Lesson 5 — Cut the Falling Rain
Artificial rain begins inside Elsewhere.
Mil must strike only the raindrops that touch a marked circle.
Book line:
"If you can cut rain, you can cut hesitation."
Purpose: Timing and reaction speed.
Mil is already exhausted from the previous challenges, but he knows he still has to complete this one. He thinks it will be extremely difficult, but after training for so long, his reactions have improved greatly. After practicing for an entire month, he successfully masters the technique.
Lesson 6 — The Weight of One Sword (Month 5)
Mil is forced to carry a massive iron blade that he can barely lift.
He trains with it for weeks.
When he returns to his normal sword, it feels completely weightless.
Purpose: Strength without losing speed.
During the first few days, the sword feels impossibly heavy. As the days pass, his body adapts, and eventually he can lift it with ease. When he finally switches back to his normal sword, it feels almost as light as air. It takes him one month to master this lesson.
Lesson 7 — The Thousand Echoes
Mil turns the next page of the Kenjutsu of the Void.
The letters look darker than before.
"Most swordsmen learn to defeat enemies."
"Very few learn to defeat themselves."
"Enter the Hall of Echoes."
A map appears beneath the text.
Far beyond the training grounds stands a gigantic stone gate.
Mil walks for hours before reaching it.
The gate slowly opens by itself.
Inside is an endless hall filled with mirrors.
Thousands of mirrors.
The moment Mil steps inside, the gate slams shut.
Darkness swallows the hall.
Then every mirror lights up at once.
Mil freezes.
Each mirror shows a different version of him:
A weak Mil.
A cowardly Mil.
A dying Mil.
A Mil who abandoned Junyu.
A Mil who betrayed Devil Horns.
A Mil who ran from battle.
A Mil who watched his friends die.
A voice echoes through the hall.
"Destroy every false self."
"Leave one standing."
A sword appears in Mil's hand.
The first reflection steps out of the mirror and attacks.
Mil defeats it easily.
Then another comes.
And another.
And another.
There is no rest.
No food.
No sleep.
Every time he destroys a reflection, two more appear.
Days pass.
Weeks pass.
Mil loses count.
He fights until his arms stop responding.
He fights until his knees collapse.
He fights until he can no longer remember the sound of his own voice.
Sometimes the reflections speak.
"Junyu never needed you."
"You're the weakest member of Devil Horns."
"Go home."
"Die here."
The words hurt more than the swords.
One month later, Mil can barely stand.
Three months later, he has stopped answering the reflections.
Five months later, he realizes something terrifying.
The reflections are becoming stronger because they are feeding on his doubt.
On the fourth month, the final mirror awakens.
It does not attack immediately.
It simply stares at him.
The reflection speaks in Mil's exact voice.
"I am the version of you that survives by abandoning everyone else."
"Kill me, and you lose the instinct to save yourself."
"Spare me, and you lose the instinct to protect others."
Mil lowers his sword.
For the first time in months, he closes his eyes.
He remembers Junyu's speech.
"Train until fear itself disappears from your heart."
Mil opens his eyes and says quietly,
"I don't need to choose between myself and my friends."
"A true swordsman protects both."
The reflection smiles.
Then it shatters on its own.
Every mirror in the hall explodes into light.
The gate opens.
Mil staggers outside.
Six months have passed inside Elsewhere.
Only three days have passed in the real world.
A message appears in the air:
Lesson Completed — The Thousand Echoes
Reward: Void Perception.
The swordsman can now sense killing intent before an attack is launched.
Mil looks back at the hall.
For a brief moment, he sees thousands of reflections watching him from the darkness.
Then the gate closes forever.
As he steps outside, he collapses onto the ground, completely exhausted. He is about to pass out, but he can feel that he has become far stronger than before. That lesson took him four months. He has now spent nine months inside Elsewhere, which equals four and a half days in the real world.
Mil turns to the final page.
Final Lesson — The Swordless Sword (Month 10)
The book disappears.
A final message appears in the air.
"If your strength depends on steel, you are still weak."
Mil is attacked while completely unarmed.
He survives using only footwork, awareness, and timing.
At the end of the trial, a new sword appears before him.
Name: Yoru no Kiba (Fang of the Night).
The blade is black, silent, and unnaturally sharp.
Final teaching:
"The strongest swordsman is not the one who swings hardest."
"He is the one whose opponent realizes he has been defeated only after the cut has already been made."
Just as Mil is about to leave Elsewhere, the ground begins to shake.
A gigantic dragon emerges from the darkness.
The dragon roars, shaking the entire realm.
But Mil has already collapsed from exhaustion.
The dragon slowly lowers its head.
Its jaws open.
It is about to devour him.