"Hah~ what a waste of meat,"
Shin murmured, gazing at the unfortunate spectacle before them.
The massive body of the supposed floor boss lay utterly charred, a monument of burnt flesh directly in their path.
Yue herself wondered at the sudden, overwhelming surge in her magical power.
Could this really be due to Shin's blood? she questioned internally, her crimson eyes gleaming with a mix of awe and curiosity.
The feeling was similar to the first time she'd drank from him, but far more potent.
Shin glanced at the golden-haired vampire princess, who now pouted and glared at him, subtly placing the blame.
Earlier, she'd intended to help, unleashing what she'd claimed was a "smaller blue fireball" compared to the one she used on the scorpion guardian monster.
In reality, it had completely engulfed their target, leaving nothing but burnt flesh and soot.
The floor boss monster on the other hand can't do anything but writhe in pain and suffering for the blue "smaller fire ball" slowly engulfed its body.
"Yue, next time just use other magic besides fire, or we'll be losing potential meals," Shin told her, already walking toward the monster's black, charred remnants.
"Hmmph, it's not my fault!" Yue insisted, her pout deepening.
"My magic's just gotten too powerful because of Shin's blood."
Shin knelt and poked his wooden sword at the burnt corpse.
"Even the bones are burnt through. There's not a single edible part left. You're lucky this floor's fauna is so plentiful, or we'd be eating jerky for a week."
Finding no usable remains, Shin sighed and signaled Yue to turn back.
With their anticlimactic battle behind them, they returned to their temporary base to gather their supplies.
Shin, cautious of future 'overkills' and the loss of potential food, quickly forbade Yue from using her destructive fire magic for general combat.
Yue pouted, insisting it wasn't her fault for the unexpected boost in her magical output.
******
Weeks passed as their journey deeper into the Abyss continued.
The two steadily grew stronger, adapting to the ever-increasing dangers of each floor.
Shin meticulously sampled and consumed new monster meat from every level, ensuring he took samples of each species for future study.
Hunting became far more efficient with Yue's lightning magic, which could precisely strike vital points or immobilize foes.
Shin also began training Yue's physical strength.
Yue agreed at first but soon regretted it. Shin's regimen was Spartan-like, pushing her far beyond her perceived limits.
"Shin! I can't do it anymore!!" Yue cried, tears welling in her eyes as her muscles screamed in protest.
"You're a regenerating vampire princess, aren't you?"
Shin retorted without looking back, doing another set of sword swings himself.
"You're built for this and it will make much stronger~"
Shin offered her a smile that was not entirely kind.
"Please Shin!!"
Yue dramatically pleads as if she borrowed money from a gangster to pay her parents' medical bills.
"Don't wanna~, and who is the girl that won't listen to stop her teasing and intense blood drinking?"
Shin asked Yue with a playful smile indicating that this was payback for Yue's frequent teasing and intense drinking.
"guh~"
Yue can't retort on Shin's remarks and just stayed on her strengthening routine.
I'll make sure to drink more intensely later and tease you more!!
She added in her mind while pouting and grumbling doing push ups.
Shin's intense payback training, combined with the constant consumption of new monster meat and regular sips of his blood, caused Yue's body to begin resonating with subtle, unnoticeable changes.
The small, seemingly insignificant changes piled up over time, preparing for something much larger.
********
Floor 75 of the Orcus Great Labyrinth since the fall, a fact confirmed by the writing in Shin's book.
Inside a new base on the floor, two figures were sleeping.
One of them was clinging to the other, who now began to wake up.
Shin, as was his routine, woke up early the next morning.
But something felt strange.
The usual feeling of a flat-chested vampire princess clinging to him was gone, replaced by the surprising sensation of two warm bulges of flesh pressed against his arm.
"Yue?"
Shin murmured, a note of surprise in his voice as he stared at his side.
The petite figure that normally barely reached his chest now came up to his shoulders.
Her formerly pretty and cute face had transformed into the beauty of a high school student, a face that would receive a perfect score in any crowd.
"Mmmn~, Shin?" Yue mumbled, just waking up.
Shin continued to stare, his eyes wide as he took in her unexpected transformation.
Yue tried to sit up but felt an immediate difference in her posture and the length of her limbs.
She was utterly surprised by her sudden growth, which was supposed to be impossible due to her constitution—a condition that not only healed her but also stunted any future physical development.
She looked down at her chest.
"Boing... boing?"
Her formerly almost flat and "sad" chest now had a distinct pair of medium-sized hills.
Eh? I finally have this!
Such thoughts run through her mind.
A soft blush spread across her cheeks as she studied her changed body, her gaze lingering on the unexpected curves.
Shin, on the other hand, left the dazing Yue to her self-discovery and prepared their breakfast, a faint, amused smile playing on his lips.
After breakfast, Shin and Yue discussed her changes.
Yue explained her unique condition: a "stunted growth" that bound her to a childlike physique and preserved her body's constitution from when she first awakened her Atavist skill.
This revelation made Shin inwardly chuckle, realizing Yue was technically a 'legal loli,' but he wisely decided not to ask for or correct her age.
He remembered Ageha-nee's strict teachings: never question a woman's age.
Their conclusion was clear: the growth was likely caused by a combination of Shin's blood and the diverse monster meat Yue had consumed.
His blood had acted as a catalyst, triggering a profound mutation within her, allowing her body to overcome its previously stunted state.
But her body wasn't the only thing that had changed.
With the relentless training pushing her limits, Yue now possessed a perfect physique and a true mage's constitution.
This remarkable evolution triggered by Shin's training and supplements had covered some of her previous physical weaknesses specially her stamina and, more astonishingly, nearly doubled her already large mana reserve.
Shin, on the other hand, could feel a subtle resonance with Yue.
It was as if some of her newly unlocked, untapped energy was now slightly flowing into him, unlike the previous stagnant state his own mysterious powers often held which only moved when restoring a torn page of his old book or when Yue drinks his blood.