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Chapter: 254

“Wow, my body feels light… It doesn’t hurt… I’m not feeling cramped…!”

Vivian looked down at her transformed body, unable to close her mouth.

Her hair color had changed, horns had sprouted, and her skin looked a bit better… Overall, apart from appearing slightly cuter, she didn’t seem to have physically changed much.

Inside, though, her body had transformed into something entirely new… Well, there’s no way to see inside a person’s body. No way to know.

“That’s what a healthy body feels like, Vivi.”

“To feel this… refreshing… It’s like I’ve lost half my life…”

Whoa! That’s a dangerous thing to say! I can’t explain it in detail, but it’s definitely risky!!

Ahem. Anyway, the seal inside Vivi was successfully lifted, and her body was renewed.

Now, I had a physique closer to a human, but with an overwhelming amount of magical power, almost dragon-like.

And the horns.

Those dragon-like horns made Vivi look like something other than just a human.

Well, among beastmen, there were a few with horns, but none had just horns without any other animal traits.

Plus, those horns had various functions!

Like acting as an antenna to hear what the Goddess of Life is saying, absorbing surrounding magical power to help the Dragon Priestess recover her magical energy, and assisting her in efficiently controlling the magic she possesses.

I didn’t want to just give her decorative horns, so I made various functionalities, and it ended up being quite impressive.

“Vivi, do you feel your magical energy?”

“Uh? Ah, yes! I can’t believe such amazing power was inside me…”

“That’s because the magical energy was sealed inside your body. A normal human body can’t handle this amount of magic. If you tried to cram that much magic into a regular human body, it would probably just shatter into pieces.”

Upon hearing my words, Vivi’s face turned slightly pale. She must have imagined her body exploding into pieces.

“Don’t worry, that won’t happen to the Dragon Priestess. Your body is changing to handle that massive magical energy now.”

“Is that so?”

Vivi sighed in relief, brushing her chest gently. Her changing expressions were quite entertaining to watch.

“If you have such abundant magical energy, you can do a variety of things with it. So as your master, I will teach you how to use it. Follow me closely.”

“Yes, yes! I will do my best!”

So I started teaching Vivi how to use magical energy.

—

“Thank you for making Vivi healthy.”

“I was just doing what I had to do. No need for formalities.”

I couldn’t just ignore a kid with the qualities of a Dragon Priestess! Absolutely not!

Now, it’s about time for another Dragon Priestess to emerge! It feels a bit like delegating tasks!

“Alright, next up is Arthur. It’s your turn. So…”

I looked at Arthur closely. He had a well-trained body for his age. Had he been consistently receiving training to become the next Emperor?

Well, that alone wouldn’t be enough.

“Have you wielded a weapon before?”

“I’ve learned a bit of swordsmanship for self-defense.”

“Sword? Not a spear?”

What happened to your undefeated spirit? If you’re going to use that, you’d usually learn to wield a spear, right?

“A spear…?”

“Do you know what kind of weapon the Sword King Lucius used?”

Arthur paused for a moment, then said.

“I heard he wielded a spear with a flag. Though he usually didn’t fight directly, he would wield that spear in emergencies.”

“And you learned swordsmanship even knowing that?”

“Well, the spear… is too long to carry around for self-defense, isn’t it?”

As he spoke, Arthur subtly showed the sword hanging at his waist. Hmm… Yeah, a spear might be a bit excessive for personal defense.

It might be a good war weapon compared to a sword, but it’s too long to carry casually.

Still! You’d think someone would want to emulate their inspirational grandpa and use the same weapon, right?!

I didn’t say that out loud, of course. After all, an Emperor probably wouldn’t directly fight in a war swinging a spear.

A sword for self-defense should be enough.

“Hmm. Well, it can’t be helped.”

But hey, as long as he learned some basic swordsmanship, he wasn’t starting from scratch. He could just refine that skill.

Oh! Should I make him a weapon? A sword suited to his swordsmanship.

And I will teach him how to control the immense magical energy slumbering within him. Just like in martial arts, where inner strength makes your body stronger.

Arthur’s aim is to reclaim the throne stolen by his uncle. So I’ll cram the abilities he needs firmly inside him! Yes!

Swordsmanship, techniques to capture others’ hearts with words, the knowledge needed for commanding, and since it seems less equipped there, techniques for stealth and erasing traces.

Hmm… it seems like it’s going to be a bit harsh. I wonder if Arthur can handle this kind of training?

Well, let’s just ask.

“Arthur, are you prepared to do whatever it takes to reclaim the throne?”

“Yes.”

Arthur answered instantly.

Prepared to do anything—that’s quite an irresponsible statement, honestly.

But if he really means it, he must have his own thoughts on the matter.

“For that, are you willing to make any sacrifices?”

“Yes.”

Arthur answered without a hint of hesitation. It seems his desire for revenge has grown strong.

I felt a bit sorry for him.

But, hey, that’s one thing, and this is another.

“Well then. If that determination is firm…”

I smiled softly as I said.

“You will be able to endure training so tough that it might make you wish to die, right?”

“Eh…?”

Seeing Arthur’s bewildered face, I spoke again.

“Even if you get seriously injured, even if your breathing stops and your heart halts. With the Dragon Priestess Vivi around, healing is always possible.”

I can handle it, but Vivi will need practice too.

So…

“You can afford to get hurt to the point of death a few times. I’ll make sure to push you hard.”

Arthur’s face paled at my words.

—

And so, I took on Arthur and Vivi as my disciples and began teaching them various skills.

Arthur learned direct combat techniques, swordsmanship, stealth, rhetoric, and even how to strengthen his body with magical energy.

Although I may have used some rather intense methods to drill these skills into him, I managed to succeed in pushing that energy inside him! Good times!

Along the way, it was minor that Arthur got a glimpse of the river of the underworld a couple of times.

Especially the method of using magical energy. That was a bit challenging.

While races like elves could quickly understand and wield magical energy with just a bit of teaching, Arthur found it difficult.

It took about three years to stimulate his inner magical energy, making him feel it and move it…

Of course, that wasn’t all he did. I taught him various other things as well.

His swordsmanship became quite impressive for a human, and he stuffed his head with enough knowledge to rival many scholars.

Perhaps because he was meant to be the Emperor, he turned out to be quite extraordinary.

To Arthur, I presented one special gift.

“This is…”

“You’ll see, it’s a sword.”

A sword with a sharply dark blade.

A sword that seemed to swallow all the light, like the deep night sky.

Given its color, it was clearly made of adamantium.

Of course, it wasn’t pure adamantium. It was made of a proper alloy.

The hilt and blade were made of mithril, with mithril supporting the center’s shaft and connecting the hilt to the blade.

By pushing magical energy sufficiently into this mithril part…

Woooooong.

“Whoa!”

“It’s a sword that can manifest pure blades of magical energy.”

From the blade of that pitch-black sword, a shining blade of magical energy poured forth.

I swung the sword lightly as the blade of magical energy illuminated brilliantly.

Swish!

I heard the sound of something soft being sliced.

“The cutting power of the magical blade is excellent. I can slice through even a massive rock like butter.”

It looked dangerously sharp, but hey, it’s probably fine.

“And… if you push in a bit excessive magical energy…”

The black sword quickly absorbed the magical energy I pushed into it.

Like watering a dry desert, the sword grows its blade by absorbing the magical energy.

Once the pushed-in magical energy reached its limit…

Kuguguuguhng!

The magical blade began to shake, unable to maintain its shape.

Like a river overflowing after its dam collapsed.

Masses of magical energy shot upwards into the sky like a beam of light.

“Like this… you can shoot out a powerful beam.”

The piercing beam pierced the clouds, revealing the blue sky beyond the darkened clouds.

Traditionally, if you’re using a sword as a weapon, you’d need a finishing move that shoots a beam!

“Besides that, it also rapidly recovers magical energy, and wounds inflicted by this sword won’t heal with normal treatment. The sheathe also has a spell that heals its wielder.”

“My goodness…”

“The only thing that could possibly match this sword would be a legendary hero’s sword from a story.”

I certainly put a lot of effort into creating it!

“This sword is named Dainsleif. It’s a cursed sword that grants its wielder’s wishes but takes away their most precious thing.”

Just kidding. I didn’t cast such a spell. That was just a test for Arthur.

“If you’re truly willing to sacrifice anything to achieve your dreams… then draw that sword. It will become your power.”

After placing Dainsleif back in its sheath, I handed it to Arthur, who hesitated for quite a while before finally gripping the hilt.

Swish.

A faint metallic sound. The pitch-black blade seemed like it would swallow all light.

Arthur stared at the drawn sword, utterly captivated.

 

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