Leo Kurogami

"Now, I won't claim to be an expert of every weapon in existence," Leo shrugged. "In fact some of you might even be able to use your main weapon better than me.

"But where I excel is in fighting solely with weapons. My fighting style is forged around the various weapon arts I've studied and mastered over the years.

"From Mount Hua to Southern Edge to even some lesser-known dojos, I've learned in countless martial arts sects and schools and honed the craft of wielding weapons to its near perfection…."

The more Leo continued to babble about his accomplishments, the more the cadets listening to him felt enthralled by him.

I had to agree. This guy was charismatic as fuck!

The girls present here were already bewitched by him, but even the boys couldn't help and admire him.

Maybe that's why he was one of the top-ranking members of a huge shadow organization.

Anyway, I think I never explained the lore of martial arts in this era, right? 

Oh, I did?

Let me talk about it a little anyway.

After mana started flowing in the world, people discovered that it was very, very similar to the 'Qi' mentioned in the ancient Chinese martial arts scriptures.

And so, the age of the revival of martial arts began.

Sects were formed and schools were established to spread the knowledge of martial arts by veteran practitioners.

Even duds– the people who were incapable of using mana– started taking a keen interest in it.

And as such, martial arts regained the fame it once held in the ancient past.

Although many known sects of the past were reestablished, only three of them came out on top.

These three sects were hailed as the Three Great Sects— Mount Hua of the North, Wudang of the East, and Shaolin of the South.

Don't worry. I'm not going to talk about this Murim shit for too long. Yes, I don't like Murim either. Okay, maybe a little.

Anyway, my point is, practicing martial arts became a viable career. In fact, some retired soldiers go on to teach martial arts to make a living.

Martial arts can be broadly classified into two categories: Combat Arts and Weapon Arts. 

Combat Arts involve techniques that are designed to help you engage in hand-to-hand combat with your enemy by making you use your body as a weapon.

Movement Arts and Breathing Techniques are subdivisions of Combat Arts.

Weapon Arts, on the other hand, focus on the use of various weapons, such as swords, staffs, nunchucks etc. to defeat an enemy.

Techniques in martial arts are ranked from Lvl. 1 to Lvl. 5, with Lvl. 5 being the strongest.

Each Level is then further divided into three grades: Low, Mid, and High.

Mastery over one's professions, such as Spearman, Archer, Swordsman, Tanker, Assassin, is also divided from Lvl. 1 to Lvl. 5 with the latter being the highest point one can reach in their profession.

It is believed that the more you practice your profession, the higher your profession will level up and the stronger you'll become.

What better way to do it than learning some weapon arts related to your profession, right?

Well, yeah, but the level of difficulty in mastering different weapons can vary. 

Some weapons may be easier to learn and use effectively, while others may require more training and practice to become proficient.

For example, mastering to use a gun would be much easier than mastering to wield a sword.

Not to mention, there are not so many weapon arts for guns while there exist thousands for swords.

And because of that, even if someone has a profession of Lvl. 5 Gunman, they could still be weaker than a Lvl. 3 Swordsman.

Of course, weapons are just tools and the ferocity of their use can vary greatly depending on their wielders.

Anyway, it is also worth noting that talent can also play an important role in how easily someone is able to master their main weapon.

And yes, there are other professions such as Crafter, Alchemist, or Rune Master but they are not considered to be the main professions since they are no help in combat.

The way to level up those professions is essentially the same—work hard, improve, and master your proficiency in them.

…What? Some of you still can't grasp what I'm saying? 

Haa, fine, you'll understand once you see everything I said play out in the story.

For now, I would just like to clear this up: Leo Kurogami is a monster.

In the novel, there were only so many people who were able to fight him head-on. He was called 'The Second Coming of Sword Saint' and 'God of War.'

The reason for those chunni titles? 

It's because there was not a single weapon in existence that he had not at least used once.

He had learned over 500 different weapon arts in over 65 martial arts schools and sects over the world.

He was Lvl. 3-4 in over fifty while Lvl. 5 in twenty different professions. And he was only 35 years old!

I know with that age, he couldn't be considered young, but he wasn't very old either. 

To achieve what he did in his life would be near impossible for most people.

Out of all the weapons he had mastered, his weapon of choice was either a ninjato or a katana.

Heavy emphasis was put on the fact that if he were to use his secret weapon art against you, you are as good as dead.

He was a person no one wanted to have as their enemy.

Unfortunately, the Central Government had just that. They had him as their enemy.

There will be a civil war in 3 years' time, which would later be called the 'War Of Union,' and in that war, this man will be the United Military's enemy.

Sigh… days ahead sure are tough.

Well, he's not my headache. Nero will deal with him when the time comes.

"...So, is that understood?" Leo finally ended his super long speech about weapons this and weapons that and asked his students if everything was clear.

"Yes, sensei!" everyone replied in unison.

"Excellent," Leo nodded and surveyed the crowd of cadets before speaking in a firm voice. "Now, I will assign each of you a weapon art based on your academy ranking and the primary weapon of choice.

"However, if you are already practicing a different weapon art or wish to continue doing so in the future, that is completely fine. But please be aware that this does not excuse you from learning the weapon art that I am assigning to you."

As soon as Leo was done speaking, he stepped down from the stage and started walking up to a cadet one by one.

After walking up to a cadet, he would ask them their rank and main weapon. And after getting the answer, he would take out a thin technique cultivation manual from his dimensional ring and hand it over to them.

"Name, ranking, and primary weapon?"

"Lucas Morningstar. 116969. Bow."

Swoosh— 

"Here you go."

It didn't take long before he reached me and handed me an archery art too.

Following that, in around twenty minutes or so, Leo was done providing manuals to the 200 cadets present here.

With a nonchalant attitude, he walked up to the training hall exit before turning around and shouting, "Follow me. We're going out in the field."

If we had to go out in the field, then why did we walk back here in the first place?!—Is what everyone wanted to ask but we held our tongue and bitterly followed Leo as he trailed out of the training hall.