Chapter 644
Chapter 644
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 644
Chapter Title: Sword Witch (2)
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1.
The sparring match was over.
It had taken a total of 18 hours.
That was about the same as the time a modern person deprived of sleep spends with their eyes open in a 24-hour day.
Out of that, rest time—including treatment—had been just over an hour.
Everything else had been life-or-death battles disguised as sparring.
It had long since exceeded the bounds of sparring and turned into training that challenged the limits of humanity.
Si-woo had a reasonably well-trained body of his own.
No matter the gap in skill, he hadn't just stood there taking hits.
In the fourth match, he'd shattered Rinne's rib with a full-force spear swing, and in the sixth, he'd torn open her wrist long with the spear tip.
And that had clearly been a fatal mistake.
It was like pouring oil on Rinne's already blazing fighting spirit and drive to improve.
After that, Rinne's momentum had been utterly terrifying.
Even with one arm drenched in blood, broken ribs, and stamina running low.
Rinne charged in without even accepting treatment, saying, "It's good—feels just like real combat."
Far from tiring out as time dragged on, she'd only grown more vibrant.
The purgatory of sparring had finally ended after 18 hours because Si-woo no longer had the strength left to even lift his spear.
"Well done."
"You too... well..."
Rinne stood ramrod straight, her entire outfit soaked through with sweat and clinging damply to her skin.
Unlike Si-woo, who was melting into the floor like a puddle of slime.
Less a difference in mental fortitude and more because her injuries weren't as severe.
"It was fun."
"......"
Si-woo hadn't found it fun in the slightest, but...
Getting those words out of Rinne's mouth was a major victory in itself, wasn't it?
He had to think of it that way, or he'd die of resentment.
"Come to the training ground at the same time tomorrow."
"Pardon? Why?"
He was so startled that an honorific slipped out.
Rinne didn't bat an eye at the formality—instead, she tilted her head as if wondering why he'd ask something so obvious.
"Sparring, obviously."
The matches had started at 6 a.m. and ended at midnight.
"Same time" meant barely six hours of rest before repeating the ordeal.
He'd thought things were going too smoothly for once.
But to end up as a living sandbag for a battle maniac like her...
"Life..."
Si-woo's vision went dark.
2.
With Yebin's support after she healed both him and Rinne one last time, Si-woo made it back to the guest room.
"Si-woo, are you okay?"
"No... I feel like I'm dying."
He didn't even have the energy left for bravado.
Heck, he'd even borrowed Yebin's hands for a cleaning spell.
"That person's way too much... How could they go this far..."
Even Yebin—who always watched Rinne's mood and minded her manners—let out a resentful comment, her eyes glistening with tears.
And no wonder.
She'd cast healing magic over eleven times that day alone.
Rinne had sustained some injuries too, of course, but nothing like Si-woo's.
Countless cuts and spear wounds, a shattered shinbone from kicks, blood loss requiring transfusions...
Rinne forcibly hauling the already groggy Si-woo to his feet looked just like a torturer who'd hired a doctor to carry out relentless abuse.
"She definitely hates you, Si-woo."
"I don't think so. If anything, she seems to like you a ton."
Si-woo sighed at his tattered clothes but denied it.
For a moment at the start, he'd wondered if she held a grudge because he was Tiferet Duke's disciple.
But no.
She was genuinely enjoying the sparring, purely and simply.
Her obsessive fixation on martial arts bordered on love at this point—he could admit that much.
"You call mangling someone you like 'liking' them?"
"Still, thanks to you, Yebin, it doesn't hurt. I just look weak because I'm exhausted..."
"No kidding. I'd collapse after 18 hours of just running..."
He'd originally planned to tweak his spells in his spare time.
His dimensional transfer magic had been on hold for a while and needed work.
But with this hardcore schedule dragging on, could he even juggle research...?
Something to worry about later.
For now, his limbs were staging a full boycott—he had to rest today.
"Mind if I crash here again tonight?"
"Crash? Oh, the bedding? Of course."
"Then..."
Si-woo half-crawled, shuffling to find a change of clothes.
Even with cleaning magic, over half his outfit was shredded and sweat-soaked rags—he felt bad crawling into someone else's bed like that.
"No spare clothes, huh."
"Yeah... How about this?"
The pavilion didn't stock men's clothing, so he had no choice but to borrow a bathrobe from Yebin.
The shoulders were a bit narrow, and the hem rode up above his knees—pretty uncomfortable, but beggars couldn't be choosers.
Couldn't sleep in someone else's room in just his underwear, right?
"Making elixir again tonight? Sorry if I'm stealing your bed."
"No, I finished the elixir earlier and delivered it before the sparring. You had to suffer more because of me... I should've postponed it. But it's fine. I don't sleep much anyway."
As he listened and sluggishly burrowed into the bedding, heavens above.
It was so cozy.
The moment he closed his eyes, he started plummeting into dreamland—then he sensed a presence.
In the brief doze between, Yebin had approached his bedside.
The sweet scent from the pillow and blankets, mingled with her skin, tickled his nose more intensely.
"Si-woo, this must hurt a lot, right?"
"What can you do? Gotta endure."
"Want me to give you a massage?"
"A massage?"
"Strictly speaking, it's not really a massage... more like applying this."
As he blinked in confusion at the sudden offer, Yebin pulled a pale jade-colored vial from her sleeve and continued.
"Isn't that the potion from earlier?"
"Exactly."
Si-woo recognized it right away.
It was the healing salve she'd pulled out every time she treated his wounds during the sparring.
"This potion boosts the body's natural regeneration. Rub it in well before sleep, and you'll feel much refreshed tomorrow. Plus, we still don't know exactly what's up with your body. Better to prioritize extra rest over pushing yourself."
Music to his ears.
He'd been dreading tomorrow already.
"Sounds good. But I hate to burden you—hand it over, and I'll do it myself."
"It's not just applying it... It acts as a medium for healing magic, so it'll be more efficient if I do it."
"Then I'll shamelessly accept."
"No trouble at all. You worked hard—rest well."
He felt guilty and awkward about it.
But he was too exhausted to even chat, so he quietly assented.
"Oh, give me the robe."
Yebin whisked it away with the deftness of a wife grabbing her husband's jacket after work.
"Facedown okay?"
"Yes."
Si-woo lay down on a large towel to protect the bedding, and Yebin's warm, soft hands settled on his weary back.
"Here we go."
Her hands kneaded his entire back with just the right pressure, the healing salve's unique aroma blending in—like an aromatherapy session.
It was made from refined mana oil, not water, after all.
As cozy waves of mana seeped through the salve into every part of his body, he didn't feel cold at all despite being down to his underwear.
"Might just fall asleep like this..."
"That's fine."
"......"
"Si-woo?"
No answer came.
Exhausted beyond even his spirit body's limits, Si-woo had passed out like a light in under a minute.
3.
Even after Si-woo fell asleep, Yebin quietly went about her task.
She'd intended to devote herself to nursing and healing the hardworking man.
But unintentionally, she was treating her eyes as well.
She wasn't seeing his body for the first time.
Yesterday, during the examination to treat his near-fatal wounds, she'd gotten precise data on it.
And today, while healing his injuries from the sparring.
But back then, Yebin had been in full medical professional mode.
No leisure to leisurely appraise his physical beauty or fitness.
"Wow... what kind of body is this?"
Now that the immediate crises were handled and she'd shifted to rehab support...
Yebin let out an undignified gasp of admiration.
"Oh my god, oh my god..."
Even during their one-night stand before, his body had been impressive.
But back then, his spiritualization was still in full swing—"ideal physique" would've been a stretch.
Even accounting for that, the body of his she saw again after nearly two years was perfection.
Not bulky, hulking muscles.
The lean, beast-like muscles of every woman's dreams.
Like a gymnast's body, if he had to be compared.
"Ugh... ugh... ugh..."
Latissimus dorsi spread wide like a scarf lizard's hood, forming an inverted triangle.
Back muscles bulging even as he lay prone asleep.
A rock-solid core that seemed indefatigable no matter the workout.
Thighs like stone, glutes firm and visible even through his drawers...
Back in her human days, Yebin hadn't been all that driven by lust.
During her hermit life in the polar regions, masturbation had been her only option out of sheer boredom.
After Si-woo left, she'd lived cleanly—no self-pleasure, no dragging other men to bed. Proof enough.
"This is insane..."
His body made all that fade into irrelevance with its raw appeal.
The slick salve let her hands glide over muscles that clung perfectly to her palms—enough to muddle her mind.
"Get a grip."
This wouldn't do.
No matter the context, treatment was treatment—even if it was support.
She couldn't forget her duty as a healer again, or the first treatment's "lesson learned" would be wasted.
Biting her gum hard, Yebin used telekinesis.
Si-woo's body floated up and flipped over like a grilled mackerel...
"Ah..."
Yebin let out an involuntary sigh.
Her cheeks flushed hot in an instant.
Not because of the rippling pecs,
nor the razor-sharp abs perfect for scrubbing laundry.
Si-woo was fresh off grueling exercise, now in deep rest.
The affectionate massage energizing his relaxed body had naturally triggered morning wood—or rather, sleep wood.
Si-woo's monstrous member stood diagonally at attention.
Its massive barrel strained against the underwear fabric.
So imposing that a mere fingertip flick at the elastic would send it springing out heavily.
Overwhelming masculinity.
Yebin squeezed her eyes shut.
Close call.
She'd almost grabbed it without thinking.
But doing that to him asleep would just be sexual assault disguised as goodwill.
*Crunch!*
She bit her tongue hard enough to nearly draw blood and regained some rationality.
Hadn't she lived just fine without this until now?
"Hah... ugh... ughhh..."
Yebin steeled her resolve and diligently applied the salve to every inch of his front, kneading it in.
It was truly a time of inner turmoil.