n

n

nSoon, Angus is done healing his internal wound. All the light bruises also healed from his high vitality.

n

"Damn, you crazy old man. You hit too hard this time.

" said Angus.

n

"Not my fault, lad. It's to adjust my strength around this level.

" replied Balrug.

nAs they start bantering and insulting one with the others,

"Erm.. Could you also train me?

" asked Jayna.

nHearing this, the two of them stopped arguing,

"Oii.. Old man, did you tell her everything?

" asked Angus

n

"Well, since she is your girlfriend, I thought she should know about it.

" said Balrug.

n'@%#&@.. This stupid old man!!' curse Angus inwardly.

n

"*Sigh* Fine.. Since I will help you, you will know about this sooner anyway. However, this kind of training is kind of different. Right, old man?

" said Angus seriously.

n

"He is right, little princess. What Angus training could only be done by only a few people. Heck just from the injuries he sustained all this time, he should be cripple from a long time ago. If it is not because of his unique healing art, I will stop this training.

" explained Balrug.

n

"So, if Angus could heal me, I could also do this training?

" said Jayna as she still didn't want to give up.

n

"Haa… Jayna, my method of training is not simple. According to this old man, Only I could progress this fast. The others need years or even their entire life to reach my current progress.

" explained Angus.

n

"This brat is telling the truth. Normally, it will take ten years or more without stopping to get a result from my training. Otherwise, it will only increase your physical strength a little bit.

"

n

"B-But…

" said Jayna

nSeeing that Jayna is still not convinced,

"Alright, how about this? If you could dodge me for ten minutes in a spar, you will be allowed to do this training.

" said Angus.

n'Ten minutes dodging Angus, even I can't do that. This boy is too sly.' thought Balrug. But, Balrug didn't comment on it. He knows that his training is too inhuman and incompatible for the human race. Angus could do it without any repercussions is already a miracle.

n

"Alright.. Let's do this now.

" said Jayna resolutely.

n

"You sure? You are not still in the best condition right now.

" said Angus.

n

"Yeah.. I just want to know our differences first?

" said Jayna.

n

"Err… you don't mean to challenge me every day if you fail, right?

" asked Angus

n

"Of course, I will.

" said Jayna.

nHearing the spirited Jayna reply,

"Haa.. fine.. Just make sure, you do not challenge me in public.

" said Angus.

nAngus took a watch,

"Let's set up some rules first, we will fight within a space ten meters square around us for ten minutes. As long as I touch you or hit you, you lose. Do you agree?

" said Angus.

n

"Alright, you may dodge all my attacks. But, I am also good at dodging attacks.

" said Jayna.

nFor Jayna who found Angus a true enigma, she wants to experience how far Angus's strength and her strength.

nLooking Jayna ready,

"Then, let's start…

" as Angus presses the watch button.

nIn a moment, Angus disappears from Jayna's vision Beast Walk. The moment he appears, he already touches Jayna's cheek with his finger.

n

"Alright, It's my win. Let's get out of here.

" said Angus nonchalantly.

n

"E-Eh… How??

" said Jayna.

n

"Don't think too much about it and let's get out of here.

" said Angus as he walked towards the basement entrance.

nAfter changing his clothes, Angus walks with Jayna who keeps silent and thinks about her spar.

nSeeing this, Angus could only *Sigh*,

"Anyway, Jayna. Congratulations!!

" said Angus.

n

"Huh.. for what?

" asked Jayna confusedly.

n

"You managed to keep your emotions at bay during all this time. I bet you practice very hard to achieve this. Tell you the truth, I like this side of yours.

" said Angus nonchalantly.

n

"T-Thank you…

" muttered Jayna while blushing.

n

"Anyway, since you also managed the previous exercise. Tomorrow, I will help you control your mana to be better. But, For now, you need to rest.

" said Angus.

n

"Okay..

" replied Jayna shortly while still blushing.

nSoon, they arrive at the Spring Dorm. The moment they enter the dorm perimeter,

"I finally find you. Jayna, let's fight.

" said Ian.

nRather than angry like usual, Jayna looked at Angus for a moment,

"No, I am tired. I want to sleep.

" replied Jayna shortly before ignoring Ian.

nAs for Angus, he was already walking towards his spot inside the garden ignoring two of them.

n

"Hah.. I bet you're just afraid to lose to me.

" taunted Ian.

nBut, Jayna keeps walking towards the dorm ignoring Ian. Being ignored, Ian begins to insult and provoke Jayna more.

nHowever, Jayna keeps ignoring him while having a cold expression before entering the dorm and going towards her room.

nInside her room, Jayna sits on his bed and touches her cheek, the one that is being poked by Angus at the spar.

nAfter a while,

"Angus.. No.. No… I am royalty. But, he said he likes this side of me. Argh.. stupid Angus.

" said Jayna as she lies down on the bed.

nWhile Angus and his friend have a peaceful academic life, the world starts to turn into turmoil. The impact of the monster undead does not only affect the war between civilian society and the monster overlord. It also affects all normal people's lives.

nOne of the main resources that civilian society uses comes from the monster. However, since the monster could always turn into the undead in the presence of miasma, the supply of these resources cut down significantly.

nMany monster corpses burned down or destroyed to prevent them from turning into undead monsters. The only possible safe supply comes from the dungeon where the monster is not getting affected by Monster Overlord or turning into an undead monster.

nStill, this makes the price of some resources keep rising since the monster corpse supply is cut down. The price rises enormously, even grade one mana core which should cost around one or two gold rises to five gold.

nIn some nations, it even raised to ten gold per one grade one mana core. Mana core is important as it supplies energy for various kinds of devices. It is also one of the main ingredients for potions and a lot of alchemy products.

nThis economic crisis indirectly affects the supply for war against the monster overlord. Some of the nations are even in the brim of collapse because of this economic crisis.

nThe Heart kingdom managed to avoid this crisis because they have few dungeons inside their territory along with the vast resources from various trading guilds.

nThey also managed to sell the monster corpse from their battle in the Black Fortress because the Temple of God already purified all its souls which helped prevent the economic crisis.

nMoreover, the Heart kingdom is located far away from the Holy Alliance Nation which makes them quite safe for the time being. Still, they have their problems because of the breakout of Altez Prison.

nThe Extermination squad worked tirelessly to hunt and execute all the prisoners. Because of this, public safety became less secure. Small crimes appeared in many cities inside the Heart Kingdom.

nAlthough the nobles try to suppress this situation to not turn into chaos. With this, the work for Duke Victory is increased more besides defending the Black Fortress.

nAfter the last fight against the monster horde, Duke Blue and King Leon return leaving Duke Victory defending the Black Fortress. From their recon inside the Black Forest, there is hardly any monster left in the Black Forest perimeter.

nBecause of this, the Black Fortress is left to Duke Victory as it is part of his jurisdiction. By a coincidence, it means Duke Victory also will not partake in the reinforcement to fight Monster Overlord at the Holy Alliance nation.

nAfter the leader's meeting, King Leon decides to take two dukes along with some elite army reinforcements to fight against Monster Overlord.

nFrom the previous encounter, King Leon learned that only high-grade combatants could fight in this kind of fight. However, he still leaves his royal guard in case there is some unforeseen situation like last time.

nThough this decision is to make Duke Victory less work, he is still concerned about his friend's well-being. But, he couldn't do anything other than hope nothing happened to King Leon.

nNow, Duke Victory is sending many investigation squads towards the inside of the Black Forest. He needs to make sure there will be no other huge-scale attack during the time Leaders and Monster Overlord fight one with the others.

n

"Haa… I miss home. It's been a long time since I went home.

" muttered Duke Victory.

n

"Kakaka… I already told you to leave this fortress for me. Nothing will happen by the time you get back.

" said the general dwarf.

n

"No, Borkins. During this precarious time, we need to keep vigilant. The last thing we want is the Monster Overlord coming towards our direction.

" said Duke Victory seriously.

n

"You are such a worrywart. You need to relax a little bit, brat. Enjoy your life a little bit.

" said General Borkins jokingly.

nAs the Duke and General are having a chat, unbeknown to them a group of mysterious people coming towards Black Fortress.

n