The Path of Magic
About a week had passed since the surprise visit from the Great Angel Michael. Park Changsoo had been dealt with. Unless the Demon King’s army managed to dominate the Middle Realm, ascend to the Heavenly Realm, and break the seal on Park Changsoo’s soul in the Soul Repository—only to shove that soul into some random undead—he would never be able to resurrect again.
"Hmm? Was there a corpse? I’m not quite sure. Only you and your wife visited Lampades."
The King of Lampades had decided to treat it as if it "never existed," and the citizens of Lampades, acting of their own accord, began to enjoy the festival even more.
"Enjoy yourselves, Yu Siwoo!"
"Indulge to your heart's content, Shin Yuhee!"
"To the happy future of you two!"
Lampades had transformed into a playground for me and Shin Yuhee, where not only the festival but everything in the city existed to provide us with experience.
"I heard you are quite skilled at cooking. My lady, would you perhaps be interested in learning some culinary arts...?"
"Pardon? I, I have thought about it, but the one who is actually good at cooking isn't me, it's my... husband."
"...Ah! A grave mistake! At this rate, I am not even qualified to introduce myself...!"
"I apologize, but I don't think we have the time to learn anyway."
"Ah, aaah...!!"
Some tried to pass on their know-how directly.
"Here, these are methods for dealing with the monsters of the desert. This notebook contains information on hundreds of species of desert monsters; if you grasp this well, it will be of great help later."
"Th, thank you...?"
"Of course, I am not showing you this because I want you to stay here and fight with us. Absolutely not. I just hope that when you eventually leave Lampades, if a monster appears nearby, you will be able to fight according to these guidelines..."
Some handed over booklets summarizing their expertise. And for the most part, the days and nights of the desert were bustling whenever we were active, as they treated us to food, taught us songs, or passed on dances so that we could enjoy our time in Lampades.
The hardship—was mainly Shin Yuhee’s. Aside from the time spent walking the streets of Lampades with me in the morning and evening, her entire schedule was packed with a curriculum.
"Keep your lower body firmer! Your stance must not waver!"
"When you cut down an enemy, do it with the resolve to sever even the bone! How long do you intend to only inflict wounds and aim for blood loss?"
"That level of skill won't protect you!"
It was a date in the name of training with the Guard Captain, Ernette. Every time I met Shin Yuhee in the evening, she would collapse into my arms, her soul completely drained, and I would take her around to sightsee as if we were touring the streets in a camel carriage provided by the royal palace.
Ernette worked Shin Yuhee as if she were raising her own direct disciple. She even brought in other women—who should be called female knights—to teach her how to fight, turning the training into something far from a 1:1 date. It was training to fight against dozens of enemies simultaneously. Despite wearing dancer outfits that were perhaps a bit too revealing, she didn't have any skin wounds like lacerations, but the female warriors under Ernette knew better than anyone how to break Shin Yuhee without leaving such marks.
Thanks to that—
"Can you do it today?"
"...Can you just stick it in and finish?"
"Forget it. Unless it's a day when you get a vacation, we can save the serious sex for later."
Shin Yuhee would return to the room with her stamina completely depleted, lacking the physical energy to actively thrust her hips. She even went as far as to say she would just lie still, so I should just stick it in and finish. She even said—
"Senior."
"Yeah."
"If you take me while I'm sleeping, will my stamina drop? Or will I just fall into a deeper sleep?"
She was so focused on her training that she even suggested I take her while she slept if I really wanted to finish. So, I did take her a few times while she slept, but even then, it was just enough to increase my mana, not to wake her up.
Thanks to that, I learned one thing. So-called "sleeping sex," where you take someone while they are asleep, loses its appeal once you have the person's permission. So, we put off the "real" sex and focused as much as possible on our growth as heroes.
While Shin Yuhee was establishing her identity in combat in the direction of what should be called a "dancer with a sword"—
"Senior. How is that... reading the grimoires going?"
"It's interesting."
"Interesting?"
"Yeah. It's to the point where I think I might be able to teach you the magic I've learned here later."
I had decided to delve into the unique magical style of Lampades.
"Does the King of Lampades teach you?"
"Basically, I’m self-studying with the grimoires. If I have questions, I go to the King of Lampades and ask."
"Does he give you answers?"
"More readily than I thought. If someone wants to learn and master the magic that became the foundation of the city he built, even if it's just a crash course, and they come to ask questions countless times every day, he shouldn't find it bothersome."
Earth magic and puppetry. Although the color of my mana was already that of blood magic, I was able to learn magic quite well from the tutorial stage because I started from the perspective of "sculpting" something.
For instance.
"How about this?"
"It looks just like a slime. What is it?"
"It's a liquid monster I made by drawing out my blood."
"......."
One of the magics I learned in Lampades over the past week was the red rubber balloon-like object in front of me, filled with liquid and just the right size to hold in one hand. It wasn't rubber, nor was it a balloon. I had made the surface like rubber and put liquid inside, creating something like a "slime."
"I made it for tactile play. Doesn't the surface feel like a balloon? Ah, be careful. It’s filled with blood inside."
"Isn't drawing this much blood just blood donation? I don't think even a blood donation pack holds this much."
"It's blood."
"...Don't you worry about things like anemia or low blood pressure?"
"Thanks to blood magic, the speed at which I produce blood is quite fast. I have to drink plenty of water as a baseline, and after that, it's one of two things."
"One of two things?"
"Either I eat a lot to replenish nutrients, or I accumulate a lot of mana and convert that mana into life force."
For now, I prefer using the mana recovered through food intake. Since most of the food in Lampades, including sandworm meat, was filled with a fair amount of "mana."
"Make sure to take good care of what goes into your body. We can't take clothes or books out of here, but we can take out what has become our flesh and blood."
The unfortunate part was that we couldn't take treasures or arms from Lampades. Naturally, I couldn't go to people preparing for a war against disaster and say, "Give us your war supplies."
"It's a city destined to perish anyway, so wouldn't it be more profitable for us to take the weapons and armor?"
There might be those who think that way. In fact, previous prospective heroes who visited Lampades might have actually gone to the King of Lampades and said such things after learning the truth. The King of Lampades would have likely handed over the arms of Lampades with a bitter smile, even if it meant painting a future where their lives, which could have been extended by 30 minutes, were cut short.
The problem was that the items obtained that way couldn't even be used in the next stage.
"Basically, this world is a world realized by the divine power of angels. The human body, the system operating the city—everything is reproduced through divine power."
"So you're saying weapons and armor are the same?"
"Yeah. Even after going through several stages and coming here... it’s foolish to steal the swords that the people of Lampades are sharpening to fight against disaster."
A no-looting zone. Unless you are happy with giving the people of Lampades the satisfaction that "our belongings will be passed on to others," you must spend your time here thoroughly focusing on training yourself. The mana dwelling in my body was also likely divine power originally. That has been converted into a form of mana that can be used in the Middle Realm, dwelling in my heart, and what Shin Yuhee is playing with right now, the Blood Slime Mark 1, is the manifestation of that mana.
"Senior. What can you do with this now?"
"Who knows. If I keep increasing my skill, maybe I'll be able to build a blood fortress or a city later."
"Pardon?"
"Just as the King of Lampades built a city with earth magic, I might be able to build a large-scale city in this way. If the King of Lampades used mineral resources, I could use blood."
I had spent a week sticking to it and finally succeeded in solidifying—hardening—the slime epidermis.
"That is... the secret to how you intend to become stronger. As a hero."
"That's right. But the path of a mage isn't necessarily just about the main force."
"Pardon?"
"I'm trying to research it in a direction that will be helpful for living in various ways."
Applications of blood magic. It could be used in various places. I might be able to immediately stop the bleeding of those who won't stop bleeding on the battlefield, or I might be able to perform an immediate transfusion for someone who has lost too much blood. Besides that, I have various ways to utilize blood in my head, but I'm still at a stage where I can't implement them due to a lack of mana.
"For now, there is one magic I'm practicing privately."
"What is it?"
"Roughly... something like this?"
I flicked my finger as if scratching it. A red thread of blood extended from my fingertip. The blood-colored line flew toward Shin Yuhee in an instant and wrapped around her two wrists.
"It's still just about the strength of a fishing line, so you can break it yourself, but."
"Are you perhaps into bondage play?"
"Where did you even learn the word 'bondage play'?"
"From the [50 Ways to Please Your Husband] that Lampades dancers must learn."
"......."
Lampades.
"Let's learn as much as we can. Until the time limit when we have to leave."
It was, truly, a treasure trove of learning.