Demon Emperor Sword God

Roxy blinked her azure eyes and looked at the brown ceiling. A smile unconsciously appeared on her lips, though her brows furrowed with worry.

She wanted Cain to stay with her as her apprentice. They could adventure together, explore dungeons together, then live romantically until he came of age before considering anything else.

Of course, Roxy had no intention of finding a partner for the time being. She longed for adventure and loved exploring dungeons. If she got married, she probably would no longer be able to adventure and explore dungeons.

But Cain was simply too outstanding. It had only been a few days, yet he had already learned nearly half of her magic, and with Chantless Casting at that. Even composite magic...

"Ah, aside from that Saint Rank spell, it seems I really can no longer be Cain's teacher when it comes to magic..."

Roxy smiled with some relief. Sure enough, she and he were not people of the same world. Cain was the true kind of genius. He was destined to become someone renowned across the entire continent. Once Cain graduated, it would be best for her to return to Magic University, finish her unfinished studies, and then come back out to adventure.

Roxy, who had once believed herself to be a genius, had her confidence completely shaken. She had even become a little withdrawn because of her overly exceptional apprentice...

Still, Roxy had learned humility, so it was not as though she had gained nothing.

"Chantless Casting..." Roxy looked at the little hand she had raised toward the ceiling and blinked her azure eyes.

She definitely could not cast magic with a zero-frame startup like Cain, but she could try other methods, such as shortening chants to reduce a spell's casting delay.

"Mm, once I return to Magic University, I'll focus my research in that direction. And... apologize to my teacher..."

As Roxy thought this, she pursed her lips. She recalled the scene of her argument with her teacher, Jinas. Her eyes trembled slightly, and her nose stung.

She now understood how her teacher had felt back then. Having an apprentice who surpassed you really was a headache, especially when that apprentice was such a wonderful person.

"Looks like I need to apologize to my teacher properly..."

Thinking that, Roxy looked at the other bed beside her.

"Come to think of it, isn't this supposed to be a single room? Why are there two beds in here?! Could it be..."

Roxy's face flushed red. Could that Zoldat guy have seen through something? Should she have her apprentice use the Divine Rank Blade of Light on him?

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Hearing the knocking, Roxy, who was hugging a pillow on the bed, trembled. Her lips pressed together as her face grew even redder.

"Teacher, are you all right...?"

Cain stood outside, blinking his brown eyes as he asked. Teacher Roxy had seemed like she wanted to ask him something just now, but for some reason, she had blushed and failed to say it.

But why was Teacher Roxy blushing? Did she have a cold? No! Could antidote and healing magic not cure colds?

Protecting his teacher was necessary. If she was forcing herself to endure it...

Cain lowered his knocking hand and lightly gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist. But when he considered that breaking the inn's door would probably require compensation, he abandoned the thought.

Concern clouded judgment. Cain lightly shook his head, regained his composure, and lowered his hand from his sword hilt with a self-mocking smile.

How could that be? Teacher Roxy was a Saint Rank mage. She was not that fragile.

"If Teacher Roxy is all right, please knock on the door once. If something is wrong, knock twice. I'll head back first, but don't worry, I'm in my room. If anything happens, I'll protect you, Teacher..."

With a creak, the anticipated knock did not come. Instead, Teacher Roxy poked out her adorable little head while trying to act calm.

"N-no, nothing's wrong. Just now, I only wanted to... to say good night to Cain."

"Is that so?"

Cain watched Roxy's embarrassed gaze dart around as she began rubbing her blue hair with her hand. He smiled faintly.

So that was it. Teacher could have just said so. Why be so shy?

Of course, this was something the apprentice should take the initiative in. How could he let adorable Teacher Roxy take the initiative?

Thinking that, Cain gave a gentle smile and waved to Roxy.

"Good night, Teacher Roxy."

"G-good night, Cain."

Roxy looked once more at that handsome yet youthful face, and her cheeks grew even redder. She had to admit it: the silly apprentice she had taken in was a standard handsome little boy. Once he grew up, he would definitely be the type to draw every girl's attention.

"Th-then, see you tomorrow, Cain. Please don't forget our promise."

As Roxy spoke, she pursed her lips and gave Cain a deep look, as if she wanted to remember the boy's appearance forever. At last, she slowly closed the door.

"Mm, the promise... Ah! I almost forgot! Tomorrow, I'm exploring the dungeon with Teacher Roxy!"

Cain quickly returned to his room, washed up, and climbed into bed. He needed a good rest. Tomorrow was the day he would enter a dungeon with Teacher Roxy, so he had to be well-rested. It was also a perfect opportunity to test his current magical level.

Meanwhile, Roxy leaned against the door and slowly crouched down, hugging her knees with a flushed face as the turbulent emotions in her heart refused to settle.

She patted her bright red cheeks and looked toward the full moon outside the window.

Moonlight shone upon her like a layer of silver clothing. Roxy blankly gazed at the full moon outside. She did not know what was wrong with her. In the end, her eyes trembled as she looked at the moon at the edge of the sky and murmured,

"Dummy apprentice..."

The next day, at four in the morning.

Cain let out a long yawn, rolled his shoulders, and stretched his neck, producing a series of crisp cracks.

Although today was the day he would enter a dungeon with Teacher Roxy, he still needed to complete his daily training.

For example, sword swings. This was the most basic and important method of becoming stronger. Its main effect was increasing and tempering his battle aura. Although Cain could no longer sense any obvious changes in his total battle aura, he could not let his body grow rusty.

After getting dressed, Cain began practicing empty swings in an open space outside the inn. There was no sun in the sky at four in the morning, and the surroundings were covered in a hazy silver-gray layer. Aside from a scattered few disciplined people running through the streets, no one else was around.

But this time seemed to be a little different.

[Sword Swing Proficiency +1, Total Battle Aura +0.01]

[Sword Swing Proficiency +1, Total Battle Aura +0.02]

[Sword Swing Proficiency +1, Total Battle Aura +0.01]

So my system had upgraded?! I had never seen sword swings produce an effect like this before.

Cain looked at the transparent blue screen before him in confusion. Soon, he found the source of the change in the small text displayed at the bottom of the screen.

[Host has reached Emperor-class mage level. Dual Emperor-class title unlocked: Demon Emperor Sword God!]

[Permanent world blessing acquired: Mana-Martial Conflux]

[Mana-Martial Conflux: The host's total mana and battle aura may circulate into and convert into one another. At the same time, the host's mana and battle aura can continuously surpass their own limits through effort. The maximum value of either total battle aura or total mana becomes the upper limit for both total battle aura and total mana, and this upper limit is not restricted by race.]

[Evaluation: Technology from beyond this world, kid.]

Awesome.

So it was like my Ren and Du meridians had been opened? In other words, had the system removed my limiter for becoming stronger?

Cain nodded slightly and continued swinging his sword in a good mood. Though it said the total was limitless, there had to be some kind of limit, right?

Then let me see your limits, System. As Cain continued swinging his sword with that thought, a female voice slowly came from behind him, making his hand stop.

"Cain, ah, are you training?"

Cain turned at her words and was slightly surprised to see Roxy, fully dressed and holding a magic staff.

"Good morning, Teacher. Why are you up so early today?"

"Cough, c-cough. G-good morning, Cain."

Roxy unconsciously coughed twice. Seeing the gentle smile on Cain's face, her cheeks grew slightly warm, and faint dark circles lay beneath her eyes.

"Um, because Cain and I agreed to enter the dungeon together today, so I got up a little earlier."

In truth, Roxy had barely slept all night. Her mind had been filled with her silly apprentice's words about protecting her. Roxy had never really been valued so highly before, and being sworn to protection by Cain left her a little, a little unsure why he cared about her so much.

But it had also left Roxy poorly rested, and her body felt a little unwell.

Of course, she was also a little troubled and uneasy. She did not know what she could do to respond to that protection.

Should she teach Cain Saint Rank magic?

No, she could not. If she did that, Cain would leave her... She could not teach him now. At the very least, she had to wait another half year, or perhaps a year, before teaching him.

Roxy pursed her lips at the thought. For now, she still wanted to spend more time with Cain, her genius apprentice.

Of course, she could not act too strangely. After all, she was the teacher, and Cain was her apprentice.