Rohan, who had mastered the extraordinary skill called Seed Lock for pleasure without responsibility, hurried his steps toward the mansion where Sion and Clara were waiting.
'Living this life, I'm learning all sorts of bizarre skills.'
What can you do when a vigorous young man has two girlfriends?
Even if not today, just thinking about when this skill might come in handy someday filled him with excitement.
Ding dong!
After pressing the doorbell of Sion's mansion, the door clicked open before three seconds had passed.
As he entered the foyer, girls in thin nightgowns threw themselves into his arms.
"Rohan. Welcome back, you must be tired."
"Oppa..."
The fragrant scent of the girls who had already bathed and prepared for bed.
Rohan stroked their backs as he walked inside.
"How are you both feeling? Did you rest well?"
"No problems. Clara and I rested properly."
"Mm-hmm! I'm fine...!"
While removing his equipment, Rohan informed them of the scheduled plan.
"I think I'll have to go in for questioning tomorrow or the day after."
"Rohan. Clara and I will go with you then."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! I want to go with Oppa!"
The two of them, having survived while staying at the mansion, likely hadn't been officially counted.
That's why Rohan hadn't mentioned them at the academy auditorium. Ichinose and Noah had also tactfully avoided mentioning their names.
He thought Sion might be fine with it, but expected Clara to hate going to the Security Office given her personality.
Their volunteering to go was truly an unexpected choice.
"We could avoid going as you said, but I want to publicly establish our connection with Rohan."
"Mm-hmm...! And, and I think it might help when we start working with Oppa...!"
"That's definitely true. I'd be happy if you came along."
Rohan didn't care whether it helped with work or not.
He just found his lovers' idea endearing and lovely.
"Ah, can I stay over tonight? I'd like to use the meditation room."
At Rohan's words, Sion and Clara's expressions lit up like someone had turned on a light.
Their excitement was completely transparent.
"Of course! Rohan doesn't need permission!"
"B-but is Oppa going to train again today...? I wish you would rest..."
It would be a lie to say the girls, who had wanted to spend time closely attached to Rohan, didn't feel worried and disappointed.
Reading the atmosphere, Rohan pulled his lovers close and embraced them again.
He whispered in their ears.
"I won't do any intense training, just some simple stretching and meditation. It won't even take 30 minutes. Then we can rest together. Okay?"
After giving them a quick kiss and gently biting their lower lips, Sion and Clara nodded with melting expressions.
"Should we watch that anime you said you wanted to see last time?"
"..."
The girls nodded blankly. Had they actually heard and understood what he said?
Rohan smiled as he looked at Sion and Clara.
...
...
In the basement of Sion's mansion.
Rohan, dressed lightly in the spacious meditation room, loosened his leg muscles before circulating his mana.
The skill he was trying to use was Gakju Sunbo.
"..."
After concentrating quietly, Rohan frowned.
'Why is the difficulty like this?'
It took over 10 seconds just to form and arrange the mana in his lower body required to use Gakju Sunbo.
The flow and shape of the mana was so complex that even with knowledge, it took too long to create.
'I'll get faster with practice.'
Even though it seemed daunting, he had no intention of giving up. It wasn't impossible.
Right now he was at the level of glancing at instructions and trying to follow along, but with enough repetition until he could do it in his sleep, it would become familiar and faster—that was the natural order of things.
'I'll master this no matter what.'
He was certain this skill would have tremendous effects in actual combat.
His motivation burned bright.
Not only could he move at high speed, but he could maintain maximum velocity without slipping regardless of the ground condition.
With increased proficiency, he could move like the lightness skill in martial arts novels—leaving no footprints in snow, walking on duckweed floating on water.
And if mastered perfectly, he could even create footholds in midair for additional jumps.
How attractive was that?
"Hoo..."
But right now, he couldn't even push off from the ground.
The instability of the forcibly shaped mana. He could foresee a future where he'd lose control and crash into a wall the moment he tried to move.
'I should probably practice in a wide open space where I can tumble and fall until I start to see progress.'
In a space with walls, there was a high probability of cracking his head.
After circulating mana through his lower body several times, Rohan abandoned his impatience.
He plopped down in the center of the meditation room.
'Maybe I should finish up with unique skill level-ups and transcendence first.'
Rohan summoned the quest rewards and went through the procedure.
[You have purchased a Unique Skill Level-Up]
50,000 points were deducted.
The knowledge flowing into him erased the emptiness of the reduced balance.
Rohan's eyes moved to the notification window that appeared.
[Weakness Assignment - Lv.4]
◇ Assigns one attribute as a weakness to the target.
◇ When attacking a target with an assigned weakness, there is a certain probability of applying a debuff.
◇ When attacking a target with an assigned weakness, there is a low probability of recovering a portion of the mana used.
'This is really good!'
The biggest problem with Weakness Assignment was that mana consumption could be enormous depending on the opponent's capabilities.
If this were a game where you could drink unlimited potions during battle, he'd curse this as a terrible option, but for Rohan now, it was a breath of fresh air.
[Shop ─ Lv.4]
◇ Random Dessert Box - 250P (3 hours remaining)
◇ Detoxification Capsule - 1,500P
◇ Lucky Marble - 1,000P
◇ Advanced Health/Mana Potion - 1,000P
◇ Monster Conversation Potion - 800P
◇ Animal Conversation Potion - 700P
...
...
◇ Lowest-grade Health/Mana Potion - 100P
◇ Restaurant Reservation Ticket - 50P
◇ Concentration Enhancement Incense - 50P
...
...
[Remaining Points - 7,550P]
He had no interest in the dessert box that appeared as this special product.
It would definitely be more beneficial to go out and buy desserts or order them rather than spending points on that.
So the truly important things were the updated fixed items.
'Oh! Lucky Marble!'
This was something Rohan knew well.
A consumable item that applies random buffs if things go well.
It doesn't apply debuffs to the user, but sometimes it might just produce fancy effects without any actual benefit.
Like summoning shining butterflies or a random hedgehog appearing to give a thumbs up.
'If things go well, it could create a variable at least.'
Of course, only if he's lucky.
Next.
[Heaven Sun Holy Saint Sword ─ Lv.3]
◇First Sword - Flame Cut
◇Second Sword - Dawn Sunset
◇Third Sword - Light Wing Cone
◇Fourth Sword - Red Cloud
'Red Cloud...'
The Heaven Sun Holy Saint Sword, which he had acquired a beat later, was one skill level behind.
It was quite irritating.
'This one is really not an ordinary difficulty level.'
He had thought the third sword, Light Wing Cone, was difficult, but it was child's play compared to Red Cloud.
The fourth sword technique had a difficulty level no less than Gakju Sunbo.
'This will be fun.'
Rohan liked the pressure he felt when facing such daunting challenges. He looked forward to training.
He couldn't even imagine how strong he would become if he conquered these mountain-like skills.
'Let's continue.'
If his physical abilities and mana increased, there was a possibility that training in sword techniques and Gakju Sunbo might progress a little faster.
So, immediately to the next procedure.
[Your fourth transcendence shines forth]
—Whoosh!!! The air ignites and envelops Rohan.
There was no actual heat.
It wasn't hot, nor was it surprising.
'It's comforting.'
The flames embracing his body told him.
That the sun and fire were his true identity.
The flames subsided.
[When a target with an assigned weakness dies, the debuff applied to the target is transferred to one nearby enemy. The transfer prioritizes targets with the lowest resistance]
[When purchasing items from the shop, there is a very low probability of receiving an additional identical item, and the points gained from defeating monsters increases]
[The attack range of the Heaven Sun Holy Saint Sword increases]
The notification window appeared.
This time, the transcendence procedure was remarkably short.
The effects of the transcendence were also satisfyingly simple and clear.
For a wall to pass through on the way to the sixth transcendence, it was quite satisfactory.
'The range increased?'
Rohan stood up and habitually reached for his sword but stopped his hand.
"..."
His entire body felt heavy. His body was sending signals of fatigue.
Normally he would have ignored it and continued training, but having realized the importance of rest and with his lovers waiting, Rohan didn't grab his sword.
'Let's really take a break.'
Rohan left the meditation room.
Rohan spent time with Sion and Clara seated on either side of him.
They watched anime and variety shows.
He honestly told them how he had spent his time in the dungeon and what conversation he had with the mermaid at the end. They also chatted about various things while pressed skin to skin.
Before they knew it, it was already 1 AM.
After saying goodnight to both of them,
Rohan flopped onto the bed in his room.
"Phew!"
Staying at his lover's house while the three of them were pressed together created quite an ambiguous situation.
With them sitting next to him, slipping their hands between his thighs or writing messages on the back of his hand to send signals, Rohan was going crazy.
On top of that, Sion and Clara's gazes and glances were so transparent that he couldn't help but think about it. It was clear they all desired each other.
'But the atmosphere we want isn't something to enjoy all together. I've never been with multiple people at once either.'
Since it was the first time, he thought it was natural.
Once the first time was over, things would flow smoothly.
'If I date them one by one, the one left out would worry...'
That's where the worry ended. His thoughts didn't continue.
He must really be tired.
His eyes blinked as they struggled against sleep.
"Mmm..."
Rohan didn't resist.
He fell into a refreshing sleep.
...
...
'...Huh?'
In the dark dawn.
Rohan, who had been asleep, opened his eyes at an inexplicable soft sensation.
Someone was using him as a pillow under the blanket. The breath tickling against his skin was ticklish.
'Did I cover myself with a blanket?'
That was questionable from the start.
So he lifted the blanket.
Clara, who had been occupying his embrace, raised her head and met his eyes.