The Novel’s Villain

Chapter 52: Test (1)

Everyone’s eyes turned toward Jinwoo. Soon after, Hayeon’s expression hardened. She realized Jinwoo indicated the time limit with his gesture.

“By any chance, one month?”

“No,” he smiled, shaking his head.

“…One week?”

“That is too long.”

“Then one day? Are you messing around?”

Not only Hayeon, but the expressions of those around her showed how preposterous it was. A year was impossible, but would a day be enough? It was impossible for even the swordmaster’s granddaughter.

At that moment, Jinwoo let out a laugh as he shook his head. “A single hour is enough.”

“How arrogant! And here I thought that the rumors were sure to be just rumors.”

“I have something scheduled tomorrow. I need to go home and sleep.”

When Jinwoo answered lightly, Hayeon let out a long sigh and suppressed her anger. The swordmaster, too, was shocked by his remarks. Although it may have seemed like he planned to express his refusal in this roundabout manner, Jinwoo seemed determined. The swordmaster decided to watch quietly. He thought that it would be enough if Jinwoo showed him a little bit of anything if there was one worth showing.

“Could you show me your hands for a moment?”

Jinwoo showed his hands to Hayeon. She carefully examined his hands while touching them with both of hers. It was strange to see a great beauty holding his hands. She also checked the shape of his arms.

“There are no traces of you ever using a sword.”

“You should be aware that I had a rather coddled upbringing.”

“…I understand. Then I’ll see you in one hour. Will the books be enough?”

***

Jinwoo returned to the guest room.

Yoona’s expression was indescribable.

“Master!”

“Hmm?”

“What in the world are you thinking?”

“Well, I’ve got nothing to lose, right? They’re the ones making the request, after all.”

“That may be true but at the slightest slip, we may gain the hatred of the Choi Clan Sword Sect.”

At Yoona’s worries, Jinwoo gave a small smile. The expressions of the bodyguards were no joke, too.

“So what if they hate us? Is there a problem?”

“…There’s none. As for affairs behind the scenes… haa… I’ll think about them,” Yoona said, gripping her head. Despite looking drained, her face remained fresh. She slapped her cheeks with both palms and contacted the Future Strategy Office. She looked extremely pressed and busy, but Jinwoo was relaxed.

Hayeon came to the guest room and handed over a book containing the fundamental sword techniques to Jinwoo.

“You may freely use the training hall.”

“It’s all right.”

“…Then I’ll see you in an hour,” Hayeon lowered her head. She turned her back and disappeared.

Lee Jinwoo was a hated man. Because many events including this one had occurred, it would have been stranger if she saw Lee Jinwoo in a favorable light.

Yoona and the bodyguards exited the guest room; it was to give Jinwoo time.

‘Honestly, I don’t even need an hour.’

One minute was enough. The issue of mana had been solved. He carried around a water bottle that contained mana. He did not drink other types of water but mana. It was too addictive. He ended up unable to drink other types of water.

“Shall we try it out then?”

Jinwoo looked through the book.

《Choi Clan Sword Sect Fundamental Sword Techniques》was written on the front. It did not feel like an old book, but a modern textbook. When he turned the pages, he found detailed descriptions of the postures and training methods. In truth, it wasalmostimpossible to learn from a textbook along. In martial arts stories, some learned from reading scrolls, but they were masters who broke out of their human limitations. Therefore, it was naturally the best idea to learn and practice the correct stances under the guidance of a master. However, this type of common sense did apply to Jinwoo.

His eyes turned gold soon as he looked at the book with Mana of Information.

C] Choi Clan Sword Sect Fundamental Sword Techniques

The movements which create the basis of the Choi Clan Sword Sect’s swordsmanship. The starting point of every secret technique. Crude but highly powerful and practical swordsmanship. There are traces of attempts to get rid of any bad habits and unnecessary movements. No matter what type of sword techniques you learn in the future, these fundamental techniques will be of great assistance. May complement techniques that have been learned in the past.

Only

* Raises understanding of swordsmanship.

As it was C-Rank, it was quite a high-level text. As anything B-Rank and above was treated as a national treasure, the status of the Choi Clan Sword Sect was clear from this. But it did not catch Jinwoo’s eyes. He already knew about the fantastical things that had yet to come.

‘It’s not like Dragonball or anything but…’

He knew about the future power inflation which would occur, which was capable of making readers question whether that level of intensity was acceptable for the novel.

Shortly after taking a sip of the mana stored in his water bottle, he placed his hand on top of the book. The intake of information was not hard to handle as he had already experienced it once. It was too easy that he thought it would have been nice if it had been just a bit harder. The information was saved in his head then spread throughout his body. It was the same refreshing feeling he got from drinking a cold soda.

It was an enormous amount of information, but it quickly became imprinted in his body. The feeling of his body remembering despite himself not being conscious of it was a strange feeling, like it was out of his control but would gradually grow better.

“…Hmm?”

He felt as if the information in one area was a bit different from the others. Jinwoo checked the skills he had learned with Mana of Information.