

[※ The blessing activates only when the sword is less than 32+(3) cm in length and less than 6+(2) cm in width.]

== ==

Thanks to my constant training, my body level had risen to 5. Although the relaxation of the rules didn’t seem directly related to the level, the progress was a bit slow.

But more important than the sword’s restriction was checking my physical condition. With that level of improvement, I was quite satisfied.

Now that I think about it, were there always these kinds of additional details in blessings? Usually, blessings improved according to skill, but I didn’t remember them coming with extra elements like this.

Also, that line full of question marks. Even with my enhanced body, I couldn’t decipher it.

“I’ll have to investigate further.”

As I looked at the status window and stroked my chin, Chloe timidly approached me.

“Um, Geom-Ma… is something wrong?”

“Oh, sorry, give me a second.”

It seemed Chloe couldn’t see my status window.

From her perspective, she must have seen me staring off into space. I felt like I was making her wait unnecessarily, so I quickly closed the window.

“Well, shall we start?”

“Yes, please!”

“I’m counting on you too. It’s the first time today, so take it slow.”

“Understood!”

“Really, go slow.”

We stepped about 20 meters apart, ready to learn from the basic movements to sword handling.

Throughout my past life, I’ve always learned things through practice. No matter how many times you watch a video on how to cut fish, it will never be the same as doing it yourself just once.

When it comes to learning a technique, the feeling in your hands is more important than theory. My quick adaptation to the academy was due to the intensive learning I had undergone since childhood.

Of course, this method was risky. But if you’re not willing to take that risk, you can’t truly learn anything.

To reach the top in any field, it’s not enough to leave just bones and flesh; you have to be willing to sacrifice your whole body to earn the title of being the best.

As I moved my wooden sword as a signal that I was ready, Chloe responded in kind. I firmly gripped the wooden sword and squinted my eyes. Even though it was just a mock fight, for me, it was the first battle where I wasn’t relying on my blessing, and I could feel the tension in the air.

My hands started to sweat.

The stance felt strange.

But the edge of my sword was perfectly aligned with my target.

Chloe’s gentle smile slowly faded in that serious atmosphere. Her expression was no longer that of someone who had lost her mind, but of a determined warrior.

For a moment, silence took hold of us as we studied each other.

When I closed my eyes for a second and opened them, Chloe was already rushing towards me, her red hair trailing behind her.

Swoosh!

In just two steps, Chloe closed the distance. I didn’t know if it was due to her blessing or her innate skill, but her speed was astonishing.

In the blink of an eye, the wooden sword was aimed at my carotid artery.

‘Damn it, I said go slow!’

I moved my neck to dodge the tip of the sword. The sound of air being cut echoed close to my ear. Chloe quickly switched the sword to her other hand and swung it in a diagonal arc from below.

Crack!

It seemed Chloe had calculated the angle perfectly, as I managed to block it, but just barely. I had only blocked one blow, and my hand already felt numb, with drops of cold sweat on my forehead.

A chill ran down my spine. I couldn’t afford to relax, not even for a moment.

Chloe spun like a top, pivoting on her right foot, and unleashed a series of strikes in all directions. The barrage of piercing attacks targeted my weak points.

Quick and fierce.

So fast it was hard to believe, yet without any unnecessary movements. All of her strikes were aimed precisely at the same point on my wooden sword.

Crrack!

The sound of wood splintering echoed as cracks appeared on my sword. But Chloe didn’t stop attacking.

As her consecutive strikes continued, I managed to deflect a few by a hair’s breadth. I knew that if I let even one hit land, my body would buckle from the impact.

My breathing grew heavy.

I clenched my teeth, trying to control my panting.

Crack!

Finally, my wooden sword could no longer hold out and snapped in two.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I wanted to go slow, but…!”

[Weapon conditions have been met.]

Chloe immediately stepped back when she realized what had happened.

[The weapon has broken, triggering an error.]

Little by little, her figure began to fade.

[User control has been activated to restore integrity.]

Zzzzzt

[Humanity level is decreasing.]

[The “Inferiority” blessing of the God of the Sword has been activated.]

***

Chloe shouted Kang Geom-Ma’s name with a trembling voice. However, for some reason, her voice didn’t seem to reach him. All that remained was the murderous aura emanating from his dark eyes, imprinting on Chloe’s mind that something was very wrong. Soon, the night wind stirred up an ominous cloud of dust.

Whoosh!

Kang Geom-Ma lowered his gaze, and for a moment, his image seemed to blur and multiply as he charged toward Chloe.

The broken wooden sword he held was aimed directly at Chloe’s.

Crack!

Out of reflex, Chloe raised her sword to block and braced her full weight to withstand the impact, but the blow sent her reeling, lifting her off the ground.

“Ugh…!”

A groan of pain escaped her lips.
Even though she had tensed her muscles to absorb the blow, the impact reverberated through her bones. A sharp pain radiated through her shoulder.

The hit had thrown her off balance, and she stumbled to the side.

Chloe leaned on the wooden sword as if it were a crutch to steady herself. An involuntary tremor ran through her body.

Finally, Chloe regained her composure. She forced her eyes, which were beginning to close, to stay open, keeping her vision sharp.

However, she couldn’t completely stop the trembling in her hands. The intensity radiating from Kang Geom-Ma, who had gone from merely serious to exuding a killing intent with a wooden sword, filled her with terror. There was no room for any other emotions.

At that moment, Kang Geom-Ma extended his arm and threw the broken wooden sword like a projectile. Chloe twisted her waist to the right to dodge it.

The instant her red hair flew up, momentarily blocking her view…

Kang Geom-Ma, moving at a speed impossible to follow, closed the distance until his forehead was touching hers.

Just before Chloe could close her eyes, the blurry outline of his shoulder was reflected in her retinas.

Pat!

“Huh?”

“Let’s call it a day.”

A faint tingling sensation spread across her forehead. Kang Geom-Ma showed her his clenched fist, a slight smile on his lips.

“A tap on the forehead?”

“Thanks for helping me with practice. I’ll head out now.”

Kang Geom-Ma gently ruffled Chloe’s hair, turned his back to her, and walked toward the exit of the training field, waving a hand in farewell.

“…”

Chloe could only watch, dumbfounded, as he walked away.

***

Since the class assignment test, she had already noticed that Geom-Ma’s talent went beyond mere strength; it was almost supernatural. It wasn’t about technique but pure, instinctive skill.

Even when she unconsciously activated all her blessings, she couldn’t match him, and that was while he was using nothing more than a broken wooden sword.

Chloe sank into a brief moment of reflection. Then, she gently pressed her temples and let out a deep sigh.

“I knew he was strong, but…”

She walked with difficulty, forcing her body to move, even though her skin was still prickling, and the chill hadn’t completely subsided.

Just as she was about to reach the dormitory entrance, a red-haired man was waiting, leaning against the wall of the building.

“You seem to be having fun, Chloe.”

“Brother?”

Chloe’s eyes clouded over slightly, showing a distant expression. The man frowned and spoke coldly.

“Did you enroll in the academy just to hang around with someone so vulgar?”

“…Don’t refer to Geom-Ma like that.”

Chloe’s eyes narrowed, and her tightly clenched lips began to bleed.

“His name is Geom-Ma?”

“…”

“If you keep trying to get close to him, the Auditore will see to it that he’s eliminated.”

Silence fell between them for a moment. Chloe, still trembling, straightened her posture and, with a serious expression, responded:

“Not even if all the Auditore combined tried, they wouldn’t be able to take down Geom-Ma.”

With that, Chloe entered the dormitory, leaving a cold gust in her wake.

“Geom-Ma, huh?”