Chapter 324   - 323 - The Rustlands' S-Ranks(Part 3)

Point-of-View: Shiro Blanc

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"So, like, what's your deal?" Inquired Minise, walking up to me with a look of curiosity.

Huh? What kind of question is that? No, I mean, literally, what does that even mean?

"...what?" I responded with a confused tilt of my head.

"I mean, like...I know that you literally can't talk about it or whatever, but I'm just, like, really curious about how you came to be," She remarked, narrowing her eyes in fascination.

"It doesn't really matter, does it?" I replied with a shrug.

"I want to, like, figure out what makes you tick...what goes on in that head?" She wondered with a look of intrigue.

Okay, what's the deal with this chick?

"Who knows? But I'll tell you this much, everything I do is for my own sake, nothing's more important to me than my own existence, because when it comes down to it, that's all I really have," I answered, before standing up as Niski and Cusnai returned, the former with her missing arm restored and the latter with her broken spear repaired.

Huh, can't believe I actually gave her an honest, genuine answer...I suppose that, in a way, I wanted to know the answers to her questions too, and this is the first time I've actually thought about it seriously. After all, there are times where I don't know who I really am, and more often than not, I don't bother trying to figure it out.

I mean, the vast majority of my memories and experiences aren't even mine to begin with, those that actually belong to me are just are handful of months old...as much as I hate to admit it, I've had more than my fair share of existential crises over this crap.

"Hey, thank you so much!" Called out Niski, as she jogged over, a bright smile on her face, "It really worked, I got my arm back!"

"Oh, uh...you're welcome, I guess," I replied, a bit awkwardly.

"Sorry for the delay, let's get back to the training, shall we?" Suggested Cusnai.

"Oh, right...," I recalled, snapping out of it and turning to Shin, "Are you going to continue?"

"Hm...nah, let's take turns. Though you should adopt the same method I used, fight a pair of them in the safety barrier-," He began to advise.

Tch, how annoying...

"Alright, any THREE of you, come at me, and also, no safety barrier!" I called out, getting their attention with a loud clap of my hands.

"Talk about petty, pretty childish to try and-," He began with a shake of his head.

"Ugh, I get it already, quit it with the goody-goody crap," I groaned, rolling my eyes.

"Hmph, well, you should quit being a dick," He retorted with a huff.

"Oh, fuck you," I responded, rolling my eyes before turning to the others, "Alright, which three of you are going to face me?"

"I'll volunteer, getting my arm back changes everything," Remarked Niski with a grin.

"I wanna go again too!" Volunteered Minise...she enjoys fighting, that much is obvious just from her fighting style, she prefers close range combat to fighting from a distance, despite being really skilled with wielding those chains like whips.

"One more...any takers?" I inquired, looking around with a raised eyebrow.

"If no one else wants to, I will fill the third slot," Chimed in Marti, cracking her neck as she walked over, before Cusnai activated the safety barrier around the four of us.

"Hey, I said no safety b-...whatever, I guess. Alright, what are you waiting for?" I taunted, entering Vampire Mode, "Let's see if any of you can actually put up a fight against me in this form."

Marti shot towards me with her twin swords drawn and Lightning Boost active, before suddenly springing back right as she closed in and fired out a lightning bolt from her mouth...not bad, but too obvious a feint, and more than that...too slow.

I canceled out the bolt of lightning by coating my hand in lightning and slapping it away, right as Niski sprang up to my left with her rapier drawn, and Minise leapt up to my left, her arms blazing with intense flames...I could teleport away, but I don't need to, so I won't. Let's see if that handicap is enough to assist them in any significant way...

As Niski unleashed a barrage of rapid thrusts with her blade, I quickly formed an extra eye on either side of my head and blocked and deflected all her strikes with my tail, while blocking Minise's fiery punches with my left hand, using my palm to blunt her hits...though since her flames were so intense, each strike burnt away more and more of the skin and flesh on my hand, so I was technically using the bones in my hand instead of my palm anymore.

I then blasted out a shockwave of wind, sending them both stumbling back...huh, that didn't have as much force as I thought it would, I thought they'd get sent flying back...guess I need to consume a lot more Elf life force to get it to that level. But...there's no doubt about it, my Wind Magic has definitely grown stronger.

Before the two of them could regain their balance, I pointed my palm at Niski and began to activate Repulsion, as I simultaneously swung my foot out towards Minise, she managed to just barely react in time and cross her arms in front of herself defensively, and as my foot began to hit her defense, she suddenly intensified the flames around her arms drastically, slightly slowing down my kick and scorching my foot severely.

My kick still had enough force to send her flying back and crash onto the barrier wall, but with a lot less force than usual. As for my Repulsion attack, right before I fired it, the instant I pointed my palm at Niski, she stopped trying to regain her balance and instead let herself lose her balance and fall backwards, avoiding my attack...not bad at all.

She then swiftly transferred her weight into a backflip, and the moment her feet touched the ground again, she shot towards me again...right as two swords came rapidly spinning at me, lightning violently crackling around them.

I blocked Niski's narrow blade with my tail, before catching Marti's blades with my hands, coating them in lightning to cancel out the lightning around her blades...and right as I caught them, I felt something strike my back, numbing me slightly...a lightning attack?

I swiftly fired out Repulsion to send Niski flying away, as I simultaneously swung my left foot out behind me, which struck something...it's Marti, I see, she must have zipped around and slipped behind me while my attention was on her blades that she flung at me...not a bad move at all, she managed to land a hit on me...unfortunately for her, I barely even felt it.

Though had this been a real fight, she probably wouldn't have been able to sneak in behind me so easily...in a training match like this, there's little to no bloodlust to sense, while in a real fight, sneaking up on me is no easy task, just the tiniest hint of hostility and I'll sense it...but right now, I'm not sensing any at all.

Which is...strange, to say the least. Ever since I came into existence, the vast majority of fights I've been in have been fights where both sides are actively trying to kill each other...so this, a fight with no stakes or no hostility, is something of a new experience for me.

Anyway, as I knocked Niski and Marti away, before firing out powerful lightning blasts at them, teleporting them out, Minise appeared in front of me, her fists blazing intensely as always, before she unleashed a rapid barrage of flaming punches at me, which I managed to block with my palms, but I can't deny that her intensity was keeping me on my toes.

I should counterattack, the moment she gives me an opening, I'll end this...and I didn't have to wait long, as she suddenly drew back her fists to strike me with a heavy blow. I swiftly raised my right hand, running lightning into it, before swinging it down towards her head...

Right before my attack could hit her, she swiftly raised her hands and caught my forearm with both hands, her knees buckling but managing to stay standing...did she just...feign an opening to draw me in? For someone with such a normal level of power, her fighting instincts are razor sharp and really impressive.

She then tightened her grip on my forearm and the next thing I knew, a heavy, scorching force struck my midsection, knocking the wind out of me, as I let out a gasp before I could stop myself. Did she just slam her knee-...before I could finish processing what just happened, she let go of my arm, grabbed my head with both hands and pulled as hard as she could.

And her knee was rapidly closing in on my face...can't use Teleport like this, in which case...right as her knee began to strike my face, I quickly split myself into two copies, before rejoining behind her and forming a bone sword, teleporting her out as I swung it at the back of her neck.

She put all her strength into that last attack she attempted, so much so that when I suddenly disappeared from her grasp as I split into two, all that force had nothing to hit, so she ended up losing her balance, making it easy for me to counter once I rejoined with the copy I split off into.

Still, she's quite impressive...a couple of years ago, she just might have been the strongest human in this world, assuming she was as strong back then as she is now.

I have to admit...I'm kinda enjoying this training thing. I thought it'd be a total drag since I'm so much stronger than them and that this won't benefit me in terms of training...but I just might have been wrong about that.

Yeah, in comparison to the likes of Kuro, Azyl, the Elemental Sages and Belia and Laus, these S-Ranks can't hold a candle to them in terms of power...but when it comes to skill, some of them are quite exceptional.

All this time, I've primarily looked out for myself and not taken serious notice of anyone else for the most part, but this training has forced me to do so to some extent...and I have to admit, right now...I feel more alive than I ever have since coming into existence.

Killing is fun and all, and I definitely have no intention of quitting, but...the pleasure I get from killing is a temporary high, afterwards, I...I always feel kinda...empty inside. But I ignored it since I just assumed that's normal for someone like me...an artificially created person with barely any memories or experiences to call his own.

But right now, that empty feeling, I'm not feeling it...in fact, I...I feel kinda...warm...

...

"Alright, I think it's about time we call it a day," I decided, a few hours later.

They all looked absolutely exhausted, and I'd used up my entire time limit with Vampire Mode. I still can't believe it...that I actually found the last few hours to be...fun.

"Hey, Shiro...," Said Cusnai, walking over to me, "So, some of us were planning on going drinking after this, since it's been stressful and stuff, so we thought it'd be a good idea to just relax for a bit, so-."

"Heh, the way you talk really is inconsistent, huh?" I remarked with a slight smirk.

"Whatever, man, I'm too worn out to care right now. Anyway, to get to the point...wanna join us?" She offered.

"Yeah, you should totally join us, man!" Chimed in Minise, springing up behind Cusnai with a grin and wrapping her arms around her from behind.

"H-hey, cut it out, I'm all worn out from the training!" Exclaimed Cusnai indignantly.

"Oh, it's fine, so am I!" Responded Minise with a giggle.

Woah...two cute girls, all sweaty and breathing heavy while-...okay, reign it in a bit, I probably shouldn't be as blunt with them as I am with my Belia sexual harassment. I'd rather not get the reputation of a sleazeball, that'd be pretty annoying. Being true to my desires is one thing, but the idea of being branded a pervert isn't very appealing either.

Also, wait, hold on a second...did they just invite me to join them to drink? This...is a first for me, not counting Kuro's memories, of course, since those aren't mine. Oh, right, I should probably answer...

"I-...sure, don't mind if I do."

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