When Brendu activates the device, a purple cube with black finishes forms in the garden. The mana radiating from the artifact is suffocating, and my mana senses are alarmed by the immense density of mana being generated; little by little, it begins to decrease.
“Isn’t it a little small?” Seeing that the cube has only grown to dimensions of three meters in length and width leaves me a little disappointed.
“Idiot, it’s much more spacious inside. You’ll see when we go in.” She rolls her eyes as she walks toward the cube. There’s only one side of the object in front of us that looks different, and the princess places her hand on what seems to be some kind of signature reader.
Brendu’s mana and Imra activate some mechanism within the object, causing a light to appear. It seems to be a doorway about two and a half meters tall.
“You go first.” Lully tries to push me from behind, pouting when she realizes she can’t; she doubles her efforts by using mana and Imra in her hand, and finally my body moves.
“Are you two using me as a guinea pig?” I ask them. Even Brendu has moved out of the way to give me “the honor” of entering first. I roll my eyes when neither of them answers and they simply gesture with their hands, inviting me to go ahead.
As soon as I enter, I understand what the princess meant. This place is enormous, much larger than I honestly expected. Somehow, natural light and wind seem to be recreated here. It’s neither hot nor cold, and the breeze is refreshing.
We’ve entered what appears to be a control room and also a safe place to watch people train; or at least that’s what I assume from the neatly arranged chairs and a table filled with food and drinks.
A few moments later, Brendu and Lully appear. The first simply nods at what she sees, while the second looks a little more surprised, her eyes examining every tiny detail of the place.
“Don’t cry when I beat the hell out of you.” Brendu says as Lully adjusts the bracelets that serve as a life-saving measure for her.
“I could beat you with my eyes closed and my hands tied.” I stick my tongue out at her. I’m stretching. I don’t need that kind of protection; it would only make me weaker and take away one of my best weapons.
On the way toward the middle of the enormous open field where we can train, we keep joking around, both of us shoving each other from side to side. Lully has remained seated comfortably in one of the chairs watching the match, with Glia beside her.
Glia has been very quiet these past few days. I only felt her concern when I was fighting those two Diamond ranks; I felt her fear when that Obsidian rank appeared beside us. The rest of the time, she’s been working on improving her body little by little. Apparently, advancing in rank so quickly while being so strong is causing her some problems.
It isn’t something that could kill or cripple her, but it does need to be treated slowly. She spends almost the entire day at home training her body-enhancement ability. It’s the best way for her body to withstand so much power surging from her core.
“Ladies first.” I use the mana around me to carry my message to Brendu.
“Don’t regret those words later.” She hasn’t even finished speaking when several of her abilities erupt with terrifying power. Her control over her abilities is exceptional. She hasn’t improved through effort alone; she has her family’s legacy and their complete support. Her progress is more organic than mine.
Three monstrous trees appear. Well, their appearance has changed quite a bit compared to how crude they looked before. Now they only stand around two meters tall, their bodies more toned and resembling large men, while their features are much more human.
Their size has decreased slightly, but their power has grown enormously. I can feel Brendu’s mana, Imra, Laws, and Dominion stored within the monsters’ bodies, especially her wood and poison mana.
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“Impressive.” My mouth moves on its own before I even realize it. It isn’t just because of the constructions. All of her abilities are in perfect harmony, creating a true monster. Those monstrous constructions are nothing compared to the beautiful woman radiating bestiality and arrogance.
I have to move when wooden splinters the size of a human forearm, filled with poison, graze past my face. This woman really is a monster with overwhelming beauty.
The three… monstrous trees? I don’t know what to call them anymore now that they look so human. They charge straight toward me, with Brendu following closely behind them. I dodge the first blow, deflect the second with the force of my gravity, and have to block the third.
That blow helps me put several meters between us, its momentum combined with my Gravity Overload allowing me to create enough distance. I could’ve dodged that blow and maybe the next one too, but I’m certain Brendu would’ve found an opening to drive her rapier into me if I’d stayed in that position.
Her intelligence isn’t useful only for sitting behind a desk and managing a territory; it’s also made for combat. I don’t have time to think any further because I’m already being harassed again by the trees and one of my future wives.
I finally manage to land a blow with my sword on the arms of one of the monstrous trees, nearly losing an eye for standing still. I’m surprised that I couldn’t cut its arm off completely, and I almost get injured because of that instant of surprise.
So sturdy! I complain internally. No, there was something else… Did she really do that? I can see a small, proud smile amid all this chaos. Brendu actually managed to follow the trajectory of my swords and anticipate what I would do with my swordsmanship, reinforcing her already sturdy constructions at the exact moment and place.
I deliver a powerful kick to one of the monsters before retreating several meters thanks to the momentum. “That’s enough warming up. Let’s go all out.” I shout at Brendu, cracking my wrists and neck as I get ready.
“Yeah, it was starting to get a little boring.” Brendu makes a yawning gesture.
I wanted to yell something back at her, but then I noticed her expression. She really is getting bored. She’s used to training against me at full power and against stronger people. This isn’t anything interesting for the princess.
I shoot forward. This time, I’ll take the initiative. My speed is so great that some of the muscles in my leg tear, and in the blink of an eye, I arrive in front of one of the monsters. My first sword swing connects directly with its abdomen, nearly splitting it in half.
I want to finish it off or eliminate it as quickly as possible, but I have to change the angle of my second sword to block Brendu’s rapier. It was heading straight for my spine. She buys enough time for the other two constructions to move between us.
The battle speeds up when I get serious; Brendu has stopped holding back too, and she’s honestly a little frightening. The speed of my movements isn’t something anyone can easily follow, but somehow Brendu is doing it.
What kind of training has she been receiving? Her constructions have even become more solid. Somehow, she’s managed to obtain an ability very similar to mine. I weave mana and Imra together to strengthen them; she intertwines them in a different way, but achieves a similar result.
Has she been copying me? Not only my way of constructing with mana and Imra, she’s also learned to imbue more mana into her constructions, and her swordsmanship has improved too. She even has a perfect understanding of everything happening around her because her monstrous trees serve as additional “eyes.”
Impressive. All I have are words of admiration for the person in front of me, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let her defeat me. I push my body to the limit and do everything possible to beat her.
My body can now withstand stronger bursts of gravity. Little by little, it has grown stronger through continuous use and immediate healing, as if I had crammed years at the gym into my muscles in only a few days.
My swords look like blurry streaks trying to split everything nearby in half, but unfortunately, they fail to accomplish their purpose. My cuts aren’t superficial, but I still can’t tear off a limb or a chunk of their bodies.
Brendu also knows how to time things perfectly. She has already injected enough poison into me to annihilate dozens of Grade 4 monsters. Eradicating the poison with my death mana and Imra is a headache. I have to focus on something else and lose some of my offensive momentum.
The princess isn’t unscathed either. She has suffered multiple wounds all over her body, some of them quite severe. She hasn’t retreated even once, using her new poison-based healing ability to stop the bleeding and slowly heal each cut.
The monstrous trees are badly injured now. Their bodies aren’t healing as quickly as they did at the beginning, and the drain on their resources is obvious.
I check my own fuel tank and click my tongue. Gravity is still an affinity that consumes a lot of mana. It doesn’t matter. I’ll keep going until I can’t move anymore. I can’t lose against the beautiful woman in front of me; my pride as a man refuses to hand her victory so easily.
She must be thinking something similar. That mischievous smile confirms it. “Come at me with everything you’ve got!” I shout.