The Villains I Taught Became Heroes

7 – I trained you – 3

Among them, the most representative might be this one.

“Have you woken up?”

“Yes.”

The fact that she was already up without needing to be woken in the morning.

With everything prepared for departure, there was no need for the separate provision of jerky, waiting as she was, ready to go.

“Here. Have some.”

I placed the jerky I had been debating whether to throw or not on her palm. Politely, she took it, put it in her mouth, and, along with Sowol, who was sipping water, we went outside. Some guards smiled at us happily as they saw us.

“Miss! Study hard!”

“Go and come back safely, Master!”

We bid them farewell and climbed the mountain.

It’s already been a month since I arrived at the top of the eastern peak.

During that month, Sowol’s stamina had increased day by day, and now she could climb the mountain without panting for breath.

Excellent. It feels rewarding to have diligently nurtured her all this time.

“Now, let’s move on to the next stage.”

“What would that be?”

Wiping off the sweat from practicing cuts and thrusts, Sowol asked. As she fanned herself, sweeping up her pink hair stuck to her fair skin, I seated her.

“What I’m going to teach you next is crucial in combat: the art of reading your opponent’s intent.”

It’s something that comes up during tutorials in games.

Main characters naturally acquire these skills as they progress through the main storyline, but she doesn’t have that luxury. I have to teach her step by step.

“The art of reading intent?”

“Yes. In battle, amidst the boundary of life and death, attacks have two directions: feint and true strike. If you know how to read intent, you can distinguish between them.”

“How do you do that?”

Before she finished speaking, her fist shot out unexpectedly.

Startled, Sowol retreated, and I stopped the punch.

“Why did you dodge?”

“Well… It seemed like you were going to hit me.”

“I stopped my punch. Your evasion could be seen as unnecessary fear.”

“Uh… is that so?”

While Sowol seemed to not fully grasp, I extended my fist again.

Once more, Sowol shook her head, and after stopping the fist in front of her, I lightly pinched Sowol’s nose.

“Ouch!”

“This time, you stopped it again.”

“Well then, Master, give it a try!”

Was it a surge of confidence? Su-wol’s face flushed, and she reached out to me.

An attack devoid of intent.

Well, I can just ignore it. I continued to gaze at it, and Su-wol, with her fist stopped in front of my eyes, opened her mouth wide.

“How did you know?”

“Basically, when people attack, they tend to infuse intent. Reading that intent. That’s the essence of this lesson.”

“It seems difficult.”

I extended my fist again to her, who kept shaking her head. Whether she intended not to dodge this time or resisted, my fist landed squarely on her forehead.

“Ow ow ow!”

“I didn’t hit you hard, but you’re exaggerating. Just now, I attacked with intent. The difference is…”

“The difference is?”

“You’ll get used to it as you keep practicing.”

“Ugh, what is it?”

She grumbled, but with Su-wol’s talent, she should be able to learn it easily.

It’s not such a difficult technique.

I casually clenched my fist, dripping blood, and reached out to her.

“Oops!”

This time, she dodged, and my fist sliced through the air.

Whether it’s luck or her overflowing talent already manifesting… it doesn’t matter; it’s not a bad thing.

“Okay, let’s go again.”

So, for a while, Su-wol and I continued our training.

Perhaps it’s because she possesses abundant talent?

As time passed, I was becoming more precise in distinguishing.

“Do you understand something?”

“When I feel something slightly thrilling, I think Master is really trying to hit me.”

“Yes, that’s reading the intent. Once you master this, you can avoid getting hit and fight against most lower-tier opponents without taking a single blow.”

“Like when you fought against the Skeleton Clan?”

“That’s right.”

I never allowed a single attack from the Skeleton Gang when I fought them, just as she had said, and I overcame the enemies without hesitation.

What I used at that time was an adaptation of reading intentions, directly applying it.

“Skilled individuals transform from emptiness to reality before attacking. If one becomes proficient in this technique, they too can evade it.”

“I see… So, mastering this technique makes one invincible, doesn’t it?”

“It’s not that simple.”

I chuckled and reached out to her. Even as she faced my lively fist without dodging, she received a gentle tap on her forehead, looking puzzled.

“Huh? I didn’t feel anything?”

“The next step of this lesson: achieving unconsciousness. It’s impossible to find someone in this world capable of attacking without even an intention. Even in my case…”

Apart from the final boss, there were a few others.

“Uh… How does one avoid that attack then?”

“That’s in the realm of instincts, difficult to explain in words. The best method is…”

Once again, I extended my fist toward Sowol.

As she didn’t dodge again and got hit once more, causing her cheek to swell, I firmly pressed the swollen area with my finger.

“It’s all about consistent training. Since I’ll keep attacking during our lessons, try to evade them on your own.”

“Uh… I understand.”

From Noble mtl dot com

It’s nice without the sound of grunting.

We continued exchanging hits and avoiding them for quite a while, the sun rising towards midday.

Should we conclude the lesson here today?

As I rose from my spot, Sowol also stood up, dusting off the dirt from her rear. Then, she wiped her sweat-stained face with a towel and flicked her fingers.

“But how did the master become so strong?”

“By employing methods that should not be used.”

“…What do you mean?”

Through efforts akin to scraping bones and vomiting blood, I became stronger by exploiting bugs.

Honestly, despite almost entirely emptying out this unguided adventure in just a year, does it make sense to become a remarkable figure?

Fortunately, this world is based on a game. Hence, the seasoned veterans knew all sorts of bugs.

Of course, I may not be a seasoned veteran, but I’ve delved quite deeply into this game.

Even if I didn’t discover everything myself, I still knew the ins and outs of this world to some extent.

Of course, knowing that didn’t make it easy to come this far.

“…What do you mean by that?”

These bugs pose a danger, the more we use them, the higher the risk of the world collapsing. There’s no need to disclose that unnecessarily.

I smiled at So Wol’s question and affectionately tousled her hair.

“There’s something like that. It’s okay if you don’t know yet.”

***

I want to resemble.

I want to become like that.

Because of that, I couldn’t stop.

Even after returning home after class, I reflected on today’s training.

Sensitivity. To read the opponent’s intentions, I had to heighten my senses.

“Phew…”

So Wol closed her eyes and slowly opened the ones she had been closing while exhaling. Then, she stood up and went outside.

“Father.”

“Oh! My daughter! What’s the matter?”

“It’s about the master…”

“Even the master allowed it, so I looked into that person.”

“Really? What happened?”

“Nothing at all.”

“What?”

Other than the fact that he comes from the eastern region, there was almost nothing about his past that we could find out. There were some incidents related to the church and a few nobles, but they were events that occurred several years ago.

Lee Hyun.

A sudden strong presence in the family.

Although the family was favorable, investigating who he was and what he did was essential.

That’s why we mobilized all the power of the family to investigate, but this was the result.

As if a person had fallen from the sky, So Jung released a heavy sigh.

“Even when I asked the master, he just laughed it off… What are you going to do, will you find out for yourself?”

“…Yes. I understand.”

Do I have to ask Lee Hyun directly?

So Wol remained silent and nodded her head.

The person she wants to resemble.

That’s why she had to know even more.

So Wol emerged from So Jung-yang’s room and headed towards Yi Hyun’s dwelling place.

Yi Hyun’s abode was a small pavilion within the eastern courtyard.

Upon arrival, as always, Yi Hyun was calmly sipping tea, his serene face undisturbed.

“Master.”

“Classes are over for today, right? Ah, do you have somewhere else to go again?”

“If I have somewhere to go, I’ll let you know separately. I hope you’ll come with me when that happens.”

“Because you’re pretty?”

“Yes.”

Smirking, So Wol nodded and gestured toward the spot in front of Yi Hyun.

“May I sit?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

As she sat down, tea was served before her.

A warm red tea emitted steam.

So Wol, glancing at it quietly, fixed her gaze upon Yi Hyun.

“It seems you have something to say.”

“Sometimes when I look at you, Master, it feels like you’re reading my thoughts. Right. I’m curious about something.”

“What is it?”

“Where is Master’s hometown? Does Master have a family? Friends? Goals? And… And…”

She had many questions to ask.

Like releasing accumulated doubts, So Wol inquired, and Yi Hyun merely smiled and listened to the cascade of questions.

“…That’s all.”

“I see.”

“Do you have no intention of answering?”

“If I did, I would have revealed it already.”

It’s natural to want to know about someone you admire.

Yet despite that, Yi Hyun hadn’t revealed anything about himself.

Frustrated by this, So Wol puffed her cheeks like a child her age, and in response, Yi Hyun chuckled, revealing something he pulled from his sleeve.

“This is…”

“A praise sticker. Collect ten and it grants a wish, remember? Collect them well.”

“…”

When he said that, an unnecessary sense of foreboding crept in.

Sowol tightly clenched his fist beneath the table.

“You’re always like this. Always trying to hide and conceal everything.”

“…Alright.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll make it happen. Someday. I’ll make you reveal everything in front of me.”