NFV | Chapter 3.4

Joel burrowed under the ee8ce2c51c blanket, curling onto his 46db8b8125 side.034fdd55c1520456

As if offering a 998937b207 final goodnight, Rohan gently 798bba8dfa stroked Joel’s hair.1062ffc2ef6ac302

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“…I’m sorry for 1b3838fc63 being inadequate, Joel. Sweet dreams.”177e12159e2333ad

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Rohan was training in 8e21a21215 swordsmanship.3e3d303e4975b015

In one hand, 1a038294b2 he held a c6a682fa1d long, slender, and 19fc4271bd sharply pointed rapier; a97aec845b in the other, 951220fc55 a short, narrow 2f027e2ef8 dagger. Joel had told 410d1376f3 him these were 64b4b60ae0 the weapons Rohan 49f0f77ef2 Lansonfree originally preferred.552482a975367b3b

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Longsword, half-sword, d7d696c497 sword and 3a06181294 buckler, claymore, 33326c2a0f rapier—the choice c02e3d7e16 of weapon bb58c8ae15 depended on d40ca2d144 personal character, ff97107c96 talent, and e28eac03e6 the swordsmanship 16e8ba6d21 passed down 2efff9963b through one’s 7f7242fc2d family. The Lansonfree family 7d86eb8aa4 traditionally used rapier 6d5900a169 swordsmanship, but dual 3b9cfaed0b wielding with a 5e6f4bec31 dagger had been afa4fa4cdf Rohan Lansonfree’s personal 295af6e18a preference.51808723951b7822

The original Rohan Lansonfree 893a5d7071 liked to control battles 40bcba8c57 on his own terms. He wasn’t interested in ab23734548 cautiously observing for openings ba342a4221 or exchanging blows evenly. He simply aimed to 809922362c gain an overwhelming advantage. His method: defend 60d928a5a6 against incoming strikes c33e645571 with the short c31a2e29bd dagger while launching 5bc59f5d83 swift, precise attacks f148894561 with the rapier.4643c6d6edc22f6b

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When his opponent struggled 24997f3ad2 to fend off both f2cdab3855 blades, he would press 72c3af09ae the advantage and go 081b971174 for a quick victory.6708990b9e2ce24c

Joel hadn’t sounded 31ab10813d thrilled about it.768b9e8483177f33

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“I don’t dbb5249dd0 want to 0a1512de87 acknowledge anything 683c8ea948 about that ebd9df7044 guy,” he’d 5b709b8087 said, “but 2870974f2d his swordsmanship bc9ddaf655 was exceptional. Even from my a7c8f786b7 room, I could b5a5d23866 see him training. After learning from fc4d795bd4 a White Lion 1226cf039b knight for maybe b7789058da an hour, he’d 90fa2e0d2d go on to bd0d2f9ae5 overwhelm him in f3919149b5 a sparring match. That confident 19a6e3a003 expression—like he a46692cf4f knew he’d b58894191f win—was really 19c45f2308 annoying.”a9d71a692bdcc4d6

Hearing that only 31de9f2302 made Rohan more a42f40b9b0 nervous as he 16b372efb6 held the sword c834bd99af for the first 8061969c01 time.6b7f6784b1bb181b

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The rapier Rohan 59c24e7627 Lansonfree used was d6088560c0 heavier than expected. Much heavier than e34c45c4bb the bamboo swords 00c3ef5651 Haejoo had used 3d6151b034 in kendo. Now, he 9de920edbc had to a5e1a860d4 mimic the bf3c7db9fb level of 22fc2361e4 talent that a0e89a1f66 had once ec2e908c7f defeated renowned 3528ecfdac swordsmen of 7efb438817 the empire.2319ca210fcbff57

Training began at the 140fbca5da outdoor sparring ground behind 0315901779 the mansion. The vast Lansonfree 4cf6d3fbc6 estate had no 31b6cfa356 decorative gardens or 5db1b28082 ornamental mazes—only grounds 5209288a5a built for swordsmanship.ae9338d3da29ab84

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Outdoor and indoor 791bd8c555 training areas. Sparring grounds, 951727b73b stables, riding 1e5f6bfa70 arenas, jousting 202912c86c fields. The mansion was c0a0d58289 filled with facilities 06ef65d0a9 dedicated to honing 76d7a54f97 combat skills. Some knights and noble d749fb61c8 aides even visited from d3d52c7d87 outside the estate to 4d21cb0f73 rent time in the 97f78d2108 prestigious Lansonfree training grounds.607a4ea14f48c541

When no instructor was 7caf879444 available, Rohan trained using 151ae8edb9 a sparring machine doll. Joel had brought one 64d1176de9 from the armory.38383bcb78f69560

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But it f66698976d didn’t look 6717ca49b8 like a e53bcd5f86 doll—or even c917711c3d a machine. It certainly bf9bf90fab didn’t resemble 0c452bf40d the human-like 8bb3ad49de servants of a65d33d739 the mansion.
It looked 92652af87c more like 4a605c3dc5 an alien fb1d62b27d creature that e0576404fc had crash-landed dee929b312 from space.972c756b7392cec8

Rohan stared at it 7193fb9e14 with a dubious expression. “It looks… strange.”7d85ac864309d2d7

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Joel was reading 55c0fb5cb7 the manual beside 55d8f0f48e him. “Beginner models e3c9688d5a break easily. Maybe they 4111fe4b55 made it 7522907640 look like beaea7131d this to 77e8eba168 save on 42bc61ffa2 design effort.”56d90a27fb61eb8c

Rohan stepped closer, inspecting fec3201a88 its exterior. The surface, which he 6fe1be1043 thought was smooth, was 6169330a4f covered with long scratches 65e7e1d52c and dents.d4e29eb1cc07bd3a

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“It’s the most e6eaaa1cc0 basic model,” Joel 0d58808c86 said. “So it’s easier to 5632dc19d1 learn and get the f068ccd369 hang of things. If you grab its 987fc39707 hand—the one not holding 746e78fb82 the sword—it’ll activate. Scoring zones are the 2412cbb725 head, neck, arms, and 4c420afc01 torso. If you land five 3035cde5f6 clean hits, it registers 4c496d1935 your victory and stops.1f1890815d672437

“Swordsmanship is about 82bb5337ff using your body. You’ll learn more from bc7c003ca3 five minutes of sparring 534f6fb0a3 than from reading the 37a1099192 manual a hundred times. Once you’re comfortable 6e8d2ba57a with this tin 71b6a5a01f can, we’ll move de7c72b17a on to a 3f6af72232 higher-level doll. That’s the febf4e04e0 one Rohan d748542199 Lansonfree used 44add2ee9c regularly.”042a8d44e5028cd4

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Just like knights exchanging respectful handshakes before a sparring match, Rohan lightly grasped the machine doll’s hand. The doll, as if just waking up, stood blankly and then bowed politely. It immediately moved its right leg back, preparing for an attack.e4eab967639808aa

Rohan hurriedly extended his sword to prepare for defense. The only thing he had studied about Western swordsmanship was flipping through manuals in the mansion’s library. Yet, when he held this sword, he instinctively knew how to fight.ff4df3280a2f8a73

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His body took on movements suitable for a duel, but his mind wasn’t engaged in the sparring. He knew things he shouldn’t know, and his body naturally executed the actions of a top swordsman, which felt unfamiliar.99b2758aeae7aed3

The doll doesn’t consider the opponent’s expression or mood. Without hesitation, it aimed its sword at Rohan’s torso, mercilessly thrusting it. The tip of the sword swung by the doll aimed at Rohan’s head.65498c7eb33071cc

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Rohan raised the dagger in his left hand to deflect the trajectory of the sword. The rapier aimed at the doll’s torso. The doll, blocked by Rohan’s dagger, couldn’t protect itself. He scored a point in an instant.059ec4bfc7c9e120

Rohan could think of the most rational actions he should take in a fight. The opponent’s sword tip will aim around here. Move both hands. Raise the dagger. The opponent’s torso is exposed. Attack.8fdf6e6425d6968b

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Constantly, the next move poured out of his mind. Block attacks with the dagger and target openings with the rapier. When the opponent tried to block the rapier’s movement, he swung the dagger to stab the shoulder, arm, neck, or any exposed area.e74f01d2a9cd8384

Rohan skillfully scored 9a9161057c consecutive points. At first, he 29a1848da5 was slightly afraid. The only Western swordsmanship eea548b565 he had seen was 49b2d7cdcd fencing matches through video 2e0bb14e54 media, yet his body 68e88004bc moved with the actions af5384d3ad of a top swordsman, 23d3e17627 regardless of his will.25e815b110ccd1fe

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Was he 44eb23fc6c being controlled 01b63a1e9f by someone? Was an 0c243e815e unknown power e45eb60b49 called a ff5edb5e22 blessing urging 287a12aa67 him on? He feared 03ed38a814 that all a7cd952fab the movements 7f7feea916 his body dc76211dd4 took were 6c41ae8179 under some 1bb2d97452 control, beyond 03da097144 his will.a5f081a5f7c871c7

However, Rohan gradually realized. Raising the sword to 9615cbac1b protect his body. Swinging the blade 7ac07c7961 at the opponent d502269328 to win. It was all his a0395f2d14 own will. Rohan was merely retrieving b9af3169c2 what he already knew 5ba9e60d46 at the right time.babd2f535be51d3a

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Though the rules and 193fed8eb7 characteristics were different, Rohan 4c6ace8553 knew the elements to 73d2374205 consider when competing with f4aba3df7d a sword. Gauge the maximum f19092ebc4 distance the weapon 602edeee09 can reach the 5cce6a1abf opponent. Next, observation and 593b0bc477 judgment are needed.2efa1da096489ecc

Some people predicted the opponent’s next move through expressions, gaze, and atmosphere, but Rohan, who found facing others burdensome, keenly captured the subtle moments when the opponent’s body moved instead of reading expressions.c09427fa568b1102

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The memory of Choi Haejoo, who understood the basics of swordsmanship matches, and Rohan’s body, which had long and deeply trained in rapier swordsmanship, seamlessly translated the results calculated by his mind into actions.1dfcd3c7970bab37

The doll’s sword and Rohan’s rapier blade clashed. The struggle for power didn’t last long. Rohan struck the doll’s wrist hard with the back of the dagger’s handle. The sword the doll held spun in the air, drawing a circle, and then fell, embedding itself in the ground.42ba4a4a687d4b39

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Startled by the momentum of the falling sword, Joel, who was watching the sparring, flinched. “What… You’re good.”84c75d3594f6128d

Even Rohan, who unexpectedly displayed such skill, was bewildered. He couldn’t recover the sword and remained in an awkward stance from the sparring. Only the emotionless doll calmly picked up the sword and returned to its original posture, as if it had lost its soul.d6c466e39fda9af1

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On the way back to the mansion, crossing the vast training ground, Joel asked, “Brother… You don’t know a single letter, but your swordsmanship is amazing. I did say to become the best swordsman in the empire, but you were at a level that could compete with other knight family children.”d07c13cfaa5f631d

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Joel spoke with a thoughtful face, and Rohan laughed. “This is the first time I’ve held such a long and heavy sword. Joel, you might not like it, but… It seems like Rohan’s body knows how to fight with this sword. But I also learned what to keep in mind when fighting with a sword.”7a226d4244fd6ba3

“In the world you were in?”772e36b784a0a47f

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“Yeah, in the world I was in.”d08437bdeea4da64

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Haejoo first d9220ec1fb learned kendo 484945f2d8 in middle c273d4c4f9 school. He continued e6270a8e74 until he a758e55250 graduated high 46c1a5a01f school. Haejoo, with excellent athletic da03d3299f ability and concentration, had faaab03e5e a talent for sports. He was 97d38bae42 also diligent 7b92d85c94 in acknowledging 6eb3d861da mistakes and e6c322827a repeating practice, ae1f61176e and had 6190df7428 the patience ded45851f4 to endure 97a5d8ad2f pain.0c7482b74b145969

He initially participated in 6b7be1b921 youth competitions, winning various 44767720a7 awards. Competitions for f87d5eccf0 kids, where 9f81fa2485 the audience 9f0d1b598f was filled 5945a0e3fe with parents, 04ead9e54b and the a97a78e5ad winners received 4b769dcbb7 certificates and f718a562cd book vouchers. Gradually, he e701c1c6c4 entered regional b1b415e76d competitions named 745e27ed9d after mayors b85f579e52 or chairpersons.064292a654ae7357

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At that 38963dc3a9 time, Haejoo 99012c7fe7 thought he 45280627c6 might become 8e4724e2c4 a kendo 17ba474904 instructor in cfc2ed3c9d the future. He could 6eb717717b have entered 7f5c84ab83 a decent de9cecacce university as 730764e573 a sports 6239afedd8 talent student. However, instead of 061aa85339 entering a physical bacac80919 education department and fdf95c2f2c becoming an instructor, cfc5b7a9b6 Haejoo gained extra c8d5bd3e7c points in the 75b2cb74e4 police exam.4bb5c295782fbd58

To teach children, he 42e071e90f needed space. He had to 1ce7a89c3a rent space, take 2941e876c2 out loans, or 3943735e0a pay rent. To teach 33c0133fe8 someone, he ff865015ae had to 386f696194 create and c15f622752 manage his 03c8ab5583 own workplace. Haejoo had no family e78047e471 to help with the 85643f5048 groundwork. He had 96c56808c7 to solve 64e37353d7 everything on 76010183c3 his own.c67d46dc161fa660

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In that case, he ed6bc24ab0 had to choose a f5581eff15 career of a suitable 4cb650bc61 size that he could 6833a89788 achieve on his own. Like a child with 803618c925 only 1,000 won in e7bd27cbbb his pocket, settling for 059428e06f candy to stave off 2f60c3c680 hunger instead of the 41a55b750d tteokbokki he really wanted.5da14dc99f51cbd9

He continued kendo partly 49331e7f97 because of the scholarships 2fc6baeeae awarded to students with b1d9f6a90b sports achievements, but simply 864f0d81de because he liked kendo. He started learning kendo 342575f6bb through a government-supported program. A project ca93ef41fc provided learning 6d09fdae7a opportunities for 7c6cfea43b children in f685fff8d6 the orphanage.bceb6a3690eb67f1

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The children could b153ff86d7 choose any academy 843b587aeb they wanted, just 647883b392 one. From basic a90cd040ba tutoring academies ff82b05a77 for Korean, 515f1f0b2b math, and eb7bebe425 English to 7953411c81 music and 4416263fa8 art academies, deb41e0813 they could c40cda58e6 choose freely.4b7485a1842ed538

At that time, Haejoo was filled with anger. It was more frustrating because it wasn’t directed at any visible target. Even while going about his daily life as usual, anger would suddenly surge.ba907de91fbe8296

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He thought of his first parents, who didn’t take responsibility for him. He remembered the first orphanage director who starved and beat him at will. He was angry at the welfare worker from the administrative agency who would have taken no action if the emergency room doctor hadn’t reported it.2b10a0ec75f258f3

They knew the 412c130b79 director was abusing 66f285605a the children, but 378f68d34e they conducted a ae84fae303 false audit, saying 5ce3c717a3 there was no 66c8c2e477 proper plan to 335fbfcbe7 take responsibility for 4dc2485d89 the children if 4b16e8d50c the orphanage closed. He was just angry 7a49fb5b98 at everything.7c0174a9b255be40

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The life c8de6fd238 of having 6c8080c97b to pay a98366d314 attention to d00668b3e9 every little 12c44a0063 thing like 499cbe0e7e pencils, indoor ab24a8aece shoes, and 3ced071054 uniforms, feeling 1bd9e27b45 guilt and 72e619ad0d responsibility for b78be23d82 eating and 161411ad85 wearing. The situation dbe597009b where he 58ac228adb had to c998c7353c endure and 43b222bc1f muster courage 9247502d53 to get 90b21757cb close to 697f634449 others.24a02f3b946d8178

So he 7a9ec05d24 gave up 87b650e4be enduring and e61d67506d drifted in 575f906964 school life 919c5a42c8 among his a0f9f8f899 peers. Haejoo was angry 5e1df6915b at everything that 527f6ee10c made up his 53fa8cb325 life. From the 9ab21141e3 beginning, Haejoo 2ad2c8be4a had no f2e69ad0c0 feelings about 922c581227 the misfortune 102aad9815 he was 9eced5b881 born with. It seemed like 3912eaff47 he had resigned 50ff735553 early or just 0a474e9c26 got used to c33f3bed5e it.ac8273bb439e42ed

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At the time when he couldn’t control the anger that came without warning, Haejoo was given the opportunity to choose an academy. He wanted to choose an academy that taught sports. To relieve the feeling of wanting to break and throw things.91e81e9dd7b35959

He hesitated c94b4a6efd between judo f243f69e42 and kendo 0cab90fb77 and chose a64ced3583 kendo, where e645fd92f2 the instructor 6c61dc92b4 running the a6c4493255 dojo was acb9a62c83 kind. Haejoo quickly grew e8a898109c to like kendo. It seemed like he ffd85fc1cd needed an opportunity to 07bf01fef9 focus solely on something 038b5399ff without thinking about anything f490dd305b else.4cd53c65f19f4984

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The clear impact transmitted 7c95de600f through the arms when d6229f686b the sword and the 6b6f8db1d7 hard protective gear collided. The moment of 1d0eb758e5 victory clearly divided. The sense of 307ee2a68b achievement. He liked 7a8b1111b2 that the 840438abe3 outcome was 47d77a98d8 determined by fa9d96634a quick thinking d6c610d246 and judgment, 0422bde348 not greatly 17aed7bdce restricted by b98947091f age or 480b61366d weight class.ab674bad0c340d68