[I am here, boy.] The demon’s voice came from behind me.

“Ugh!” I groaned and hurriedly turned around, using the shaft of my spear to parry the spear attack coming from behind me. But suddenly, the enemy spear trembled slightly, disrupting my parry, before twisting slightly and bypassing my defenses.

“Fuck!” I cursed and took a step back, but the spear was faster. It pierced towards my chest so quickly that I barely managed to see it.

I desperately tried to pull my spear back and use it to block the attack, but as though he had predicted my movements, the demon stomped the ground, using the strength coming from his legs to add more power to his spear.

Then–

*Bam!*

His spear sent my spear flying.

I opened my eyes wide in surprise. Damn it, it’s a new move!

But the demon did not give me time to react. Before I could think of a way to retreat and recover my spear, the demon’s spear appeared in front of my eyes, spinning violently.

One instant later, the spear pierced my forehead, and I died.

… Again.

Sigh… How am I supposed to defeat this monster? I thought to myself while remembering the battle of just now.

As I was lost in my thoughts, my body reformed and I appeared again in the dreamscape.

[How is it, boy? Did you learn anything?]

I smiled wryly and nodded.

“I think I did… However, I’m still far from defeating you.”

[Of course.] The demon sneered. [I’m an Immortal. Even if you train your spear arts for one thousand years, you won’t be my match.]

I smiled bitterly. Man, that is not a good way to motivate your student.

It has been one week since I started to train with the demon in my dreamscape, and this has been the longest week in my life.

Every night, I had to endure being tortured by the demon in the name of ‘training’. I can’t even remember how many times the demon beat me to death during our spars.

But as much as I hate to admit it, it’s a fact that I have improved, and by a lot.

Even without taking into account my mana, the current me is at least thrice times as strong as I of one week ago.

The demon taught me how to use the spear, how to move my body, how to control the Lightning Seed, and how to use my mana in the most efficient way. Every one of these aspects showed considerable improvement.

But even with my great progress, I can’t think of a way to defeat the demon, even when he suppressed his abilities to my level.

“… He is truly a monster,” I muttered with a wry smile.

[You are just too weak.] The demon snorted.

I smiled bitterly and did not refuse his words. Instead, I focused my mind and summoned a water bottle on my hand.

I do not become thirsty when I’m in my dreams, but somehow, drinking water helps me to calm down after every set of training.

Right then, I noticed that the demon was looking at me with a frown.

[… Boy, how did you do that?]

“Huh? Are you talking about the water?” I asked startled. Now that I think about it, it’s the first time I materialize it in front of the demon. “Is anything wrong with it?”

[Just tell me how you did it.]

“I just focused and it appeared. Why?”

The demon furrowed his brows.

[… Impossible. I never taught you how to create things in your dreamscape.]

... Could it be that it was something difficult?

“This is my dream, right? So I should be able to create anything as long as I think about it… Well, I can’t create anything too big for some reason.”

The demon fell silent and narrowed his eyes while looking at me.

After several seconds like that, he nodded.

[I see… It looks like I underestimated your talent for Soul Laws.] The demon said. [Creating something in your dreamscape consciously is not easy. It requires a lot of talent and practice. After all, the dreamscape is made mainly of your subconscious thoughts, and controlling these thoughts is very difficult.]

I was slightly surprised. So what I achieved was impressive, huh.

However, it did not seem like a very useful ability.

[Don’t underestimate it.] The demon shook his head. [Even though your current ability doesn’t allow you to do much, techniques related to the soul are very difficult to defend against. If you polish them, they can become into a very strong weapon.]

I fell deep into thought and nodded.

[Let’s end today’s training here. It’s time to wake up.]

“Okay. It’s a shame I can only practice my abilities in my dreamscape. I would like to see how strong I am in real life.”

[You are right.] The demon nodded. [It looks like we need to find an opportunity to make you acquire combat experience. After all, no matter how good of a teacher I am, real combat is necessary… I will try to think in a way. For now, continue practicing the [Lightning Body Refinement Technique] and [Confidence].]

“I know.” I nodded.

One second later, I felt my sight turning white, and then I woke up.

Like every morning, I practiced one set of [Lightning Body Refinement Technique] and [Confidence]. When I was done. I went to take a bath and eat breakfast.

But while I was eating breakfast, my sister appeared wearing sports clothes.

“Huh? Brother, are you not ready yet? Did you forget that we have to go to the gym today?”

I was startled before jumping in realization.

“Crap! I forgot about it!”

“Hurry up, brother! We are going to be late!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

I hurriedly ran off to my room and changed my clothes. But then, I realized I could not find my shoes.

“… Ugh… I’m going to be late. Where in the hell did I put them?”

I was starting to become anxious, so I took a deep breath and activated [Confidence].

After using it for one week, I discovered that [Confidence] is very useful to clear up the mind and calm myself down. Moreover, I have the feeling it helps me to remember things easier. Due to it, I have been using it regularly recently.

To my relief, it seemed that [Confidence] worked. After using it, I remembered where I put my shoes.

I hurriedly put on my shoes and left my room.

Ley was waiting for me in the living room with an impatient expression. She was about to hurry me up again; but suddenly, she froze while looking at my face.

“… Brother? What happened to you?”

“Huh? Is there anything on my face?”

Ley stared at me fixedly before shaking her head in a daze.

“… I don’t know… It’s just that for some reason, I think that you look more handsome.”

I was stunned. What is going on?

But then, I realized something.

[Confidence] was still activated.

Somehow, I was using it unconsciously.

Huh? This was possible too?

Is it the reason why my little sister looks so dazzled while looking at my face?

Why does it seem like the perfect technique to pick up girls?