A heavy fog of drowsiness wrapped around my mind as I drifted back to consciousness. My body felt sluggish, weighed down by a strange warmth cradling the back of my head.
The mont my senses sharpened, I realized sothing—sothing soft was underneath . Not just soft. Warm. Comforting.
I blinked through the haze and looked up.
Two beautiful won.
That’s when it hit . Their thighs—I was resting on both of their laps. A double lap pillow.
A deep, satisfied exhale slipped from my lips. This was pure bliss. The kind of peace that made a man never want to move again.
Their sleeping faces were serene, their slow, even breaths brushing against my skin. They must’ve been exhausted. I had no idea how I ended up here, but the surroundings were familiar.
After a few seconds, my mind pieced it together.
This was the academy park—a quiet retreat for students to relax during breaks.
They must’ve carried all the way here.
I glanced at them again. Their bodies leaned against a large tree, their heads gently pressed together as they slept, rising and falling in sync with each breath. Their hair tangled slightly, catching the golden light of the late afternoon sun.
Sothing about the sight made my chest tighten.
Slowly, I pushed myself upright, shaking off the lingering fog of sleep. Then, without thinking much about it, I leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to each of their foreheads. A silent thank you.
But then, sothing felt off.
I noticed it imdiately.
Ayuru was gone.
I didn’t see her. Didn’t feel her weight.
I didn’t need to search—she was always with . Always there, waiting.
I closed my eyes and called for her, reaching out with my mind.
A split second later, she answered.
A flicker of warmth. A pulse of raw energy.
Then—
Ayuru materialized in my hand.
My grip tightened around her as the realization settled in.
This was why I’d been feeling so tired lately.
Back then—before I had Ayuru—I barely needed sleep. My body could push itself for days without exhaustion even touching . But now? Now, I was constantly drained. Every battle, every fight, left feeling like I’d been crushed under an invisible weight.
And I knew why.
I exhaled through my nose, staring at her glowing form.
"Ayuru," I murmured, running my fingers along her edge. "I’m still not compatible enough to wield you properly, am I?"
A soft hum vibrated through my palm as she glowed faintly.
So I was right.
I could still rember it. That fight against the Great Darkness—how I’d used Ayuru at her full potential.
But back then, it was different.
Back then, Lilith had lent her power.
That dragonized version of myself—that raw, unrestrained strength—I didn’t have access to it anymore. Now, I was back in my normal form. Just .
I needed to get stronger.
If I wanted to wield Ayuru without limits, I had to keep moving forward. I had to dominate more won—completely.
Once I reached ten, I’d see Lilith again.
I was sure of it.
And I had to train, too. If I slacked off, if I let myself grow weak, Ayuru might lose interest in .
I couldn’t afford that.
She was too powerful. Too rare. Too dangerous to let slip from my grasp.
With a slow breath, I let Ayuru vanish from my hand.
She faded like mist, disappearing into whatever space she always hid in. Another dinsion? A pocket plane? So unknown void?
Didn’t matter.
If I called her, she’d co.
I tilted my head back, gazing at the sky. The sun had dipped lower, washing the world in a deep orange glow. Long shadows stretched across the academy park, painting everything in warm hues.
"Now then…" I muttered under my breath.
I had sothing to focus on.
The bastards behind the Great Darkness—the real masterminds. The ones Marie had been working with.
I needed to find out exactly what the fuck they were planning.
***
The finals of the festival had finally arrived, though not without setbacks. The entire event had been delayed thanks to those people who thought it’d be a great idea to blow up the arena. The only reason there weren’t corpses littering the place was because I had managed to shield everyone with my Guardian just in ti.
Still, after everything, I had lost interest. Winning didn’t an a thing to anymore. The thrill had faded, leaving nothing but a hollow sense of disinterest. So, I withdrew from the tournant entirely.
Even so, I still ca to watch, sitting in the stands with my two girlfriends, Titania and Yr.
Yr was behind , clinging to my back like a koala, her warm breath tickling my neck as she snored. A bubble ford and deflated with each slow exhale, a thin strand of saliva escaping from the corner of her mouth. It trailed down onto my shoulder, pooling slightly before soaking into my shirt.
anwhile, down in the arena, Trill was in the middle of her final fight.
She was the last one standing, fighting for the grand prize.
Her opponent was a massive hulk of a man, his sheer size making her look small in comparison. He carried a longsword, his grip steady, his stance disciplined—an adventurer, no doubt. But despite his intimidating build, his movents were orthodox, predictable. He wasn’t particularly fast, just strong.
And strength alone wasn’t enough.
The fight ended with Trill knocking the sword from his hands, leaving him completely disard.
A mont of silence stretched across the arena before the tension snapped.
It was over.
It made sense. Trill might’ve been a woman, but she was a beast person, and beast folk naturally had enhanced physical abilities far beyond that of humans. The guy might have been a wall of muscle, but Trill was still stronger.
The defeated man exhaled heavily before letting out a bitter smile. Accepting his loss with grace, he gave a short nod, though there was no doubt the sting of defeat still burned.
He didn’t leave empty-handed—he still walked away with a decent cut of the grand prize, but Trill took the majority of it.
With a triumphant grin, she lifted her sword high into the air.
The remaining spectators—fewer than before, likely thanks to the recent explosion incident—burst into cheers, clapping and calling out her na in celebration.
I found myself smirking. Seeing her win like that made feel oddly proud. She earned it.
When she finally made her way up to us, her arms wrapped around a hefty sack of gold, her grin stretched from ear to ear.
"This is gonna help my tribe," she said, patting the bag with satisfaction. "I’ll be heading back to my village soon to give it to them. Also, I wanted to announce sothing—I’ve already found my mate."
"That’s great," I told her, nodding.
Titania perked up. "I want to introduce you to my father too," she said excitedly. "But I doubt he’d appreciate showing up unannounced, considering how dangerous things have been lately. Still, if the chance cos, I’ll definitely bring you to et him, Leon! I know he’d be happy for !"
Both of them were practically glowing with excitent, their happiness so infectious that I almost felt lightheaded, like I was floating—like I was being pulled into a wave of euphoria.
Well, except for Yr. She was still dead asleep, drooling all over my shoulder. So much for euphoria.
And with that, the Sword Festival finally ca to an end.
And with it, the new school year officially began.
***
The first day of the new school year arrived.
Walking through the halls, I made my way toward the classroom assigned to us second-years.
"Good morning, Leon."
A familiar voice greeted , smooth and composed.
I turned my head to see Raymond approaching with his usual relaxed expression.
"Long ti no see," he added.
"Morning," I replied. "Yeah, it’s been a while."
Raymond had spent his spring vacation back ho with his family, away from the academy.
He sighed, stretching his arms above his head. "Ugh, another year in the Bronze Class. I really hope I can at least make it to Silver this ti." Read exclusive adventures at Freewebnovel
"Well, considering you’re already in the top ten of the Bronze Class, I’d say it’s not that far off, don’t you think?"
"I don’t think it’s gonna be that easy. Spots in the Gold Class are way more contested now, especially since we only have three years here."
Three years was still plenty of ti to climb ranks. And considering how fast Raymond had already worked his way up, I had no doubt he’d make it to Silver before graduation.
Gold, though? Yeah, that was a different story. I wasn’t about to bet on that one.
As we walked, a wave of hushed whispers caught my attention. The kind of gossip that sent a ripple through the air, carrying an unusual energy with it.
I glanced at Raymond.
Raymond glanced at .
For a split second, neither of us spoke.
Then, as if we had the sa thought at the exact sa ti, we both turned on our heels and made a beeline toward Duncan.
Because according to the whispers, Duncan had gotten himself a girlfriend.
And not just any girlfriend—soone from the first-year batch.
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