Bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit.

Phi Sora narrowed her eyes as she swung her sword at an opening.

But the moment she moved, the opening vanished and a whip-like sword flew towards her outstretched arm.

Sora turned to the side and was forced to parry to block the blade. But then her opponent shifted his grip on his sword, making the pressure vanish like it was smoke before rushing towards her body like a wave.

Sora clicked her tongue and smacked her opponent's sword away before retreating again. As she did, she stared at Jihu.

He didn't pursue her. Instead, he tilted his head to the side and mumbled under his breath, as if reflecting on the clash.

No, not just as if. He had to be.

It was ridiculous. That was the only way that Sora could describe him.

At the beginning, Sora could only say that Jihu was 'good.' Better than most level five warriors she fought. A few tricks here and there, but overall, on par for someone trained by Grandpa. 

...Well, he seemed to be holding back in terms of his speed and strength, so maybe she wasn't giving him enough credit. 

Either way though, his swordsmanship sucked. His attacks were good, but they weren't connected or have a flow to them, like how a real swordsman would fight.

But after five moves, he changed, his attacks smoothing out and becoming faster, sharper.

After another five, his moves became irregular, suddenly choppy and unreadable.

After yet another five, they flowed like a running stream, linking together as if he was a master swordsman.

And now... now it was almost like she was fighting herself. But also...

'He's not using Mana.'

And that was the most damnable thing about it.

That guy, Jihu. He was fighting on pure skill now instead of using his stats to dodge, parry, and block.

Sora could say that because she could figure out the exact way he was fighting.

Her own Realm, One with the Sword, let her use a sword as a natural part of her body. It also let her figure out how other people fought just by clashing against them.

And Jihu was ridiculous.

Attacks as sharp and blinding as lightning. Smooth slashes like running water. And then a steady defense like an iron wall.

That was how it had been at first. Like he had three different sword styles, he was fighting with different techniques.

But it was different now.

His sharp attacks were as firm as steel while connecting as smooth as running water. His parries were sharp and heavy before vanishing like smoke.

Ridiculous.

And that was only with basic techniques.

Sora knew he had more.

From how he could fly with her in his arms and how he warped them all to the mountain, he had to be a magician on par with Ian Denzel. And from that way he was fighting with the cursed lance, he also had that as a backup... And looked to be a better spearman than swordsman. Then there was the fact that he could heal, and apparently did heal, Sora back from the brink of death...

Sora grit her teeth and then forced Jihu to lock blades with her. "Who the hell are you?!"

It didn't make sense.

...No, it kind of did. At least, it would explain the rumors and how he treated platinum beads like dirt.

But even so...

Jihu blinked and then shrugged. "I'm just me. Now... Let's go. You're improving too, aren't you?"

Sora narrowed her eyes.

...It was true. Just as Jihu was improving, she was starting to improve as well.

His fighting style gave her ideas that she incorporated into her own. And trying to find counters to his attacks that changed in real-time were improving her intuition and reflexes.

Even so...

"You arrogant bastard! I'm going to push you down if it's the last thing I do!"

He laughed and shoved Sora back. "Careful now. Some other girls might get jealous."

"Fuck'em!"

"...Please don't give them any ideas."

"Argh!" Sora got pissed off at his nonchalant attitude and swung her blade. "Take this seriously already!"

"Hey! You're the one making innuendos! I'm just trying to spar!"

"Shut up!"

xxx

Maldong sipped on a cup of tea while watching the Yi siblings raggedly run up the mountain slope.

As he did, a familiar crimson-haired beauty slumped over before collapsing on the ground, staring at the sky.

Maldong glanced at her and said, "You gave up huh?"

Sora groaned and said, "Shut up, Grandpa. I don't want to hear it."

Maldong sipped his tea and said, "It can't be helped. You might be a monstrous talent, but Jihu is an actual monster."

Sora sat up and then glared at him. "Did you use the needles on him?"

Maldong laughed. "What if I did? Would that change anything?"

Sora paused and then shook her head. "I guess not."

Maldong smiled and then shifted his gaze to the distance.

Jihu had decided to run along with the Yi siblings. Except, unlike them, he was running with countless elements floating around him. Lightning, ice, steel... those were the three main ones. But others flickered in and out of existence as he ran, forming various shapes as he did. Fire, water, light, dark... those and more surrounded Jihu, constantly shifting forms as he moved.

A ridiculous training regime of splitting his mana into different streams and imbuing them with various attributes.

Or rather, an 'impossible' training regime.

"You shouldn't feel bad though." Maldong shifted his gaze back to Sora and said, "Just like how your Realm has endless potential in close combat, Jihu's Realm also has endless potential. It's just... in everything."

Sora blinked. "Everything, huh? Coming from Grandpa... I guess it can't be a lie."

"Mm." Maldong nodded. "It's unbelievable, but that guy's talent is enough to make an old man like me that's seen practically everything under the sun to wonder if the heavens are blind. To think that he'd develop a unique realm that can unify disparate skills and abilities that shouldn't mix..."

As if to prove Maldong's point, Jihu suddenly conjured a blue flame in the distance. It looked hot, but from the frost crystals surrounding it, the flame had to be cold. Yet, as leaves fell into the fire, they turned to ash before being frozen.

A flame that burned and froze.

Sora stared at Jihu, her eyes contemplative.

Maldong glanced back at her and said, "I'm surprised though."

"Hm? By what, Grandpa?"

"I would have thought that guy would have stopped at just saving you, but to think he was considerate enough to drag you here and spar so you'd get distracted..."

Sora froze and then mixed emotions entered her eyes. "That's... Huh. I didn't think of that..."

Maldong chuckled and then turned his gaze back to Jihu.

...But 'needles', huh?

...No. Not yet.

Jihu had yet to reach his limit. Until that time... Until that time, the golden needles wouldn't return.

Not just yet.

xxx

The days passed by in a blur while I focused on my training.

Sora kept trying to spar with me every day, but as expected, she couldn't beat me.

Though, I couldn't beat her either...

Well, technically I could. If I went all out with pure speed and strength, I could easily knock her attacks aside. But in terms of raw skill and talent... I was lacking.

But that was the point of my training, so I didn't mind.

Yuhui and Flone seemed to hit it off. While Flone had been reluctant to train at first, after a while the two had become fast friends... frequently pointing at me while I was training and breaking out into giggles.

I had been worried at first... but now I was worried for a different reason. Still, it couldn't be helped.

Seol-Ah and Sungjin... They were... persevering.

It seemed like Maldong might have had some pent up energy from not being able to train someone properly since he was putting them through training from hell. Enough to where people would wonder if he was just torturing them.

But it was fine. The kids weren't dying anytime soon, and even if they did, I was fast enough to heal them back. As long as it was a normal death anyway.

Not too sure what would happen if they imploded their mana circuits or something... but that wasn't going to happen with just training anyway.

In short... I could focus on myself.

And I did.

Remembering back to the Sacrificium made me antsy.

It was unexpected. I didn't know what sort of creature had been hiding there, but I knew that it was powerful. Powerful and dangerous, even to me.

But why?

That was what bothered me.

All as One should allow me to unify disparate concepts. Paired with my Energy Domination, Fate Reversal, and other skills... not to mention my stats and insane mana pool, I should have been able to beat it.

But I couldn't. I instinctively sensed that I was at a disadvantage, and my eyes confirmed it from that dark color.

A 'Fated Demise' if I faced it. But that calculation only took into account what I had at the time.

I was sure that Transcendent Insight would have let me beat it. But that skill was something I couldn't freely use here. At least, not while I wasn't 'qualified.'

Causality was a real thing. Like this world's status system implied, there was a game like 'balance' in place that didn't allow for 'cheats.' And my Transcendent Insight was one such cheat.

Since it was a skill that 'I' had, someone outside of this entire universe that somehow managed to takeover Seol's role and one that could unravel the mysteries of even the gods, it wasn't allowed.

Or rather, it was allowed, but I would have to be prepared to face everything the world AND the Parasite Queen had to throw at me.

And I wasn't. Not yet.

So then to be 'qualified' to use my skill, I had to take an alternative path.

Unbound Karmic Blade.

All as One.

Energy Domination.

Chaotic Resolution.

Fate Reversal...

I had a lot of unique abilities to use and play with. Some I hadn't even begun to touch the surface of.

And then there was my magic as well.

I had mostly been using 'mana', but it was time to start using my unique energy as well.

But there were too many avenues to pursue. The curse of talent was that you didn't know which well to dig first.

For me, it didn't matter which I dug since it would all unify in the end... but I still had to prioritize.

And I could sense it.

Up to this point, I hadn't faced any enemies that I couldn't beat with what I had.

But that dark god... thing showed that they were coming. Enemies that required a crazy attack beyond common sense.

At least on that level. I needed something that could kill a being at least on that level.

So I thought about it.

What did I need to use to beat a monster like that?

A sword wasn't enough. It had been intangible, more a cloud of pure malevolence than tangible. And yet, it was also able to manifest in the physical world and affect it while being intangible.

A nonsense logic. No. Was it nonsense?

That was the question I had and tested.

It was similar. My ability let me do nonsense things like make a fire that could burn and freeze. And if I, a mere mortal, could do it... Why couldn't a 'god'?

So that got me thinking about what a 'god' was.

The most obvious answer was that they were a being that gained power through worship... But that wasn't true. At least, not completely. While there were gods like that, there were also gods that were a power unto themselves.

Then was it pure power?

That couldn't be it. While reaching a certain point of power would qualify you to fight against the gods, it didn't make you a god.

So then what was a god?

I thought about it. Recalling all the stories I had read, all the information I knew, the pieces I could remember from Seol's timeline...

And I concluded.

It didn't matter.

In the end, a god was 'absolute.' Complete. They possessed dominion over a concept and authority... but it was also one that could be overturned at any time.

How many sun gods had there been in the course of Earth's history? Or Kings of Gods?

The time would come where a god overturned another.

So then I shouldn't aim to be a god. Instead...

Something that went beyond the level of a god.

It was a bit mindless... but I had examples of those. The cultivation novels and cultivators who drew in energy to surpass the heavens. Who carved their unique path and obtained the power to proclaim their will no matter where they went.

That was similar. A High Ranker with their own path was already walking the same road that a cultivator did. The only difference was that High Rankers didn't set out to defy the heavens. They didn't try to go deeper into the mysteries of the universe to reach the fundamentals.

...Right. That was the difference.

A god proclaimed dominion and stopped there.

A cultivator... the immortals and transcendents born from walking that path. They didn't just proclaim dominion. Their power was built step by step on a path of understanding and insight. And when facing heavenly tribulation, they used their understanding and insights to go beyond it.

So-

"A coin for your thoughts, Jihu?"

A bright female voice. Yuhui's.

I blinked and realized that she was standing in front of me, upside down.

Wait. I was the one upside down.

It looked like in my thoughts, I had somehow walked up a tree and was standing on it and defying gravity... No, not defying gravity. Inverting the potential and kinetic energy so that it was the same as if I was standing right-side up.

Yuhui laughed and said, "You'll faint standing like that, you know?"

I did a flip and landed on the ground. "I would have been fine... but it would have been a bit awkward to chat like that."

I took a look around.

It was the forested area where I trained with Maldong before, working on my combat intuition... Or rather, the outside of that forested area.

In the distance, I could hear Seol-Ah and Sungjin's pained and desperate screams. I could also hear some cursing as Sora's sword cut through the air... Which was impressive considering that we were a couple miles out.

The sun was also setting, meaning that I'd spent the entire day lost in thought and training random things.

I shifted my gaze back to Yuhui and said, "I would have thought you and Flone would be training together?"

Yuhui leaned against a tree and said, "Flonnie got a bit tired of practicing healing magic, so she went to find Miss Sora to train with instead."

"Ah." I nodded.

Yeah, Flone wasn't really the type to sit through healing studies. Despite her dainty appearance, she was definitely a go-getter type of girl. Though...

I looked at Yuhui and said, "Flonnie, huh? You two got along pretty quickly."

She giggled and then gave me a sly look. "Why, are you worried, Jihu?"

"Not really. I'm just glad. Flone doesn't have many friends, so I'm happy for her to make new ones."

Yuhui blinked and then she sighed. "You really are hopeless..."

"Eh?"

Yuhui shook her head. "It's nothing. Anyway... How's your training coming along? Is there anything I can help with?"

I conjured a pair of chairs and then motioned for her to sit. After she did, I sat down as well and said, "Not really." I stared at the sky and said, "This is something that I have to resolve for myself."

The ripples I caused... they were going to turn into giant waves. Waves that everyone else couldn't handle.

So I had to prepare. I had to be the bunker that could stop the wave and protect everyone.

Yuhui frowned and said, "You shouldn't try to handle everything yourself, Jihu."

"I know." I nodded. "But right now, we don't have the time for me to bring everyone else up to speed. So until then... While I'm in the lead, I have to be the first person to buy that time. You know?"

Yuhui stared at me, her frown deepening.

The mood was growing weird, so I laughed and said, "It's probably just me being too paranoid. But enough about my training... What about that 'mission' you had to do here? Did you get around to finishing it yet, Miss Priestess?"

Yuhui huffed. "Meanie. I really did have a mission, you know!" She pulled out her bag and opened it, revealing some herbs. "There are rare herbs that only grow on this mountain. The Temple needed some, so I volunteered to go gather them."

"Riiight. And you couldn't just leave that to the acolytes? This place isn't that dangerous, you know?"

"...You would have sent them back anyway."

I paused to consider that.

Suddenly seeing priests around when I was training...

"I guess you're right."

If not me, Maldong would have sent them back. Then again, it wasn't like they were on an urgent mission, so would it have mattered?

Yuhui giggled. "See? I know how you're like, Jihu. Since that was the case, I thought I'd come along instead so you wouldn't be troubled."

"You say that, but it's just an excuse to stalk me a bit more, isn't it?"

Yuhui huffed. "I am not stalking you!"

I gave her a blank stare and said, "You moved in front of my team's headquarter."

She coughed and said, "Being next to such a prestigious team has its advantages."

I sighed. "Well, it's good that you're shameless like this instead of as shameless as how your reputation puts you out to be. Being cute is much better than being sultry anyway."

"C-Cute?!" Yuhui blushed. "M-Me?"

"And that's what you hear...?" I sighed and then stretched. "Well, whatever. It's good to have someone I know from Earth around, even if she's a stalker."

"Hey!"

I chuckled and then leaned forward on my chair. "Since we're here... and since I'm stuck anyway, how about a chat? How've you been, Yuhui? Any issues in your life?"

Yuhui huffed. "You really are a meanie! Do you act like this with all women? Teasing them and calling them bad names?"

I shrugged. "I can't help it. You're too easy to tease... and it's cute."

Yuhui flinched and then she shook her head, muttering. "No wonder Flonnie suggested that. He's a natural... like this... She'll be mad, but she gave up first, so it's fine, right?"

...I heard some troubling things, but I decided it was in my better interest to ignore them. Instead, I conjured a pair of cups and some sparkling cider. Pouring out a cup, I handed it over to her and said, "Here."

Yuhui blinked and then tilted her head. "Wine?"

"Nah. Just some sparkling cider. Thought we might as well get a bit cozy... Ah, I should make a campfire too." I snapped my fingers and conjured a firepit in the ground. Next, I flicked my wrist, causing a tree to split apart into perfect firewood. I warped that over and then chucked it in before starting a fire.

Yuhui shook her head. "You really are something else, Jihu."

"Yep. I'm me, and nobody else. It'd be pretty weird if there were two of me around, you know?"

And a sign that all hell was about to break loose since a future version of me would only be in the past if the future broke down. And he'd only be here because he mastered some outrageous power.

Yuhui laughed. "Yes... I suppose it would be pretty strange. Though Jihu is pretty unique... and different too."

I took a sip of my cider. "Anyway, life's good?"

Yuhui swirled her cider around and said, "It's... fine. The Temple is being a bit demanding of me as always, but they've always been." She sighed. "It comes with being the Daughter of Luxuria... Sometimes I wish I wasn't."

"Ah... Yeah." I nodded. "Reputation can be a pain. It's useful too though." I paused and said, "...Though I heard you're supposedly an ice wall that never let a guy get close."

Yuhui laughed. "That's true. But Jihu is different."

"Am I though?"

Yuhui nodded. "Mmhm! You're the only one I can be myself around, you know? Everyone else is just 'Your Grace' this or 'Lady Yuhui' that... And if not that, they're always trying to get something from me."

I raised an eyebrow and said, "And how do you know I'm not just trying to soften you up so I can take advantage of you later?" I glanced at her tight fitting robe and said, "If I did anything right now, nobody would notice, you know?"

"You won't."

"And how do you know?" I leaned back and sipped on my cider. "I'm not a good person."

"See." Yuhui leaned forward, smiling. "And that's why. A bad person wouldn't say they weren't a good person."

"Ah, but a smart bad person would do just that. Build up rapport only to knock it down at the last second, you know?"

It was a common tactic used by pickup artists. Play up vulnerabilities, build rapport, and then at the last minute... ruin everything after getting what you want.

"Mm... Maybe." Yuhui took a sip from her glass. "But if that's true... I guess that's just how it is."

"...You're awfully nonchalant about potentially being strung along for no reason."

"Well, you did warn me in the beginning, didn't you?" Yuhui smiled and said, "If I'm not careful, I'd get my heart stolen by a bad guy like you... So I'll just have to take extra care then." She paused and then gave me a teasing smile. "Or maybe I should make you take responsibility?"

"Pft." I shook my head and said, "As if I'd take responsibility for a crazy stalker like you."

"Oh? Then maybe you are a bad man after all... My, should I warn Flone?"

I rolled my eyes.

Yuhui laughed.

We sat there for a while, enjoying the cider and the warm fire.

But after some time, I looked up and said something that had been on my mind for a while. "Hey, Yuhui."

"Yes, Jihu?"

"Seriously. Why are you hanging out with a guy like me?"

She gave me a blank look.

"You're a woman that could get any guy to chase her. More than that, you have the authority and funds to do whatever you want. So... Why me?"

"...Secret."

"Hm?"

Yuhui stuck out her tongue and said, "It's a secret. If you really want to find out... Well, make a proper organization that can stand on par with Sinyoung first."

"Is that a challenge? Because I can do that."

Yuhui laughed and then stood up. She drained her glass and set it on the chair before winking at me. "I'll be waiting then, Jihu." After that, she waved and walked away, heading back to our base in the cave.

I watched her leave and then finished my glass as well, lost in thought.

"...These women are going to be the death of me, aren't they?"

I glanced at my left arm, staring at the numerous crimson strands wrapping around it.

"...Hah..."

xxx

The sound of clashing steel.

Sora dashed back to open up space before stepping in with a slash towards my neck. A fluid motion without any break from her evasion.

But I saw it. No, rather than saw, I 'felt' it.

The direction of the wind, the flow of momentum in her body, where she was staring... Taking in all the information at once, I traced the trajectory and moved with it.

Sora's blade kissed my neck, the cold steel brushing it. But that was all.

I moved with the blade, as if it was part of my body, and then rolled across it and Sora's outstretched arm before thrusting my sword towards her rib.

She clicked her tongue and then pulled her arm back. But she couldn't pull it back in time to block. So instead, she twisted her body, stooping low and ducking beneath my stab.

For a split second, the two of us were perpendicular to the ground, me leaning over her bent body.

And then she headbutted me.

"Gah, fuck."

I flinched and pushed myself back, glaring at her. "I thought we were sparring with our swords, not fighting dirty!"

Sora shook her head. "As if anybody could fight properly against you without fighting dirty." She glanced at her sword and clicked her tongue. "Tch. How the hell did you not get cut rolling along the blade like that?"

"Very fine motor control."

"Whatever. Bastard." Sora sighed and leaned against the tree, picking up a water bottle that she left there. After taking a swig, she stared at me and said, "What gives anyway? I didn't expect to actually hit you with my headbutt." She grinned and said, "What, distracted by how beautiful I was?"

I materialized a chair and sat down. "A little. It's still annoying how natural you are wielding a sword."

It was a level of talent that I couldn't replicate.

Oh sure, I could copy the moves, the style, and the techniques she used. But that 'oneness' she had with the sword... It just had a harmony I couldn't imitate. A sort of beauty that just didn't exist inside of me.

Sora took a deep swig from her water and then scowled. "I don't want to be hearing that from the bastard that can fight on par with me while limiting himself to my stats and abilities."

"But I'm being serious, you know?" I materialized a water bottle for myself and cracked it open. "Your Realm is similar to mine... just in the opposite direction."

My ability was 'All as One', meaning I could reduce and combine everything I had into one thing. Basically synthesizing disparate parts together.

But Sora's ability was much more incredible.

One with the Sword. It was something that let her be in complete harmony with her sword. And if she could expand her definition of what a 'sword' was...

To put it into perspective... It was the same as taking a level one growing weapon and continually leveling it up from the beginning of the game to the end until it surpassed the infinity +1 sword.

My ability let me keep forging things and adding things to make a stronger 'sword' by giving and gaining more abilities, but Sora's realm let her continually strengthen herself by staying true to her own powers... If that made sense.

Basically, she was the one walking the 'real' path of a sword.

I was cheating and basically turning things 'into' a sword, while she was actually 'using' the sword.

I took a swig from my water and said, "I'm a bit envious, actually. Being able to go so far with just a sword... it's definitely a fantasy come to life, you know? If I had time and not so many things to worry about..."

How fun would that be? Seeing just how far the path of the sword could reach...

Sora looked like she was going to argue with me, but perhaps sensing my sincerity, she just blushed a bit and clicked her tongue. "...Whatever."

Since we had been sparring for a while, it was a good time to take a break.

I was technically fine since my stats were high enough that it didn't matter... but I thought it'd be rude, so I took the time to reflect a bit.

The more I sparred with Sora, the more I realized that my path was different. Or rather, that I had a misconception.

I had been thinking of my ability as one that grew out of swordsmanship, but it wasn't. While learning swordsmanship helped, the nature of my ability wasn't actually that.

Karmic Blade... that was my class. And the name of my class ability was 'Unbound Karmic Blade.' An attack that struck directly at karma and went beyond concepts such as time, space, and destiny.

But that was it. An 'attack.' It wasn't a style of fighting, like Sora's 'One with the Sword.' Instead, it was a tool. A technique.

And that was my downfall at the moment. The more I sparred against Sora, the more I realized it.

Right now, I was fighting wrong. Or rather, my way of fighting didn't match who 'I' was.

I stubbornly picked the sword at the beginning because I thought it'd be cool. And after training with Maldong, I got to learn how to use a sword properly... but that was it.

Compared to Sora, who was a brilliant virtuoso musician that had her own flair in her performance, I was just a cover artist that could perfectly play a song back- No, not even. I was just the recording being played back through the speakers. Still good, but not original.

So I had to find it. The originality that would belong only to me.

...That was probably why I had been in danger against that Dark God thing.

Nothing in this world could match it. All that I had seen wasn't enough. The 'tools' I had were insufficient.

But that was because I was still just a 'user.' I had been trying to find a counter... but that was the wrong mindset to go about it.

Rather than trying to find a counter, I should have been trying to find something that didn't have a counter.

You could put out a fire with water, but fire could also be suppressed by a greater fire.

In that case...

"What's up? You that pissed off that you couldn't crush me today like usual or something?"

Sora called out to me, interrupting my thoughts.

I blinked and looked up.

Sora took a swig from her water bottle and then tossed it on the ground, empty. She frowned and said, "I didn't take you for a sore loser."

"...I think you're projecting a bit too much there, Sora. But to answer your question, no, I'm not upset. I'm just reflecting on my fighting style... and how far away I am from being as good as you."

Sora scowled. "There you are saying that again... What, are you still feeling guilty or something? I don't need you to try and cheer me up with those compliments."

I shook my head. "I mean it though." I held out my sword... or rather the metal practice one I had been using and said, "My fighting style is still 'empty' compared to yours." I looked up at her and said, "Your swordsmanship is firm and boundless, just like your name. But mine is just... colorless. Mechanical, with nothing inside of it."

To emphasize my point, I flicked my wrist, cutting the air.

It was a sharp slash. Flawlessly executed. But... that was all.

Physically, it was perfect. But that was all.

There 'shouldn't' be anything wrong with it, but I intuitively sensed that 'something' was missing.

Sora gave me a blank look.

"What?"

"Oi... Are you being serious, you bastard?"

I frowned. "I am. Why? Did I say something wrong?"

Sora sighed. "For being such a genius, you can be pretty dumb too..."

"Hey now, I never said I was a genius."

"Yeah, yeah." Sora waved her hand. "But if you're worried about that... isn't it obvious?"

"Hm?" I blinked and said, "What do you mean?"

"Of course your sword is going to be 'colorless.' You're fighting me without using all of your powers. You think it's 'empty' because it is. You haven't filled it in with your other abilities."

"...Oh." I placed my hand on my chin and said, "Come to think of it..."

Sora sighed. "In fact... I think it's time you stop sparring with me."

"Eh?" I blinked and said, "Are you tired of me already?"

Sora frowned. "No. I'd love to keep sparring with you. I haven't had as good a workout as this in years... And I've figured a lot out. But it's not helping you." Her frown deepened and she said, "In fact, this is probably going to make you worse. As much as I hate to admit it, you're a monster at fighting. Unlike us mortals over here who have to stick to one thing, you can do everything. Instead of working on one thing, you should be trying to find a way to pull everything together."

"..."

Sora blushed. "W-What?"

I smiled. "Nothing. I'm just happy to hear your advice."

"W-Well don't think I'm going to help you all the time. I'm not your mother."

I laughed. "Yeah. I know. But thanks, Sora."

"Tch." Sora averted her gaze. "...If you really want to thank me..." She glanced at Yuhui and Flone training in the distance and said, "What's the deal with them?"

"Hm?" I followed her gaze and blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Them! That Saintess girl and the Lady of Luxuria! They're both dainty beautiful women, so what made them want to come along with you to this dirty old place?" She stared at me and said, "What, you boning them or something? Can they not bare to leave their man behind?"

I blinked and then sighed. "First of all, they're not as dainty as you might think."

Especially Flone. Considering how she casually tore Parasites apart with her bare hands while helping me get back to Haramark after the mission to rescue Teresa...

And Yuhui... Well, a crazed stalker was a crazed stalker. I said it as a joke mostly, but considering she didn't even flinch when going through the Banquet under those heavy restrictions, she was a tough cookie too.

"Also, I'm not in a relationship with them. We're just good friends."

"Uh-huh." Sora gave me a blank look and said, "Good friends who look at you all the time, get super clingy, and light up when you're nearby?"

"...Yes."

"Tch. Fine, fine. I'm not the sort of person to pry. Though..." She looked at me and said, "Could you at least tell me how you did it?"

"Did what?"

"How did you get the Lady of Luxuria to be so close with you? That Unni is famous for being an iron wall to men, so how did you get her heart?"

I frowned, carefully looking at Yuhui. After seeing she was busy... and after subtly preventing my words from reaching her, I looked to Sora and sighed. "I wish I knew. She just started stalking me one day on Earth and the next thing I knew, she moved across the street from me in Haramark."

Sora blinked. "What?"

"Reality is weird."