Chapter 232: Training (2)

༺ Training (2) ༻

1.

"We'll review what you've learned so far. Squeeze out all of your energy and charge at me."

It had been another tough twelve-hour training session for Siwoo.

Unlike before when he only relied on his spirit body for training, his physical strength had been significantly increased due to the body enhancement, making such a long training session possible.

Despite that, the relentless training still took its toll on Siwoo, leaving him all drained.

It left him breathless, drenched in sweat with aching muscles.

But, this was the final stretch.

Deep down, he knew that it was merely a dream for him to win against her.

Still, he couldn't help but hope to see the slightest hint of surprise on the Duchess' face after he had endured such hardship.

He let out a deep breath.

The hot breath he let out instantly cleared his head.

His body, which had been unnecessarily tense, started to relax, but at the same time, it was ready to spring like a taut bowstring.

-Smack!

He visualized the image in his mind.

Of how he narrowed the gap between himself and his opponent, just like a released arrow or a sudden gust of wind.

His mana-enhanced body moved in perfect harmony with his mental image as he charged ahead.

In an instant, Eloa stood before him as he focused all his attention on her.

This allowed him to take in every detail of Eloa's appearance, as if he were snapping a picture of her.

As usual, she wore training pants and a loose windbreaker. With the zipper undone, it revealed a white sports bra.

But what he was focusing on was her overall movement.

Even someone as skilled as her needed to perform certain movements beforehand to make her techniques work.

These movements included simple actions like pulling back her hind leg or extending her arms.

He planned to use those subtle cues to anticipate all her next moves.

"Hap!"

Siwoo threw his fist forward with all his strength.

It was already infused with Fa Jin as it shot out in a straight line.

Even Eloa would suffer a serious injury if this blow hit her in the stomach.

But that wasn't a reason for him to hold back.

This wasn't the first time he had tried out this kind of move. In fact, he had done even riskier moves prior to this.

Because he was sure that Eloa would block it anyway.

As he had expected, she thrusted her petite body into his arms, as if trying to push herself on him.

Her hands wrapped around his outstretched arm like a snake coiling around its prey.

Then she rotated his arm slightly and before he knew it, his legs, which were running towards her, were kicked by her, causing him to lose his balance as his center of gravity shifted forward.

"Ugh!"

Normally, he'd have hit the ground.

But he didn't let himself fall. Instead, he grabbed Eloa's shoulders and shifted his weight back.

The sudden change in direction put a lot of strain on his waist.

But with that, he managed to hold his ground, albeit barely.

"Oho?"

Eloa chuckled, clearly impressed with his move.

This was the first time he had managed to resist her this much ever since they started their spar.

Though he was mostly using brute force, he still managed to anticipate her moves.

Ultimately, Siwoo found himself in a situation where it appeared as though Eloa was attempting to lift him and he had his arms wrapped around her from behind.

They continued to struggle in this position.

In fact, Eloa knew a lot of ways for her to get out of this situation.

But, since this was the first time he had gotten this far, it roused her curiosity to find out what his next move would be.

"Now that we're stuck here, what are you going to do?"

Siwoo, who had been focused on overpowering Eloa, snapped back to reality after hearing her words.

That was when he realized something.

The fact that they were literally stuck together.

But, since she still had a grip on his arm, he couldn't just push her away.

Both of them were still clinging onto each other tightly."

"Um... Duchess?"

"It isn't over yet. Even if we're stuck here, I know that you have your way to get out of this situation. Also, this is the first time you've caught me off guard like this, so show me something good."

'That isn't important!' those words almost slipped off his tongue.

His situation was dire, freakishly so.

Because Eloa's head, with her pink hair swaying, was right below his chin.

Siwoo knew well that catching a whiff of a witch's scent could stir him up.

And the top of her head was the part of her body where the strongest smell came from.

To make matters worse, his crotch was pressed against her lower back.

She'd notice if it got bigger.

This wasn't a good situation to talk about 'What to do when you managed to grip your opponent from behind?'.

However...

He still had to think of something and break free.

Even though he knew it wasn't safe being so close to her...

His senses were already clouded by lust as he breathed in the intense scent of her hair.

He noticed the slight sweat on her neck.

And felt her round, bouncy buttocks pressing against his thigh.

All these sensations made his head spin.

It felt like he was in a trance, wanting to hold her tightly from behind.

"Huh...?"

Eloa tilted her head slightly.

She sensed that Siwoo's struggle had weakened.

In contrast, the breath that she felt in her ear became more intense to the point that she wondered, 'Has he always been this intense?'.

After a moment, she felt something hard pressing against her back.

Like Eloa, Siwoo was also dressed comfortably in his training clothes.

One of his hands held onto her while the other wrapped around her neck, attempting a rear naked choke.

At that time, memories of when she caught sight of Siwoo's intercourse came rushing into her mind. She remembered how the room pulsated with his intense passion, reminiscent of a wild beast.

And more importantly, she remembered his thick, meaty shaft that intruded on Sharon's secret garden.

She had a hunch.

That the hard object pressing against her waist was...

"Ugh—!"

She could feel the hair in her body standing up like a cat in hot water as she quickly released his arm and twisted her way to escape.

Normally, she wouldn't even think of fleeing from anything or anyone, but this was an exception among exceptions.

"Ah..."

As she stepped away, her scent gradually faded.

Naturally, Siwoo's intense lust that had surged up abnormally, subsided as if he had been splashed by cold water.

'Damn it...'

A mere disciple dare to press his erect member against his master body during their sacred training time?

Considering her usual strike and dignified demeanor, Siwoo couldn't help but feel a sense of dread imagining what kind of disdainful look she'd give him.

There was no room for excuses.

Even if he tried to justify himself, he wasn't even confident that he could persuade her.

Fortunately for him, the disdainful look he had expected didn't come.

Instead, she stared at him with the widest eyes he had ever seen from her yet as her chin trembled.

"You..."

This shocked reaction of her meant that she knew everything.

So, he waited silently for the impending punishment.

Although it wasn't his intention to make her show such a bewildered expression...

'No, no...'

'I need to apologize at least...'

As he was right about to do that, Eloa already spoke out first.

"Judging by the lack of strength in your actions, you seem exhausted..."

Surprisingly, Eloa didn't scold him.

In fact, she didn't even mention what had just happened.

"I might have pushed you too hard. Maybe it's best if we call it a day."

"Sorry, but I can explain everything—"

"No, I understand that you did your best, so um... Instead of worrying about things, let's just take a break until tomorrow."

For a brief moment, there was a small hope in Siwoo's heart, 'Maybe she didn't notice?'.

However, no matter how much she tried to hide it, her reaction made it crystal clear that she was aware of the hard rod pressing against her back.

It was like when a mother caught her son masturbating before awkwardly saying, 'What were you doing? Stop playing and come out of your room' and leave him alone.

Her voice trembled slightly with embarrassment, as if unsure of what to say next.

Meanwhile, her eyes wandered aimlessly without focus.

And she was also all fidgety, suggesting that she wanted to leave quickly.

"You've worked hard enough today. See you tomorrow."

Eloa swiftly removed the interdimensional barrier before descending the stairs with creaky footsteps, moving like a broken wooden doll.

There was no time for him to stop her or say something else to her.

He could only watch her walk away, feeling helpless and lost.

2.

"You're back already? Sorry, I was doing my work, I didn't notice you."

When he opened the door, Sharon was there, sitting at her desk with a computer on one side and a notebook on the other. She was writing something on the latter.

Lately, she had been studying stocks and real estate to boost her savings.

It turned out that she had quite the knack for making money.

Then again, witches were all geniuses, so if they were to put all their mind on making money, it wasn't a strange thing for them to strike rich.

The only reason why she had been struggling with poverty for so long was because everytime she could get any money at all, they were all taken away before she could even invest them.

"Come over here, you must've worked so hard, no? I'll give you a hug~"

Sharon stood up to hug him, who had just finished a tough training session, and was surprised by his exhausted expression.

"W-What's up? Did something happen?"

"No, it's just..."

"Tell me."

He glanced at her face.

Back when she was suffering from embarrassment because the Duchess saw her half-naked that one time, he had found her pitiable and cute.

But now, he regretted what he had done back then.

"Sharon."

"Yes?"

"You know, when the Duchess caught you doing...things... Sorry, I didn't really understand what you were going through back then."

"W-Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?! Did she say something?!"

Almost panicky, Sharon jumped up.

Though quite some time had passed, the emotional scar in her heart still remained.

And it seemed like it wouldn't heal anytime soon.

Siwoo felt a dull ache in his solar plexus.

Now he understood the gut-wrenching feeling Sharon had told him before.

"No, it just popped into my head suddenly."

He wasn't sure how to face Eloa tomorrow.

While he could explain the situation to her, bringing up the topic in the first place was a different matter altogether.

'I should consider taking a break for a few days...'

"What do you mean by that?! Seriously, what's going on?!"

On the verge of tears now, Sharon trembled nervously as she watched Siwoo lost in his thoughts.

"Nothing, really. She hasn't brought it up since then. Doesn't seem like it's on her mind either."

"Are you sure? Really, really sure? Cross your heart?"

"And hope to die. But does my swear even mean anything?"

"You're not a liar, so I can believe it! Anyway, thank God! It felt like I was losing ten years of my life! Seriously!"

Sharon hugged him tightly, nuzzling her cheek against his chest.

No matter how often he warned her about him being all sweaty after training, she never listened.

It had been a really exhausting day for him.

While humans could adapt well even to tough training routines, he was still mentally strained by everything, so he needed a breather.

"Right, what if we take a break today, Siwoo?"

"Take a break?"

"You know, today's our hunting day, so... Anyway, I booked a place through the app!"

Sharon's voice trailed off, her eyes flickering nervously towards him.

That was when he realized what he had been forgotten about.

Today was their scheduled Homunculus hunt.

Despite the Dagon's Flute incident, they still regularly went to hunt more Homunculi in Hongdae and Sinchon after a brief break.

Not only that they didn't want anyone falling victim to those Homunculi, the hunt also contributed to Sharon's income.

Although they hadn't encountered a single one since their last one, the Mother Dog.

Anyway, when she mentioned reservation, it meant she had already booked a hotel for them to stay in after the hunt.

Eloa was staying downstairs and unfortunately for them, the music box couldn't completely block the mana wave.

Because of that, if they were to have sex at home, the Duchess would pretty much know about it, so they decided to spend a night together at a nearby hotel to do it instead.

"Mm..."

Originally, Siwoo was feeling like taking a break today.

But, seeing Sharon buzzing with excitement as she shook her phone, he couldn't help but get caught up in it instead.

"Get ready, I'll get changed first."

"Got it!"

After they were done getting ready, both of them set off for a night out, something they hadn't done in a while.