Chapter 80

"Hmm..."

The soft touch and warm body temperature, along with the tickling scent, woke me up. The sky had just begun to brighten.

I was sandwiched between two people in their nightwear, being used as a body pillow.

"Hmm... Good morning..."

"Good morning, Ashley."

"Yes..."

When I made a small movement, Ashley greeted me. Her deep, amethyst-like gaze met mine.

However, it seemed Ashley was still not fully awake; after opening her eyes slightly, she quickly closed them again. She rested her cheek on my shoulder and breathed softly.

Just before falling back asleep, she had a deeply relaxed smile on her face. I could feel that she trusted me, but the body pillow situation remained unchanged.

...Lately, whether it's to counteract Grace's backlash or to perform Ashley's circulation training, we've been doing more of these activities in the master bedroom before going to sleep.

While it's necessary for Grace and Ashley, it ends up feeling like a three-person time. So, we've been increasing the time we spend in the bedroom, taking it easy.

Both of them seem to feel reassured and comfortable, and they fall into a deep sleep.

During the summer, we use magic to lower the room temperature to create a comfortable sleeping environment, and it often results in the body pillow situation by morning.

Through experience, we've learned that the effects of circulation training are more significant when the contact area and duration are greater. Ashley's movements during sparring with Siera and Rosetta have clearly improved.

While I find full-body contact somewhat problematic from a rational standpoint and try to limit it, considering our dungeon dives, it's not something I can be too hesitant about, which is a bit of a dilemma.

Regarding my own issue—ultimately, casting a sleep spell on myself is a matter of endurance, so I've been dealing with it that way recently. It's not wise to rely solely on self-control.

"Heheh..."

A small voice came from the other side.

Grace had opened her eyes slightly and was smiling gently.

"Good morning, Theo."

"Yeah. Good morning. Did I wake you up?"

"I can still watch your sleeping faces even if I wake up early."

She narrowed her eyes. ...Hmm. I'm not sure how to react to that.

"You're used to my face, right?"

"I like it. The feel of your hair, the color of your eyes, and so on."

She gently ran her fingers through my hair.

"I'll prepare breakfast in a little while, so please rest until then."

She said, but...

With the sensation of Ashley's body in my arms and the tickling from Grace's fingers, it was quite difficult to fall back asleep.

"No. I'll get up too. I woke up early, so I might do some morning practice in the garden."

I carefully slipped my arm out from under the sleeping Ashley and gently stroked her hair. Grace saw me off as I left the house.

Training, huh. Using a beginner's magic wand to spar with my companions is good, but in that case, I, with my excessive offensive power, have to mainly take the defensive role without counterattacking.

While my defensive skills and Ashley's offensive skills are honed, the reverse is neglected, which is a problem.

Moreover, my fighting style involves controlling magic while engaging in close combat, and I can't channel magic into the wand during training, so my magic handling ability is underutilized during sparring.

Therefore, I've been thinking about other training menus for when we're not in the dungeon. I had an idea that could also be useful for Ashley's training if it works well.

"Create Golem"

I created four golems of about my height using earth magic. They aren't particularly agile or capable of complex commands. Their movements are a combination of pre-programmed actions and real-time control, so they can be predictable. However, I decided to add a twist.

Alright. Let's start the training with the golems surrounding me.

They attack from all sides, either in sync or staggered, and I have to deal with them.

I've set up coordinated attacks that are challenging to handle, but since I'm controlling them, the golems can't predict my movements.

I ducked to avoid a golem's arm coming from behind and thrust my staff backward. The thrust had a good feel to it. Without breaking the thrusting motion, I reversed the grip and swung the staff to knock away a golem in front of me. I then spun the staff like a windmill, striking the heads of golems coming from the sides. I slammed one down with the staff and launched the other from below with a delayed timing.

The golems, once destroyed, would fly away and then reform to rejoin the battle. This cycle repeated.

The advantage of being able to attack freely is excellent, but it still feels insufficient. It's like a combination of pre-arranged sparring and shadow boxing.

However, things change when I occasionally mix in Caduceus's attacks. Attacks like thrusts with rounded tips, whip-like strikes, and snare traps come from between the golems.

While not lethal, the attacks are quite sharp. Given that Caduceus can perform such movements on my command, it's truly an outstanding familiar.

I can use Magic Shield in addition to staff-based defense and evasion. Good. This is what training should be.

By having Caduceus provide support and engage in guerrilla tactics, I can introduce unexpected movements. Essentially, it's close combat training with Caduceus while controlling the four golems.

This trains my magic control, close combat skills, and Caduceus's combat experience. It's a win-win situation.

I evade Caduceus's attacks and crush the golems, immediately controlling them to reform and continue attacking. I knock them down and pull them over, repeating the cycle.

I don't let the golems stand up each time. Instead, I have them counterattack immediately from the ground, compensating for their slow movements. I use their body parts to close the distance.

I dodge a strike from Caduceus, hidden behind a golem, and see another attack coming from behind, piercing through a golem's abdomen. This is unexpected. If I stay on the ground, the golems will form a wall, leaving no space to dodge. I plant my staff on the ground and perform a side roll, moving away from the spot.

The golems' movements are becoming more optimized and refined, gradually increasing in difficulty. I can do even more.

"You're... doing something unbelievable again."

As I got more and more into it, losing track of time, Siera and the others arrived. They were wearing prototype aerial equipment from the workshop, indicating they were also here for morning training.

"Good morning."

"Yeah. Good morning."

"Is that... a new training method?"

Ilm tilted her head.

"Just an idea I had. This way, everyone can train for group combat."

I can adjust the density and material of the golems to remove lethality. Since it's not a real battle, unlike in the dungeon, we don't need to consider safety margins. Grace can participate in training without worrying about her opponents.

This has significant implications.

For example, we can train for near-limit attacks and nasty coordinated attacks. I can train everyone while improving my control skills, making it a win-win situation.

"Can we... do that too?"

Siera's expression seemed unusually tense, as if she had sensed something from my smile.

"Well, yeah. I can adjust the difficulty and the number of golems. If we use water golems, we can do aerial combat without getting dirty or injured, and it should be safe."

I won't make it too harsh. Such training is meaningless if it can't be continued. With my circulation training and Ashley's healing magic, physical fatigue won't be an issue.

So, until Grace called us for breakfast, we did some intense aerial combat training with the new training method.

"It's impossible. That timed attack is impossible."

"Close the distance boldly. It's better to stick to the opponent who's coming at you first, using them as a shield."

"How do I avoid that?"

"For deviated shots, either move away from the spot before it hits or use defensive magic. Identify the less dense areas of the projectiles and slip in, using defensive magic to cover. The key is to avoid predictable movements."

"Wait, do arrows work on water golems? Is Theo just pretending to be hit?"

"Maybe it's because Ilm's bow can channel magic through the string? It interferes with my control, making it quite effective. If she can channel more and heavier magic, it will make a difference."

"Okay. I'll work on it."

...Considering the various elements, including the challenges of fighting demons and the tough experiences in BFO's PvP, I think we had a very intense and productive session. As we continued, their movements improved, and I could also apply the golem control techniques to my own training.

I plan to use both real combat in the dungeon and pushing the limits in training to improve.