The days passed quickly.
And after that conversation, something in Mio clearly began to change.
It wasn't a sudden transformation or something completely obvious at first glance. Mio was still proud, impulsive, and absurdly stubborn most of the time. She still looked away whenever she became too embarrassed, still responded harshly on occasion, and still tried to hide part of what she felt behind that typical façade of a strong and difficult-to-deal-with girl.
But...
She had become much more honest with herself.
Especially when it came to Alear.
The young woman began spending much more time around him during the day, almost always finding some excuse to stay by his side even when she didn't need to. Sometimes she would simply sit near him during training breaks; other times she insisted on helping him with small tasks, or would simply appear beside him for no particular reason.
And although she still blushed easily, Mio gradually stopped running away from those situations altogether.
She also became much bolder at times.
Especially when it came to physical contact.
It wasn't uncommon for her to naturally grab his arm while they were walking, lean against him during conversations, or even discreetly rest against his shoulder while they relaxed after training. Of course, she usually realized what she was doing a few seconds later and immediately tried to act as though it were completely normal, despite turning bright red.
Even so...
That was already a gigantic step forward for someone like Mio.
Maria noticed this change almost immediately.
And, as expected of a succubus...
She was absolutely delighted by the situation.
Maria began treating it as a form of personal daily entertainment. Whenever she saw Mio getting closer to Alear, a mischievous smile would immediately appear on her face.
"Mio-sama has become much more aggressive lately~"
"Hmm~ could it be that you've finally decided to stop pretending?"
"Maybe I should start officially calling you two a couple~?"
Every time Maria said something like that, Mio practically exploded from embarrassment and irritation at the same time, which only made the succubus laugh even harder.
But despite the constant teasing...
Maria genuinely seemed happy about her change.
She knew better than anyone how difficult it was for Mio to deal honestly with her own feelings. So seeing her finally begin to act more sincerely around Alear was something Maria truly supported from the bottom of her heart.
Ravel, on the other hand...
Had a much quieter reaction.
Unlike Mio, she had already rationally accepted her position by Alear's side from the very beginning. The political marriage between the two had already been practically decided by their families, and as a princess of House Phenex, Ravel had been raised with a perfect understanding of her duties as the future wife of a demonic noble.
She knew how to act.
She knew how to support him.
She knew that, in the future, she would need to become someone capable of assisting him politically, taking care of the family, and remaining by his side regardless of the situation.
And honestly...
She had no problem with that.
Quite the opposite.
The more time she spent around Alear, the more Ravel realized how much she admired the man to whom she was betrothed. His calmness, maturity, intelligence, overwhelming strength, and even the surprisingly gentle way he treated all of them made the young Phenex's heart race more and more.
Because of that, seeing Mio approach him in that manner didn't exactly make her angry.
Rather...
It gave her a small sense of urgency.
Because she didn't want to lose to a member of her future husband's peerage...
But, putting matters of the heart aside for now...
Training continued to be the group's primary focus during the last few days, and the results accumulated from their previous sessions finally began to manifest more and more clearly.
Mio, for example, finally managed to adapt her [Gravity Magic] for real combat far more efficiently. Previously, she only used the attribute in a relatively simple and instinctive manner, but now she was capable of manipulating the surrounding gravity for a variety of offensive and defensive purposes. The pinnacle of this progress was the development of a technique she came to regard as her true magical trump card: a small artificial "Black Hole" created through the extreme compression of gravity into a single point.
Although the destructive capacity of that technique was still absurdly far from that of a real black hole, it remained extremely dangerous. The gravitational compression it generated was enough to distort the surrounding space, pull in attacks, crush structures, and destroy virtually any ordinary defense if the target was caught directly. Even Alear admitted that the technique could not be underestimated in any way; even he would have some difficulty dealing with it if he were careless.
With Alear's help, Mio also managed to overcome her greatest weakness: direct physical combat. Taking advantage of the knowledge and guidance she received during training, she developed a complementary technique of her own called [Weight Manipulation]. The ability used her demonic power combined with the gravitational attribute to drastically increase the weight of her own body at the exact moment her attacks connected, without compromising her movement speed. In this way, she could transform seemingly ordinary strikes into devastating impacts, compensating for one of the greatest limitations she possessed as a user specialized in magic and long-range combat.
At present, she still couldn't withstand absurd levels of weight without risking the destruction of her own body, but she had nevertheless already reached an impressive level. A simple punch enhanced by the technique was enough to easily pulverize gigantic boulders several times larger than herself. The most frightening part was that this ability practically eliminated one of her greatest weaknesses as a mage specialized in long-range combat.
And honestly, she was already beginning to dangerously approach Maria's own level of physical strength, and Maria herself had become even stronger over the past few days as well.
During the last few days, Alear decided to focus Maria's training primarily on advanced physical combat. Since she could already freely assume her [Succubus Form] and remain in that state for as long as she wished, and had already reached the minimum physical requirements thanks to previous training, she was finally qualified to learn much more complex and dangerous techniques. Because of that, he began teaching her [Reinforcement] and [Hierro], both of which she successfully learned...
The results were terrifying.
Maria had practically transformed into a true mobile battle tank. Her physical durability reached a completely absurd level for someone with such a small body and delicate appearance; attacks that would have easily injured her before could now barely inflict any real damage. And unlike what would normally happen with a Rook, her speed had also evolved drastically, to the point where she no longer lost out to any Knight.
This was mainly because Alear had taught her the [Earth Reduction Technique], an advanced movement technique based on extremely refined martial arts principles. Far beyond simple speed, it utilized body control, breathing, intent reading, blind spots, and force flow to instantly reduce the distance between the user and the target, creating the illusion of "teleportation" during combat. Numerous martial arts masters throughout history had pursued the pinnacle of this kind of movement, but Alear had mastered it perfectly thanks to his profound knowledge of [Bajiquan], making it relatively simple for him to teach Maria the fundamentals of the technique.
As for Ravel, she ended up following an entirely different path. After the conversation they had that day, she began studying various scientific books that he had created specifically for her. Initially, Ravel was still somewhat confused about how human scientific knowledge could help her evolve her magic, but she quickly realized the reason.
Temperature, pressure, combustion, thermal expansion, energy concentration, and particle flow became part of Ravel's magical understanding. This new comprehension elevated her [Fire Magic] to an entirely different level. Her flames became much hotter, more stable, and more destructive, while also displaying infinitely more refined control than before. Her famous [Blue Phoenix Flame], as she liked to call it, could now be used normally in real combat, although it still consumed a considerable amount of [Demonic Power].
However, her greatest achievement was the development of the [Green Phoenix Flame]. Unlike her usual destructive flames, this technique directly channeled the regenerative and immortal characteristics of the Phenex bloodline into the fire, allowing it to be used to heal injuries and accelerate the recovery of others. It was an extremely rare and complex ability, and also the creation of which Ravel was most proud at that point in time—something that had only been made possible thanks to the guidance and teachings of her Alear-sama!
Without a doubt, the growth of all three during those two weeks was simply monstrous!
. . . . .
It was the last day they had inside the [World Where I Can Personify God]. The sky remained completely clear, and the sun shone on the horizon, spreading a golden light across the entire dimension...
At the center of a vast flat area surrounded by destroyed mountains and enormous craters, Alear was training his [Zenith Tempest].
His entire body had transformed into living black-blue lightning. Although he still maintained a vaguely human silhouette, his figure resembled a god made of pure lightning more than a person. Black-blue electrical currents continuously coursed through his form, emitting violent crackling sounds that caused the surrounding air to vibrate. His magenta-pink eyes shone intensely at the center of that mass of energy, conveying an almost terrifying presence.
Shun! Shun! Shun! Shun!
His body continuously disappeared and reappeared throughout the training field at absurd speeds. Each movement produced a blinding flash followed by black-blue luminous trails that tore through space like scars left upon the air itself.
This was the new ability he had awakened and refined during the last few days through his Zenith Tempest: [Black Lightning].
Upon activating [Black Lightning], Alear attained true divine speed: the speed of light itself.
But that was far from the most terrifying aspect of the technique.
With a simple thought, he created several imitations of high-level enemies around himself.
The next instant, all of them attacked simultaneously.
Alear remained completely motionless as the attacks approached. Only when the fastest strike was less than a millimeter away from touching his body did he finally move.
The world seemed to freeze.
Time continued flowing normally, but to Alear everything around him appeared to slow down until it almost came to a complete stop. The enemies' movements became as slow as statues while he weaved through every attack like a phantom made of lightning. Then he appeared before one of the imitations and concentrated a colossal mass of condensed electricity in the palm of his hand.
BOOOOOOOM!!
The resulting explosion completely swallowed the target.
The imitation was obliterated instantly.
[Black Lightning] allowed Alear to partially or completely transform his body into electricity. In that state, he could freely fly through the skies, unleash devastating lightning blasts, and even become intangible against purely physical attacks, since his body ceased to exist as conventional matter. However, the true monstrosity of the ability lay in its absolute control over acceleration and deceleration...
His mastery had reached such a level that many would believe they were observing someone moving in a higher dimension. By constantly altering his speed in ways that were impossible to follow, Alear could create effects that seemed to challenge the very passage of time itself. To his opponents, his movements often gave the impression that he appeared before he had even begun moving, as though he were manipulating time rather than speed.
And that still wasn't the limit.
[Black Lightning] possessed an ultimate technique that concentrated all of his [Demonic Power] into a single discharge of divine electricity. The attack consumed virtually all of his energy reserves, but in exchange unleashed such absurd destructive power that it could erase a vast region of the map with a single strike. He felt it was powerful enough to instantly kill someone in the Ultimate Class and even injure a Satan or a God...
At present, it was the most powerful attack in Alear's entire arsenal.
After destroying the final imitation with a simple touch wrapped in destructive energy, Alear gradually slowed down until he returned to his human form at the center of the training field.
The black-blue lightning surrounding his body slowly dissipated, turning into small sparks that vanished into the air. His figure returned to normal, revealing clothes partially damaged by the intense use of the ability and a body covered in a thin layer of sweat.
Despite the absurd intensity of the training, his breathing remained steady...
Alear opened and closed his hand a few times, feeling the flow of [Demonic Power] through every part of his body. Previously, prolonged use of this ability consumed a considerable amount of energy and made that flow become chaotic, rendering him incapable of using any kind of magical attack, but now that weakness had disappeared...
"...This is great. I've finally mastered this ability completely!"
A small satisfied smile appeared on his lips.
His gaze lifted toward the blue sky as he reflected on how productive the last few days had been. Not only had he further evolved his [Zenith Tempest] and awakened a new ability, but he had also solved the problem of his physical body being weak, while further developing the traits inherited from the Häagenti and Gäap families. As if that weren't enough, through [Idle Transfiguration], he had also acquired the special characteristics of the Phenex family and even Mio's [Gravity Magic]. It was precisely thanks to this knowledge that he was able to teach such advanced techniques to both of them. In fact, many of those abilities had been secretly created or refined by him after studying their capabilities in depth, and were later passed on indirectly during training, leading both Mio and Ravel to believe that they had developed those techniques on their own...
As for the girls, they had already returned to the real world earlier. He, on the other hand, had decided to remain within the dimension for a few more hours. After all, despite all the progress they had achieved, he still felt there was room to improve some details of all his newly acquired abilities. Besides, passing up such a perfect training opportunity simply wasn't like him...
Moreover, he had one final idea he wanted to test...
Well, now that he had finished his training, it was time to put it into practice...
Knowing that only a few minutes remained before he would leave that dimension, Alear let out a light sigh. The next moment, he disappeared from the training field in a black-blue flash, instantly reappearing inside a cave hidden among dense forests and mountains.
The place was silent, isolated, and filled with natural energy—exactly what he needed. His eyes narrowed slightly as he extended his hand forward. A small seed began to form above his palm, but it was far from an ordinary seed.
It was what he liked to call a "Dragon Factor Seed." Unlike a simple [Creation] or [Life Imitation], this thing was far more complex. He was attempting to artificially recreate a true [Dragon Factor], reproducing the same principle he had once had the opportunity to study in his previous world. His goal was to use that seed as a core to give birth to a true Phantasmal Beast—a True Dragon that was genuinely alive. Afterward, he intended to personally devour it to determine whether he could absorb its powers and bring them into the real world. It was an extremely risky, complex, and potentially dangerous experiment, but it was also, without question, the most important project he had at that moment...
Since it was a genuine [Dragon Factor], the process was relatively simple in theory: it merely needed time to mature.
In his previous world, modern dragons were nothing more than animals that had inherited fragments of the so-called "Dragon Factor," remnants left behind by the ancient True Dragons that had migrated to the Reverse Side of the World. Over the ages, these creatures adapted to their environments and developed their own territories and lifestyles, but they were no longer pure-blooded dragons. In reality, truly pure dragons had all but vanished from the world, with only exceptionally rare exceptions remaining, such as the corpse of Albion, which Alear had personally had the opportunity to study.
The idea behind the experiment was precisely to artificially reproduce this evolutionary process.
The "Dragon Factor Seed" would serve as the initial core. From it, he would create numerous dragons and use them as nourishment to continuously feed that factor, strengthening it generation after generation. Over time, the factors would accumulate, refine themselves, and condense until the seed finally reached complete maturity, giving birth to something that would no longer be a mere modern dragon, but a true Pure-Blooded Dragon.
And that was only the first objective.
Among all dragons, there existed an even more special category: the so-called True Dragons.
Unlike ordinary dragons, True Dragons were closer to concepts than creatures. They were born from the crystallization of human ideas taken to their absolute extremes. Fafnir, for example, was the very embodiment of Greed, while Vritra represented Drought. They were existences that transcended simple biology and assumed almost mythical characteristics, being both great dragons and conceptual phenomena simultaneously.
Facing a True Dragon meant placing one's entire existence on the line.
Power alone was not enough. One had to gather everything accumulated throughout life: skill, experience, determination, courage, and the will to survive. Otherwise, the result was death. Curiously, nearly all great Dragon Slayers shared the same account. Both Sigurd and Siegfried claimed to remember defeating their dragons, yet neither could explain exactly how they had accomplished it. Whenever they tried to recall the details, everything became vague. The only thing they knew for certain was that they had fought desperately to survive.
Because confronting a True Dragon was like reliving one's entire life in a single instant. The broad outlines could be remembered afterward, but the deeper details disappeared, as though the human mind simply could not fully comprehend what it meant to confront an existence of such magnitude...
And it was exactly that kind of creature he intended to create in the future. Not a mere dragon, but a true conceptual Dragon capable of rivaling the legends of his former world and granting him their powers.
Of course, feeding that [Dragon Factor] with dragons was only the first step. For it to truly evolve into a genuine Dragon, it would require far more than biological matter—it would need to be nourished by a "concept."
Fortunately, he already had an initial idea.
He could feed it with his own demonic nature, causing that future True Dragon to take the form of a dragon capable of personifying sins or something similar. But that was still far from necessary at the moment. It was merely a future possibility, a path that remained open within the experiment...
Alear extended his right hand and watched the small glowing seed float above his palm for several seconds, confirming that everything was in perfect condition. With a casual motion, he tossed it toward the center of the cave.
Ploft.
The moment it touched the rocky ground, the seed sank slightly into the stone as though it had transformed into liquid. Immediately afterward, an intense pink light erupted from the point of impact, rapidly expanding and forming a vast and intricate magic circle that covered the entire cave floor. The pattern consisted of complex [Numerology] formulas derived from the Magecraft of [Kabbalah], carefully structured to execute a specific command: generate one dragon every minute through his [Life Imitation] from [Innovate Clear].
He had no doubt that it would function even while he was outside that world. After all, that dimension was, in essence, a manifestation of his own Longinus, something over which he maintained absolute control even when he was not physically inside it. Even so, in order to optimize the process, he had automated the ritual through magic, ensuring that the system would continue operating autonomously without requiring his constant supervision.
Every dragon summoned would automatically be offered as food to the [Dragon Factor], repeating the cycle continuously until it reached maturity.
ROOOOAAARRR!!
The first dragon appeared.
A creature covered in black scales, roughly eight meters long, materialized with a ferocious roar, its red eyes shining with pure killing instinct. However, before it could even comprehend its own existence, an invisible force violently dragged it toward the seed. Within seconds, its body dissolved into particles of pure energy and was completely absorbed by the [Dragon Factor].
The buried seed shone slightly brighter.
Alear observed everything with a cold, analytical gaze, displaying no emotion whatsoever.
One minute later, another dragon appeared.
Then another.
And another.
Each new creature was consumed almost immediately, serving as direct fuel for the strengthening of the factor. The process was cruel, efficient, and inevitably constant. With every dragon absorbed, the seed became denser, more stable... more alive.
"Well..." he murmured to himself in a low, satisfied tone. "This pace should be sufficient for now. By the time I return, the factor will have grown considerably stronger."
He knew that this was only the beginning of an extremely long project.
But for now, it was enough.
"Time to go back."
With a single thought, his body was enveloped by a black-blue flash, and he vanished from the cave, returning to the real world.
__________________
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