Will had wondered if Shuna would use some kind of “shortcut” method to train him. It was like the little tricks he had used on those three defeated girls before, finding some medicine and secret manuals that could quickly improve their skills in a short time, and directly raising them to a super-strong level.
As it turned out…
He had overestimated himself. And underestimated Shuna. Shuna was a woman who emphasized effort and struggle, and was also very driven. How could she possibly use a method of taking shortcuts to improve someone? She would definitely use the most primitive method—training.
First, twenty laps around the track. Then, practice magic endurance by attacking with Fireball twenty times consecutively. Finally, train techniques, with Shuna correcting and teaching him swordsmanship that she herself called “very effective” one-on-one.
*Thump.*
After everything was over, Will collapsed on the ground, spread out like a starfish. His head was groggy, and he looked up at the moon. Why were there two of them? Then… the moon was eaten by Shuna’s head!
“You’re fooling me, and you have the gall to say you’ve trained enough before with this?” Shuna stood there, leaning over to look at Will, who had collapsed from so little training. Her black hair cascaded down. Although she had gone through the entire training with Will, her face showed no sign of fatigue, and her obsidian-like eyes still sparkled. She hadn’t even sweated much, and her fair face was as delicate and beautiful as ever.
“I… I really have trained enough—no, even someone as serious and focused as Treya never trains like this.”
“Are you sure you want to mention another woman’s name at this time?” Shuna pouted, as if joking with Will. “To tell you the truth, the people I have under me have exceptional willpower. Iaar as well—if I had to say, Treya is more skilled at ‘persistence,’ while Iaar is more skilled at ‘endurance’…”
“How about adding ten more laps?”
“Weren’t you just joking?”
“I think you need someone who can match your own training, so naturally, you need both ‘persistence’ and ‘endurance’—!”
***
That night, Will lay in bed. He felt as if closing his eyes would mean dying in his dreams, his whole body aching and exhausted. Even his internal magic circuits felt as if they had been drained dry.
“How is it? Do you feel like you’re about to die?” Shuna asked, as if she could read his mind, having just finished her bath. She was drying her hair with a towel, wearing a bathrobe, revealing her fair neck and shoulders—parts not usually visible in her typical attire. Her body didn’t look like a woman who trained excessively to the point of being masculine; she was still so slender and beautiful. But… why… why wasn’t she tired at all?!
Will began to wonder if his inability to progress over the past decade was truly because he had been too lax with himself.
“Yes, yes, I’m dying, I feel like I’m going to die from exhaustion…”
As soon as he finished speaking, Will felt his outstretched palm being gently brushed by moist fingertips. Shuna was slowly writing in his palm with her fingertips, still carrying a hint of moisture from drying her hair.
“Pray to our Goddess to relieve the fatigue of those who have worked a day, and grant them sweet dreams as they were before.”
This prayer, which did not directly name the Goddess, was one of the most primitive holy magics used by priests, basic and traditional. It was generally not used to treat the injured, but for ordinary people who had worked all day. Flowing through Shuna’s warm fingers, the blessed power allowed Will to feel his fatigue greatly relieved, as if his vitality had been replenished.
“Feeling better?”
“Yes… But I thought you wanted me to experience this feeling, and that you wouldn’t use such magic on me.”
“You saw through me.” She withdrew her hand, propped her chin, and looked at Will as if admiring or indulging him. “That’s right. I wanted Will to experience ‘extreme fatigue’—after all, you’ve never really experienced it, have you?”
“Mm.”
Extreme fatigue? This word was like something from his past life. When he had only slept two hours a day for seven consecutive days before a project went live—although he often stayed up late here, he could usually ensure at least six and a half hours of sleep. Thinking about it, he had truly been striving to live back then. At that time, he naively believed that the project he had poured so much effort and heart into would become a huge hit. The result was a flop upon launch, and after barely two years of operation, they decided to shut down the service. His former lead planner decided to go home and take the civil service exam, all his seniors had left, and he was transferred to another department in the company to take charge.
“Extreme fatigue—achieved through extreme effort, but effort doesn’t always guarantee reward. Isn’t that a bit like normal life, Young Master Hysterm?” Shuna said, wagging her finger at Will.
“Why does it feel like you’re… mocking me?”
“Not at all.” Shuna pouted, then let out her breath, like a rapidly inflating and deflating balloon. “I just feel like you’ve always been afraid to push yourself to the limit, too cautious and by-the-book.”
“Sometimes, you have to take a chance on ‘possibilities’ to feel alive.”
Will always felt that Shuna had ulterior motives. In front of him, she was always persistently emphasizing “life” and “living”… as if she could see right through him… as if he were living through, or “traveling” through, a “story.”
“I… I am quite bold. Don’t say that.”
“Alright, alright. Then… I’ll tell you why I healed you.”
“What?”
“So you can start the next day without fatigue, have a good dream, and then…” Shuna showed a smile of “success assured”—
“Tomorrow, we can fully dedicate ourselves to continuing our ‘extreme training’—”
“Ah?!”
***
The door to the school laboratory was slightly ajar, and the warm evening sunlight cast a gentle glow on the door, making it look especially inviting. This was a dream. He knew it was a dream the moment he stood there. Because, just like the “nightmares” he had experienced before, the atmosphere here was permeated with the feeling of “this is the story from the original work you read,” the story he had imagined after reading it. The original work didn’t specifically reach this place; it only appeared in memories. It was a place rarely mentioned even in Liya’s memories. But surprisingly… it was actually the place Will and Liya had the most contact with. During the days she was his mentor, they used to conduct all sorts of… experiments here almost every day. They also talked about many things here; Will listened as Liya spoke about her mother and her life. Oh, and also about the “magnificent Witch Association” that Liya loved to talk about, founded by the witch Iaar, an association that still led many mages to this day.
“It’s no surprise that I would dream of this place…” Like the “onlooker” in every dream before, Will pulled open the door and walked in. “Even though I haven’t seen Liya for only a few days—less than two weeks in total—why does it feel like a long, long time has passed?”
Upon entering, he saw Liya’s back. Liya seemed to be busy with a strange and large contraption. In the dream, it was a blurry thing; he couldn’t see it clearly, as if his brain lacked the “information” for this part and hadn’t “loaded” it. As the door opened, warm sunlight streamed in, warming the usually cold laboratory considerably.
“This time… I must say it directly.” Liya reached out to adjust the device. “No, I’ve always been quite direct. It’s just that he’s too much of a blockhead!” Liya then adjusted her bow tie. “How could he refuse the incomparably beautiful Liya?” Liya also reached out to adjust her hat.
Will understood. Liya acting like this now… It was probably because she was preparing to confess. Any girl about to confess could be seen with pink bubbles rising around her. It was too obvious. However… Will was relieved. She had grown a lot, developing in a more straightforward, direct direction, with much of the pride in her tsundere nature fading. Someone like her shouldn’t become a “loser” anymore, right? He hadn’t actually seen Liya cry before. As his teacher, she would probably be very difficult to comfort if she cried, wouldn’t she? If anyone dared to make her a loser again, he, Will, would definitely punch that person twice!
But… being “not a loser” isn’t enough… Will stood behind her, waiting for the event he had long anticipated to happen—
“It’s okay, it’s okay to refuse…” Yes, she lowered her voice, changed her tone of speech, and spoke mature words in the voice of a twelve-year-old child. “Because witches have many, many ways…” She extended her hand, caressing the “device” in front of her. “Ways to make you unable to take your eyes off me.”
Liya stood up, her twin tails swaying with her movement. She lowered her head, as if unable to contain her inner emotions, and clutched the papers on the table tightly, still trembling. “To make you look at me.” “Stare at me intently.” “Hug me.” “Love me.”
“Oh?” Will stood there with his arms crossed, an “onlooker.” What a beautiful illustration—in a novel, it would definitely be a famous scene. That’s right. This was what he had been waiting for… the girl who had truly “blackened” after being nurtured to this point. Just as Shuna had said, he was having a “good dream.” However, just like before, he couldn’t touch the people in the picture and could only stand here…
Then, Liya turned around. Will realized her gaze was on him. In her eyes, they were no longer the eyes of the witch he had depicted before, but… pink hearts. Is this a dream? Or… is it a psychological suggestion on his part?
“Mhm, did you hear me? I’m talking to you.” As if an illustration on a table had suddenly come to life, looking at himself outside the book and speaking to him—
“Will~y~ Classmate?”
