Chapter 370: One's Destination

It was already well past noon by the time Fran and Asurasu ended their mock battle that looked nothing short of a killing contest. Fran and Asurasu were now chatting over a pile of onigiri I served as a slightly late lunch.

"Mogu. You seem to have gotten a lot of your fighting sense back."

"Mhm. Mogyu Mogyu."

The half-day battle with Asurasu allowed both Fran and I to improve tremendously in using our skills during combat. While it's still not as good as it once was, it's unlikely that we will be in a pinch while in combat because of it.

It seems that the foundation has been solidified. Now it's just a matter of application and practice.

『Thank you. You really saved us.』

"Mogu mogu. I had a good time, too, you know?"

Asurasu only laughed lightly in response to my gratitude. He looked embarrassed. Perhaps, he was not used to being thanked.

"After this, try to actively hunt for demonic beasts in various places. That's the most efficient way to train."

With a rice ball in each hand and a grain of rice sticking to the side of his mouth, Asurasu told me what we needed to do in the future.

Training in live combat with demon beasts... Well, now that you mention it, it might be useful, but... To be honest, I'm worried. Wouldn't it be better to practice with our skills a little bit more?

That's what I thought. But...

"Master, I'm going to find a demon beast."

『Isn't it too early for that?』

"I'm finding one now."

Fran was motivated.

It can't be helped, let's find a demonic beast. Let's at least start with the weaker demonic beasts at first. If there are some goblins around, I can eradicate them without a care in the world.

As we were discussing what kind of demonic beast we should look for, Asurasu lightly stepped forward. I guess he was done eating as he hit his stomach lightly. This guy ate about 20 rice balls by himself.

"I'll show you some interesting stuff at the end."

"Interesting stuff?"

"Oh, since Master is so determined to one day surpass the divine sword."

『Fran believes that I can.』

"Mhm. Master will be the strongest one day!"

Hearing those words, Asurasu smiled ferociously. Then, in a slow motion, he thrust Gaia up to the heavens.

What are you doing???

"Then, witness this! Witness this and see how far you've come!"

In response to Asurasu's spirited voice, we could see magic gushing out of his massive body.

"Ooo ooooo! Divine sword release!"

A magical power strong enough to visually manifest flowed into Gaia from Asurasu. Then, using that magical power as a source, Gaia unleashed her true power.

"Ooooo—"

『Uooo!』

If we hadn't put up a barrier as soon as possible, we would have been blown away. Even if we were already more than 10 meters away, we would still get blown away. That much magic was raging around Asurasu.

I know you think we'll be fine, but you need to be a little more careful!

Fran looked at me with a twinkle in her eye, though!

When the stormy magic subsided, Gaia's figure had mutated into the oddest weapon I saw in the dungeon before. It's that thing, like an over-decorated mixture of a siege hammer and a greatsword.

Just by existing, a tremendous sense of intimidation, even more so than the Lord Intimidation skill, covered the surroundings. Even though she knew Asurasu wasn't hostile, Fran can't help but back away.

Furthermore, the surrounding atmosphere, magical power, and the earth itself were shaking as if resonating with the magical power of the earth sword, Gaia.

"Appraisal doesn't work on it after all ..."

However, probably because of my growth due to the refurbishment, it was a little better than before.

Name: Earth sword, Gaia

Attack power (ATK): 4700

Magic Power (MP): 20000

Durability: 30000

Magical Conductivity : SS+

Skill

Only attack power, magic power and durability can be seen. Well, progress is progress.

"What I'm about to show you is a piece of Gaia's power. Let it burn in your eyes!"

Asurasu set up to carry Gaia on his back. A brownish aura glaringly rose from Gaia. I could feel a vicious and intimidating magical power spreading.

"Haaaaaaaaa!"

It's no longer at the level of vibrations or the like. The Earth was now shaking as if it were an earthquake, with Asurasu as the epicenter.

"Look at this! Ohhhhh!"

Asurasu leaped. However, that leap was really unnatural. He didn't seem to have put much effort into it, but he rapidly accelerated and rose to the sky. Perhaps, they manipulated gravity.

He continued to jump up to a height of about 30 meters and only then began to plummet with unexpected timing and speed.

"Gravity Blow!"

Then, the moment Asurasu slammed the swirling magic-clad Gaia into the earth, the 30-meter square of earth surrounding him caved in at the same time, reaching a depth of over 20 meters. Earth with that much mass was compressed in an instant.

"So cool...!"

『Ye- Yeah』

What if we were in the range of that attack? We would have been helplessly crushed to death. At the very least, there would have been no way to save ourselves other than to escape with a dimensional leap.

"How was it? I can't really release all of its power. This was only about 50%..."

Are you telling me this is only half of the full power even though it's already this powerful?

Once again, I was reminded of the violence of the divine sword. At the same time, I was glad that Asurasu was out of control in a dungeon where he couldn't get serious.

If we'd been out there fighting Asurasu at full throttle, we wouldn't be here at all. Moreover, what's frightening is that Asurasu, who unleashed that attack, wasn't perturbed at all. Maybe, as he himself said, this wasn't his best.

"Perhaps, this is the level you are aiming for right now. However, this is only part of it."

"One's Destination."

"Ho?"

『Because Fran said so. I can't just give up.』

"Fuhahaha. I see! Well, next time we meet, let's do a mock fight again! At that time, let me be a little more serious."

"Mhm! Let's absolutely fight seriously!"

No, No, Fran?

I'm nodding with such a motivated look in my eyes, but I don't want to have a mock battle with a serious Asurasu or anything like that. No, Asurasu can't do mock battles seriously because of the mad demonization, right? So that means it's just pep talk for Fran.

"Then, I'll be going first."

Sheathing Gaia, he turned his back on us and began to walk away. He wasn't heading to Alistair's Mansion. Rather, he was going the opposite direction.

"You're leaving already?"

"Ou. It's not in my nature to stay in one place for very long."

That's a lie.I don't have to use my skills to know that. After all, as long as he had mad demonization, the fear of not knowing when he was going to go off the rails haunted Asurasu. In fact, it's probably because we've become so close that we couldn't stay together for long.

If it wasn't for the training with Fran, you could have stayed here much longer.

However, if he said that, it would watered down Asurasu's spirit, who was willing to go along with the mock battle, even if he had to speed up the activation of his own mad demonization.

Fran waved with a forlorn look while looking at Asurasu.

"Bye bye."

"See you."

"Yeah, see you soon!"

Then, Asurasu left with a quick dash.

Hmmm, it looks cool.

I can't help but admire it. If I was just a little bit more young, I might have called him 'Aniki!'

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