Chapter 141: So it works... if I try? (2)
Chapter 141: So it works... if I try? (2)
Squelch.
Perhaps it was because we were underwater, but the sensation of being inside Carla felt much more vivid than usual.
I mean, I’m supposed to endure this?
How?
Without the natural slickness of her love fluid, moving too roughly would likely be painful for both of us, but I had a feeling that if I moved slowly, it would feel better than ever before.
Whether she noticed my inner turmoil or not, Carla furrowed her brows for a moment before letting out a wanton smile.
"Wow... doing it underwater makes it so tight. It feels just like the first time we did it, Master."
"I doubt that was a particularly good memory for you."
"Oh, stop. It wasn't all bad. Of course, I prefer the gentle Master I have now over the forceful Master back then... but you still granted my every request."
"Request?"
What did I do?
Even searching through the events of that day with my Excellent Memory trait, all I could recall was a terrified Carla whimpering and me barking orders at her.
Oh, and there was that ridiculous dad joke, too.
...Is the library truly the root of all evil?
I tried to shift my thoughts elsewhere, but it seemed even that wasn't allowed.
Carla puffed out her cheeks slightly and spoke in a sulky voice.
"I asked you to kiss me before we got into the thick of it. I was so moved that you actually did it... but to think you've already forgotten..."
"Of course I remember that... I just figured I was going to do it anyway, so I didn't think it was something you had to 'request.'"
"You were going to do it anyway?! Wow..."
Carla’s face suddenly went slack with a dreamy expression.
She looked utterly disheveled, like someone who had just grasped all the happiness in the world.
"...What? Is there some other meaning to a kiss that I don't know about, besides it being an expression of affection?"
It wasn't just Carla; Elisha, Iris, and Fay had all begged for kisses too.
Wondering if there was something more to it, I tilted my head, and Carla mimicked the gesture.
"Affection is everything, isn't it? But it's not like you do it with just anyone. It's a vow, in its own way."
"Ah."
Come to think of it, this was a fantasy world with a medieval-esque setting.
It wouldn't be strange if the weight of a kiss was much heavier than in the modern world.
No, more accurately, it was the weight of the 'vow' that mattered.
In a world that prized honor, a vow was a promise made with one's social standing—and life—on the line.
I finally understood why they had been so desperate for a kiss.
It was their roundabout way of asking: You're not just going to enjoy me for a bit and throw me away, right? You'll keep cherishing me from now on, won't you?
Suddenly, the memory of the vow Carla made while kissing my member back in the Gepp dungeon resurfaced, making me feel strangely emotional.
"Carla. Want to kiss?"
"...? Yes!"
Though she didn't seem to fully grasp my change in mood, she gave a bright, innocent smile and leaned her head down.
Squish.
Naturally, Carla’s large breasts were crushed against my chest.
That soft yet elastic sensation always demanded my full attention, but...
Right now, there was something else on my mind.
Mwah.
The ticklish sensation of lips meeting lips. The ticklishness of our shared breath. And the resonance of that word—'vow'—which we had just spoken of.
To think a simple, ordinary kiss could make my heart flutter like this.
I had surely done this many times before, but today, I found myself overreacting.
"Ah! Master’s face turned red! You're so cute!"
"Ahem. Enough about that. Just finish telling me about the Resonance Training."
"Right! I forgot for a second. Let's see... first, did I tell you why we're in this position?"
"No. You haven't told me why I have to refrain from moving or ejaculating in this state, either."
"Then I'll tell you now! First, do you remember how I said mages with the same core can synchronize their mana wavelengths to share magical sensations?"
"Of course. That's how I learned the sensation of casting magic through you when I was learning basic magic. But didn't you say that wouldn't work for Resonance?"
Basic magic was fine because it only required manifesting a phenomenon.
However, from low-grade magic onwards, one had to imagine a clear goal, so a borrowed sensation wasn't enough to replicate it.
Furthermore, there was no way the arcana of the Lindelheit family, a famous magic family, would be that simple.
Carla, who likely knew this better than I did, curled the corners of her mouth into a smirk.
"Today will be a bit different. It's not me synchronizing with you, Master; it's you who has to synchronize with me."
"Huh? What difference does that make?"
"It makes a huge difference. First of all, the act of matching mana wavelengths to synchronize is fundamentally linked to Resonance."
"So, instead of just sharing the sensation of manipulating mana, I have to learn how to match it myself?"
When I thought about it that way, it made sense.
In truth, learning magic through Carla’s synchronization was no different from being spoon-fed.
But eating a meal and cooking one are two very different things.
"...But do we really have to do it while I'm inside you?"
"If you were an intermediate magician, maybe not. But as a lower mage, if you want to feel and follow someone else's mana pattern, you have to become 'one' as much as possible. It can't be helped."
"I suppose. If I could do what you do, Carla, I would've mastered Resonance and reached intermediate rank a long time ago."
In fact, thanks to Carla’s tutoring and the system correction exploits, I was growing much faster than I ever did during the H&A days.
Even so, I wasn't quite at the level of reaching for the intermediate rank yet.
As I nodded, Carla added with a serious expression.
"But you can't focus only on the mana. If you do, your dick will go soft and slip out."
"...And you said I can't move or cum?"
"Yes. If you do, I won't be able to hold it, and my mana will be disrupted."
"Then what am I supposed to do?!"
When I shouted in exasperation, Carla’s lips quirked up.
"I've thought of that too! I'm going to bring our cores close together so it's easier for you to feel them. Like this."
Squish.
This time, it didn't end with her soft breasts just pressing against me; she hugged me tightly enough that it almost hurt.
Yes—tightly enough that I could faintly feel Carla’s heartbeat against my own.
"How's this? You won't go soft like this, right?"
"You should be more worried about my self-control."
Perhaps she liked my slightly disgruntled answer.
Carla gave a faint smile and brought her lips to my ear.
"Then, let's begin. First, close your eyes and focus on my heartbeat, Master."
"Okay."
I closed my eyes as Carla instructed and sharpened my senses.
The sound of water from Elisha testing her water flow manipulation nearby.
The sound of water droplets falling somewhere.
Carla’s shallow breathing.
As I focused my mind, the sounds began to drift away one by one.
It was difficult at first, but after learning magic, I could now naturally enter a state of concentration close to meditation.
Less than a minute after closing my eyes, the only thing I could hear was the sound of my own heart.
Thump, thump.
My heart beat vigorously as always, and my mana core rotated naturally in sync with that rhythm.
However, the sensation of her vagina around my lower half and the feeling of her nipples growing firm against my chest also began to assert their presence.
Just as I was about to start counting the ridges of her vaginal walls instead of following the heartbeat...
As if she knew I was getting distracted, Carla whispered again.
"I'll let you play with me as much as you want later, so please focus on this for now."
Hummm.
My chest tingled slightly as mana radiated from her, as if signaling 'I'm right here.'
I managed to pull myself together and began to focus again.
Deeper. Sinking into myself as if into a swamp. Down. And further down.
Until I reached the very bottom, where I couldn't even hear my own heartbeat.
It was a desolate feeling, like being blindfolded in a black room without windows.
At the end of my internal descent, there was nothing.
Or perhaps, it was just that I couldn't feel anything with my current self.
I began to desperately grope around my surroundings, like someone floundering in water.
Hoping to catch even the smallest stimulus.
How long had I been doing that?
Thump.
A faint vibration echoed from somewhere.
It wasn't coming from within me. My heart, my core, didn't beat like this.
Thump, thump.
But the more I focused on it, the more vivid the sensation became.
I knew instinctively. This wasn't mine; it was Carla’s heart and core.
Our chests pressed together, our lower bodies joined.
We were originally two different people, but at least for this moment, Carla and I were one.
Is that why?
I was clearly focusing on my own interior, but the deeper I went, the closer Carla’s core felt.
No, it was actually getting closer.
The sound of the pulse grew louder, and the intensity of the core’s light increased.
When I got close enough to reach out and touch it, an exclamation escaped me involuntarily.
Unlike my core, which was well-organized but merely spinning around my heart, Carla’s core was on a different dimension in terms of the number of rings, size, and even the rotation method.
Only a strange sense of homogeneity allowed me to guess that it was a core made with the same breathing technique.
I stood dazed before Carla’s core for a moment, until her soft whisper led me to the next step.
"Well done. Now, try to imagine overlapping your core with mine. The size, the number of rings, and the rotation method are all different... but try to overlap them anyway."
...Will it work?
I had followed her instructions well so far, but I was a bit skeptical about this part.
Still, I had to try.
While focusing on Carla’s core, I slowly brought up the presence of my own core, which I had momentarily forgotten.
The position it rose to was, of course, where Carla’s core was located.
Of course, it wasn't that my core and Carla’s core were actually overlapping; it was just an image.
Thump, thump.
Thump, thump.
Our pulses were slightly out of sync, like an off-beat rhythm. I had to align them.
Adjusting one's heartbeat at will was an absurd notion.
But the hint had already come from my own mouth.
In essence, it was the same as when I toggled the Blessing of the Sea trait on and off.
The heartbeat and the mana wavelength were ultimately just secondary changes.
The important thing was to unify my core with Carla’s.
It seemed that system correction didn't apply to pure mana manipulation, but...
I should be able to manage this much now.
As naturally as moving an arm, I began to synchronize my core with Carla’s.
Noise, repulsion, cancellation, distortion, and so on.
There were several trials and errors, but perhaps because I knew the trick, I managed to make it work.
Thump-thump.
A single, unified heartbeat. At the same time, my perception expanded rapidly.
It was likely a phenomenon caused by sharing Carla’s mana sense.
...However, it didn't last long.
Because I reflexively pushed Carla away as my concentration broke.
"Why are the five senses being shared along with the mana sense?!"
"So... this is what my pussy feels like to Master...?"
I never wanted to know what it felt like to be impaled by my own cock!