The Heavenly Demon Teaches (2)

Judging by how well you can see this, your eyes don’t seem that bad after all. Hmm.

“Come at me again. This time, I shall teach you the fundamentals of the spearman.”

“Yes!”

Once again, Enry chose to charge forward. Was that some kind of habit of his, using that technique right from the start? Since the attack’s intent was so obvious, blocking it was easy. I timed it perfectly and struck his thigh with the shaft of my spear. I calculated the blow with exquisite precision—enough force to stop his movement without knocking him down.

“Enry. This distance right here is the true range of the spear. A spearman must value this distance more than his own life.”

The reason a spear is easy to learn but difficult to master lies exactly in this principle. Because of its length, every single movement is large and slow. Once an opponent closes the distance and begins to press in, escaping from within that range becomes incredibly difficult. For a spear wielder, yielding even an inch of distance is tantamount to defeat.

“What I will teach you today is how to maintain this distance.”

“Just that?”

Just that? The method of maintaining proper distance contained the most important and profound truths for any spearman. Even I, who was not a specialized spear user, had not fully grasped all its principles, yet he dared to call it “just that.” It was probably because Enry knew nothing about martial arts. Well, once he experienced it himself, he would naturally start wailing. I had done the same back in the day.

“Aren’t you going to teach me any techniques?”

“There is no need. Using the Correction System is more than enough.”

No matter how refined a technique one possessed, without a solid foundation it was worse than useless. What needed to be honed was the basics.

“But the techniques from the Correction System are so predictable.”

I froze for a moment, unable to understand what Enry was saying.

“Explain yourself more clearly.”

“Well, you see…”

The Correction System merely reproduced recorded movements. Once someone grew familiar with the game, they could apparently predict everything just from the preliminary motions of an opponent using the system. That was why Apis players gradually reduced their reliance on the Correction System, making the ability to execute techniques without it their top priority. Or so Enry explained.

To me, it sounded like utter nonsense on a grand scale. No matter how much you polished a weapon, if the person wielding it was mediocre, the weapon would be mediocre too. Rather than explaining this with words, showing him would be better.

“Enry. Can you watch me fight against opponents in ranked games?”

“Sure. Just accept my friend request.”

At Enry’s request, I had to admit that I didn’t know much about the game’s systems. What in the world was a friend request? Ah, right. I had to go into something called the notification window… Huh? Why were there so many messages sent to me? And most of them were from people I had never seen before. I would check them later. For now, teaching Enry was more urgent.

After accepting the friend request, I left the training ground and queued for ranked games. It didn’t take long for an opponent to be decided. My opponent was a fighter with red skin. I remembered being impressed by how nimble his movements were despite his massive build.

“Oh? Are you the famous Hwaryeong who plays as the Heavenly Demon?”

“Indeed.”

Ever since my dispute with Decay, many people recognized me the moment they saw my name. Their reactions were varied and quite entertaining. In Murim, people either tried to kill me or looked at me with reverence—only those two options.

“You play Dragon Hunter too?”

“This is my first time. I came to practice.”

“Ah, I see.”

A spark of determination lit up in the fighter’s eyes. His thoughts were obvious. He planned to take advantage of my inexperience to defeat me. Admirable spirit, but not a very realistic one.

The moment the match started, the fighter moved his feet, clearly intending to close the distance quickly. A correct and efficient choice. However, it was far too hasty. Full of openings, wasn’t it?

When I decided to strike his thigh with the spear shaft, my body moved ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on its own. The fighter who had his charge blocked rolled across the ground. The distance between us remained exactly the same.

Now then, Enry. I shall show you just how vicious the Correction System you called predictable can become when used properly.

“Isn’t this cowardly?!”

“Cowardly, you say? That is high praise. I thank you.”

When Ara smiled, the Orc bit his lip hard. It was obvious he was desperately holding back a stream of curses.

Watching Ara fight through spectating, Enry could only feel admiration. Right now, Ara had the Correction System pulled to its maximum and was completely toying with the Red Orc.

Enry had played Dragon Hunter for several years. Therefore, he knew better than anyone what techniques the class used when relying on the Correction System. The Red Orc probably knew them too. Dragon Hunter was an easy and powerful class with a large player base, which meant its counters were extremely well-documented. Since the Orc had reached Platinum, he must have known every technique.

Yet despite that, the Red Orc could do nothing but dance to Ara’s tune. It was fascinating.

The techniques Ara was using right now were ones Enry could also perform. But if asked whether he could fight like her, he would have to answer no. The same techniques could produce such vastly different results depending on how they were executed. So this was what true mastery looked like.

Before long, the time limit ended. Until the very end, Ara had not allowed even a single successful attack. The defeated Red Orc flew into a rage and began throwing a tantrum, but Ara simply thanked him for the compliment and exited the game.

“Enry. What do you think?”

Her tone was overflowing with confidence, bordering on arrogance, yet it suited the current Ara perfectly. Because at that moment, she truly looked like the Heavenly Demon—even though her character and appearance had completely changed.

“Do you still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠believe that techniques are more important than fundamentals?”

Enry smiled and shook his head. After seeing the importance of fundamentals demonstrated so clearly right before his eyes, how could he possibly deny it?

“Then let us begin the lesson in earnest.”

“Enry. The first method of maintaining distance is to rob your opponent of their mobility.”

I hadn’t simply focused on killing my opponents while playing ranked games in Apis. At first I had sought quick victories, but that soon became boring. As a way to pass the time, I had begun analyzing how Apis’s combat system worked.

After all, Apis was just a game. There was no such thing as severed arms, flying legs, or shattered joints dangling uselessly. Such sights would be far too graphic for people living in the modern world, so it was only natural.

However, if you dealt sufficient damage to a specific body part, you could slow down your opponent’s movements. In other words, damaging the legs made it possible to steal their mobility.

“The ways an opponent can close distance are limited. Aim for their legs at those moments. Disrupt their movement. Make them constantly aware of your spear.”

It didn’t matter if it seemed obvious. Making them conscious of leg attacks was what mattered. From that point on, the opponent would no longer be able to act boldly. They would start thinking about your attacks. And once they began thinking, their movements would naturally become slower than when they charged in mindlessly.

“Once hesitation appears in your opponent’s movements, it is time to harass them with small, repeated attacks. Maintain the distance of your long spear and stab at them. If they retreat, take one step back with them and wait for them to approach again. Never advance first. It is the opponent who must break through. There is no reason for you to close the distance.”

Be cowardly. Be petty. Continue until curses spill from your opponent’s mouth. Never grow impatient. Impatience never brings good results in any situation.

“These are the two things I will teach you today.”

If he mastered just these two properly, he would never lose to those Gold-ranked children. The players there did have some thoughts of their own, but the moment their intent became clouded, they turned into moths that flew straight into defeat.

“In other words, we will be spending the entire day today solely on learning these two things.”

Well now. In my life as the Heavenly Demon, how many times had I given instruction to others? There was no clumsiness in my teaching, so he could rest easy. There was also no need to worry that he might not be able to learn it properly. After all, it was not his mind that would be learning—it was his body.

When I smiled, Enry for some reason took a step back. Why? That was clearly the benevolent smile of a master.

Baek Ara seemed like an entirely different species of person. When he had watched her suppress Decay, Enry had simply thought she was incredibly skilled at playing the Heavenly Demon. But he had been wrong. She was simply good at fighting.

During the ten-minute spar that began with her saying “Come at me so I can gauge your skill,” Ara hadn’t moved a single step. She responded to every one of Enry’s attacks without shifting her feet even once. It went without saying that she hadn’t taken a single scratch.

To Enry, who was facing her, it felt as if she had entered his mind and was reading all his thoughts. What surprised him even more was that her teaching ability was just as outstanding as her fighting ability.

When Ara first said she wouldn’t teach him any techniques, Enry had been shocked. Everyone who had taught him before had started by telling him to gradually reduce his reliance on the Correction System. Unfortunately, Enry had no talent for executing techniques on his own. He had worked hard, but he could never meet people’s expectations. How many such stagnant, ultimately abandoned lessons had there been?

But Ara was different. She said that fundamentals as a spearman were far more important than techniques. That the Correction System was enough for techniques. At first Enry had been skeptical, but after she showed him the results right before his eyes, he had no choice but to believe her.

The problem was that those “fundamentals” were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠incredibly difficult. The two things Ara had boldly declared she would teach today were, in reality, three.

The distance of the spearman.

Steal your opponent’s mobility to maintain distance.

Once the opponent stiffens, harass them with small attacks.

On the surface they didn’t sound difficult, but after receiving the lesson with his own body, Enry realized these were not simple matters at all.

“Huk… Heuk…”

Even though it was a body inside VR, it was so exhausting he felt like he was going to die. His mind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had gone completely blank. No thoughts came to him at all. He was simply desperate to follow Ara’s movements.

“What are you doing? Come at me quickly.”

“Can’t we… take a little… break?”

Watching Ara approach at a leisurely pace, Enry thought she was like a demon. The lesson that had started lightly continued until late into the night. When Ara finally let him go, Enry collapsed face-first into his pillow without even washing up.

And the next day.