Day by day passed. Arthfael's muscles grew stronger with the intense and rigorous training given to him by Gerhard. However, up until this moment, Arthfael had not managed to defeat Gerhard in combat.He couldn't even read Gerhard's movements, let alone counterattack. This frustrated Arthfael and made him feel like giving up.After an intense training session that lasted for four uninterrupted hours, Arthfael finally sat down and tried to catch his breath. Meanwhile, Gerhard was able to regulate his breathing without any signs of exhaustion."You're old, yet your energy and strength are far beyond mine. Is it because our levels are so different?" Arthfael asked.Gerhard approached Arthfael and sat in front of him, pointing at his own face. "Levels and age don't matter. Didn't I tell you before that it's all about technique?" Gerhard replied."Yes, I know! But your techniques... ah, never mind," frustratedly responded Arthfael, lowering his head.Suddenly, Gerhard stood up and reached
The SS level monster named Naiadrex immediately attacked Arthfael with its water power, and as a result, Arthfael's body instantly became soaking wet. Not stopping there, the monster prepared a giant water ball to throw at Arthfael, leaving him staring at it in disbelief."Oh shit! Is he going to throw that at me?!" exclaimed Arthfael.He turned to look in Gerhard's direction, but unfortunately, the man had already disappeared and hidden somewhere. Arthfael could only avoid the attack as Naiadrex threw the giant water ball towards him."Focus on the battle in front of you and don't get distracted by anything else!" shouted Naiadrex, then threw the water ball towards Arthfael.Arthfael jumped to the other side, rolling and gasping for breath. He looked at Naiadrex, who failed to hit him with the giant water ball and seemed to sink into the ground.Now, Arthfael could only wait for the monster to reappear. He remained vigilant of his surroundings, remembering Gerhard's advice to focus a
"What do you mean by saying that Naiadrex is your contract monster?!" Arthfael asked incredulously, pointing at Naiadrex.Gerhard turned towards Naiadrex, who was now flying lower. Then Gerhard reached out his hand and gently stroked Naiadrex. He also made sure that Naiadrex's fin, which had been damaged by Arthfael earlier, had completely healed without any pain.Arthfael approached Gerhard, who was still ignoring him, and saw how the man longed for his contract monster, whom he had almost killed in a single attack."Naiadrex has been my contract monster for 50 years. But when my wife passed away, I closed myself off, and we never fought together again... Then I asked him to return to his original place, here," Gerhard explained.Arthfael still didn't quite understand, but his gaze was now fixed on Naiadrex, who slowly turned towards him."I'm sorry for my attack earlier. I was asked not to hold back to test your abilities," Naiadrex said to Arthfael.Arthfael simply nodded stiffly.
The next day... As requested by Gerhard earlier, Arthfael arrived with Flare at the training grounds. The phoenix bird seemed very excited about the training session it would undergo with Arthfael. Especially in the past two weeks, Arthfael had only been allowed to train alone without inviting anyone else.Not only Flare wanted to watch Arthfael train, but also Camilla, Ian, Zeke, and Valentina. However, unfortunately, only Flare was allowed to train alongside Arthfael.Gerhard had his reasons for prohibiting Arthfael's friends from coming. The old man simply didn't want to disturb Arthfael's concentration during training. Moreover, according to Gerhard, Arthfael still had a long way to go before being ready to fight Venomweaver.Just like a regular training session, Arthfael arrived in the morning with Flare and they met at the hill where they usually trained. When Flare set foot on the spot, the bird momentarily stopped, sensing the aura of an SS-level monster nearby."What's wrong
Neptunis and Naiadrex faced each other before the battle. They stared at each other as if they wanted to strike each other."Are you ready to lose, Flare?" Naiadrex asked, smiling."Shouldn't I be asking that? Are you ready to lose, Neptunis?" Flare replied.Both monsters waited for Gerhard's signal, and finally, when Gerhard snapped his fingers, Neptunis and Flare moved to attack each other, as did Arthfael, who had to work together with Flare to defeat Neptunis."Let's go, Arthfael!" Flare exclaimed enthusiastically, moving in sync with his contracted human.Arthfael immediately directed his sword, and Flare flew towards Neptunis. Unlike in the monster's cave earlier, this battle felt more intense, leaving no room to breathe.Arthfael's attacks were repeatedly blocked by Neptunis, unable to find openings like before. Neptunis' attack pattern had completely changed.As instructed by Gerhard earlier, Arthfael had to focus on the attack patterns. He finally stopped attacking and switch
Every muscle in Arthfael's body felt pulled from various sides after being continuously thrown and attacked by Neptunis. The training this week felt even heavier than before.If he were to fight Gerhard, Arthfael might only suffer minor attacks that wouldn't be fatally detrimental, but this time, facing the Naiadrex monster, his body seemed ready to shatter at any moment."Is your body still in pain?" Flare asked, flying beside Arthfael as they walked towards the lodging place."Yeah, that's right. My body feels like it's about to crumble and explode," Arthfael lazily replied.His legs felt tense, and it was even difficult to move them. Arthfael's steps became slower and slower."Do you want to try drinking my tears? It seems like it can reduce the pain in your body," Flare offered himself to Arthfael.Upon hearing that, Arthfael immediately stopped and looked at Flare with an incredulous gaze. Of course, he felt disgusted, even though phoenix tears could heal wounds, but he didn't wa
"Arthfael!" Camilla exclaimed excitedly upon seeing Arthfael's arrival, who had just arrived with Flare.Camilla immediately ran towards Arthfael and embraced him tightly as if they hadn't seen each other in a long time. In reality, Arthfael always came home every day, even late, and Camilla would already be asleep in her room.Not only Camilla, but Ian, Zeke, and Valentina also appeared happy to see Arthfael and Flare. Valentina couldn't stop flying around Arthfael, checking his condition."Are you hurt?" Valentina asked when she noticed Arthfael's foot was slightly raised, indicating pain.Arthfael turned to his foot with Camilla's hand still resting on his neck. "Ah, just a little. Just a few wounds and some soreness. But Flare has treated the open wounds," Arthfael replied.Upon hearing that Arthfael was injured, Camilla was surprised. She let go of her embrace and looked at Arthfael's foot."Oh my, it seems like your training is getting tougher every day. Can I treat it?" Camilla
"So what do you want to talk to me about?" Arthfael asked while drying his hair with his small towel.Valentina appeared silent and instead shifted her gaze to the bustling area, which was a festival held in the village of Anvilhelm, visible from their rooftop location.After remaining silent for a while, with Arthfael's hair almost half dry, Valentina finally expressed what she wanted to say earlier."About Camilla... Honestly, I feel guilty for not being able to stop her from working. Even though you entrusted Camilla to me," Valentina said, her words carrying a tone of regret.Arthfael looked at Valentina, who was sitting on the railing but now only lowered her head and stared at her small intertwined hands."I'm sorry I couldn't stop her as you requested and let her work at the bar. But I swear the bar is good for her, and Camilla really enjoys working there," Valentina said again.In reality, when thinking about the bar, Arthfael pictured a place filled with sin, with music and a