Chapter 22: Who's There
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With our little game over, I went to my sword training while Suu went to her spot to observe me having had her fun. Ten light swords appeared around me, glowing brightly as they hovered in the air and circling me like a pack of hungry sharks.
"Come on. I ain't scared." I summoned my own light sword. It was better to use that than my metal swords.
The swords immediately attacked. One came from my left, and I deflected it. Another descended from above, forcing me to duck, while two more came from opposite directions. "Hmph." I twisted between them before countering, only for the remaining blades to immediately change direction and surround me from every angle.
"HYYYAAAAAAGH!" My sword hand went to meet them.
*CLANG!*
*CLINK!*
*CHINK!*
*SWORD NOISE!*
I spent the next few hours fighting them, treating every blade like a real opponent and forcing myself to react without thinking too much. If I got scratched, then I'd make space and use that opportunity to heal and get right back to the fray.
Suu cheered the whole way, brightening the mood.
Eventually, my movements slowed, my breathing grew heavier, and sweat was rolling down my face and body. I was also bleeding a bit on my arm. It was a graze, and it happened when I lost concentration, but despite the pain, I kept going, dropping Suu from coming to my aid when she got worried.
"That's enough," I said, and the sword halted their movement, all of them mere moments from making contact.
They had all been going at me like bullets, and the more this went on, the harder it was getting to keep track. That said, this challenge has helped me improve. I'd plan to do a lot of this before the upcoming Blessing ceremony to sharpen my skills. Just because I was confident I would come out on top didn't mean I shouldn't slack off.
The swords vanished, leaving me standing there completely exhausted. I closed my eyes, entering meditation and allowing my body to recover. When I opened them again, I let out a relaxed sigh. "Much better." I looked down at my arm. Despite it being healed and the blood gone, my shirt was stained.
Suu went to my side the first chance she got and held me between her chest. "Suu, I told you it was fine. " I pushed my head out from her peaks.
In response, the slime girl merely pouted and refused to look in the eye. She was mad. Earlier when I got cut in the arm, she tried to go to me, but I forbade her from interfering. "Oh, c'mon, Suu, I wasn't in any danger. " I tried telling her, but she wasn't having it and merely shifted her head to the other side. It was criminal how cute she was being even while angry.
Letting out a chuckle, my hands trail down to her butt and give them a big squeeze. I'd been meaning to do that for a while since seeing this form. Suu let out a squeak. I laughed. "You are too cute, Suu." I let go of her soft butt to make a platform to stand on so I can pat her head.
The slime girl sent me an annoyed look, but she was as good as putty in my hands. Despite looking like an adult, she did not change at all. Letting go, I tell her I'll try not to worry her next time, and she regained her smile while hugging the life out of me.
"Alright, alright, I'll love you too. Now let go of me." My shirt had blood on it, so I needed to take care of that. Suu nodded and let me go, allowing me to remove my shirt, exposing my upper body and abs freely.
Training in the night, along with the evening, was starting to show effect. I had no doubt that within a couple of months I'll be even more fit and toned. In my previous life I was a bit pudgy and almost never exercised unless it was for a military physical test. That and my lack of eating vegetables and not exercising didn't do me any favors. The only reason I was not overweight was due to my job, which kept me active, along with my efforts to avoid junk food. That was more challenging than I anticipated, but I succeeded.
To be frank, I don't believe I deserved to have these abs since I didn't work for them. They belonged to the real Luka, and that fact just added to my already long list of problems. What I'm trying to get at is that I'm going to make sure to take care of myself and not waste the hard work the real Luka had put in.
The fact that the world was in danger also motivated me to work harder. If that wasn't motivation, then I didn't know what was.
Suu starred intently at my naked upper body and felt up my abs. Moving her hand away, I tell her, "Save that for later, Suu." I then turn around and head to the water to clean my shirt, getting a disappointed look from the slime girl.
After washing away the blood and letting my shirt dry, I stood back in the middle of the clearing to resume my training, wearing a new shirt while Suu sat patiently, yet expectantly, waiting for what I was about to do next.
I stood in silence, thinking about what to do next. Smiling at having come up with something, I concentrate light directly in front of me. Light began circling in the air before compressing into a shape, but it wasn't an animal or a weapon; it was humanoid.
A head formed, followed by a torso, arms, and legs. It was very rough and didn't have any intricate details like eyes or hair. In short, it was no different in appearance from a mannequin.
I couldn't stop the giant smile on my face. 'I'll guess I'll just call myself the Shadow Monarch, or maybe Light Monarch?' That didn't roll off the tongue, right? How about Star Monarch? Nah, way too glammy.
Refocusing back on the light doll, I stepped closer to it and tapped its shoulder. The texture of my light constructs was dependent on what I wanted when making them, and this particular construct was made with the intention of feeling like a human soft.
"It's about the same." I commented as I felt up its arms, the doll having zero reactions.
I'd created animals, tools, shapes, weapons, and insects before, but this was the first time I'd deliberately made something humanoid. This required more testing, that's for sure. "Ok, raise your right arm."
The light doll obeyed and raised its right arm. My eyebrows rose. "Oh." I honestly didn't expect that to work. While I was deep in thought, I didn't notice Suu hurrying over to check it out. I didn't have the chance to stop her before she was poking its face and using her tendrils to feel its arms and torso.
I had to pull her back by lifting her by the waist. "You shouldn't be that close while I'm testing my powers, Suu." Suu pouted and shook her arms all over. I sighed. "Okay, okay, quit it, you big baby. But stay behind me, got it?" I tell her firmly.
Suu nodded excitedly and wrapped her arms around me from behind. "Now back to you." I returned my attention to the light doll. It still had its right arm up. "Lower your right arm."
It obeyed. "Raise it." The light doll followed. "Lower it." And down it went. It continued following my commands without delay until I told it to stop. "Ok, how about this? Take my hand." I brought my hand up.
The mannequin reached forward and grabbed it. There was practically no pressure. I'd imagined a polite but firm handshake, and that was exactly what it gave me. "Squeeze harder."
Its grip tightened, but I barely felt it. 'Average human strength at best. 'That wasn't surprising. I had only used 0.5 percent of my reserves to create it. I didn't add much at all to its weight either. "You can stop."
I told it, and it let go. "Now hit me." It wasted no time, cocked its fist, and threw a punch aimed at my face, but I easily caught it. "Retreat."
It stepped backward. "Now three steps back." It obeyed. "Three steps forward." It repeated the command.
I started increasing the complexity of the orders. I made it jump, flip, rub its tummy, walk on one leg, do a cartwheel, and play hopscotch. It performed them all without any issues. Suu couldn't resist and joined in.
"Alright, that's enough." Used to conjure a light hand and brought Suu back to me. Once she settled down, I turned back to the light doll.
"Can you talk?" I asked only to be replied with silence. "Say cat." Still nothing. "Of course you can't talk. I didn't give you a mouth." Suu giggled behind me, but I flicked her head.
"OOM!" She lightly started hitting me with her hands. Heh.
"Okay. Let's try something else. Suu, I'm going to need you to step back for me, alright, sweety?" Suu nodded and went to her spot.
"Grab it." I pulled out my normal sword and tossed it to the light doll. It grabbed the weapon with one hand. "Adjust your stance by copying mine." I summoned a light sword and got in position.
The light doll followed suit, copying my position and the way I adjusted my grip. "Now, do it like this." I demonstrated a basic swing and made the light doll replicate my movement. It imitated me perfectly as I showed it how to shift its weight, block, thrust, recover, and swing properly.
After around an hour of teaching it sword moves, I stood before it, my sword pointed in the direction of the light doll. Now that I had taught it some, it was time for a test run. "Fight me."
It wasted no time and charged.
*CLANG!*
While the light doll struggled against my sword with both hands, I remained unfazed and used only one hand. "Try again." I exerted my force with my one hand and pushed the light doll back a few feet only for it to go at me again.
The fight was decent, but the mannequin was clearly a beginner. It could copy techniques, but it lacked the instincts and experience of a real fighter. Compared to Simon and the other students, the mannequin's performance was not even close. But it improved at a rapid pace, with every exchange making its movements smoother and every mistake teaching it something new.
Eventually, I lowered my sword and put a stop to our duel. "We're done now." It stopped immediately. I stared at it thoughtfully. Its one major advantage was stamina. It didn't breathe, tire, or complain. It could probably keep fighting until I told it to stop.
The only downside to it is that it had low defense. It only had 0.5 percent of my power. I could easily break it apart with a cut if I wanted to. What I'm getting at is that there is a possibility that I can make myself an army. It would require a lot of preparation and a lot more learning, but the idea was very sound.
Leaving that for another time, I disperse my light and go to the light doll. Taking my steel sword back, I pointed the weapon at its chest before running it through. The blade passed straight through, yet the mannequin remained standing. "Uhum." I pulled the sword free. It didn't disappear, break, or even react.
Thinking, I give it another command. "Become as dense as possible. One ton." The construct seemed to solidify the contours of its body, hardening. I tapped the sword on its chest, and like I expected, my blade met resistance.
That's when I had another idea. "Suu!" She immediately came running over. "Hey, is it fine if I leave this inside your home tonight?" She happily agreed, so all three of us headed back into her cavern, where I commanded the light doll to sit on the ground.
The light doll remained completely still while Suu and I went back outside. This was a test to see how long my light constructs can last. The plan was to leave it here for tonight and check up on it the next night I visited Suu.
I gave it one last look at the seated light construct before walking back outside with Suu.
For the next couple of hours, I continued practicing with my swords until I finally settled down near the waterfall, having made blankets and pillows out of light. I was sitting between Suus's legs, who was playing with a construct I made to keep her mind busy while I was reading the book Mr. Adams had given me.
The entire time I had my head resting between Suus's tits. I'll admit this was looking a little Shotacon, but I wasn't complaining. Also, I didn't care. "Ok, page one." I flipped the cover of the book and started my read.
Before I could get into it, I felt someone's eyes on me and instantly stood up, causing Suu to drop the toy in a startle.
"Who's there!?" I summoned a light sword. I scanned my surroundings, but I didn't see anything. Suu stood up and tugged at my shirt, asking what was wrong. "Sorry... I thought I sensed someone nearby. Do you see anyone out there?" I asked.
My slime friend was confused but looked around, squinting her eyes, then back at with shrugged shoulder. It was strange. I summoned light orbs and sent them through the wood line, but despite their brightness, nothing unusual came into view.
I went quiet. I could have sworn someone was there. "Maybe it's just my imagination." I haven't had any sleep, so maybe it was all in my head. I'll make sure to get a good nap when I get the chance.
Turning around, I picked up my book from the ground and sat back down. Suu came up behind me and held me, and we resumed what we were doing.
But unbeknownst to me, just behind the tree line, an adult man with long black hair and a gentle appearance was observing me closely, his hand over his mouth and deep in thought as if he wanted to think what to say, before he shook his head vanished from sight in a blur.
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