*** Bianca POV ***

'This child, he's definitely talented.'

And I'm not just talking about the sword.

"Haa! Sei! Hyaah!"

Raon shouted as if to force his tired body to swing the sword.

It looked like his joints were about to snap, so I couldn’t help but feel worried about him getting injured.

Of course, I tried to stop him at first, but he said there was no problem since he would recover just as fast.

I thought it was bravado at first, but when I looked at his body again, he really recovered quickly.

‘I would immediately heal him if necessary, even if it means he will lose some training progress in the process…’

Fortunately, what I feared most didn’t happen, so it's okay.

It’s okay, but...

'I didn't think his physical fitness would increase so fast. It's a ridiculous natural growth, thanks to that natural recovery and grit.'

Barely 6 months.

With a training menu that increased so much over time that even professional bodybuilders would vomit and faint, he went through them diligently without complaint.

I thought he was pushing himself at first, but when I checked, his body really had healed enough to continue a few more sets.

‘And that's only after resting for a few minutes at best.’

For someone who claimed he has never done physical exercise, his growth is terrifying, to say the least.

'Even more amazing is his willpower. What is this? Why did he continue to train even after his joints were creaking like this?'

If it were any other kid, they would immediately whine and quit.

But except for the first few days of practice, where he lacks confidence in himself, now he just laughs it off as if feeling excited about the prospect of getting stronger.

The fact that he managed to overcome the harsh training day after day must have helped him realize what his body is capable of. And that results in the self-belief that he can do more.

'It's a good thing. But somehow, I can't help but worry.'

What if he became too confident and made a mistake?

Suppose he ended up hurting himself without me by his side or ended up in a situation where he couldn't recover at all.

In that case, he might end up with a permanent disability for life.

'I can't let that happen.'

I was planning to stick with him anyway, but now that the possibility of injury is higher, I can't help but stick with him even more.

'Should I stay with him 24/7 after all?'

It was the best decision I could think of.

If we're always together, then I can always heal him when a terrible situation arrives.

'Of course, that includes taking a bath and sleeping too.'

I want to be able to wash him with my own hands each day and even hug him while we sleep together in bed.

'So good. Hehe.'

Of course, I don't have impure intentions at all.

But isn't it normal for a girl to want to pet, rub, and hug cute things?

In that sense, Raon Eva is truly the best among all the humans I've seen.

'Black hair that's darker than night and shines under the moonlight. Beautiful hazel eyes comparable to gems. Even his facial features are symmetrical and very pleasant to look at. Really, how could someone look so perfect?'

It was a beauty beyond perfection that even mesmerized me, a dragon.

‘And even his muscles have started to form now.’

Hidden underneath those clothes is a perfect body that looks like a masterpiece made by a master craftsman.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

'His determined expression looks cool too, his excited smile when swinging the sword is dazzling, and that occasional blush that he showed when embarrassed? That's clearly a foul, isn't it?'

To have this personality with that kind of face.

Really, it will be weirder if I don't develop feelings for him.

'I want to pamper him so bad.'

It was a feeling different from love.

No, if I consider the meaning of love broadly, then it might actually be love.

'So I love him?'

I tilted my head at the question.

'It's fun.'

Either way, it's true that I want to pamper him so badly.

'Hm, how should I convince him to sleep together with me?'

It was the moment when Bianca awakens to a strange desire.

***

*** MC POV ***

My whole body suddenly trembled.

'What? What is it?'

Something… Something is wrong. But I don't know what it is.

'It's not an enemy, is it?'

I looked around and saw that Bianca was still there, swinging her legs as if having fun.

'Right, if there's an enemy, then Bianca would be the first one to notice.'

Probably because she had noticed my gaze, Bianca smiled and waved at me.

It was a beautiful smile by a beautiful girl.

If she were to show that smile to anyone in the village, wouldn't everyone get charmed at once? ‘Was she a succubus in her past life? She had that much destructive power, at least.’

I shook my head and waved back before continuing on my practice.

'I think I'm comfortable enough with my sword skill.'

I have learned the quick strike and power strike, up to the 2nd and 1st arts, respectively.

‘Counterstrike seemed a bit hard to learn, not because the technique itself was complex, but probably because I didn't have the right environment to learn it.’

Specifically, I need a fighting partner to learn it.

Practicing with Bianca alone was not enough.

‘How should I put it… I understand all of it in my head, but I just can’t get the timing right.’

It's tricky to learn compared to all the other skills I have.

I also need to practice the other skills, so I decided to focus on those for now.

'Footwork, grappling, fistfight… Even throwing?'

Let's forget auxiliary skills like stealth and vision.

I focused on skill practice after Bianca had decreased my physical exercise program.

‘Bianca said it wouldn't help me much whether I do push-ups a thousand or two thousand times a day at this point.‘

Apparently, there's this 'diminishing returns' that appeared for physical training beyond a certain point.

For me, this basically means that the amount of time and effort I spend yields so few returns that it doesn't make sense to waste those resources there.

So rather than spending time and energy doing push-ups, spending all those resources elsewhere would be more efficient.

'I asked Bianca again to teach me aura, but she refused and said that I should get used to my improved physique first. Even if it's just by moving around and playing with my skills. So that's what I do.'

My throwing skill is still ambiguous for real combat.

But everything else is somewhat usable if we only consider fighting small fries like goblins.

'No, was I underestimating myself?’

This is the drawback of not being able to see a status window.

‘I have to test directly fighting them later, but maybe, I can overpower goblins? I think I can even win against Hobgoblin bare-handed now… It's crazy, considering I almost died fighting one last time.'

Should I say as expected of legendary skills?

Even a normal fist feels stronger than a truck running at full speed.

'If it's like this, I don't need to learn blunt weapon skills at all.'

Somehow, I became like the original Raon Eva, who was strong when fighting bare-handed.

'Of course, unlike him whose main weapon is his fists, my main weapon is the sword. So there are bounds to be difference in the way we fight.'

Raon chose fists because other weapons are incompatible with his fighting style, which mixes aura and mana to fight.

Those two opposite energy chips away and can even destroy any weapon if you mix them together.

However, Raon's body was a cheat that continuously healed itself even when broken down by the ferocious mix of energy. So, somehow, it became a suicidal fighting style that could deal tremendous damage to both himself and his enemies.

'It's a crazy way of fighting.'

Then again, it's a valid way to fight. It's something that only Raon Eva could do, so I would probably also learn to fight like that someday.

‘I don’t like getting hurt, but…’

If that’s what it takes to save the world, then I probably need to get used to it.

Of course, my priority right now should be to improve my other combat skills equally instead of just my fist skill.

'But, counter strike, is it…'

My thoughts kept coming back to that sword skill.

‘I have tried it many times, although most attempts have failed.’

I feel like I need to practice it against a real monster to learn the skill properly.

'Bianca helped me with it, and I think I can use it about 50% of the time if I'm practicing against her. But I'm not confident I can use it at all times when I was being attacked by monsters.'

Even against humanoid opponents besides Bianca, it's about 25%. No, if we consider that it was necessary to be able to counter against my opponent no matter the situation, then barely 10%?

'Sure, it's barely been a few weeks since I practiced the counter strike. Still, I can't help but to get impatient.'

Getting stronger is fun.

Feeling like you've gotten better each day is fun.

So, I want to learn everything as fast as I can, if possible.

"Raon."

"Hm?"

It was when I was about to use my movement skills to retrieve the dagger I threw.

Bianca came up to me with a flushed expression on her face.

"I have something important to say."

“...”

Something feels wrong, but what is it?

It was the moment when I trembled due to a bad premonition about the future.