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SERIES: Regression of the Cursed Blacksmith
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Chapter 15 - The Black
He was delighted.
He had finally managed to acquire the Nameless Footwork, the foundation of all martial arts footwork skills.
Choi Hyun used the skill immediately.
[ Nameless Footwork has been activated. ]
As the footwork activated, Choi Hyun vanished from the fencer's sight for an instant.
The next presence the fencer felt was from it's behind.
Thwack!!
Having gotten behind the fencer, Choi Hyun immediately struck its side.
The fencer's body was pushed sideways, and sent it staggering.
It was a powerful blow, but because Choi Hyun's stats set in the program were low and the fencer's were high, even though it was a valid hit, it didn't inflict much damage.
“But this is more than enough.”
The effect of the footwork was outstanding.
In truth, Nameless Footwork wasn't that amazing of a skill.
It was a technique one could naturally learn just by evading the attacks well for a long time in battle. When using Nimble Feet during combat, it would activate automatically, improving body movement and providing additional effects like reduced stamina consumption and increased movement speed. That was all there was to it.
However, the reason he had to master Nameless Footwork was that it was a prerequisite skill for learning high-level martial arts skills.
And there was a martial arts skill that Choi Hyun absolutely had to learn.
It was the Supreme Heaven Divine Art that Yang-hwi had passed down to him.
“For the sake of efficiency, I have to try and master Supreme Heaven Divine Art even a day sooner.”
After all, the longer one used a martial arts skill, the more its power increased.
Having acquired Nameless Footwork, Choi Hyun immediately summoned a sword.
The sword he held had the same specs as the fencer's sabre, but the difference was that while the stats were the same, its appearance was that of a normal medium sword.
The fencer attacked once more.
Swoosh!
A sharp thrust of the sword.
But Choi Hyun didn't dodge.
Instead, he widened his eyes, stared directly at its sword, and swung his own.
Clang!
A clear metallic clang.
[ Deft Hands has been activated. ]
[ Super Focus has been activated. ]
System notifications.
Followed by successful blocks.
He had parried it perfectly.
Smirk-
The corners of his mouth lifted.
It was Choi Hyun's own “Parry" technique.
That's right.
It was a technique he had once practiced to death; it would be stranger if he couldn't parry a mere scrap of data like this.
The name of the technique Choi Hyun used was Parrying, an action of deflecting an opponent's attack to the side with one's body or weapon.
Parrying was different in nature from guarding or evading.
If guarding was blocking and evading was dodging, parrying meant receiving an attack head-on and redirecting it.
" This way, I can break their combo and create an opening.”
The fencer before him was no exception.
But even though he had created an opening with the parry, Choi Hyun didn't counterattack.
Instead, he manipulated the program to further enhance its stats. For example, increasing its strength, raising its reaction speed, and so on.
This way, it would be able to recover faster right after being parried.
After he finished manipulating the program, the fencer attacked Choi Hyun again with its enhanced physique.
Clang!!
A clear metallic sound could be heard.
He parried it again.
The parry had worked.
But perhaps because its various stats had increased, the attack was much heavier and more powerful than the previous one.
Its recovery speed was also much faster.
Choi Hyun smiled in satisfaction.
Increased stats meant that failing to block them would lead directly to death, and repeating these actions in difficult situations would eventually allow him to acquire the technique of parrying as a skill.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Consecutive attacks.
Consecutive parries.
The fencer kept attacking, and Choi Hyun kept on parrying.
Perhaps because of the extreme difference in stats, just parrying the sword made his hands go numb and his forearms felt like they would burst.
But he endured.
Only after he had parried dozens of consecutive attacks, did he hear the sound.
[ Phenomenal Deflection of Attacks. ]
[ You possess the ability to calmly deflect all of an opponent's attacks. ]
[ Conditions have been met. ]
[ Skill, “Parry,” has been acquired. ]
He had acquired Parry.
But regardless of acquiring the skill, the fencer still thrust its sword.
This time, too, Choi Hyun skillfully parried its attack.
[ Parry has been activated. ]
Whoosh- Clang!!
With a high, clear ring, its arm was twisted.
Unlike the previous parries, the pain transmitted to his hand was greatly reduced, and his stamina consumption also decreased significantly.
Not only that, even though their stats remained the same, the fencer showed a much larger delay in its movement than before, creating a longer opening.
And Choi Hyun didn't miss that opening, plunging his medium sword into its neck.
Crunch!
He had struck a vital point perfectly.
Due to that attack, the fencer's body froze.
It was an instant kill.
As Choi Hyun pushed the sword in further, the fencer's body, with the sword still embedded in its neck, fell backward and then vanished as if crumbling into dust.
“As expected, having low stats makes things difficult in many ways.”
But it wasn't time to raise his stats yet.
There was a set time for raising stats.
“Now, on to the next program.”
Choi Hyun manipulated the program and moved to the next stage.
This time, dozens of zombies were summoned.
The physical settings were set to be on par with his own.
However, there was nowhere to hide or use the surrounding terrain.
“Graaaaaah!!”
The zombies charged toward Choi Hyun.
Choi Hyun also raised his sword and charged right back at them.
[ Nimble Feet has been activated. ]
[ Super Focus has been activated. ]
[ Nameless Footwork has been activated. ]
As he moved, selected a target, and focused his mind, all the three skills activated almost simultaneously.
Of course, the skill activations didn't just end there.
Choi Hyun succeeded in plunging his sword under the chin of the one at the very front.
[ Deft Hands has been activated. ]
[ First Strike has been activated. ]
With First Strike and Deft Hands getting activated simultaneously, its power increased dramatically.
As a result, the zombie died without even a scream.
“Guaaaah!”
“Gyaaaaaaah!!”
But his opponents were zombies.
They didn't bat an eye when a comrade died, felt no fear, and were not infected by terror.
They only charged forward, mouths agape, to devour the living.
Choi Hyun swung his sword relentlessly at them.
[ Nimble Feet has been activated. ]
[ Super Focus has been activated. ]
[ Nameless Footwork has been activated. ]
[ Deft Hands has been activated. ]
[ First Strike has been activated. ]
Every time he swung his sword or moved to dodge their attacks, skills activated.
Though it wasn't visible, Choi Hyun was receiving the aid of nearly five skills, gaining a tremendous boost in power.
But among them, what Choi Hyun considered most important was by far the experience acceleration effect.
After all, the whole reason he came to the capsule room was to acquire skills.
How long had he been swinging his sword?
[ Sharp and Powerful Attacks. ]
[ Your attacks consistently induce powerful critical hits. ]
[ Conditions have been met. ]
[ Skill, “Critical hit,” has been acquired. ]
[ Quiet and Persistent Rear Attacks. ]
[ You succeeded in strategically aiming for the opponent's back. ]
[ Conditions have been met. ]
[ Skill, “Back Attack,” has been acquired. ]
He acquired Critical hit, which increased the chance of triggering critical hit and increased it's damage, and Back Attack, which increased power when striking an opponent from behind.
These were basic skills that all veterans who rolled in the field would have.
But there was something else Choi Hyun was waiting for.
[ Restrained and Powerful Attacks. ]
[ Your swordsmanship may seem chaotic, but it displays considerable power. ]
[ Conditions have been met. ]
[ Skill, “Nameless Swordsmanship,” has been acquired. ]
Nameless Swordsmanship, the follow-up to Nameless Footwork.
“Stop.”
Right after acquiring Nameless Swordsmanship, Choi Hyun stopped the program. He had obtained all the skills he wanted to get here.
At the stop command, all the zombies froze as if by magic, and the fatigue accumulated in Choi Hyun's body vanished in an instant.
“Virtual reality really is great.”
Soon, he logged out, the capsule opened, and Choi Hyun paid the fee before heading out.
“It took him about six hours.”
When he came out, he had a missed call from Jin Hyun-geun.
- Yes, Consultant.
“I'm done with my business.”
- Ah, I was just about to ask about your next schedule, as my preparations are almost complete.
“I'll send you my location, so please come pick me up.”
- Yes, understood.
A short while later, Jin Hyun-geun appeared.
As he was about to get into the passenger seat again, Jin Hyun-geun spoke.
“Consultant, I didn't have the presence of mind to say this earlier, but from now on, I would appreciate it if you would sit in the back seat.”
“Why?”
“I'm very grateful that you're not being authoritarian, but I am still performing my duties as a secretary and driver, so I wish to serve you, Consultant, with all due respect.”
“Understood.”
Jin Hyun-geun had pride in his work.
Out of respect for him, Choi Hyun didn't refuse and agreed.
Soon, they arrived at the prepared warehouse, where junk-grade armaments were piled up like a mountain.
“If you'd like them sorted by type, I can have that done.”
“No, it's fine. You've worked hard. I'll stack the repaired items over there, so when I contact you, please take care of disposing of them. As for the payment received after disposing them, you can either deduct it from the amount billed to the company, or you can deposit it directly into my account.”
“Yes, understood. Is there anything else you need?”
“Nothing. For a while, I'll just be going back and forth between home and here, so as I said before, when you come to work, you can just wait nearby. If you have personal business, just let me know and go.”
“Yes, understood.”
“You've worked hard. You can go home now. Take the car with you.”
“You won't be using it, Consultant?”
“I don't think I'll have any use for it for a while. Please use it freely, Hyun-geun-ssi. You can use it outside of work hours too.”
“Thank you.”
At Choi Hyun's consideration, Jin Hyun-geun bowed his head in thanks.
After he left, Choi Hyun went over to a nearby sofa and sat down.
When he mentioned he would be using the place as a workshop, they had set up a small rest area in a corner of the warehouse.
“He sent a good person over.”
It’s these small, thoughtful touches that make a person stand out.
After a short rest, Choi Hyun summoned the Hammer of Repair to begin working on his proficiency in earnest.
Its form wasn't that of a claw hammer, but the kind that one would typically imagine when thinking of a blacksmith.
Then, he picked up a piece of scrap from the large pile and settled into place.
“I guess it's time to get started?”
With a glint in his eyes, Choi Hyun began to slowly tap the piece of scrap he had picked up.
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