Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: About My Disciple Being a Genius (5)
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Three days.
That was the time it took to establish the Thunder Dragon Swordsmanship. The Thunder Dragon Swordsmanship consists of a total of five forms. The last one, the Fifth Strike, is a secret technique that requires staking your own life to use.
This was the outline of the Thunder Dragon Swordsmanship I'd established. Of course, it was nothing more than a shallow trick. But since it required staking your life, I couldn't demonstrate it myself, could I?
On top of that, Helia had already mastered the First Strike, Thunder Dragon Fang. So all I had to do now was create three more. It was obviously a shallow trick. But right now, even that desperate ploy felt essential.
'Have you been training this whole time?'
'Yes! Are you going to praise me, perhaps?'
Who would've thought that during the three days I spent establishing the Thunder Dragon Swordsmanship, she hadn't slept a wink and had kept practicing Thunder Dragon Fang? I was so shocked by her beyond-imaginative obsession that I hurriedly stopped her.
'...Excess is just as bad as deficiency.'
'As expected of Master! I've learned a valuable lesson!'
'???'
And just like that, I'd somehow earned her admiration again. Hey, no, stop that. I'm just the Time Stop Breeding Uncle, you know? Please, just ignore me! I screamed internally.
Of course, my inner screams didn't reach her. In any case, I took special measures. Under the pretext of personally training her, I started keeping Helia by my side to monitor her.
"Master! I've chopped all the firewood!"
"Good work. Now eat your meal."
"Yes! Thank you, I'll eat heartily!"
Of course, my so-called training consisted of nothing but chores like washing dishes, cooking rice, and chopping wood! In truth, this was a common training method in wuxia tales. Naturally, I had no idea if it actually worked.
But if I kept her at these boring tasks? Surely she'd lose interest in the Thunder Dragon Swordsmanship on her own. That was my hope. Yet Helia didn't bat an eye.
On the contrary, she always came running with a smile whenever I called. It had only been about a fortnight, yet her body was already developing impressively toned muscles. I clicked my tongue in amazement.
This wasn't a physique you could build in a mere fortnight. Her freakish stamina from before was one thing, but could physical growth itself fall under the realm of talent too? Talk about broken.
"It's Helia. No interest in the weak."
"You're weak. Like a bug."
"No more interest. Die."
Well, Helia was always counted among the game's top powerhouses from the start. In fact, she didn't properly join the party until the mid-game.
Her specs outshone any character I'd grinded up until then. That sparked rumors of the devs blatantly favoritism toward her.
"Fuck."
"Master?"
"Nothing."
The curse slipped out before I knew it. Memories I'd buried deep in my mind had resurfaced. The other heroines were tough too, but the Helia route was notoriously brutal.
"Disappointing."
"Don't touch my body, you trash!!"
"Sorry it came to this. But I need power."
Mess up a choice, and Helia ditches the protagonist—not to mention cases where she'd straight-up kill him or get brainwashed into an enemy.
But conquer all those ordeals and flag her somehow? Her attitude flips dramatically. Gamers call it going "[dere]."
"You're strong. Far stronger than me."
"Never thought I'd crave someone else's shoulder. But why? I'm not even mad. If anything..."
"Yeah, I can trust you with everything."
Dere meant the heroine warming up to the protagonist. She was so damn cute—I got why fans obsessed over this tsundere archetype.
"You, who got me this excited... it's your fault."
"Don't resist. Physically, I'm superior."
"Ugh! W-Wait...!! Th-This sensation is my first...!!!"
"...You were too rough. I told you it was my first time...!!"
Especially that scene where she tries to reverse-rape him but ends up getting railed and sulking? Pure fire for any red-blooded man. That's how I'd barely scraped the ending...
"Die! You piece of shit!!!!"
"M-Master?!"
Unable to contain my boiling rage, I swung my fist at the innocent wall. Bam!! But it didn't connect with the cabin's timber. What the hell?
A soft sensation instead. My fist hung frozen mid-air. Then, the thing wedged between the wooden wall and my knuckles revealed itself.
It was cat-sized. But no cat. No feline could turn invisible, no matter how clever.
Its eyes glowed red. A sharp horn protruded from its forehead. Its face resembled a rat more than a cat. Though its fur was an unusual reddish-brown. I knew exactly what it was.
"Imp...!"
"Master, you mean an imp...?!"
"It's a demon beast that serves as a scout."
Imps themselves were so feeble, even a common villager could crush one barehanded. Their real terror lay in concealment. Imps could turn invisible.
Even Royal Knights couldn't sense them. Weak as bugs. Detection required extreme specialization or magic to spot one.
I stared at the imp that had shrieked and perished from my punch. The real issue? Imps were infiltrators, slipping into enemy territory for intel.
"Meaning demon beasts will raid this place soon."
"As expected of Master."
"Huh?"
"You caught that imp yourself!"
"?"
Helia's sparkling eyes left me speechless. It happened again? No, stay calm. Play it off. I cleared my throat and responded.
"Just luck. Pure coincidence."
"Indeed, this must be the lesson you taught."
"???"
"Maintain humility. I witnessed it firsthand."
"?????"
How the hell did she twist it like that? My head throbbed. No, focus on the real problem now. An imp had come.
Scouts recon enemy lines and steal information—that was their job. But why head for this cabin instead of the guards?
Whatever. Point was, its arrival meant demon beasts would hit the village soon. That's when it hit me—Helia's backstory.
[A girl who lost everything to demon beasts and became a vengeful spirit.]
As a child, Helia lost her parents and neighbors to demon beasts. She craved power for revenge. She always prioritized strength.
At least until meeting the protagonist. Even he could derail her route with one slip, turning her into an enemy for power.
But the Helia I'd seen? No power-hungry girl—just your typical innocent kid. In other words, this village was the one getting raided.
"...That bastard's coming."
The monster that climbed from demon beast to demon lord through raw power alone. Helia's sworn nemesis. If things followed canon, the whole village gets massacred.
That's how Helia grows in the original.
But was standing by the right call?
My dilemma deepened further.
"An imp got taken out? Impressive—the warrior who felled that Gourmet Eater."
In a lightless abyss cave, it lounged on a crude stone throne. Hearing the report, it grinned. Had only meant to gauge the foe's level beforehand.
But this? A warrior beyond expectations. That Gourmet Eater was a demon whose might even it respected, foul temper aside. Yet dispatched effortlessly. In one blow. Its heart pounded with uncontainable yearning. Crave battle. Life-and-death with a true powerhouse.
"Battle is my worth. Battle is my all."
From the moment of birth, it hungered solely for combat. Waged war risking life, ravaged the vanquished utterly. Devoured the flesh of the mighty, growing ever stronger.
"That last stronghold? Nothing but letdowns."
It'd breached colossal walls. Shattered steel blades and armor. Claimed the meat within. Yet zero satisfaction.
All pathetic weaklings.
Boring as hell.
Slaughtered them. Not worth the calories.
So please.
Be the warrior to sate me.
It heaved its massive frame upright. Known as the Fighting Ghost. A demon beast obsessed with battle above all. And what the Fighting Ghost craved? Combat with the strong alone.
Let the battle begin.