Blood Beat

I arrived at the training center a little earlier than we'd agreed. There was something I wanted to test.

"Self mana massage should work too, right?"

I didn't know the exact effects, but if it helped with casting, there was no reason not to use it. Figuring I could wait for Nam Da-eun at the same time, I settled into the communal training hall instead of a private room. Eyes poured over me the whole way to the corner.

"Hey, that's Lee Ho-yeon. Think he's actually gonna get disciplined?"

"If he doesn't, something's wrong with the system."

"God, you idiots. I told you not to fall for that crap."

"Damn, how does a person even look like that... makes me feel like garbage."

They thought they were being quiet. I heard every word.

Hmm.

I'd been walking around with a Rune Barrier up so constantly that this kind of attention felt almost novel. Lately I'd been noticing something strange — my Rune Barrier kept getting pierced. In the original work it was described as the greatest and worst barrier of all, the kind that took several professors working together just to decipher. So why was mine in this sorry state? Maybe I needed to talk to Professor Lim Sol about it later.

For now, let's just do the massage.

Other people's stares were something I'd long since gotten used to. I grabbed my left wrist with my right hand, then let go.

"I don't actually need to hold it, do I?"

Come to think of it, the mana in my left wrist was my own mana. Calling it a massage didn't even make sense. I closed my eyes and inflated the mana in my circuits, forcibly stretching them wider.

"Kh..."

A mild pain registered, and I felt the mana circuits throughout my body expand by degrees — like rubber hoses inflating under my skin.

"Oh..."

The speed of my mana circulation had definitely increased. The difference wasn't dramatic yet, but it would clearly help with spellcasting.

I think I can control this a little.

With Elise and Liliana I couldn't make precise adjustments, so I'd only massaged them to a safe degree. But this was my own body — I could roughly feel where the limits of my mana circuits were. I gradually widened them, modulating the pain as I went. Past the initial prickling sensation, all the way to a pain like my skin being torn open, I found my limit.

"Now."

My mana circuits had widened by about thirty percent. That was precisely my limit — the threshold that wouldn't leave any side effects or lingering damage.

Thirty percent is fine. No — that's actually incredible.

Given how much I'd already grown, a thirty percent boost was a massive gain. Even if I couldn't sustain it for long, it would work perfectly as a momentary doping agent.

"Oh..."

I glanced around and let the sound of admiration out quietly. It had been a while since I'd acquired a new skill. It was a doping skill, but that actually suited me better. I already had Combat Sense — what mattered most was the total volume ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of power I could bring to bear.

"Hey, have you been waiting long?"

A woman's voice came from behind me. I turned around to find Nam Da-eun standing there in her cadet uniform.

"No, I just got here myself. Want to warm up and spar right away?"

"Yeah."

Nam Da-eun always wore her cadet uniform, even on weekends. Did she not own any civilian clothes? I stood up and started stretching, drawing my mana up as I did. She pulled out a training sword and swung it this way and that.

Most sword-wielding cadets owned their own blade as a matter of course, but Nam Da-eun couldn't afford one. She seemed to just pick up whatever sword felt right in her hand each time she came to the training grounds.

I should buy her a sword later.

Whatever else she lacked, she at least needed a proper sword. Watching someone live that poorly from the flower of just-turned adulthood reminded me of myself before the transmigration. It left a bitter taste.

"Let's go in."

The communal hall had a sparring arena too, but using it would draw far too much attention. We headed into a private sparring room instead.

Vmmm—

A mana barrier sealed over the arena. Across from me, Nam Da-eun stretched and loosened up.

Thump.

"Alright. I'll start."

"Yeah."

I faced Nam Da-eun.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Combat Sense climbing to its maximum — a feeling I hadn't had in a while. Nam Da-eun was stronger than last time. But then again, so was I. Thanks to the safety magic circles, we could fight as hard as we wanted without leaving a scratch. It had been a while. Time to go all out.

I surrendered my body to Combat Sense in a state of extreme exaltation.

"Hahh..."

Elise was taking a rest in the training room at home. She'd been moving hard enough to soak her entire body in sweat.

"Double... no, maybe two and a half times?"

The efficiency was incomparable to her usual method of forcing mana through mana stones. Lee Ho-yeon's mana circuits were close to perfect, so he only saw a thirty percent gain. But for Elise, who suffered from Congenital Mana Disorder, the effect was more than double.

Of course, contracting with Ho-yeon at industry-top rates rather than amateur prices had cost her a considerable sum. Still, spending more money was preferable to burning through mana stones.

"I need to see Ho-yeon more often..."

The duration of his massage was only about a day. Getting one every day would be ideal, but that wasn't possible, so she had to fill the remaining days with mana stones. The silver lining was that each of Ho-yeon's massages permanently widened her mana circuits, if only by a little. At this rate, it might be over in a few dozen sessions.

"Miss."

A blonde woman had appeared behind Elise.

"Scarlet. You're here?"

"Yes. I came to deliver the footage I recorded earlier. I thought it might interfere with your training, so I'm reporting now."

Scarlet stood at attention and held out a video file.

"Thanks."

Scarlet had grown strangely docile compared to the beginning. The fierce pride ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and dignity from their first meeting had faded, replaced by growing loyalty. Elise didn't know why, but it was a positive change, so she decided to leave it alone.

"Ah, and I found this in your room, Miss."

Scarlet held out a smartwatch.

"...This is?"

"Cadet Lee Ho-yeon likely took it off during the massage and left it behind. I haven't opened it, though."

"Is that so?"

Elise casually pocketed the smartwatch.

"Send me the footage. I need to check if it can be used for blackmail. Ah — anything unusual on the job?"

"Nothing. Though I may have good news for you soon. We've nearly broken through the defenses."

"Got it. Good work."

Elise waved Scarlet out. Clutching her pounding chest, she finished her shower, went into her room, and locked the door.

She checked Scarlet's footage first. Ho-yeon was on screen, dripping with sweat as he worked his hands over her body.

"Mmm."

She hadn't expected much, and sure enough, it did nothing to excite her.

"Hngh. Hnnh... kh."

I reacted that much, huh.

Watching that scene only made her face burn, so Elise shut the video off. Then she pulled the smartwatch from her pocket.

"...A smartwatch."

There wasn't even a lock set. There were people like this sometimes — the type who figured they never took it off their body, so security didn't matter. Elise thought she was lucky that Ho-yeon was one of those people.

Ho-yeon had doctored the smartwatch thoroughly so he wouldn't come under suspicion. He'd manipulated everything from the message history to the contacts to the browsing records, so Elise had no choice but to be fooled. Naturally, he'd stripped out anything truly important.

"I'll just give this back tomorrow..."

Tomorrow was a regular school day, so she could hand it over in Class A.

Lately Elise had grown considerably more interested in sex, and she'd learned that some couples recorded their own encounters. Just in case — really just in case — she opened the smartwatch's gallery.

"!"

And she found a video of a woman with something in her mouth.

Thump. Thump.

Elise's heart pounded. She tapped the video, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and the voice of the same Ho-yeon who'd just been touching her body came through.

"W-what are you doing, Master?"

"Don't worry about it. I just wanted to try this."

"I-it's kind of embarrassing..."

"Just put it in your mouth already."

"Nnh... haah."

Slurp. Shlick. Schluuurp.

The obscene act between the man and woman was captured in full. A beautiful woman had Ho-yeon's cock in her mouth, licking it like an ice cream cone.

"W-what is this..."

Elise had hoped, but she never actually thought she'd find something like this. She swallowed hard.

"Slurp— Please cum, Master. Mmph."

Elise couldn't tear her eyes from the screen. Ho-yeon's voice, audible throughout the video, made it clear this was the real thing.

Gulp.

After glancing over to make sure the door was still locked, Elise slipped her hand inside her panties.

"Nnnngh... Ho-yeon."

Squish—

Soon the wet, filthy sounds filled the room.

"Hahh... hahh... Good work."

"You too."

Nam Da-eun and I were catching our breath on the arena floor. In here, the magic circles meant we didn't have to worry about each other's safety. I'd figured that fighting without any concern for Nam Da-eun's well-being would give me the advantage. That had been a massive miscalculation. She came at me like she was trying to kill me, and she was incredibly hard to deal with.

On top of that, whatever training she'd been doing, she was far stronger than last time. She wasn't a sponge — how did she get stronger in exact proportion to the training she put in?

"Hahh... Come to think of it, you went to see your little sister yesterday?"

"I went yesterday. And I'll go again the day after tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah? You visit her a lot."

"It's normally once a week, but as a reward for getting first place... no, wait. That's not it. The hospital changed their policy."

"Ahh... I see."

Nam Da-eun realized her slip of the tongue and her face flushed slightly. I was a sweet, well-mannered guy, so of course I pretended not to notice.

Still, that was a relief. If she could see her only blood relative more often, I didn't have to worry about Nam Da-eun's mental state. She was the kind of character who could snap at any moment.

"Right. Thanks for last time, during the special exam."

I pulled out the wallet I'd brought in my pocket and held it out.

"Huh, what's this?"

"A thank-you for the exam, and for sparring with me. Don't feel pressured — just take it."

"This is... this is a bit..."

Whether it was the sudden expensive gift that threw her, Nam Da-eun started stammering. At this rate she was going to refuse. I struck first, before she could get the word "burden" out of her mouth.

"What's a little thing like this between us? We've even sparred together."

"Is that how it is...?"

"Yeah. If we're close enough to spar, we're pretty close. It's from the heart, so take it."

"...Alright. I'll have to show off to my little sister."

Nam Da-eun smiled faintly and took the wallet.

Whew. I finally felt a little better. Watching her walk around with a wallet riddled with holes hurt my heart too. Once the grades were announced tomorrow, her face would brighten even more. I hoped she'd make some friends after that.

Looking at Nam Da-eun clutching the wallet in both hands, I smiled warmly to myself.