What is the Star's Name?
To put it in terms of martial arts, it's similar to the title of Sword Saint (劍聖). Of course, there's a subtle difference in that the character used is 'Star' (星) instead of 'Holy' (聖), but the essence remains the same.
It's a title bestowed upon ten individuals in each field who have reached, or will reach in the future, an insurmountable level of mastery.
That is the Star's Name.
Despite the existence of the Hunter Ranking, which solely reflects achievements, why is this vague and uncertain concept, closer to observing future potential, officially recognized?
It's because the one who selects the Star's Name is the omniscient god Grimnir, and at the same time, those individuals have always proven their abilities. Thus, the Star's Name is acknowledged as a form of authority.
The easiest example to understand is Kim Hyun-soo, the Breaking Star (破星). On his twentieth birthday, he received the Star's Name from Grimnir and within just two years, he rose to rank 57 in Korea, a nation considered a powerhouse in the Hunter world. At that point, Kim Hyun-soo's name was practically legendary.
He shattered the shell of the 'Radiant Turtle,' known for its adamantium-like strength, and even cleared a B-rank Gate single-handedly.
Despite engaging in reckless acts as if he had a surplus of lives, he maintained an attitude of simply doing what needed to be done, making him undeniably beloved.
His achievements silenced the other Hunters who were envious of the unknown Hunter. Even the previously silent omniscient god Grimnir, upon witnessing the man's exploits, issued a single oracle:
"It was a decision based on future potential."
No wonder the number of believers in the omniscient god increased.
So, what does the Star's Name have to do with the current situation? Quite a lot, actually.
Ultimately, the Star's Name is like a special brand or a certified check issued by the omniscient god. Interestingly, for the sake of anonymity, it's said that permission is always sought from the individual before revealing their name.
Due to this anonymity, about half of the Sword Stars* names remain vacant. Except for the 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 10th, all other names are hidden. [T/N: 10 Stars in the fields of swords]
The names of the Hammer Stars are mostly revealed. Kim Hyun-soo is 9th. Although he's towards the end, it doesn't mean he's the weakest among the Hammer Stars. Discussing the strength of force only applies to the top 3, and it's said that there are separate criteria for ranks 4 to 10.
The Fist Star names are the most secretive. 3rd place, Fist King Hyuk Mu-ryun, a teacher at the Harmony Academy, is the only one who has revealed his name.
There are also Spear Stars and other weapon categories, but there's no need to explain them since they're not relevant here.
Two teachers who received the Star's Name. Yet, there's one teacher with a higher position than both of them. Moreover, they didn't originally hold that position; all three of them joined at the same time.
Yes, it's Myriad Sword Yuri.
That old man with the appearance of a boy is one of the ten Sword Stars. The Seventh Sword. It was the same in his past life and it remains so now.
Yuri starts revealing his name as a Sword Star about five years later.
A young man who appears to have just graduated from the academy emerges and begins wreaking havoc everywhere.
A man, frustrated by the destruction of his clan, captures the young man. Naturally, he was afraid of the one who single-handedly destroyed his clan, so he inquired as politely as possible. Later, the man revealed to a reporter the reason behind the young man's rampage.
[Human trafficking. If you're involved, you're dead too. Choose the group you entrust your body to carefully.]
Ultimately, it was revealed that every place, group, or individual he targeted was involved in such inhumane crimes, and the name of the Sword Star, which had been hidden within the Temple of Grimnir, was finally revealed.
That was the Seventh Sword, Yuri, one of the Ten Sword Stars.
As mentioned before, he was an old monster who had reached the state of reverse aging and lived for over a hundred years.
The man had collected swordsmanship throughout his life.
Both during his time on the Alkeion continent and now in this different world.
He was truly delighted when he heard that a dimension that had renamed itself as Murim had migrated. They were exceptional martial artists, making their swordsmanship truly worth experiencing.
Of course, he knew that those who had established their own schools of swordsmanship were reluctant to share their techniques with outsiders, so he adjusted his approach accordingly.
In any case, his goal was to cross swords. Therefore, even martial artists filled with a thirst for victory eventually ended up facing Yuri in a duel.
He defeated the Sword Demon. He also crossed swords with the head of the Namgung family, the Azure Sky Sword King. When he was asked to teach his son, the current head of the family, Namgung Mu, he also dueled with him. He even experienced the Tang family's hidden blade techniques. And he crossed swords with the Knight Commander of the Great Elven Kingdom, who had now left his homeland.
All of them were excellent swordsmanship styles, each with its own unique characteristics.
Myriad Sword.
The man finally mastered all types of Swords. Daggers, chain swords, short swords, long swords, greatswords, rapiers, and more.
He had achieved his goal of mastering everything that could be called a sword and collecting all the swordsmanship techniques he could imagine. However, after accomplishing this grand objective, he was occasionally overcome with boredom.
During such times, the man would take on disciples. He found new inspiration in nurturing his students. That's why he accepted the academy's offer. He thought, "There must be some talent worth training in a place like that," and…
Yuri couldn't help but smile at how perfectly his expectations had been met.
4:00 AM.
It was a time when even roosters would wake up, check their smartphones, and think, "Oh, it's not time to crow yet. I should sleep a little longer," before turning over.
Yeon-woo rubbed his sleepy eyes and sat up. They would at least give him time to shower before class, right? He put his uniform in his bag and changed into the martial arts uniform provided by the academy.
Ah, this is called a tracksuit.
He headed towards the back mountain. Come to think of it, since the dormitory was on a mountain, it should be called the next mountain over. The exact location was the same place he had visited on the day of admission.
As Yeon-woo climbed the front yard and the hill, panting, he saw a black-haired delinquent youth smoking cigarettes.
Gasp! Even though I'm not the most mature person, I couldn't just ignore such a sight. Especially if he looks like he's only around twelve years old!
"Would you like to give me one too?"
"You've arrived."
"Headmaster, you smoke?"
"Yes. Want one?"
"Really? Of course, I'll take it if you're offering."
"Stop it. If a kid like you does this, your training efficiency will drop. Do it later when you're… say, a Sword Master or something. Then, no one can say anything no matter what you do."
"Damn it."
I thought he was going to give me a cigarette, but instead, it was "Don't do things like this." Even if I consider my past life, I'm forty… but then I realized that Yuri has lived at least three times longer than me.
