“Sh-she’s a genius…!
A talent bestowed by the heavens!”
The day Jin Sejeong awakened, her father-in-law collapsed to the ground and shouted in awe.
His trembling cry marked the beginning of a story that spread throughout the entire Jin family.
Considering that the average awakening age for superhumans from prestigious families was after 13, her awakening at the age of 10—precisely 120 months after birth—was undeniably early.
However, an early awakening alone wasn’t enough.
Many who awakened young ended up failing anyway, so at first, her awakening only garnered mild interest within the Jin family.
But when she formed her mana core within a week under the family head’s guidance, and began channeling mana into her sword within a month, everyone in the Jin family had no choice.
But to react the same way her father-in-law had—shocked, astonished, and in complete admiration.
“A genius has been born in the Jin family!!!”
It was then that everyone realized—Jin Sejeong, the second daughter of the Jin family, was an extraordinary genius destined to lead the clan in the future.
From that moment on, the way the Jin family treated her changed.
She had already grown up lacking nothing as a direct descendant of the family head, but once her exceptional talent was confirmed, the very concept of “lack” was erased from her life.
She was showered with privileges beyond imagination.
Every gaze in the Jin family that fell upon Jin Sejeong carried undeniable expectations.
And she accepted those expectant gazes with joy.
Because she was only ten years old.
Because she was still a little kid who could feel pure happiness from praise.
But the world—especially for those born with overwhelming talent—was both incredibly easy and unbearably difficult.
“…Elder, so what are you going to do? Are you just going to leave it alone?”
“I’ll handle it properly.”
The world’s harsh rules applied to Jin Sejeong just the same.
“Haaah…”
The little girl, who had been showered with praise as a genius and burdened with expectations far beyond her years, now hung her head and let out a sigh so heavy it could shake the world.
A sigh like that coming from a ten-year-old?
I didn’t know the details, but she was clearly going through something.
Well, I could more or less guess what kind of situation she was in.
After recalling everything I had observed about her and the muttered words I had just overheard, I stepped out from the shadows into the moonlight.
Tonight was a full moon, so despite the late hour, it was relatively bright.
The moment I moved, the little girl—being an awakened superhuman—immediately sensed my presence and turned her gaze toward me.
“Yang Woobin…?
What the hell?
It was you?
A guy sneaking around outside at this hour—what are you trying to eavesdrop on?”
The moment she confirmed that the presence belonged to me, the wariness in her eyes melted away in an instant.
Not because she saw me as an ally.
No, it felt more like she didn’t consider me worth being wary of in the first place.
Well, this was the world of Reversal Heroic Tale.
If a guy suddenly appeared at night after suppressing his presence, the moment it turned out to be a man, all wariness would disappear.
That was just common sense here.
I understood that, sure—but as someone who’d spent countless hours immersed in Reversal Heroic Tale, my pride still took a hit from the way she dismissed me as irrelevant.
So, in order to restore my wounded pride—and to make the most of this unexpected encounter—I opened my mouth.
“You don’t look so good. You seemed pretty cheerful earlier, though.
I bet this is the real you, and that was just an act. You’re a good actress, huh?”
“…What do you mean?”
Her brows furrowed, and she shot me a glare, clearly irritated by my words.
I had planned to provoke her a little, but I hadn’t expected it to work so well, so fast.
She was incredibly simple.
A kid was a kid, after all.
Her reaction was so lively, so raw—it was like watching a freshly caught fish thrashing around.
I couldn’t help but admire it internally.
Anyway, since I had successfully provoked her, now was my chance to steer the conversation in the direction I wanted.
“What do I mean?
I’m just sincerely praising the unparalleled genius Jin Sejeong, who awakened as a superhuman at the tender age of ten.”
“…Tsk.”
Oh, bingo.
I even dressed it up with fancy words, but look at her face stiffening right away.
Most kids her age wouldn’t even understand sarcasm—they’d take it as genuine praise.
But not her.
She hated being called a genius.
I only had a rough idea before, but now I was sure of it.
Awakening at ten meant she had started far ahead of everyone else.
Being able to channel sword energy at ten meant she could run far faster than anyone else.
She was an undeniable prodigy—a true child genius.
But she hated being called a genius.
She wasn’t happy about her natural talent.
There had to be a reason for that. And I had a good idea what it was.
In a family like hers, the eldest daughter would normally be chosen as the successor—as long as she had even a decent amount of talent.
Following the principle of eldest-daughter succession was the safest and most stable option, even in the world of Reversal Heroic Tale.
But when a talent so overwhelming appeared that it shattered those principles, things changed.
A child who awakened at ten.
A girl who not only formed her mana core but could already wield sword energy.
For the Jin family’s eldest daughter and her supporters, that was a massive threat.
Enough of a threat to make them think they needed to eliminate their own younger sibling.
The only way a pack of wild dogs could take down a tiger… was to kill it while it was still a cub.
Jin Sejeong was still only ten years old.
She could wield sword energy, sure, but she was still just a fledgling superhuman who hadn’t even been awakened for a full year.
If the eldest daughter’s supporters decided to get rid of her, it would be the easiest thing in the world.
That was why she had sought refuge as a guest disciple in another noble household.
To survive.
“Damn.”
Realizing all of this left me feeling uneasy.
A ten-year-old girl, forced to leave the family she was born into and entrust herself to strangers—just to stay alive.
That was unbelievably tragic.
My own life had been miserable as hell, but at least I had never been in danger of losing it.
In that sense, that little kid lived a life constantly threatened, making her even more pitiful than me.
For the first time since reincarnating into this world, I felt something resembling sympathy.
Yeah, let’s take it easy on her.
She’s got it rough.
That sympathy softened my approach, and instead of going forward with my planned Ultimate Scratch Attack, I swallowed my original intentions and spoke to her in a gentler tone.
“I’ve been watching for a while, and you seem to be dealing with a lot.
You also looked like you had a ton on your mind.”
“So what? What can you do about it?”
Maybe because I had poked at her a few times already, her attitude toward me was sharp and defensive.
But since I already felt bad for her, I wasn’t offended by her tone and kept talking.
“What can I do?
A lot of things.
For example…
I could help clear your head.”
As I said that, I picked up a smooth, white stone from the garden.
It fit nicely in my grip.
Looked like it would fly exactly where I wanted if I threw it.
“W-what, what are you saying?!
Y-you perverted bastard!
Helping a girl you just met clear her head?!
I already had a bad feeling when you reached out your hand earlier, but you—!”
“I’m throwing it.”
“Huh?”
I cut off her nonsense mid-sentence, just like when we first met, and hurled the stone straight at her.
PAANG—!
I put a decent amount of force into it.
The stone shot forward with a sharp whistling sound, speeding toward her.
Her face instantly stiffened at the sheer velocity and power behind it.
THWACK!
The stone barely grazed her earlobe and embedded itself in the tree behind her.
“Damn. Missed.”
I had intentionally aimed to miss, but saying it like that would help create the atmosphere I wanted, so I lied.
“Y-you…?”
She reached up to touch her tingling earlobe, turned to check the stone lodged in the tree, then whipped her head back to glare at me.
Her eyes were filled with shock.
Unlike before, there was no trace of the ease she had felt around me.
Seeing her that flustered instantly restored my wounded pride from earlier today.
But this wasn’t enough.
Not nearly enough.
Grinning, I looked her straight in the eyes and said,
“Let’s hit the training grounds.
I’ll help you clear out all those useless thoughts in your head.”
“What…?”
“I’ll make sure you’re so exhausted that you won’t even have the energy for useless thoughts.”
A statement so direct, so brutally honest, that no kid her age had probably ever heard it before.
Basically, I’m gonna beat your ass.
Hearing my challenge, she touched her earlobe one more time, then narrowed her eyes and answered.
“I don’t know what the hell this is about, but I’m in a really bad mood today.
You’re gonna regret running your mouth like that.”
And that was how I, Yang Woobin, ended up having my first-ever duel in this world!
CRASH!
BAM!
“Done.
Whew, that was easy.”
“Ugh…?”
And just like that, my first duel ended in victory!
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