Chapter 153. Weekend? (7)
"I'm heading out. Watch the house, okay? Liliana. Scarlet, make sure you work hard on what I told you to do."
"Yes. Understood!"
"Come back soon~."
After Lee Hoyeon left the dorm, Scarlet began preparing to go see Elise.
"Lady Liliana, I'm going too."
"...Scout. This is bad. Sit here."
"Huh?"
Liliana, wearing a serious expression, grabbed Scarlet, who was about to leave, and forcibly sat her down.
"I've lost control over the finances... Just the signing bonus exceeds my monthly income. And every time he goes out, he makes more money..."
Liliana was stunned by the huge amount she had seen for the first time.
The amount had one more zero than her total income so far.
"He might throw me away now that I'm useless..."
Liliana was gripped with anxiety, fearing that all the days she'd worked hard for Lee Hoyeon might become meaningless.
"Uh... I don't think Master Hoyeon is that kind of person. Even if you couldn't make any money, he wouldn't abandon you."
"No. You never know. You always have to prepare for every possibility."
With more and more girls around these days, Liliana couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.
At least she had pride in being the center of the household, but now even that was gone.
To drag him to hell later, she needed to drive in a firm wedge.
"Come here. Let's come up with a strategy."
"You really don't have to... Haa... Fine."
Liliana and Scarlet put their heads together and began plotting how to capture Lee Hoyeon.
He arrived at the training center a little earlier than the promised time.
He had something he wanted to test.
"Self mana massage should work too, right?"
He didn't know the exact effect, but if it helped trigger magic, there was no reason not to try it.
While waiting for Nam Daeun, he chose the public training room instead of a private one.
As he moved toward a corner, people's eyes followed him.
"Hey, that's Lee Hoyeon. Is he really getting disciplined?"
"If not, that's a problem."
"Ugh, you idiots. I told you not to fall for that kind of thing."
"Wow, how can a person look like that... I'm getting self-conscious."
They thought they were being quiet, but he heard everything.
'Hmph.'
He always kept up his rune barrier, so it had been a while since he'd gotten this much attention.
Lately, his rune barrier had been getting pierced more frequently for some reason.
In the original story, it was described as the best and worst kind of barrier, one that took several professors to even interpret. So he didn't understand why his was like this.
Maybe he should consult Professor Im Sol later.
'For now, let's just massage.'
He was used to others staring by now.
He grabbed his left wrist with his right hand, then let go.
"No need to grab it, huh."
Thinking about it, the mana in his left wrist was still his own mana, so it didn't really count as a massage.
He closed his eyes and forcibly expanded the mana circuits by swelling the mana flowing through them.
"Kgh..."
A mild pain spread through him, and he felt his entire mana circuit slowly stretch. It felt like rubber hoses inside his body were swelling.
"Oh..."
His mana control speed clearly increased.
He couldn't feel a drastic difference yet, but it would definitely help in casting spells.
'Seems like I can control it a bit.'
Unlike Elise or Liliana, who couldn't control the expansion well, he could somewhat sense the limits of his own body's mana circuit.
Gradually, he expanded the circuits while managing the pain.
The tingling pain escalated to the sensation of his skin tearing as he discovered his limit.
"Now."
His mana circuit had expanded by roughly 30%.
That was precisely his limit.
This amount wouldn't cause any side effects or aftereffects.
'30% is pretty good. No, it's amazing.'
At his current level of growth, a 30% gain was a massive achievement.
Even if he couldn't maintain it long, it was good enough to serve as a burst boost.
[You have acquired a Unique Skill!]
──『 Blood Beat 』 ──
▶ Unique Skill
▶ Expands mana temporarily by inflating the mana circuit. (Base multiplier: 1.3x)
At 1.3x, the maximum duration is 1 minute. The expansion ratio can be adjusted at the beginning and affects the duration. However, it cannot be changed mid-use. Forcing a higher ratio will reduce duration and may cause aftereffects.
───────
"Oh..."
He glanced around and let out a quiet exclamation.
It had been a while since he acquired a skill.
Even though it was a doping-type skill, this kind suited him better. Since he had Combat Sense, raw power was what mattered most.
"Hey, have you been waiting long?"
Just then, a woman's voice came from behind.
When he turned around, Nam Daeun was standing there in her cadet uniform.
"No, I just got here too. Want to warm up and spar right away?"
"Yeah."
Even on weekends, Nam Daeun always wore her cadet uniform.
Did she not own casual clothes?
He stood up and began stretching, drawing mana into his body.
Nam Daeun took out a training sword and swung it around skillfully.
Cadets who used swords usually had their own, but since Nam Daeun couldn't afford one, she probably picked a fitting sword from the rack each time she came.
'I should buy her a sword later.'
If nothing else, a sword was essential.
Watching her live in poverty at such a young and fresh age reminded him of his pre-possession self. It left a bitter taste.
"Let's go in."
There was a sparring room in the public training center, but to avoid attracting attention, they entered one of the private sparring rooms.
Ziiiing—
The magic orb covered the arena, and Nam Daeun stretched across from him.
Thump.
"Then, I'll start."
"Okay."
He faced Nam Daeun.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
He hadn't felt this heightened Combat Sense in a long time.
Nam Daeun had gotten even stronger than last time. But so had he.
The sparring room's safety magic circle ensured they could go all out without leaving wounds.
Time to go full throttle.
[Sparring Start!]
Immersed in extreme concentration, he entrusted his body to Combat Sense.
*
"Hoo...."
Elise was resting in the training room inside her house.
Her whole body was drenched in sweat from having just worked out.
"Twice the effect... no, maybe 2.5 times?"
The efficiency was incomparable to the usual method of forcing mana use through mana stones.
Lee Hoyeon's mana circuit was nearly perfect, so the effect on him only showed about 30% improvement, but Elise, who had a congenital magic disorder, saw more than double the effect.
Of course, since she made the contract with Lee Hoyeon at a top industry level rather than amateur, it cost a lot, but it was still better than spending money on mana stones.
"I need to meet Lee Hoyeon more often...."
The effect of Lee Hoyeon's massage only lasted about a day.
It would be best to see him daily for massages, but since that wasn't possible, she had to rely on mana stones on other days.
Still, the positive side was that every time she received a massage from Lee Hoyeon, her mana circuits would permanently widen a little.
At this rate, it might be over in just a few dozen sessions.
"Young Lady."
A blonde woman stood behind Elise.
"Scarlet. You're here?"
"Yes. I came to give you the video I recorded earlier. I was worried it might interfere with your training, so I'm reporting it now."
Scarlet stood straight and handed her the video file.
"Thanks."
Scarlet had become strangely more docile than before.
The pride and dignity she had at their first meeting were gone, replaced by loyalty. Elise didn't know why, but since it was a good change, she decided to leave it alone.
"Ah, and I found this in your room."
Scarlet handed over a smart watch.
"...This is?"
"It seems to be the one Cadet Lee Hoyeon took off during the massage and forgot. I haven't opened it, though."
"Really?"
Elise casually took the smart watch.
"Send me the video. I want to check if it could be used for blackmail. Oh, anything notable from your duties?"
"No, but I might be able to bring good news soon. I've nearly broken through the security."
"Got it. Good work."
Elise waved her hand to dismiss Scarlet.
Elise, clutching her pounding chest after the shower, locked her door and entered her room.
First, she checked the video Scarlet had sent.
Lee Hoyeon was sweating and massaging his own body.
"Hmm."
She hadn't expected much, and as she thought, it didn't excite her at all.
- Huhh. Hnn... Guhp.
'I reacted that much to this?'
Watching the scene only made her blush, so Elise ended the video.
Then she pulled out the smart watch from her pocket.
"...Smart watch."
There was no lock on it.
Some people are like that—thinking it's fine since they never take it off, but they're just vulnerable to security risks.
Elise thought, 'Lucky me, Lee Hoyeon is one of those people.'
Lee Hoyeon had prepared the smart watch thoroughly to avoid suspicion.
He had altered the message logs, contacts, and browsing history so well that even Elise was fooled.
Of course, he had excluded truly important records.
"This... I can just return it tomorrow."
Since tomorrow was a regular school day, she could return it in A-Class.
"...."
Lately, Elise had been very curious about sex, and learned that some couples even recorded their own sexual acts.
Just in case—really, just in case—she opened the gallery on the smart watch.
"!"
And there, she found a video of a woman with something in her mouth.
Thump. Thump.
Elise's heart started pounding, and as she tapped the video, Lee Hoyeon's voice came through, the same voice that had just been caressing his own body.
- Wh-What is it, Master?
- Don't mind it. I just wanted to try it.
- I-It's a little embarrassing...
- Just suck it.
- Mmh... Hhng.
Slurp. Smooch. Schllrp.
The lewd act of the two was recorded in full.
It was a video of a beautiful woman sucking on Lee Hoyeon's dick like it was an ice cream.
"Wh-What is this...."
Elise had hoped, but she never actually expected to find something like this. She swallowed hard.
"...."
- Slurp—Please cum in my mouth, Master. Smooch.
Elise couldn't take her eyes off the video.
Lee Hoyeon's voice echoing throughout made it obvious this was a real video.
Gulp.
After double-checking that the door was locked, Elise slipped her hand into her panties.
"Mmh... Hoyeon."
Schlick—
Soon, lewd, wet noises filled the room.