Episode 18: Back To The Training Facility, More Progress, And Returning

During this two months of magic training with Vasco Strada, Shin didn't stay idle. He still trained his body lightly, practiced swordsmanship, and trained in Strengthening and Holy magic on the Elemental Fox Reality Realm for 16 hours. The remaining 48 hours was spent on gathering mana.

He would sit on the training room for 48 hours, meditating. It helped him to calm himself and improve his state of concentration. This, in turn, helped him on his further developments on training. His extraordinary concentration made him be able to improve by leaps and bounds.

He was even able to finally create his third elemental bead. This boosted his [Light Mana] skill up to the S rank while also helping him acclimate more with his [Angel Magic] and [Holy Magic].

'Now that I'm officially a low rank in terms of Strength Level, I can hold my ground against normal supernaturals that would come at me. I should go back to the training facility so that I can gain some more battle experience. Even though I get to have some battle experience by battling that stray devil on the training room, I still need to get some more sparring partners. Mr. Vasco Strada did say that he already taught me what he can and I should now find my own style,' Shin thought inwardly.

Right now, he is in his temporary room at the Cardinal Priest's mansion. He already said his goodbyes to his sensei and also to the maids and butlers. After packing up some stuffs, he would immediately go back to the training facility. He would be accompanied by the Head Maid of Vasco, the same one who guided him at his very first day in this mansion.

"Alright, this should do it," Shin said.

He then started to look around the spacious room and said,

"This really has been a short but fruitful 5 months, right?"

If someone else were to see this, they would think that Shin is crazy. But, Shin made sure that no one is around. Right now, only his family knows that he have a sacred gear inside his body.

『It is, indeed. After seeing you train in magic for two months, I had this feeling that I can somehow control my power now. But, it's still not enough. After I am able to control my power at some degree, I'm gonna join you in training at your realm,』 Yuki said.

『Of course. You're always welcome there. I'm sure you'll be able to learn how to control your power in no time,』 Shin comforted.

『Hu hum! Of course! I'm the Supreme Dragon God, after all!』 Yuki declared smugly.

Hearing her smug declaration, Shin just shook his head while smiling wryly. The more she says that she's a Dragon God, the more it feels like it's slowly losing its meaning.

『Yes, yes. Yuki is the strongest Dragon God~』 Shin said.

After Shin said that, he heard a knock on his door, followed by the voice of the head maid.

"Shin-sama. Are you ready to depart?" the head maid said.

"Yes, Martha-san! I just finished preparing!" Shin replied.

"Understood. I will wait for you at the mansion's entrance, then," the head maid, now known as Martha, said.

"Okay, Martha-san," Shin replied.

Before going, Shin checked his rewards for completing his quest. He wanted to know immediately what reward he would get.

Checking his inventory- which is full of many mystery boxes- Shin sorted it out and checked the more recent gain. He would open these Mystery Boxes at a later date. There's x1,035 Gacha Coupons x225 Mystery Boxes, x36 Super Mystery Boxes, x9 Deluxe Mystery Boxes, and x1 Super Deluxe Mystery Box. The amount of his money(ria) is a staggering amount of over 24,500,000 and the number of Sloth Coins(SCs) on his inventory is already well over 1,500,000.

He was kind of lucky that it was three months before the end of the year when he unlocked his sacred gear. Thus, he received 10,000,000 ria and a Super Deluxe Mystery Box as a end of year bonus. After spending 6 months of his time in Vatican, he got more ria from the daily log in bonus.

'I want to do a bulk opening so that I can sort it out pretty easily. It could possibly affect my [Luck] skill, too. I want to see if that theory is plausible,' Shin thought while skimming through his items.

A few seconds later, he finally found what he's looking for. The [Friendship] skill card and the Random Weapon Summoning Card is right before his eyes now. Not wanting to waste any time, Shin immediately used the [Friendship] skill card.

Right at that moment, he felt a lot of stinging pain coming off from his brain and his whole body. It's like a lot of microscopic sized needles are stabbing him everywhere. But, Shin endured it. He don't want to scream and alert everyone in the mansion.

Moments later, the pain was finally gone and Shin's automatic self recovery technique kicked in. Thankfully, Shin mental fortitude is quite high.

'Next is the Random Weapon Summoning Card. Let's see what I'll get,' Shin thought.

When Shin mentally clicked on the card and clicked use, the card came out of the inventory and began to spin crazily. It showed different pictures of weapons, from normal iron swords to the most powerful one's.

A few moments later, it finally began to slow down its spinning speed. Eventually, it came into a complete stop, showing Shin a picture of what seems to be a dagger. The dagger looks simple and unassuming. It has a double edged blade, a guard/cross, and a handle.

What caught Shin's attention, though, was the dagger's effects. But, the dagger's effects aren't really that comparable with the skill that he just received.

Friendship

Rank: S

The user is now passively emitting an aura that makes a good first impression to any person/creature you meet. Maintaining or losing this good impression depends on the user's behavior.

Stifling Dagger

Rank: A

A dagger that is solely made for the purpose of being used by assassins. It is said that once you got hit by it, you should get ready to meet your maker.

Bonus Skill(s): Stifling Poison(A), Dagger Mastery(B)

Stifling Poison

Rank: A

Once applied to an individual, that said individual's movement speed will be reduced drastically. If not cured immediately, this poison have a very low chance of causing paralysis and an even lower chance of causing death because of multiple organs failing.

Dagger Mastery

Rank: B

Increases the user's attack power slightly when wielding dagger related weapons. Grants the user a slight increase in speed.

'Mm, this will be useful to me when battling stronger opponents. As for the skill... Mm, let's just say that I can befriend people more easily~,' Shin thought.

『We both know that that's not the only potential of that skill,』 Yuki interjected.

『I know. I can be the greatest tamer with this skill and such,』 Shin replied.

Shin then took the bag on the bed and proceeded to walk towards the exit of the room.

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After Shin arrived at the front entrance of the mansion, he was met with a long line of maids and butlers who are currently bowing. He was confused by this, so he couldn't help but ask.

"Why is everyone bowing?"

Upon hearing his query, Martha stepped forward and answered him.

"That's because we want to extend our gratitude towards you, Shin-sama."

"Gratitude? Thank me for what?" Shin asked, absolutely confused.

"We want to thank Shin-sama for bringing some life in this mansion and for making his eminence Vasco Strada happy," Martha said, confusing Shin even more.

'Huh? What do they mean by that? I mean, yes, I did talk to them from time to time but, I don't think that warrants their gratitude. Same for Mr. Vasco Strada's case. If anything, I should be the one who should be thankful to them,' Shin thought.

Seeing his confused expression, Martha once again began to speak,

"Shin-sama. You should know that his eminence don't have a son or even a grandson. After you came here, we've seen his eminence be so happy teaching you about the things that he knew. So, please accept our heartfelt gratitude."

All of them once again bowed as they wanted to show their gratitude. Vasco has always been liked by children because of his kindness. Similar to the other top male exorcist named Dulio, Vasco would often visit some orphanages to extend a helping hand.

They never saw Vasco be in so much glee teaching someone about what he knows. It's their first time witnessing him be so happy. That's why, they wanted to extend their gratitude towards Shin.

Upon hearing Martha's explanation, Shin just shook his head and said,

"Please, you all don't have to thank me for that. Learning under Mr. Vasco is a blessing to me. In fact, I should be the one who should be thanking you all for taking care of me these past few months."

When everyone heard him say this, they only showed a warm smile. Not wanting to press the issue anymore, they just remained silent and let the subject lay. Martha then approached Shin and accompanied him towards his destination.

Walking out of the mansion's gate, Shin and Martha engaged in a conversation. They talked about some trivial topics about her work, her everyday life, and such. While they were talking, Martha noticed something that changed about the boy but she couldn't exactly put her finger on it.

'It's like... Shin-sama is more... comfortable to be with?' Martha thought as the both of them walked towards the training facility.

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A few minutes after walking, Shin and Martha arrived at the training facility. After arriving, Martha excused herself and disappeared in a flash. Shin wasn't surprised by this, knowing full well that the Cardinal Priest wouldn't hire some people who doesn't know how to fight and fend for themselves.

Shin then looked at the training facility in front of him and headed inside. He's not gonna say something so cheesy as, 'I'm back to my home' or anything. But, someone seems to be dissatisfied by this action of his.

『Awwe, how boring. You should say some cheesy lines that the protagonists say~,』 Yuki said.

Shin just ignored the so-called, 'self-proclaimed Dragon God' and headed towards the training facility. After entering inside, he was greeted by four little girls and one adult woman on her early twenties.

Upon seeing him arrive, two yellow flashes of light, accompanied by a brown flash, headed towards him. Shin knew exactly who these yellow and brown flashes are. He didn't dodge as he just braced himself for the impact.

With a ,"Oooof" sound, Shin was able to maintain his standing position. He doesn't really want them and himself to get hurt by crashing on the floor. Looking at the three little girls who's currently snuggling with him, Shin couldn't help but smile wryly.

"You girls, you shouldn't do that kind of thing. We might get hurt if you rush towards me like that. You understand, Asia, Irina, and Jeanne?" Shin said, reprimanding the three girls.

Yes, these three little girls were Asia Argento, Irina Shidou, and Jeanne Quarta. Due to Shin being away for a few months, they missed the things that he did for them when he was here. As the saying goes, "You wouldn't know what you have until you lose it".

After Shin was gone for five months, these three girls missed the times when Shin would spoil them. Patting their heads, playing, combing their hair, and etc. They all missed it.

Seeing how these girls were acting, Shin couldn't help but imagine what would happen when he returns to Heaven. He is closer with those girls so he knows that it would be much worse than this.

Feeling that enough time should have passed for them to calm down, Shin said,

"Alright, alright. We will catch up later. Could you please let me go now? Please?"

"A-A-Anooo, umm, s-sorry!" Asia said in a panic.

"Ehhh~! But I didn't get enough hugs yet~!" Irina complained.

"Right, right! We haven't seen Shi-kun for five months now, after all," Jeanne said in agreement to Irina's protest.

Upon hearing these two girl's complains, Shin just looked at them for a moment. Knowing them, these girls are probably just saying this to protest and are not serious about this.

'These girls. Let's see how you'll react when I did just that,' Shin thought.

He then hugged the two girls in front of him and rubbed his face against them. A few seconds later, Shin gave them a kiss on their cheeks and said,

"There. Satisfied?"

Shin didn't hear any reply from both of them as they really couldn't utter a reply right now. From their necks to their heads, a blush covered their faces. They were as red as tomatoes and some smokes are rising from on top of their heads.

"K-K-K-Kiss... S-Shin/S-Shi-kun k-kissed m-me," Irina and Jeanne mumbled.

When the image of Shin kissing them on their cheeks appeared again, they directly fainted.

"Kyuuu~"

Before they could drop on the floor, a calm and collected blue haired little girl caught them from behind. It was Xenovia Quarta.

"*sigh*, I knew it. They wanted hugs but they can't even take it and fainted," Xenovia said.

Shin approached the mumbling blue haired little girl and patted her head.

"Yosh yosh, I know that Xen-chan also wants to be spoiled~," Shin teased but Xenovia didn't even give him a reply as she just smiled cutely and rubbed her head against his hands.

Meanwhile, the little blonde angelic creature who watched the entire scene play out was very flustered.

"Awawawa! K-K-K-Kiss! S-Shin-san i-is! Myuuu~!"

Another one is down. It seems that her innocent brain couldn't handle the information that she received.

"You know, Shin-kun. You shouldn't tease them too much," the woman said.

This woman who have blonde hair with silver undertones and blue eyes is the person who brought Shin here and the legal guardian of Jeanne and Xenovia, Griselda Quarta. She didn't reprimand the little girls this time as she knew how much they missed this little boy in front of her.

These four girls trained so hard while he was away, making them improve by leaps and bounds. If she were to make a comparison, these four girls are now as strong as Shin when he first arrived.

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After returning to the training facility, Shin didn't change his schedule inside the Elemental Fox Reality Realm. Right now, he divided his time with physical exercise and learning under the instructors inside the facility and dividing his 16 hours of time with different training regimen.

There is parkour, sword training, magic training, close quarters combat training, then rest. Then, he would spend the remaining 48 hours inside the realm by meditating and gathering mana.

He continued with this schedule of his but he also didn't forget to sometimes play with children his age. Majority of the reason why he did this was to relax and remove his thoughts from his training. It is not a good idea to be too fixated on just training and neglect socializing with people. This may affect him in the long run. And, it won't hurt to have a larger circle of connections or friends.

As of right now, Shin is doing just that. He's playing with Jeanne, Asia, Xenovia, and Irina.

"S-Shin-san, a-ahhh~" a young blonde haired and green eyed little girl said.

"Asiaa~! You shouldn't call Darling by his name, you know?" a little girl with brown colored hair and violet colored irises said.

"Right right~! Asia-chan should call Darling as Darling too!" a blonde haired little girl with sky blue colored eyes said.

The little girl, who the previous girls referred to as Asia, replied while stuttering,

"B-B-B-But, w-we're just playing h-house, right?"

"Eeehh~! You're no fun~! That's why it's called 'Play House'! We need to play pretend that we're really Shi-kun's wife!" the blonde haired little girl with sky blue eyes said.

"Yup! Jeanne-chan is right! Asia-chan shouldn't be so stiff! Back in Kuoh Town, we always play house with my friends there!" the brown haired little girl with violet colored eyes said.

Suddenly, these two was startled when they saw that a blue haired little girl with dark yellow eyes approached Shin and said coolly,

"Anata, please eat this food that I made for you."

"Mm, thank you, Xen-chan," Shin said.

He then looked at the three little girls who are talking among each other and said,

"We're just playing pretend, Jeanne-chan, Irina-chan. No need to force Asia-chan to do what she don't want to do," Shin reprimanded.

Upon hearing his words, the two girls, Jeanne and Irina, nodded their heads. They look quite dejected as their shoulders were down and their cheerful smiles were gone.

"Alright alright, no need to pretend that you're lonely. Come here, you two. You too, Asia-chan," Shin said after letting out a sigh.

The two cheerful girls immediately brightened up as they ran towards Shin fast. Seeing them be like this, Xenovia couldn't help but say,

"You know, you two should just let Asia do things at her own pace. You can't force someone to do what they don't like."

Hearing this, the two of them stopped and nodded at Xenovia's words seriously.

"We understand, Xenovia-chan. We will be more careful next time," Jeanne said.

"Mm. Sister Griselda also said something like that yesterday to us," Irina said.

Xenovia just nodded her head upon seeing them agree with her. Aside from when she's being pampered by Shin, this little girl is normally calm and collected.

"Alright. Let's continue the serious talks after we finished playing. You girls should learn how to switch gears fast, okayy?" Shin advised.

After he said that, the little girl who he called as Asia hugged him with tears threatening to fall from her round and doe eyes.

"Shin-saaan~ Irina-san and Jeanne-san is bullying me~," Asia said.

Seeing her act like this, the three little girls couldn't help but throw some of their remarks.

"Asia-chan, how bold!" Jeanne exclaimed.

"Un, un! Asia-chan is so bold," Irina said while faking a shocked look on her face.

"Asia, I didn't know you were so bold," Xenovia said with a sad look on her face.

Hearing their remarks, Asia's face turned as red as a tomato as she shouted,

"M-Mouuuu! Please don't tease me, everyone!"

"Pfft, Ahahahaha!"

Everyone laughed at this as they all got chased by an angry Asia.

'This is not so bad. After this, I can finally return to Japan and train under the ninjas,' Shin thought as a bright smile appeared on his face.

No complicated thoughts are inside his head right now as he solely focused on having fun. He will get serious when he should but he will also relax when he can.

When you stretch a rubber band too far, it will eventually reach their breaking point. So, you have to be careful or it might snap back at you.

It's similar to life. If you rigorously work day in and day out without giving yourself a time to take a short breather, you might just one day find yourself at your breaking point. That's when all the overwork you did will come back and bite you in your ass.

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A/N:

• A few more chapters with some time skips are still ahead of us!

• As I've said multiple times, don't bother thinking that this story will follow the 'main plot'. If you don't like that idea, you're free to drop the novel. I don't mind. Based on the changes that I made, it is pretty obvious that I won't follow it strictly.

• Read my review if you have any more questions.