I don't exactly remember.
The only thing that comes to mind is the pain as if my entire body was being crushed.
Even in the dreadful pain, Baek Siwoo squeezed out all his magical power to protect his friends.
However, it was impossible to block the monstrous attack of the Dark Elf.
In the end, he lost an arm and a leg and was pushed to the brink of death.
'I saw it back then.'
I'm not sure exactly what I saw.
Siwoo's condition wasn't good enough to grasp the whole situation.
But just before losing consciousness.
He could be sure that Seo Woojin did something.
And thanks to that, they were able to survive.
"What was that?"
Later, according to what he heard from Roinain, the leader of the White Knights, a mysterious black hole was created.
They could buy time because of the things that popped out of it, and in the meantime, the reinforcements from the White Knights arrived and saved them.
In Siwoo's opinion, it seemed like Seo Woojin was the one who created that black hole.
It was hard to be certain, but considering the situation, it was a reasonable suspicion.
That's why he came out like this even though his body hadn't fully recovered.
To see Seo Woojin's face and ask.
"… What is it?"
But Seo Woojin had a puzzled expression.
"You should know what my question means, right?"
"No, I really don't know. Seriously."
He continued to look into his eyes, which remained ignorant.
Contrary to his expression, his gaze was slightly trembling.
'There seems to be something he's hiding.'
I'm not sure what that is, but Baek Siwoo decided not to ask anymore.
After all, isn't Seo Woojin the benefactor who saved him and his friends?
It was against his original nature to relentlessly inquire out of curiosity.
"All right. If you don't know, there's nothing I can do."
Baek Siwoo bowed to Seo Woojin and gestured for the person behind him to turn the wheelchair.
However, he hadn't given up.
Unlike now, he intended to observe with a bit more interest.
Why was Seo Woojin able to survive that day?
And what kind of power does he possess?
Baek Siwoo was so curious about it that he felt like he was going crazy.
* * *
'Ah, that was surprising.'
As Baek Siwoo turned away, Seo Woojin inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
His question had really made his heart drop.
'I thought he found out.'
But it seemed he didn't directly witness everything.
If he had seen Seo Woojin using the 'Hell,' he wouldn't have reacted like this.
'And that stubborn old man probably didn't end up like that either.'
Seo Woojin touched the scar on his cheek and thought of Dariel.
The more he thought about him, the more he became angry.
"What were you guys talking about? What did you do? Mister, what did you do?"
"Well…"
He had forgotten about Lee Ji-ah's presence.
She poured out a waterfall of questions as if she had been waiting for Baek Siwoo to disappear.
"Even the Sword Master grandpa and Cutie are like that. I don't understand why everyone is so curious about you."
Lee Ji-ah frowned seriously and brought her hand to her chin.
"This is my intuition."
Lee Ji-ah, pretending to be a detective by stroking her chin, extended her finger with a snap and said, "Uncle, you're hiding something!"
There are many things hidden.
From his profession to his level.
Even the skills he acquired so far were like that.
If each one were revealed, his life might be in danger.
Naturally, they were secrets that he couldn't reveal to anyone, not even to the closest Irene.
"So what? Isn't a detective supposed to reveal what he's hiding rather than the fact that he's hiding it?"
Seo Woo-jin chuckled and responded.
Since Lee Ji-ah's words were surely just something she said out of boredom.
"I'm going to reveal that from now on! I'll stake my grandfather's honor!"
"What does your grandfather do?"
Seo Woo-jin asked, just in case.
"…He runs a spicy fish stew restaurant."
It turned out to be just as he suspected.
* * *
Education at the academy was postponed for a while.
Due to the large number of Heros injured, it was an inevitable decision.
Of course, most were only injured by goblins, but there were also those who, like elite friends, suffered fatal injuries.
In the Empire, rest time was given until the chaotic atmosphere was sorted out.
"Well, this isn't helping properly. If that's the case, wouldn't it be more helpful for growth to just stay at the Massive Guardian?"
Seo Woo-in was slightly dissatisfied.
Although I came to the empire with fairly high expectations, I couldn't engage in proper training.
'My level has increased a bit, though.'
That was all.
Seo Woojin, who no longer placed much importance on level thanks to Van Slaine, was bound to be unsatisfied with life at the academy.
"Training with Irene…"
Honestly, it wasn't very helpful anymore.
It wasn't about ignoring her; it was because they had spent so much time training together that they knew each other's abilities too well.
Unless Irene's skills were significantly higher, which they weren't…
Training with her wasn't a good way for Seo Woojin to grow.
It was different with Lee Ji-ah and Kim Da-hye.
Since it was a new style for him, it was fun, and there were moments of surprise with unexpected attacks.
But that was it.
To improve Seo Woojin's skills, those experiences were also insufficient.
"I need to find a way.'
It wasn't just about leveling up, but finding a way to improve his true abilities.
"Should I look for someone to spar with?"
This is the empire.
In this vast continent, it is the strongest and largest nation. Therefore, there should be many strong individuals.
While Sion also had powerful knights, it couldn't compare to the empire.
Certainly, among them, there were people stronger than Seo Woojin.
"The problem is, I don't know any of those people."
Seo Woojin's social circle was quite narrow.
Except for Lee Ji-ah and Kim Da-hye, he didn't have much interaction with other Heros, and even less with knights.
"None, none at all."
There was no solution.
In the end, there was only one option available to Seo Woojin.
"Let's get used to the newly acquired skills."
Skills: ??? [Passive], [Dark Flame], [Power Strike], [Rampage], [Acceleration], [Aura], [Hell], [Punishment], [Stigma], [Madness], [Twilight], [Muspelheim], [Sword of Uranus].
Excluding the skills I already had, I gained as many as six new skills.
"I can't try them all…"
'Punishment,' 'Stigma,' 'Madness,' and 'Muspelheim' gave off a distinct vibe related to the Demon Lord profession just by reading their descriptions.
Even if I tried to use them in secret, the chance of getting caught was high.
Thinking about the energy I felt when using 'Hell,' I couldn't use it anymore.
"If I use it in the capital, the knight orders will likely appear."
It was almost equivalent to an act of suicide.
"Well, then there are only two I can use."
'Twilight' and 'Sword Of Uranus'
Fortunately, these two were skills that involved using a sword.
Of course, considering it as something that a 'Sword Soilder' possesses was overly powerful, but…
"I can just avoid them, right?"
Anyway, Seo Woojin is the only 'Sword Soldier'.
If he stood his ground, there was no way for them to pursue him.
"Alright, let's try using them for now."
Seo Woojin headed toward the training ground.
* * *
The sunset had set.
No, it seemed that way.
It was thanks to Seo Woojin's skill 'Twilight' being activated.
Upon using the skill, the area within the range of the sword darkened.
"…If you touch this, you die?"
It wasn't just dying; you gradually rotted away.
As if time had sped up, the wound worsened, rotted away, and eventually crumbled into dust.
"I just thought of it as a simple evening glow."
It seemed like twilight probably didn't mean twilight.
"Okay. I can use this."
Although it seemed somewhat unusual for swordsmanship, using a sword was the right thing to do.
Moreover, among other professions, there were many skills more strange than 'Twilight.'
It wasn't even in the strange category that the part where the sword cut quickly rotted away.
Of course, other skills were a bit different.
They were beyond strange, grotesque, or terrifying, like 'Hell.'
Unless the situation was really life-threatening, you should never use it carelessly.
Especially when there were other heroes or knights around.
If you used a skill incorrectly, you could become a target for execution.
"Now, shall I try this?"
Excluding skills that couldn't be used, there was only one left.
'Sword Of Uranus'
Uranos is a god in Greek mythology, the god of the sky.
The god of the sky and a sword.
Just by looking at the name, one could roughly guess the nature of the skill.
"Summon a sword in the air and drop it. The skill description is simple."
There was also an effect that the number of summoned swords increased proportionally with the level, but there was no need to pay much attention now.
Seo Woojin was still a level 16 newbie.
"Sword Of Uranus"
Seo Woojin activated the skill.
He felt the sensation of magic draining away with a whoosh, to the point where he could even feel the mild symptoms of magic depletion.
"How can it consume so much magic?"
Surprised, Seo Woojin raised his head.
Due to exhaustion from depleted magical power, it was difficult for even a finger to twitch, but due to the overwhelming pressure felt from above, one couldn't help but look.
"Uh…."
Above the head, a single handle of a sword was formed.
It was just a single sword handle.
However, Seo Woojin couldn't hide his bewildered expression.
He couldn't help it.
It wasn't simply because all the magical power had been drawn out.
"It's too big?"
The sword was excessively large.
How could a single sword handle be similar in size to Draconis?
A gigantic sword, reaching up to 10 meters.
The greatsword began to descend towards the ground.
"Hey? We didn't agree to this."
If he had known that such a massive sword would be created, he would never have used it in this training ground.
Not only was the size an issue….
"Damn it!"
The training ground was too narrow, and Seo Woojin was within the radius where the sword would pierce.
Seo Woojin spat out a curse and quickly retreated.
And….
Kugugugung-!