Chapter 31

Third day of training

{Beasts of Destruction} Rias's voice echoed through the valley. Eden, observing Rias's battle from the sky, couldn't help but think she could have made better progress in those three days, despite learning two new spells. Nonetheless, it was acceptable progress. Red magical circles opened around her, summoning animals made of dark energy to defend their Mistress. She faced a considerable number of werewolves as her opponents. As the creatures charged, disintegrating the ground beneath them, any part of the werewolves they touched also disintegrated.

Watching the destructive power of the spell, Eden knew he had  to change Rias's approach to combat. When they had first started training, he had discussed her fighting style with her. She had been emulating her brother but hadn't been doing a great job. So, he decided it was time for a change. Instead of relying on unleashing a lot of destructive energy and hoping for hits, he had created various destruction spells, each with its unique feature for Rias to use when necessary. He envisioned Rias fighting by patiently waiting for the perfect opportunity before casting a game-changing spell.

During the dungeon crawl, Rias sustained some injuries but managed to clear the dungeon on her own. Upon exiting the Dungeon, Eden decided not to check his stats and loot. "Rias, you did well. Take your break and meet back here to start team dungeon crawling."

"Thanks, I'm going to take a bath before grabbing a bite," she said before teleporting away. Eden knew Issei and Mittelt would be emerging from the dungeon soon, so he decided to pass the time by reading something.

Issei was the first to emerge, looking fine but wearing entirely new armor instead of his school outfit. He had switched to scaly armor. Following him was Mittelt, who had a brown cloak draped over her nearly destroyed goth lolita clothing.

"So, how did you like the dungeon?" Eden asked.

"What the heck was that?" Issei exclaimed. All the members of Rias's peerage knew that rating games took place in simulated environments, so a training simulation wasn't too far-fetched for them. However, the first time they entered one, it exceeded their expectations. These simulations were more like stepping into a new dimension. The only difference was that upon returning, all wounds were healed, and death merely resulted in ejection.

"That was a dungeon, buddy. Did you enjoy the trip?"

"No, you sent me into a forest filled with dragons! If they were dragon girls, I would've been okay with it, but for three days, it was just lizards..."

Listening to Issei's complaints, Eden attempted to distract him in the best way he knew how. "Issei, your master just went to the baths. Maybe you can catch her coming out if you hurry."

"Wait, where? How?" Issei inquired. After explaining to him how to teleport to the baths, Eden left, not wanting to miss an opportunity to perv on his master.

"Mittelt, you can take a break, but be back here in two hours. I'll ask about your ability then," he told her. As he spoke, he took a bag out of his inventory. It was a magic bag containing a restock of potions and a new weapon for Mittelt – a rare-class spear with the unbreakable property.

"Thank you, Master," Mittelt said with a courteous nod before teleporting away.

With Issei and Mittelt occupied, Eden teleported to the void, where Gasper was immersed in a book, seated on the invisible ground. "It's time for you to go; I think you've gotten the hang of it," Eden informed him.

"Yes, I think so, Eden," Gasper replied. Among Rias's peerage, Eden had gotten to know Gasper the most, aside from Rias herself. Manipulating time and space was a challenging skill to learn, as Eden knew firsthand. It was difficult because visualizing time and space was tricky, and these entities didn't take kindly to manipulation, especially for extended periods.

"Instead of joining your fellow peerage members in the dungeon, I'll be taking you into one to get used to using magic outside the void," Eden explained. He teleported Gasper back to the foyer and then took a break himself. In the grand library, nestled in a corner of Asia, he was engrossed in a book. After the events involving Serafall, their relationship had taken a somewhat different turn. Asia had become more affectionate, seeking his help with her training more frequently. She would snuggle up to him when he sat close, and she even started making his lunch.

"Asia, it's time for a break," Eden said, but Asia seemed to be asleep and didn't respond. Eden cast an "Energy Healing" spell, immediately waking her up.

"Asia, if you need more stamina potions, just ask," he told her. "I'm not out; I just forgot to drink one. I thought I could go one more hour without one," she replied.

"Don't do that. It strains your body until you have enough mana to infuse into your body. You're still basically a normal human," Eden cautioned. While he had an immense pool of mana, for normal humans, their physical abilities only improved after their mana reached a certain threshold. Eden had created a spell to permanently increase Asia's mana supplies so that she would be at least on par with a reincarnated devil. However, he wanted her to improve her mana manipulation skills first.

"I just used Energy Healing on you, but you should still get some sleep," he advised. Asia blushed and then nervously asked, "Umm, can you, umm, sleep in the same bed as me? I mean, it would help me get some sleep."

"That's fine. Should we sleep in my bedroom or yours?" Eden asked. He had intended to head to his laboratory to work on improving his Life Science skill, but he figured that two hours wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Yours, if that's okay," Asia replied. Eden teleported them both to his master bedroom. The bed was large enough to accommodate around five people, and the room also featured a spacious sitting area with a TV, a bookshelf covering an entire wall, and copies of famous paintings from museums worldwide.

"Okay, do you need to change, or can you sleep in that?" Eden asked.

"Where is the bathroom?" Asia inquired. After directing her to the bathroom, Eden removed his hoodie, leaving him in a white tee and sweatpants. He hopped onto the bed, realizing it had been a while since he'd slept because of his incredibly high stamina; he usually didn't require much sleep. While waiting for Asia, he took out his phone and scrolled through pictures he had taken during scenic dungeon trips with Rias. He had started taking selfies to post, as Serafall had expressed her desire for him to share more. He hadn't done it often due to being busy, but with several free days ahead, he decided to stockpile pictures for future posting when he returned to school. Additionally, over the past three days, he had played d "Golden Tricks," the dating sim that Anmao had given him. Eden wasn't the biggest fan of dating sims, but with his newfound free time, he thought he'd give it a try.

After about two minutes, Asia entered the room wearing a sleeping gown. She nervously climbed into the bed and moved closer to him in the spacious bed. Eden cast the "Off" spell, turning off the lights. Asia had settled right next to him, not yet asleep but clearly attempting to do so. Eden, who hadn't slept in a while due to not needing to decided he should also he some shut eye.