Chapter 152: When are we going back?
Sometimes time moves like a bullet train.
You blink once, or look away for a moment, only to realize that weeks have suddenly disappeared before you even notice.
And there are other times when every second feels painfully slow, as if time itself is moving at a snail’s pace.
Even your mind struggles to remain fully conscious as everything around you begins to feel dull and repetitive.
Lucian had been feeling something like that for the past month.
Yes.
About an entire month had passed since their training began.
A full month of fighting, blood, and the excruciating pain of having his limbs severed like toy parts.
At first, everything had felt refreshing and exciting—every time he grew stronger, every time he improved, and every time he became more efficient with weapon mastery.
But eventually—
After about one or two weeks, the training had become a bit more difficult.
No, it wasn’t that he was bored, nor was he afraid of being tortured, but…
His mind was becoming more and more violent as he fought.
His emotional control had slowly begun to slip as the bloodlust inside him grew stronger day by day.
And every battle that passed felt slightly harder to endure mentally than the one before it.
“So…”
A soft voice echoed beside him
“Tired yet?”
An arm was wrapped around his throat, holding him from behind, while the other hand held a dagger, its pointed edge resting against his neck.
The blade lightly pierced his skin, enough to draw a drop of blood, while Valentina stood behind him, preventing him from moving away.
But she didn’t push the dagger any deeper into his neck yet, as if waiting for his retaliation.
But instead of giving any reply—
“Haa…” Lucian exhaled heavily.
“Haa… Haa…”
His breathing came out in uneven breaths as his head dipped slightly, unintentionally pushing the dagger a little deeper into his neck.
But he didn’t react to it—as if he no longer even had the will to continue fighting.
For a brief moment, Valentina let out an inward sigh as she saw him not reacting.
He had been like this sometimes—suddenly growing quieter, or at other times becoming annoyingly chatty—whenever the mental strain became too much for him to handle.
But just as she was prepared to release him—
“Got you.”
Lucian suddenly muttered quietly, and before she could react—
He grabbed the arm that had been locking him in place and pulled, trying to throw her over his shoulder along with him.
But as expected—
Valentina reacted instantly, slipping out of his grip like a serpent shedding its skin, causing the throw to fail completely.
But the moment she moved away and turned toward him, a blade came flying straight toward her eyes.
“I was thinking you were mentally gone just now,” she muttered while tilting her head, easily dodging the attack by a few centimeters.
Lucian didn’t stop moving, already pulling another dagger out of his inventory.
“I’m not that far from it,” Lucian answered mid-motion, his voice sounding heavier than usual.
His crimson eyes glowed brightly beneath the dim moonlight, almost unnaturally brighter than before.
Valentina noticed it immediately, but neither of them stopped. They simply continued fighting, casually holding a conversation in the middle of their battle.
Lucian’s growth over the past month had been monstrous. His reactions alone had become absurd, even for an awakened one rank above him.
And his mastery over both his weapons and his own body had become far more refined.
Yet, Valentina remained the same as always.
Their bodies darted through the forest, their figures almost blurring between the trees as they appeared, collided, and vanished once again, leaving a trail of destruction across a large portion of the wild forest.
Their movements made it seem as though they were trying to kill each other, going as far as aiming for vital organs, yet neither of them appeared worried, treating it as nothing more than a normal fight.
“Is your bloodlust under control now?” Valentina asked while moving, gracefully twisting her body the moment Lucian closed the distance and attacked from behind.
“Barely,” Lucian answered, tightening his grip on the twin daggers and striking at her with a sharp attack.
Valentina hummed thoughtfully as she easily struck back, but then—
The dagger in one of Lucian’s hands suddenly disappeared, and in the next instant, a scythe materialized in its place.
Without stopping for even a split second, he twisted his hips, slightly rotating his body.
And the scythe swept through the air in a vicious horizontal arc.
Clang—!
The impact echoed throughout the forest.
“Good~” Valentina’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction as she felt her dagger chip slightly despite blocking the attack.
She instantly jumped a step back and threw both daggers to the ground.
The weapons landed on the forest floor and immediately disappeared, swallowed by the shadows beneath them.
“Scythe.”
As soon as those words left her lips, the darkness beneath her feet rippled.
The shadows trembled and shifted before a scythe emerged from them, its crimson blade gleaming beneath the moonlight.
Before Valentina could even reach for it—
Lucian exploded toward her, appearing right beside her as he slashed the scythe directly toward her legs, intending to immobilize her.
Though he knew it was useless, it was still possible to create an opening—as small as it might be.
Valentina smirked faintly.
Just as the blade neared her feet, she stepped onto the moving scythe—as if it were a plain floor—and slipped past the attack almost instantly.
The movement was so fast that Lucian didn’t even understand what had happened, and before he could react—
She was already standing in front of him while his weapon continued moving past her, as if it had passed straight through her legs.
And…
The scythe was already in her hand.
Lucian’s eyes narrowed.
“Tch.”
He clicked his tongue.
Both of them rushed forward one more.
Their scythes cut through the air, creating dark crimson arcs that flashed beneath the soft moonlight.
And during this past month, Lucian had learned a horrifying and unbelievable fact.
The monster standing before him, fighting against him…
This same woman had mastered almost every weapon ever created, even weapons whose names Lucian didn’t yet know.
And her comprehension speed…
It was so terrifying that even if Lucian attacked her with a completely different kind of attack, she would replicate it within a second and use it better than he ever could.
And every time he improved his mastery, she would immediately increase the difficulty, making it even harder than before—not that he disliked that.
Seeing her close the distance again, Lucian immediately tightened his grip on the scythe, and in the next moment—
Flames erupted from the blade.
Bright orange fire coated the weapon, illuminating the darkness around them.
Valentina didn’t react much.
She merely coated her own weapon with dense mana, the density of the dark blue layer far more intense than even the flames Lucian was wielding.
Even though he was using an affinity while Valentina was merely coating her weapon with enough mana to keep the fight from getting one-sided, the fight didn’t become any easier.
The flames burned across her skin whenever they touched her, but they left barely any damage behind.
And whenever that overwhelming mana layer cut through his flesh, it hurt far more than normal and took longer to heal—and by longer, he meant a few extra seconds than usual.
“Your control over fire improved,” Valentina spoke in between.
Her golden eyes glowed faintly, then her lips curled.
“But not enough.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.”
Lucian interrupted midway, rolling his eyes as his body vanished from his spot.
Valentina’s eyes twitched, and her smile began twisting faintly.
“It seems you are getting more cocky day by day.”
“Well…” Lucian suddenly appeared behind her and whispered into her ear.
“A student learns from his teacher, right?”
Valentina’s body shivered ever so slightly as she felt his breath brush against her ear.
But then, just as soon as he finished the sentence—
His pupils contracted.
Valentina’s scythe was already hurtling toward him at such a terrifying speed that he barely had time to react.
Instantly—
A massive shield appeared before him from his inventory—
Boom—!
The attack struck, and despite the perfect defence at the perfect timing, the force behind it blasted him back several meters.
The shield cracked, and his arms shook from the impact.
Still, despite being caught off guard, there was no surprise on his face.
After taking a look at the dented shield, he returned it to his inventory.
“That skill is just ridiculous,” Valentina said, narrowing her eyes with interest.
The scythe would have pierced him and sliced his body cleanly in half if it weren’t for that skill, which allowed him to make items appear in an instant without giving anyone the slightest warning.
There wasn’t even the slightest movement of mana in the air whatsoever.
Hearing her words, Lucian smiled, though it looked a little strained and crooked.
His jaw was clenched tight as he barely held back the bloodlust.
Valentina noticed it easily, but didn’t comment on his thirst for blood—not that he would admit it so readily either.
“So…” Lucian suddenly asked.
Their weapons collided again.
Clang—!
Then again.
Clang—!
“When are we going back?”
Lucian’s voice came out rough and hoarse, as if his throat were being scraped from the inside.
Right now, he was barely controlling himself from running back to Scarlett Castle.
Hearing him talk about going back—seemingly to meet his mother and sister—Valentina’s eyes narrowed slightly.
She remained silent for several seconds.
But after a brief moment of thinking… she shook her head.
“Not now,” she finally answered while blocking his next attack and redirecting it back toward him.
“Why?!”
Lucian’s voice suddenly grew louder, sharper, and even he didn’t notice it.
He was enjoying the strength he was gaining, the things he was learning…
But he couldn’t control himself right now.
And strangely enough, even spending his time with Valentina was enjoyable.
That still didn’t change the fact that he missed them—terribly.
He wanted to see his mother… see his sister.
Who knew how they were doing right now? How they were right now?
And…
Aside from that, he was hungry. Very, very hungry.
“Lucian… not now.” Valentina’s voice grew colder, and inwardly, she was beginning to get annoyed by his insistence on leaving.
It had only been a month; what was the big harm?
She knew it was a long time for someone who had previously been human, but it was still irritating sometimes—especially after seeing his growth progress faster than almost anyone she had ever met.
Yet here he was, trying to leave.
“Tch, fine.”
Lucian clicked his tongue, but reluctantly relented.
His movements immediately grew more aggressive, wilder, but no less refined.
Valentina watched him quietly, then smiled faintly without even realising it herself.
And like that, night after night, another month passed under the relentless training-cum-torture.
