Solo Swordmaster

Chapter 73: Try to Love

“[Isn’t the curse just making you play better?]”

“That’s the thing.”

“[…What’s the thing?]”

Yoo Na-kyung slanted her tiny bird head—understandably so. Limon had only owned the Abyssal Black Violin for about a month. And after the lessons from Julia, he began playing it less and less. Nowadays, he didn’t even touch it.

Knowing better than anyone else what Limon could do with the violin, this was beyond her understanding.

“Wanna hear a fun little story?” Limon laughed.

“[I don’t recall any of your ‘little stories’ ever being fun, boss…]”

“Never mind, then.”

“[Jeez, now I wanna hear it. What’s the story?]”

Yoo Na-kyung’s eyes sparkled. It seemed like curiosity was embedded in her nature.

“A long, long time ago… There was a great swordsman. He was unmatched.”

“[Hm, the intro reeks of ancientness.]”

“One day, a certain sword came into his hands. It was a godlike sword. Unbreakable, able to cut through anything, and a single graze would kill.”

“[…There was a Monarch-level item in the past too? How can a sword’s abilities be that overpowered?]”

“Just focus on the story, you birdbrain.”

“[I am not a birdbrain!! I’m a bluebird of hopes and dreams!!]”

Paying no mind to Yoo Na-kyung’s retort defending her species, Limon scoffed.

“So what do you think became of the swordsman after getting that sword?”

“[Well, he obviously collected a harem after conquering the world, living in clover with three wives and four mistresses. He gets tired of that life and isekais into another world and becomes a hidden OP MC?]”

“I understood none of those words in that order.”

“[It’s the most recent chapter of the most popular novel right now, ‘Solo Monarch-Rank Player’.]”

“…I have no idea why that shit is popular, but to spoil it for you, the swordsman died in a battle against a skilled opponent.”

“[What? But you said he was unmatched!]”

It was Yoo Na-kyung’s turn to be baffled. In response, Limon nodded slowly.

“I sure did.”

“[Then why would he lose? An unmatched swordsman with a divine sword’s obviously an invincible cheat character!]”

Seems like she had gotten emotionally invested in the story. Or maybe it was her bottled-up feelings letting loose. With sorrowful indignation, Yoo Na-kyung condemned the continuity of the flawed story.

“[Oh, could that be it…? Is it the cliché where he gets his sword stolen, and a friend or his wife dies? Did he fall into a trap?!]”

“Nope. this was a fair and even one-on-one battle with his divine sword.”

“[Then why would he die?!]”

“The sword wasn’t a cheat. It created a bug instead.”

“[…Huh?]”

“It’s a sword that kills upon a light touch. He got so caught up using fancy techniques that he forgot how to target the vitals.”

“[How can an unmatched swordsman even forget how to fight with a sword?]”

“The sword one uses changes the techniques, you see.”

Rapiers are for poking and stabbing. Backswords are designed for sharp cuts. Bayonets are made for their thickness and force. Countless types of swords exist in the world, each built differently and focusing on a different purpose. Thus, swordsmanship was based on what kind of sword was used—which also means that a different sword would eventually alter the user’s swordsmanship.

“[…But there’s a saying that the master does not blame his sword!]”

“That is complete nonsense.”

“[It is?!?!]”

“Yeah. The more mastery one has, the more specialized their skills become. They would want a sword that fits their swordsmanship style. Matter of fact, Sword Saint Kamiizumi Nobutsuna had a collection of over a thousand renowned swords, despite being a Swordmaster.

Limon could cut through stone with a leaf, and yet he always carried his sword around. Why? It was much more convenient to just carry around a sword all year round rather than struggle in vain to use a leaf whenever force was needed.

Following that line of thought, a renowned sword was dozens, hundreds of times easier to use than a common iron sword. That was why masters, with their heightened senses, clung unto renowned swords.

“At the end of the day, a master wants a sword that fits their hand. Not a divine, or any excessively fancy sword.”

“[Does their swordsmanship end up deteriorating?]”

“That’s right.”

A sword capable of cutting through anything would make the user disregard techniques attacking the opponent’s defense.

A sword that never breaks would make its wielder oblivious to a sword’s durability.

A sword that makes the holder invincible will make them forget how to protect themselves.

Of course, it will feel like a great improvement in skill at first. But one’s swordsmanship was bound to deteriorate after years of depending on just the caliber of their sword. Even if it doesn’t, there would still be setbacks.

What if the sword gets ruined? Or what if they run into an opponent where the effects of the sword don't work? Would they have to live out the rest of their life in fear of losing their sword and only fight opponents their blade allows?

Such people would no longer be considered swordsmen—just a puppet controlled by their blade like the unmatched swordsman and his divine sword.

“[So that’s why you weren’t trying to use the violin? Because you don’t want to become the swordsman dependent on his divine sword?

“Well, that’s one of the reasons. If this violin becomes indispensable to me, I’ll only get weaknesses.”

The Abyssal Black Violin was Limon’s best chance at nullifying the Constellations’ powers in his body. If he were to ever battle with the Constellations someday, the violin would be the first thing they would take away from him. Losing the violin meant that it would be harder to fight the Constellations and dissolve their fragments of starlight.

“The biggest reason I’m learning the violin right now is so I can deal without this thing. Depending on this to learn more would just be putting the cart before the horse.”

“[Umu, umu. That’s fair.]”

Yoo Na-kyung nodded. A sensible explanation wasn’t something easy to get from Limon.

Suddenly, she tilted her head.

“[Wait, ‘one of the reasons’? There’s more?]”

“There sure is.”

“[What are they?]”

“My pride.”

“[Eh?]”

The corners of Limon’s lips curved ever so slightly seeing the frozen blue bird.

“Cursed violin or not, it pisses me off that I can’t do what a meager little instrument can.”

“[…Boss, the violin is an instrument. It’s meant to be played, not used as a step stool for your pride!]”

“That’s what I’m saying. This little shit played me like a fiddle. Isn’t it my turn to play it right, too?”

“[That’s like racing a train using a horse!]”

“Na-kyung. Humans aren’t slower than trains because their legs are slow. It’s because they never tried to run faster.”

“[That’s for nutjobs like you! Normal people don’t even think to consider that batsh—]”

Snap—

“[Owwww!]”

“Who are you calling a nutjob, huh? I’m your boss.”

Yoo Na-kyung’s forehead was divinely punished by Limon as he disregarded the stars spinning above her head. He was lost in thought.

‘Hm. What to do with this now…’

He may have partially joked about it earlier, but it was true he had to improve his skills as soon as possible. He had limited time to achieve his goals—devouring the Seven Dragons Association and gaining the power to oppose the Constellations.

No, even if there was plenty of time, things would be the same.

‘This is suspicious as hell.’

Limon’s eyes bore into the box with the Abyssal Black Violin inside.

Perhaps those from this era wouldn’t know, but for someone familiar with magic tools like Limon, the Abyssal Black Violin was a peculiar instrument.

‘Not only can I dissolve the Constellations’ powers with this, but I feel a strange presence whenever I play it. I just can’t figure this thing out.’

A magical violin made by a priest to present the gift of music to his god. A violin closer to being a curse. He’d already requested for Li Chingwei to look into its origin, but nothing much came out of it.

Furthermore, it was said that the elder who gave him the violin in the amusement park had completely vanished. It was only natural for Limon to be suspicious about this violin.

‘I mean, there’s never a magic item that’s not suspicious… But there’s always bound to be problems with a dodgy thing like this.’

A chalice once thought to make alcohol taste better actually turned out to be the Holy Grail, sparking a fight within a temple.

The discovery of a mysterious ring led countless thieves sent by powerful men to rob a house.

Recalling past incidents related to suspicious magic tools, Limon furrowed his brows.

‘Well, I guess it’s fine.’

He finally let out a laugh. It wasn’t an item from the current age, and there was no way a modern day human would be tempted by a mere magic tool from the eras before.

But that fact wasn’t going to buy him any more time. And so, Limon headed to an expert for advice.

***

***

“…Li, are you messing with me again?”

“Nope, I’m dead serious.”

Julia was befuddled by the sudden question.

“Do you know how long it’s been since you started learning the violin from me, Li?”

“A little less than a month.”

“That’s right. It’s only been a little over three weeks—including the time we wasted trying to teach you how to read music notes.” Julia sighed. “But you have already surpassed the level of a music university student, Li. It won’t be easy to find a first-class violinist that compares to you in terms of technique.”

She wasn’t exaggerating, either. In just a few short weeks, Limon had succeeded all the Violin Witch’s violin techniques. And that wasn’t all. From videos on the internet to ones only describing music with words, Limon could perfectly imitate the performances of other violinists as well as his own renditions.

Even Julia was in awe of his talent.

“And you’re asking how to learn the violin even faster? Do you even have a conscience, Li?”

“Does this really have anything to do with conscience?”

“If I wasn’t your instructor, Li, I would have reported you already.”

“Report me? For what?”

“Monopolizing talent.”

“Hm. I’d definitely get sued quite a bit if that really was a thing.”

Julia looked at the young man with an exhausted gaze as she watched him nod without hesitance. At least it seemed like he was aware of the fact he was learning the violin abnormally fast already.

But Li did not falter under her gaze.

“But I have a reason to learn the violin faster. Is there really no way?”

“Just practice routinely and make the effort to improve.”

“Wow. That’s one hell of a way.”

“I am not kidding, Li.” Julia said with a dead serious face as Limon chuckled. “To be frank, there’s nothing more to teach you in terms of technique.”

When it came to purely playing the violin, Limon was already in a field of his own. With the superhuman body of a Swordmaster, a cursed violin, and lessons from Julia—every single factor contributed to Limon capable of becoming the perfect musician, able to perform anything.

“You’ll need something other than technical skill to improve from here on out.”

But in Julia’s eyes, Limon was nothing but an empty plate. No matter how sturdy and beautiful, a plate was still just a plate. For Li to become a complete violinist, it was necessary to fill that plate.

“Whether you are able to obtain that or not is what defines the difference between a first-class violinist and a superhuman violinist.”

“So it’s not something that can be taught.”

“Exactly.”

Julia had just admitted that she could no longer teach Li. From here on out, it would be up to his talent and that alone.

Whether it was his intuition that could find the answer, his sensibility to create heavenly melodies or his sentimentality to touch others with music… It was something only he could do for himself.

The only thing left for Julia as a teacher was to step back and watch now. That was her pet theory.

“Let me give you a word of advice, Li. Try loving music.”

“…Try what now?”

“Li. You don’t particularly like performing, do you? You’re only learning it because there’s a reason you need to. Something to help you achieve another goal.

Limon could only sit in silence. She’d hit the nail on the head. Seeing his reaction, she smiled.

“You can certainly still perform without loving music. But you learn to love music in itself…”

If Limon was an ordinary student, she wouldn’t have told him any of this. But Julia was a violinist first before a teacher. And as a fellow musician who felt her heart skip upon discovering Li’s talent, she could only beam at the man who could someday walk above her.

“…Li. You’ll be able to play so many better pieces than you are now.”

And with that, Julia ended her final lesson with Limon.

——

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