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1.

After witnessing Sharon and the twins’ hilariously erotic encounter.

Siwoo headed to the highlands just outside Border Town.

Today, he had an appointment with Eloa.

For a spar.

In the middle of a field, covered in pure white snow, Siwoo and Eloa stood facing each other.

Today’s spar would be different from the ones they had before.

Eloa had drawn her Sword of Covenant, and would be using six of her Covenants, while Siwoo, donned his black armors and ribbons, fully armed except for the Red Branch that he put away.

He had also been instructed to use every spell he knew, not just his swordsmanship or spear techniques.

The wide, empty plains served as the perfect training ground for such an unrestricted battle.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, Master.”

After gaining new power, the first thing that one should do was to refine it.

Especially when said power was far greater than the ones they had before.

Hence why Siwoo’s heart was racing.

This was his first spar after he was able to tap into his unconscious mind.

Even from merely donning his armor, he could feel it.

He had gotten stronger.

So he wondered just how far could that strength hold up against Eloa.

A natural feeling to have, really.

“Use your full power.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

“You are not at the level to make me sweat in worry yet.”

Eloa smiled and adjusted her stance.

“I hereby declare a Covenant.”

At that moment, a fierce wind surrounded Eloa, and the snow around her turned into a swirling pink whirlwind.

Such physical force happened from her merely releasing a bit of her mana.

Then, her body vanished.

It looked as if she was teleporting, but she was just moving her body physically.

The deep snow, piled up to her ankles, failed to keep up with her pace, parted like the Red Sea after she passed.

“Bloom!”

Siwoo lowered his stance, bracing himself for the impact.

Eloa had allocated six of her Covenants, half of her full capabilities.

But all six of those were used to strengthen her body. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this was her peak physical capabilities.

“Urgh!”

From left to right, then back to the left again.

Eloa swiftly closed the distance, throwing in feints with her unpredictable footwork before swinging her sword at point-blank range.

In the past, Siwoo wouldn’t even be able to see the attack and would just let it dent his armor.

-Boom!

But this time, Siwoo raised his spear diagonally and deflected the blow.

The calmness he had gained from walking the line between life and death made his body move before his mind could register the attack.

-Bpom! Boom! Boom!

He simultaneously deflected the continuous, crisscrossing strikes from above, below, and to the sides.

The perfect embodiment of ‘the soft overcomes the hard1‘.

He caught a brief glimpse of Eloa’s satisfied smile as she passed through his vision.

But simply blocking her wasn’t enough.

Siwoo preferred to use close combat because he excelled in it, but against his master, that wasn’t even an option.

He’d need to create some distance and bring his ribbons into play here.

-Swish! Swish!

Dozens of black ribbons twisted through the air, flying toward Eloa.

All of those ribbons were like extensions of hands, freely moving at different angles and speeds creating a barrier between Siwoo and Eloa.

However, even though each ribbon packed the force of heavy machinery, they shredded like leaves under Eloa’s sword strikes.

Despite the overwhelming defense, Eloa steadily pressed forward.

This won’t stop me!

Her deliberate movements and heavy steps amidst the chaos seemed to declare such words.

Just as Eloa cleaved through the ribbons with a single strike...

The snow beneath her feet shot up.

More ribbons extended—ribbons that had been coursing through from below the ground.

They sprang out in a timed manner to catch Eloa off guard.

At the same time, Siwoo charged forward.

His spear, gripped at its end, aimed for her abdomen—an area that was difficult to maneuver.

A clean, direct attack from the front, and unpredictable, winding movements from behind.

All of this happened within 3 seconds of the start of the spar.

This was a duel between those who had surpassed human limits.

“Haa...”

Eloa didn’t have a grand reaction.

She just took a short breath and swung her sword.

But, the speed and force she used for that was beyond ordinary.

-Wooosh!

The series of strikes moved beyond the limit of speed—it couldn’t even be considered as normal strikes anymore.

Its razor-sharp movement cut through the space itself, slicing everything around it.

In an instant, thousands of sword strokes unfolded, creating a sword domain that turned the entire area into a vacuum.

Even with his armor on, Siwoo refused to step into that death zone.

The shredded ribbons and swirling snowflakes sucked into the void were testimony to her power.

As Siwoo hesitated, Eloa charged at him.

It was a diagonal slash, upward from the lower left.

Caught mid-movement, Siwoo couldn’t dodge or block the perfectly angled strike.

Even without the Myriad Weapon Mysteries Covenant, Eloa was the best swordsman among the best, she could easily make optimal decisions with how vast her experience was.

But...

Siwoo had foreseen this much.

He knew his powerful master wouldn’t fall for a desperate move like that.

So, he had prepared one more move.

-Whoong!

Siwoo activated his pre-calculated Dimensional shift.

A flash of blue light instantly enveloped his body.

And Eloa’s strike hit nothing but empty air.

“...!”

Eloa turned to look for him, but then she felt a cold, hard spear tip against her back.

Siwoo had teleported behind her, utilizing the perfect opening she left properly.

Eloa froze, her body stiffening for a moment, then she raised her hand in defeat.

“...It seems I’ve lost.”

When she turned to face him, a proud smile beautifully spread across her face.

2.

After returning to their quarters through Siwoo’s Dimension Shift, they cleaned up quickly and sat by the fireplace.

Of course, they had washed separately, and they had some good whiskey with them, ready to share.

The warmth of the liquor and the fire settled Siwoo’s body, which had cooled after the hot bath.

It was the kind of atmosphere that would make one sleepy.

Wrapped in a blanket, Eloa smiled warmly at Siwoo.

“Well done. Impressive. As expected of my disciple.”

For the first time, Siwoo had won in a spar against Eloa.

Dimension Shift, though it let him manipulate space and distance freely, was previously too slow to be useful in actual combat...

But now, he was able to use it to stab his spear’s tip right into Eloa’s back.

When she was utilizing 6 powerful Covenants no less.

It wasn’t a wonder that Eloa’s smile didn’t wane from her face—she was clearly proud of his progress.

“You’ve broken through yet another wall. I truly congratulate you.”

Despite the flood of compliments, even the affectionate pat on his head, Siwoo could only manage a sheepish grin.

Even though he could’ve acted a little more smug about it.

“Why the long face?”

“Oh, nothing. Thank you. It’s all thanks to what I learned from you, Master.”

Seeing Siwoo’s shy reaction, Eloa spoke as if she couldn’t help it.

There was something she hadn’t told him yet.

“You can be proud, what you’ve achieved was significant. Only a handful of witches could’ve gotten behind me.”

Siwoo had noticed.

Eloa had hesitated when delivering her final blow.

And the reason was obvious.

Dimensional Shift was a spell that required a lot of calculations using various variable inputs, even when he used it to traverse a stop distance.

During that time, Siwoo had to stop moving and was left completely defenseless.

While a witch like Bianca, who focused on simple long-range spells, might not have noticed, someone like his master, who preferred close-quarters combat, would have easily exploited that opening.

However, seeing Siwoo just standing there defenselessly, Eloa hesitated.

Even though his whole body was protected by his armor, she still couldn’t bring herself to harm her beloved disciple.

In other words, she was holding back.

It was thanks to that opening that Siwoo was able to finish his calculations.

If Eloa hadn’t shown him mercy and had swung her sword, he would’ve been hit and rolled in the snow without a doubt.

Knowing this, Siwoo couldn’t fully enjoy the victory.

Eloa gently cupped his cheeks with both hands.

“Siwoo, will you look at me?”

A warm spile decorated her lips.

Her eyes were filled with the same kind of affection a mother would have.

Thinking back to their first meeting, he could’ve never imagined seeing her look at him like this.

Her thumb gently lifted the corners of his mouth into a smile.

“It’s okay to smile. I know you feel frustrated, but you must not forget, you’ve truly achieved something extraordinary. You in the past wouldn’t have achieved what you achieved today, even if I were to go easy on you.”

“Ahaha, you’re exaggerating, Master.”

“Siwoo, I’m truly proud of you. My words contained not even the slightest hint of falsehood.”

As she stared into Siwoo’s eyes, her lips trembled slightly.

She didn’t plan for it, but their current close distance made her feel like she was leaning in to kiss him.

So, following her whim, she decided to be a little playful for once.

“I’d like to get you a little something to celebrate, but first... Is there anything you’d like from me?”

She coyly looked away and pursed her lips.

That was something she would never have done in the past.

“This will do just fine.”

Finally, a smile appeared on Siwoo’s lips as he gave her a light kiss on the lips.

Though it was just a simple kiss, Eloa smiled like she had just been given the world.

She curled up like a shrimp, covering her mouth with both hands to hide her laughter.

A moment later...

After calming her giggles with a sip of whiskey, she straightened up and Siwoo asked.

“So, why did you want to spar all of a sudden? Is something going on?”

“I wanted to see how much stronger you’ve become.”

“So, what do you think?”

“You’re about on par with Ravi.”

Siwoo’s fighting style wasn’t well-suited to fight Eloa.

Usually, he’d win against the opposing witches by forcing them into close combat where they were weaker.

But against a master swordswoman like Eloa, he was obviously outmatched.

Fighting her on the same terms meant there was little room for variables that could change the outcome.

So it was only natural that Siwoo would lose to Eloa, and as always, what Eloa was looking at was the process, not the result.

Still, the fact that he managed to catch her off guard and win, even briefly, was impressive.

“You weren’t using the Red Branch, were you? If you had, things might’ve turned out differently.”

Siwoo stayed humble, but Eloa knew he had made significant progress in controlling the Red Branch.

The question was what would have happened if he had used that spear—the weapon so powerful that the modifier ‘unreasonable’ would suit it.

“If I had used the Red Branch, it would take me a longer time to deploy Dimension Shift, so I can’t say for sure, but I’m definitely stronger than I was.”

Eloa had heard the whole story from Siwoo not long after he returned.

Including the fact that Keter had interfered with his body.

Or rather, the reason why he was able to grow stronger so abnormally quickly.

“Again, again, and again, you always downplay your achievements. Didn’t you defeat the Witch of Desire?”

“I think I said this before, but it wasn’t me who did it...”

“You told me it was your subconscious that did it.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

Eloa got up from her seat and crouched down beside Siwoo.

She pressed her ear to his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

He was someone she treasured, someone who gave her comfort just by being near.

“You’re strong, Siwoo. It’s not just the part of you Keter messed with that’s powerful.”

She didn’t believe it was pure luck that he came so close to defeating the Witch of Desire.

“It’s your heart, your courage to protect those you care about, that gives you strength.”

There were a lot of things she could say and think about, but one thing was clear.

Siwoo was no longer the weak person he used to be.

Even if she were to leave his side for a while, he would be able to handle things on his own.

She quietly reflected on that thought.

“You’re...being quite affectionate today...”

After a brief pause, Siwoo gently placed his hand on her head.

“For some reason, I just want to be spoiled by you whenever we’re together like this.”

“Thank you for always loving me...”

“Anyway... When it comes to you... I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that you’re already at the level of a grand witch.”

Eloa’s words came out slowly, almost as if she were dragging them.

She had her Covenants to boost her strength, and being in his arms seemed to bring her a wave of sleepiness.

“Now...even without...you’ll be just fine...”

“I’ll move you to bed... Ah, she’s already asleep.”

Her last words were mixed with a yawn and they were barely audible.

Siwoo playfully poked her cheek as she slept soundly.

Even though he poked her several times, she still didn’t give out any response.

Her autonomous defense didn’t kick in either.

Which meant, she completely entrusted herself to Siwoo, prompting a gentle smile to appear on his lips.

In this state, she probably wouldn’t move even if he fondled her breasts or decided to play around with her body.

“Man...”

He suppressed the sudden lust that rose up.

This is all because of Master’s innocent, peaceful sleeping face...

Just how could she look so seductive when she’s sleeping? She really is something else.

Siwoo carefully picked her up and moved her to the bed, then headed back to his workshop to continue his magic research.

Footnotes

1. A Chinese saying by Lao Tzu.