WIEDERGEBURT Act II: Chapter 7

It took several days to reach the encampment where over one hundred members of the Battling Valkyries and the Paladin Sect were milling about. The temporary base of operations was located on a flat grassland several dozen kilometers from Vahn, which we could see in the distance. I counted at least two hundred tents and huts of various sizes. All of them were simple accomodations made of animal skin. Arrayed around the huts were burning fires where people cooked, sat around, and ate.

Erica’s carriage had stopped on the encampment’s outskirts and we walked the rest of the way.

“I know it isn’t much to look at,” Erica told us. “All of this was put together in just a few days. We’re hoping it won’t take more than a day or two to clean out the city.”

“If it’s just temporary, there isn’t much reason to make it pretty,” Kari said with a shrug.

Erica smiled. “That was what Tungsten said as well.”

Several members of the Battling Valkyries greeted Erica as she led us past them, which she returned with a wave and a smile. This woman really did seem well-liked by her sect. That was probably why she was the second-in-command.

“Is it true that you might become the successor of the Battling Valkyries?” I asked.

“I doubt that.” Erica gave me a self-deprecating grin. “I am strong and good at handling administrative work, but I have nothing on our leader. She might not be one for handling the day to day affairs, but none can defeat her when it comes to battle. Our Battling Valkyries cherish strength above everything else.”

I nodded at her answer, but honestly, I was pretty sure if anyone would take over the Battling Valkyries some time in the future, it would be this woman.

We soon made it to a large hut with a pointed roof. Erica moved the flaps aside as she walked in, and we followed behind her, entering an enclosed space that was empty save for the table in its center and the people surrounding it.

I didn’t recognize any of the people, but they were a mix of women and men dressed from head to toe in armor. Everyone their seemed to favor metal over leather, unlike myself and Kari. We preferred leather armor because it was lighter. In our line of work as explorers, we were more concerned with how fast we could move rather than how well-protected we were. Protection was what our Spiritual Auras were for anyway.

“I see you’ve brought those two you kept telling me about,” a man said after looking up from the table.

The person who had spoken was a large man, but he wasn’t beefy. He was about as tall as me, maybe a little shorter, and he had a head of sandy blond hair. His body was covered in hard, corded muscles. His arms were completely bare, which meant I could see the way his biceps and triceps flexed with every movement. Like the others, he wore a gleaming steel chestplate, gauntlets, and greaves. A large battle axe was strapped to his back.

“This is Tungsten Ess,” Erica introduced. “He is the second-in-command of the Paladin Sect and currently ranked as one of the strongest warriors in Midgard. He’s among the top five, in case you were wondering.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Kari and I greeted the man.

Tungsten snorted. “I’m sure it would be if our situation wasn’t so dire. Now that you two have finally arrived, I hope we can get down to business and plan out how we’re going to retake Vahn.”

While the man’s short and temperamental response was off-putting, Kari and I were smart enough to recognize that this tense situation probably called for that kind of response. We gathered around the table with the others. Erica stood beside Tungsten as the two of them began the meeting.

“We have three goals,” Tungsten said as he held up a hand and extended a single finger. “One: To retake the city.” He held up a second finger. “Two: To destroy all members of the Cult of the Great Overlord.” He held up a third finger. “Three: To close the warp gate that is allowing them to pour into our world.”

“Our world?” one of the other men asked. “So it’s been confirmed that these people aren’t from our world?”

Erica shook her head. “This is merely our belief. It hasn’t been confirmed. However, I’ve checked the archives being stored by the Librarian Guild and there’s no record of these creatures ever existing.”

“There are actually some records of them existing from before the Catastrophe,” I suddenly interrupted.

Everyone, even Erica, blinked in surprise.

“There are?” she asked.

I nodded, but I let Kari step forward and explain what we knew.

“Everyone knows that the ruins spread across the continent are thousands of years old and date to before the Catastrophe, which resulted in a huge drop in our population and humanity as a whole regressing technologically. These ruins are things humans simply cannot build.” Kari paused to clear her throat. “In any case, Eryk and I were tasked with exploring a ruin that had been discovered several months back. Ruins often have a lot of symbolic artwork depicting creatures that aren’t listed in any of our historical text. One of the ruins we explored depicted creatures who looked like that man we fought against in the ruins near the Tropicana Peninsula.”

The men and women around the table stirred, and even Tungsten seemed a little shocked. Soft mutterings broke out among them.

“This has led us to believe that the Catastrophe may, in fact, have been caused by these creatures,” I took over for Kari. “What happened thousands of years ago that destroyed our civilization? How come we have no record of it beyond simple references to a great catastrophe that befell the continent? We think these cultists were the cause.”

I stopped talking and allowed the people around is to speak up themselves. A lot of them expressed their agreement with our views. Several of them were nodding along as though what we said made sense, even though we didn’t actually have undeniable proof of our claims.

“This is all interesting theories,” Tungest began with his arms crossed, “but none of it is actually relevant to our current situation. I believe we should be focusing on creating a plan to retake Vahn. We can save the theories on who these people are after the city has been reclaimed by us.”

No one could really argue with what he was saying, not even Kari, though from her puffed up cheeks, I could tell she wanted to. In either event, the man was right. Reclaiming Vahn was our first priority.

Spread across the table was a map of Vahn. Large and highly detailed, it contained information on all of the buildings located inside of the city along with historic landmarks.

“We don’t have an accurate estimation of how large the forces inside of Vahn are,” Tungsten said. “Even so, it’s been about two weeks since they occupied the city. We can assume their forces have grown to at least ten or fifteen thousand. This is a light estimate we’ve made based on reconnaissance done by members of the Assassins Sect.”

“Our own forces are nowhere near that size,” Erica added. “Even if we brought all members of the Battling Valkyries and Paladin Sects with us, we’d only number about 5,000.”

“What’s the number of our current forces?” I asked.

“About 3,500,” Erica admitted.

“Can we really retake the city with so few?” asked Kari.

“Of course we can,” Tungsten made his bold declaration with a raised fist.  “They may have superior numbers, but most of them are individually weak. We’ve classified them into three different types. There are the Grunts. These are the weakest but most numerous of the bunch. Someone like myself or Erica can annihilate them in droves. Then there are the Elites. They are intelligent, capable of human speech, and a lot stronger, but they can still be killed in single combat. The only ones we need to worry about are the Beasts.”

The term had a somewhat ominous ring to it, perhaps because the name shared something in common with Demon Beasts.

“What are these Beasts?” asked one of the Battling Valkyries.

“They are the strongest of the three types of creature who’ve emerged from the warp gates,” Erica answered. “They’re highly intelligent and powerful enough to destroy a building with their bare hands. You can usually tell a Beast apart from the Elites and Grunts by how big they are. Beasts are usually large and physically imposing. They’re about three times bigger than the average human. That said, unlike Grunts and Elites, who generally all look the same, Beasts tend to have variations in size and shape.”

“Not only are beasts physically strong, they are also able to use powerful Spiritual Techniques,” Tungsten added. “They all seem to have an affinity for the darkness element, so Spiritual Light Techniques work well against them. However, they don’t have to use movements to channel their Spiritual Power, so not only are they incredibly powerful, their techniques don’t take as long to activate.”

Once again, their words shocked everyone to their core.

Spiritual Techniques required specified movements in order to activate. Without those movements, it was impossible for humans to properly channel their Spiritual Power and expel it in a technique. While Demon Beasts could use Spiritual Attacks, they were limited to one type of attack. The only creatures who could use Spiritual Techniques without movement were Lamia, Dragons, and…

“Eryk, that sounds a lot like what you can do,” Kari whispered in my ear.

I nodded, but I didn’t say anything. I looked around the table at the people talking amongst themselves, and then glanced at Tungsten and Erica, who were letting the conservations happen for a little while longer before deciding to settle everyone down.

“While there are a few Beasts located in Vahn, there aren’t a lot,” Erica said. “Our reports indicate there are only about two or three. Fortunately, while they are much harder to kill, it isn’t like they are invincible. I fought one myself not too long ago. Our Battling Valkyries managed to kill it by overpowering it with our teamwork.”

“Once our provisional army enters Vahn, we will be splitting up into multiple squads consisting of five people.” After giving everyone a rundown of their situation, Tungsten finally began introducing the plan for this operation. “Each squad will be linked together with three other squads, making for a total of twenty people each. Your goals will be to clear out key points of the city.”

As he spoke, Tungsten grabbed a calligraphy pen and circled numerous zones within the city. Several of them were large buildings located across various zones, but he also circled a number of plazas. Overall, he circled about 175 different areas that would apparently need to be reclaimed.

“These points are going to be secure zones where our forces can recuperate after the battle before the final push,” Erica said for everyone. “However, they also have another reason.” She paused to look at me and Kari. “They are a distraction. While these zones are being secured, the enemy will try to reclaim them. Meanwhile, Eryk, Kari, myself, and Tungsten will travel to the ruins located at the top of this mountain. That is where the warp gate that’s letting these creatures enter our world is located. Our group will infiltrate those ruins, find the gate, and destroy it.” She paused again. “Are there any questions?”

There were none. The meeting was soon finished and everyone was dismissed. We would have one night to rest up, and then tomorrow we would begin our mission to reclaim Vahn.

***

I woke up the next morning and went out to get breakfast for myself and Lin. I hadn’t been given a chance to buy food yet, so even though I did know a little about cooking, there wasn’t anything in my storage unit. Of course, calling it a storage unit was a misnomer. It was basically just a stone box with a lid. It didn’t even have any Runes etched on it to keep the food fresh.

I bought some bread and dried fruit for myself, but due to Lin’s carnivorous nature, I asked someone who was setting up his stall if I could have some of his kebab skewers. They weren’t cooked yet, but I could do that part myself.

Lin was still asleep when I arrived home. She must have exhausted herself waiting for me to return home last night. To be honest, I was a little tired myself, but even though this body of mine wasn’t used to working without rest, my mind refused to sit on its laurels. It woke me up at the crack of dawn and told me I needed to get a start on my day.

After setting down my bread and fruit, I wandered into the kitchen.

The stone stove wasn’t much to look at. It was made from several stones layered on top of each other and filled with sediment. There were two parts to this stove, the first of which was the oven, and the second that was the stove top. The oven half was just an alcove where someone could bake foods like bread. The stove was just a hole at the very top. After filling the stove half with wood, I channeled a bit of lightning into my fingers, creating a spark to ignite the wood, and then I roasted the four kebabs I had bought over the open fire.

Loud sizzling filled the room, and the scent of cooked meat soon filled the air, though I couldn’t say I found that smell pleasant first thing in the morning. Several droplets of fat rolled off the pork bits, falling into the fire below. The fire crackled merrily as it consumed the highly flammable fat.

I think the smell woke up Lin. She wandered into the kitchen soon after I’d finished cooking the third kebab. Her eyes were partially closed. Her golden orbs just barely peeked out from between half-lidded eyelids. I was worried she might run into a wall if she didn’t open her eyes more fully.

“Darling… what is that delicious smell?” the Lamia girl asked, her mouth watering.

“Breakfast,” I answered. “It will be done in just a bit, so why don’t you sit down at the table?”

“Kay…”

Lin obviously wasn’t awake yet as she yawned and scratched her belly. She wasn’t wearing anything either. I took a moment to stare at her unguarded nipples, which were a bit hard from being in the cool air. Then I shook my head and finished cooking while she wandered back into the living room.

Walking into the living room with a plate of food, I watched almost warily as Lin’s golden eyes locked onto the kebabs and followed them. These moments really did make her seem like a predator. I set the plate down in front of her, and then seated myself.

“Darling?” Lin asked, her tail thumping against the ground.

“You can eat,” I said, shaking my head and smiling.

Lin didn’t hesitate to attack her food once I’d given her permission. I almost sighed at how she ate the meal without even tasting it, but I admirably held it in. I turned to my own food instead. Eating much more slowly than my companion, I thought about what I had to do that day.

“Lin?” I suddenly called out.

“Yes, Darling?”

Lin had already finished her meal, and it looked like eating had given her renewed energy. She was full of smiles as she looked at me. Her golden eyes held a slightly dreamy state, half-lidded and filled with a strangely simplistic sense of joy. Her childish expression was honestly endearing.

“I’m opening the library today,” I began, “and I was wondering what you wanted to do?”

As my words left my lips, Lin tilted her head and pondered the question. She was now allowed to roam outside. That said, it had only been a day since she began traveling outside of my house, and I was sure many people would still fear her. The only thing we had accomplished at present was making sure the Nevarian Spiritualists would not attack on sight. I still didn’t want her traveling outside alone.

“This princess will go with you,” she said at last. “She still has to study your written language.”

With Lin’s decision made, breakfast was finished quickly, and the two of us were soon leaving. I wore simple clothes today, black pants, a white shirt, and boots. On the other hand, Lin was wearing that skimpy outfit she and Kari bought the other day. I had to admit, she looked really good. Really good.

Opening the library was not difficult. I’d done it so many times that I could do it while blindfolded. It wasn’t long before everything was prepared and the doors were unlocked. While I got the library ready to receive people, Lin carried her parchment of notes on humanity’s written language to a table in the back, plopped down, and began studying.

People soon began entering, and while many of them looked at Lin like she was an oddity—even I couldn’t deny that a Lamia in Nevaria was, indeed, an odd sight—they didn’t say anything rude. That was good. Actually, a few people even seemed to find her dark skin and snake tail attractive.

“I was too shocked by her snake half yesterday, but you know… that girl is pretty hot.”

“Mhm. There’s something exotic about that dark skin.”

“I’m kinda interested in her lower body myself. I don’t know what it is, but that combination of half-woman, half-snake is just doing it for me.”

“Pervert.”

“Like you aren’t one as well!”

Listening to the conversations of the young teenage men sitting around caused some of the girls with them to wrinkle their noses in disgust, but even they had their own opinions about Lin.

“So that’s a Lamia, huh? She looks weird.”

“Do you think there are any male Lamia?”

“Don’t know, but I imagine there are.”

“Wouldn’t a cute boy Lamia be dreamy?”

“Of course no—actually, a hunky male Lamia does sound pretty good, now that I think about it.”

I didn’t pay too much attention to the conversations of the people using the library. After cleaning up, helping some people who needed me to find a book for them, and making sure everything was in order, I grabbed some writing supplies and sat down beside Lin.

“How’s the learning going?” I asked.

“Very difficult,” Lin admitted. “You humans have such an unusually and unnecessarily complicated writing system. Your symbols don’t even make sense.” Lin drew herself up and puffed out her chest. “Lamia writing is very simple. If we want to write about a bird, we draw a bird. If we want a human, we draw a human. We don’t use all these complicated signs like you humans do.”

I laughed a little at her explanation. “Well, I guess it would be a little weird for someone who is just learning about our writing system, but we do have our reasons for that.”

“If you say so.” Lin lowered her body again and looked down at the sheets of parchment. A slow smiled work itself onto her face. “That said, while this princess finds your writing system difficult, she can’t deny that there is a strange joy in learning it.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I replied with honesty.

As Lin began studying again, I turned my attention toward my own self-assigned task. I dipped my quill into a bottle of ink, and then began writing.

Goals now that I have gone back in time part 2

1. Save Neveria from Demon Beast Invasion - incomplete
2. Meet Kari and marry her again - ?
3. Help give birth to Kayli - incomplete
4. Defeat the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain - incomplete
5. Kill Grant Leucht - Complete

Most of my main goals were still incomplete. I’d met Kari and was now officially courting her, but I was also courting two other women on top of her, which made me wonder if I’d accomplished my goal or not. The Demon Beast Invasion was still a ways off, I didn’t even know where the Great Overlord was, and Grant Leucht had died by Kari’s hand instead of my own.

Thinking of the Demon Beast Invasion made me remember there were many steps toward completing this goal. I had met one of them. By winning the Spiritualist Grand Tournament, I was now in a position where I could potentially help strengthen Nevaria as a whole. Actually, I could also do that through the Alchemist Association by giving them more alchemy pills to make, but helping strengthen the Nevarian Spiritualists and Imperial Royal Guard was paramount.

“I’ll probably need to speak with Dante…” I murmured.

“What was that, Darling?” asked Lin.

“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”

“Hmm…”

There were several propositions I had to help strengthen the Nevarian Spiritualists, which meant I would need to speak with the people at the top. Dante and Rainer were, respectively, the sub-commanders and commander of the Nevarian Spiritualists. I would have to speak with one of them if I wanted my idea to go through, and if I had to speak with them, I would prefer talking to Dante.

On top of talking to Dante about my ideas, I needed to use the Alchemy Association to create more pills that would help Nevaria, train harder than ever before, and help Kari and Fay with their training as well. There was so much I needed to get done. It often felt like I didn’t have enough time to accomplish everything I wanted in any given day, which I realized now was because I was still working at the library.

At the beginning, it was fine. A lot of the things I wanted to do simply couldn’t be done. I didn’t have the clout necessary to accomplish anything. Now that I was the winner of the Spiritualist Grand Tournament, I could use my fame to put forth some of my ideas. My name held enough weight for that. However, to accomplish a lot of these goals, I would have to begin working harder, and for that I needed more time, which meant working at the librarian was hindering me.

I sighed.

“That’s a very deep sigh,” Lin said, looking up from her work. “Are you sure you are feeling okay?”

I gave her a smile. “Yeah… I’m just beginning to realize how much work I still have to do.”

Lin’s response was to tilt her head.

***

Time flowed by in the library. While Lin remained diligent with her studying, I had to take care of several issues that cropped up during my shift. Most of it revolved around helping people. Several individuals came up to me, and while they seemed wary of Lin, they asked me for help in locating this or that book. That said, I think some of them were coming to our table as a dare because sometimes they would put the book back several minutes after I found it for them.

Brats.

Ms. Nadine arrived when it was almost time for my shift to end, entering the doorway with that usual dry expression on her face. With blonde hair framing her face, she glanced around the library, but her green eyes stopped on Lin, who I realized only now I hadn’t introduced her to. 

“So this is the infamous Lamia girl I’ve been hearing about lately,” Ms. Nadine said in a voice so dry it reminded me of the Endless Desert. She glanced at the tip of Lin’s tail, which moved back and forth against the floor like a pendulum, and then turned her eyes toward me. “If I’m not mistaken, this Lamia girl is also the snake who came to the library with you several times, correct?”

“I’m not surprised you managed to figure that out,” I sighed. Scratching the back of my head, I wondered how I should bring up my desire to resign. I honestly didn’t want to. This library was like a second home to me.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to.

“I’ve noticed that you have been a lot busier than you used to be,” Ms. Nadine began.

“Wha—oh, yes. I suppose I have,” I admitted somewhat reluctantly.

“You know, if you have too much on your plate, you’ll have to cut some things off.” Adopting a somewhat lecture-ish pose, Ms. Nadine stared at me with those indominable green eyes of hers. “Taking on too much work will leave you little time to rest. You’ll eventually wear yourself so thin that you won’t be able to accomplish anything.”

I knew what she was hinting at, and I somehow couldn’t believe she’d seen through me, even though I probably should have. Ms. Nadine had known me the longest in my previous life until Kari came along.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized.

To my great surprise, Ms. Nadine smiled at me. “Why are you apologizing? I can tell you have a serious goal that you are pushing toward. Given how hard you are working, and how much work it seems you still need to do, it is only natural that you wouldn’t be able to stay here. To be honest, I’m surprised you didn’t quit after making all that money working alongside the Alchemist Association.”

My eyes widened. “How did you—”

“Let’s just say I know some people who send a lot of information my way,” Ms. Nadine said with a slight smirk, though it left a while later and was replaced with a somewhat befuddled look. “I don’t know why, but ever since that one morning when you showed up late, you’ve been acting differently. It isn’t enough to make me think you’ve become a completely different person, but it was like before you had no real goals or aspirations in life, and then suddenly, you found something that drove you to improve. I don’t know what it is, or what happened. However, I can tell that it’s important to you.”

While I wouldn’t deny I was shocked by how closely it appeared Ms. Nadine had been observing me, I was also touched. I hadn’t realized she cared enough to bother learning so much about me. Back in my previous timeline, she had never expressed that much interest in me, or maybe I just never realized she had one.

“Thank you,” I said.

“That’s not something you need to thank me for.” Ms. Nadine shrugged. “Anyway, I’m sure I’ll see you around. That princess of yours still likes this place, and it seems as if your snake girlfriend will be spending quite a bit of time here as well.”

Her statement certainly had merit. I couldn’t deny that.

Since my shift was officially over, I grabbed Lin and the two of us headed off. I asked my companion about how her studies were coming. It seemed she had memorized 235 different syllables, which I quizzed her about on the way home. Her memory retention was impressive. We also grabbed some lunch, though it was just meat skewers.

Because I had training with Fay this afternoon, I grabbed my bag of Three Way Spiritual Widening Pills. I then turned to Lin, who had followed me into my room.

“I’m heading out to train. Are you coming with me?”

Lin thought about that, cocking her head to the side, but then shook it. “This princess will remain here for now. Since you are training, you won’t be able to spend time with her anyway, and Lamia do not gain strength through training.”

That was information I didn’t know about. I would have to ask her more at some point, but I was already in something of a hurry.

“In that case, I will see you when I get home,” I said.

“Be sure to bring dinner home with you,” Lin said with a look that all but told me this was an order.

I laughed. “I will,” I said, and then, on a whim, I leaned over and placed a kiss on her left cheek. I leaned back and gave the surprised girl a smile. “See you.”

The last thing I saw of Lin before I closed the door was the vibrant glow that spread across her cheeks and ears.

***

The training ground that Fay and I were using was nothing more than a simple clearing surrounded by trees. The grass under my feet was soft, a small pond sat several meters away, and there was some battle damage from when Grant had ambushed Fay. It was a simple place to train, but it wasn’t like we needed much.

I arrived at the training ground to discover that Fay was not the only person present.

Fay’s fiery red hair was held together by a leather band that day. Her shirt was more like a sleeveless top that showed off her shoulders, cleavage, and almost all of her stomach. She also wore a pair of really short shorts. They were tight across her body and so short I could see the cleft of her butt sticking out. I wondered what sort of fabric they were made of. Her outfit was finished by black stockings and brown boots.

The other person held a ranseur in her left hand and wore an outfit similar to Fay’s, but her large breasts were contained by a shirt that had shoulder straps. I could only hazard a guess that her boobs were two big for a top like her companion’s. Her shorts were similar in length. However, maybe it was because her hips were wider, but they somehow seemed a bit more erotic on her. I could also see the outline of her vagina, which I don’t think was intended. Like Fay, her blonde hair was tied together with a leather band, though hers rested higher on the back of her head.

“Kari?” I blinked rapidly several times. “What are you—do you plan on joining us for training?”

“That’s right,” Kari said with a smile.

“Me and Kari talked it over,” Fay added as she stretched her arms, “and we thought it would be a good idea if the three of us trained together.”

“I was also hoping to introduce Fay to Lin, but I guess she decided not to come.” Kari looked at my side with a frown, as though expecting to see a dark-skinned Lamia girl suddenly appear before her eyes.

“Lamia don’t get stronger with training according to her, so she decided to stay home.” I shrugged. “Anyway, I don’t have a problem with you joining us. Do you mind if I ask what sort of training you are doing now?”

“I’m currently working on physical conditioning and practicing a Spiritual Light Technique called Divine Buster Cannon.” She tapped the butt end of her ranseur against the forest floor. “Divine Buster Cannon is a B-rank technique, though it’s strong enough to become an A-rank technique in the right hands. It produces a beam of light that vaporizes anything in front of it. I can create the beam. However, I can’t generate enough power to make the beam larger.”

Divine Buster Cannon was one of the first Spiritual Techniques Kari had learned alongside Light Trident, which was a C-rank technique. I’d seen her use it before to wipe out entire swaths of C and D-rank Demon Beasts, but that was only after her reserves of Spiritual Power increased.

“I can help you with the Divine Buster Cannon,” I said. “I know the basic mechanics behind how the technique works, though I cannot use it myself. That said, if possible, I would also like to teach you the Flash Step. I’m currently helping Fay master the first stage, and it’s a very handy skill to have.”

While Kari nodded and seemed enthusiastic about the idea of learning the Flash Step, Fay pouted at me. “I’ve already mastered the first stage of the Flash Step.”

“Have you now?” I looked at her with a grin that seemed to set the girl on edge. “How many times can you use the Flash Step consecutively? Can you change direction while using it? How long can you keep using the Flash Step before you run out of Spiritual Power?”

“Er…”

Fay didn’t seem able to respond, which caused me to nod several times as I crossed my arms. “The Flash Step is a technique that’s meant to be used for high-speed combat. Just being able to accurately travel from point a to point b isn’t enough. You have to be able to use it multiple times in a row, and you have to be able to use it in such a way that you can attack from multiple directions seemingly at the same time. This technique was designed to overwhelm either a single strong opponent or attack multiple weak opponents.” I paused. “So, knowing this, can you say you have mastered the first stage of the Flash Step?”

I waited for Fay’s reply, but the girl didn’t seem to be incapable of saying anything at first. She glanced at me. Then she looked away. Then she started drawing circles on the forest floor with her boots as she placed her hands behind her back and twiddled her fingers.

“Well… no, I can’t do that,” she admitted.

“Which is why I am going to intensify your training,” I said. “To do that, you and I are going to play a game of tag.”

“Tag?” Fay asked.

I smiled at her, but instead of answering her question, I turned to Kari and began teaching her the basics of the Flash Step. The explanation didn’t take long. Kari didn’t even ask any questions, having already gained a grasp of how the technique worked the moment I told her. After that, I drew two lines spaced ten meters apart on the forest floor. I told her that her first goal was to be able to use the Flash Step to reach that ten meter mark in a single step.

Once I had explained the concept, Fay and I watched Kari as she practiced for awhile. I was watching to see if she needed me to catch her. Fay and I had both taken terrible spills while learning this technique. However, my worries were unfounded. After watching for several minutes as Kari used the Flash Step, either being too short or traveling too far from her mark but never taking a dive, I directed Fay to follow me and led her into the forest.

“That girl makes me feel incompetent,” Fay said with a sigh.

“Kari has a light affinity, which makes her naturally suited to this technique,” I said. “Her affinity grants her a natural clarity when it comes to high-speed movement, meaning she can perceive the world more easily than us while moving at speeds greater than light.”

“I’m not sure that makes me feel any better.”

I shrugged. There was nothing I could do about that.

“I think this is far enough.” I stopped and looked around, using Spiritual Perception to make sure I knew how far we were from Kari. After confirming our distance, I nodded and turned to Fay. “I mentioned before that we would be playing a game of tag. Basically, you will run from me, and I will chase you. However, you can only move using the Flash Step. You cannot take a single normal step.”

“That… sounds kind of difficult, doesn’t it?” Fay asked, her face paling.

“It is difficult.” I nodded as the smile on my face slowly widened. “But this is also the fastest way to learn. Now, are you ready? We’ll start on three.”

Fay paled even more. “Uh… hold on a second!”

“One.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready for this!”

“Two.”

“At least let me mentally prepare myself!”

“Three!”

At the very moment I said three, I used the Flash Step to appear right beside Fay, whose eyes were practically bulging as she saw me. I waited for a second. This gave her time to use the Flash Step to get away.

Thus the chase was on.

I chased after Fay using the Flash Step. Of course, she could only run from me using the Flash Step as well. Anytime she didn’t use the Flash Step, I would kick out her legs and make her start over again. This meant she was sent to the ground many times. While I did make sure to keep my abilities to just a little above her current skill level, I didn’t show any mercy either. By the time we had passed the five minute mark, Fay was covered in dirt and breathing so heavily you’d think she’d been running from Demon Beasts non-stop without rest for over a week.

“I’m not going to stop just because you’re tired!” I taunted as I flashed in front of her.

Fay used the Flash Step to move backward, having learned how to do this while we were training. Just as I suspected, having her face “real” danger forced Fay to push her abilities to the absolute limit.

I wasn’t sure how long we continued like this. It felt like hours, but it was probably only fifteen minutes. Our game of tag ended up being cut a little short. During her last dodge attempt, Fay took a step forward and ended up catching her foot on a root. This knocked her off balance and made it so she couldn’t use Flash Step. That was the moment I had chosen to appear, and I was sure my own eyes went wide as I flew into her.

“OOF!”

We tumbled across the ground. Everything was blurry, but I had the sense of mind to pull Fay into a hug and use my arms to protect her head and back. I grunted as my shoulder hit something. Fortunately, my bones, muscles, and flesh were all quite durable. Nothing broke. It just stung a little.

Eventually rolling to a stop, I found myself lying on my back with Fay on top of me. I took stock of my body and was reassured when nothing felt broken. This level of damage probably wouldn’t even leave a bruise.

“You all right, Fay?” I asked.

“I think so.” Fay placed her hands on my chest and pushed herself up to look at me. “I’m just a little dizzy, but I… I…”

Fay trailed off as she realized our positions relative to each other, with her laying on top of me, basically straddling my body, and her face so close to my own that our noses were almost touching.

“Fay?” I asked in a soft voice as she leaned forward slightly.

“Hmm?” Fay hummed as she slowly closed her eyes.

I didn’t say anything else as I closed my eyes as well and began leaning in. I could feel her breath on my lips. The scent of her hair and sweat caused my arousal to skyrocket. I really hoped she couldn’t feel my erection. I’d only just started courting her last night and didn’t think poking her would be appropriate.

Just before our lips touched, the sound of footsteps echoed in my ears.

“Eryk? Fay? I have a question about the Flash Step in regards to its consumption of Spiritual… um… uh… oh…”

I opened my eyes and looked over at Kari, who was staring at me and Fay with a somewhat pensive expression. Fay had also opened her eyes. She was staring at her friend with the most fierce blush I’d seen to date. Her entire face was so red it put her hair to shame.

“I’m sorry.” Kari smiled uncertainly. “I seem to be interrupting something. I’ll leave now.”

“Ah.” Fay finally found her voice. She reached out toward Kari as though it would keep the girl from leaving. “W-wait, Kari! This isn’t what it looks like! Eryk and I were training, and this just sort of happened!”

“Don’t worry.” Kari waved off the redhead’s excuses. “I understand perfectly. If I was in your position, I’m sure I would have used this as an opportunity to make out with Eryk too. I don’t blame you for doing this. Your aggressiveness in this regard is an attractive quality. I really admire it.”

“That isn’t it!” Fay looked utterly shame-faced as she turned to stare at me. “Eryk! Tell her this isn’t what it looks like!”

I didn’t think this was worth mentioning, but Fay was still lying on top of me as she made this demand.

Turning toward Kari, I kept my face completely bland and said, “This isn’t what it looks like.”

“That wasn’t convincing at all!” Fay wailed, her embarrassed cries echoing across the forest.