The first wave was truly a moment for Sa-yoon to display his unrivaled prowess. Geon-joo, while confronting the flying monsters that Sa-yoon missed—or perhaps intentionally let through—at the top of the fortress, occasionally checked below and couldn’t help but be amazed.

Despite blood splattering everywhere with each of Sa-yoon’s movements, it was a battle that could be described as beautiful.

Ice crystals bloomed at the tip of his swinging sword, and the trailing of his clothes as he moved like lightning caught the eye.

Sa-yoon never moved carelessly and never slacked in wielding his sword.

He was a man who always preached about basics to Geon-joo, making him swing a hundred times when once would do, and chiding him that not every swing was an attack. Yet when it came time for him to fight, he would finish things in one strike. But now, faced with the monster wave where hundreds of monsters swarmed in and couldn’t be finished in one strike, he demonstrated with his body what those basics he had spoken of so painfully really meant.

Despite swinging so quickly and moving so nimbly, his posture never faltered and the tip of his sword never wavered. Even when somersaulting in the air and extending his sword, the blade’s tip remained precise. Geon-joo, who was mainly used to daggers, hadn’t realized it before, but Sa-yoon looked quite dignified when handling a longsword.

If he was like a viper when wielding a dagger, now he was solid. He swung the sword stubbornly like an old tree, yet his movements were swift, and when he twisted his body to avoid the monsters’ attacks, it looked just like acrobatics.

Not all awakened ones suddenly become skilled with swords.

Stats and the system provide some support, and swords are inherently deadly weapons that can draw blood with just a slight swing, but to say they wield swords well would be an overstatement.

However, Sa-yoon was different.

Swish!

His movements were so natural that even a layman watching Sa-yoon’s battle would know he had swung a sword countless times over a very long period. The sword Sa-yoon wielded was the sharpest and most solid Geon-joo had ever seen in his life. If ordinary awakened ones could draw out 7 from a sword with 10 power, Sa-yoon showed 100 with a sword of 10 power.

Movements concise. No waste in trajectory. And the sword tip precise.

Sa-yoon was doing all these things simultaneously, and perfectly, when even one was difficult.

—Kieeek!

The monsters screamed each time this one-sided display of skill continued, with no real exchange of offense and defense. This was why Geon-joo, despite subconsciously looking down on Sa-yoon, couldn’t completely disregard him.

Though the man was full of madness and out of his mind, his skill was unmatched by anyone. Even though Geon-joo didn’t know much about awakened ones yet, he was certain that few would possess the sense that Sa-yoon had.

“How can he do that?”

Even as the monsters swarmed in like waves, the man standing below was unshaken. Occasionally, the monsters’ claws would dig into Sa-yoon’s flesh, and their teeth would pierce his shoulder, but he moved on regardless. For every attack he took, he cut down five monsters. The increase in Sa-yoon’s wounds was proof of the growing number of monsters he had slain.

If it were Geon-joo, he would have been getting tired by now, his breath catching in his throat and his sword hand trembling, but Sa-yoon didn’t look burdened. The glimpses Geon-joo caught of Sa-yoon showed him smiling.

Geon-joo felt goosebumps rise to his fingertips, then focused again on his own opponent as he heard a nearby scream. A flying species, wounded by Geon-joo’s attack, charged at him as if in a last desperate attempt.

It was fast.

Though it was still a young flying species, it was natural given its semi-S rank. However, having already been attacked by Sa-yoon and critically wounded, it moved at a speed Geon-joo’s eyes could track.

The bird’s beak sliced through the air. Geon-joo tightened his grip on his sword. The image of Sa-yoon’s effortless movements flashed through his mind.

It was okay if the enemy was fast.

In that case, he just had to move faster.

Clang!

The bird’s beak collided with the sword. Geon-joo gritted his teeth, then suddenly relaxed his body.

—Kiiek?

The tense standoff tilted in an instant. As Geon-joo’s body leaned back, the flying species also pitched forward.

“Kuk!”

Geon-joo endured the feeling that his thigh might burst, maintaining his stance without falling, then suddenly twisted his body to position himself at the bird’s side.

With eyes gleaming, Geon-joo twisted his sword and extended his arm. The twisted blade aimed for the bird’s neck.

Slash!

As he exerted force as if swinging sideways, the sharp blade cut through feathers and skin, slicing flesh. With a dull sensation, the bird’s neck was severed. The neck of the flying species, which met its death without even a scream, rolled on the ground. Though victorious in battle, there was no time to rest.

A monster that had successfully climbed the fortress wall to the top floor immediately pounced on Geon-joo.

When he defeated one, another would attack, and after that, another flying species would come at him. The only fortunate thing was that they came one at a time, so while there were moments of struggle or near-death experiences, he never faced a danger of instant death. Geon-joo continued swinging his sword while drinking potions whenever he could.

Swinging.

Swinging again.

Faster.

More sharply.

Just like ‘he’ had shown.

Throughout the battle, Geon-joo tried to picture Sa-yoon’s posture in his mind, sometimes stealing glances and trying to imitate him. It didn’t work immediately, but the more he tried to mimic him, the more nimble his movements became and the more natural his sword-wielding felt, even to his own eyes. Because of this, even as he was coughing up blood and struggling with monsters’ claws digging into his abdomen and his breath catching in his throat, Geon-joo couldn’t give up keeping part of his attention on Sa-yoon.

25 minutes into the wave.

Geon-joo inhaled sharply as he opened his third potion. A quick glance below revealed a scene like hell. There were hundreds of monster corpses, and other monsters were trampling over them. No more additional monsters could be seen rushing in. In less than 30 minutes, there were now more monsters that couldn’t stand than those that could.

Sa-yoon’s condition had also become just as terrible.

The man was simply drenched in blood.

His eyes, which Geon-joo had thought pretty for a man due to his long eyelashes and mysterious eye color, were only open on one side, either from being attacked or from being covered in too much blood to open properly. One sleeve of his shirt was torn, revealing blood dripping from his shoulder and forearm. These were wounds that would immobilize most people. Yet Sa-yoon moved as if there was no problem, like someone who couldn’t feel pain, never keeping his feet still on the ground for even a moment.

While Geon-joo drank potions to recover his wounds, Sa-yoon had no such time. Understanding why he was fighting so recklessly alone, Geon-joo gripped his sword tightly and, seeing Sa-yoon standing right below the fortress wall, quickly poured the potion he was drinking down.

Splash.

The poured potion fell directly onto Sa-yoon’s head. At this, Sa-yoon, in the middle of confronting a monster, slightly raised his head to glance up and saw Geon-joo.

Seeing the man looking down at him with a complex expression while holding an empty bottle, Sa-yoon quickly grasped the situation and smirked.

“One more went up, pretty boy! Mind your own business!”

Sa-yoon shouted with a chuckle before swinging his sword horizontally again to cut down a monster. Geon-joo’s face flushed at the booming voice, and after confirming the monster Sa-yoon had warned about, he threw away the empty bottle.

If he was going to tell him, he could have done it quietly, or at least said thanks before warning him.

As always, he had not an ounce of sensitivity.

He shouldn’t have bothered helping.

Grumbling inwardly out of embarrassment, Geon-joo blocked the attack of a bipedal monster.

Woong.

The sword that blocked the attack resonated.

It was heavy.

Frowning at the clear difference from the swords he had dealt with so far, Geon-joo closely examined the monster. It wasn’t agile, but instead, its strength was absurdly powerful. It felt like he was blocking an attack from an elephant.

He shouldn’t face it head-on. His strength was far too inadequate, so Geon-joo, grasping his tingling wrist, recalled what he had practiced most over the past 5 days.

‘Listen well, pretty boy. You’re nimble, but your strength is way too lacking. So when you meet an overwhelming opponent, first compete with speed and deflect all heavy sword strikes. Originally, those who really fight well are not those who block well, but those who deflect well.’

Deflecting was what Sa-yoon had emphasized to the point of annoyance. Having practiced it hundreds of times as much as Sa-yoon had painfully insisted, Geon-joo received the monster’s attack with his sword as it charged at him as if to bite off his head. Then, in less than a second, he immediately deflected it.

Once, twice, thrice.

The sword and claws that met with a clang didn’t even have time to make a screeching sound before gracefully sliding past each other. As this repeated in succession, the monster faltered in confusion. The fierce momentum of the creature charging in diminished, and Geon-joo didn’t miss this opening.

Continuously retreating while receiving and focusing on deflecting the monster’s attacks, Geon-joo’s body center was generally leaning backward when he suddenly exerted force on his toes and kicked off the ground.

“……!”

Surprised that the opponent who had only been pushed back without fail was now charging towards it, the monster tried to quickly charge in again, but it was already too late.

Geon-joo’s sword pierced the monster’s shoulder. Geon-joo moved his sword as if squeezing out all his strength.

Sideways, sideways.

The sword that had cut through thick flesh began to move little by little. From the state of having pierced the monster’s shoulder, sideways.

The sword drew closer to the creature’s heart.

—Gweeeek!

The monster screamed in agony and frantically attacked Geon-joo’s arms and face with its sharp hands. The back of his hand was cut, his forearm was gouged, and the forehead just above his eye was torn. Still not letting go of the sword, Geon-joo used his last bit of strength to stab the creature once more.

Finally, the sword that had deeply entered where Geon-joo intended pierced through the monster’s fat and muscle, penetrating its heart. Kuluk, the monster coughed up blood. From below, the death throes of a great dragon could be heard roaring.

—Gurgle, gurgle.

After coughing up blood a few more times, the monster finally collapsed. Geon-joo, who was right in front of the monster and thus got completely covered in its blood, frowned as he raised his arm to wipe off the blood and then checked below.

It was clean.

All the monsters had fallen, and one man stood tall above the large and small creatures.

It must be at least three hundred, if not more.

Even though it was the first wave and there were fewer S-ranks, the man who had slain that many monsters showed no signs of fatigue as he opened the cap of a potion.

No, to be precise, he wasn’t showing it.

Geon-joo, who had noticed Sa-yoon’s hand trembling for just a moment as he opened the potion—so briefly he thought he might have seen wrong—counted the number of monster corpses on top of the fortress. In about 40 minutes, he had fought fiercely in his own way and killed nine. Compared to when he had killed five aberrants in three hours, it was truly a number that could be said to have required his utmost effort.

However.

Three hundred.

Geon-joo’s lips moved silently as he looked down at the base of the fortress again. By then, Sa-yoon had finished drinking all the potion and poured another bottle over his head to quickly recover his wounds. He looked up.

Their eyes met.

Feeling somehow defeated, Geon-joo turned his head away without saying anything even as their gazes locked.