Chapter 80 – Meeting with Master
<span style="font-weight:400">— Leon Greyrat —
<span style="font-weight:400">It was the next day, and after fulfilling our desires the night before, I decided to take care of Eris’ hair that had be quite long and messy.
<span style="font-weight:400">It wasn’t from the sex… for the most part… so it was even more important that I finally gave this beautiful hair the care it deserved.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Thanks for doing this, Leon,” Eris said, tilting her head down as I continued my work.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s my pleasure, Eri. And I have lots of practice,” I said, gently brushing out some knots with my fingers as I cut down its length with wind magic. “You have gorgeous hair, you know? You should take care of it better.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I know,” she huffed. “It’s just… I love when you do it… and I don’t want someone else to, even if it’s me… that’s your job, after all.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I paused my movements as I felt my cheeks get a bit warmer.
<span style="font-weight:400">That… I think my heart just skipped a beat.
<span style="font-weight:400">From how erotic she wasst night, and determined when we woke up to do some training together, I had forgotten how adorable she could be.
<span style="font-weight:400">But that was just how my Eris was.
<span style="font-weight:400">A tantalizing collection of states and emotions, and because she had a tough time keeping them down, I got to see all of them for their beauty.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You’re right. It is my job,” I said, continuing to clean her up.
<span style="font-weight:400">After a few minutes, I was able to bring it back to how it was when she left. Her hair long enough to rest just over her shoulder as I tied it into a short ponytail, her pendant resting against her neck.
<span style="font-weight:400">“There… you look really pretty like this, Eri,” I said, handing her an ice mirror.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Really!?” she said, happily taking the mirror as she looked at her appearance.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Really,” I agreed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“M-Mhmm… I like it too… and it feels good… doesn’t get in my way,” she said, turning her head left to right before she looked back at me. “Thank you, Leon. I think I’ll just wear it short from now on. I’m not good at this kind of stuff, but I should be able to cut it just fine.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Alright,” I said, leaning in to give her a kiss. “But speaking of that… are you taking care of yourself?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Her silence was deafening. Not to mention how she averted her eyes.
<span style="font-weight:400">Well, her sweat and natural musk was something I enjoyed quite a bit, but past that… from how knotted her hair was, and not to mention the untreated scrapes and scratches lining her body, I knew that she had been neglecting her self-care in the way of training.
<span style="font-weight:400">That was just like my Eris, after all.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Is there a ce to bathe around here?” I asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“T-There’s a hot spring nearby,” she mumbled, still looking away from me. “I don’t really go much, though. Only when Nina drags me with her.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I see…” I said, nodding. “Well,e on. Let’s go.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Luckily, she didn’t protest, simply taking my hand without a word as she got to her feet.
<span style="font-weight:400">Well… maybe that sexual frustration she had so eagerly releasedst night had been making her too stressed to take care of herself.
<span style="font-weight:400">But either way, I would be here to fix her up anyway.
<span style="font-weight:400">That was the job of a loving partner and future husband, after all.
<span style="font-weight:400">— Leon Greyrat —
<span style="font-weight:400">As it turned out, the hot springs at the Sword Sanctum were quite amazing.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was simr to the bath we had at home, except it was all natural, and that you could bathe inside the spring without rinsing yourself off like at home, as there was a constant flow of water.
<span style="font-weight:400">But yes, while the Sword Sanctum wasn’t one for cleanliness, their baths were quite rxing… although theycked soap and hair wash.
<span style="font-weight:400">Luckily, I had anticipated that, and made sure to bring some with me.
<span style="font-weight:400">So, as one would expect, I made sure to wash Eris’ body and hair thoroughly.
<span style="font-weight:400">While she first found it embarrassing, especially when a passing swordswoman raised her brow at us, she eventually sumbed to my touch and basked in the loving attention I had provided.
<span style="font-weight:400">The… very loving attention.
<span style="font-weight:400">After all, Eris’ body was breathtaking, so I might have taken the chance to enjoy myself as well.
<span style="font-weight:400">But anyway, with her all cleaned, she then changed into a bath towel before letting me give her a massage with healing magic, a technique I had improved upon from practising on Roxy’s aches and cramps that she gained from her pregnancy.
<span style="font-weight:400">Eris was… very tense. And her newly gained muscles were really tight, so my massage was alleviating her quite a bit, at least if the small moans of pleasure she released were anything to go by.
<span style="font-weight:400">They were also very arousing, and I didn’t need to waste my stamina considering what I would be doingter tonight, so I passed the time by exining to her a bit more of what had happened after she left, which also served the purpose of distracting me from her… very captivating figure that I had my hands all over.
<span style="font-weight:400">“So my family… they’re in Sharia now?” Eris asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">Ah, right.
<span style="font-weight:400">The information.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah. And Ghiine said she’de back in three years or so,” I said, pushing a knot out of her shoulder while I stopped the pain with my magic. “Ah, and they have a nice house too. It’s quite close to my parents’ one.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ngh! That’s good,” she said, sighing at my movements. “And a house? You mentioned getting one, right? Is it big?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ginormous,” I said. “There’s… what is there, ten rooms? So we’ll have plenty of room for the kids.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Good…” she said. “And? How long are you staying again?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“A week,” I said, moving down to her legs. “I have to get back pretty fast.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Man… I really liked her thighs.
<span style="font-weight:400">I might have to do some extra work down here, for my own enjoyment.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hm? Why so fast?” she asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">Oh, right. I had almost forgotten to tell her the big news.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well, you see… Roxy is pregnant,” I said.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What!?” she eximed, turning her head to look at me. “Roxy… already? So she’s having the first… dammit!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hey, don’t get too upset,” I said, moving to hug her from behind. “We’ll have the chance to have kids of our own when youe back, and we’ll have a big house for them. Not to mention, they’ll already have a sibling to be there for them.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hmm… fine, I guess,” she huffed. “As long as I get the first boy.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well… that’s just the luck of the draw, but we’ll try,” I said.
<span style="font-weight:400">She seemed pleased at that, as she let out a satisfied hum as I went back to admiring her thighs.
<span style="font-weight:400">But not a few momentster, we were interrupted by two womening over, the ones that had been with Eris when I first got here.
<span style="font-weight:400">From what I understood… the one with the long ck hair and round face was Isolte, a Water King who had been Eris’ near-insurmountable wall for the past month that she had been here.
<span style="font-weight:400">Ah, and if what I knew was correct, her grandmother was the Water God, my Master from so long ago.
<span style="font-weight:400">And then, beside her, was the blue-haired swordsman who was currently ring at me.
<span style="font-weight:400">That… was Nina.
<span style="font-weight:400">Nina Farion, a Sword Saint and also the daughter of the current Sword God.
<span style="font-weight:400">I guess inherited talent was a real thing, huh?
<span style="font-weight:400">I would say it was due to their upbringing, but one couldn’t be a Saint-rank swordsman without talent, especially at such a young age.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hello… is there something wrong?” I asked, looking at the two curiously.
<span style="font-weight:400">“No, it’s just… you two really have a loving rtionship, huh?” Isolte said with a nice smile. “I’m d to see that Eris’ trust in you was not misced. That would be a tragedy.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah, I love her quite a bit,” I said, looking over to Nina. “And you… I should thank you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Huh?” she voiced, flinching back surprise. “What do you mean, ‘thank me’?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Huh… the way she looked at me and Eris… was that jealousy?
<span style="font-weight:400">Well, she was a girl after all, so I suppose she wanted a taste of romance as well.
<span style="font-weight:400">Too bad I was off limits, though.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Of course. You’re Eris’ friend, right? And you’ve also been watching out for her,” I said, smiling at her. “So thank you. And I hope you can continue doing so.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“U-Uh… sure,” she said, eyebrows narrowed in a mix of surprise and anger.
<span style="font-weight:400">Clicking her tongue, she then grabbed two wooden swords from next to the ground, tossing one over to me.
<span style="font-weight:400">As I had quickly realized, here in the Sword Sanctum, they just had practice swords littered everywhere.
<span style="font-weight:400">Quite convenient, I suppose.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Fight me!” she said, ring at me. “A-And… you’ll be my bitch if you lose! Ha!”
<span style="font-weight:400">…What?
<span style="font-weight:400">Eris had told me how she was able to handle Nina, even though the girl had grown since their first battle.
<span style="font-weight:400">And yesterday… I had beat Eris handily right in front of her…
<span style="font-weight:400">Was she an idiot? Overconfident? Or was this something else?
<span style="font-weight:400">Either way… I wasn’t one to refuse a fight I knew I could win.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Uhh… sure,” I said, getting up and ignoring Eris’ snort ofughter.
<span style="font-weight:400">Facing the blue-haired girl, I kept my sword dipped toward the ground as she suddenly sprang at me, the sword reaching for my neck before Ished out my de, parrying her sword as I rebounded the touki into her arm, causing her to let go of her sword and sending it soaring through the air.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I win,” I said, cing my sword against the surprised girl’s neck. “Umm… nice try?”
<span style="font-weight:400">I watched as Nina’s eyes twitched in anger before Isolte suddenly pped in light apuse.
<span style="font-weight:400">“So you really are a Water Saint… no, that application of <em><span style="font-weight:400">Flow</em><span style="font-weight:400"> was even better,” she said, looking at me with admiration. “Leon Greyrat… I hope I can ask you for a spar sometimeter.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Later?” I asked, raising my eyebrow in question. “Not right now?”
<span style="font-weight:400">She shook her head.
<span style="font-weight:400">“As much as I’d like to, we did note here to spar,” she said. “The Sword God and Grandmother have asked to see you. If you don’t mind, could youe with us?”
<span style="font-weight:400">I nodded, looking back to Eris, generating some water to clean her off as I tied her hair back into a beautiful bun before preparing to head back to the main dojo where I had been summoned.
<span style="font-weight:400">Well… I suppose it was time to meet the Sword God.
<span style="font-weight:400">Oh, and also see my Master after so long.
<span style="font-weight:400">I hope she was proud of my growth.
<span style="font-weight:400">— Leon Greyrat —
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s nice to meet you, Gal Farion,” I said, looking at the man in front of me. “Or would you prefer if I called you the Sword God?”
<span style="font-weight:400">His eyes traced my body, narrowed, just as they had been ever since I stepped into the hall.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Heh,” he said, smirking. “Call me whatever you want, brat.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I nodded before looking at the old woman that was standing next to him, my smile widening slightly.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s nice to see you again, Master,” I said, bowing my head. “I’ve discovered how to use the<em><span style="font-weight:400"> Dance of Deluge</em><span style="font-weight:400"> that you left me… or at least I think so.”
<span style="font-weight:400">She smiled back at me, her wrinkles deepening as she spoke back, “Yeah, I can tell you’re damn strong now. It gives me pride that I made such a monster, even if I only helped you for a bit.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The Sword God nodded along with her words.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You can stay here as long as you want,” he said as he got up. “But… I want a spar in return.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Well, I somehow expected things to go like this. And even if it didn’t, I would have asked for one anyway.
<span style="font-weight:400">After all, this would be the best way to get some insights into how to improve my swordsmanship.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Just don’t kill him, Gal,” Master said, narrowing her eyes. “Not mentioning me, your newest disciple would kill you in your sleep.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah, yeah, I’m not gonna,” the Sword God said, unsheathing his sword. “As long as he’s good enough, that is.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Why did he have to say that?
<span style="font-weight:400">That was just like what Master said when I first met her all those years ago.
<span style="font-weight:400">Was this a shitty joke that divine-level swordsmen loved to tell?
<span style="font-weight:400">Because it truly was not funny.
<span style="font-weight:400">Sighing to myself, I unsheathed my de, gripping the sword with both hands as I set my stance.
<span style="font-weight:400">The Sword God… I could see the touki flowing through his body and into his sword.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was… extremely refined… and ridiculously efficient.
<span style="font-weight:400">In that one moment as he gripped his sword, his touki immediately coated his de with a perfect application, all in an instant.
<span style="font-weight:400">Speed and precision… that was the Sword God style for you, so it made sense that the person at the pinnacle of it would have such a style of touki.
<span style="font-weight:400">He was ridiculously strong, and way more experienced than me.
<span style="font-weight:400">But… despite that strength… it was nothing in front of the monster that was Orsted.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hm? You don’t seem that scared, brat,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “Most people are quivering a bit by now.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well… most people haven’t been stabbed by the Dragon God,” I said. “Nowe on. I’m getting bored here.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The Sword God chuckled to himself before I saw the touki on his de solidify as he began to swing out, his deunching a wave of touki my way.
<span style="font-weight:400">…What?
<span style="font-weight:400">So… he could do that too… manipting touki from afar…
<span style="font-weight:400">Well, at least I now knew that I could learn some stuff here. But to think the missing piece to my swordsmanship had been so close…
<span style="font-weight:400">Focusing on my de, I forced my touki to rise to the surface as I also swung,unching my own de of touki just in time to stop his in between us, a crack echoing through the hall.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Damn… well I’ll be,” the Sword God said, his eyes wide in surprise. “You’re better than I thought, brat.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“And you’re holding back too much,” I returned, setting into a Water God stance once again.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well, it’d be no fun if it ended in one strike,” he said before he grinned dangerously. “But alright. I’ll ramp up the pace.”
<span style="font-weight:400">And with that, our spar started in earnest, with the Sword God crossing the distance between us in an instant as his sword whipped towards me.
<span style="font-weight:400">Having already spread my touki into the hair, I countered his strike just as he entered my range, causing him to back off as I went on the attack, a st of wind magic pushing me forward as I swung towards him.
<span style="font-weight:400">Obviously, he blocked it.
<span style="font-weight:400">But I had expected that.
<span style="font-weight:400">Concentrating touki in my legs, I sprinted around the Sword God, twisting my body as I couched down and delivering a strike to his legs that he evaded once again.
<span style="font-weight:400">Damn… past his touki control and speed, this guy’s reactions were insane.
<span style="font-weight:400">With some distance now between us, the Sword God crouched down, touki thrumming across his body and into his de as it thenshed out, making me drop to the ground to dodge the strike.
<span style="font-weight:400">Fuck.
<span style="font-weight:400">I wanted to spar him to watch his touki flow with my Demon eye, but he was too damn fast.
<span style="font-weight:400">Maybe… if I could just get used to it, but… I wasn’t at that level yet.
<span style="font-weight:400">Standing back up, I extended my hand, sending a st of wind magic before I concentrated on a few sharp des of wind to follow behind it, but with one swipe of the sword… the man blew it all away.
<span style="font-weight:400">Shit… that strong fucker.
<span style="font-weight:400">Nullifying my magic with a sword swing… fucking ridiculous.
<span style="font-weight:400">“He~? You pissed off?” he said, smirking pridefully.
<span style="font-weight:400">Dammit. That just made me angrier.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Huh? You’re getting even more pissed off?” he said, a bit confused. “What’s up with that?”
<span style="font-weight:400">I gritted my teeth.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You remind me of my shitty father when he was a prick,” I said, sprinting forward.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You got a mouth on ya, kid!” heughed, stopping my strike with a smooth parry.
<span style="font-weight:400">That… was the Water God style… so he was also good at defence too.
<span style="font-weight:400">How annoying.
<span style="font-weight:400">His sword tore through the air in a smooth movement, cutting through the air as he struck me once again, his touki shing across his de at the point of impact, causing my sword to get blown back.
<span style="font-weight:400">And then, with the speed deserving of the head of the Sword God style, the hilt of his sword struck my neck, breaking through my touki defence and sending me sprawling to the ground.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well… you lost, kid,” he said, tapping my head with his sword.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah, I… got that,” I said, wiping the sweat from my brow as I got up.
<span style="font-weight:400">Fuck… he was strong as shit, and not nearly as one-dimensional as I had initially expected.
<span style="font-weight:400">And then that speed… I knew he would be fast, but I can’t even get any views of his sword technique and how he uses his touki for long range attacks.
<span style="font-weight:400">…Wait.
<span style="font-weight:400">Why was I focusing on his long range attacks and sword technique?
<span style="font-weight:400">If I’m getting overwhelmed by his speed… then shouldn’t I try to emte that first?
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well, even though you lost, that was a damn good disy,” the Sword God said, breaking me out of my thoughts. “It’s been a while since I tried that hard, and while I can’t give you the title of a Sword Emperor until you defeat a Sword King in front of me, with your strength, you can call yourself an Emperor in whatever weird style you use.”
<span style="font-weight:400">His words caused me to widen my eyes in surprise.
<span style="font-weight:400">An Emperor… so I was an Elemental Emperor now… cool!
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well… a weak one though,” he added, scratching his ear with a shrug.
<span style="font-weight:400">…Not so cool.
<span style="font-weight:400">Dusting myself off, I then bowed to the man.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Thank you for the spar,” I said. “And… thanks for not killing me.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ha! My pleasure!” he said as he then looked to the side of the hall. “Plus… you’ve given my students some motivation as well.”
<span style="font-weight:400">ncing to the side, I saw that Eris, Isolte, and Nina, who had been watching our bout, now had an aura of fierce determination radiating off of them.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was almost… scary.
<span style="font-weight:400">I didn’t know whether I should hope that Eris’ enhanced tenacityes out to tonight in bed or not.
<span style="font-weight:400">We had already gone hard enoughst night that we used touki unconsciously, after all, and even though I had healed myself after the act, it still hurt in the morning.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You’ve had your fun, Gal,” Master said, stepping forward as she looked down at me with interest. “Now… I want to see your skills. I saw you use it… <em><span style="font-weight:400">Dance of Deluge</em><span style="font-weight:400">… it wasn’t an exact application, but it wasn’t inferior to it either. Consider yourself a Water King, brat.”
<span style="font-weight:400">My lips quirked up into a smile.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Thank you, Master,” I said as I drew my de. “Now… can I ask for your teachings once again?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Heh. How polite,” she returned, taking out her de.
<span style="font-weight:400">A few moments of silencepsed between us before she lifted her eyebrow.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well? You’re not going to make this olddy move first, are you?” she asked. “You want to see some Water God style techniques, no? You have to attack for me to show you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">And so, following her words, I concentrated my touki in my legs, letting it burst off the ground as I leaped forward, my sword aimed at the woman’s arm.
<span style="font-weight:400">But as soon as I began concentrating my touki, she began moving her own, the mysterious energy generating a screen in front of her.
<span style="font-weight:400">And as soon as I reached that screen, and my sword bearing down to cut through it… everything was reversed.
<span style="font-weight:400">My sword, my touki, my body… I was sent flying back before I could even realize what had happened, with a gash on my arm, right where I was aiming at on her body.
<span style="font-weight:400">What… the fuck?
<span style="font-weight:400">“That… you brat, was <em><span style="font-weight:400">Ocean’s Mirror</em><span style="font-weight:400">,” she said. “Like trying to walk into the waves on a beach, everything gets sent back to you, sending you tumbling back no matter how much you try to fight it. Pretty cool, huh? Even though I haven’t mastered that one yet.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Y-Yeah… that’s one way to put it,” I said, healing myself.
<em><span style="font-weight:400">Ocean’s Mirror</em><span style="font-weight:400">… so it can reflect anything… touki, velocity, attacks… that really was an insane technique, and that wasn’t even the mastered version.
<span style="font-weight:400">How the hell did touki have such power and an ability?
<span style="font-weight:400">That was almost like magic, at that point.
<span style="font-weight:400">“But Master… should you really be showing off such secret techniques right here?” I asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ah, Gal here is already a Water Emperor,” she said, waving off my concern. “He definitely knows all this stuff, so there’s no need for any secrecy between us.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I see… so the Sword God did know the Water God style… that exins how he kicked my ass so easily.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Come on, kid! This time it’s one where you don’t need to move, so watch carefully,” Master said.
<span style="font-weight:400">And so, following her exact words, I watched carefully. Activating my Demon eye as I observed a wave of touki flow from her de, shooting towards me as it then… created a ring around me?
<span style="font-weight:400">I… didn’t quite understand, but as soon as I got up to move, I felt it.
<span style="font-weight:400">I was… slower.
<span style="font-weight:400">Much slower.
<span style="font-weight:400">And I could feel it… if this was a serious fight and not a spar… I would already be dead.
<span style="font-weight:400">A… barrier of touki?
<span style="font-weight:400">One that affects me physically?
<span style="font-weight:400">That… seemed useful, if a little passive.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You got it?” she asked, flicking her sword as the touki dissipated into thin air. “That’s <em><span style="font-weight:400">Rainfall Waltz</em><span style="font-weight:400">. Like a downpour, it surrounds your opponents, ending the fight as soon as you entrap them. After all, no matter how fast… you can’t dodge the rain, right?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah…” I said, nodding as I turned to face her again. “What’s next, Master?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well… just this one. I can’t perform any other art, after all,” she said. “Oh, and master one of these, and you’ll be a Water Emperor, so concentrate.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I got it,” I nodded, looking forward.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Alright then,” she said. “This one is <em><span style="font-weight:400">Churning Tide</em><span style="font-weight:400">. It takes in the power and touki of a strike before cycling it, amplifying it across the user’s sword before returning it to the initial attacker. So it goes without saying that unless you want to die, don’t attack me too hard.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I… got it,” I said, readying my sword.
<span style="font-weight:400">And then, taking a deep breath, I stepped forward, closing the distance in an instant as I swung towards her sword.
<span style="font-weight:400">She said not to use too much power, but… I wanted to see it.
<span style="font-weight:400">I wanted to see it for all the technique’s beauty.
<span style="font-weight:400">And to see the technique being used properly… I needed a good amount of touki and power to show off.
<span style="font-weight:400">Our swords shing, I felt my momentum halt as my touki drained from my sword, the touki flooding her de, churning and twisting along her sword before gathering at the tip, and in a sh, I felt a pain blossom across my chest as I was sent flying back for a second time, tumbling back as blood sprayed through the air.
<span style="font-weight:400">Ouch… that burned.
<span style="font-weight:400">I don’t think I had been hit this bad since the Hydra.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Leon!” Eris shouted with worry.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’m… fine,” I said, lifting my shaky arm to heal the gash on my chest. “That… fucking hurt.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well, you went too hard, dumb brat,” Master said, walking up to me as she then kicked my side. “Did you at least get a good feel for it?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah… ‘feel for it’ is one way to exin that,” I chuckled, sitting up. “That… it seems like I have a lot of work to do.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I didn’tpletely understand, but now that I knew what I was working with, and the movement of the touki seared into my memory, I could train it.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah, I would hope so. It would hurt this old woman’s heart if you mastered four of the five arts so fast,” she said. “But… you’re not going to give up, right?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hell no,” I spat, getting to my feet. “But thank you for the lesson.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Just use it well,” she said, patting my head as she looked down at my sword. “And that sword… it’s nice, but… it won’t handle anything further.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I looked down at my sword with a difficult expression.
<span style="font-weight:400">I… really didn’t want to break this.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was the first gift Eris had given me, and it had served me quite well through the years… even if it was a bit short for me now.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hey, Gal!” Master shouted. “You’re not using most of those swords, right? Give one to him, will ya?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Eh? That brat?” the Sword God said, looking at me. “Well… he did kick Nina’s ass earlier-”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hey!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“-and she’s a Sword Saint, so I guess he’s a Sword King.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Then it’s only right, yeah?” Master said.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hah. Yeah, I guess,” he said, walking over to the door at the back of the room. “I’m not giving him my special collection, since those three are waiting for their owners to get a bit stronger, but I have one in mind for him.”
<span style="font-weight:400">He then went into the door, which I assumed to be his personal room, and after a few moments, returned with a in sword that seemed to be a style simr to my father’s.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Here. This one ain’t anything special, but it’s damn durable, so I’ve used it as my training sword in the past,” he said, tossing me the de. “That should be able to handle anything you throw at it. Ah, but you’ll need a sheath… well, you can probably find one anywhere for it.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I… see. Thank you, sir,” I said.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Think nothing of it,” he waved me off. “While not my student, you’re still a Sword King, so you should have a weapon to reflect that. Besides… I had some fun ying with you, soe spar whenever ya want.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Nodding my head, I then turned to Eris, my eyebrows furrowing slightly as my conflicted feelings began to rise to the surface.
<span style="font-weight:400">The spellsword that was so important to me… further than bing too brittle to use for stronger swordsmanship, it hadn’t been helping me with magic as much anymore, granting me diminishing returns as I became more skilled with mana control and optimizing its efficiency.
<span style="font-weight:400">But still… she gave it to me for the purpose of using it… and it had been with me for so long…
<span style="font-weight:400">“Rece it,” Eris said, looking at me. “Don’t be an idiot, Leon. We can just save it and give it to our kid, okay?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Ah… well, that was one way to conclude my inner turmoil.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Sure thing,” I said, nodding as I then turned back to the Sword God. “And… what’s the name of this sword?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hm? I just called it my practice sword, so I didn’t really care,” he said, scratching his ear. “But if I remember correctly, it was one of Yulian’s, even if it wasn’t anything special. And as for the name… I believe it was <em><span style="font-weight:400">Severance</em><span style="font-weight:400">.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Huh… quite a simple name, fit for a simple sword.
<span style="font-weight:400">And so, I became the bearer of Severance, one of the 49 swords made from the bones of the king of King Dragons, Kajakut, forged by the legendary craftsman, Yulian Jalisco.
<span style="font-weight:400">…Though to me, this thing would just be my new sword.
<span style="font-weight:400">Sorry, Severance, but I’ll be sure to maintain you to the best of my ability.
<span style="font-weight:400">— Leon Greyrat —
<span style="font-weight:400">Before I knew it, my week at the Sword Sanctum had passed, with me sparring with one of the divine-rank swordsmen during the mornings, training by myself with Eris and her friends in the afternoons, and then being drained for all I was worth during the nights.
<span style="font-weight:400">On the surface, my swordsmanship hadn’t improved much, except for using my touki a bit more efficiently and bing a bit faster from watching the Sword God.
<span style="font-weight:400">But I took the time to observe both of the divine-rank swordsmen carefully during our spars, along with their spars with others, so I now knew how to improve.
<span style="font-weight:400">And I also now knew that my touki defences were… mediocre at best.
<span style="font-weight:400">They were still stronger than most, but I was using the technique of the Dragon God, and mine was a pretty weak imitation. Weaker than I had initially thought.
<span style="font-weight:400">You see, even before sparring against the Sword God, he had already respected my abilities.
<span style="font-weight:400">Why?
<span style="font-weight:400">Because I had cut the Dragon God.
<span style="font-weight:400">Yes… the strongest human swordsman respected me… just because I cut him.
<span style="font-weight:400">A single cut.
<span style="font-weight:400">That was how legendary the Dragon God’s defences were.
<span style="font-weight:400">So for me to be so easily harmed while using the same technique ofyering touki… that was quite pathetic.
<span style="font-weight:400">But it also meant that I still had quite a ways to grow, so I would just have to keep training it.
<span style="font-weight:400">However, that would have to wait.
<span style="font-weight:400">The week had been as productive as it was pleasurable, and while I enjoyed my time here, I did have a pregnant lover to get back to.
<span style="font-weight:400">“So… you’re going?” Eris asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I have to,” I said, tying thest of my bags onto the horse. “But I did love spending time with you. And when you get back, you’ll be my wife, and we’ll be spending as much time as we want together for the rest of our lives.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah… I get it,” she said, her cheeks flushing a bit.
<span style="font-weight:400">Since Eris only had her sword and a couple changes of clothes as her belongings, I decided to take her dress back with me so she could pack light on her way back.
<span style="font-weight:400">But make no mistake, we definitely got our use out of it during my time here.
<span style="font-weight:400">As it turns out, the side slits made for very easy ess, and were wonderfully useful in bed.
<span style="font-weight:400">Looking back to Eris, I walked up to her, embracing her tightly as I took in a whiff of her hair, taking in as much of the scent as I could before we would be separated again.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll miss you,” I said.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll miss you too,” she said, tilting her head up to exchange a deep kiss, one more gentle and loving rather than lustfully passionate, which had been most of our kisses so far.
<span style="font-weight:400">Parting our lips, I gave her onest peck on the nose before pulling away from her.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I love you, Eri,” I said. “No matter what, I love you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“And I love you too,” she said, smiling back at me.
<span style="font-weight:400">Taking onest look at her, I then got on my horse, deciding that staying any longer would only be a way to convince me to stay one more night.
<span style="font-weight:400">My Eris was an addictive woman like that.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Take care of yourself, okay?” I said. “And I’m waiting at home for you. <em><span style="font-weight:400">Our </em><span style="font-weight:400">home.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Her eyes widened as she then nodded fiercely.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Don’t worry, Leon,” she said, smiling. “I’lle back to you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Good,” I said, nodding. “Just… don’t take too long. Ah! And I’ll send you letters to keep you updated!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“You know that I still suck at reading!” she huffed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Then get Isolte to help you out!” I said,ughing as I began trotting away. “See you soon, Eri.”
<span style="font-weight:400">And with that, I departed from the Sword Sanctum with my mind and body refreshed, a new sword attached to my hip, and more ideas gained from my spars with the Sword God and Water God that I would surely put into practice.
<span style="font-weight:400">But first… I had to be a father.