Chapter 306

Chapter 306: Chapter 306

The sweeping history behind the Imperial Arms completely drew Ryuu and Jeanne in.

"It sounds like some kind of exceptionally powerful Mystic Code," Jeanne said thoughtfully.

"So basically an extremely powerful magical item," Ryuu summarized in her own terms.

"That sounds promising."

Esdeath’s interest was immediately piqued.

"What kind of Imperial Arms... will mine be?"

"Well... I’ll keep that a surprise for now."

Kiriya smiled mysteriously.

"But I can guarantee one thing. It’s the one most perfectly suited to you—and one of the strongest."

"Oh?"

Esdeath immediately grabbed Kiriya’s hand and started pulling him away.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go now."

"No rush."

Kiriya laughed.

"We’ve already come all this way. Wouldn’t it be a waste not to hunt a few more Danger Beasts first?"

He gestured toward the wilderness.

"We’ll hunt as we travel and make our way toward the Imperial Capital at the same time."

"Oh, I like that plan."

Esdeath immediately rose onto her toes and leaned toward Kiriya’s cheek for a kiss.

Ryuu’s expression darkened at once.

She grabbed Esdeath and pulled her back before she could succeed.

"Esdeath. Have you forgotten our agreement?"

"Of course not."

Esdeath remembered immediately and accepted the reminder without complaint.

"A bet is a bet. From now until tomorrow’s duel, Master belongs to you. I won’t do anything inappropriate."

Kiriya stared at them.

’Wow. So I’m the prize now?’

"Good."

Ryuu nodded firmly.

"Starting now, you stay at least one meter away from him."

"Hehe. Fine with me."

Esdeath obediently stepped away from Kiriya, though the look she gave Ryuu was openly provocative.

"You caught me off guard this time. You won’t be so lucky in our next fight."

"Don’t assume you’re the only one improving."

Ryuu’s reply was cold.

Today, she had only given Esdeath a small taste of Luminous Wind.

That was nowhere near the full extent of her strength.

Even if Esdeath figured out how to deal with Luminous Wind, Ryuu still had Astraea Record.

The Magic of her fallen companions from the Astraea Familia gave her a wide range of tactical options, and used properly, they could easily produce unexpected results.

Besides, Ryuu did not rely entirely on Magic.

She also reflected on every battle, analyzed her mistakes, and refined her techniques afterward.

She had no intention of standing still while Esdeath grew stronger.

Esdeath’s eyes brightened even further.

"Yes. That’s exactly how it should be."

Her smile widened.

"Now this is getting interesting."

...

After finishing their morning training and eating breakfast, the group finally began their journey of hunting Danger Beasts.

Traveling entirely on foot was far too slow, however.

So Kiriya found a flying Danger Beast, activated the Sharingan, and with a single look turned it into an obedient mount.

From then on, it carried the four of them back and forth across the northern wilderness.

With a fast means of transportation, an experienced hunter like Esdeath guiding them, and occasionally even their flying Danger Beast providing useful information about nearby creatures, they became incredibly efficient at tracking prey.

Within only two or three months, most of the First-Class and Special-Class Danger Beasts inhabiting the northern wilderness had been hunted down.

Once the north had been thoroughly picked clean, Kiriya’s group began combing through the land layer by layer like a fine-toothed comb, gradually advancing toward the Imperial Capital.

Sometimes they crossed deserts stretching for thousands of kilometers beneath endless yellow sand.

Sometimes they passed through magnificent, treacherous mountain forests.

At other times, they explored vast wetlands whose waters seemed to merge with the horizon.

Wherever powerful Danger Beasts lived, they eventually appeared.

Special-Class Danger Beasts generally started around the equivalent of Level 5, with quite a few reaching Level 6.

Ultra-Class Danger Beasts were even more terrifying, surpassing Level 7.

Not only were their physical abilities monstrously powerful, many also possessed special abilities resembling Magic, such as manipulating natural elements like wind or ice.

Their overall combat power could not be underestimated.

Whenever they encountered a Special-Class Danger Beast, Kiriya usually had Esdeath, Ryuu, and Jeanne take turns fighting it, making sure each of them received enough combat experience and pressure to sharpen themselves properly.

Whenever they encountered an especially powerful Ultra-Class Danger Beast, the girls did not even wait for Kiriya to say anything.

They formed teams on their own and fought together.

Most battles ended with them covered in wounds, but the satisfaction they gained from feeling their strength improve far outweighed the pain.

And whenever the fight reached its final stage, Kiriya stepped in to deliver the decisive blow.

It was throughout this process that Esdeath finally began to understand just how powerful her "Master" truly was.

If they were discussing nothing but hand-to-hand combat, Kiriya was certainly stronger than Esdeath, but the gap was not so enormous that they seemed to exist in completely different worlds.

In an actual battle, however—

Kiriya had a ridiculous number of abilities.

Swordsmanship so fast she could barely follow it.

Wood-manipulation techniques capable of restraining and suppressing enormous Danger Beasts with ease.

Blue-white spheres of energy powerful enough to obliterate the top of a mountain...

Esdeath had never imagined one person could possess such a vast collection of techniques and finishing moves.

Kiriya was like a bottomless treasury.

Every time she dug a little deeper, she uncovered another priceless treasure.

And the more Esdeath learned about him, the more she wanted to know.

Understand him.

Approach him.

Defeat him.

Possess him.

Yes.

Esdeath still had absolutely no intention of abandoning her goal of dominating Kiriya.

Even after clearly understanding the gap between them.

Most people turned back when they hit an immovable wall.

Esdeath was the kind of person who would keep ramming into it until the wall broke.

So whenever she had free time, she studied her own combat techniques, analyzed Kiriya’s fighting style and abilities, imagined different ways she might defeat him, and tested those possibilities during their spars.

Ironically, all of this only helped Kiriya refine his own techniques even further.

Ryuu and Jeanne were much the same.

Under the enormous pressure created by Esdeath, they constantly improved and perfected their own combat systems and techniques.

Danger Beast meat nourished their bodies.

Countless battles honed their skill.

The combat strength of everyone in the group increased at a visibly rapid pace.

And just like that—

Half a year passed.

...

The Imperial Capital, northern gate.

"We finally made it."

Esdeath stretched lazily while standing before the enormous city gate.

"I didn’t expect it to take this long."

Six months had passed.

The young girl had shot up considerably during that time and now stood over 170 centimeters tall.

Her figure had also matured noticeably.

Even something as simple as stretching was enough to draw countless eyes toward her.

"Well, I didn’t expect hunting Danger Beasts to be this addictive either."

Kiriya licked his lips, looking almost nostalgic.

When properly prepared, the meat of high-ranking Danger Beasts was unbelievably delicious.

Once you got used to it, it was hard to stop.

Originally, they had planned to spend only one or two months hunting as they traveled.

Instead, they became a little too enthusiastic about eating and fighting.

Whenever they heard rumors of a particularly powerful Danger Beast somewhere nearby, they would immediately detour to hunt it, wasting a considerable amount of time along the way.

Of course, their gains had also been enormous.

"So this is the Imperial Capital?"

Jeanne looked through the enormous gate toward the city beyond.

"It really is magnificent."

As far as the eye could see, beautiful buildings stretched endlessly into the distance.

The palaces and towers rising from the highest parts of the city were particularly lavish and grand, leaving Jeanne genuinely impressed.

Ryuu adapted somewhat more easily.

After all, she had spent years living in Orario, seen Babel, and explored the Dungeon itself. Her standards for extraordinary sights were already fairly high.

"Master."

Esdeath looked toward Kiriya impatiently.

"The Imperial Arms you said would suit me best is somewhere in this city, right?"

After spending the past six months repeatedly suffering under Kiriya and Ryuu’s ninjutsu and Magic, Esdeath had come to fully understand the limitations of relying purely on physical combat.

She desperately wanted another source of power.

Then she could crush Kiriya, Ryuu, and Jeanne beneath her strength and finally turn the tables once and for all.

"That’s right."

Kiriya nodded.

"Food first. After that, we’ll find someone who knows the city well and ask around."

He immediately took the lead.

Esdeath, Ryuu, and Jeanne followed behind him.

All four possessed exceptional looks and presence, so the moment they entered the streets, they quickly became the center of attention.

Quite a few idle young men tried approaching the three girls.

Kiriya drove them away with a single knife-sharp glare.

Any woman who tried approaching Kiriya had it even worse.

Three far more terrifying gazes immediately fell upon her, forcing her to stop in her tracks.

Kiriya had assumed the rest of their walk would remain peaceful.

Then a group of people suddenly blocked their path.

At the front stood a young man with a head full of white hair.

He wore white trousers and a simple sleeveless top that left much of his waist and abdomen exposed.

His arms were folded across his chest as he looked down arrogantly at the four of them, a cruel, rebellious smile hanging from his lips.

"Not bad."

His eyes swept over the girls.

"Very nice."

’Coming back to the Capital and immediately running into goods this fine... Looks like I made the right choice returning.’

The white-haired young man grinned.

"Ladies, what’s the point of following a useless guy like him?"

He jerked his chin toward Kiriya.

"Why not come home with me instead? My place is huge."

His smile became increasingly unpleasant.

"And the beds are very soft and comfortable."

The atmosphere instantly turned dangerous.

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