---

“Ugh….”

Lucid let out a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, it was the fact that he managed to fulfill his role just in time.

“Are you crazy?”

He never thought that giving his own blood would come with such conditions.

“Manipulating blood flow with my own blood…”

To extract a bell from afar, in the heat of battle!

Theoretically simple, but it was not as easy as it sounded.

“Moreover, how does he know my abilities so precisely…”

If he injects his blood into an opponent, that blood can be controlled.

If he knew that much and still used me, then he must be truly insane.

Does he think I don’t know what he could do with my blood?

If he set his mind to it, he could turn me into an underling, a mere puppet, anytime.

As he said that, the response he got was—

– You won’t do that.

– Huh? What do you know about me…

– I know you’re not a bad guy.

– …You’re speaking nonsense.

– Well, no matter what you do with my blood, I don’t know what Stella will do when she finds out.

…That was indeed a valid point. Provoking that man and getting that girl who clung to me all day could lead to unimaginable consequences.

Lucid let out another breath and leaned against the tree.

“Let’s settle this as a debt-free matter, Nova.”

Looking far off at Nova, who was supporting Siel, he muttered words that shouldn’t be heard.

*

The major difference between magic and martial arts lies in the utilization of magic power.

For mages, they twist and combine mana through magic circuits, creating their unique magic power. This magic can take various forms like alchemy, necromancy, curses, etc., but martial artists are different.

They circulate energy through the bloodstream based on their dantian, using it to strengthen their bodies.

Then they learn martial arts and the corresponding mental techniques, which at this point was impossible for me.

“I wish I could use martial arts here…”

Among the penalty conditions, creating a dantian as per the training methods from my previous world was impossible.

Because of that, I couldn’t accumulate internal power and completely use my martial arts.

To overcome that flaw, I created the Stella method, employing magic power instead of inner energy to replicate martial arts movements. The inability to manipulate inner energy led to imperfect motions, which I remedied by combining modern martial arts techniques.

Any martial art like karate or taekwondo had no penalties, so it truly became a hybrid of eastern and western martial arts plus modern techniques.

“Even if it’s still incomplete… to be able to replicate that…”

I genuinely think that copy ability feels like cheating.

To effortlessly use techniques others painstakingly developed merely by observing—

Even if it was a surprise attack, the hand that blocked it still stung.

“Ugh…!”

Just a moment ago, using the Emperor’s Sword form recklessly left my body in complete disarray.

Was it a problem of using magic power instead of inner energy? It was clear my body couldn’t endure it.

“With magic power, while I can enhance external strength, it’s not possible for internal power, so it makes sense…”

It starkly highlighted the difference from my previous body.

Using both qi and magic power, my physical durability was also better than now.

“I wish I could at least be like Nova…”

That Nova had already disappeared after taking the last blow.

Seeing that the aura of that ice specter also vanished, did he escape together?

“Really, this is my defeat.”

I adjusted the spot where the bell had hung from my waist.

“Haah…”

I lost.

Though it was Nova who escaped, it was undoubtedly my defeat.

Once, I had reached the domain of the gods.

Since that day, I hadn’t lost even once, being renowned as the strongest, yet here I was defeated.

However, even though his ability was indeed cheating, just comparing pure might, he was merely a boy far beneath me.

No matter how much assistance I had from Vladimir in the ambush, with overwhelming force before me, I could only twist and contort my body, accepting the reality of standing against him.

“Completely, outplayed…”

Yet somehow, the corners of my mouth lifted.

*

“Ugh…”

“Are you awake?”

Every part of me ached. After managing to escape Stella while holding onto Siel,

I collapsed in Lucid. Damn, that Stella didn’t hold back at all.

“Are you okay?”

“…Huh?”

I felt someone holding my hand.

As the cold sensation of that hand melted away, my consciousness slowly resurfaced.

“S-Siel?”

In an instant, my vision expanded, allowing me to grasp the current situation.

I was sprawled on the floor near Siel’s thigh.

Looking up with an expressionless face was Siel, and beside her, Lucid looked worried.

“…Is this déjà vu…”

“You must have gotten hit too many times and lost your wits.”

…

…

“Whoa!!”

I jumped up, my body refusing to cooperate, leaping off her.

“Hah… Hah… I didn’t need this much care, you know…”

“Yet, you looked like you were in pain.”

“What’s with all this fuss… Ah! Mmm~”

Lucid watched me bounce like a grasshopper, giving her a strange look, before suddenly donning a smirk as if realizing something.

“W-what’s that about…?”

“Are you worried that Stella might have seen that scene earlier?”

“…That’s not it.”

“Didn’t you say you had a friendly spar? I heard you two trained together often?”

“…! How do you know that?”

Lucid pointed at Siel.

“Stella asked her and she told everything, you know? How shameless, leaving your girlfriend and learning from another girl…”

“Th-that’s…”

I felt bad since she’s usually too busy with training, but I doubted she’d listen to my excuses.

Why is she acting like this? Didn’t she like my actions?

If she started threatening me with this, things would get annoying.

As I was trying to come off as humble and sway her,

Suddenly, Lucid burrowed into my embrace.

“Wait, what are you doing…”

“I’d like some more of that blood I tasted earlier… it was surprisingly tasty, so could you share some again?”

Just before her fangs grazed my neck, I barely managed to pull away.

“You’ve had enough already!”

“Oh dear… how disappointing…”

I couldn’t hide my gasp at the sultry way she licked her tongue.

Was she always like this? When pursuing Lucid and Ruto, I thought I’d see such sides of her.

What did I do to deserve this? And not stopping there, Lucid made me a proposition.

“How about becoming a knight of the Vladimir Clan?”

“What?”

“From the look of the bells you gathered… you seem decent enough in skills and your blood tastes quite good. If you join our clan, we will treat you well.”

??? What the heck was she saying? Just moments ago, her tone was filled with thorns, and now she wants me to join their clan!? If I became her underling, I certainly wouldn’t have to worry about making a living.

Compared to the fiery South, where the harsh lands of the North lie, the Eastern region is a much more livable place, especially since they’ve built considerable wealth compared to the other Three Great Clans.

However—

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline.”

“Is it because of Stella?”

“Yes.”

Lucid frowned at my reply as if she didn’t find it agreeable.

“Why? Are you afraid of her? You two aren’t even dating yet, right?

Besides, I’m not even trying to date you. I’m just offering you a job; it can’t be that bad, right? It would probably have far more demand than being an adventurer.”

“…”

“Honestly, if you think about the future, wouldn’t it be better to stay with me than with her…”

“Stop.”

The person who interrupted was none other than Siel.

“Nova is uncomfortable; trying to force him to accept is an abuse of power.”

Lucid seemed slightly flustered at that but soon agreed with her.

“Well… I wasn’t trying to force him or anything. I’m not like our bro, you know? There’s always a path open, just so you know.”

“…I’m honored by your high opinion.”

By the way, Siel Gruwein… I lost count of how many times she’s saved me.

During the monster incident, she was the first to notice the anomaly and rushed to help me.

Even though she let me steal her techniques freely, she was willing to teach me even more.

Feeling grateful, I bowed my head to Siel.

“Thank you as well, Siel. I’m always sorry.”

“Me too… thanks for saving me.”

When I sincerely replied, Siel seemed embarrassed and scratched her cheek, continuing her words.

As a slight awkward silence passed, Lucid spoke up.

“You know… even if you get beaten by her, you have no right to say anything, right?”

“Shut up.”

 

---