Editor Makoto

It was already well past noon by the time Fran and Asurasu ended their mock battle that looked nothing short of a killing contest. Fran and Asurasu were now chatting over a pile of onigiri I served as a slightly late lunch.

Mogu. You seem to have gotten a lot of your fighting sense back.

Mhm. Mogyu Mogyu.

The half-day battle with Asurasu allowed both Fran and I to improve tremendously in using our skills during combat. While its still not as good as it once was, its unlikely that we will be in a pinch while in combat because of it.

It seems that the foundation has been solidified. Now its just a matter of application and practice.

Thank you. You really saved us.

Mogu mogu. I had a good time, too, you know?

Asurasu only laughed lightly in response to my grat.i.tude. He looked embarra.s.sed. Perhaps, he was not used to being thanked.

After this, try to actively hunt for demonic beasts in various places. Thats the most efficient way to train.

With a rice ball in each hand and a grain of rice sticking to the side of his mouth, Asurasu told me what we needed to do in the future.

Training in live combat with demon beasts Well, now that you mention it, it might be useful, but To be honest, Im worried. Wouldnt it be better to practice with our skills a little bit more?

Thats what I thought. But

Master, Im going to find a demon beast.

Isnt it too early for that?

Im finding one now.

Fran was motivated.

It cant be helped, lets find a demonic beast. Lets at least start with the weaker demonic beasts at first. If there are some goblins around, I can eradicate them without a care in the world.

As we were discussing what kind of demonic beast we should look for, Asurasu lightly stepped forward. I guess he was done eating as he hit his stomach lightly. This guy ate about 20 rice b.a.l.l.s by himself.

Ill show you some interesting stuff at the end.

Interesting stuff?

Oh, since Master is so determined to one day surpa.s.s the divine sword.

Fran believes that I can.

Mhm. Master will be the strongest one day!

Hearing those words, Asurasu smiled ferociously. Then, in a slow motion, he thrust Gaia up to the heavens.

What are you doing???

Then, witness this! Witness this and see how far youve come!

In response to Asurasus spirited voice, we could see magic gus.h.i.+ng out of his ma.s.sive body.

Ooo ooooo! Divine sword release!

A magical power strong enough to visually manifest flowed into Gaia from Asurasu. Then, using that magical power as a source, Gaia unleashed her true power.

Ooooo

Uooo!

If we hadnt put up a barrier as soon as possible, we would have been blown away. Even if we were already more than 10 meters away, we would still get blown away. That much magic was raging around Asurasu.

I know you think well be fine, but you need to be a little more careful!

Fran looked at me with a twinkle in her eye, though!

When the stormy magic subsided, Gaias figure had mutated into the oddest weapon I saw in the dungeon before. Its that thing, like an over-decorated mixture of a siege hammer and a greatsword.

Just by existing, a tremendous sense of intimidation, even more so than the Lord Intimidation skill, covered the surroundings. Even though she knew Asurasu wasnt hostile, Fran cant help but back away.

Furthermore, the surrounding atmosphere, magical power, and the earth itself were shaking as if resonating with the magical power of the earth sword, Gaia.

Appraisal doesnt work on it after all

However, probably because of my growth due to the refurbishment, it was a little better than before.

Name

: Earth sword, Gaia

Attack power (ATK)

: 4700

Magic Power (MP)

: 20000

Durability

: 30000

Magical Conductivity

: SS+

Skill

Only attack power, magic power and durability can be seen. Well, progress is progress.

What Im about to show you is a piece of Gaias power. Let it burn in your eyes!

Asurasu set up to carry Gaia on his back. A brownish aura glaringly rose from Gaia. I could feel a vicious and intimidating magical power spreading.

Haaaaaaaaa!

Its no longer at the level of vibrations or the like. The Earth was now shaking as if it were an earthquake, with Asurasu as the epicenter.

Look at this! Ohhhhh!

Asurasu leaped. However, that leap was really unnatural. He didnt seem to have put much effort into it, but he rapidly accelerated and rose to the sky. Perhaps, they manipulated gravity.

He continued to jump up to a height of about 30 meters and only then began to plummet with unexpected timing and speed.

Gravity Blow!

Then, the moment Asurasu slammed the swirling magic-clad Gaia into the earth, the 30-meter square of earth surrounding him caved in at the same time, reaching a depth of over 20 meters. Earth with that much ma.s.s was compressed in an instant.

So cool!

Ye- Yeah

What if we were in the range of that attack? We would have been helplessly crushed to death. At the very least, there would have been no way to save ourselves other than to escape with a dimensional leap.

How was it? I cant really release all of its power. This was only about 50%

Are you telling me this is only half of the full power even though its already this powerful?

Once again, I was reminded of the violence of the divine sword. At the same time, I was glad that Asurasu was out of control in a dungeon where he couldnt get serious.

If wed been out there fighting Asurasu at full throttle, we wouldnt be here at all. Moreover, whats frightening is that Asurasu, who unleashed that attack, wasnt perturbed at all. Maybe, as he himself said, this wasnt his best.

Perhaps, this is the level you are aiming for right now. However, this is only part of it.

Ones Destination.

Ho?

Because Fran said so. I cant just give up.

Fuhahaha. I see! Well, next time we meet, lets do a mock fight again! At that time, let me be a little more serious.

Mhm! Lets absolutely fight seriously!

No, No, Fran?

Im nodding with such a motivated look in my eyes, but I dont want to have a mock battle with a serious Asurasu or anything like that. No, Asurasu cant do mock battles seriously because of the mad demonization, right? So that means its just pep talk for Fran.

Then, Ill be going first.

Sheathing Gaia, he turned his back on us and began to walk away. He wasnt heading to Alistairs Mansion. Rather, he was going the opposite direction.

Youre leaving already?

Ou. Its not in my nature to stay in one place for very long.

Thats a lie.I dont have to use my skills to know that. After all, as long as he had mad demonization, the fear of not knowing when he was going to go off the rails haunted Asurasu. In fact, its probably because weve become so close that we couldnt stay together for long.

If it wasnt for the training with Fran, you could have stayed here much longer.

However, if he said that, it would watered down Asurasus spirit, who was willing to go along with the mock battle, even if he had to speed up the activation of his own mad demonization.

Fran waved with a forlorn look while looking at Asurasu.

Bye bye.

See you.

Yeah, see you soon!

Then, Asurasu left with a quick dash.

Hmmm, it looks cool.

I cant help but admire it. If I was just a little bit more young, I might have called him Aniki!