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The man took heavy breaths as he collapsed to the ground of the meadow.

“Your body is like that of a monster’s. I cannot defeat you.”

He was the Sword of the Empire, the commander of the royal knights, Hart. His precious armor was fragmented all over.

“Congratulations, Player. It is your victory.”

Despite his genuine word of congratulations, Seo Jun-Ho didn’t look pleased when he looked down at the knight. He felt an indescribable sense of emptiness.

“Even though you won the duel, you still lost,” the Frost Queen said plainly.

‘She’s right.’

He still lost. Her contradictory statement was true.

‘If my stats weren’t this much higher than Sir Hart’s, I would have lost.’

Seo Jun-Ho was frustrated.

Hart studied Seo Jun-Ho’s face before sitting up and drinking a few potions. “That is not the face of a victor.”

“...It was a shameful victory. That’s what I think.”

“This was a battle, was it not? There are no shameful victories nor rational losses.”

Seo Jun-Ho knew that. No matter how it was put, winning was winning and losing was losing. Still, didn’t feel particularly good about this victory.

“You should be confident. You are strong,” said Hart.

“If this were a real battle, would I still have won?”

“...” Hart didn’t open his mouth to answer the question, but it didn’t matter. The lack of answers was enough. “Player. You are still young, and you are growing quite fast. You do not need to be impatient.”

“I don’t know if you can say if it’s fast.” Seo Jun-Ho smiled bitterly. “Even though I look like this, I’m much older than you think.”

“How amusing.” Hart chuckled. He took out a clean cloth and started wiping his sword.

“What is?”

“Those who are skilled always assume that no one else has ever walked the path that they have walked on.”

“Oh…” Seo Jun-Ho didn’t know what to say. He thought for a moment before carefully asking, “May I ask how old you are?”

“I am well over a hundred years old.”

“...!”

Impossible. With that face?

Seo Jun-Ho unconsciously looked at the Frost Queen. She was always boasting and bluffing that she was much older than him, but now, he realized that she could be telling the truth.

“Why are you looking at me? It is unpleasant.”

“Well, are you also—”

“If you say one more word, I will cut you in half.”

“Sorry.” He quickly apologized and turned back to Hart. “How is that possible?”

The knight cleaned his sword, seemingly unbothered as he spoke, “The more time passed, the more my skills improved. One day, I reached an epiphany and became young again.”

“What kind of epiphany was it?”

“Hm.” Hart put down his now-dirty cloth and stood with his glowing, freshly-sharpened sword. His eyes were looking toward somewhere at the azure meadow. “There... there used to be a small mountain there.”

It seemed random, but Seo Jun-Ho calmly turned to look at where he was gesturing. However, the meadow seemed endless. There were no signs of anything resembling a mountain.

“The underlying veins of minerals were depleted, so it became useless.”

“...”

“Of course, His Majesty did not think anything of the mountain either, so he made a frivolous jest. He asked me if I could cut through such a mountain with my power.”

Hart raised his sword, and a cool breeze started to blow.

‘No way.’

Just as the disbelief started to show on Seo Jun-Ho’s face, every sound ceased. It was a bizarre feeling as if someone had pressed the ‘stop’ button on the world. He got the feeling that he also shouldn’t move or make a sound.

A beat later, the sunlight shining down on them suddenly faded.

“That’s…”

“G-grass! It’s grass!” The Frost Queen exclaimed.

The grass covering the meadow flew through the air and covered the sky. Seo Jun-Ho was rendered speechless by the impossible sight.

“Well, it was something of this nature. It has been some time since I have done this, so it is a little unrefined.”

Seo Jun-Ho whipped around, agitated. Hart was seemingly asking why Seo Jun-Ho was looking at him like that.

“With that kind of power, why did you let me win?!”

“Let you win? Me?” The knight shook his head. “You are the rightful winner. Do not deny the obvious truth.”

“No, but… You cut down a mountain!”

“And what of it?”

“If you can cut down a mountain, shouldn’t you easily be able to defeat someone like me?” Seo Jun-Ho was completely convinced that Hart had lost on purpose.

“Calm yourself first. Breathe in, breathe out. One more time. Good.” Hart calmed him down. Once he made sure that Seo Jun-Ho’s breathing was even again, he spoke, “Allow me to answer your previous question. If this were a real battle, I do not know what the outcome would have been.”

“It’s okay, you can be honest.”

“I am not being modest. I truly do not know.” The knight shook his head. “I am most certainly strong. It is likely that I am stronger than anyone you have ever met.”

He was right. However, even though Seo Jun-Ho had always known that Sir Hart was stronger than the Heavenly Demon from five months ago, his opinion had changed.

‘With his power, I think he can beat even the current Heavenly Demon.’

No matter how strong a Player was, could one actually defeat someone who could cut through a mountain?

“But you are also stronger than anyone I have ever met. My words are sincere.”

He even said that Seo Jun-Ho’s body was like that of a monster. There wasn’t an inkling of dishonesty in his statement.

“Anything solid is bound to break. However, I could not break your body in the end.”

Seo Jun-Ho had the blessing bestowed upon Players: stat points. His stats were much higher than Hart’s, so he did not break under the knight’s attacks.

“May I give an honest assessment?”

“Please.”

“First, your body is in peak condition. It is in a better state than any knight I have ever seen in my life. It is not simply because your level is high. It is a sign that you have stayed faithful in honing your fundamentals.”

Seo Jun-Ho gave a small nod. He was happy to receive Sir Hart’s recognition.

‘That’s one of the things I pay the most attention to.’

Ever since he became a Player, he had been consistent in working hard to hone the basics. Even the Thunder God emphasized this point.

“However, no matter what you do, you cannot reach the top if all you have is strong fundamentals.” After all, the basics were still the basics.

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes darkened. “What do I need to do now in order to get stronger?”

“Whether it be with a sword or a spear, train in an undefeated fighting style.”

“Fighting style…”

“I will use these techniques as an example. You have seen them several times.”

Hart swung his sword elegantly. Seo Jun-Ho instantly recognized it. “That’s the attack I was never able to block.”

“Do you know why you couldn’t block it?”

Hart’s sword wasn’t moving so fast that Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t follow it. However, he was still unable to block it even a single time. “If I’m being honest, I don’t know. I always thought I deflected it.”

“That is because this technique is based upon the principles of ‘transformation’. This is why high-level weapon techniques are so formidable.”

The knight gazed into the horizon. Every time the wind blew, the weeds would sway like waves in an ocean.

“A thousand years ago, my ancestors were unable to prevent the invasion of the Gates. They met a different fate than Earth did.”

“...”

“Orcs, ogres, trolls, elves… They became even stronger than humans. As such, my ancestors started researching ways to overcome the inherent biological differences between species to survive.” Thanks to their efforts, they were able to develop sword techniques. “And that was not the only result. They also managed to develop techniques in spears, magic, spiritual arts, and so on. After developing all sorts of theories in magic and weaponry, the golden age began.”

Once the people of Frontier refined their techniques and overcame the inherent biological differences between species, they started ruling the continent once more.

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho reflected deeply on himself. He had never thought it necessary to buy those books about swordplay, spearplay, or anything else and to learn those techniques because he had Weapon Mastery (S). No matter what weapon he used, he would be more skilled at it than most experts.

‘From the very beginning, I thought Watchguard of Darkness and Frost were the most important parts of my fighting style.’

However, against someone as strong as Hart, elemental skills weren’t all-powerful. They were powerful weapons against an enemy of Hart’s caliber, but they couldn’t act as powerful shields.

‘I didn’t even notice, but I was focusing only on the things I’m already good at.’

When Seo Jun-Ho became a Player, he was ambitious. However, after he gained more magic energy and started using Watchguard of Darkness, his ambitions started to fade.

‘I shouldn’t have stopped there.’

If he wanted to stand at the top, he had to train Watchguard of Darkness, Frost, and his weaponry skills without leaving a single one out.

Seo Jun-Ho felt like the thick clouds in his head had dissipated. “Thank you for your wisdom. I think I finally know what I need to do to become even stronger.”

“I am glad to be of assistance.”

“By chance, do you happen to have a recommendation for what kind of sword technique I should train in?”

Hart shook his head. “I heard that you Players can go up the Floors and that the enemies go stronger the higher you go.”

“Yes.”

“Then, it is not necessary for you to find one here because there could be an even greater technique on the upper Floors.”

“Wouldn’t they be hard to learn?”

“No,” Hart said immediately, “I do not sense that you have ever fully devoted yourself to learning a specific sword style. I believe that you used the basic techniques by relying on your instinct, so no matter what school you choose, you will master it quickly.” A fabric would stain based on the dye used. Sir Hart was afraid that an inadequate style would tarnish Seo Jun-Ho’s perfectly trained body. “Swear that you will choose a good school to train in.”

“I will.”

That was all the feedback Hart had to give from their duel.

Seo Jun-Ho started taking out food from his Inventory and started preparing their meals. “But aside from swordplay, I can still improve my fighting skills. Right?”

“Certainly. Considering the good condition your body is in, there are countless ways to use it.”

“It hasn’t been long since I reached this level.” Originally, Seo Jun-Ho would have had to fine-tune his movements. However, thanks to the peach he bought from the Administrator’s Store, he could simply skip over that step. Now, all he had to do was ponder and experiment to find the best way to make use of his powerful body.

‘I knew it was a good idea to come to Sir Hart. Even when I fight him with my full power, he doesn’t even blink.’ After all, Sir Hart was someone who had cut down a mountain. No matter what Seo Jun-Ho did, he wouldn’t be able to incapacitate Sir Hart. ‘So, I have to learn as much as I can from him.’

Seo Jun-Ho would absorb as much knowledge as he could about battle sense, movements, and split-second decisions from the knight.

‘And…’ He also had to practice fighting with the Frost Queen and his clone.

Originally, Seo Jun-Ho planned to immediately go up to the 5th Floor once he defeated Hart, but his mind changed after realizing where he stood.

‘I still have a long way to go.’

It seemed there would always be another star to reach out for.

Seo Jun-Ho gave Hart a piercing stare once the knight was done enjoying the meal he made.

“Why are you looking at me with such a disturbing gaze?”

“Well, since you’re done eating, I was wondering if we could start round 2.”

“We’re doing this again?” Hart didn’t really look like he wanted to. However, Hart was eventually forced to give up by Seo Jun-Ho’s puppy eyes as he let out a long sigh. “It cannot be helped. Now that I know where your skills lie, I will also fight a little more—Hm?”

Hart squinted when he saw that there was another Seo Jun-Ho standing next to the original one. He couldn’t help but ask, “Did you put some kind of hallucinogen in the food?”

“No. This is my clone.”

“And this is the original. He’s a real phony.”

“...”

Hart stared at the two Seo Jun-Hos for a moment before looking longingly at the seat he had been sitting on.

Honestly, he would rather cut down another mountain.