The Demon Lord of the Swordsmanship Family – Chapter 11
The Academy offers a vast array of lectures.
For beginners who are just picking up weapons such as swords, clubs, and spears, there is the “Comprehensive Martial Arts” course. For students unfamiliar with physical combat, there’s the “Fundamentals of Physical Combat.” There’s even “Introduction to Magic,” which helps students understand the basics of sorcery. Beyond combat-related subjects, there are also liberal-arts courses like “Mind Control for Raids,” which is non-combat focused.
Among these many classes, group leaders consolidate opinions from their members and sign up for lectures. And in this process, a lot of arguments happen.
Isn’t it obvious? Even though each group averages 13.3 members, that’s just an average. The biggest group, Group 11, has an astonishing 41 members.
41 people! There will be those who focus on physical combat and others who specialize in magic. And even within those categories, physical combat users might differ based on weapon preference, while mages will vary depending on their elemental attributes…
With so many people, everyone has preferred lectures, but the day only has 24 hours and there are limits to how many lectures one can attend. You can already picture it, right? The chaos.
In fact, the first period of class registration is when team chemistry is most likely to dissolve. This isn’t my opinion; it’s something my mother told me, so it’s a fact.
In that sense, our Group 20 was lucky.
As everyone knows, our group only has three members. Han Jun-woo is an independent self-study type, and I’m an omnivorous type who doesn’t care much. This leaves Merhem, who happens to be the most diligent among us.
“Uh, no. I’m not diligent! I’m lazy!”
I declared in my authoritative role as group leader:
“I’m granting you full authority.”
“I refuse!! I want to rest!”
“Refusal… denied.”
“…Traditionally, raid positioning is divided into three main categories: Tanker, Dealer, and Supporter. Some countries call these roles Frontline, Backline, and Support, but you don’t need to worry about that. Why?”
“Because they’re essentially the same thing.”
“Correct.”
The professor drew tankers, dealers, and supporters onto the whiteboard.
“Look. With monsters as a reference point, the tanker takes the frontline, the dealer the backline, and the supporter offers assistance. Since it’s the first class, let’s just get a light taste.”
The professor’s pointer hovered over the tanker.
“The tanker is a shield protecting the raid group from external threats. Since they hold the front line, they require quick judgment and stamina. A notable role derived from this position is…”
He drew a line.
“Defensive, Linebacker, and Safety. These three roles exist. What do you know about them… Ah! A specialist has just raised their hand. Group Leader Henry of Group 2.”
Henry, the current strongest safety known as the Titan, spoke up.
“While tanking is similar, the details differ. Defensive is a textbook tanker who focuses entirely on ‘blocking attacks.’ Linebacker, however, focuses on ‘maintaining the line.’ And safety focuses on ‘protecting teammates.’”
“Correct. Henry has captured the essence.”
The word “Detail” was written on the whiteboard.
“Detail. The difference between traditional positioning and modern positioning is precisely in these details. That’s all there is to it.”
Blocking, enduring, protecting.
These are the roles of the traditional tanker.
But the more refined questions of how to block, where to endure, and what to protect form the details of modern raid positioning.
“So, a potential blind spot in modern raids is how to handle these details… Oh my goodness! My mind is wandering again. We’re just getting a taste today. I almost went too deep into it. Let’s move quickly into ‘Dealer.’ Oh, there’s a confident student standing up. What’s your name…?”
“Interesting.”
The deeper the lecture went, the more I had to admit.
The current lecture is called “Understanding and Utilizing Positioning,” right?
Honestly, when I looked only at the course title, I doubted why I needed to take it. I even asked Merhem, and as a result, I had to endure her frustration when she told me it was mandatory.
But as it turns out, it’s refreshing. Their approach to hunting here is fascinating.
“Each person fulfills a specific role according to their position…”
In simpler terms, it’s all about division of labor.
And what do we gain from this?
“Efficiency.”
This efficiency ranges from the smaller measure of “the number of monsters that can be hunted per hour” to the larger focus on “the safety of the raid group.”
I couldn’t help but nod in agreement.
It’s fresh and impressive. It doesn’t take much imagination to see that even with this simple concept, it would yield clear results.
So does this concept of division not exist in the Empire, you might ask?
Well, sure, there might be some people who do it, but it’s far from mainstream. It’s something mercenaries would probably use.
To explain briefly as someone who once called himself an Imperial citizen: the concept of positioning is difficult to popularize in the Empire.
That’s because for this concept to work, people must think of their abilities as a business and approach it as such.
Does that make sense?
Let’s use an example.
In the Empire, there are barbarians. These warriors, equipped with physical prowess rivaling monsters, crush their opponents. Of course, they’d naturally fit the tanker role.
But if you place one of these barbarians in the tanker position the professor described…
It would be a disaster.
A guaranteed disaster. They’d undoubtedly charge straight ahead yelling, “A warrior who doesn’t bleed isn’t a true warrior! Charge!”
That’s it.
And this is the fundamental difference between the Empire and Earth.
In the Empire, superhuman strength is regarded as a spiritual value—like ‘truth’ for mages and ‘honor’ for knights.
Therefore, forcing them into predefined roles would very likely infringe on their dignity—a certainty, actually.
Not to mention, even I hadn’t considered this until I took this class.
“I finally understand.”
This world isn’t a place where people don’t care about power; they simply pursue it in a different way than in the Empire.
“I was mistaken.”
After all, it was hasty of me to judge this world as relaxed just by observing a few people who mess up their minds or the likes of Hyang Joon-yeop, whose books are more familiar than swords.
Even though it’s a small concession, the revelation I experienced isn’t minor at all.
A refreshing chill spread through my entire body. Like waking up from a dream, the world looks different now. By letting go of partial views, I can see much more.
“By combining strengths with strengths, something magnificent could be created, don’t you think?”
“Hey, what magnificent thing are you talking about? Ki-hyuk, are you making something?”
I turned to see Merhem looking at me. There was a trace of a pressed cheekprint on her face…
“Huh?”
“You! Are you sleeping?”
No, I was meditating.
I let my gaze follow the impression, stopping at her eyes.
Merhem tilted her head in confusion at my stare.
“Is there something on my face?”
“Not really…”
I’m just estimating what sort of masterpiece I can craft.
I smiled as I reflected in Merhem’s pupils.
Time passed.
Absorbed in the classes, I realized it was already the weekend.
And the weekend is a lively, active day for gate excursions!
Dodging the kobolds’ arrows with a flick of my hand, I moved forward.
“Krik-kri-krik!”
Noisy shouts emanated from the bushes all around. Translated roughly, it means, “The poison isn’t working!”
Using crude toxins is a characteristic of the kobold species. Because of this, though they are lower-tier monsters, they can be surprisingly tricky.
But for me, they’re just dwarves. With a “giant’s” body, their crude poison doesn’t work.
Poof!
Jumping over the bushes effortlessly, the kobolds were already fleeing. Their intelligence being higher than goblints’ was certainly showing.
“Huh, tempting as it is to crush them with skeletons…”
I need to restrain myself. I’m not just hunting; I’m creating a masterpiece. Patience is a necessity for crafting something truly great.
I followed the kobolds’ trail and messaged my pre-masterpiece.
“Merhem, the kobolds are scattering.”
Her voice reached my earpiece immediately.
– How many?
“Thirteen.”
– Thirteen. Confirmed. I’ll handle it now.
Shortly afterward, sounds were heard from the bushes.
Fsshh! Fsshh! Fsshh!…
It sounded like air leaking, followed predictably by the desperate screams of the kobolds.
I moved closer toward the source of the noise.
In front of me, a pitted hole in the dirt. Inside, two kobolds impaled on densely arranged wooden stakes had turned into cold corpses.
“Hmm, she’s certainly talented.”
Even from a considerable distance, she accurately intercepted the enemies.
However, what caught my attention was something else.
The size of this hole. It wasn’t too deep or too wide—it was the perfect size to trap kobolds.
“Undoubtedly exceptional mana control.”
Suddenly, I remembered the older woman from the Green Tower always talking about potential students. Auntie, here’s the talent you’ve been searching for. I’ll raise her well for you.
I inspected another hole. Perfectly sized ones.
Moreover, the size varied depending on how many enemies were inside. They couldn’t have been better.
Then, the voice in my earpiece spoke again.
– All thirteen dealt with.
“Fantastic.”
Clap, clap, clap.
I unconsciously applauded.
With this, Merhem’s abilities are now fully understood.
– Hurry over. Jun-woo’s here too. It’s time to eat.
“I’m coming.”
With the prep done, it was time to build the main masterpiece.
That night, I headed to Merhem’s house.
“What do you mean? Suddenly accusing me of picky eating?”
“Exactly.”
Park Ki-hyuk sipped his tea leisurely.
Merhem stared at him, dumbfounded.
After finishing the hunt, Park Ki-hyuk had suddenly barged into her house, saying he wanted to talk. He sat her down, took the snack given by her grandfather, and ate it all.
“Explain it more clearly, please. I’m not a native Korean speaker, so Korean is difficult for me.”
“Oh, right. Our ‘Princess Mary’ is foreign.”
“Ah! Don’t call me Mary! That’s something only used when I was a child!”
Merhem glared angrily at Ki-hyuk.
It’s all because her grandfather kept calling her ‘Princess Mary’ that it got this far! Despite glaring as if she could set him on fire, her grandfather only shrugged and disappeared outside.
She realized something.
…Nobody in this house is on her side.
“Alright, let’s get straight to the point. It’s rude to barge into a lady’s house uninvited. I don’t consider Ki-hyuk to be rude, so let’s get this over with quickly.”
“If Mary insists.”
“Mary is…! …Alright, quickly. I want to rest.”
“Got it.”
Ki-hyuk’s face turned serious as he put his cup down.
“First, let me ask you something. How much do you want to become stronger?”
“How much? That’s a wrong question. Strength—the more, the better.”
“Good. Then, I’ll rephrase the question a bit: For the sake of becoming stronger, how far are you willing to forsake?”
“Ki-hyuk, you’re acting strangely today.”
“Answer first. What can you forsake?”
Merhem contemplated this for a moment.
Why had she come all the way to Korea?
Because she needed power. She wanted to break free from the gilded cage of being a royal and gain the strength to take responsibility for her own freedom—not just the impulsive whining of a young noble but the strength to assert that freedom.
After deep consideration, she answered, holding up one finger.
“Freedom.”
Following that, she raised a second finger.
“Chicken. Those two, and I’ll give up everything else.”
“Hmm, noted. I’ll give you chicken.”
“Can you explain now, about the picky eating issue?”
“I was just getting to that.”
Having drained his tea, Park Ki-hyuk stared intently at Merhem.
“Why do you only use the ‘sand’ magic?”
“Eh? You came here just to talk about that? Of course, because it’s what I’m best at!”
“What about other elements? Water? Wind? Plant-based magic? Have you ever tried them?”
“Water? Wind? Why would I bother with such scattered attempts?”
“Never?”
“Yes, obviously. Am I practicing ‘picky eating’ by using only my element?”
“Hmm, I was just curious why you only use sand. If that’s all, you’re wasting your talent.”
“…!!”
For modern sorcerers, mastering a single primary attribute is the norm. The common view suggests learning multiple properties could hinder growth.
Yet Park Ki-hyuk was challenging that norm.
“Sand symbolizes ‘d*ath.’ Water symbolizes ‘life.’ Combined, they become ‘earth,’ which represents our ‘mother’—the bearer of life and d*ath itself. So… what grows out of the earth?”
“The tree you mentioned earlier?”
“More precisely, a seed. That signifies ‘conception.’ The seed grows into a tree, representing ‘growth,’ which blooms into ‘birth.'”
Spring, summer, autumn, winter.
As the seasons change, the blooms flourish, then wither and decay, cycling back into ‘d*ath,’ becoming part of the sand again. The sand meets rain and turns back to earth, which conceives new seeds.
This infinite cycle.
“I call this…’circulation.'”
“Circulation.”
“That’s right, circulation. This is your talent.”
“…!!”
Single element? Focus and selectivity?
I understand. Common wisdom dictates that growing one primary attribute is ideal. Humans have limited capacity, so matching growth to their limits is most efficient.
“However, you are not normal. You’re special.”
You can’t put regular standards on special individuals. That’s waste. That’s complacency and compromise with oneself.
“You can do it all. What did I teach you first?”
“Break free of fixed ideas.”
“Let’s move on to the next step.”
Step 2.
Don’t set limits.
“From now on, you will handle every element I mentioned earlier.”
Water, earth, wind, trees. Grasp this cycle of circulation.
Ultimately,
“You’re going to become a Druid.”
“…A Druid? Isn’t that… shamanism?”
“Yes, shamanism. Abandon magic.”
Park Ki-hyuk grinned.
…
…
“Want to learn something interesting? Your laziness? It stems from only training sand.”
“What are you saying?”
“You’re talented in the cycle, but you’re only training the aspect of ‘d*ath.’ That’s why your energy feels heavy and sluggish. You sleep a lot, don’t you?”
“Beauty sleeps a lot.”
“With that, it’s confirmed. You’re not a beauty.”
“…d*e you rotten…”
