The Knight Commander's Sword
The forest was merciless.
We had been wandering through it for two days already.
Three voices echoed through the trees.
"Kals! Faster! Run harder!"
"I'm ready—Your Highness, over here!"
"Then, Master! Fire now!"
"Ganduaaaah!"
Tyrbaen's magic flared, and the Blessing of Power surged through me.
I dashed forward like an arrow, thrusting my blade straight ahead.
"Kiieeek!"
A goblin was impaled and died instantly—thanks to the perfect timing of Kals holding it still as I pierced its neck.
"Next one, quick!"
"Y-Your Highness! Just a short rest, please!"
"My disciple! I've already lured them in!"
This time, was it Tyrbaen's turn?
I gripped my iron sword and started running again.
"Die, bastard!"
"Kyarrgh!"
The hunt continued without rest.
And hunting meant one thing—experience points.
In other words, I was leveling up.
Yeah. This is what being a gamer's all about, right?
I had hidden the Vengeance Order deep in the forest and started hunting here.
[Hunting Ground] A deep, dark forest inhabited by seasoned goblins and kobolds. Not recommended for novice travelers.
"Not recommended for novices" meant don't enter if you're under level 10.
But this was exactly where I began my first hunt.
Because I had Kals and Tyrbaen.
"Don't kill the monsters—just gather them. Make sure they're weak enough that one hit from me will finish them off, got it?"
Though puzzled, they followed my command faithfully.
I went around finishing off the nearly-dead goblins and kobolds they'd weakened.
In gamer slang, this was called "power-leveling."
"Kirrik! Cowardly human! Despicable act!"
"...Hmm."
Unlike in games, killing real, living creatures this way felt unsettling.
[Your level has increased!]
"Oh!"
The moment I reached Level 1, a warm, fulfilling sensation flooded through me.
That was what leveling up in Gilroshan's body felt like.
And then—the message I'd been waiting for appeared.
[You have gained 1 Skill Point.]
[Open your Skill Tree to acquire a new skill.]
"Nice. That's one point."
I also got stat points, of course—but for now, skill points were far more valuable.
When I opened the skill tree, a familiar sight unfolded before me.
Hundreds of skills branched out like a massive tree stretching into infinity.
Man, it's been a while.
Near the bottom, a few basic first-tier skills glimmered faintly, while the rest remained locked behind question marks.
Now, I had to find that one swordsmanship technique.
The swordsmanship to counter the Marquis.
Earlier, I had told Kals that I knew what technique the Marquis would use instead of the Vanguard Swordsmanship.
According to the game's lore, that could only be one thing—Trafalgar Swordsmanship.
[Composite Technique] [Rank B]
A sword style once passed down in the knight orders of the old Luxen Kingdom. It focuses on defense and chained combinations.
Special: Usable regardless of the weapon type equipped.
A swordsmanship usable with any weapon type.
The Marquis knew several styles, but he was destined to pick this one.
After all, that man would never part with his greatsword.
Just as Kals once said—a knight's sword is like his lover.
The Marquis's Roaring Sword was, quite literally, his beloved.
Because the Roaring Sword is an ego blade.
A sword imbued with a spirit bound to its master's life and death.
The Marquis would never set it aside.
Especially when facing me?
If his opponent was the notoriously unskilled "Third Prince," he'd probably think, I could hold the sword upside down and still win.
But I wasn't Gilroshan—I was Kim Kyungsam.
And I had the Skill Tree. I knew there was a way through it.
Defeat Trafalgar Swordsmanship?
Then, of course, I needed Nomad Quick Blade.
[Composite Technique] [Rank C]
A sword style born from the grudge of a nomadic tribe wandering the western continent. It pursues the ultimate principle of speed.
Special: Said to hold a hidden secret.
Trafalgar was Rank B, and Nomad was Rank C—
so at first glance, they shouldn't even compare.
But every skill has hidden attribute affinities.
Among Crushing Blade – Quick Blade – Linked Blade,
there was a cyclical balance—like rock-paper-scissors.
Thus, "fast swordsmanship" had a relative advantage over "soft swordsmanship."
That's why Nomad Quick Blade could counter Trafalgar Swordsmanship.
A one-rank difference, but still a favorable matchup.
Still, that alone wasn't enough.
I needed to reach higher.
What I really wanted was to trigger Nomad Quick Blade's special condition—
the hidden secret.
The hint lay right above that line:
A sword style born from the grudge of a nomadic tribe wandering the western continent.
Far to the west lay the Luxen Kingdom, one of the Empire's vassal states.
According to the lore, that kingdom had nearly been destroyed once—by nomads.
The Luxen royal family had oppressed them ruthlessly in their pursuit of dominance,
so the nomads grew stronger and struck back.
Sadly, they lost in the end.
But history left behind the "Nomad Quick Blade."
A sword style born upon a blood-soaked legacy—
forged solely to break the enemy's sword.
That enemy was none other than Luxen Kingdom's swordsmanship—Trafalgar.
In other words, the two styles were perfect opposites—mortal enemies.
And when such intertwined techniques met, special effects would trigger automatically.
It's only Rank C for now, but its true power is hidden.
Ironically, it wasn't rare-grade—so I could access it early in the skill tree.
If I remember right, it was in the third tier.
At this point, only the first tier was unlocked.
Everything above—the second and third tiers—remained hidden behind question marks.
But I was Kim Kyungsam, the man who had poured his life into this game.
I remembered exactly where the Nomad Quick Blade sat on the tree.
I could probably pick it blindfolded.
[Open your Skill Tree to acquire a new skill.]
The system message blinked impatiently, urging me to choose.
With the two starter points I'd received, plus one from leveling up,
I now had three skill points.
First, I selected "Wanderer's Combat Arts."
[You have spent 3 Skill Points.]
[You have learned 'Wanderer's Combat Arts.']
[The techniques of rough combat seep into your body.]
[+1% bonus to Strength and Endurance.]
The moment I learned the first skill—
"Hmm?"
Kals tilted his head beside me.
"Your Highness's aura… feels slightly different."
I smirked.
Guess skill bonuses aren't just for show.
I could feel my body subtly shifting, but the cost-performance ratio was terrible.
"Wanderer's Combat Arts" demanded three points for a first-tier skill—
basically just glorified brawling!
Still, it can't be helped.
The skill tree was designed that way.
Anyway, the first button was fastened.
Now that I've got Wanderer's Combat Arts, I can unlock Extreme Training next, and then Nomad Quick Blade at tier 3. Done.
To reach that point, I'd need a total of eight skill points.
Until then, I couldn't afford to spend a single point elsewhere.
"Ha… this road's gonna be rough."
Easier said than done.
Not being able to invest points elsewhere at this stage was a huge handicap.
It meant delaying level-up benefits and relying on others until at least level 9.
"I feel bad for the two of them…"
I turned toward Kals and Tyrbaen.
"It's not going to be easy."
"What do you mean, all of a sudden?"
"I mean it's going to be tough. That's how it is for bus drivers."
"What's a bus driver? I'm Your Highness's knight, not a driver."
…Yeah, what's the point of trying to explain that to you.
The experience I needed for leveling up kept increasing, while the EXP I earned from landing only the final blow was barely a handful.
Which meant—Kals and Tyrbaen were going to suffer. A lot.
In the original game, it was just a matter of clicking a mouse or tapping a keyboard.
Now, they had to literally throw their bodies into battle.
But there was no helping it.
This was my reality now.
Still, there was one thing to be grateful for—
perhaps because the Slave Gladiator Card was applied, swinging a sword didn't feel so foreign.
I adapted to real combat shockingly fast.
"Run faster!"
Up to Level 9!
After three of us bled and sweated through the forest—
[You have spent 4 Skill Points.]
[You have learned 'Extreme Training.']
[You can now better handle critical situations.]
[+1% bonus to Intelligence.]
"Your Highness, I think I'm going to puke. May I at least slap you once?"
"Let me hit you too! You damn bastard!"
Sleep-deprived and looking like beggars, Kals and Tyrbaen had come to thoroughly appreciate my "taste for suffering."
"Come here, Your Highness! Let me slap that royal cheek!"
"Sir Sillion, it's my turn next!"
"…Hey, my HP's still fine, you know?"
For someone who had been thrown into a random fantasy world, it was probably too early to say this—but I had a feeling I was going to live a long life.
[You have spent 4 Skill Points.]
[You have learned 'Nomad Quick Blade.']
[You can now perform ordinary swordsmanship.]
"Got it!"
All that hellish effort was about to pay off—the moment I crossed swords with the Marquis.
The Marquis's Roaring Sword howled through the air, glowing with light.
Shiiing!
But I held my iron sword diagonally, calmly waiting for his strike.
"...!"
Every knight watching the duel was probably expecting one outcome.
—The Third Prince challenging a Swordmaster?
—Has the fool lost his mind?
—Typical degenerate prince. Fitting end for him!
I could almost hear their thoughts.
This fight made no sense from the start.
A reckless prince crossing swords with a grandmaster knight? Ridiculous.
Everyone thought I'd be toyed with, humiliated, and dragged back to the palace in chains.
Some of them might even be wishing I lose an arm or two.
But at this very moment—
I focused everything I had into my hands and my sword.
If this plan was going to work, this first step had to be perfect.
The Nomad Quick Blade activated.
[Offensive Technique: Strike Form – First Style]
Three translucent circles appeared before me.
Hit points—
guidelines that marked the exact moments to strike.
In the game, all I had to do was click the mouse in rhythm.
Here, in reality, I had to move my body with perfect timing.
Only then would the skill trigger properly.
The motions were sharp and demanding, and the Marquis's strikes rained down like thunder.
But I had to endure.
First Style—complete it perfectly!
No matter what!
If I executed the first form flawlessly and parried Trafalgar Swordsmanship once—
it would activate the special effect condition.
Even if Nomad Quick Blade's type advantage overwhelmed Trafalgar's style,
I still couldn't beat the Marquis outright.
Everyone knew the raw stat gap was enormous.
But I had something else—knowledge and experience.
That's how I made the impossible happen.
Tang! Clang! Taaang!
As our blades clashed violently—
['Nomad Quick Blade' has been perfectly activated!]
[Hidden condition 'Grudge of a People' fulfilled.]
[The seal on 'Nomad Quick Blade' has been lifted.]
['Nomad Quick Blade' evolves into 'Heaven-Cutting Swordsmanship.']
A C-rank skill… evolving.
And with it, time seemed to slow.
Just like when I'd first drawn a Destiny Card, the world revolved around me.
A new skill emerged in a burst of light—
[Composite Technique] [Rank S]
A sword style infused with the grudge of the Baekseon Clan from the Eastern Continent. It embodies the harmony and ultimate swiftness they sought.
Special: Grants extraordinary enhancement when used against certain techniques.
Yes!!
I almost dropped my sword in excitement.
The planned skill evolution had succeeded.
To think I pulled this off against that sword-crazed lunatic!
If I had champagne, I'd have popped it right there.
But the fight wasn't over yet.
In the frozen moment of time, I steadied my breathing.
Alright. I've finally got a proper sword style in hand.
Still, with this, my design was 90% complete.
[Select one additional effect to integrate into your skill.]
[1. Sweeping Army ]
[2. Transplanting Flowers ]
[3. Diamond Wall ]
The sudden Chinese characters might've looked odd,
but they were straight out of the original game lore.
The nomads who created Heaven-Cutting Swordsmanship were from the Eastern Continent,
and in the world of New World Line, that region drew heavily from Eastern martial arts.
So the hanja wasn't out of place at all.
I reviewed the options carefully.
Sweeping Army and Diamond Wall are both useful…
But the one I had to choose was Transplanting Flowers .
Sweeping Army was a wide, horizontal slash—great for mowing down multiple enemies at once.
Of course, with my tiny little stats, that kind of destruction wasn't happening anytime soon.
Still, it'd be great for grinding mobs later.
And Diamond Wall—
That one's defensive.
Powerful, sure, but not what I needed now.
"Select Transplanting Flowers."
[You have selected additional effect: 'Transplanting Flowers ']
To transplant the flowers of one tree onto another.
Applied to swordsmanship—
it meant redirecting the opponent's power and using it as your own.
That monstrous greatsword, Roaring Sword.
The overwhelming strength of a 9-Star Knight behind it.
If I could absorb that power and combine it with the speed of my Quick Blade—
Even a Swordmaster couldn't withstand it. His own strength would rebound on him, amplified.
Sure, I'd still need perfect timing to trigger the counter-technique…
But that's fine.
I was a true gamer.
The kind who'd mastered every frame-perfect input and hitbox pattern known to man.
The one who'd even nailed the timing for Strike Form's first hit.
A veteran so hardcore the game's waters had grown stagnant around me.