Training continued, and on the second day…
We mastered the sense of mana flow.
It might sound sudden, but there’s no other way to describe it.
Like a person who couldn’t ride a bike suddenly getting the hang of it, Cecil and I spent the entire day moving with that thought in mind, and we finally understood.
Ironically, I achieved it while trying to pounce on Gayeon.
Based on this information, Gayeon shared some theories with us.
“The movement that doesn’t go against the flow of mana is closely related to concentration.”
“Concentration!”
“Do you mean that the more focused you are, the more perfect your movements become?”
Gayeon spoke while swinging her sword in the air.“Precisely. When your concentration becomes as sharp as a needle, the moment you even forget to breathe, the perfect movement will come to you.”
“…”
Does that mean…
At that moment when I was trying to do something lewd to Gayeon, my concentration burst forth like a floodgate?
“Oppa, you’re amazing. It took me ages just to graze Master’s clothes.”
“It’s harder to focus your mind on one point than to wield a sword.”
“Uh… So… What do you mean…?”
“Ahem. It means you’ve learned quickly enough.”
“Thank you, Master!”
Cecilia bowed politely.
Gayeon, captivated by Cecil’s cat ears and tail, was lost in thought for a moment.
She’s completely smitten with the little girl’s animal features.
“The reason Taeyang was able to learn quickly is because he has experience in aiming weapons and targeting in the dark.”
“How did you know?”
“I can tell just by the way you walk.”
Gasp.
To think my background would be revealed so easily!
“Oppa, you were a hidden master!”
“I wouldn’t say hidden master, but…”
I’m a little embarrassed.
“I can see traces of diligent training from a young age, without any arrogance… Though it’s the kind of training favored by thieves and assassins.”
“Cough.”
Thieves and assassins!
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“There must be a reason why you’re so perceptive.”
…
I wonder which contributed more: my experience of hiding from my murderous husband while escaping, or my experience of hunting wild animals…
Let’s just say both were helpful.
“I’ve never killed anyone.”
“Hmph, a man with a twisted heart will commit atrocities if the environment allows it.”
“…Master, you’re not sulking because we deep-kissed, are you?”
“…”
She’s surprisingly petty.
It was just a consensual smooch.
“Anyway, you two have just started walking, but the difference between those who have realized it and those who haven’t is vast.
Not only can you anticipate your opponent’s movements through the flow of mana, but you can also conceal your own movements within the flow.”
“Wouldn’t that be meaningless against an opponent who can’t read the flow?”
“When mana is abundant, all living things are affected by it. Even if they can’t read it, they will instinctively feel it.
In a crucial moment, whether you can do that or not makes a huge difference.”
Instinctively feel it…
I naturally thought of Cecil’s battle.
Even though Cecil didn’t understand the flow of mana yet, there was a time when she had the upper hand against Viscal.
If that was the result of Cecil’s strength, her “instinct,” manifesting in a moment of crisis…
I thought Cecil could become even stronger in the future.
“Do you think… I can do it again…?”
I stroked Cecil’s head.
“Cecil has good instincts, so you can definitely do it.”
“Oppa!”
Cecil clung to me.
She doesn’t know what to do with herself when she sees my face.
Let’s boost her confidence with a hug.
Squeeze.
“Ehehe. Oppa, I love you…”
“You two have a good relationship. Like siblings connected by blood.”
“Don’t siblings usually have bad relationships?”
“That’s true, but we…”
Gayeon stopped talking awkwardly.
“Master?”
“…It’s nothing. Let’s hurry. A bad wind blows this way.”
“Yes!”
“Okay!”
This time, we decided to help Gayeon disguise herself since we were more familiar with the city.
She would attract attention if she walked around looking like an Otherworlder.
The Sword Empress, with her hood pulled low over her white cloak, grumbled with a hint of dissatisfaction.
“Only those with something to hide cover their faces…”
“Sword Empress, you’re so beautiful that you stand out, regardless of your origin.”
“Men used to line up just to see me when I walked the streets in my world.”
“That’s why you need to pull your hood down.”
“I have no intention of jeopardizing our mission, so don’t worry.”
What is Cecil doing?
“Peridot, I want cute cat ears!”
“Yes, Senior. I brought them, so please wait a moment.”
Cat ear robes…
Wouldn’t that make her stand out even more?
Cecil said she wears them to conceal the weapons she has equipped all over her body.
Actually, Cecil is quite beautiful herself, so it’s better for both of them to cover their faces for ease of movement.
“Master.”
“Peridot.”
Peridot fastened the belt around my waist.
“Your arm, please.”
“Here.”
“I’ve replenished the High Potions.”
“These are really effective.”
“They’re expensive.”
…I momentarily forgot that they cost as much as dozens of healing spells.
I should use them sparingly…
“Please be careful, Master.”
“Of course. Peridot’s breasts are waiting for me.”
“Yes, my breasts are waiting for you, Master. Please don’t get hurt.”
“I’ll protect Oppa!”
“Don’t push yourself, Senior. You may have healed with potions, but don’t forget that the fatigue and shock of being injured accumulate in your nerves.”
“Okay!”
“Let’s go.”
I casually groped Calissa’s breasts as I left the mansion and arrived at the checkpoint guarded by the Beast King, Viscal.
“Tch, you again?”
Viscal glared at us from his seat on a broken cornerstone of the checkpoint.
“I’ll take care of this.”
“Wait a moment, Master.”
“Why are you stopping me? I can kill him with one blow.”
“Please don’t…”
Is she planning to break through everything that stands in her way?
The Sword Empress’s drive to find her husband is terrifying.
“Let me make this clear. I consider every human in this city my enemy.
I have no intention of resolving this peacefully through conversation. Step aside, or die.”
“Shouldn’t we see the results of our training?”
“Ah.”
It seems Gayeon finally grasped the situation.
“You defeated them? That wolf-headed fool?”
“It was a draw!”
Cecil shouted.
Cecil’s eyes, on the verge of unleashing her pent-up desires, were already burning with fighting spirit.
“Oppa! Leave this to me.”
I drew Dawn Moon.
“We’re in this together, remember?”
“Ah, right…!”
Viscal spat on the ground and drew his greatsword.
“I won’t hold back this time. Get lost!”
“Boss!”
“Boss!”
The Bear and Dog guards, who were carrying stones behind him, rushed forward.
Cecil was the first to move.
Viscal hurriedly assumed a defensive stance!
“What!?”
Her robe fell away, revealing Cecil’s face and weapons.
A shortsword in one hand, a shield in the other.
“You think you can win just because you’ve gotten a little stronger!?”
Viscal swung his sword. Cecil, with her nimble movements, leaped over Viscal’s shoulder, stabbing him with her shortsword.
“Boss!”
“Quiet!”
This feels good.
Cecil was completely focused, not even blinking.
“I can’t sense her flow…”
Viscal seemed to sense danger from Cecil.
“How did she improve so much in just a few days?”
“…”
Should I join in?
Master was watching us silently.
It seems she believes that since her disciples have stepped forward, it’s not her turn to intervene.
To meet Gayeon’s expectations, I took advantage of Viscal’s distraction and slowly blended into the surrounding scenery.
“Haa! Ha!”
As Viscal swung his sword, a gust of wind erupted.
Cecil, unfazed, deflected Viscal’s heavy blow with her shield and thrust her shortsword!
Viscal was no pushover either.
He relentlessly attacked Cecil with his flawless consecutive attacks!
Cecil, who had been holding her ground like a rooted tree, interrupted the windstorm with a compact thrust of her shortsword.
“Ugh. I admit, you’ve improved a little. However…!”
“Ah…!”
Oh no, her shield broke!
Cecil’s defense was perfect.
It was the buckler that couldn’t withstand the Beast King’s consecutive attacks…!
Cecil quickly abandoned her shield and retreated, but the guards were standing behind her, grinning.
“Thought it was a one-on-one fight, did you!?”
“I’d love to touch those breasts! Hehehe!”
“Ugh…!”
Viscal laughed.
“You’re still green.
The power you can only control when it’s convenient is meaningless in a life-or-death battle!
A true warrior must be able to control their heart even when faced with unexpected situations…!”
“He’s right.”
Geum Taeyang, entering the fray!
“Oppa!”
“Don’t worry about me!”
I stabbed the Bear guard in the waist with Dawn Moon, subduing him. Then, I twisted the Dog guard’s wrist and held the sharp blade against his neck.
“Hey, you interested in Cecil’s body?”
“Gulp! I’m sorry!”
“Why would a guard have such impure thoughts? You’re making me look bad.”
I pointed the blade towards the guard’s crotch.
“Aaack! I won’t do it again! I was just kidding!”
“How can I believe you? Explain yourself in 10 seconds.”
“I’ve been guarding this place for five years, and I have nothing to do, so I got carried away playing the villain!”
“…”
I’ve stumbled upon a trivial truth I didn’t want to know…
“Honestly, I’m too scared to even talk to pretty girls. Please spare me! Hieek!”
“Really?”
“I even have character sheets I made with my bear friend! That line I just said is written there!”
“Enough! Stop it!”
I feel bad for stabbing him in the waist now.
“Is your friend okay? Go get him treated.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
The battle on this side ended rather anticlimactically, but Cecil was engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Beast King, wearing her knuckles.
“Ugh!”
Cecil went flying from a punch to the gut.
I hesitated to intervene, but then I saw her using her momentum from the fall to immediately lunge back at Viscal.
Cecil is… surpassing her limits right now…!
“I’ll crush your skull! You weak little beast!”
“I’m not weak!”
Cecil dodged the Beast King’s sword and closed the distance!
Viscal kept swinging his sword, maintaining his distance from Cecil.
The flow of mana around Cecil is very stable…
No, it’s not stable, it’s something I’ve never seen before.
Like a raging river, it’s flowing unimpeded, empowering Cecil’s every movement!
“Haaa!”
Cecil, having dodged all of Viscal’s fierce sword strikes, landed her first solid blow, infused with her entire body weight, into Viscal’s abdomen.
Thud!
“Gah!”
I think his insides just got crushed.
A fist wearing knuckles is a deadly weapon, no less lethal than a sword.
“Y-You… Weak little beast…!”
Viscal’s flow became strange.
Like his body was covered in porcupine quills, the flow of mana became erratic…!
But I could still sense the danger.
“Cecil!”
“Oppa…!”
“Let’s do this together. Same plan as before.”
“When Oppa creates an opening…!”
“You land the big blow!”
“Okay!”
I switched my grip on Dawn Moon to a reversed grip.
I wrapped my hand around the hilt and pointed the blade forward.
“You’re annoying, human!”
Viscal charged at me with his greatsword raised.
I almost buckled under his overwhelming presence, but I braced myself.
It was obvious that Viscal was planning to brush me aside and attack Cecil.
As I backed away strategically, Viscal glanced at Cecil!
“Hey! You little shit!”
At that moment, I dashed in and slashed at Viscal’s arm with my dagger!
“You…!”
Viscal’s eyes turned bloodshot as he lunged at me!
That left his side wide open, and Cecil’s knuckle punch, like a soccer ball ripping through the net, slammed into Viscal’s abdomen.
Thud!
‘Holy shit.’
How can a punch make that sound?
The sound effect alone sends chills down my spine, but Viscal, undeterred, swung his sword at Cecil.
My turn!
“Haa!”
Slash!
He’s so pissed off that he’s letting me cut him just to get to me!
As Viscal turned on me again!
Thud!
“Gah!”
Even the mighty Beast King fell to his knees.
“Oppa!”
Cecil immediately ran towards me.
“My kitty!”
Cecil jumped into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist and showering my neck with kisses.
“We won!”
“Yeah!”
“It’s not over yet!”
Viscal pushed himself up from the ground with his sword.
Talk about a mood killer.
“You want to fight until one of us dies?”
“That was my intention from the start.”
“Why the hell…?”
“Because I don’t like you! That’s reason enough!”
At that moment, Master intervened.
Her sword stopped just short of Viscal’s throat.
Viscal had just died once.
If the Sword Empress hadn’t shown mercy.
“Such beastly logic. The fight is over. Accept defeat and retreat.”
“…W-Who are you?”
“You don’t need to know. I could tell you as a gift before you die. But… A gatekeeper should simply do his job of guarding the gate. Unnecessary pride will only lead to your demise.”
“…”
Viscal finally lowered his sword and bowed his head.
Master…
She speaks as if she’ll kill anyone who gets in her way…
“Let’s go.”
Cecil jumped down.
“Yes, Master!”
Behind the checkpoint was a long tunnel.
The tunnel was riddled with large, damaged sections, probably from Master’s escape.
“I watched you fight.”
Uh…
Is she complimenting us?
“Taeyang, do you see it? The special flow of mana.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Mana is abundant in the atmosphere. And that mana reacts to a person’s spirit and changes its form…”
“Is there any meaning in that pattern?”
“As you saw earlier, if it’s spiky like thorns, it means they’re filled with murderous intent. If it flows smoothly, it means they’re burning with pure fighting spirit.”
“…Oh.”
Gayeon suddenly stopped and showed us her arm.
The arm holding the sword.
The flow around that arm formed a faint whirlpool.
“Do you see this?”
“Yes, we do.”
“Never fight someone who exhibits this flow.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Don’t fight them. That’s all I can tell you.”
Is she saying we have to figure it out ourselves?
“Sword Empress, you weren’t planning on telling us that, were you?”
“It’s just a whim.”
“Thank you, Master!”
“Thank you, Master.”
“I told you not to call me that. You two keep calling me Master, it’s making me soft.”
“We’ll keep your advice in mind, Master.”
“Hmph.”
Gayeon pulled her hood low and strode forward.
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