More focused on attaining the same result for his other leg, the whistles came about together with the wafts, steadily waning out before the man could finally fall in rest, letting the faintly wet floor brush through his back.

  Stretching out his open hands to the ceiling, he watched the four streak lighten up again, however, he stopped the glyph before the rejuvenating powers could go into him again.

  ‘Haa, I need to wash up and drink something,’ he thought as the fingers came to brush his throat. Feeling as though it could rip apart at any given moment, his palms promptly touched the floor behind him. A swift motion later, he jumped back to his feet, already turning towards the wardrobe and his bed.

  In one arm, his earlier clothes had been scooped up, while in the other he held a new set of nightwear and underwear, swiftly leaving his room.

  Walking through the corridors with only his pants on, two doors straight ahead of him lit up in his pupils briskly. Stashing the dirty clothes in the laundry on the left side, he promptly left for the bath, closing the doors before taking his time.

  Countless breaths had passed, however, the man came out both refreshed and rejuvenated, having first drunk some cold clear water from the bath sink only to settle in a warm bath to relax his flesh.

  At the same time, he had dressed back into his nightly clothes, heading to his room.

  Though, seeing his room’s doorway, he halted himself right before grabbing onto the door’s handle and steering towards the material with his ears. Briskly brushing the doors with the earlobes, his eyebrows wavered at the sounds of movement.

  Pushing them vehemently, his eyes quickly stumbled onto the eerie sight, somewhat taken aback as he stared at the lady sitting calmly on his bed. “Zyponia? What are you doing here?” Lutiel asked promptly, watching her glance up at him, clearly not expecting the sudden intrusion.

  “Hi?” She muttered before quickly clearing up with a cough. “Eh-ehem. I just came to look at your room. I was a bit curious, but something else caught my interest. Are you training in here?” She couldn’t help but ask, swiftly staring down at the floor.

  Following her curiosity, he also looked there, but the man didn’t find anything other than the plain, wooden panels that already dried up. ‘Does it smell of my sweat?’ He asked himself before glancing at her, the girl doing the same to him.

  “Yes, I do,” he said with a somewhat staggered approach, only for his chest to ease up as she brushed over the matter.

  “I see, that’s good. No wonder you’re so strong. Your habits must have been engraved into your head,” she said, and although her slave remained quiet, he didn’t find her reasoning at fault.

  “I did train quite a lot in the dreams. Actually, half of them were about swinging the spear away,” he added, watching as the girl dug deeper into his eyes, staring at them without breaking in the slightest.

  “Are you certain about changing to a sword all of a sudden? I could get someone to teach you about it,” she said, however, the man simply shook his head.

  “It’s fine, I think the sword fits me better anyway-” the man said while crossing his arms slightly, but he stopped abruptly as she gave him an odd glance.

  “Or is it because Folvana teaches you?” Somewhat impishly, she asked before meeting his silent stupor.

  “Eh, yes, she’s a great teacher,” with a delayed reply, his eyebrows stayed furrowed, making the girl smile even deeper.

  “No, that’s not what I’m talking about. Though, I’m sure she taught you great today,” her voice immediately tumbled inside his ears, freezing his figure in place. Unable to respond, he stayed there quietly while his heart began racing.

  Yet, his eyes only festered in shock as he heard her sprawling laughter bounce around the room.

  “Hahaha, you should have seen your face,” she continued while the man still stood silently. “I was just joking, don’t be so scared about it,” said Zyponia, to which his face somewhat eased up.

  “But you know about it, no? Did she tell you?” He asked with a straight face, making her finally stop the strong chuckle.

  “Of course, she’s in my mansion. It’s only natural she would have informed me,” the girl spoke, making his eyebrows stutter once again, however, he quickly calmed down.

  “I’m sorry,” The man uttered with a slight whisper, only to be once again met with surprise.

  “Why?”

  “Because I did it with her, but I was meant to wait for you,” he said, but her new stream of laughter prompted him to quickly shut his lips.

  “Is that what you’re so worried about?” Her smile asked, stopping the chuckle and calming slightly. “If you think I’m angry, not really. Well, maybe slightly. She’s a great friend of mine so I don’t mind you being friendly with each other. Besides, it’s good she realized your ability so quickly. That was actually the reason I came to find you. I wanted you to exercise with the metal again.”

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  Waiting in silence as the words reverberated within him, Lutiel didn’t respond for a while. Sighing faintly, he watched her stare directly into his eyes, as though prying at his thoughts.

  “You could have just called me,” finally, he said with a half-straight face, still left somewhat in the reverie.

  “No,” she denied. “I don’t like using it when it’s unnecessary. The brands are specifically designed to inflict pain on the wearer regardless of the master’s need.”

  “I see,” he uttered because of the words, lingering around her face before continuing. “Shall we go now, then?”

  “Really? Aren’t you tired? We can postpone it for another day.” She asked, only to be met with a question of his own.

  “Will it impede the results?” His tongue traced to the lady, replying with a meek shake of her head.

  “No, it will be just fine.” With a swift reply, she stared up at his eyes again, adding on immediately after. “Are you saying you can go right away?”

  “Yes,” Lutiel said whilst nodding. Then, he watched her stand up briskly, dusting off the back of her dark blue gown and head towards him.

  “That’s great, then. Let’s go,” she said almost discreetly before the man opened the doors for her, letting the lady go through.

  Following the leisurely pace of her figure, they still quickly reached the stairs leading to the top floor. Still, walking right behind her, the man stared carelessly at her back, unable to contain his sight from gradually reaching downwards.

  Watching her backside, fit gently against the flowing dress, his eyes flustered up quickly as he bumped into her from behind. Having stopped suddenly, his focused state didn’t seem to register the deliberate action. Yet, as she turned around to him with a smirk, he could only shy away with the answers.

  “Is something wrong? You seem distracted,” she said, the man looking at her face with a blank look.

  “Sorry, I just thought of something,” he said after a while, but the girl’s smile didn’t recede even after she turned around.

  Continuing their walk however, Zyponia no longer stopped so suddenly, despite him still throwing in a couple of not so discreet looks.

  Regardless of their ways, the two eventually arrived at the destination. Opening the doors without the use of hands, Zyponia quickly invited him inside, closing them manually as he started walking through the carpet with his bare feet.

  Illuminated all around by the vim crystal attached to the ceiling, the same bedroom as ever glistened in his eyes. Turning back to the girl, Lutiel didn’t need to wait for long before the silence cleared away.

  “Just like after you woke up from the week-long coma, I want you to test your strength against the metal, alright?”

  Sparing an answer through a nod, she sent out a mellow one as well. “Good, you know what to do, then,” her voice drifted along the space, and the man didn’t hesitate to take off his shirt. Following with the pants, he tossed the attire off to the side, but the girl quickly caught and transferred it away.

  Losing sight of them immediately as he turned away, Lutiel prepared himself slightly after watching the box crawl through the air towards him. Stopping just a step from him on the carpet, the metal shined its way out of the wood briskly. Settling within his eyes, the man didn’t ponder on the sphere for too long, already reaching out for it.

  Immediately, as the fingers of his right hand sprawled out along the metal and surrounded it wholly, the same reaction as before guested the duo. Bringing the ball to his right shoulder, the man swiftly moved the arm behind before swinging with all the force he could release towards the yellow wall ahead of him.

  However, making sure not to repeat her mistake, the girl was already on standby. Right before it could hit the room, the ball started to hover in the air, slowly making its way towards the lady. “That was slightly faster than before,” she said with a disclosed tongue, but the man still turned his head towards her.

  “Am I gaining strength because of the energy?” With a sudden question, his eyes befell Zyponia, quickly going away as he confirmed his thoughts.

  “Yes, it does contribute to power, but don’t focus on that since it’s not that much,” she said, with distant eyes that focused around the metallic sphere. Though, tossing it up soon after, it sped up to him together with her pupils. “Try now.”

  The ball went towards his chest, but he quickly caught it with his hands. Nestling it there, he looked at the girl before she promptly raised an eyebrow.

  “It needs more adjusting,” he spoke back, tossing and catching the metal with just the right hand, as though it was a crumpled paper.

  Creasing her eyebrows slightly, she still moved the object back into her grasp. Through a quick correction, the air hissed anew, arriving at the man briskly.

  Finally, as the ball fell into his hands, he clenched his jaw whilst the veins around the forearms sparked up.

  Moving to just the right hand, he grasped it with all the power he could give out. With a slow and steady approach, he raised it towards the shoulder, however, his breathing started to falter already.

  A deep breath escaped his nostrils while the man trembled the muscles immediately, trying to throw the ball as far away as possible.

  Though, with a meager reaction, the sphere traveled just a finger’s length away from his toes. Bouncing on the carpet a few times, any of the previous exhaustions dissipated when a nippy sensation washed over him.

  Immediately, he proceeded towards it with slight caution. Surrounding the sphere with his fingers and the palm, his grasp tensed before the upper body did the same. Clenching his muscles, Lutiel slowly raised himself up, breathing stagnantly while supporting the ball with his right shoulder.

  A swift motion illuminated the girl’s vision and his hand became empty, throwing the object with any power left inside of him. However, it seemed as though the sphere had sucked out too much, bouncing a step away from the man before stopping in place with a vehement abruptness.

  Moving it towards him with her powers, Zyponia didn’t need to prompt his actions. Lowering himself for yet another time, he stabilised his breathing while bringing it up near his face. His muscles convulsed all around from the severe lack of strength, however, as the ball rolled away, another breath of the revitalizing wind brushed his insides.