A level two Zara with a humanoid appearance and red, crazed eyes attacked Takeshi, who easily sliced it in half. In this dungeon, the Zara were ghouls. He spun his spear and cut down ten more of the same level at once. Enrico observed him from a distance, trying to learn how to wield the spear because he wanted to master as many weapons as possible—though the bow would, of course, be his main one.
'If only I had a unique ability like Daigo's, it would be easier.'
Daigo had a unique ability similar to one of the Five Skills of Kai, though weaker, called Weapon Master. He could learn to handle any weapon he held more quickly. Of course, he still had to train—it only meant he learned faster than others, and it wouldn't be a lie to say he was the best magic-weapon user if he managed to create an Ego weapon.
The only issue was that he had already surpassed the sixth circle, focusing solely on magic, which could hinder the development of an Ego weapon.
The guards were also handling things easily—naturally, all five were sixth-circle mages.
"Very well, Yumeha. I want you to fight that Zara with me."
A slimmer-looking Zara was further back.
"I want you to face him to learn how to fight Nartheis, and don't worry—I'll be right behind you if anything happens."
Yumeha swallowed hard as she stared at the ghoul's deformed body crawling from the shadows, its wide, white eyes fixed on her. Enrico, watching from a distance, leaned against a rock as Rina and Aoi were already engaged with several Zara behind them, focused on finishing quickly.
Yumeha hesitated, holding a trembling staff in her hands. Her legs felt glued to the ground. The ghoul let out a shrill scream and ran on all fours, sharp claws scraping the stone, rushing toward her.
"Yumeha, don't forget—activate your connection with Akaname, and don't stand still unless you want to die!"
Yumeha took a deep breath. His words reminded her of Akaname—the yōkai she had summoned.
'Akaname... answer me!'
The yōkai emerged in a dense mist from the amulet, appearing behind her. The ghoul leaped, and Yumeha rolled to the side—shaky, but alive. She extended her staff, eyes shut in fear.
"Corrupting Tongue."
Akaname lunged and stabbed its tongue into the ghoul's chest. The creature screamed and began to dissolve like flesh in acid. The ghoul managed to retreat from the tongue and spat blood, which transformed into multiple blood needles.
Akaname and Yumeha dodged to the side, and she summoned her second yōkai, which she had chosen to also manifest physically.
Hitodama, which she created after seeing Enrico—a light that appeared in her life and saved her, giving her a chance to be his Musubinin. The spirit's form was a red spiritual flame.
"Chain of Light."
Yumeha glowed but was struck by an attack that sent her flying back. She spat a bit of blood, wiping her mouth as she stood up. She didn't seem as hurt as she should've been. Akaname appeared, its tongue wrapped around the ghoul's arm, and slammed it against the wall. Akaname was glowing too.
The Chain of Light is a magic that splits the pain received with its ally in half. Akaname released another tongue strike that tore off the ghoul's arm, and Yumeha struck the core multiple times with her staff, imbued with Akaname's magic, cracking the core. The ghoul tried one last attack, but Hitodama deflected its arm, diverting the blow meant for Yumeha. One final strike from the staff shattered the core.
She breathed a sigh of relief and looked to the side, seeing Enrico smiling, which made her blush slightly.
"That was a great first fight."
She nodded shyly, but looking to the side, she saw that Aoi and Rina had already defeated more than five level two Zara, while she had only beaten one. Her eyes burned with competition—she wouldn't let Rina outshine her. She ran off to face more, with Enrico joining in soon after, wanting to use the battle to grow stronger.
After hours, Takeshi was fighting three level one Faizes at once while the guards stood around them. Aoi, curious, touched Hitodama and looked at Akaname from a distance.
"They don't seem to have a gender."
"That's because they're still at the circle level. The more circles Yumeha reaches, the more they'll evolve, and they can even change appearance. Yumeha can decide if they'll be male or female. In fact, they can even learn to speak."
If it were in the real world, nothing would change, but even yōkai that look like women can be changed to male if Yumeha wants, like in the original story. Enrico looked up and saw everyone staring at him for knowing this.
Aoi stared at him strangely.
"Seriously, how does he know this?"
Yumeha was excited, already expecting something like this from the master who chose her. He really knew a lot about her, which made her happy.
"Don't worry, master. All my yōkai will be women."
Enrico looked at her face, wondering why she thought he cared about that, while Rina beside him was already anticipating the future.
"When he becomes my Ketsumei, I want to hear all the abilities of my future self too."
Takeshi defeated the last Faizes and walked toward them.
"Only the boss remains. I'll close this dungeon immediately so we can return, Lord Enrico."
Enrico nodded, and Takeshi smiled, heading to the boss room with another guard. Then Enrico stood up.
"I want to fight a few more Nartheis, so I'll go to the left."
"I'll go with you, young master."
"Of course."
The two walked ahead of the others and left, with Yumeha wanting to follow, but Enrico stopped her, asking her to rest. They entered a chamber, and Enrico turned around.
"You can stop pretending now—we're far enough."
The guard was surprised, not understanding, and gripped her spear.
"What do you mean, young master?"
"You must've already sent a message to the Tianlong territory's ruler about Renzou's recovery, right? The daughter of one of the Celestial Dragons?"
The guard immediately pointed her spear at Enrico, but he continued.
"Calm down. I'd like to say a few things your empress would find very interesting."
The guard paused, seeing Enrico's completely calm face—where did that confidence come from?