The Absolute Evasion Technique

I traced the relentless combo in my mind, my hands moving through the motions. A strange, unfamiliar sensation accompanied the movements. 'Did I receive some instruction in evasion techniques too?'

It seemed my master hadn't simply drilled me in the basics. The proficiency of Bran—the absolute evasion technique my master had personally called it—had also increased. My master watched my body movements closely, then nodded.

'Understood.'

In short, I didn't need to endure this agony every single day. Since our promised meetings were once every three days anyway, that would be enough. 'Phew... I barely survived that.'

For the next several hours, I continued refining my swordsmanship so I wouldn't forget this new sensation. Once my master confirmed that my fundamentals had been properly established, he left a little earlier than usual.

The moment my master vanished, I put a finger to my lips and signaled to Rainy, who was bouncing her branches excitedly, to stay quiet.

(Mmph...)

I quickly followed after my master, who was already slipping from my senses. I kept a distance of about two hundred meters as I trailed him.

'Huh? How much faster is he getting?'

My master, who had gradually begun accelerating, soon surpassed even my maximum speed.

'Damn it!'

Even after using every movement skill I had, I eventually lost sight of him. It didn't seem like he had noticed me and sped up on purpose.

'Wow... he's insanely fast.'

I doubted even the Sword Dragon could keep up with that. "Clack clack clack!" I clicked my teeth repeatedly to express my disappointment, then searched the surroundings just in case. But there was nothing unusual.

'Just where does this place end?'

Would deepening my sensory abilities eventually allow me to find new clues?

I walked back toward Rainy, my mind swirling with various thoughts.

(What happened?! Did you uncover the orb's secret? Sneaking after him like that! It's just like... yeah! Like a movie!)

The moment I returned to my spot, Rainy flailed her branches in every direction, unable to contain her excitement.

'No, he was too fast. I lost him. His movements are straight-up monstrous.'

(R-really... For an orb, he has such incredible power.)

When she sparred with my master, he always held back appropriately, so she might not fully grasp just how extraordinary he was. Rainy clutched her head in disbelief for a moment, then slowly crawled over to my side.

(Chuuup— slurp slurp— Aah—! This is the taste!)

Shiver— Before I knew it, she had placed her branches on my head and was sucking up mana. The tree trembled violently as she let out strange sounds.

(It's the best... So delicious. J-just a little deeper—)

'... You can't wrap yourself around me like you did yesterday. Keep exactly this distance for now.'

When I told her to maintain distance, Rainy froze as if time had stopped.

(That's so mean... Do you only feel satisfied when you make me look all thin and pitiful?)

Of course, I was only doing it to avoid Lee Yeonhee's suspicious glares, but I told Rainy it was necessary to maintain balance.

'Anyway, this message keeps popping up no matter what.'

While supplying Rainy with mana, I stared into empty space.

'I said no. You're pretty persistent, aren't you?'

I grumbled at the system and began simulating a hypothetical battle in my head.

Chaos Residue. The target of my class advancement quest. It possessed astonishing regenerative abilities and movement techniques. Beyond that, its pure physical capabilities made it a monstrous being. The way it had followed me through the air still gave me chills just thinking about it.

'Even if I fought it now, my stats would be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠far behind. I guess the only way is to stack multiple Flame Explosions to take it down? But I have a feeling that would piss it off.'

The Fragment of the Great Existence had only calmed down slightly after devouring a Great Calamity. If I threw it a creature that barely reached A-grade—and was even called "residue"—it would definitely enrage it.

'... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠No. I don't even want to imagine what kind of wrath I'd face.'

It was an unfathomable entity that had treated the Seven-Headed Dragon like a child. There was a risk of annihilation from even the smallest mistake, so I had to defeat it with my own power if possible.

'So I'll do it after I get stronger. Not now. Once I max out at level 80—'

I pushed the quest challenge I'd briefly considered to the back of my mind without regret.

(Pwah— I'm full. Haa... This feels amazing!)

Rainy struck a pose that should have been impossible for a tree and flopped over sideways.

(Ehehehe— I feel so good.)

Whatever had her so happy, her laughter wouldn't stop. I watched Rainy's one-tree show as she lay there, branches fluttering toward the ceiling, and took a short rest. My body was fine, but my overheated brain was still burning hot.

Hoo— 'Up we go! Let's try again.'

First, I used the Tunnel Destroyer trait to dig up the ground a bit, then practiced the space-cutting sword technique in that spot. The stone fragments that burst out from where my blade passed were gathered into uniform sizes and collected repeatedly.

'All of this will eventually become my blood and flesh.'

Training and farming at the same time somehow made me feel like I was gaining a huge advantage.

'Wait... these have quite a bit of weight. Should I pre-combine a certain ratio in advance?'

The distance varied by person, but I could call objects from up to about two meters away while leaving subspace open. If I could summon house-sized boulders from thin air, they'd make excellent offensive tools.

Rainy, who had been watching me stack the fragments, asked with curious eyes.

(Are you going to build a house with those stones?)

'A house? Ah— I've already built a small one. Who knows? It might come in handy someday in various ways.'

(I see... Of course. But I guess I won't be able to live in a house with you.)

'......'

Why did she suddenly become so depressed? Her mood was all over the place. After sulking for a moment, Rainy suddenly sprang up and shouted.

(Hmph...! I'll figure something out too!)

'Hmm? What are you going to do?'

(H-hmph! You don't need to know!)

'......?'

It seemed like she was secretly preparing something... but at least she had regained her energy, which was a relief.

Boom—! I resumed my training.

'Ugh— why do I keep exploding them? I need to focus on a single point.'

It was supposed to be a clean cut, but the slightest lapse in concentration turned it into a striking technique. That had its own uses, but it was terrible in terms of concentrating power. I had to slice from top to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bottom in one decisive motion. One decisive motion.

'Hoo—'

I continued training relentlessly until the massive gate was summoned. Rainy lay on her side with her mouth open, seemingly absorbing the mana that faintly spread through the space as I trained. Her roots, which had dug deep into the ground, now completely covered the entire area. At that point, she shouldn't need to absorb my mana anymore, but it looked like she was definitely preparing something.

And time flew by once again.

Clunk—! Without fail, the door leading to our house opened. Whenever that door appeared, a wave of relief washed over me from deep within my inner world. The anxiety that Lee Yeonhee might one day stop summoning me still weighed heavily on my heart. The first time I had considered breaking free from her had stemmed from that very fear.

(Ah... It's time to go.)

'Yeah. See you tomorrow!'

(Mhm, goodbye!)

Whoosh— Swallowed by the door, I stepped out into the now somewhat familiar living room of the new house.

"Ta-da! Wangwang has produced another enhancement stone!"

"Clack clack!"

The moment we met, Lee Yeonhee proudly showed off the enhancement stone. Then she circled around me with it in hand, sniffing me all over.

'Why does this make me so nervous...'

As her mana increased, Yeonhee's sense of smell had grown sharper. This time, she didn't seem to sense anything too strange. She gave me a coy smile and hugged me.

"Every time you come out, the feeling is so different. It really feels like we haven't seen each other in a long time."

'...... Your senses are incredible.'

Since it was practically like living dozens of years in another space, she had guessed correctly.

When I turned my head, I saw the fused Number One brothers sparring in the garden since morning, while the Werewolf pack stood perfectly still with their arms raised, staring straight ahead.

'Why are they standing there like they're being punished?'

It was in stark contrast to the other summons, who were drinking Irmana's water and praying in their own unique postures.

"Ah, the Rakan unit just wouldn't listen. The moment they woke up, I had to scold them properly. I don't know why they suddenly acted like that. They were so well-behaved on the first day."

"Clack clack."

It seemed the Werewolf unit had gotten into a fight with the other summons right after being called out in the morning. The angry Yeonhee had given them a command filled with strong intent, just like she had done to me before. As a result, they had frozen stiff like wooden puppets. Several of them had dark bruises on their faces—probably from challenging the fused Number One brothers and receiving a beating.

'Sigh, those hardheaded idiots. No matter how strong you are, do you really think you can take on Number One one-on-one?'

"For the time being, I'm planning to invest everything into dominance. The goal is to make sure the summons don't run away even if they encounter a Great Calamity!"

I nodded.

"But why is Ilwol completely fine even when facing a Great Calamity?"

"Clack...?"

Now that she mentioned it, I was a summon too—so why had I been perfectly fine?

'Anyway, is there no way to drastically increase dominance?'

There was the risk that Yeonhee would be able to ignore my will, but being unable to use my summons when facing strong enemies was a serious problem. After all, she was supposed to be a summoner, yet she fought without them. So raising dominance was probably her most urgent task right now.

'In my previous life, there was no such phenomenon when fighting the Orc Legion Commander... She must have found a solution as she grew stronger.'

For now, I would trust her and wait.

Before Yeonhee finished preparing to leave, I summoned my subordinate 'Ring.'

'Summoning... This really is on a different level from Yeonhee's summoning.'

My ability used the mysteries of mana ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to reconstruct something resembling a living being based on the information I had absorbed. That was impressive in its own right, but it still fell far short of Yeonhee's ability to call forth summons from other worlds.

I summoned 'Ring' with one point of mana.

"Beep!"

Then I summoned one more.

"Beep beep?!"

'You're Ring Number Two.'

I continued increasing the number of subordinates. Up to ten, I didn't feel much difference, but once I exceeded twenty, I sensed something strange.

"Beeep..."

'Their sense of self is gradually becoming blurred. Should I test it?'