Solo Swordmaster

Chapter 29: Sincerity

“Hm? Develop? I just touched up my technique a little,”Limon inquired. It was like he was asking why Lee Chun-gi was making such a fuss out of nothing.

But the Monarch couldn’t accept it.

“How can you describe it as just ‘touched up a little’?”

“What? Actually, you should be able to do this too, since you stole my swordsmanship.

It was an absurd remark.

Limon’s adjustments weren’t just countermeasures that simply refined a movement here and there.

They were vicious counters, reinterpreting 「Demon Slaying Sword」 from its very roots — calculated so it can cut the opponent’s head off the moment they attack with certainty of their victory.

Even Lee Chun-gi himself would have died multiple times if it weren’t for 「Foresight」. That was how high its degree of completion was.

And thus, Lee Chun-gi gave in, assured that it was impossible for him.

If he devoted the rest of his life to swordsmanship, he still wouldn’t have been able to make a single nullification technique against the Swordmaster.

「Demon Slaying Sword」 was just that perfect.

“Grip your sword right if you have the time to chat. I don’t want to hear shit from you after you let your own guard down.”

This was the very man who reinvented that perfect swordsmanship dozens of times.

Limon didn’t bat an eye.

As if he was allowing Lee Chun-gi to steal, he continued unleashing attack after attack.

“Kurgh…!”

Lee chun-gi ultimately had no choice but to use 「Technique Acquisition」 as he fended off Limon’s attacks.

Although the newly gained technique would become futile in an instant, there was no other option to manage the new techniques Limon was creating at horrifying speeds.

[Acquiring 「Demon Slaying Sword Version 4.3」......]

[「Demon Slaying Sword version 7.1… 11.5… 19.8…」....]

[SYSTEM ERROR xi111a0o44…]

Clang, kaclang! Slash slash slash slash!

It was an odd battle, no doubt.

They were using the same swordsmanship, but its very essence was infinitely changing.

With mind-breaking efficiency, monotony-crushing radiancy, blind, brute strength that cut off complexity, and high speeds that left the slow in the dust.

Even a moment’s rest was forbidden.

It may have been the same swordsmanship— no.

Because it was the same swordsmanship, falling behind meant getting crushed ruthlessly.

As a result, this was no simple sword fight — it was war.

One created swordsmanship.

The other stole it.

An awful war based on pure skill, an endless loop of cat and mouse.

Ka-clash clash clash clash clash—!

Generally speaking, this was an impossible face-off.

Creating a new technique, stealing that new technique…

Both were things that should have been barely achievable, even after several years.

Yet, the fact this kind of fight was happening simply proved how devious Limon’s skills and Lee Chun-gi’s 「Technique Acquisition」 were.

And it was clear who had the higher ground.

There was no doubt it was much easier and efficient to steal than create, and to use skills than not.

And yet, at this moment…

The one getting pushed to his limits as the fight went on was Lee Chun-gi.

Clang—!

‘I’m at my limit…’

Lee Chun-gi voiced in his head as he swung his sword with sweat-covered hands to deflect Limon’s blade.

It would be too much to continue like this.

At first, Lee Chun-gi was certain of his predominance.

Unlike himself, Limon had to constantly invent new sword techniques — one that could overthrow every single previous reiteration that was swiped, at that.

As long as Limon was human, he had to have a limit.

And so, he believed that Limon would self-destruct as long as he bore through the battle.

But the system messages popping up repeatedly showed him just how misleading his false hopes were.

[「Demon Slaying Sword version 93.7….., 102.3….., 142.1…..」]

[SYSTEM ERROR xi111a0o44…]

[SYSTEM ERROR, SYSTEM ERROR……]

New versions came up hysterically like a game overusing patches despite having nothing to update, just to dig up every last bit of their playerbase’s money.

Not to mention, the pressure of having most of his vision covered from error messages.

All of it only meant one thing.

‘He’s getting faster!’

Rather than self-destructing, Limon was gaining speed the longer the battle raged on!

He’d gotten so fast, using 「Technique Acquisition」 became futile.

To activate 「Technique Acquisition」 while fighting, there had to be a minimum amount of experience points.

But Limon was creating new techniques, even before the previous acquisition would gather enough EXP to complete.

There was no way for him to hold on any longer.

“…I guess I don’t have a choice.”

And that was why Lee Chun-gi surrendered.

However, that didn’t mean he accepted his defeat.

“Now, I will fight in earnest.”

“What kind of hidden OPMC trope nonsense is that? What, are you trying to say you’ve been going easy on me this entire time?”

Limon jeered. He’d just miserably fallen behind the battle and lost; what nonsense was he going on about?

“No. It means that I will let go of my dignity if it means I can defeat you.”

But Lee chun-gi did not give in.

With an expression as cold as it was at the start of this brutal encounter, he slowly opened his mouth.

“「Urgent Evasion」.”

Limon raised his brows.

The instant he was going to cut lee chun-gi with his sword, his body disappeared and reappeared out of nowhere.

But that was only the beginning.

His swordsmanship became more accurate.

The speed of his sword increased.

A bright light seeped into his sword.

His muscles surrounded by armor started growing to the verge of bursting.

After strengthening himself with all sorts of skills, he struck his sword down like a lightning bolt.

“「Super Smash」”

BAAANG!!!

The force behind that swing could crush entire mountains. It was completely in a different realm than the strikes before.

Deflecting it into the ground with a light twist of his sword, Limon asked calmly.

“What kind of joke is this?”

“Didn’t I tell you I was going to give it my all?”

“Ah, you’re assembling all your skills because you can’t beat me with swordsmanship alone?”

“You are worthy of it.”

It was the greatest praise Lee Chun-gi could give.

He was accepting Limon as someone who came close to him.

In the Iron Age where Monarchs were the Absolute Rulers, that was a great honor to brag about for generations.

But Limon wasn’t happy at all.

“....I don’t know how many times I’ve said this,” he contended in an eerily low, calm voice.

“Why don’t you tell me that after you beat me? Delusional dumbass.”

“I will, if you insist.”

Lee Chun-gi did not turn him down.

He simply used his skills with his free hand as he declared he would.

「Imperfect Doppelganger」 couldn’t use skills, but he could still summon one that had 80% of his status replicated.

With 「Revitalization」, he re-energized his worn out body.

With 「Reflective Armor」, he surrounded himself with a barrier that reflected damage.

With 「Shadow Blade」, he applied an additional force onto his sword.

「Foresight」, 「Crystallization」, 「Placid Mind」, 「Iron Man」, 「Tertiary Hand」, etcetera.

Having strengthened himself with a conglomerate of skills, he swung his sword to unfurl an onslaught.

Kang, ka-clash, ka-clash clash clash clash clash clash clash—!

With an additional body, a far more superior status than before, and not to mention various specialized and supplemental skills.

Having an avalanche of skills applied to himself, Lee Chun-gi’s attacks were the definition of a human calamity.

He was an overwhelming force, able to obliterate everything in his way — it was hard to imagine this was the same person who had been pushed to the edge just moments ago.

But that was only natural.

It was the true face of the Infinite Monarch, the ruler of infinite skills.

He’d fought with swordsmanship alone up to the point for the sake of his dignity, and to acquire more skills.

Using a combination of countless skills was his true fighting style, and a way of demonstrating his true power as a Monarch.

‘This is really the end now.’

Was it because his swordsmanship was that exceptional by nature?

Limon fended off the massive onslaught with just a single blade.

It was truly awe-inspiring.

But Lee Chun-gi was certain it was only a matter of time.

‘You’ve made a mistake, Limon Asphelder.’

An ant can’t befall an elephant no matter how sharp its fangs were.

And Limon’s swordsmanship wasn’t a match to his true power, no matter how outstanding it was.

After all, there was an overwhelming difference in status between them from the beginning — especially now.

‘You shouldn't have given me the opportunity to acquire your swordsmanship in the first place.’

Perhaps Limon would have gotten the upper hand if it was before Lee Chun-gi had acquired 「Demon Slaying Sword」.

Not anymore.

Although he was unable to continue keeping up to Limon halfway through, Lee Chun-gi had already become frighteningly strong from just acquiring multiple versions of 「Demon Slaying Sword」.

The revision effects from his status amplified his power as well.

And with the increase in capabilities?

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say he was twice as strong as he was at the start of the fight.

Furthermore, from the moment he acquired 「Demon Slaying Sword」 to now, there was no way limon could win when he’d kept winning by a close ca…

‘……A close call?’

***

***

Chills ran up Lee Chun-gi’s spine.

‘From the beginning up until now?’

Lee Chun-gi felt a sense of incongruity.

When he was only using skills before he acquired 「Demon Slaying Sword」, even when they fought cat-and-mouse with the swordsmanship swiping.

He and Limon had fought by close call after close calls this whole time.

He didn’t think of it as strange until now.

After all, he was the one who didn’t give his full in the beginning, and he’d purposely induced a tight match to acquire 「Demon Slaying Sword」.

But what about after he acquired 「Demon Slaying Sword」?

Had the Swordmaster spared his strength when Lee Chun-gi was frantically trying to catch up to his new sword techniques?

He couldn’t have.

He didn’t have the time to control his force while his status was rapidly increasing as he stole more sword techniques against limon, who was hysterically creating new sword techniques.

And yet, their dynamic never faltered.

‘How can that be possible?’

It was nearly impossible from the start for such an extreme fight where one wrong move would result in instant death to last this long.

There were only two ways it could be possible:

Either their capabilities were miraculously similar, or one of them was purposefully setting their pace down to the other.

Hence why Lee Chun-gi thought if he actually gave it his all, it would be easy for him to break this dynamic.

After all, he was the one who made this dynamic.

But….. What if he was wrong?

What if he wasn’t the one who led the scene from the start?

“What’s wrong?”

The instant he faced Limon after hearing his stoic voice,

Lee chun-gi realized it for the first time.

“You said you’d give it your all, didn’t you?”

Despite getting worked up, swearing, and jeering during the fight.

Despite his emotional fits,

The truth was that Limon’s gold eyes had remained cold and settled, not once wavering.

“Then show me your true skills. When are you going to stop testing me?”

And another realization.

He’d been drenched with sweat for a while now.

But there wasn’t a drop of sweat on Limon's face.

“Or.”

Lee Chun-gi’s face went rigid.

Watching him, Limon’s lips curved into a chilling grin.

“Should I show you first?”

——

——