The Villains I Taught Became Heroes

Ever since the battle against the Skeleton Crew, my position in the Eastern Trading Company had changed, and so did Sowol’s attitude towards me.

The most representative example of this change? Here it comes!

“Did you wake up?”

“Yes.”

The fact that I no longer needed to wake her up in the morning because she would get up on her own. She was already all ready to go, so I didn’t even have to pull out the jerky I had prepared separately.

“Here. Eat up.”

I hesitated for a moment, but then tossed the jerky into her palm. Sowol, politely accepting it, chewed while we stepped outside, where a few warriors smiled warmly at us.

“Young lady! Study hard!”

“Have a good time! Master!”

With their send-off, we ascended the mountain.

It had already been a month since I arrived at the Eastern Trading Company.

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

Impressive! All that hard work really paid off.

“Let’s move on to the next step.”

“What is it?”

Wiping the sweat off from practicing slashes and thrusts, Sowol asked. As she pushed her pink hair away from her fair skin and fanned herself, I sat her down.

“What I’m going to teach you now is the most important skill in battle: reading the intent to attack.”

This is something that comes up in the tutorial of games.

Main character-level characters naturally acquire this skill as they progress through the main story, but since she doesn’t have any of that, I have to teach her step by step.

“Reading the intent to attack?”

“Exactly. In a battle, there are two directions of attack: false strike and real strike. If you can read the intent, you can distinguish between them.”

“How do I do that?”

As soon as she finished speaking, I thrust my fist forward.

Startled, Sowol stepped back, and I stopped my fist.

“Why did you dodge?”

“Because… it seemed like I would get hit.”

“I stopped my fist. You dodged because you were already scared.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Not fully understanding, Sowol tilted her head as I thrust my fist again. This time, she shook her head, and I stopped my punch just before her face, pinching her nose lightly.

“Ouch!”

“I stopped again.”

“Then let me try, Master!”

Did she get competitive? Sowol blushed and reached out her hand.

That attack didn’t have any intent.

So I just ignored it. I stared at her, and Sowol opened her mouth while keeping her fist in front of me.

“How did you know?”

“Basically, when a person attacks, they carry intent with them. Reading that intent is the foundation of this class.”

“It’s hard.”

Though she kept tilting her head, I threw a punch again. This time, she didn’t dodge, but my fist landed a light tap on her forehead.

“Ouch ouch ouch!”

“I didn’t hit hard, yet you’re acting like it hurts. That time, I attacked with intent. The difference is…”

“What difference?”

“You’ll get the hang of it with practice.”

“Come on! What does that even mean?”

She grumbled, but with her talent, I was confident she could master it.

It’s not that hard of a skill, after all.

I lightly clenched my fist and stretched my arm toward her.

“Yikes!”

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

Maybe it was luck or her overflowing talent showing up already… but hey, it’s not a bad thing.

“Okay. Again.”

And so we continued training for a while.

Is it because she has overflowing talent?

With time, she was getting better at distinguishing the attacks.

“Do you feel anything?”

“When I feel something thrilling, I think that’s when Master is really trying to hit me.”

“Exactly! That’s how you read the intent. Once you master this, you can avoid most amateur attacks without ever getting hit.”

“Just like when you fought the Skeleton Crew?”

“Yep.”

As she said, I didn’t let a single attack hit me during the fight with the Skeleton Crew.

What I used back then was precisely the application of reading intent.

“Some skilled opponents switch from false to real attacks. Once you get used to this technique, you’ll be able to dodge those too.”

“I see… So if I master this technique, I’ll be invincible?”

“Not a chance.”

I chuckled and reached out to her. Sowol, smiling and not dodging even after seeing my fist, looked puzzled after I tapped her forehead.

“Huh? I didn’t feel anything?”

“This lesson’s next step: achieving no thoughts. There are those who can attack without any intent at all. Just look at me…”

And the final boss and a few others too.

“How do I avoid those attacks?”

“This also falls into instinct, so it’s hard to explain in words. The best way is…”

I threw my fist at Sowol again.

This time, she didn’t dodge and got hit again, puffing out her cheeks, so I poked her inflated white cheeks with my finger.

“Only consistent training will help. I’ll keep attacking during class, so just try to dodge well.”

“Ugh… got it.”

I like that she didn’t grumble anymore.

After some time of hitting and dodging each other in class, the sun was already high in the sky.

Should we call it a day?

As I stood up, Sowol got up too and brushed off the dirt from her rear.

Then she wiped her sweat-streaked face with a towel and snapped her fingers.

“By the way, how did you become so strong, Master?”

“I got strong by using methods I shouldn’t have.”

“…Huh?”

Along with painstaking effort that felt like cutting bones and spitting blood, I got strong using bugs.

Honestly, even though I’ve absorbed all the opportunities available, does it make sense to become a top-tier fighter in just a year?

Fortunately, this world is based on a game, so plenty of stagnant players knew all sorts of bugs.

Of course, I’m not a stagnant player, but I’ve played this game enough.

Even if I didn’t find them myself, I knew about the loopholes in this world.

Though just knowing that didn’t mean getting here was easy.

“…What do you mean?”

Using these bugs raises the risk of the world breaking, so there’s no need to tell her about them.

I laughed at Sowol’s question and then ruffled her hair.

“Such things exist. You don’t have to know yet.”

*

I want to be like that.

I want to be like him.

That’s why I couldn’t stop.

Even after classes ended and I got home, I reflected on the training I had learned today.

Senses. To read the opponent’s intent, I had to make my five senses more sensitive.

“Huu…”

Closing her eyes and exhaling, Sowol slowly opened them again. She stood up and stepped outside.

“Dad.”

“Oh! My daughter! What’s wrong?”

“I want to talk about Master…”

“Actually, this Master has given permission for a little investigation on him.”

“Really? What did you find out?”

“Nothing at all.”

“Excuse me?”

“Aside from being from the Eastern region, there was almost nothing I could find about him. He’s got ties to the church and a few noble families, but that’s just recent, within a year or two.”

Lee Hyun.

A strong presence that suddenly appeared in the family.

While he’s friendly toward the family, it was essential to investigate who he is and what he does.

So, we mobilized all strengths of the family to investigate, yet this was the result.

He sounded like someone who dropped from the sky, and Sowol released a heavy sigh.

“When I asked the Master, he just smiled back… Why don’t you go and find out for yourself?”

“…Okay.”

So I have to directly ask Lee Hyun.

Sowol nodded after a moment of silence.

He is someone I want to emulate.

That’s why I needed to know more about him.

Sowol stepped out of her room and headed to where Lee Hyun was staying.

Lee Hyun’s place was a small house in the inner courtyard of the Eastern Trading Company.

After passing through the garden, she arrived at her destination, where Lee Hyun was sipping tea with his usual calm demeanor.

“Master.”

“The class ended for today, didn’t it? Ah, do you have something else to do?”

“I’ll let you know when I have something to go out for. I’d like you to come with me then.”

“You’re asking because you’re pretty?”

“Yes.”

Sowol nodded with a slight smile and pointed to the empty seat across from Lee Hyun.

“May I sit?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

As she sat down, tea was brought to her.

The red tea was steaming warmly.

Staring blankly at it, Sowol turned her gaze toward Lee Hyun.

“You seem to have something to say?”

“I sometimes feel like you read my thoughts, Master. That’s right. I have some questions.”

“What are they?”

“Where is your hometown? Do you have family? Friends? Do you have any goals? And… and…”

There were so many questions she wanted to ask.

Pouring out the doubts she had all along, Sowol asked, while Lee Hyun simply smiled, listening to her flood of inquiries.

“…That’s all.”

“I see.”

“Are you not going to answer me?”

“If I had intended to, I would have revealed it first, right?”

Wanting to know more about the person she admired was natural.

Yet, Lee Hyun didn’t share a single thing about himself.

Frustrated, Sowol puffed her cheeks like a child her age, and Lee Hyun, grinning at her, revealed something he had taken from his sleeve.

“What’s that…?”

“A compliment sticker. If you collect ten, your wish will be granted, remember? So collect them well.”

“……”

Him saying that only made her more competitive.

Sowol clenched her fist under the table.

‘You’re always like this, always hiding everything and trying to keep it secret.’

“…Alright.”

‘Then I’ll make it happen. Someday, I’ll make you show everything in front of me.’

---