Why am I so hard?

The consorts stood before the wooden statues, their injuries still fresh from the previous battle. Commander Aethera's words echoed in their minds: "You're not just fighting with your weapons; you're fighting with your wits. Use your surroundings, use teamwork, and wield your weapons effectively."

Kae, still clutching his stomach, glanced at Tharros, who nodded with grim determination. The other consorts exchanged resolute looks, and without a word, they charged forward as one.

This time, despite their injuries, they fought with everything they had. Their weapons gleamed with a fierce intensity, reflecting their determination, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't defeat the statues before them.

Tharros took point, using his agility to dodge his statue's initial attacks. But he knew it wouldn't last; he had to find a way to defeat it soon, or he might not survive the hour. He doubted the Elyria would even care.

Kae, his sword flashing in the dim light, struck at the statue attacking him with all his strength. But each blow drained his energy, making it harder to catch his breath. No matter how he fought back, the statue's relentless attacks wore him down.

The other consorts fought desperately, but they, too, were overpowered. Some even attempted to flee, but the statues pursued them with unrelenting ferocity, striking with merciless precision.

As they fought, Kae noticed something; there was a pattern to the statue's attacks. They repeated the same sequence of moves over and over.

"What...?" Kae's eyes widened as he realized. "They're using the same skills."

{You're smart, after all. I thought none of you would notice until the end of the training. The statues are only imbued with ten specific moves.}

{If you can block all ten moves, they'll crumble.}

{The other consorts are fools. Only you need to block the statue's moves ten times. Do that, and all the statues will fall, as they are mere replicas of the original.}

Kae murmured under his breath, "Nice," and focused on blocking the statue's attacks.

"He figured it out?" Commander Aethera muttered, a smile creeping onto her lips.

Kae managed to block the statue's moves ten times, and as the tenth blow was deflected, his statue and all the others dissolved into thin air.

Tharros collapsed to the ground, exhausted. "One hour is over? Did we really fight those magical statues for an hour?"

The other consorts fell to the ground as well, panting heavily, their weapons slipping from their hands.

"It wasn't even close to an hour," one consort voiced out as he pants heavily for breath. "Not even ten minutes."

"Maybe Commander Aethera couldn't stand seeing us get beaten anymore," another consort murmured.

"Huh? You must be dreaming. The Elyria have no sympathy. There must be a reason the statues disappeared. But whatever it was, I'm just glad they're gone," another consort chimed in, wincing in pain.

"Alright, consorts," Commander Aethera called out. "Training is over for today. We'll meet here again tomorrow evening to continue."

"What?" Tharros raised an eyebrow. "We're still going to train tomorrow, in this condition? You expect our injuries to heal by then?"

"Yes," Aethera replied, her tone serious. "Your injuries today show your weakness. I want to see if you sustain fewer injuries tomorrow. Only Consort Kae was able to defeat his statue, and his victory saved the rest of you."

All eyes turned to Kae, who was still wincing in pain, unaware of the attention.

"He defeated Malumbra and now the magical statues," Tharros muttered under his breath.

"Anyway," Aethera continued, "I have more important matters to attend to. Have a pleasant evening. Palace maids and doctors will be sent to your chambers to tend to your injuries." With that, she turned and left the training ground, followed by Teacher Vynessa.

Soon after, palace maids and Elyria guards arrived with carriages. They helped the consorts into the carriages, each accompanied by a doctor and a maid, and transported them to their respective dorms.

_______

Kae lay on his bed, his body sore, and his injuries bandaged as he watched the doctor, dressed in a blue uniform, attend to him. Anna, his personal maid, stood beside him with a bowl of warm water and towels soaked in it.

"Alright, Queen Consort," the doctor, a middle-aged human man, said with a slight bow. "I've performed some acupuncture to help relieve your pain, and I will boil some herbs that my apprentice will deliver tonight." She turned to Anna. "Take good care of your master."

"Yes, Doctor. Thank you," Anna replied with a bow and escorted the doctor out.

As soon as the doctor and Anna left the room, Kae managed to sit up on his bed.

"How am I supposed to fight tomorrow with these injuries?" Kae asked, struggling to catch his breath.

{Of course you will, host. I told you, for every Elyria you enslave, there would be a gift.}

"Yeah, that's true. You haven't given me a gift for enslaving Commander Aethera," Kae raised an eyebrow.

{I have, though. When you got distracted during dual cultivation and vomited a mouthful of blood, I treated your body. That was a gift, but I might treat you again.}

"Oh, I see... Treat me again then. The doctors here are quacks," Kae uttered with a heavy sigh.

{The treatment begins now, but it has a side effect.}

"Huh? What side effect?" Kae asked, raising an eyebrow.

{Well, I don't know until you take the treatment. You'll have to take the Golden Sun medicine and then find out its effect. But trust me, you won't die.}

Kae sighed at the system's words. "Alright, go ahead. Just make me well!" he uttered. Immediately, a golden box appeared before him, opening to reveal a golden circular medicine. It shone brightly like the sun, making it difficult for Kae to look at.

{That's the Golden Sun medicine. Eat it and see its effect.}

Kae took the medicine and swallowed it. He expected it to be bitter, but surprisingly, it tasted like candy from his world.

Suddenly, his body began radiating a golden light that filled the entire room. Kae himself turned golden, the light so intense that it could blind anyone who looked directly at him.

"Huh? I feel better now. Is this the side effect of the medicine you mentioned?"

{No! The golden light will disappear soon.}

Just as the system said, the golden light slowly faded, and everything returned to normal.

At that moment, Anna walked in, carrying another bowl of warm water and towels soaked inside.

"You should be resting, master. You're still injured," she said, her gaze falling on Kae. She rushed over to him, helping him lie back down on the bed.

But as soon as Anna touched him, Kae's body reacted his desire ignited, and his resolve weakened.

"What's wrong, master?" Anna asked, her expression filled with concern as she gently massaged Kae's forehead.

"Why am I so hard? Is this the effect? Am I going to stay like this?" Kae asked inwardly, ignoring Anna's question.

{Yes, until you get intimate with a human maid.}

"A human maid? What do you mean?" Kae questioned in his mind.

{There's a human maid beside you.}

"What?! This is Tharros's sister!" Kae protested silently.

{She's the first person to touch you, so she'll be the one you get intimate with.}