"Heheh! So tasty."
A meal always tastes best after you've suffered for it. Even more so if you've just taken a blade to the shoulder.
"Eat slowly. You'll get indigestion."
"I've got a friend worrying about me, too. Even if this place is overflowing with weirdos, it makes me think... maybe it's a good place."
"I hope I am not included in that count of weirdos."
"Whoa! Wh-when did you get there?"
"Just now."
"Sinclair. Did you see that guy come through the door?"
"N-no?"
Seriously, what is this? Is everyone here a master of something?
"Anyway, Yi Sang. Earlier, Ms. Outis called you a 'Salsu'. What does that mean?"
"Why am I just Yi Sang, yet Outis is Ms. Outis?"
"Because Yi Sang is Yi Sang, and Ms. Outis is Ms. Outis."
"Mm. Indeed. I forgot that you are a child."
He definitely just called me a "psycho" in his head as revenge. Petty man.
"Salsu... Do you truly wish to know?"
"No, not really. Thanks for the meal."
"You... Could you not at least pretend to be curious...?"
"I-I'm curious!"
"Thank you, Sinclair..."
When did those two get so close? Good for them.
"A Salsu is—"
"Salsu is a nickname given to those within the Blade Lineage who cut down more people than necessary. Isn't that right, Yi Sang?"
"Ahem... I would not know."
Did he just pout because she stole his line? The guy who cuts people down indiscriminately?
"Anyway, it means he's strong, right?"
"Ahem, ahem. It merely happened because I was focused on my work."
Focused on work, so you accidentally slaughtered people. Yeah, definitely not sane.
"More importantly, you two. Ms. Outis has been looking for you for a while now. Is it wise to be lingering here?"
"...Oh, we're screwed. Run, Sinclair!! Run until your feet catch fire!!"
"Huh? Huh!!! Wait for me!!!!!!"
"So, was the food to your liking?"
"Yeah. It was good."
"Hyun, we're getting scolded right now!"
But it was delicious. You gotta give credit where it's due.
"Enough idle chatter. Baekhyun. You used Arts in the previous fight. Was it the Reinforcement type?"
"Arts? No. Never used 'em. It's... just my constitution, I guess."
I don't know the details myself, but at some point, I realized that the faster my heart beat during a fight, the more absurd my speed became. But it doesn't feel like Arts. It feels more instinctual.
"You're saying that wasn't Arts?"
"Yeah. Like... Arts are supposed to be like a unique technique, right? Like an invisible hand. But for me, it doesn't feel like moving an extra hand."
I once lived in the same sector as an Infected Caster who had been abandoned in the back alleys. Living bodies with Originium don't just infect you by proximity anyway; it's the corpses that are the problem.
"You... cough! Are you not... afraid of me?"
"No. At least you can't hit me. Not with your arm in that state."
"You brat."
—Bonk!
"Ouch! This is... an ice shard?"
"This is Arts. I used to be a Caster... you know, someone who fights from a distance with magic..."
"How do you use Arts?"
"Well... it feels like moving an invisible hand. Most people don't even perceive it..."
"What. So it's all about talent."
"Kyakakaka, cough!! ...True. It is talent. Pure talent..."
A few days later, that Caster was gone from the alley. Taken away, or dead. I never found out.
"Truly... a monster."
"I get that a lot."
"B-but, what are we supposed to do now...?"
"Fight again? Who is it this time?"
Don Quixote? Does she use that blue and orange stuff too?
"No. From now on, you will learn Bonguk-geom."
Bonguk-geom. The swordsmanship that forms the foundation of the Blade Lineage.
"Here is a question. What is the most important element in Bonguk-geom?"
"Um... Accuracy?"
"Wouldn't it be speed?"
"I cannot say those are unimportant, but the thing Bonguk-geom prioritizes above all else is Breathing."
"Breathing? Like, inhaling and exhaling?"
"Yes. That breathing. Every swordsman in the Blade Lineage may modify the existing techniques to suit themselves, but this Breathing never changes."
"Breathing is..."
"Never changes...?"
Just breathing can give you that kind of power? Is this a cult, not just a group of psychos?
"What is with those suspicious eyes?"
"Nothing. Just wondering how breathing differently is supposed to make me stronger when I'm breathing right now."
"Lift your swords."
I drew my sword and held it. It was a familiar stance.
"What are you holding, fledgling?"
"A sword?"
"Correct. A sword. Then, what is a sword?"
"Uh... Sinclair wants to answer!"
"What? Me? Uh... um... Isn't it a tool for cutting or stabbing something?"
"A good answer, fledgling. Yes. That is what a sword is. It is a fact known to the majority of swordsmen."
"The majority? What about the rest?"
"What I am about to teach you is the swordsmanship that will crush that 'majority.' Remember this."
Breathing. An activity essential for any living creature to function and extend its life. But once you step into the Blade Lineage, you learn a unique method of respiration.
"Exhale slowly. Your breathing must not waver at any moment. If your breathing falters, your stance falters. And if your stance falters, there is no next move."
"Grrrghhhhh...!!!"
"Your breathing has wavered! Correction Fist!!"
"Gah!!"
"Get back up. There is no time to squirm."
'That damn weasel... hits really freaking hard...'
We were currently undergoing training to learn this "Breathing" method or whatever. We had to hold a squat position—like sitting in an invisible chair—with cups of water balanced on our heads.
If the water spilled or our breathing became erratic, Don Quixote's "Correction Punch" came flying in immediately.
"Is this really going to help?"
"For you, it is the most necessary training. Shut your mouth and do it."
"Fine... I just have to do it, right..."
"Woaaah—!"
"Gack! Sinclair, watch out!!"
"Both of you have wavered! Don Quixote Special—Correction—!"
""W-wait!""
"PUNCH!!!"
And so, we got beaten to a pulp... in high spirits.