After returning from his scouting, Eric opened the door to his room and was stunned.
Two gorgeous women were inside his room.
The room suddenly fell into an awkward silence.
All three of them were quiet. Two of them were blushing deeply at how Eric was scrutinizing them openly with his eyes.
Livy was leaning on one of the wardrobes in the room with her hands crossed under her ample breasts. Her long, beautiful hair cascaded behind her, and the ends were flung on the bed beside the wardrobe, showing a beautiful blend of purple and lavender.
Lyria perched gently on Eric's bed in an upright posture, as if she were a highly educated, high-class noblewoman.
From Eric's perspective, Lyria resembled a hot teacher from 21st-century Earth—though she was infinitely superior in looks, figure, demeanor... everything.
One looked like a wild, spicy troublemaker; the other, an elegant, cultured woman.
But their appearances weren't the shocking part—it was how much they'd changed.
Both Lyria and Livy had transformed far more than Eric.
They now looked like the most gorgeous women, glowing as if their skin emitted a radiant hue, making them resemble goddesses or angels.
Eric felt he might slip and fall onto his butt.
He swore that "pew-pew lady" had returned, firing two critical arrows deep into his vulnerable, naive, helpless heart.
Unlike their previous bulging muscles, Lyria and Livy had truly become the epitome of feminine beauty.
Their lips were reddish, as if naturally tinted with lipstick, perfectly complementing their fair faces.
Their eye shapes had sharpened, making them look more like fantasy fairies.
Eric had no words for either Lyria or Livy's current looks. They were the most beautiful females he had seen—even better than Elara and Lysandra—though Elara had her own charm, and she had still been mortal when he last saw her. Lysandra, meanwhile, was too tall and mature.
Their skin glowed, and their hair seemed more vibrant, alive.
Eric thought this was the true definition of HDR!
Though their casual dresses hid most of their skin, Eric noticed their former roughness, calluses, and bulkiness had vanished.
They no longer resembled overgrown, muscular girls but had regained lean, feminine figures—though their proportions remained *dangerously* exaggerated.
If Eric didn't know better, he'd assume they'd used some advanced AI beauty filter to become this enchanting.
He sighed, imagining Jack's reaction—he'd die of regret, unable to pursue them now as they'd surpassed Cooper's strength as Mana Wielders.
Lyria and Livy avoided eye contact but ensured Eric got a full view of their figures, while blushing deeply.
Lyria and Livy were thrilled with their transformation. Thankfully, they had Bella Noll's guidance, and they were able to specify the changes they had wanted to make for a long time.
Eric coughed, reclaiming his cool, badass aura.
"Congratulations on becoming Mana Wielders. Mystical Knights, right?"
They nodded, cheeks flushed.
Livy, currently in her hooligan attitude, played with her enchanting hair—which fell beside her ears—and shyly asked, "H-How do I look, Brother Eric?"
She really needed Eric's opinion to cheer herself up, as she was feeling a little depressed about something.
Eric took the opportunity to check out both women from head to toe and nodded with satisfaction.
"Absolutely stunning. Previously, both of you were already beauties, and now you're even more enchanting, ravishing, alluring, attractive..."
If Eric had a camera, he'd definitely want to take pictures of Lyria and Livy to keep as wallpapers.
Riya nodded in agreement. "I've already captured their images, and they're now printed on hugging pillows. If you want to sleep on them, you can come inside and enjoy."
Eric ignored Riya's perverted babblings.
He felt no embarrassment praising women, as he truly believed Lyria and Livy were that gorgeous—the most beautiful women he'd ever seen, in pictures or in person. There were no words for it. And since he wasn't a cute teenager from Earth, he also had no problem praising any girl sincerely and openly.
Lyria and Livy felt butterflies in their stomachs hearing Eric's praises.
They immediately wanted to push Eric down and do 'this' and 'that', but they held back with great willpower, recalling that cultured ladies shouldn't do such things. It was just that they were very straightforward, confident, and 'aggressive' due to their brutal training, so they were deeply tempted.
Eric suddenly felt a freezing wind on the back of his neck.
He felt he should escape before it was too late—but he didn't even know what he was escaping from.
In any case, he was now a Mystical Knight!
Badass villains shouldn't think of running away just because they feared being pinned down by powerful women!
So, he confidently strode in and sat on his chair near the window.
Livy sat on the empty bed opposite Lyria.
"Once again, congratulations to both of you. So, any luck with Elements?"
Eric was excited to learn if they had awakened any, and if so, which ones.
Suddenly, Livy's bright face turned sour.
Eric was confused, wondering if Livy was 'colorless.' He believed only heroes were born colorless. Villains should be blessed—like him.
No… He wasn't so blessed…
Eric once again felt depressed about not being able to awaken any destructive Elements.
Before he could ask, Livy sighed and muttered in disappointment.
"Water Element..."
"Eh? Why are you depressed?" Eric was flabbergasted. Having one Element meant Livy had narrowly escaped being one of those tragic heroes.
One was still better than nothing.
Livy whined in a depressed tone, "B-But Water Elements don't have much offensive power..."
In their last class, Bella Noll had given them a brief description of the five basic Elements, mentioning that Water was relatively weak—lacking lethal offensive spells or attacking ability compared to others.
Eric thought for a moment, then shook his head. "You don't have to worry. Water Element isn't as weak as you imagine. I also have ideas for powerful Water spells or elemental control."
Not just Water—as someone from the advanced 21st century, Eric had plenty of ideas for all Elements.
Riya agreed in the Mind Space. But she knew Eric was vastly underestimated the intricacies of creating a proper spell.
She'd already studied all five Elements' spells from the books provided by Lysandra.
A usable spell had many requirements. For example, a Tier 1 spell had the least complications, but if improperly crafted, casting even a weak spell could drain a Rank 3's mana reserves completely.
In short, spellcraft demanded deep understanding. That's why it was thousands of times easier to use pre-existing spells rather than invent new ones.
Even Riya didn't think she could create truly useful spells any time soon. She'd already started working on Eric's Space Element but doubted she'd produce anything viable soon.
Livy's eyes brightened, and she nodded excitedly. As long as Eric wasn't disappointed, she was fine with anything—she could focus on physical combat instead.
She was also eager to hear Eric's ideas. She'd do her best to impress him with whatever he suggested.
Livy gave Lyria a triumphant look, to which Lyria snorted disdainfully. She was absolutely badass—even Bella Noll had praised her.
Eric turned to Lyria. "What about you? What's your Element?"
Lyria grinned like a sunflower. "Ground Element and Gravity!"
Eric's eyes widened. Two Elements—and not just any two, but two amazing ones. One was downright terrifying.
Gravity could be an absolute menace.
Eric's Space Element had a close relationship with Gravity as both manipulated force over distance.
All Elements had some interconnected principles.
Eric smiled. "Not bad. Gravity's potential is immense, but it depends on how you train and apply it in battle."
Lyria nodded eagerly, clenching her fist.
She vowed to be Eric's strongest supporter—to make him proud. From now on, he could depend on her completely!
Eric nodded in satisfaction. "Tomorrow, I will take you both to a certain place. That powerful High Elf mother has left behind quite some things for training and studying. So, we all need to be focused for the next eight months. After that, we will leave this town for adventure!"
Eric was very excited—for both increasing his training stats and also for the mass destruction he would create everywhere—ahem. For now, the only plan he had was to slap and bully cute, innocent heroes with his overpowered stats, while robbing virtuous people, and also to enjoy nature en route to Celestia Academy.
Lyria and Livy were shocked. They knew Eric would take them somewhere tomorrow, but they didn't expect the High Elf who rescued him and the town had even left behind things for training.
They didn't say anything, but tomorrow, when they arrived at that training location, they would ask Eric about those two High Elves.
Both Lyria and Livy were eternally grateful to both High Elves for rescuing Eric. They would remember this debt for life.