The Shortcut and the Proper Way
With a heavy thud, the massive log slammed into the ground. Hans tumbled beside it like a wild animal. His heart hammered against his ribs as if trying to break free. The muscles in his thighs spasmed violently, and sweat poured from his chin like rain. Every breath he drew in felt like fire tearing through his lungs.
"Haa... Haa... This is actually insane..."
Hans reached out with a trembling hand and scooped up water from the stream. He drank greedily, lapping at what slipped through his fingers. The cold liquid sliding down his throat finally cleared his head a little. Misery followed right behind.
"Damn it... I'm supposed to be an archer."
Why the hell did someone who used a bow have to wrestle logs in the middle of the mountains? He knew basic stamina was important, of course. But this was beyond excessive.
Hans stared at his reflection in the water. Sunken eyes from having every last drop of energy sucked out by those women, and a body caked in dirt.
"If I keep training like a brute like this... I won't even have the strength left to draw a bowstring."
Self-loathing washed over him. Cecilia could lop off an orc's head with a single sword as if swatting a fly. In the face of that overwhelming talent and power, he was nothing but dead weight.
Hey, porter.
Her cold voice echoed in his ears like a hallucination. The humiliation of not even being called by name.
"Son of a bitch..."
Hans slammed his fist into the water. Droplets sprayed upward. He should have been furious, but he had no strength left. Helplessness outweighed the anger. How long would it take to catch up to her at this rate? A year? Ten years?
"Haa..."
A bleak future stretched out before him. That was when it happened.
"Kkarruru."
A laugh like jade beads rolling across a silver tray drifted down from above. Hans jerked his head up in surprise.
"Hello there? Our dear human. You look like death warmed over."
Among the thick branches, a blonde elf hung upside down like a bat. It was Serena. Her golden hair cascaded downward against gravity, and her mysterious green eyes, carrying the essence of the forest, filled Hans's entire field of vision.
"Whoa!"
Hans tried to scramble backward in shock. Having fallen on his rear, however, he could only crawl away in an undignified manner.
Serena dangled from the branch by just the tops of her feet, swinging like a bat. "Humans really are hopeless. What good is building nothing but muscle for someone who uses a bow? You need to sharpen your senses. Your senses."
She clicked her tongue in obvious pity. But none of her mockery reached Hans's ears. His gaze had been instinctively, helplessly, drawn somewhere else entirely.
Because she hung upside down, her skirt had lost its battle with gravity and flipped up completely. Smooth, pale thighs. And deeper inside, the most secret place, covered by... a scrap of light green fabric. A pair of forest-fairy panties adorned with a dainty ribbon.
......
Hans's mouth fell open in a daze.
So elves... wear panties after all.
It was the most primal, idiotic observation imaginable.
Serena had perfectly tracked exactly where his eyes were locked. Any ordinary woman would have shrieked and covered herself, but she was different. The corners of her mouth curved upward in a sly smile, and she spread her thighs just a little wider.
"See it well?"
At her bold provocation, Hans's face burned crimson.
"N-no! I just... didn't know where to look!"
As Hans whipped his head away, Serena landed lightly on the ground with a giggle. The descent was as soft as a feather touching down.
She brushed off her skirt and approached him. A strange, fresh scent—green grass mixed with the faint musk of sweat—teased his nose.
"I saw you earlier... You looked desperate to get stronger."
Serena's slender fingers trailed down his sweat-drenched shoulder, then softly stroked across the hard, pumped muscles of his chest.
A jolt shot through him. Hans flinched.
"Please leave. I'm busy."
"Busy? Wrestling with logs?" Serena snorted. She circled behind him and pressed her body close, almost hugging him from the back. The soft sensation against his spine made him tense.
"Shall I help you?" Her lips brushed his ear. "We elves have a secret art that can compress ten years of human training into a single month. It includes proper bow technique, of course."
"......!"
Hans's pupils trembled. Ten years into one month. No words could have sounded sweeter to him right now. The one thing he needed most to get revenge on Cecilia—to make her regret everything—was time. And here was a way to leap across that absolute barrier.
"Th-that's a lie..."
"Elves don't lie. I swear it on the forest itself."
Enjoying his reaction, Serena slid her hand lower. It glided past his firm abs and slipped between his thighs.
"Of course... nothing's free. It's an equivalent exchange."
She spun him around and shoved him against a tree trunk.
Thud.
Leaning against the tree, Hans now faced Serena directly. Her eyes gleamed with naked desire. Her gaze was fixed openly on his crotch.
"You'll share that magnificent seed of yours... deep inside me."
Serena licked her lips.
"Until I get pregnant."
Her offer was simple, clear, and utterly lethal. Mixing bodies would make him stronger. With an elf, no less. It was a proposal no man could easily refuse. And Hans, starving for power, saw her temptation as a lifeline. His inferiority complex and frantic impatience toward Cecilia made it impossible to turn away.
One month... just one month?
Serena saw his heart waver and didn't miss her chance. She dropped to her knees in front of him.
"W-wait! What are you—!"
Before Hans could panic, Serena's fingers reached for his belt buckle.
Click.
The metallic sound shattered the forest's silence.
Ziiiip—
The sound of the zipper seemed as loud as thunder.
"I'll just give you a little taste," Serena whispered, looking up at him. "So you can feel how incredible an elf's tongue can be."
She tugged his pants down.
Thump.
Hans's ferocious length twitched inside his underwear. Already swollen to the point of bursting from Serena's sticky aura and visual teasing, the front of his underwear was soaked, a clear bead of fluid seeping through.
"Haa... that smell..."
Serena pressed her nose against him and inhaled deeply.
"So thick... the scent of a human male..."
Her hot breath ghosted over the fabric. Hans felt his legs turning to jelly.
"Ugh... we shouldn't..."
His mind screamed no, but his body was completely honest.
Serena's fingers hooked under the waistband of his underwear. Just one tug and—
Twitch.
Her pointed ears suddenly perked up. Her movements froze.
"......"
Serena's brows furrowed. She turned and glared toward the darker part of the forest. Nothing was visible, but she could sense it—a cool, heavy presence.
"Tsk."
She clicked her tongue.
"An interloper. And a ridiculously strong one."
With clear regret, she gave the bulging front of Hans's underwear one firm press with her palm.
"Eek!"
Hans yelped. Serena sprang to her feet.
"See you next time, dear human. Think about my offer. I don't give up easily. I'll come find you again soon."
She scaled the tree in a flash and vanished into the forest.
"Huh...?"
Hans stared blankly at the spot where she'd disappeared. His pants were around his ankles, his underwear still pitched like a ridiculous tent.
Thud. Thud.
From the shadows of the trees emerged Kane, old wooden sword slung casually over one shoulder, walking with his usual lazy stride.
"Hey, kid. Wondered why you weren't coming back."
Kane's voice was as indifferent as ever. Hans jumped and frantically yanked his pants up.
"M-Master! It's not what it looks like—!"
"Save it."
Kane waved a hand, cutting him off.
"No need for excuses. I already know."
He didn't even need to sniff. The strange scent clinging to Hans's body was unmistakable—cunningly woven into the forest's fresh air was that fishy, sticky aroma of a female in heat. It was exactly the same smell his old elf party members used to give off when they got worked up.
So an elf was hiding in this forest.
Kane clicked his tongue. He'd had more than enough of elves in his lifetime. A race that acted refined on the surface but was utterly lewd underneath.
A horny elf latched onto him... This is going to be a pain in the ass.
If he wanted to handle the bomb called Cecilia, Hans's energy had to be focused entirely on her. If some random elf drained him, the whole plan would collapse.
Kane pretended ignorance and clapped Hans on the shoulder.
"Plenty of things in these mountains that can bewitch a man. Especially someone as desperate as you—they latch on even harder."
Hans, feeling guilty, rushed to defend himself.
"N-no! I wasn't bewitched! She just... said there was a shortcut, so I only listened for a moment!"
"A shortcut?"
Kane repeated, sounding intrigued.
"Yes... something about an elf secret technique... that it would only take a month..."
The moment the words left his mouth, Hans regretted them.
Kane gave a small chuckle and nodded.
Same old tricks from those forest wenches.
He spoke as if he could see straight through Hans's heart.
"An archer who lets his mind wander while drawing his bowstring will never hit the target. Your target is only one person—Cecilia. You know that, right?"
At the mention of her name, Hans's eyes wavered.
"Do you really think you can defeat that monstrous girl with power gained through a cheap trick?"
Kane lifted the worn wooden sword from his shoulder. He aimed it at a thick log ten meters away. No battle cry. No stance. He simply swung it lightly, as if swatting away a fly.
Swoosh.
There was no sound. A moment later—
Kuuuung.
The upper half of the log ten meters away slid down at a clean diagonal. The cut surface gleamed like a mirror.
"......!"
Hans couldn't close his mouth. There had been no visible sword energy, no aura. Just a casual swing of a wooden sword, yet it seemed as if space itself had been sliced. This was the level of the Empire's First Sword.
"Don't rely on shortcuts," Kane said, slinging the wooden sword back over his shoulder. "You might reach the destination faster that way, but all that waits at the end is an empty shell. Only by walking the proper path can you defeat the woman you desire."
Kane's words struck heavily against Hans's chest. Serena's temptation had been sweet—ten years compressed into one month. But the realm Kane had just demonstrated was something no shortcut could ever reach.
I want to defeat Cecilia. I want her to look up to me.
For that... fake power would never be enough.
With trembling hands, Hans fastened his belt.
"......Understood."
He steeled his resolve once more.
"Tomorrow... I'll carry two logs."
Kane chuckled and started walking ahead.
"If only you were as good at listening as you are at talking. Let's go eat. It's getting late."