Villain's Will: Redemption

..෴✿۝CHAPTER 20۝✿෴..

The next day, the same routine happened, but when Eleazar and the group left, the trio came to Willow.

"Yes, Kian? Rivs? Sayk?" Willow asked because they were only shuffling on her side. Not sure if they should approach their instructor.

"Ah, Instructor. We would like to ask if you have some lessons for us?" Sayk, who was wearing a grim expression, spoke on behalf of his friends. He's the sacrificial lamb for their group.

"That came as a surprise. Then, am I right to assume that you'll be taking my class seriously?"

They looked unsure but nodded nonetheless.

"That's fine by me, but will you swear not to quit halfway?"

"We swore with our honor, instructor!" They blindly sworn, trusting their guts. They, themselves, are not sure why, but they are drawn to the predatory aura leaking on their instructor's frivolous character.

Willow was unaware that her bloodlust was oozing from time to time. She would wear that expression whenever she was seriously practicing her magic. Though, on their point of view, she was only staring on a rock with murderous intent.

"Is that so? Then start taking down a tree on the forest. Cut it in one meter each"

"Pardon? If you need some lumber there are some always available at the artisans division." Kian reasoned.

"I said one from the forest, isn't it?" Willow smiled, leaving no room for argument.

"Understood, instructor! I knew this will be for our special training" Rivs naively thought. His friend looked at the massive idiot standing beside them.

'remind me again, how did I became friends with this dolt?'

Kian and Sayk have the same thought.

"Not really, I just need some firewood. Call me when you're finished." Willow looked indifferent and turned her attention to the rocks she's juggling.

The trio looked at each other in regret. They want to continue their self training but they already sworn not to quit.

"I knew it! What does a woman even know." Sayk, the pessimist, whined.

They are headed to the shed to grab the tools.

"Quit being a baby! It's our duty to help out instructor" Rivs answered with his usual bright smile.

"Tsk, instead of some menial task. I could have made use of this time productively" Sayk continued to complain.

"We can't help it, we dug our own grave. Make haste, we only have three hours left" Kian, the most docile of the two, wrapped their argument. He was used to this kind of life, barely surviving by doing odd jobs. But thanks to this, he was honed to have skills.

With the help of their experience, they didn't have a problem taking down a tree and cutting it into meters. When they finished, they immediately showed the results to Willow.

"That was fast, you managed to do it within two hours. Now, run laps for the remaining time" She instructed and picked the axe on the ground.

Tired from the heavy work, they groaned and was about to protest but Rivs pulled the two.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" He shouted "Now come on you two, we have the ground waiting for us" The two wordlessly accepted their fate with a woeful eye.

Willow faced the stack of wood, that has about a foot diameter, and used her magic to carve on the wood.

She made a 3 feet bat-like weapon with a shaft of 7 inches. Without breaking a sweat, she took her time and manually chipped the bark of the wood.

While finishing the third log, Willow heard the trio coming over.

"20 laps done, instructor!" Even when Rivs was tired as hell, he managed to report back. Kian and Sayk was dragging their feet and looked like they're about to pass out.

"That's great! Now, we'll do a quick sparring" instead of hearing a dismissal, the group were surprised that there was more to come. It's already time for luncheon and they're extra tired from the full hours of working.

"Look at that faces? Did you peed your pants or something?" She deliberately derided and laughed at their face. "You lots have done great! You completed one tenth of the task within half day" she hinted with sarcasm and stood from her seat under the shade of the tree.

"I would like to commend you for your efforts, but I am not satisfied with only doing this. Seeing that we still have about half an hour before the end of the period, you can only spar with me once." Willow went to pick the training sword she brought and inspected its dimension.

"Who will go first?" the young men looked unsure and nudged each other.

Willow noticed their reluctance. "No need to be shy, you all can come at me if you're scared" she taunted with a smirk of her own. "Or are you reluctant to harm a helpless lady like me, kyaaa" she even let out a girly squeal and acted like a fool in love.

Instead of being riled up, Kian and Sayk wanted to burst in laughter at the actions of their instructor. It doesn't suit her character, she looked so mature to act all girly.

"Blast it!" Rivs answered to her taunt and released a war cry while running towards Willow "WAAAAAAAAH!" Contrary to his looks, he's the most hot-headed among them when it comes to fighting. He's a whole different person during this instances.

The moment Rivs swung his sword, he felt his sight toppled and found himself on the ground.

"That was cute" Willow commented, feeling amused with his war cry.

"Mindlessly charging at your enemy like that is a sure way to die. That wide overhead swing is not bad, it is heavy enough to blow the skull of your opponent, but it leaves your upper body vulnerable to attack" Willow pointed at his obvious mistake. "I knew you already know that but you still charged, blinded by fury. During a battle, you should always have a calm mind. It won't help you win if bloodlust is the only thing you see before you" she glanced at the others.

"If you're faced with the same predicament, remember that you don't need to parry such heavy blows. Just like what I did, use his momentum and throw your opponent off guard. Either by tripping him or using his weight to slam him on the ground"

Even after finishing her preach, none moved and only looked at Willow and Rivs back and forth.

"I see, it's only a day, so you're still perplexed at my beauty" Willow nodded in understanding and put her hand under her chin to support her unfounded claim.

The admiration and awe reflected on their eyes quickly faded and was replaced by a blank look at her exquisite remarks.

"Instructor, we understood your predicament but please, you must hold on" Sayk replied with a new found broad understanding.

"My, my, don't let the truth bother you. On with the spar" she brushed at his remark and prepared herself for the next opponent.

"What kind of sword play was that!" Rivs, who's still on the ground, exclaimed in confusion.

Kian and Sayk has their turn but they were both dealt with the same result as Rivs. In an instant, they were slammed to the ground. They saw what was coming but they can't react fast enough to avoid Willow's incoming tricks.

"Now, that's a good warm up. Clean up the ground and have your luncheon" Willow dismissed like nothing and stretched her stiff shoulders.

The students was left with their selves and made a realization at their current level. They refuse to believe but her skills spoke the truth.

Seeing a lady as a warrior is not uncommon in this era, but they wasn't expecting themselves to be easily bested by a supposedly frail lady.

Willow sneezed out of nowhere. "I must've pushed myself hard" she quickly finished her meal and head back to her room.

Thankfully, that was the only class she have so she spent her afternoon practicing her magic.

Meanwhile, Willow unknowingly gained three new supporters.