Chapter 96
Fwoosh.
As my vision shifted, the familiar view of my living room came into sight.
“Welcome back, True Ancestor-nim~!”
Aunt Suyeon, who had remained in the domain, greeted me.
She looked at me with a warm smile.
“Hehe. You must be tired from climbing the Tower all day, right? Hurry and change into something comfortable. Shall I help you change?”
Her tone was like she was talking to a daughter in kindergarten.
It was so natural that I almost reflexively threw my arms up in the air!
I was flustered.
Of course, I currently looked like a small child, but my true essence was that of a fully grown twenty-two-year-old man.
“I-it’s fine! I can do something like that by myself!”
I hurriedly waved both hands.
I slipped into my room, quickly changed into comfortable indoor clothes, and came back out.
A loose black short-sleeved shirt and shorts.
This really is the most comfortable.
“Ah, True Ancestor-nim. You’re back!”
When I came out, Haeun was in the living room, drenched in sweat.
“Hehe. I’ve been training hard this whole time!”
She had been in the training room until just now, but came out as soon as she heard I had returned.
‘Whoa. Then did she really train nonstop for twenty-four hours?’
It seemed she had been honing her swordsmanship intensely the entire time I was gone.
I was incredibly proud of her.
“Good work.”
“Heheh.”
“True Ancestor-nim. I’ve prepared your meal too. Would you like to eat now?”
Suyeon said with a bright smile.
As she said, an incredibly delicious smell wafted from the kitchen, but unfortunately my stomach had no room left.
“I drank a lot of blood earlier, so I’m fine.”
I had gulped down everything from the tiger monster’s blood to the blood Yair offered, leaving my stomach stuffed.
“My retainers. If you are hungry, eat first.”
I encouraged the other retainers to eat.
But Katarina and the other retainers all shook their heads.
“We ate our fill of the feast the lord prepared for us, so we are fine as well.”
Aha.
So they had eaten too?
If everyone was full, there was nothing we needed to do right now.
‘I feel sluggish…….’
Perhaps because I had drunk too much blood, postprandial drowsiness began to weigh down my eyelids.
My eyes fell on the [Coffin of Rest] placed in one corner of the living room.
It had looked really nice when Aunt Suyeon used it.
Maybe I should climb in there and take a good nap.
“Ahem. Then I shall go get some rest…….”
Just as I suppressed a yawn and began to speak.
“Ah…! Th-then, Si-yeon…. Would you like to spar right now…?”
Sera cautiously asked Si-yeon.
“Yeah. Sera.”
Si-yeon gave a short nod.
‘Spar?’
As I stood there looking bewildered, Katarina beside me bowed politely and explained.
“While the Liege was dining just now, Si-yeon and Sera agreed to have a sparring match.”
“Y-you did?”
“They have both continued training and developed new techniques, and wished to learn from each other and grow stronger. I apologize for not informing the Liege sooner.”
“……”
My face grew hot.
‘How embarrassing.’
The ones who had actually worked hard outside were these girls.
Even after returning, they had not taken a moment to rest, going so far as to arrange a spar to become stronger.
And I had done nothing but drink blood, gotten drowsy after eating, and tried to go to sleep.
“……How could I go rest?! As their master, I must personally watch my retainers spar and grow!”
Katarina’s face became deeply moved at my words.
“Ahhh…! My Liege…!”
‘Katarina, you don’t have to look at me like that. It makes me feel guilty.’
I deliberately averted my gaze and opened the door leading to the special training room.
***
Once inside the training room, we took a spot to one side.
A vast white space.
In the center stood Si-yeon, ranked second, and Sera, ranked fourth, facing each other.
At this point, let me briefly clarify something: I had my own firm standard for the hierarchy among my retainers.
The seniority of the retainers.
It was absolutely not an order based on ‘strength.’
It was unconditionally based on ‘joining order’!
Those who became retainers first ranked higher.
Obviously.
‘If it were based on strength, this pathetic Vampire would end up at the very bottom of the hierarchy……!’
Of course, there was an exception stating that direct retainers ranked higher than subordinate retainers.
Even so, it was my principle that those who joined earlier deserved to be respected.
So this sparring match was not some kind of succession battle to determine their hierarchy.
It was simply pure sparring to assess each other’s skill.
‘But who’s actually stronger?’
I was curious.
Even with [Appraisal Eye], both of them far exceeded my level, so their information was obscured all the same.
Si-yeon’s level did seem slightly higher.
But Sera was wielding the S-grade magic sword Bloodbringer that I had given her.
Since they had both developed new techniques too, I was looking forward to it quite a bit.
“Th-then, I look forward to fighting you…!”
Sera bent deeply at the waist, bowing with a courtesy of more than ninety degrees.
“Yeah. I look forward to it too.”
Si-yeon nodded.
Clack!
Si-yeon activated [Blood Claws] on both hands.
The nails of all ten fingers stretched out into long, red, razor-sharp blades.
“Come at me with everything you’ve got.”
“Yes…!”
Sera placed a hand on her sword’s scabbard and took up her stance.
It was precariously low, as if she might fall over.
Her body was lowered extremely far, with her upper body thrust straight forward.
It seemed to be the starting stance of [Vampire Swordsmanship].
‘Oh. She’s changed a lot.’
Even my untrained eyes could tell that her form had changed considerably compared to the first time.
My anticipation rose even higher.
However, there was one problem.
‘…Will my eyes even be able to follow them?’
With my pathetic dynamic vision, I had no confidence at all.
So I activated [Sight Sharing].
By borrowing Katarina’s vision and adjusting the sensitivity properly, I could at least understand the situation in slow motion, like watching a sports broadcast.
While I was at it, I also had Katarina take on the role of commentator.
“Katarina. I wish to test your insight, so explain the exchange between the two to this body in detail.”
“Yes, My Liege! I shall observe and report with all my heart!”
Katarina replied, suddenly standing at attention.
“Then begin!”
No sooner had my signal fallen than—
Taah—!
Sera kicked off the floor and charged forward as she drew her sword.
‘She’s fast!’
She hadn’t adopted that starting stance for nothing.
The speed of her first attack was absurd.
Kaang!!
The razor-sharp claws and the magic sword imbued with a dark red aura clashed fiercely, sending sparks flying.
A momentary contest of strength.
In the instant they struggled for power, Si-yeon launched an attack at close range.
Pow—!
A clean elbow struck Sera’s chin.
The blow was heavy enough to whip Sera’s head around!
The kick that followed shoved into Sera’s abdomen.
“…Urk!”
Sera was knocked back a step, letting out a groan.
“As befitting an assassin, Si-yeon excels at close-quarters combat and irregular strikes.”
Katarina added commentary.
‘Whoa. That must hurt…!’
I worried whether Sera was all right after having her chin knocked aside and taking a kick to the stomach, but
Sera paid it no mind, retreating a little before correcting her stance.
“……”
Her eyes were fierce.
Unlike her normally timid personality, she became incredibly fierce once she entered battle.
Before long, Sera leaped into the air and swung her sword in a wide arc.
Si-yeon crossed her claws into an X and assumed a defensive stance.
But before the sword even reached Si-yeon.
Kwaaang!
The floor where Si-yeon stood was violently ripped apart, tearing her suit as well.
An attack as though some invisible beast had bitten into her.
“Kgh!”
Si-yeon let out a brief groan.
Red blood flowed from her shoulder.
‘Huh?! What kind of technique was that?!’
“Sera infused the sword with blood power to create a ranged attack. Her talent is truly remarkable.”
At Katarina’s explanation, I hurriedly opened the Blood Blessing interface.
[Vampire Swordsmanship, First Form: Fang Bite]
There really was a new branch in Sera’s skill tree.
It was a derivative Blessing branching off from Vampire Swordsmanship.
“Th-that’s Vampire swordsmanship?! It’s incredibly fierce and aggressive!”
Haeun, watching from beside us, exclaimed in shock.
But Si-yeon was not the type to simply take a beating.
Dodging Sera’s whirling follow-up slashes this way and that, Si-yeon sprang far back.
She lowered her body and brought both hands together in a strange stance.
A posture like a sniper aiming a rifle.
Bang!
With a roar that tore through the air, a gigantic blood-red projectile shot forth.
Sera instinctively sensed the danger and quickly spread [Blood Veil].
A red, hemispherical barrier rose up and enveloped Sera.
Crack!
But the incoming blood-red projectile shattered even that barrier.
The impact of the broken veil sent Sera flying through the air, spinning several times.
“…Cough, cough!”
Sera barely got to her feet and coughed.
A gush of blood spilled from her mouth.
She seemed to have suffered severe internal injuries.
‘What’s that supposed to be? It’s basically an anti-materiel sniper rifle!’
Si-yeon had developed a new technique too.
At first, she had fired a single projectile.
Then she had fired a double shot.
Now she had developed it into a sniping technique that compressed its destructive power to the extreme before firing.
My retainers were growing stronger through their own training and insights, without me having to spend Blood Essence separately to purchase Blessings for them.
‘Wow…. They’re all seriously amazing.’
While I was marveling.
Immediately after breaking the veil, Si-yeon’s form slipped away without missing the opening.
‘Ah! I know this one too. Shadow Step!’
Si-yeon’s surprise attack from the blind spot.
But Sera did not panic. Instead, as if she had predicted where Si-yeon would appear, she spun fiercely and thrust her sword backward.
It was less a reaction than a predictive attack.
Swish.
Si-yeon sprang up in that exact spot, her blood-red claws reaching toward Sera.
Sword and claws.
A dangerously close timing in which one of them was bound to suffer a fatal wound!
Having seen that much.
‘Aaaah, that looks way too dangerous!’
Without thinking, I squeezed my eyes shut, thrust both hands into the air, and shouted.
“S-stop——!”
At that moment.
All the noise filling the training room abruptly stopped.
Silence.
I cautiously opened my eyes again.
““……””
Sera and Si-yeon had frozen stiff, as if turned to stone.
Sera’s magic sword had stopped right in front of Si-yeon’s nape,
while Si-yeon’s sharp claws had likewise stopped just before piercing Sera’s chest.
‘Phew. That was close…! They stopped in time.’
I let out a sigh of relief.
But on closer inspection, something seemed strange.
Both of them were frozen in place, unable even to breathe audibly or move their eyes.
I turned my head slightly.
“……Urk.”
Even Katarina, who had been providing commentary beside me, was frozen stiff, cold sweat streaming down her face.
Haeun, Suyeon, and even Riri had all been stuck in place, like they were playing freeze tag.
‘Huh……?’
Realizing that something was wrong, I quickly opened my mouth.
“Uh… You may all move now.”
“Hwaaah!”
“Cough, gasp……!”
Only then did everyone release the breath they had been holding, collapsing onto the floor or staggering.
“S-so this is…… the gap between us and the Liege.”
Katarina muttered, clutching her chest with a pale face.