Chapter 394

As I attended the Academy, I witnessed the Nonviolent Peace Alliance’s protests in front of the main gate about two or three times a year.

They continuously asserted that the Academy was a violent group teaching children deadly skills and should be completely expelled from Korea.

For a staggering 27 years.

The organization founded by the families of mages and soldiers who were sacrificed in the Middle Eastern wars had significant influence in its early days.

There was a justification back then.

As the entire nation supported their claims, by the mid-2020s, every academy began to adopt their views.

They banned the use of wands in the Academy Competition and completely abolished the relatively dangerous team events.

While combat magic could only be learned as an elective in the upper grades of Korea’s mage education curriculum, would students about to take the KGSAT have that luxury?

Therefore, only a tiny number of students participating in the competition trained separately with teachers, resulting in a dwindling talent pool of military mages in Korea.

Korea’s underperformance in national exchange competitions and the daily reduction in military mage applicants were somewhat predictable outcomes.

The Republican Party was beyond discussion, while the Democratic Party had long distanced itself from the Nonviolent Peace Alliance.

They had lost their justification, lost political power, and were left with only their loud voices, repeating hollow claims that resonated little in society.

The current state of the Nonviolent Peace Alliance was one of being stuck in the glory of the past, bowing down to the President and National Assembly members on its own.

“Honestly, I don’t even pity them anymore. The representative over there was once jailed for taking bribes from a foundation; I don’t understand why they are still around.”

Editor Semaaru turned his head inward and spoke in a curt voice.

He was skimming through the comments on the video titled “100 Virtual Reality Capsules Donated.”

The ten-minute video featured the background of the donation from the clan perspective, messages of gratitude from orphanages nationwide, and the martial arts training process conducted over a week with the children.

“How’s the reaction? The view count passed a million earlier.”

Since it was a significant content piece, the view count increased rapidly.

But the rising pace was similar to the compilation video of my cute moments that Saetbyeol uploaded.

What was my cuteness compared to this?

“As always, it’s under constant worship. Da Name God Name King Wang Jjang Name.”

“Was there anyone who disliked it?”

“Why would anyone dislike it? You provided educational opportunities for underprivileged children with your own money. And the trolls will criticize you no matter what you do, so there’s no need to pay too much attention to them.”

“That’s a relief.”

[To Growing Children: Swords, Does the Young Dictator Dream of a Coup?]

In the meantime, I took the time to read the column submitted by the citizen organization.

The term “young dictator” implied that in Korea, my existence was beyond reproach, while the word “coup” expressed the program’s extremism.

Seeing absurd claims that I, brainwashed by Academy education, transferred violence to the non-magic population made me chuckle.

“I don’t think this is worth worrying about. What do you think, Maru oppa?”

“If they keep babbling, we should sue them for defamation.”

And just like that, it seemed the matter would be settled.

Until Seoyuna suddenly barged in through the door, throwing a fit.

“Big brother, buy me a glow sword too!”

Semaaru and I tilted our heads in unison.

“A glow sword? What’s that?”

* * *

[Elementary school kids are running around with swords on their waists, what the…?]

(Photo.jpg)

For a moment, I thought I had time-slipped back to the martial law era with military police.

Two elementary school kids were engaged in a life-or-death duel while surrounding kids clapped; what the hell is going on?

They all had swords that were as tall as they were, not just daggers.

Has common sense just completely changed for everyone but me?

I was so scared I took the picture while trembling.

[Comments]

-Lol, my younger sibling is also asking for a glow sword; so that’s what it looks like!

-From a distance, it really does look fierce, lol.

-That’s a toy called a glow sword, yep.

└ (Author): You call that a toy? It doesn’t look like styrofoam or a wooden sword; it’s just a real sword!

└ Look at that orange handle. It’s obviously plastic!

└ (Author): What does the handle have to do with it?

└ That’s a mana sword that only interacts with other swords but passes through bodies. However, it changes colors with various glow effects, hence the name glow sword.

└ (Author): I can’t believe it, lol. Who designed that mess?

While the media was fiercely attacking the Nonviolent Peace Alliance for opposing martial arts education, a change occurred in society.

People tend to be more attracted to what they are told not to do.

This applies to both adults and children.

The six stances of the Imperial Palace Sword Method could be learned in as little as a day or, at most, three days.

Children from the Jansol Clan who learned swordsmanship showcased their tales of bravery at school.

Some even bought glow swords online and demonstrated for each other.

Then one day, their videos went viral on TikTok.

The Korean Kendo Association, Korean Swordsmanship Association, and the Korean Haidong Kendo Association, which were on the verge of falling silent, showed a quick response by distributing glow swords to stationary shops across the country.

The glow sword is a toy infused with various magic such as light magic, rebound coefficient adjustment, and center of mass adjustment.

In essence, it’s light magic, allowing it to pass through materials, while causing electric interaction amongst similar glow swords, giving the feel of real swords clashing.

The lowest price is 10,000 won, but prices skyrocketed for larger, fancier swords with complex engravings.

“Mom, buy me a glow sword too! All my friends have one!”

“A glow sword? Oh dear… Is this a 10,000-won one?”

“No, no, they said they wouldn’t play with me unless it’s under 20,000 won!”

While Kendo associations felt euphoric, Korean teachers and parents were worried over their children’s trends.

However, criticism of “What do they know of the frog’s tadpole days?” was not rare either.

[Why Adults Don’t Understand Why Glow Swords Are a Big Deal]

(30-Year-Old Toy Sword.jpg)

They used to have ‘alloy material’ toy swords that were ‘18 cm’ long while in elementary school.

What a double standard!

[Comments]

-Did they really give that to elementary students?

-The barbaric era, wow.

-2022 was scary…

-If you jab someone with that, you could really take a life, huh?

-40 years ago, there was a madman bringing BB guns and nunchucks to school.

└ How do you know that…?

-Looking back, glow swords were like divine objects, lol.

-But they are being overly sensitive.

-If we play with BB guns, will it lead to a shooting spree?

-My uncle claims that when he was young, people played with gunpowder guns, balisong, throwing knives, and cutter knives.

The whole world was filled with glow swords.

Even kids who didn’t like physical activity bought them as accessories.

Like a vegan dropped into a world full of carnivores, the Nonviolent Peace Alliance fell into a state of paralysis.

* * *

“Wow, Han Gyeol Kim, you had one too? How much do they cost?”

There was a growing glow sword craze at Seviron Academy as well.

During breaks, the gym was bustling with students.

Instead of issuing a ban, Academy teachers designated specific locations for students to use glow swords by grade.

Third graders shared the northern court of the second gym.

I went to the gym after lunch to teach Yuna swordsmanship.

I found Iharu and Han Gyeol already occupying the space.

“I’m not sure? Wasn’t it around 50,000 won?”

“50,000 won? For a toy sword?!”

Yuna’s eyes widened in shock.

“So what if it’s expensive? This kid always loses to me, hehe.”

“Hey, Iharu, get back here!”

“Nyah! I’m going to eat now.”

Han Gyeol’s glow sword remained white, while Iharu’s sparkled a bright yellow.

It was obvious who had the upper hand just by looking.

“Hey guys, can someone lend me a sword?”

“Na Name, don’t you have a glow sword?”

“No.”

“Here! I’ll lend you mine!”

Iharu passed me the toy and dashed to the cafeteria.

It was definitely several times lighter than an ordinary sword.

“Han Gyeol, aren’t you going?”

“Nope. I keep losing to Iharu, so I’m not hungry. Na Name! Can you teach me how to use a sword?”

“Of course.”

I slid the sword’s handle into my grip and swung it around.

The sword danced around my body, leaving a large circular afterimage.

If this was a real sword, it would make a whooshing sound.

“Wow! Whoa! I want to learn that first!”

Yuna approached with sparkling eyes.

“This is really easy though. You can do it in just ten seconds.”

It wasn’t a special skill; it was just a trick.

I released my grip and used my wrist to snap the sword upwards again.

Repeating this inside and outside allowed for an optical illusion of the sword spinning.

Since they already had some athletic ability, the kids quickly imitated me.

After this, I taught them various basic stances while explaining the principles of sword movement.

“The sword’s speed also changes based on the strike direction. If you swing from above downwards, it speeds up, and conversely, if you swing from below up, it speeds up then slows down. The most crucial point here is that the speed at the impact point needs to be the fastest. So when swinging down, it’s essential to control the sword after the swing, and when swinging up, the critical moment is just before the swing starts.”

Step by step, I corrected their stances and explained the principles of the sword.

Swordsmanship is inherently dull.

Naturally, even wooden swords posed significant injury risks, so knights prioritized physical conditioning above all else.

However, now with virtual reality methods and toys like these, the barrier to entry for swordsmanship seemed to have lowered.

Lunchtime soon ended.

But children unable to shake their longing for glow swords clutched their pencil cases during recess, posing.

“Na Name, am I doing this right? No? Why not?!”

“Bahaha! Who holds a sword like that?”

“Ah, I’m going home to watch online lectures and practice again. Just you wait, Iharu.”

After the fifth period ended, we all prepared to go home together.

More than half of the third to sixth graders strapped glow swords to their waists.

Seeing it all laid out in reality felt strangely odd.

Amidst that, sounds from a loudspeaker came from the Academy’s main gate.

“Seviron Academy must ban violent play culture!”

“Ban it! Ban it! Ban it!”

Sure enough, there was a large banner reading ‘Nonviolent Peace Alliance’ along with about a dozen people chanting slogans.

“Looks like they’re protesting again.”

“Why are they doing it here? Shouldn’t they go to the education office?”

One of the protesters locked eyes with me.

The man in the middle pointed at me and murmured something to those next to him.

Feeling somewhat upset, I immediately took out my phone and handed it to Yuna.

“Hold this.”

“Huh? Why?”

“To record the 53rd lesson on swordplay.”

“Here?”

“Yeah. I’ll borrow your glow sword, Yuna.”

I grinned while holding Yuna’s glow sword.

“Oh, press that triangle button on the right.”

“This one?”

“Yes. That’s the start broadcast button.”

[No Name]

[Just Chatting – 53rd Swordplay of the Imperial Palace Sword Method]

[Broadcast Time – 0:00:03]