The Villains I Taught Became Heroes

5 – The Training Commenced – 1

Despite having a commendation sticker attached, Sowol rarely managed to withstand my sword.

After missing the sword several times and tightly clenching her small palm, she finally sighed.

“What do you want me to do with this?!”

“Well.”

“Either teach me the method or say something like that…”

Her protruding lips were truly a pout.

I should offer a carrot before she gets even poutier.

Approaching Sowol, I placed my hand on her pinkish hair.

“There are two reasons why you can’t block my attacks. First, because your strength is lacking.”

“Well…”

No matter how talented Sowol was, the fundamental difference in physical strength could never be ignored. So, it could be said that her inability to block my attacks was somewhat expected.

“To bridge that gap, what you need is mana.”

“Mana?”

“Yeah. It’s the power also known as magical power.”

“Isn’t mana used only for casting spells?”

“When you reach a certain level, even using your body requires mana. See.”

I raised my wooden sword and moved to a nearby rock.

Then, I struck the rock with the wooden sword, but naturally, the sword just bounced off the rock.

“Now, if you infuse mana here…”

From now on, it’s the real deal.

With a proper stance, I swung the wooden sword, and at the same time, the rock was neatly sliced like tofu.

Perhaps due to witnessing my skill in cutting rocks with a wooden sword, Sowol’s eyes sparkled.

“This time, I infused mana. When you reach a certain level, you can imbue mana into weapons like this, and it’s called ‘aura.'”

“Amazing! Can I do it too?”

“Of course.”

Essentially, mana is a power that everyone possesses. Depending on whether you realize it or not, it’s different, but with Sowol’s talent, it should be easily achievable.

“Now, sit there.”

I’m going to teach her an amazing training method from now on.

Quietly sitting behind Sowol as she followed my instructions, I placed my hand on top of her head and infused her with the mana inside me.

“Ugh?!”

Moans of pain escaped from Sowol’s lips, suggesting that she was experiencing agony.

While ordinary people might not endure this and would likely faint, Sowol was different.

Her abundant talent wasn’t resisting the magic I poured but rather accepting it, guiding and drawing upon the magic within her own body.

Naturally, it melded with my magic, creating a path for the flow of magic. Sensing this, I halted the magic I was pouring.

Nevertheless, the magic within Sowol continued to rotate rapidly, gradually corroding her body.

“Continue breathing and accept the natural magic around you. This will unite your body with nature. It’s called achieving oneness with the elements.”

“…”

There was no response. She was absorbed in the flow of magic, lost in a trance.

Truly remarkable talent.

If it continues like this, I can teach her everything within a year or two and then leave.

“Huuum…”

After a while lost in the trance, Sowol exhaled a heavy sigh, snapping back to reality.

This should be enough for her to grasp magic, right? I handed her the wooden sword again.

“Now, do you think you can withstand it?”

Sowol nodded, replacing words with a gesture.

Different from before.

With a serene yet powerful aura, like a smoothly flowing mighty river, Sowol faced me as I swung the wooden sword.

-Clang!

This time was indeed different from the previous attempts. Though she staggered a bit, she effectively blocked my attack.

“Good. From now on, the goal is to maintain the magic continuously and continue the training.”

From Noble mtl dot com

“…Got it. Sir.”

“Well, now that I’ve taught you this much, you can start calling me master, right?”

In response to my jest, Sowol just tilted her head slowly.

What an expensive one she is.

…

…

“Excuse me? You’re saying you’ll take Sowol for subjugation?”

“Yes.”

When I told Sojoong-yang that I would involve Sowol in the expedition against the Skull Gang this time, her reaction was as expected.

Looking surprised, she began to look around with a muffled voice.

Of course, it was a natural reaction.

The Skull Gang was much larger than one would think of as a mere group of thieves. That’s why they hadn’t sought help from the lord of the Eastern Peak.

The implication was that this expedition involved a dangerous battle, and it wouldn’t be easy for any father to readily agree to take his daughter along, especially when she herself expressed a negative disposition.

Despite showing reluctance, Sojoong-yang couldn’t refuse. After all, opportunities for such private lessons were not so common. You had to seize them when you could.

“Becoming the owner of a large gang means understanding its weight.”

“Weight…”

“The weight of a person. I believe one must accurately understand the weight of life and death to operate a gang properly.”

When running a gang, killing someone was inevitably part of the job. In addition to dealing with thieves encountered during operations, there was also the need to eliminate those who interfered with the gang’s operations.

The fate of the gang was determined by the decisions made at such times.

Understanding the weight of life and death accurately from a young age would be a great help later on. To persuade her, I argued that experiencing it firsthand in this expedition would be beneficial for her future.

“But… isn’t it too early…?”

“Parents tend to think their children will always be children.”

Of course, she was still a child in reality. Still, someone like Sowol should be fine.

“Sigh… I understand. Then, I hope my daughter will be well taken care of by you, sir.”

“Thank you.”

Good. It’s settled.

Sojoong-yang didn’t seem entirely comfortable with the decision, but she couldn’t outright reject my opinion either. Anyway, she also wished for her daughter’s well-being.

He knew that this opportunity was a chance for her to grow.

After obtaining permission, Sowol, who had been waiting outside, approached me. I nodded in response to her questioning gaze, and she clenched her fist slightly.

“Is it okay?”

“Yes. I’m a bit excited.”

Most cutthroats felt a certain thrill from their first kill.

But what mattered most was…

“I know. It’s not something to take lightly, right?”

“Sure. Killing someone, saving someone. It gets complicated when you delve too deep into it.”

Detachment. Detachment is important.

I reached out my hand to stroke Sowol’s head. The lad, twisting his head away from my hand, fell silent for a moment before asking, “How were you in the beginning?”

“Me?”

It was when I first committed murder.

After coming to this world, I killed quite a lot to grow stronger.

There were those aiming for what I needed immediately and those hiding where I needed to be.

Besides them, there were countless others who needed to be killed.

What did I think when I killed them?

“…I don’t think I had many thoughts.”

“Then, sir, do you have a talent for it?”

I couldn’t deny that.

Instead of answering, I walked forward.

The next night. The troops heading for Mount Wola were dressed uniformly in black attire. Only the crimson symbols etched on their arms subtly emerged in the darkness to distinguish friend from foe.

“Then we’ll take the vanguard.”

This was the plan.

While the soldiers of the lord diverted the attention of the Skull Clan near Mount Wola, the warriors from the East would attack from behind to create chaos among the enemies.

And in that process, I would bring down the Skull Warrior, Rungbit.

That was the essence of this operation.

I looked at Sowol beside me. I was supposed to protect Sowol against the formidable enemy, the Skull Warrior Rungbit, but I wasn’t particularly worried.

“Let’s begin, then.”

When the precious young man at the front raised his hand, the members of the East, dressed in black, started moving.

It was when we cautiously traversed the rear of Mount Wola, approaching the Skull Clan’s hideout.

– Aaaaah!!

It began.

As the lord’s soldiers shouted and launched their attack from the foot of the mountain, the Skull Clan members inside began to react.

Naturally, the defense in the rear weakened, creating an opening for us to enter.

“We’re going in.”

The warriors holding hooked ropes threw them over the parapet.

And quickly went up the ladder and started going down.

“What the hell?!”

Oh no, I’ve been caught.

I quickly stepped on the ladder and jumped up, grabbing the man’s neck before looking around.

There it was.

A back door reserved for emergencies.

I ran towards it and opened the latch of the door.

As the door opened, I heard shouts as the warriors from the eastern room quickly entered.

“We are under attack from the rear!”

“It’s Yang Dong-i! It’s Yang Dong-i!!”

Those brats. They noticed so quickly.

“You, Master!!”

“Yes. I got it. Sowol, come with me.”

“Yes.”

Sowol, who was near Sojongyang, ran towards me.

With her by my side, I raised my sword against the approaching skeletal members.

“Lord of Fire.”

A massive flame burst from the tip of the sword, engulfing the skeleton warriors and turning them to ashes.

As the ones who couldn’t even scream burned to death, I said to Sowol.

“This is the boundary between life and death. The tutoring session starts now.”

“What… should I do?”

In response to Sowol tightly gripping her sword, I aimed my sword at the approaching enemies.

“We have to survive.”