Seeing Renne accept Ennea's request, Ennea entered her own dreamland, just thinking of the possibilities of what she would send in Naoto's direction. What she said was true. Ennea is turning eighteen soon, just a couple more months at most. When that happens, she will be an adult! By then, Ennea could do whatever she wanted to do regarding "that", and the first thing that came into her mind was the proposal she sent to Renne. While Ennea isn't expecting to do the deed anytime soon as Naoto still has some years before he turns eighteen himself, Ennea couldn't help but wonder what she should decide on as Pater-Mater sped off in the skies above Zemuria.
Their destination? Liberl, home to the Bracers and advanced orbal airships. What's more, something lurking within the entire country that most people weren't aware of...The Sept-Terrion of Space, the Aureole!
As that happened, some time had passed back in Heimdallr. To be specific, the Vander Dojo.
"That's enough!", Matteus's voice roared, commanding the end of the spar.
"Hah...Hah...", I uttered, letting out heavy sighs.
"Hah...Hah...", Sherryl also uttered, letting out her own heavy sighs. Presently the two of us could be seen centered on the fighting platform, both on our backs. Our bodies were bruised and somewhat bloody, and the result came in.
Sherryl's HP bar hovered around 10%, while mine was around 30%.
[Ding! You have completed a Quest!]
[Ding! You have Leveled Up! LV92 -> LV93.]
[Ding! You have Leveled up! LV93 -> LV94.]
[Ding! You have gained a rapid understanding of Basic Pole Mastery!]
[Ding! Basic Pole Mastery LV1 -> LV50.]
[Ding! You have unlocked Slot #4 of your Enigma II!]
[Ding! You have received a custom Earth Quartz - Everlasting Vow.]
[Ding! Everlasting Vow has been added to your Inventory. Its details are available to view.]
[Ding! Your HP and EP have been replenished!]
[Ding! Greater Regeneration has triggered. Your lost stamina will now be refilled!]
Feeling a sudden surge of energy spread throughout my body, my wounds suddenly healed all the way back up. Any marks and bruises began to rapidly recede back into my body. Even Sherryl was taken aback by this change.
"This...Your body is healing itself?", Sherryl asked, eyes full of shock. Even the blood was already beginning to dry out. Any wounds have already closed themselves. Normally, I'd see a steady green plus icon above my head, but thanks to Leveling Up, my health restored in one go. "That's cheating."
"Haha. I consider it a perk of "Leveling Up". You've experienced that too, even if you haven't seen it directly like I can.", I said. By now I was standing again. Reaching my hand out, I extended it for Sherryl. She was quite drenched in sweat. Perhaps it was due to her rapid shifting of her own blood, she didn't have as many injuries as I did. In a way, it was similar to Greater Regeneration. "Thank you. You're strong."
"I could say the same thing to you.", I happily replied, letting Sherryl regain her breath. That Doping ability must have taken a lot out of her. I could see Sherryl struggle to stand. "Don't push yourself for the rest of the day. You need to recover properly."
"I know. I don't have that cheat like you do.", Sherryl replied back with a smile. I wiped some dried blood away from her face as she used this time to recover her spent energy. While I didn't go all out, I haven't moved like that in a good while without having my life in danger. Not since Nemeth Island. It felt good.
Still, like that, the spar had come to an end. Knowing that, I saw Princess Alfin quickly approach me with a hint of worry in her eyes. She was now within arm's reach.
"Are you sure you are alright, Naoto? You look pretty worn out too, Sherryl. As marvelous a display that battle was, I hope you two didn't overdo it.", Princess Alfin asked with worry. Hearing that, I reached my hand out, and patted her head, assuring everything was fine. "Oh you."
"I did not expect you to be one proficient in pole arts, Your Royal Highness.", Prince Cedric mused, also taking the time to approach us, as did the others.
"Umu. A satisfactory display. It is good you have not slacked off.", Roselia said, acknowledging the spar. If it was enough to satisfy Roselia, then all's well that ends well, right?
"Indeed it was. That was a splendid fight which blended martial arts and the long-lost art of sorcery together. Seeing you come this far, I am quite looking forward to the day once we have our own duel. I have not been slacking off either, and successfully incorporated this form of sorcery into my own techniques.", Aurelia said, also nodding in agreement with a satisfied look in her eyes. "But from the looks of it, you are much more attuned to the elements than I am. It would be a lie to say I am not a little jealous."
"You...are interested in having a spar with His Royal Highness?", Kurt asked, raising his eyebrows at Aurelia.
"Of course. After all, that is the one condition I gave Naoto here for us to become engaged. But with Her Imperial Highness jumping the gun, I have little interest in disrupting that. Instead, if Naoto beats me in the coming future in a duel, I will join his Royal Harem.", Aurelia suddenly declared.
"E-Eh?", I replied, not letting that thought register for a moment.
"Oh my. So you really did have such a thing arranged...", Princess Alfin also murmured, becoming surprised to hear that. Without any opinions from others, Aurelia straight up declared she would join the Royal Harem, given the condition that I beat her in battle.
It is a huge hurdle, but it isn't any more clear than that.
"That's preposterous.", Prince Cedric exclaimed in disbelief.
"Why do you think I have turned down all previous marriage proposals sent to the Le Guin estate until now?", Aurelia shot back, her eyes remained serious. "This arrangement isn't anything new. It's been determined a long time ago, I am just changing the terms up a little. That is all."
"To think you had such an arrangement with Naoto. You're such a lucky guy, aren't you?", Princess Alfin mused with a playful smile on her face.
"I have no comment on that.", I said, taking a moment to catch my breath again. Sherryl's composure has somewhat regained her color again. I am not sure if it's because of the Gamer System, but I saw her health bar slowly begin to increase as she entered recovery mode. Perhaps that's just natural to how the human body works to those who aren't impacted by the Gamer System. Injuries heal over time after all. Seeing that happen, I let Sherry stand on her own now.
"Thank you, Naoto. I had a lot of fun with that battle.", Sherryl said, and smiled at me. "Still, I did not think you would have such an arrangement with the Demon of Thors. I doubt she would approve of just anyone. Now it's starting to click with what took place during the dancing last night."
"Haha.", I laughed. "Well, that is that, and this is this. As Aurelia said, this arrangement has been around for a while. It hasn't surfaced much as of late, but with the terms changed, I can only follow suit. I do have a matter that has more priority currently, so I am afraid that this duel likely won't be for quite some time."
"And I am fine with that. I am very much aware of this other priority you currently have to deal with. After all, I will be taking part in it myself. I am quite curious how it will turn out.", Aurelia said, curving her lips upward into a smile.
Aurelia is obviously referring to the Vermillion Trials. I had initially set it to happen two months from now. If the evacuation of the people can succeed during that time, then I will likely be ready. I can gain six more levels in two months. That should be easy. We'll see if it happens in two months, or closer toward my enrollment at Jenis.
The current plan that I have is Get Stronger -> Vermillion Trials -> Fight the Vermillion Apocalypse -> Claim Testa-Rossa -> Year 1 at Jenis Royal Academy -> Year 2 at Aramis Academy -> Year 3 & 4 at Thors Military Academy. Unlike other academies, Thors Military Academy does two-year terms. I will get to experience its full course. I will land in the testing class alongside Crow and the rest to see how the Arcus works, and then kick back and relax, seeing Rean's story unfold in Year Two. That is when all hell will break loose in Erebonia, beginning with the Civil War.
While Duke Cayenne may not have his fantasy anymore to claim what was never his to begin with since I will be taking Testa-Rossa, no doubt will he find some excuse to spin to stir the civil war into place. The Nobles hate Father anyway. That hatred isn't easy to just wipe away in a blink of an eye.
Nonetheless, I have made a first good step to continue training my foundations. My spar with Sherryl ended. It was noon now on Saturday, calendar date: S1200, January 1st. The clash caused many fists to pummel against one another with several strikes of World Eater in response. Hissing noises echoed throughout the entire hall, and no one let their gaze off this fight. I could see hints of jealousy but also optimism in the Vander School students, taking this lesson to heart. Perhaps one day, they'll have a high-end spar like this. On top of that, it was rare to be in the presence of the Thunder God, for he was rarely home. His current wife, the Stormwatcher, and Mueller Vander, Kurt's older brother. Some even wondered how in Aidios's name Sherryl and I reached such heights while offering such a display in battle.
The only thing these students didn't know was the fact that I possessed the Hundred Form Military Combat that Father ever so graciously imparted onto me, wondering if I would have followed in his footsteps and become a soldier. Then reality turned the other way and I learned my true identity, heir to Liberl's throne. The same position as Klaudia von Auslese.
If only this spar could have lasted longer with Sherryl...But I knew I shouldn't push it. That Doping was impressive already. We'll see if she can manage to use it for longer periods of time, or eventually permanently. The one thing Sherryl found surprising was the fact that I could keep up with her movements during this fighting. After all, speed is my forte~ I learned under the Sword Fox, and he knew how to move efficiently and swiftly during his prime. Otherwise, he wouldn't be called the Demon Commander of the Royal Army back then, haha!
If I had equipped Glistening Moonlight instead of World Eater, I likely would have trumped Sherryl in terms of speed alone. To say the least, these ten minutes or so were very intense. Everything happened so quickly and both of our health pools drained in a blink of an eye while I unleashed Crafts and Spells at Sherryl and Sherryl successfully took the hits, or countered back with Crafts of her own. From there, we just spent some time chatting away with one another like that, going over the results of what took place.
And yet, that didn't seem to be the only thing that was happening...