Chapter 13

 
Chirp, chirp—

A new morning dawned in Wonderland.

Yuhyeon slowly opened his eyes—or rather, they opened automatically on their own.

[ Sleep has ended. Stamina, mana, and fatigue have all been restored to 100%. ]

‘Mmm.’

In Wonderland, there was a stat called fatigue, in addition to stamina and mana.

If fatigue was completely depleted, a player couldn’t take any action—just like in real life.

‘It’s already this late, huh.’

There were two ways to recover fatigue.

The first was logging out.

If a player logged out, their fatigue would gradually decrease, and their stamina would slowly replenish.

Logging out for about six hours in real-world time would fully restore fatigue.

The second method was using an inn.

Sleeping inside the game restored fatigue in just one hour of real-world time—or three hours in-game.

‘Logging out for six hours? I might as well just use the inn instead.’

Besides, while a full day had passed in Wonderland, it was still only mid-afternoon in the real world.

Since Yuhyeon had logged in at 10 AM, only four hours had passed in reality.

‘One hour in real life? That’s actually a crazy good deal.’

After a short nap, even his real-world fatigue had eased somewhat.

It was no wonder people slept inside the game—he understood the appeal instantly.

“Huu.”

Getting out of bed, Yuhyeon stretched lightly.

Amazingly, all the aches and pains in his body had vanished completely.

“My body doesn’t hurt at all.”

His arms, which had felt like they were being torn apart, and his thighs—everything was back to normal.

He felt as if he had been reborn. In fact, he even felt refreshed.

‘Time for a quick review.’

He imagined himself gripping a wooden sword and took his stance. Inhaling slowly, he swung through the air.

To an observer, his posture wouldn’t seem like that of a beginner.

That was the power of four hundred perfectly executed strikes.

‘Oh, right. Something leveled up yesterday.’

Yuhyeon opened his stat window.

Ding!

[ Nickname: Yuhyeon ]
[ Level: 1 ]
[ Class: None ]
[ Strength: 8 (+3) | Agility: 6 (+1) | Intelligence: 5 | Stamina: 8 (+3) | Mana: 5 | Divine Power: 0 | Charm: 10 (+10) ]
[ Titles: “First Impressions Are Just That”, “Fanatic” ]
[ Sword Mastery (Rank E): When attacking with a one-handed sword, damage increases by 120%. Attack speed increases by 4%. ]

Compared to yesterday, his strength and stamina had increased by three points, and his charm had shot up by a whopping ten points.

His Sword Mastery skill had also ranked up, and he had already filled about 50% of his proficiency bar.

Yuhyeon clenched his fist, exhilarated.

‘Yeeess.’

Whether his stats increased by one or two points wasn’t the issue.

What truly mattered was that his efforts were paying off.

‘A world where you’re rewarded for your hard work, instantly.’

In this world, the more a player struggled and trained, the greater the rewards they received in return.

That realization sent a thrill down Yuhyeon’s spine.

“Well then, let’s go.”

After finishing his stretches, he stepped out of the inn.

The crisp morning air filled his lungs.

It was time for his morning training.

*  *  *

Meanwhile, at the same time, Olsen was teaching basic swordsmanship to the newcomers.

“Twenty reps is too much. Can’t you cut it down just a little?”

“This isn’t a marketplace, kid. You don’t get to bargain over training drills. Stop whining.”

As usual, he was locked in a battle of words with the recruits.

“Good morning, Instructor!”

Upon arriving at the training grounds, Yuhyeon spotted Olsen and greeted him cheerfully.

Olsen turned to him as if he’d been waiting.

“Oh, you’re here! How’s your body feeling? Is the muscle pain gone?”

“After a day of rest, I’m perfectly fine.”

“Good! I was just thinking there’s a lot I need to teach you. That’s a relief.”

“Ohh! I’d love that!”

“Come over here. Today, I’ll teach you some new movements.”

Olsen’s voice carried a slight excitement.

Compared to the way he had acted before, it was almost unbelievable how much he had changed.

“Today, I’ll teach you upward slashes, diagonal downward slashes, diagonal upward slashes, and horizontal slashes. In total, you’ll be learning five different attack and defense angles.”

His tone was warm—almost like he was greeting an old friend.

“This is something I’m teaching only you, so pay close attention. It’ll be useful to you.”

The surrounding players’ eyes widened.

Olsen’s attitude toward Yuhyeon, his friendly tone, and the special training…

It was an entirely different level of treatment from what they had received.

‘Why is he being so nice to that guy?’

‘Special lessons…? All he taught me was an up-swing and a down-swing, then sent me off.’

‘F-Five different angles? He gets to learn everything?’

Olsen was infamous in the beginner’s village for being a cold and strict instructor.

A cold demeanor that seemed incapable of shedding a single tear, and an icy gaze directed at outsiders.

To the players, who had no way of knowing he was a former knight, he was simply a particularly strict and prickly instructor.

And yet, someone had managed to build an unprecedented level of favor with him.

A quest that could be completed in just 20 attempts—someone had swung their sword through it a staggering 400 times.

No one had ever done that before, and it was unlikely anyone ever would again.

It was no surprise that Olsen treated Yuhyeon differently.

And that wasn’t all.

“You don’t find it dull, doing nothing but basic training over and over?”

“Dull? Not at all. I can feel myself improving with every swing—I’m having a great time.”

“You’re not interested in special abilities or flashy techniques?”

“Hmm, it’s not that I have no interest… I just think there’s little point in learning tricks without a solid foundation first.”

“Heh! I see!”

More than anything, Olsen and Yuhyeon got along remarkably well.

His serious attitude toward the sword, his belief in the importance of fundamentals, and the sheer perseverance backing it up.

On top of that, his natural talent as a warrior was quite formidable.

‘He’s got a keen eye—sharp enough to grasp movements in an instant.’

Among outsiders, Yuhyeon had exceptional reflexes.

It likely stemmed from his background as a musician.

In music, even the slightest disruption in tempo could not be allowed, making sharp focus and the physical ability to maintain it absolutely essential.

His reflexes, in particular, were as finely honed as those of a seasoned swordsman.

‘He once said that wielding a sword reminded him of playing an instrument…’

They said musicians spent their entire lives training their fingers to produce a single perfect note.

Perhaps Yuhyeon’s intense dedication to swordsmanship was only possible because of the grueling training he had already endured for music.

‘A talented man rarely has perseverance, and a persevering man is rarely born with talent.’

Yet Yuhyeon had both—a keen eye that allowed him to learn movements in an instant, the athletic ability to execute them immediately, and the determination never to put down his sword.

Only a select few, chosen by fate, were born with such martial talent.

And Yuhyeon was one of them.

Whoosh!

With just a few practice swings, he had already grasped multiple slashing techniques from different angles.

It was only possible because he truly understood the principles of the sword.

His stance was still rough, but that could be improved with practice. His lack of real combat experience? That could be solved by gaining more.

‘Ah, speaking of combat experience… This is a perfect opportunity.’

Olsen’s expression shifted, as if an amusing idea had just struck him.

“You there. Come here for a moment.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been training hard. It’s time you put it to use in a real battle.”

“So, we’re heading to a hunting ground?”

Yuhyeon looked around, trying to figure out where they were going.

“My job is to stay here and oversee things—where do you think I’d go? But I can summon a training dummy for you.”

Snap. Olsen pressed his thumb and index finger together, producing a crisp sound.

At that moment, a hologram materialized in front of Yuhyeon.

“…A scarecrow?”

It was a frail-looking scarecrow, clutching a small hoe in one hand.

The sight was so unusual that it immediately drew the attention of nearby players.

“What the hell is that?”

“Whoa, no way. I’ve seen that in a video before—that’s the special training only given to those recognized by the instructor.”

Olsen spoke in his usual, even tone: “It’s a training program used even by knights. There are five difficulty levels, and each one gets tougher as you go up. For reference, among all the outsiders, the highest record belongs to Hwarang, who reached level four.”

At the mention of Hwarang’s name, the players’ eyes widened.

‘Hwarang?’

‘Rank 1 in swordsmanship?!’

It made sense—after all, Hwarang was a top-tier expert who consistently held the number-one spot in the swordsman rankings.

Unfazed, Yuhyeon asked in a calm tone, as if such things didn’t concern him: “On average, how far do people usually get?”

“For outsiders, reaching even the 2nd stage is considered quite impressive. This training is a lot tougher than it looks.”

Yuhyeon’s eyes narrowed slightly.

‘The 4th stage… That must mean they’re an incredible person.’

He didn’t know who this “Hwarang” was, but he had no intention of pushing himself to reach the highest level like them.

After all, he wasn’t some musclehead, nor had he devoted his life to martial arts.

‘He said the average is the 2nd stage, right?’

That didn’t mean he lacked ambition.

Why else would he have trained so diligently all this time?

It was all for moments like this—to prove himself when an opportunity arose.

If he was going to do it, he might as well aim to be a little better than the rest.

‘Let’s set the goal at the 3rd stage.’

A bit above average. That seems like a reasonable target for now.

“Is there anything I should know beforehand? Since this is my first real combat situation, I figured you might have some advice.”

“I’ll give you tips for each stage. For now, just focus on the downward slash I taught you yesterday. That should be enough for the 1st stage.”

Yuhyeon nodded lightly and gripped the wooden sword.

A first-time battle. The strange anticipation made him swallow dryly.

Olsen offered a final piece of advice, “Just so you know, the 1st stage scarecrow doesn’t move. It only starts counterattacking after you make the first strike.”

“Understood.”

Yuhyeon slowly stepped toward the scarecrow.

The scarecrow stood still, gripping a hoe, its gaze seemingly locked onto him.

‘Every test is designed with intent. So what’s the purpose of this one?’

If he thought about it simply, he just needed to cut it down.

But if it were that easy, then most players wouldn’t be stuck at the first or 2nd stage.

There had to be a reason it was called a “test.”

“For now, just focus on the downward slash I taught you yesterday. That should be enough for the 1st stage.”

Suddenly, a sharp realization flashed through Yuhyeon’s mind.

‘This first scarecrow… is no different from the ones I’ve been training with all along.’

Until it started counterattacking, it was identical to the scarecrows in the training grounds.

That meant all he had to do was recall how he had dealt with those.

Olsen’s teachings quickly replayed in his mind.

“Keep your head up and your back straight. Breathe in as you raise your arms…”

Yuhyeon calmly adjusted his stance.

‘Head up, back straight.’

The placement of his head, the proper angle for raising his arms, the tension in his core as he inhaled—

He meticulously recalled every action he had repeated hundreds of times and poured them into the present moment.

‘If every test has a purpose, then this is the only correct answer.’

He had practiced this countless times—more than 400 repetitions.

There wasn’t a single person in the world better suited to executing this first strike than him.

The moment he realized that, his nervousness disappeared, replaced by solid confidence.

‘Huu.’

Yuhyeon took a steady breath and raised both arms above his head.

‘Distribute my strength perfectly and deliver a precise, flawless strike!’

The wooden sword cut through the air with sharp speed, descending straight toward the scarecrow’s head.

And the moment the blade made contact—

THWACK!

A resounding impact rang out.

Olsen’s eyes widened in shock.

“Y-you… What the…?”
 

To be continued

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