Since my biological clock was slightly reversed compared to others, usually, I would wake up at noon. Then, I would eat, do a light warm-up, and begin Water God Style training with Isolde. By the afternoon, depending on who was free, I would spar with them. Sometimes it was Atofe, sometimes Calina, sometimes Moore, and so on and so forth…
In general, because my opponents were all experienced swordsmen or mages with abundant combat experience, it could be said that my skill level improved as fast as a storm. About three months into my stay here, even Calina said that I would soon become a North Saint two years ahead of the deadline I had set.
Although I didn't care much about ranking up in the North God Style, having the title of 'Saint' still made me quite excited. Especially since Rudeus and Isolde both reached Saint rank very early, I couldn't help but spread my arms to the sky and declare eloquently while in my bedroom:
"He he he! Finally, I'm catching up with those geniuses; indeed, trying one's best will always bear sweet fruit!"
Sitting on the bed, my 'fake wife' - Isolde, wearing pajamas that were modest yet still sexy, sighed upon seeing this.
"Sigh... Playing the self-deprecating game again huh? You just want to consider yourself not a genius so you can feel happier when you win, right? Truly arrogant."
"Look who's talking?" I glared at Isolde. "You are the very embodiment of that 'A' word."
She shrugged and continued turning the pages of the magic book she was reading. Those exquisitely beautiful blue eyes turned back to the lines of text and the complex magic circle on it. "At least I know I am a genius."
Uhm... Then isn't that even more arrogant?
But Isolde had a point. Maybe, just maybe, I really am a genius too. But she was right about another thing: I prefer the trope of the main character rising from zero without any special talent, so let's just pretend I'm not, ok? Okay, cool.
"By the way, it seems you have also perfected Perfect Reverse, haven't you?" Isolde smiled softly; I could feel her joy even though her eyes didn't look at me. "With this, Master Reida would surely be proud and grant you the title of Water King like me. That way, we would be equals."
"Only equal in title. But the skill level is still far apart." I crossed my arms, leaning against the window frame. "Besides, I promised not to accept the title unless I defeat you."
"Hmm?" Isolde glanced at me. "Didn't you just win against me in the last round of practice earlier?"
"I want to win completely." I let out a smirk. "It must be an overwhelming victory, winning ten out of ten matches like you did to me years ago, only then will it count."
"That would be abusing, what kind of 'victory' is that?"
I immediately snapped my fingers and pointed my index finger straight at her.
"So you also admit that you did abuse me, right!? How cruel!"
"Of course I did. Isn't that obvious?"
She didn't even bother to hide it. Truly a terrifying woman. Why did I marry this girl to be my wife? Urg…
Isolde then turned back to her magic book. I have to admit that she is really serious about trying to become a true Magic Swordswoman. Just after three months of studying here and the time previously taught by Roxy, she has become an Advanced rank Water Mage, even able to use truncated incantation. Although not at the monster level like 'someone' reaching Saint rank at five years old, Isolde's achievements and progression is also at a superhuman level.
Since her maximum mana capacity is not at the level of being inexhaustible, according to my calculations, Isolde reaching Saint or maybe King rank is the limit.
But honestly, reaching Saint rank is already better than me, sigh… I really can't win against her in any field at all huh?
Speaking of magic, I also made some remarkable progress. Of course, I cannot use magic higher than Advanced level because my mana does not allow it. What I developed is in magic circles, specifically magic circles in a field that I never had the chance to study properly before.
Can you guess what it is? Come on, you know me.
That's right, it's Summoning Magic! Ha ha ha!
With the soul of an anime enthusiast like me, the scene of taking a huge scroll on the back and then biting for blood to summon a giant cool magical beast is a fricking super duper epic scene. So I am extremely determined to pursue this path; if I encounter strong enemies later, I can totally summon a pack to gang up on them, he he he he.
Speaking of this topic, I eagerly stood up intending to visit my 'master's' room.
"Darling~ Your husband is going out for a bit."
I waved goodbye to Isolde and then skipped away with a stack of papers drawn with dozens of magic circles. She doesn't seem to care at face but still throws a pillow at me.
He he he, Isolde is really cute sometimes heh?
…
Since our room is located at the highest position, moving around should be a bit troublesome. But thanks to being in the central position of the Fortress, I can go anywhere more conveniently than I expected.
It was dark now, but the training area was still lit up and noisy just like in the morning. I peeked in and saw Calina still vigorously training. She's in a less fabric set of clothes to move easier and the sweat makes it soaking wet. That should be a very sexy scene because her matured body sure is hot but I'm not a fan of a certain novel named 'The Lusty Argonian Maid' so my 'lil bro doesn't get all excited like normal.
It seems like my set of preferences is still super important even though I'm such a horny teenager now.
Honestly, I find it a bit ironic because in terms of combat experience, that Ultimate Four representing Wind beats me hands down. But when fighting me, she always gets defeated by my tricks, so she is determined to train for revenge.
Not only that, it seems Benebene is also motivated to learn how to deal with Ice magic. It seems that being easily defeated by Roxy also gave that North Saint the motivation to perfect himself.
Although I find those two a bit silly, seeing them hardworking and determined like that makes me feel happy too. Maybe because I love seeing people around me become a better person themself huh? I'm such a virtuous person, Saint Millis should be proud.
Oh, and that's just the surface. Not only the two Ultimate Four mentioned, it seems the entire imperial guard of Atofe is also fired up and training vigorously as well. They even set up a fan club to admire me and Isolde. To them, us two is like a love story they always want to have themself. I heard someone is already writing a book about my story. It's called 'The Blood Dragon Prince and The Icy Princess' or something. Somehow I'm both proud and scared of that. But let's see how that book goes, shall we?
And yeah… The most weird development I got is that I'm now a master. Maybe so. Because some guards are starting to self-proclaim as my discipline. I don't teach them directly, I didn't even know I was their master until some days before now. All they do is just watch me and practice on their own. To them, my swordsmanship is an 'art' and very 'beautiful' to watch.
Speaking of my swordsmanship, it is a combination of all kinds of schools. If Sword God Style is like Muay Thai, then I am now like an MMA fighter; I play everything, as long as I win. Saying that sounds quite like North God Style, doesn't it? But different from the North God Style's mindset of winning by any means, I want to win perfectly (influenced by Isolde), so with my time in Fortress Necross my fighting style is gradually taking shape much more clearly than before.
I realized that I have good observation and judgment abilities. Ah no, saying it's 'good' is an understatement. Let's say it's fucking godlike because I think I'm the best at this field already. So I use them to combine Water God Style swordsmanship and my agile footwork to lead the opponent's attacks and defenses according to my predetermined tempo. If the opponent has overwhelming power, that is when I use Blood God Style to wear them down gradually. If the opponent is too elusive, I use North God Style and Sword God Style to force the opponent to follow my rhythm. When I have grasped the opponent's skills and have a suitable opportunity, I use the Water God Style's Perfect Reverse to finish them off beautifully.
It's just a summary, if I have to talk in detail it would be more complex than that. In a fight I would use at least seven stages which would be really boring to explain it all here so I will make it short.
In general, it's like... dancing.
So I plan to call my swordsmanship Dance God Style. Because I'm really good at dancing too aren't I?
But when I just voiced that idea, many people said it was too cheesy and rejected it. Instead, they thought I should pick a name that sounds cool and worthy of being remembered, like Fire God or something, because I'm stronger when I cover myself in fire.
But meh… That's not actually a fighting style so I don't want that name boo hoo. Besides, I don't want to name my style the opposite of my main school anyway. So I scrapped the plan of naming anything and will stick with Water God Style. My plan is to become the next Water God right? So let's keep it that way.
And as mentioned above, my fighting style depends on adapting to the opponent's abilities as well as strength. So if I have successfully defeated someone with this fighting style, it seems I will completely neutralize all the skills they used on me.
It can be said that the more I fight with many types of swordsmen with all kinds of different techniques, the stronger I get. Mu wa ha ha ha!
The keyword here is still to adapt and win first. Many things like Atofe's Skyfall technique or the secret arts of the Water God Style are really hopeless to adapt, I give up completely.
But thanks to that defect, I have the motivation to learn more. Just like now, I am on my way to the 'master' who teaches summoning magic.
Running around for a while, I finally reached the living quarters of Atofe's high-ranking guards. Although this place is not too luxurious or anything, they are fully furnished rooms, with toilets and private beds for living alone. Unlike the grunt soldiers who have to sleep collectively.
I went to the end of the corridor, to the room of the largest man in the Ultimate Four, where five black shadows were waiting as if expecting me. And as soon as they knew of my existence, five pairs of red eyes looked, and then the whole bunch rushed straight at me.
"Woof woof!"
"Ah! Daddy's babies!" I spread my arms to welcome the five 'little puppies'.
All five giant wolves immediately jumped on me and started licking.
"Woof woof!"
"Ah! That tickles! Ah ha ha!"
It seems that every day since I decided to stay, I come to see them. Sometimes I even cook for them. It can be said that except for Isolde, these wolves are the diners I cherish most in this Fortress.
But let's not be distracted, I didn't come here to pet or feed them but to learn, to be a better man. So I immediately snapped my fingers, and all five huge wolves immediately sat down, looking up at me with reverence, five furry tails wagging in unison, extremely eye-catching.
"After daddy finishes studying, I will take the babies out to play, okay?"
"Woof!"
So I got the approval of the pack, now it's time to find the person I need to find. And also because he is too familiar, I didn't stand on ceremony and kicked the door open.
"Master Arcantos! I'm here to ask for grading again!"
Contrary to the joy of the wolves immediately jumping to nuzzle and lick me like before, their 'real owner', the large, muscular, and hairy beast-race man lying on the bed. It looked like he was having a nightmare when he saw my face. His body jerked, his hound-like beast ears stood up and trembled exactly like his voice.
"Uh huh... you came again, Hero Lan Atur? I thought you would need a few nights to study…"
It is hard to recognize this is the person who almost single-handedly defeated our group not long ago, but yep, he's Arcantos of The Fire. That Arcantos who can summon familiars and fight alongside him.
"I only need a few hours to finish it all!" I declared eloquently. "I said that I would summon my own Magical Beast! So I cannot miss any study day."
Basically, Atofe allowed me to find and ask anyone in her personal guard to teach whatever I wanted. Swordsmanship goes without saying, there are many teachers for me to learn. Combat magic, I am like Isolde, both asking Peridot and Moore to teach how to deal with mages. There is only one last thing I am interested in, which is Arcantos's summoning magic. And that is why I am in the room of this beast folk North King.
As everyone can see, my schedule starts at noon and sword practice until evening. Then I switch to studying magic at night. And because like any other guard of Atofe, this Ultimate Four of the Fire has a work schedule starting at five in the morning. So me coming to his room like this and forcing him to teach summoning magic is occupying his sleeping time, which explains why Arcantos looks like a zombie now. It's due to lack of sleep, so please get enough sleep, for your health everyone.
"If you only need that, I can draw the magic circle for you, Sir Hero..." Arcantos crawled to my feet and cried. That's right, a North King is crying and begging at my feet. "You just need to infuse mana and it's done. Please stop torturing this servant! I just want one day of enough sleep! PLEASE!!!"
"No! If you do something, you must do it yourself and understand its principles clearly." I placed my hands on his shoulders. "Now please, Sir Arcantos, check these one hundred circles for me. After finishing, you can sleep without being afraid of anyone disturbing you."
Actually, things turned out like this because he refused to give me his wolf pack, so he promised to help me summon my own. But because my time is limited, I have to make use of every minute and every second; I also want to learn something new, so I wouldn't be foolish enough not to maximize it. After I become a summoning expert, Arcantos can sleep as much as he wants.
As for now, I will torture that wolf beastman for many more nights mu wa ha ha ha! Oops, it seems I'm starting to resemble Atofe.
"If you say so, then excuse me..."
So Arcantos actually sat down and checked through each magic circle I had prepared. The North King dazedly looked back and forth and then started classifying each circle into groups. He usually does that to let me know which ones are terrible, which ones have ideas, and which ones are doing well, then starts explaining. Thanks to this method, I can learn the theory quickly and save much more time.
Speaking of summoning magic, there are two types: Fiends and Spirits. Basically, summoning magic of the Fiends branch will summon a living creature. As for the Spirits branch, it will be um... programming a certain soul and then infusing it into a body. According to what I read in books, perhaps Perugius's summoning magic follows the Spirits branch. As for what Arcantos uses, it is Fiend type magic, so I am learning in that direction too.
After all, my goal is to summon a cute and lovely pet, he he he.
...
Finally, I was able to draw my own summoning magic circle, after five months of study non stop.
It is now mid-afternoon, in the special training hall of the Fortress, everyone entitled to come here is standing around the central position where I am standing. Except for Atofe who is busy looking for the Demon Empress, the Ultimate Four, Isolde, and the bunch of self-proclaimed 'disciples' also appeared. Everyone is eager to see what I will summon.
"Master Hero Lan Atur is a Dragon Tribe, so he will probably summon a dragon! Surely a powerful red dragon which can breath fire like himself!" Someone commented.
"Or a giant Kraken!"
"You idiot! Kraken can't go on land. It will surely be a legendary mighty Water Dragon King!"
"No no! It has to be a mighty…"
I wish I could summon those things... Oh wait, what are you doing preparing a whole small army with full weapons ready for combat like that, Moore?
Seeming to see me looking at him with judging eyes, the captain of the imperial guard came over, bowing before me.
"Please excuse this caution. Last time Arcantos used his magic, he summoned a whole Fenris Wolf. The monster then caused considerable damage, so we have to be safe rather than sorry."
Fenris Wolf huh? It's something Paul and his party slain when they just formed their party. If I'm not mistaken, the Fenris Wolf is an S-rank monster which is super strong. Its head is hanging right on a corner of the hall wall here. Although it's not the only one, that skull is bigger than most monster heads here, looking quite scary. I heard it has six legs, is fast, can also use fire magic, and has extremely high intelligence, so it can be said to be a formidable opponent.
But after hearing the explanation, I couldn't help but frown.
"You know I don't have the ability to summon such a thing, right?"
"Nothing is certain." Moore shook his head. "With unprecedented abilities like yours, Sir Hero, I'm afraid you might summon something even more terrifying than that."
"You are overestimating me now..."
"You can defeat Lady Atofe so you are the one who underestimates yourself, Sir Hero. With your normal power, you are far stronger than I am."
Although it's true I often do unusual things and sometimes the word 'terrible' must be used to describe them, it's all just tricks. Sigh... I'm not as strong as you guys think.
"Well… You got a point. Being careful is good." I sighed. "But I will try not to harm anyone so please be relaxed."
"If you say so, then I am relieved." The Captain bowed his head and slowly retreated himself.
Although Moore said that, he signaled his subordinates to be even more vigilant. Truly no one gives me any trust, huh? Perhaps there is only one person I can ask for a good talk.
"Isolde." I turned to the girl standing next to me. "Could you please say something to lessen my pressure?"
"Okay." She nodded and grinned very broadly, looking extremely pretty. Honestly, just that much was enough to reassure me, yet she continued. "I don't have as many expectations as them, so don't worry! If you fail, I will make sure to tease you until you are dead so you won't forget about this failure."
Wait, who the hell reassures like that?
"Please don't tease me okay?" I glared at my 'wife'. "Aren't you supposed to give me motivation like a capable and gentle wife? Just saying 'I believe in you, do your best' is enough."
"That is the privilege of my 'real husband'." Isolde winked. "If you want to be loved, go find your real wife."
Damn it. If you're going to be mean, please don't smile so prettily, okay? How can I have a heartache and be annoyed at the same time?
"No need to worry, Sir Hero." Arcantos, with two dark circles under his eyes like a panda, put his hand on my shoulder with extreme trust. "Ha ha ha! Your mana is very low so you can't summon a Fenris Wolf let alone a god forbid dragon. A D-rank monster is more within your mana pool!"
"Thank you for the kind words, Master Arcantos." Although relieved, I still felt annoyed somehow.
After all, as Arcantos just said, summoning magic is basically quite simple; if not for me liking self-study, I could have performed it from day one. The difficulty of this type of magic is the amount of mana it needs to summon what one wants.
And as everyone can see, my mana is mediocrely low. Of course not at the level of being useless or anything, but compared to the criteria of an Intermediate mage, I am still low let alone being an Advanced rank. According to what Peridot once said, with my mana, normally people shouldn't pursue the career of a magic swordsman, just focus on swordsmanship completely. But because I used magic just to support myself, it was reluctantly effective. If I want to fight like him, mana would be a huge problem.
However, low mana doesn't mean I completely cannot use summoning magic. I did a lot of research and learning to make sure the circle I drew has the best mana efficiency. So it would be fine, I hope.
"Alright, I will do it now. Everyone please be quiet."
With just a short sentence, the whole hall fell silent. Sometimes I have to be afraid of my authority in this place.
"Here goes nothing."
With a few breaths to calm down, I sat on the ground and placed both my hands on the magic circle, starting to channel my mana into it. Blue light began to glow; I could feel this ritual draining my mana at a terrifying speed.
But at this rate, I still seem able to maintain it until the ritual completes.
Focus focus... What needs to be done now, as Arcantos said, is to think of the thing I want to summon. Okay, what do I want to summon?
Cute. Extremely cute.
Right, that is the first thing I want. It must be something cute. My pet should be as cute as the cutest thing in the world, which is my Eris.
And must be... cool too! Both cute and cool!
Although a bit difficult, I can imagine a few things like wolves or lions. Though indeed I want something much more unique and strange.
Hmm…
Ah right, it should be something that can connect with me even to the spiritual level. I need it to be something more than a cute pet; both must understand and be able to support each other. Something would see me as their lifelong partner as well!
Alright, it's decided then.
After finishing my thought, the blue light of the magic circle gradually turned into a brilliant rainbow color.
Alright, appear! My life companion!
"GAO!!!" Just as I thought that in my head, a loud roar rang out, deafening the ears.
Immediately the guards readied their weapons into combat stance. Everyone looked overly serious. Some even tumble on the floor after hearing that loud roaring.
But when the blinding light in front of my eyes gradually faded, everyone had to stare in surprise.
"Eh? A cat?" Someone spoke up.
That's right, what appeared was a black cat, pitch black, looking no different from a non-existent void. The only thing different in color was a small white streak in the middle of the forehead looking like the shape of a crescent moon. Actually, it was a bit bigger than a cat, maybe the size of a small dog.
Wait, I didn't accidentally summon Luna from Sailor Moon, did I? But no, with this size, it looks more like a leopard cub than a cat.
But what it is doesn't matter.
"It's so cute!" I immediately jumped in to hug.
"GAO!"
And I was scratched on the face by the very magical beast I just summoned.
"Oh Millis, my cute face! It hurts ah ah ah!!!"
While I was rolling back and forth, the cat calmly sat licking its paw and purring happily. It doesn't seem to care about anyone else surrounding it. Why does it only attack me!?
"Uhm..." Moore saw that and spoke from a distance towards me. "Do you need me to slain it?"
"No!" I immediately stood shielding between the cat and that group of guards. "It's so cute and you intend to harm it!? Are you guys even human? If you raise a cat, getting scratched or bitten is normal! That is culture, a ritual showing connection!"
Ah forget it, the bunch here are mostly not humans anyway, but who would want to kill such a lovely animal?
"But uhm..." Arcantos also stepped back a few steps, his finger pointing towards the cat which was biting my bleeding head. "It's not a cat, Sir Hero. That is an extremely dangerous Night Panther species that often appears in the Dead Jungle on the Begaritt Continent."
While Arcantos said that, his five wolves also started growling extremely terrifyingly. This is the first time I've seen them show such hostility.
"Wait, Begaritt has a jungle?"
Isn't that place a huge desert?
"Yes. Although it is a barren place, there are still a few jungles, and because there is a lot of mana there, the monsters there are also extremely dangerous." Moore carefully explained. "For example, that thing chewing on your head, mighty hero."
Oh, so I summoned a dangerous monster?
"But it doesn't seem very scary." I mumbled to myself.
"Because it seems to be a cub." Isolde explained while also stepping back far away. "Maybe when it grows up, it will eat you."
"Then that is truly dangerous, right? But..."
"For your Saint's sake please don't..." A bunch of people immediately spoke in unison when I prepared to say what I was about to say.
"But the more dangerous, the better! I will raise it!"
Then I held the little black leopard with both hands and raised it like Simba, while everyone else facepalmed and sighed in unison.
Oh yeah, I must give him a name huh? It's a black cat, his face is kinda ugly and deadpan. So I think there would be no name better than what I'm thinking right now.
"Larry! From now on your name will be Larry!"
I smiled my brightest smile.
"GAO!"
While Larry constantly scratched my face.