Chapter 83: Open Classes (6)
It’s early morning on the second day of public classes but before entering the coliseum, I take a moment to meet someone.
The room was eerily silent and across from me was Sword Saint Chris, who was staring at me with a smile on his face.
In the game, if I could get his attention, he would come and talk to me in the middle of the public class but that’s about it, he’d just talk to me and give me tips on swordsmanship to improve my skill level.
Still, it was to be expected, given the power of the Reverse Heaven.
Sierra, as I expected…couldn’t bear to see him.
Her eyes, as she glared at Sword Saint, were filled with a murderous intent, as if she wanted to pounce and bite him at any moment and even Sword Saint seemed to have sensed it. Still, I couldn’t blame her.
‘I knew this would happen…’
I was just trying to figure out how to get out of this situation because I knew I was going to have to confront him, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to say.
Eventually, it was Chris, who broke the cold silence without any formal greetings.
“Have you and I ever met before? You’re radiating life force like we’re enemies…or something. I can’t remember.”
Those were the first words out of his mouth without greeting me.
I had no ill will toward him, but he, unable to recognize Sierra’s presence, must have mistaken my feelings.
I wonder if I’m going to be enemies with him.
No, it was natural. As Sierra’s disciple, I could never be on good terms with him.
The only thing that puzzled me was that the smile on Chris’s face never left his lips as he spoke those words to me.
[You’re pretty laid back, Chris…..]
Then Sierra’s murderous voice rang out.
“We’ve never met but I just want to surpass Sword Saint…I hope you don’t mind if I’m overly ‘motivated’.”
It was a lame excuse, even for me. But Chris didn’t seem to mind.
In fact, his next words were more of a “whatever” attitude.
“Hmmm… You want to surpass me…”
“…”
“I’ve called you here because I have a proposition for you.”
“A proposal…?”
In response to my question, the Sword Saint smiles, baring his teeth.
“How about you become my disciple.”
“Huh?”
I can’t help but be taken aback by his offer.
‘Disciple…’
If I want to surpass him, what kind of nonsense is it to ask me to be his disciple?
In the first place, I couldn’t learn the sword arts of the Sword Saint in the game no matter what I did, and he wouldn’t take on more students just because he had Kaen.
[Disciple…draw your sword now…now…!]
Sierra couldn’t contain her anger and yelled at me to fight Sword Saint but despite her urging, I didn’t draw my sword.
[How dare you try to take my disciple…my Zetto…]
Sierra growled as her emotions had completely flared.
“Watching your swordplay this time, I suddenly realized something. Your swordsmanship, my swordsmanship…If these two swordsmanships were to be combined, the strongest swordsmanship in history would be created.”
But whether Sierra exuded life force or not, Chris continued nonchalantly.
“I don’t know why, but you seem to hold a deep grudge against me. So I’ve been thinking about taking you on as my apprentice to help you get past me. What do you think?”
Chris’s stern voice echoed in the room and his eyes were extremely serious.
He was a very unique person, but it was clear that he wasn’t joking now.
‘If I learn his sword techniques, I will definitely become even stronger than I am now.’
I didn’t know if Sword Saint’s swordsmanship and Sierra’s Reverse Heaven could be merged, but from the way he said it, it seemed like he had an idea.
Certainly, if the two swordsmanships were to merge, the strongest swordsmanship might be born.
‘But…’
That wasn’t good.
There was no point for Sierra to combine her swordsmanship with Sword Saint’s and to follow that path would be to lose her.
I knew my answer.
“I already have a Master, so I don’t think I can accept your offer.”
I drew a firm line in the sand.
[ ……]
Sierra listens to my answer and then quiets down. She seems to be gathering her emotions.
“Hmph… yeah, that’s right. I didn’t realize you had a teacher. I’ve never seen such a sword technique before, so I thought it must be yours…”
Chris’s voice trailed off with a hint of regret.
“Of course not, all of my swordsmanship was created by my master.”
“…Then let me ask you one last question: who is your teacher? I’ve traveled the continent and met countless swordsmen, but I’ve never seen anyone use such swordsmanship. Does your hatred for me have anything to do with your master?”
He was asking who my master is and there was no reason to hide it since I’ve already talked about it with Sierra.
“My master is…”
***
Zetto announced his teacher’s name and left, saying that he would be late for the public class.
Chris is left alone in the room, unable to stand up from his seat. Soon after, his mouth is open in a daze and he suddenly starts laughing.
“Haha…That’s right, that’s right, that’s right, someone did it, and it was one of her students…”
Zetto’s last words reveal the identity of his teacher.
“Purple Moon… Are you alive? No, if you were… I’m sure you’d come looking for me.”
As far as Chris was concerned, Sierra hadn’t been forgotten after all these years.
‘Sword Saint, Duel.’
“Breathe…I’ll let you rest, but.’
‘…Draw your sword.’
Chris thought back to his past encounters with Sierra, when she had asked him to duel by drawing her sword and pointing it at him.
“Hehe…I didn’t realize you had a student…”
Chris muttered, smiling broadly.
He had been curious about Sierra’s sudden disappearance, but he wondered if her long-standing illness had caught up with her.
…And it seems that it did.
Perhaps Sierra’s body was no longer intact by the time she perfected her swordsmanship.
“Hmm, okay…”
It made sense then.
Now that Zetto was Sierra’s disciple, everything made sense.
Her presence, the powerful swordsmanship he had never seen before and the way he had flatly refused to become his disciple.
Had her will been passed down to him?
Chris swallowed his bitterness at the thought of Sierra’s passing, but he couldn’t help but admire her unbelievable tenacity.
‘It’s strange, though, that her life felt so empty…’
He wondered if there was a reason for Zetto’s blindness. It was a mystery that even Chris could not fathom.
Resting his chin on the couch, Chris shook his head slightly as he thought back to the situation.
“By the way… was it because it was a sword technique she created to defeat me that I felt that way…”
At this point, there was something he had to give up and Chris couldn’t hide his disappointment.
In one hand, he held his swordsmanship and in the other, Sierra’s swordsmanship.
“To be able to call it perfect… I thought I could see the strongest swordsmanship being created.”
Chris clicked his tongue as the words came out.
‘It was something I was so fascinated by that I would have killed to have him as a disciple…’
Originally, Chris had no intention of taking on a student besides Kaen, until he met Zetto.
Zetto made it a condition of his life to surpass him, given the life he sensed in him…Little did Chris realize that Sierra would be his teacher.
“Is there really no way…”
He was obsessed with the sword.
Sierra wasn’t the only one with an obsession.
“Wait.”
Chris, deep in thought, reached for something in his pocket.
It was a letter from his student, Kaen, whom he had raised like a granddaughter.
He recalled meeting Kaen at lunch yesterday and hearing her excitedly recite stories about Zetto.
Chris read the letter again and this time, he paid closer attention, especially the part where Kaen mentions Zetto, the blind swordsman.
Kaen seemed to know Zetto quite well and she seemed to like him quite a bit.
After reading the entire letter, Chris thought to himself.
‘It doesn’t have to be Zetto.’
It was only natural that the swordsmanship of mothers and fathers would be passed down to their children.
After all, Kaen hadn’t even told Zetto she was his student.
With that thought in mind, he slowly formed a picture in his mind.
A disciple of Sword Saint and a disciple of Purple Moon fall in love and they conceive a child.
The child will grow up to inherit his parents’ sword skills.
“… That’s just too good to be true!”
Chris marveled at the idea he had come up with, then he thought about nudging Kaen to find a husband.
Maybe he wouldn’t have to give up the ultimate swordsmanship he’d always wanted.
‘It may take a little longer to complete, but…’
Chris smiled with satisfaction at the thought.
This was the same Chris who had spent his entire life looking only at swords, the same Chris who had never known love between men and women.
He hadn’t even considered Kaen or Zetto’s wishes, he knew only the sword.