Chapter 36.1: Part 1

Bonus chapter thanks to @frozendeagon for subscription to 'Eye of Arrogance' tier on Ko-fi.

Sweat trickled down my jawline.

Before I knew it, two hours had passed since I started training.

Rene earnestly guided me, who was still unfamiliar with how to use the training equipment.

'It definitely seems better than the training equipment of the Bares family.'

The training equipment of the Bares family, which only increased the intensity without any finesse.

When I used them, I couldn't even operate the equipment properly, so I would either assist Rene with her training or just watch her quietly.

Sometimes, Rene would force me to train as well.......

'But it's a bit better here.'

However, the training equipment in Sytan showed a significant difference.

Equipment specialized in training each part of the body, just like in modern times.

The weight could also be set to an easy level for beginners like me.

"......Too weak."

Rene looked at me training with a low weight on my defense equipment with a pitiful expression, but I couldn't help it.

Because Adel's body still needed training.

The current Adel had never done any exercise because he had been locked up in his room his entire life.

But I'll be able to get stronger if I just get through this period.

Thud.

I squeezed out the rest of my strength and completed the last stage, then spoke to Rene.

"I'm finally done."

"Good work."

"Whew, I'm worried about the pain that's going to hit me tomorrow."

A tremendous amount of pain would hit me.

The pain of muscle soreness.......

I wondered if I would even be able to walk properly tomorrow.

Rene spat out the words as she looked at me with a troubled expression.

"Don't joke around."

"I'm not joking......."

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

Did she think of others as training bugs who were crazy about training like herself?

Compared to the other students, I was actually a bit above average.

I glared at Rene as I grumbled softly.

"Do you not have a towel?"

"No."

"That's too bad."

Sigh.

I sighed and brushed back my hair, which was drenched in sweat.

Well, I had come here right after class, so there was no way I would have brought a towel.

I'll just have to bring my own from next time.

"It seems like I've finished using all the training equipment, so what should I do now?"

"Hmm."

Rene narrowed her brow as if in thought.

Rene had also used all the equipment in the training room.

There were no more devices I could use.

It would be rude to continue using them, as many other students were using them as well.

Rene finally seemed to have organized her thoughts as she fiddled with her scabbard and said,

"Let's duel."

"That word can be interpreted in different ways, but you don't mean a duel to the death, do you?"

"....."

Rene glared at me as if I was crazy.

I quickly continued speaking.

"Unfortunately, I don't think I can today. As you can see, my body is completely worn out."

I shook my limp arm.

It was true that my body was tired, but I was also wary of revealing my true abilities while sparring with Rene.

Rene must have assumed that I was a priest.

I used this as an excuse to receive better treatment from Rene than before.

There was a high probability that she had already discovered that I was weaker than her.

However, she couldn't have been certain.

'I need to hide it thoroughly and use it to my advantage.'

I have to wear numerous masks.

Furthermore, I had to prevent her from even guessing my true identity.

No one in the Demon World would know who I truly am.

Neither the Bares family nor the people of Sytan.

My existence as 'me.'

I can only survive by becoming someone else.

I engraved that fact into my mind from the moment I hid the mark of Arsene.

Not only my identity but also all my abilities must be concealed as much as possible.

I smiled faintly and gently suggested,

"Since things have come to this, I think it would be best for you to rest as well, Miss."

"Very well."

Was it because of my persistent persuasion?

She eventually agreed.

I chuckled inwardly and left the training ground with Rene, making polite gestures.

"Good choice. I will escort you to the dormitory."

"Yes."

Rene followed me obediently.

I left her behind and opened my status window to check my progress so far.

[ Arsene Adel ]

: Race - [ Half Demon ]

: Tendency - [ Chaos ]

: Talent - [ Position Exchange 'Ⅱ' ]

: Trait - [ Interest ] [ Absorption ] [ Killing Intent ] [ Darkness ] [ Mana Manipulation ] [ Eye of Arrogance ]

: Mana - [ 1297 ⇒ 1321 ]

'Ugh.'

I let out a small groan.

Mana Total: 1321.......

It was hard to hide my disappointment that it had only increased by 24.

Compared to before, it was an extremely insufficient increase.

I knew it couldn't be helped, but it still left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Once a certain level was surpassed, the total amount of mana didn't increase much.

It wasn't a very good feeling to experience this.

I had been practicing mana manipulation every night to increase my mana...

Perhaps now was the time when I had hit a wall.

'In that case, should I find and eat an elixir?'

It didn't seem like a bad choice.

The more elixirs you ate, the better, so there was nothing bad about it.

However, the problem was where to find the elixir.

'There are places to get elixirs in my head, though.'

For some reason, I was a bit hesitant.

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