Mushoku Impact

After waiting around for a few hours, Paul was relieved to see Lynette and Rosaria appear wearing thick winter clothes and rucksacks. They wouldn't be accompanying him to the Sword Sanctum, so he at least wanted to say thanks before they traveled East to the Ranoa Magic Academy.
"Hey, I just-"
"Thirty-eight days..."
Before Paul could finish thanking the two taciturn girls for shadowing him for nearly six months, Lynette promptly interjected, her expression equal parts pouty and judgmental as she appended, "That's the amount of time we could have saved if you weren't such a horndog..."
Blinking in surprise, Paul was tempted to ask what the petite cat girl was talking about, but he was well aware of what she meant. On average, he and Reida would go at it for around six hours a day. When the conditions outside were poor, making travel inconvenient, they wouldn't even bother to leave their room...
Scratching the back of his head, Paul attempted to excuse his actions by saying, "It helps me increase my Mana capacity..."
Snorting through her nose, Lynette left Paul feeling at a loss for words as she stepped forward to give him a hug. Before he could do the same, she separated from him and said, "Hurry up and summon my...sister..."
Though she was about to say brother, Lynette corrected herself at the last moment. As for Paul, his expression softened a bit as he recalled one of his few conversations with the charming yet aloof cat girl. She told him that if he managed to summon her sister, she would let him touch her tail and legs as much as he wanted. It was a strange thing to say, but as she gradually matured into a beautiful and supple woman, Paul had started to understand why she mentioned those particular aspects of her body. Her long, slender, and remarkably toned legs, often veiled in black tights, had become increasingly alluring...
Noticing Paul's eyes stray towards her currently covered legs, Lynette's black tail flicked like a whip as she said, "No..." in her characteristically apathetic tone.
Resisting the urge to say he wasn't going to do anything, Paul shifted his attention to the ever-stoic Rosaria and said, "Good luck on your journey. And thanks for keeping watch over me all this time. I mean it..."
Returning a cut nod, Rosaria stated, "Don't go getting yourself killed..." before grabbing the straps of her backpack, turning around, and adding, "See you around...Master..."
With nothing else to say, Rosaria shifted her attention to the sun lingering overhead before immediately setting off. Lynette eventually followed suit, but only after forcing Paul to pet her head for a full five minutes. Then, at the very end, she planted a small kiss on his cheek before running off as fast as her long and beautiful legs could carry her...
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Alone for the first time in what felt like years, Paul couldn't help feeling a little melancholic as he set his sights on the inhospitable wasteland that eventually transitioned into a seemingly endless stretch of snow and ice.
The Holy Land of the Sword was situated at the Nothwesternmost tip of the Central Continent. It was one of the most barren and isolated regions in the entire world, and, for those exact reasons, the First Generation Sword God had chosen it as the place for his home, the Sword Sanctum.
One of the first tests for people wishing to study at the Sword Sanctum was crossing nearly 600kms of barren wasteland and icy tundra without any rations. The only things you were supposed to eat were the monsters and creatures you hunted along the way. If you couldn't do at least that much, the current Sword God, Gal Farion, would either turn you away or cut you down.
Fortunately for Paul, one of the effects of his Dendro Vision was stamina regeneration. Ever since he had obtained it, he only needed to sleep for a few hours each night. More importantly, he could press forwards for days on end without any rest whosoever, so the 600kms wasn't as daunting to him as it was for others. Combine that with the fact he had recently shed around 55kgs of additional people and baggage, and Paul was feeling as light as a feather...
Smacking himself in his somewhat tender and frozen cheeks, Paul's expression became serious as he psyched himself up and said, "Let's fuckin' do this...!" in a resolute tone.
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Using a standing mirror that she had requisitioned from a local tailor, Reida's complexion became increasingly pale as she scrutinized her naked figure from numerous angles. The usually clear definition of her abdominal muscles had faded in the weeks since her separation from Paul, and, though it was very faint, she had the distinct impression her belly was beginning to inflate.
Though she had initially tried to convince herself she was imagining things, Reida had been waking up feeling a bit nauseous as of late. Her breasts had been feeling increasingly tender, and if she squeezed them hard enough, a bit of clear discharge would come out. These were some pretty tell-tale signs, so, even though she didn't want to admit it, Reida knew the truth; she was pregnant. There was also only a single person the child could belong to...
Exhaling a sigh, Reida carefully laid on her bed before staring up at the ceiling with a listless look on her face. Counting miscarriages, this was her tenth pregnancy, so she was pretty familiar with the symptoms. All the signs pointed to her being between three and four months pregnant. It had only been twenty-seven days since her separation from Paul, so she must have gotten pregnant somewhere around the halfway point of their journey. She just hadn't noticed it because she spent most of the day riding on Paul's back and nearly a quarter of it being gouged by his dick...
"That damn brat went and did it..."
Despite the relative harshness of her words, a faint smile marred Reida's face as she covered her eyes with her forearm. She didn't actually mind that Paul had knocked her up. If she did, she wouldn't have taught Paul a few 'tricks' that would increase the chances of conception when teaching him how to pleasure a woman properly.
Ever since her sudden and unexpected period, a small yet growing part of Reida had wanted Paul to impregnate her. Not just because he was so much more capable and kinder than the fathers of her other children, but because she would feel even guiltier about killing him if he was unable to leave a legacy behind.&nbsp;
Though there was a roughly 30% chance the child would die in her womb or during its first year of life, Reida believed in the potency of the Greyrat genes. Her greatest concern was finding a way to carry the child to term without too many people noticing. The simplest method was to disappear for a year or two, but then the King would ask her where she had been. If it became known she had given birth to Paul's son, the First Prince would either take it hostage or kill it outright.
While thinking of solutions, the image of Ningguang abruptly surfaced within Reida's mind. She had only met the peculiar white-haired girl a few times, but Reida would be lying if she said the otherwordly beauty didn't leave an impression.&nbsp;
Reida's intuition and senses were so sharp that she could detect even minute changes in a person's intent and emotional state. When she met with Ningguang, however, it was like observing the surface of a lake on a moonlight night. It was astonishingly calm and serene on the surface but impossible to see through...
While the First Prince and his faction were eager to either obtain or kill Zhongli, the person Reida viewed as the greatest threat was Ningguang. She couldn't be certain, but she suspected that Ningguang was the true mastermind behind the sudden and rather drastic changes in the Milbots Region. Her disappearance prior to the Royal Inquisition's arrival all but confirmed this.
Believing she could buy herself some time by reporting to the King that she was in pursuit of the 'perpetrator' of the suspected rebellion, Reida sat up and began penning a letter. She really was going to try and hunt down Ningguang, not to kill her, but to warn her to keep Paul away from the Asura Kingdom. As for her and Paul's child, she would try and leave it in the care of House Notos.&nbsp;
As far as Reida could tell, Paul and his parents were remarkably close. If they knew the child belonged to Paul, Reida was pretty sure they would take it in. If they refused, well, she would just have to think about that when the time came. If she were the type of woman to plan ahead, she wouldn't be carrying the child of someone thirty-seven years her junior...
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After nearly a month of walking, camping out in the wilderness, and hunting to survive, Paul found himself at the foot of a mountain that appeared to have had its upper half cleaved away. A set of stairs that could better be described as a ladder led up its side, but the thing that stood out the most, at least to Paul, was how distinctly Japanese the architecture was.
Like the stairs leading up to a Japanese Shrine, several large torii gates lined the path. There were even a few snow-covered statues resembling creatures like tanuki and foxes littered about, hidden among a forest of aromatic evergreen trees.&nbsp;
Further emphasizing the possibility that the first generation Sword God had been Isekai'd from Japan, a group of people wearing insulated black bodysuits and white gi approached the moment he reached the first step. One was a young man with a strange, mushroom-shaped hairstyle, while the other was an even younger woman with long black hair fastened into a loose ponytail.
Upon reaching Paul, the duo cupped their hands in a manner reminiscent of a Karateka as the young woman said, "Well met, brother. My name is Linus, and this is my good friend, Jordan. You've done well to make it this far at such a tender age. Come, we've been tasked with showing you the facilities and where you'll be staying."
Blinking in surprise, Paul asked, "You knew I was coming?"
Answering in place of his companion, the red-headed Jordan explained, "Our Master, the great Sword God Gal Farion, often ventures out into the Holy Land to observe prospective recruits. He returned a few hours ago and told us that a young boy would be arriving before sunset."
"Ah...I see..."
Though he was a little creeped out by the possibility Gal had been spying on him, it wasn't too difficult to believe. Given how long he and Reida had been traveling together, Paul imagined that someone had informed Gal of his arrival. The real question was whether or not Gal would give him crap for being a practitioner of the Water God Style...
After following the duo to a distinctly Japanese-style compound, Paul was asked to take off his shoes and turn over most of his equipment to a middle-aged woman wearing a black leather jacket with a thick fur lining. Paul recognized this as the jacket bestowed exclusively to Sword Kings, so he didn't even think to protest when she turned over his rucksack and confiscated his money. Such things were considered unnecessary within the Sword Sanctuary, so everything but his journal, a small portrait of his mother, and his Vision were confiscated.
Once most of his possessions had been stripped away, clothing included, Paul was issued three insulated bodysuits and a stack of seven gi. Within the Sword Sanctuary, only those Ranked Saint and higher had the right to wear apparel that distinguished themselves from others. Everyone else, regardless of their age or status in the outside world, was forced to wear the same outfit and live under the same conditions. If you wanted better conditions, you needed to prove yourself. Any attempts to curry favor or use your status to compel others would result in expulsion and, in many cases, death.
As annoying as these conditions sounded, Paul was looking forward to his time within the Sword Sanctum. He still needed to find a way to get Barbara and the others out, but they had already prepared themselves for the possibility he might not be able to. If that happened, he promised they would be the ones to accompany him on his journey to the Begaritt Continent. Until then, Paul's main focus was increasing his strength and reaching Sword Saint before the age of 15...the same age Gal Farion was when he became a Saint...
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After showing Paul to a small room that was only 3x5m wide, including the closet, Jordan explained, "This is the boys' dormitory. Girls sleep on the opposite side of the Sanctum. You're allowed to visit there, but only during the day. If you end up bringing a girl back to your room, you both need to be up by sunrise for the morning lessons."
Surprised by Jordan's words, Paul asked, "The Sword Sanctum allows cohabitation? I would have thought they would see it as a detriment to a person's progress..."
As he had also been surprised when he first came to the Sword Sanctum, Jordan nodded his head in understanding. Then, after clapping Paul on the shoulder, he explained, "Master Farion is a lot more progressive than the Sword God before him. Ever since he accepted one as a disciple, he has permitted members of the Beast Race to study and train here. Since they go into heat and get aggressive during the Fall, he has consented to allow people to have sex so long as they train twice as hard the following day."
Unable to help himself, a wolfish grin developed across Paul's face as he offered a curt, "Nice." He didn't know if it was because of his bloodline or because he had been surrounded by budding beauties his entire life, but Paul's sex drive was quickly becoming one of his defining features. Reida being a God-Tier MILF just exacerbated the issue.
Seeing a kindred spirit in Paul, Jordan gave him another friendly clap on the shoulder before offering a bit of friendly advice, specifically, "Just be mindful of the Sword God's apprentice. Nearly every guy in the Sanctum had tried to court her, but the end result is always the same. They end up seriously injured and placed on bed rest. If they fail to recover within two months, they're expelled from the Sanctum..."
"Sounds about right..."
Though he had yet to meet Ghislaine, Paul knew there had to be a reason she was still a virgin by the time she met his original self. It didn't make a lot of sense for a member of the Beast Race to preserve their chastity, so the most likely reason was that Ghislaine would only sleep with someone she respected, i.e., someone who was strong...
Guided by Jordan, Paul was given a tour of the laundry room, bath, and latrine pit before being shown to a rather unexpected place, the Library.
"This place is pretty cool. Since the Sword Sanctum is affiliated with the Silver Palace, we constantly receive updates on persons of interest and dangerous monsters that need to be slain. Do you want to take a look? I didn't expect anything when I came by, but there were actually a couple of pages about my family and past exploits. It's a little uncanny but also pretty cool."
Though he would assuredly check it out later, Paul shook his head and said, "Maybe some other time. I haven't really accomplished anything just yet, so it would probably just be a few pages about my family and education. Nothing of value at present."
Shrugging his shoulders, Jordan said, "Suit yourself." before guiding Paul out of the Library and adding, "The next place is one of the three Sacred Grounds of the Sword Sanctum. It's where we pay respects to the Sword God, periodically receive his teaching, and demonstrate our abilities...you should be prepared, Paul. The first night at the Sword Sanctum is known as the Crucible of Swords...if you can't defeat at least five people during your preliminary evaluation, you'll be placed on latrine duty until you can defeat ten..."
While others would be mortified by the mere thought of having to empty a latrine of frozen piss and shit, Paul surprised Jordan by asking, "What's your proficiency with the sword? What's your Rank....?"
Though he understood the reason for Paul's question, Jordan showed no signs of fear or hesitation as he returned a wolfish smile and said, "I'm an Intermediate Swordsman, but I can hold my own even against Advanced practitioners. What about you, Paul? I would have assumed you were a Beginner by your age, but you wouldn't have made it this far if that was the case."
As even fully grown Knights were typically only at the Intermediate Rank, Jordan was more than a little surprised when Paul revealed, "I've been at the Advanced Rank of the Water God Style for around a year. The reason I came to the Sword Sanctum is because everyone keeps telling me I'm a better fit for the Sword God Style."
"Are you for real? You know it won't do you any good to lie, right? I mean, you're about to have to demonstrate your skills in front of the Sword God himself..."
Adopting an ostensibly fearless smile, Paul asked, "Isn't that kind of the point of coming to the Sword Sanctum?"
"..."
Realizing he was dealing with another monster, Jordan just gave Paul a firm pat on the back before suggesting, "Then let's get a move on. The others, including Master Farion, are waiting in the Exhibition Hall. Oh, and just so you know, if you had dawdled for too long in the Library, your final opponent during the evaluation would have been a Sword King. It's good that you understand the true reason for your stay at the Sanctum..."
Though he was a little surprised by Jordan's words, Paul just nodded his head in approval, saying, "That's one way to teach people humility..."
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Like the rest of the Sword Sanctum, the Exhibition Hall had a distinctly Japanese structure. The floors and walls were constructed from wood, and the windows were covered in thick white paper instead of glass. As for furnishings, the only thing that would even remotely qualify was the small wooden platform at the back of the hall. Everyone was seated on the floor, the only exception being the fierce-looking man with blue and black-haired sitting atop the slightly elevated platform at the back.
Though he felt every nerve and muscle in his body tense when the man's cold blue eyes locked on him, Paul didn't recoil. He had long since gotten used to killing intent during his training with Ei, Augusta, and Reida. After all, if he became paralyzed with fear every time a powerful adversary so much as locked eyes with him, he wouldn't make it very far in the outside world.
With short, untamed blue hair that became progressively darker along the sides, fierce blue eyes, a small goatee, and a rather wicked-looking scar running across his left cheek, Sword God Gal Farion was the type of man that inspired fear and respect with a single glance. One of the very first tests prospective students had to overcome was simply looking him in the eyes, a seemingly simple feat that resulted in most collapsing and outright pissing themselves.
Seeing Paul become even more resolute in the face of his killing intent, a vicious smile developed across Gal's face as he startled nearly the entire hall by stating, "Not bad." in a curt tone.&nbsp;
Resisting the almost instinctual urge to bow, Paul emulated Jordan's and Linus's greeting by cupping his hands together and saying, "I still have a long way to go." with a severe expression and a fair amount of conviction in his tone.
Surprising the hall a second time, Gal said, "And you shall." before rising to his feet and calling out, "Ahuja, you're up first. Our little friend here is the protege of the Water God, so don't hold anything back."
Though he was tempted to say he wasn't Reida's protege, Paul instead focused his attention on a girl with green eyes and blonde hair fashioned into a sort of pixie cut. He didn't know exactly what Rank she was at, but the intent exuding from her was enough to make the hairs on Paul's arms and neck stand on end.&nbsp;
Fortunately, Paul wasn't left guessing as the girl cupped her hands together, glaring at him as she growled, "Ahuja, 14-years-old, Advanced Rank Sword God Swordsman."
Eliciting a few murmurs from the seventy or so students gathered, Paul cupped his hands together, emulating Ahuja's introduction as he stated, "Paul, 10-years-old, Advanced Rank Water God Swordsman."
Though the pupils of her green eyes briefly contracted, Ahuja wasted no time in procuring one of the wooden swords lined up along the wall. Like many practitioners of the Sword God Style, the sword she selected was short and shaped similar to a fang. The core principle of the Sword God Style was speed and defeating your opponent in the shortest amount of time, so their weapons were made to be exceptionally easy to draw.
Due to his training in the Water God Style, Paul was far more proficient with longswords and claymores than shortswords and cutlasses. Thus, despite having many smaller options, he opted for a sword whose blade was nearly as wide as his palm. It was much heavier than Ahuja's sword, but it also packed greater power.
Seeing Paul's choice, Gal was equal parts excited and disappointed. He would have preferred if Paul set aside the Water God Style and focused on the Sword God Style. At the same time, however, he had been trying to get Reida to let him borrow a few skilled Water God users so he could give his students experience circumventing their guards. The Water God Style was considered the 'counter' to the Sword God Style, and while he was confident he would never lose to Reida, Gal knew his students were nowhere near the same level. Against a similarly skilled Water God user, they were bound to experience some frustration.
To give Ahuja a chance, Gal surprised the room by stating, "The match is decided when the opponent submits or is unable to continue. If you lose your swords, you can just beat the shit out of each other. Now, begin...!"
Immediately following Gal's words, Ahuja grabbed her sword in a reverse grip and lowered her center of gravity to the point the fingers of her left hand touched the ground. Then, with an explosive force that caused two tiny shockwaves near her feet, she lunged toward Paul with the intent to smack him in the abdomen.
Unfortunately for Ahuja, she had no real experience fighting against the Water God Style. The moment she lunged forward, Paul stepped forward at the same time. Instead of attempting to meet her charge, however, he aimed to pass on the left side of her body. She was holding her sword in a reverse grip with her right hand, so even if she twisted her body and swung in a full arc, it would be difficult to strike on opponent on the left side of her body.
Demonstrating he wasn't simply proficient in the Water God Style, Paul didn't try to slice across Ahuja's body or disarm her. Instead, he raised his left arm just as their paths were about to cross, his bicep connecting with her neck with enough force to send her reeling back like someone that had biked into a clothesline.
Remembering the conditions Gal had set, Paul only hesitated for a brief moment before stepping in to smack Ahuja's wrists the moment she tried to roll over and bound to her feet.&nbsp;
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah-!"
Not expecting Paul to shatter her wrists, Ahuja screamed out due to the intense pain. Paul immediately felt a little guilty about what he had done, but that didn't stop him from setting the tip of his wooden sword against her throat and saying, "Yield." in an authoritative tone.
Instead of complying with Paul's words, Ahuja's teary-eyed expression became indignant as she attempted to lunge past his sword and tackle him to the ground. Unfortunately, Paul had once again seen through her actions, so the moment she shifted her weight, he was already stepping backward. As a result, she was left completely vulnerable as he smacked the top of her head with the flat of his blade...
"Round one goes to the Water God brat. Someone drag Ahuja off to the side and make sure she doesn't have brain damage. Andrews, you're up next."
Before a distinctly eastern-looking youth with long bangs and black hair tied up into a long ponytail could rise to face him, Paul surprised nearly everyone present by using chantless Healing Magic on Ahuja. Gal didn't seem particularly enthused by this, but as there were no rules against it, he just adopted a wolfish grin and said, "Don't regret it if you use up all your stamina and have your ass handed to you..."
Earning stunned silence from his fellow students and a knee-clapping laugh from the rather fierce-looking Sword God, Paul adopted what he hoped to be a relaxed smile as he asserted, "Trust me, when it comes to stamina, I am rarely lacking..."
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With Reida taking a nap on his back, Paul slowly meandered his way through a forest on the northern side of the Donati Region. Nearly four months had passed since the start of his journey, but due to his decision to walk and their intermittent stops for training, Paul had only managed to cover a distance of around 1400km. He would be lying if he said it hadn't been an enjoyable experience, but there were times when he just wanted to bash his face into a tree.
"You guys seeing this? It's a little shit walkin' around with a dame on his back."
"You think he brought her here for us?"
"I don't give a rat's ass why he brought her here. Neither of them is going anywhere."
"That's right. Just look at the lad's face. A few swallows of grog, and he may as well be a lass."
Seeing the group of middle-aged assholes surrounding him with a bunch of poorly kept daggers and swords, an exasperated sigh escaped Paul's throat. Not because brigands were surrounding him, but because Reida had tightened her hold on him, purring, "Good luck..." instead of getting off his back.
Since the Water God Style focused on defense and counters to protect yourself and others, Reida had been making Paul fend off monsters and people while carrying her on his back. She would get off if anything truly dangerous showed up, but a bunch of peasant bandits who didn't even appear to possess Intermediate Swordsmanship might as well be inert stones on the side of the road.
"Drop the woman and take off all your clothes. Make for your sword, and me and my men will skewer you like a fucking pincushion."
"Yeah, yeah..."
A stark contrast to his casual, almost lazy-sounding words, Paul's mind was focused to its limits as he waved his hand towards the man that had spoken. The action caused the yellow-green Vision attached to his belt to pulse, thorny vines suddenly erupting from the ground to entangle the man's feet. In the same motion, Paul's somewhat malicious-looking Black Sword manifested, flying from his hand and stabbing the bewildered man in the chest before disappearing into motes of light as the latter's body collapsed without being able to fall to the ground.
"Holy shit! This bastard's a Mage! Attack! Attack! Attack!"
Despite the instantaneous loss of their leader, the group of highwaymen didn't retreat. Turning your back to a Mage was the same as asking to be struck in the back by a ranged attack, so the most common tactic to deal with them was to charge wantonly. So long as you could interrupt their chanting, Mages were often even weaker than normal people.
What the poorly educated brigands failed to consider was the fact that Paul had neither chanted nor made use of a ranged attack spell to deal with their boss. The thorny vines were the ability his Dendro Vision had granted him, and while the sword strapped to his lower back was more so a seat for Reida than anything more practical, he was most definitely not a Mage.
With his Black Sword reappearing in his hand, Paul leaned to the side in a manner that almost made it appear as though he was faltering. Instead of falling to the ground, however, he spontaneously accelerated halfway through the fall, reversing direction like a whip as he slipped past one of the men, casually slicing open his stomach in the process.
Though the act of killing had caused him to vomit and have the shakes the first couple of times, Paul had never felt guilty about it. He knew what would have happened to him if he were an ordinary person, so even if the men had wives and children waiting for them back home, Paul cut them down regardless. Those who exploited, tormented, and claimed the lives of others didn't get a free pass just because they behaved differently at home.
With the 'cooldown' of his Elemental Ability up, Paul stopped one of the three remaining assailants with his vines while casually raising the tip of his sword to intercept another's charge. The man had performed a full-force overhead swing, so Paul just needed to sidestep the attack and let gravity do the rest.
Without realizing he was essentially the only one left, the shortest of the five assailants, a man Paul was pretty sure was a Hobbit, jumped at him with daggers in hand. It was a stunning display of agility for someone so small, but Paul wasn't in the business of handing out compliments to his attackers. His enhanced kinetic vision and virtually superhuman senses, refined over years of training, allowed him to track the man's movements as if they were in slow motion. More importantly, he didn't need to pull his sword out of corpses like a normal person.&nbsp;
Raising his empty left hand towards the ostensibly suicidal Hobbit, Paul's Black Sword disappeared from his right before reappearing to impale the diminutive, middle-aged man through the chest.
Though Paul initially intended to fling the man away to prevent a possible counterattack, it proved unnecessary as a small shockwave erupted from his blade the moment it pierced into the man's body. As a result, not only was the man blasted away, but a gaping hole the size of a grapefruit ran clear through his body.
Suppressing his urge to throw up, Paul's expression remained cold as he shifted his attention to the last remaining assailant. The man had noticed this and immediately ceased trying to hack away the resilient vines that had wrapped around his legs, stammering, "P-P-Please b-b-be-"
Without waiting for the man to finish asking for a mercy he would have never afforded another, Paul hurled his Black Blade through the air, its absurd sharpness allowing it to sink up to the hilt as Reida opened her eyes to remark, "You know I hate seeing you throw your sword around like that..."
Recalling the aforementioned sword to his hand, Paul promptly stored it within his Vision before turning toward the direction he was previously walking in and saying, "Rules and techniques are reserved for duels..."
Exhaling an exasperated sigh, Reida decided not to press the matter and simply tightened her hold on Paul. She would have preferred it if he just stuck with the Water God Style, but Paul's use of Healing Magic and his Vision made him better suited to the North God Style. More annoyingly, his inhuman drive to achieve any goal he set for himself made him better suited to the Sword God Style than any other...
"At this rate, you'll end up becoming a Saint in all three Schools without mastering any..."
Catching Reida somewhat by surprise, Paul refuted her words, saying, "I won't stop until I reach the Rank of Emperor..."
Recovering from her momentary shock, a teasing smile developed across Reida's face as she asked, "Not God...?"
Shaking his head, Paul surprised Reida a second time as he adopted a teasing smile of his own and said, "I'm not braindead enough to be the Sword God, shameless enough to be the North God, and I like the Water God too much to see her replaced any time soon..."
"You..."
Feeling a fluttery feeling in her chest, it took a fair amount of restraint for Reida not to put Paul into a chokehold. Instead, she planted a kiss on his cheek and affirmed, "You're definitely shameless enough to be the North God..."
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With the nearly impregnable Red Dragon Mountain Range surrounding the territories of the Asura Kingdom, the only conventional method to travel to other countries was passing through the massive, fortress-like checkpoints known as the Red Dragon's Upper and Lower Jaws.
As the only routes in and out of the Asura Kingdom, the Red Dragon's Upper and Lower Jaws were exceptionally well guarded. Every person attempting to pass through would need to have their identities checked, and, in the event you were trying to enter the nation, you would need to pay a rather hefty toll.
Fortunately for Paul, Reida's status as the one and only Water God not only allowed them to stay at hostels and Inns for free, she was able to pass through virtually any checkpoint for free. After all, if she wanted to pass through, who could stop her?
"This is it, boy. From here, you just need to keep traveling Northwest, and you'll eventually reach the Sword Sanctum."
Though she was tempted to escort Paul the entire way, Reida wasn't on friendly terms with the current Sword God, Gal Farion. He was one of the people she wanted to kill more than any other, so if the two met without the King ordering it, she would either kill him or die trying.
Since Reida had revealed bits and pieces of her past to him during their travels, Paul wasn't too surprised by her words. He was a little sad, but instead of making things more difficult for them both, he adopted a smile and said, "I'll savor every moment of it..."
Though she was momentarily confused by Paul's words, it only took a few seconds for Reida to recall his comment about hating to see her go but loving to watch her leave. A smile immediately developed across her face, and, instead of slugging him in the arm like she originally intended, she half-turned away from him and said, "Burn it into your eyes, brat..." before slowly and seductively meandering her way back to the entrance of the checkpoint. When she finally passed through and looked back, she found Paul still staring at her in the distance, her heart fluttering one last time before they both turned and walked away...
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"They've finally separated..."
"Yeah, but he's no longer within the territory of the Asura Kingdom. If we follow him into the Holy Land, we'll be violating the treaty..."
"He's a ten-year-old Advanced Swordsman who received the personal tutelage of the Water God. If we let him walk away now, there's a good chance he may return as a King or an Emperor in the future. The Prince's orders could not be clearer. We are to eliminate Paul-"
Before the beautiful female assassin could finish her words, everyone in the group tensed as an overwhelming bloodlust pressed down on them like a mountain. In the very next moment, the breathtakingly beautiful figure of a woman with short black hair and cerulean blue eyes appeared in their midst, declaring, "That man is not yours to kill..." in a cold, bone-chilling tone.
Unfortunately for the group of Maid Assassins, the woman, Sword God Reida, wasn't there to give them a warning. The moment her words fell, each and every assassin within the group collapsed, their bodies sliced into neat chunks that briefly crackled with purple lightning.
Brandishing the predominately blue and white longsword, the fierce look on Reida's face melted into a smile as she muttered, "Alley Flash...a very fitting name..."
As someone who had grown up in the slums of the Asura Kingdom, there was a time when Reida was referred to with names such as Street Urchin and Alley Rat. Now, thanks to the Vision and sword Paul had granted her, it wasn't too much of an exaggeration to say her attacks were as fast as lightning.
Allowing the longsword to dissipate and return to her Vision, Reida's eyes wandered to the Northwest as she wistfully uttered, "Come back strong, Paul..." before placing her hand on her abdomen. She would never admit it, but she was pretty sure he had reshaped her insides to be a perfect fit for his ostensibly insatiable manhood. At the very least, that's what Reida believed as, even now, she could feel Paul's lingering presence inside her abdomen, gently pulsing as a feeling skin to longing filled her bosom...
...
..
.

Chapter 53: MI53: Resolution