The next morning, before the morning dew had dried.
Since he now technically carried the title of "half a master," Shane deliberately got up early. With half an hour still left before their agreed time, he yawned his way to the open ground by the stream.
But someone was even more impatient than he was.
"You're too slow!"
Before he could even plant his feet, a girl's annoyed complaint reached him first.
In the crystal-clear stream, Mira stood barefoot on smooth river stones. She looked like she'd been there a long time—kicking at the water in boredom. The moment she saw Shane, she stopped, planted her hands on her hips, and glared up at him with a deliberately fierce expression.
She's really fired up… Shane thought, silently grumbling. He pointed at the thin morning sun that had only just risen and said helplessly, "Miss, look at the time. It's only seven-thirty."
"I've been waiting here since six!"
Mira hopped out of the stream as if that settled the matter. She didn't even bother drying her feet—just let her wet soles slap against the dirt and grass as she marched up to him and demanded, chin raised, "So? That 'partial Take Over' you talked about yesterday—how do I do it?"
Shane lifted an eyebrow. He'd noticed it already: day by day, this girl was getting livelier—and ruder. The cautious, withdrawn mask she'd worn when they first met was completely gone.
Still, her eagerness to master her demon form suited him just fine.
"Alright. Then we start." Shane dropped the teasing tone and held out his hand. "Hold it."
Mira hesitated for a split second, then did as told.
Her hand still carried the coolness of stream water. The moment their hands met, her fingers curled slightly—but she didn't pull away.
"Close your eyes. Feel the 'reservoir' inside you." Shane's voice lowered.
Keeping hold of her, he began guiding her—threading the flow pattern of his own Spirit Assimilation magic through contact, little by little, into Mira's body.
"Don't think about 'letting the demon out.' Think of yourself as part of the demon."
He broke down his long-practiced method of partial manifestation—every detail, every sensation—without holding back.
"Like a puzzle. You don't need the whole picture. Start with the simplest piece."
"Imagine your right arm is a separate container… close the gate smaller… let the flow go only there…"
To be honest, Mira's talent for Take Over Magic was terrifying.
With Shane acting like a walking cheat code—hand-holding her through the magic circuits—she caught on fast. In barely two or three hours, with a faint click…
The right arm that had housed the demon the longest was "taken over" on its own—without triggering a full-body mutation.
"It worked?!" Mira's eyes went wide with delight as she stared at the obedient, vicious-looking claw.
"Try attacking me."
"Oh." Mira didn't hold back—she lunged in shamelessly.
After a few quick exchanges, Shane immediately realized the problem: this state was extremely unstable.
If the fight got too intense—or if he provoked her with a couple of words—her magic would surge like a runaway horse, blow past the seal, and make demon traits spread out of control.
That demon's really domineering… Shane thought, swinging his black blade to block an out-of-control strike. Then, patient again, he pointed out the issues one by one.
In truth, he'd been using Spirit Assimilation for a long time now—his experience was far deeper than Mira imagined. He wasn't limited to just his eyes; if he wanted, he could partially manifest limbs and even sections of his torso.
It was just that as his overall stats rose and his full transformation time increased, partial manifestation became less cost-effective. Only the eyes were still worth manifesting on their own.
Surprisingly, even prideful Mira didn't resist his teaching at all. She learned like a sponge—greedily absorbing every bit of experience, obediently adjusting her breathing and magic output again and again.
Watching her fail repeatedly yet improve visibly each time, Shane felt genuinely satisfied.
At this rate, finishing his trial was only a matter of time.
…
The days that followed became steady and full.
Shane woke early every day—mornings were hands-on instruction, helping Mira fine-tune the details of her magic circulation.
Afternoons, he became her sparring partner, using real combat to stabilize her partial manifestation.
Sometimes—because they were both broke to an almost comedic degree—Shane would take Mira to the guild and pick moderate-difficulty subjugation requests.
Mira led most fights while Shane watched the flanks, only stepping in when things turned dangerous.
Under that kind of pressure, her growth was shockingly fast.
Shane's side, though, was a little awkward: to accommodate Mira's beginner stage, they kept taking lower-paying jobs, and his debt repayment crawled along at a turtle's pace.
He even squeezed time to visit a few reputable weapon dealers, showing off magically crafted weapons he'd forged, hoping to land a partnership.
But reality was harsh.
He was too young, and he had no name in the forging world. Negotiations often ended badly.
Even when merchants could tell his weapons were good, established guilds still dismissed him as a "brat"—convinced a newly promoted S-Class mage dabbling in forging was just playing around.
And the small workshops willing to cooperate? Shane didn't like their scale or distribution.
After going in circles, his "get rich" plan had to be shelved again.
…
Time flew. Two months passed in a blink.
On a winter plain, the wind was biting cold.
"ROAAAR—!!"
A massive rock-wielding mountain brute bellowed, trying to intimidate its "prey" with sheer sound.
But the roar lasted barely half a second before it cut off.
Shhk—!
A purple afterimage traced a beautiful arc through the air—like a reaper's scythe.
Riiip—!!
With a sickening tear, blood sprayed like rain and splashed across the frozen ground.
Midair, the white-haired girl looked wild and radiant in a violet-black aura. A pair of enormous demon wings spread behind her, blotting out the sky—beautiful and eerie in a way that didn't match her age.
Mira merely flicked her claw once.
The mountain brute, thick-skinned and tough, split cleanly in half like paper—so fast it didn't even get to scream.
Thud.
The corpse crashed down, kicking up dust.
"Hah… seriously weak. Not even a warm-up."
Mira landed lightly, wings beating the air and blowing the dust away. Heat steamed off her body from exertion, and beads of sweat rolled down her long neck, disappearing into the rise and fall of her heaving chest.
"You should be taking higher-difficulty jobs. This is pathetic."
She strode up like it was nothing, casually resting the blood-wet claw on Shane's shoulder, her tone picky as ever.
"…" Shane looked down, his nose filled with that sweet, sticky smell—blood mixed with demon aura. He frowned and shoved her "demon hand" away in disgust.
"Talk without getting blood on me. And stop getting so close—you're drenched in sweat."
"So what?" Mira didn't back off. Instead, like a cat who'd found a new toy, she leaned in deliberately.
Then—grinning—she smeared the blood splashed on her face across Shane's clean chest.
"You—"
Shane's eye twitched as his neat white shirt turned red in an instant.
Over the last two months, this girl had gotten way too familiar. Way too shameless.
Since protesting was pointless, he forced himself to ignore it and began reviewing the fight instead.
"That last strike was good. At this point, you should be able to handle Full Take Over: Satan Soul proficiently."
That was the official name Master Makarov had told them.
"Your strength, speed, and magic control are all up to standard. Now it's just time—grinding and conditioning until your body adapts."
"Really?!" Mira's eyes lit up. She snapped her head up from Shane's chest, practically vibrating with excitement.
"Then… can I go back and settle the score with Erza now?!"
"…" Shane studied the girl—reeking of blood, vivid with life.
Under his "training," Mira had patched up her combat fundamentals, learned to use her wings for aerial fighting, and raised her Take Over proficiency drastically.
Compared to two months ago, she was reborn—her overall strength had multiplied several times.
Of course, that kind of explosive growth was only possible during this early "potential explosion" stage. It wouldn't be easy to replicate later.
"Yeah… you've got a shot," Shane answered honestly.
And silently added: if Erza still uses that same Flying Armor to fight you.
"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go back right now!!"
Mira ignited instantly, unwilling to waste even a second. With a boom, she kicked off and shot upward.
But she didn't even make it three seconds.
"Huh…?"
Mid-rise, the excitement froze on her face. Her body went limp. Demon traits peeled off her like a receding tide. Her spiky white hair fell soft again.
One second she was a terrifying demon. The next she dropped out of the air like a cut kite.
"…" On the ground, Shane sighed like a man who'd seen this movie too many times. He reached out on instinct.
Thump.
Warm, soft weight hit his arms—Mira crashed into him.
Not a romantic princess carry. More like catching a sandbag: one arm around her waist, one under her legs.
Shane looked down at the girl in his arms, amused and exhausted at once.
How badly did she want to beat Erza, exactly?
Out loud, he stayed in teacher mode.
"Same problem as always."
"Your magic reserves are huge for your age, but Satan Soul's drain is huge too."
"Can't maintain full-power Take Over—this is your weakness right now."
He gave her a small bounce for emphasis.
"Daily magic conditioning. Don't you dare stop. Got it?"
"Stop nagging…" Mira struggled weakly, still stubborn even while powerless.
"I meditate every day! I was just too hyped!"
Then she went right back to her one-track obsession.
"Anyway! I'm out of juice now—carry me home! I'm going to find Erza!!"
She waved her fist, totally focused on "fight = fun."
Recently, she'd earned enough from requests to pay Erza back with interest. She was debt-free, confident, and no longer felt awkward around Erza in the guild.
Shane looked at her, shook his head, and sighed.
"Fine. People who haven't eaten enough losses never learn."
He knew better than anyone how crucial stamina was—he'd been forced to change tactics plenty of times when spirit form time ran out.
"Alright. New Year's is close anyway. Time to head back."
With the request wrapped up and this training phase basically complete, Shane didn't linger. After collecting proof materials, he opened his black mechanical wings with a click.
With a boom, the two streaked into the sky, leaving the mountain brute's corpse far behind.
Wind howled past.
Shane glanced down at Mira, who'd finally quieted in his arms.
I need to find an opportunity to give this brat a real lesson.
Teach her the art of managing mana.
So she wouldn't get beat senseless someday because she ran out of power—and make him look like an incompetent "half-master."
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 120 Chapters Ahead of Others!