Chapter 156 - Training Those Villains

# Eliminating a Weapon Master, an S-Class Villain

Killing this Weapon Master early—who would have become an S-Class villain—is something I'm quite proud of. It's truly meaningful. When I think about how I used to shudder every week watching his cruelty in the original story, this is an indescribably satisfying achievement.

Seoul.

Today's Seoul is the same as yesterday's, but it wasn't like this in the original story. It was called "New Seoul." A new city rebuilt under a project led by Lee Seol-ah, who had taken control of everything in the Republic of Korea. In the original story, she barely managed to rebuild Seoul after it was destroyed by the Behemoth, Han Group, and Moon Light Church triple combo.

Her ambitious dream first collapsed when a portal opened in the middle of the city due to the Moon Light Church leader's final struggle, and then was destroyed a second time when this Weapon Master invaded. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Weapon Master delivered the final blow to New Seoul.

Anyway, having killed such a vicious villain so easily, I can say with confidence that I feel somewhat relieved. Though I do wonder how long this stroke of luck will last...

In any case, there was another intention behind eliminating this Ego-stream. Namely, to raise my reputation as the cruel Egostic.

So I was happily watching TV while eating popcorn.

[Look at this. Egostic has once again killed an ordinary citizen who was making weapons as a hobby, acting on his own whims. Isn't it truly cruel how he wields his sword and massacres civilians while pretending to be justice? We must all fear and be wary of Egostic!]

Hmm, hmm. That's absolutely right.

"Oppa, why are you watching cable? Turn on the public channels."

Click.

[Next breaking news. It has been revealed that Egostic killed a villain who had hidden thousands of weapons, causing quite a stir. The Association has confiscated all the weapons and announced that they will be a significant addition to the Republic of Korea's military power. Among netizens, there are opinions that Egostic has once again protected the country...]

"Tsk."

With a headache from the sudden channel change, I finally got up from my seat.

Right. I should get to work. What else should I do?

"Okay. I've rested enough. Seo-eun, Eun-wol, let's go train. And Seo Ja-young, you come too."

"Nooo... Seo-eun, why did you change the channel... just let him watch..."

Something purple was lying on the floor, flailing its arms and legs while making dying noises. Seo Ja-young.

...Anyone watching would think we train every day.

"Come on, lying around too much isn't good for your body. Come here."

"Aaahh..."

"If you keep resisting, I'll lift you with psychokinesis again."

"...Please do that."

"...What?"

"That was actually quite comfortable..."

"...Good grief."

I finally sighed and used psychokinesis to float Seo Ja-young in the air as I headed outside.

...Well, I suppose this is also a form of training.

"Ja-young unnie. Is it really okay to just lie around every day like that?"

"Yeah... don't worry. Your unnie is an invertebrate, so not moving actually gives me more energy... rawr..."

Eun-wol asked worriedly as we walked out the gate, while Seo Ja-young continued giving her dizzy responses.

Listening to their banter, I led them to a clearing in the forest.

"Now! Start fighting each other."

"Sob sob. How can I fight this small and cute Seo-eun? I can't do it..."

"Um, unnie. Didn't you mercilessly shoot fire at me last time and almost completely scorch my suit?"

"I don't remember that..."

"Even when I surrendered, you kept going...?"

"Eun-wol must have cast an illusion spell."

"What?!"

Seo-eun scratching her cheek as she spoke, Seo Ja-young making excuses, and Eun-wol getting flustered by the stray comment.

...Seo Ja-young naturally continues the banter to delay moving her body even a little bit. I can only say it's impressive. Though in truth, once training actually starts, she enjoys it more than anyone else.

"Alright, let's get started. Since Choi Se-hee isn't here, this time Eun-wol will face you and Seo-eun alone."

"Just me?"

"Yes, Eun-wol. You can do it. I believe in you!"

"...Okay. I'll do my best!"

Eun-wol said that while making a small fist.

Actually, Eun-wol can easily handle a 2:1 fight. She's the strongest among us in actual combat. Death Knight is also strong, but his basic combat ability falls short compared to Eun-wol's.

"...If we combine our strength, we can definitely beat Eun-wol. Right, Seo-eun?"

"That's right. Baek Eunwol, this time I'm going to win, so prepare to be defeated!"

"Okay. Give it your best shot."

Eun-wol responded with a slight eye-smile.

Then Seo-eun pressed something to summon her suit, and Seo Ja-young finally stretched, draping purple flames around herself.

Facing them both, Eun-wol, dressed in priestess robes, briefly assumed a prayer posture before creating a magic circle in her hand.

As everyone's eyes lit up with excitement.

Bang. The full-scale battle... no, training began.

If boys get excited when you throw them a ball,

We villains get excited when we have a chance to fight, using our abilities while jumping around.

And so, the peaceful forest once again became noisy with the sound of things being smashed.

***

The future.

The future of this world will not be smooth sailing.

I know of dozens of disasters. And when you consider the monsters that will appear later, it's truly a mountain of challenges.

In other words, while I'll try to prevent what I can, it's only natural that raw power becomes increasingly important as we progress.

And it's also natural to train our abilities in advance for that time.

Of course, officially, only our Stardust has the ability to grow stronger through sheer force. But that doesn't mean training is useless. On the contrary, it's even more important. Unlike Stardust who grows naturally even with sloppy fighting, others will regress if they don't push their potential to the limit through training.

That's why I've been seriously training our members lately. To navigate the harsh latter half of the original story, this level isn't enough. We need stronger techniques, faster reflexes, better skills.

For that purpose, training mainly consists of mock battles. There's no better training than actual combat.

The only difference from real combat is that I fly around coaching from the side.

"Seo Ja-young, create a fire barrier to block there! And Seo-eun, in this situation, just dodge rather than confronting head-on. Eun-wol, watch your back too. If you focus only on casting from the front, your rear becomes vulnerable."

"Huff, huff. Yes!"

Eun-wol answered me while panting, simultaneously managing three magic circles to block both Seo-eun and Ja-young.

After the battle continued for a while, the training finally ended.

"Haaah... I won..."

Seo-eun, who had removed her suit, was about to collapse.

I quickly approached her and handed her the water I had prepared.

"Here, drink up."

"Thanks, oppa. Mmm..."

"M-me too... water..."

Turning my head at the request for water, I saw Seo Ja-young lying flat on the ground.

She had become one with the green grass, looking thoroughly exhausted.

"Here."

"Thank you... Ah. Is this that honey water or whatever?"

While Seo Ja-young was performing the feat of drinking water while lying down, Eun-wol, who had been floating in the air, finally descended to the ground with her white priestess robes fluttering.

"Eun-wol. Are you okay? Want some water too?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine."

She answered with a slight smile.

Unlike the other two who were practically dying, Eun-wol seemed relatively fine, just breathing a bit heavily.

"Drink anyway. You seem to have sweated a bit."

"Okay."

With a bright smile, Eun-wol took the water bottle, brushed her black hair behind her neck, and began gulping it down.

After emptying the bottle despite saying she was fine, she closed the cap and said to me.

"Did I do well?"

"You did great. You were the best."

When Eun-wol asked me with a pure smile, I gave her a thumbs up and answered.

Then came Seo-eun's voice from the side.

"Sigh, I think I need to modify this suit. I made it slimmer than the second version, but there seem to be some issues."

Seo-eun muttered while looking down at her silver suit.

"But Seo-eun, your technique seems to have improved since last time?"

"I wasn't just playing around. But oppa, can you join us next time? I think it was more intense when you were with us. Like with that Behemoth."

"My Behemoth is currently in repair fluid in the lab after absorbing that explosion impact."

"Oh right, I forgot."

With Seo-eun answering as if she just remembered, we returned home.

Now that we've done this training, next time we'll train with Se-hee and Death Knight.

"Ah. Now I need to rest for a month..."

By the way, I'm definitely going to make Seo Ja-young, who's muttering like that on the floor, participate in the training.

She's the newest member, so she has the most to train...

***

Anyway, days passed as we continued training.

"Hmm..."

Come to think of it, 'that' villain alliance will be launching soon.

No, to be precise, should I call it an alliance of international villain alliances...? Anyway, there are definitely more events as we enter the middle part. Sigh. I'll need to figure out how to get involved. I should start recruiting for the PMC too...

Just as I was thinking about that, I received a call from Lee Seol-ah.

Oh, is this about the PMC?

"Hey, Seol-ah. What's up?"

I happily answered the phone.

And then heard something unexpected.

"...What? Stardust is trying harder than ever to catch me?"

Momentarily taken aback by the news, I quickly processed the information.

Stardust is trying to catch me.

Stardust is working hard to catch a villain.

Stardust is burning with determination to eliminate a villain.

...Hmm.

After listening to Lee Seol-ah, I thought to myself.

Well, it's just like her righteous self to be working hard to catch a villain.

Isn't that a good thing in the end?

"That's great!"

[...Da-in. I don't think that's right no matter how you look at it.]

In response to my comment, Lee Seol-ah could only answer that way through the receiver.

...It's the truth, so why is she reacting like that?