Chapter 14
Kail, the Sword Instructor of the Job Advancement Center.
He had seen countless new adventurers over the past two years in this center.
Most of them were touching a sword for the first time, but among them were a few whose skills even Kail could acknowledge.
Some advanced to Sharp Blader, showing talent for swift swordplay.
Others swung their swords with unyielding strength and became knights.
Still others possessed both swordsmanship and magical aptitude and became Magic Swordsmen through combined training with the mage instructor.
But—
‘This one’s different.’
The applicant before him now was unlike any other.
A dazzlingly fast attack—a rapid sword technique.
When Kail tried to deflect it lightly, the sword suddenly changed trajectory and became a heavy sword, pressing down on him with great force.
As he moved to evade it—
Ssshhh—
The testee’s blade twisted like a snake, using Illusory Sword and Transforming Blade techniques to pressure Kail.
‘And it’s not just the sword.’
If it were only this, Kail would have simply assumed exceptional swordsmanship talent.
But this testee was different.
When distance opened up, they naturally switched to a spear to keep Kail at bay.
If Kail broke through the spear’s reach, they discarded it without hesitation and drew a dagger to strike at his vital points.
Sometimes an axe swung in from unexpected angles. Other times, a blunt weapon ignored his defenses entirely.
When Kail closed the gap to restrict weapon use, the testee used leg guards on their shins to deliver powerful kicks.
No weaknesses.
Every weapon’s strengths were fully utilized.
Even for Kail, this was a form of combat he had never witnessed before.
Facing such a testee—
‘The King of All Weapons.’
That term floated into his mind.
Originally, “King of All Weapons” was a term used to glorify the sword as the supreme weapon.
But that wasn’t what Kail was thinking.
The person standing before him—this testee—was the King of All Weapons.
A master of all arms.
Wielding every weapon freely, drawing out their potential to the utmost.
That was the power possessed by the testee in front of him.
‘And they have the physical strength to back those techniques.’
The testee was already gifted with a robust physique, but the moment black flame enveloped their body, their strength surged further.
Unfair?
Not at all.
They were abiding by the conditions Kail had set—no personal items, only training weapons from the floor.
Kail had forbidden the use of items, not abilities like this.
‘An All Master, huh…’
At first, he thought it was an impossible path.
An All Master.
It sounded nice in theory, but in practice, it was the worst route—a jack-of-all-trades who mastered none.
That’s why he had hoped this testee would choose a single path, rather than chase a fanciful, legendary class.
But now—
‘This one…’
Might actually pull it off.
They might truly walk the path of a real All Master.
If so—
“This is your final test!”
Kail had to confirm the testee’s qualifications for real.
With that, he enveloped his weapon in sword energy.
Also known as Mana Sword, it was the true power of a seasoned warrior.
According to Kail’s standards, if this person couldn’t block the next attack, then it was better they give up on being an All Master and focus on a single path.
His sword blazed with passion and he swung it down at the testee.
At that moment—
Vmmm—
“…!”
Mana began to burn from the testee’s wooden sword.
The exact same energy blazing from Kail’s own blade.
Sword energy—Mana Sword—was now radiating from the testee’s weapon.
‘He can even use sword energy?’
Even in a battle against an instructor, he thought there would be some restraint.
But the moment he saw sword energy from the instructor’s blade, he realized—the instructor had thrown restraint aside.
— Master, my power is nearly depleted. I won’t last much longer.
Even Luke’s strength was almost gone.
No, in truth, Luke had lasted impressively long given the strain.
In that dire moment—
I nodded and played my final card.
Vmmmmm—
I poured every bit of mana I had into my wooden sword.
Normally, sword energy—or Mana Sword—requires a specific skill to use.
But who am I?
Rank #1 from First.
Mir, who could wield not just sword energy but even the advanced form, Sword Aura, as naturally as moving his limbs.
I had no skill for it now, but my muscle memory remained.
By imbuing mana into my blade and coating it with a blade of energy—
VMMMM—
—I could create a fake sword energy.
Weaker than the real thing, with lower power and duration.
But it would suffice.
After all, I wasn’t trying to defeat the instructor—I just needed to block his attack once.
CLAAANG!!
Our wooden swords clashed.
Sparks flew as our sword energies collided.
Kail’s burning sword energy, and mine—dark as Luke’s black flame.
Naturally, my sword energy couldn’t beat his.
I felt it cracking, crumbling under pressure.
I twisted my blade to redirect the blow rather than block it head-on.
Without any sword energy, my weapon would’ve shattered—but thanks to the imperfect energy coating, I barely redirected the strike.
And then—
Thud.
I let go of my wooden sword.
Some might call it shameful for a swordsman to drop their sword, but I wasn’t a swordsman to begin with.
As the sword fell, I grasped an imaginary weapon with my bare hand and swung at the instructor.
“Luke.”
— Yes, Master.
All the remaining black flame gathered in my hand, forming my final weapon:
A longsword—the most commonly used weapon in First, and now in Second.
It formed, even though my strength was drained, my stamina depleted, and I was on the verge of collapse.
I swung it weakly—but with precision.
And my attack—
Thwack.
—struck Kail directly in the heart.
The left side of his chest.
It lacked the power to do damage—
But it connected.
“…Did I win?”
“…I concede.”
The instructor acknowledged my victory.
I was worried he might dismiss it for being too weak.
But it was enough.
‘Thank goodness.’
Truthfully, that was my last resort.
At the moment Kail revealed sword energy and Luke’s power was fading, this was the best I could manage.
Regardless—
I had passed all four instructor trials.
At the same time, a system message appeared.
[You have completed the hidden job quest: “All Master.”]
The advancement quest was complete.
“Hah… To think you’d pass all four trials. Incredible. You’d make a fine sage, but I doubt even that path would satisfy you.”
The Mage Instructor approached, staff in hand.
The blue gem at its tip glowed and poured strength into me.
“You said it. I was hoping you’d follow the path of the Dark King… but judging by this, you’re not going to stop at being ruler of the night.”
Next, the Assassin Instructor’s dagger shone with a dark gem.
“How unfortunate,” said the Archer Instructor as her white gem glowed.
And finally—
“I acknowledge you.”
The Sword Instructor drew his blade.
A red gem embedded in the sword began to shine.
The four lights merged and sparkled, enveloping my body.
When they were fully absorbed—
[You have advanced to the hidden class: “All Master.”]
I had become… the All Master.
The Crisis Management Team of Second.
There were two main ways to identify crisis situations.
The first—automated alerts.
When events matched predefined keywords, a crisis alarm would sound.
Useful, but often triggered by trivial events.
The second—
“Team Leader Kang.”
“Deputy Seo, is this finally that guy who’s been digging all day getting a hidden class?”
“No, not yet.”
“Stop saying ‘not yet,’ you’re making me nervous. What is it this time?”
“That returning user from First—the one I told you about? He just received the All Master advancement quest.”
“What?! How’d you—wait, have you been monitoring that guy?! I told you just to register him as F-rank!”
Monitoring.
They observed specific players or scenarios directly.
Fast and accurate—but limited by staffing.
Unless someone was tagged for high risk, they rarely made the monitoring list.
Yet Deputy Seo, suspicious of Mir, had kept tabs and discovered the All Master quest trigger.
“All Master. That’s definitely a crisis-level event, right?”
“Of course it is. It’s Second’s strongest class, even if only known from the manuals.”
“It’s also tied to the main storyline. We should—”
“Enough.”
“…Sir?”
“Just increase the crisis level by one notch. Seems like he’s talented enough.”
“But if he does complete the quest and becomes All Master—”
Sigh…
Team Leader Kang let out a deep breath.
“Do you even know what the All Master test entails?”
“All four instructors give the toughest trials possible.”
“Exactly.”
All Master.
Theoretically, the strongest job in Second.
Like its name, it could wield any weapon, use any skill, and walk any path.
In theory, it could grant powers of the Sword God, Sage, Dark King, and Celestial Bow.
But—
“You have to pass four impossible tests. Does that sound reasonable?”
“…”
“Even the instructors know how insane it is. Some of them probably don’t even believe in the class.”
“But—”
“He won’t make it. He might get a top-tier class, sure—but not that one. Just raise the risk level a bit. Game’s been out two years—he’s not cracking the rankings now anyway.”
The advancement test was just too absurd.
Every employee who read the All Master section in the manual knew:
It was impossible.
A mythical class, put in just for flavor.
No one expected anyone to actually become it.
In two years, not a single person had even triggered the quest—let alone completed it.
Sure, getting the trial was impressive.
But passing it?
No one believed that.
And then—
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
A crisis alarm blared.
So loud it reached the team leader’s office.
Only one explanation.
“Level A crisis!”
The highest registered threat level had been triggered.
Team Leader Kang opened the feed in a hurry.
And there—
[You have advanced to the hidden class: “All Master.”]
“…Huh?”
“See for yourself.”
On screen, Mir stood between four instructors, having just become the All Master.
