As Rain's hand slowly traced over his neck, the exact place where Kessi's soft lips and tongue had touched moments ago, his eyes widened slightly. The bruises and pain were completely gone without even leaving behind a faint mark.
"I-It healed…" Rain muttered in surprise while touching the smooth skin again just to make sure he wasn't imagining things.
"Told you. My Slavia can help people heal," Kessi replied innocently, her calm gaze remaining fixed on him. "Should I heal you more?"
Rain instantly forced out a hesitant smile while waving both hands lightly. "N-No need haha… I'm totally fine now, see?" he said quickly while moving around a little to prove it.
'For a second, I almost forgot one of her "BITS"…'
Kessi possessed strength far beyond ordinary people—even compared to most from her own race. Despite her elegant and quiet appearance, the physical strength she possessed was overwhelmingly brute. On top of that, she had healing abilities that were absurdly useful.
But more importantly…
She was simply too innocent.
Yeah, many people thought she was just an airhead or perhaps too arrogant to acknowledge others, but in reality it was all one giant misunderstanding. Kessi was simply too pure to even understand many of those otherworldly dirty thoughts, hidden intentions, or complicated social games people played around her.
And that… was one of her "BITS."
Honestly, it was something so obvious that even a monkey-brained idiot should have noticed it eventually, yet people were often somehow worse than that. So nobody ever truly grasped it.
Of course—Rain was an exception.
Even without the "BITS", he already understood that much without a single doubt.
Whether that innocence was a blessing or something dangerous for her own future was hard to say.
'I really shouldn't take advantage of a girl this pure… no weird thoughts.'
It was one of the few moral lines Rain still stubbornly held onto—never taking advantage of someone with such a genuinely innocent soul.
She looked at Rain quietly for a moment before suddenly asking with visible curiosity, "Do you… want to practice with me? I can help."
Rain blinked in confusion, completely caught off guard by the sudden proposal.
'What? Why this all of a sudden?'
But before he could even properly think about it, Kessi calmly added, "After all, with those ugly moves you can never beat the doll."
…Direct fatal damage.
Rain instantly stiffened where he stood like his soul had just left his body for a moment. Those words struck straight into the deepest and most vulnerable area possible with terrifying precision.
'Ugly moves…?'
A broken smile slowly formed on his face while something inside him quietly shattered into pieces.
'Hahaha… so I really am hopeless at this…'
And the worst part was—he couldn't even deny it. Not even a little.
No matter how much confidence Rain usually carried around, he clearly understood one thing: when it came to swordsmanship, Kessi was leagues above him. His fighting style mostly relied on instincts, reckless aggression, quick thinking, and improvisation during battle. He used his brain constantly while fighting, trying to create openings or force advantages through unpredictability.
But true swordsmanship was different.
Swordsmanship was never just about swinging a blade harder or faster than others. It wasn't something that could be mastered through clever tricks alone. At its core, it was about understanding the sword itself—understanding its weight, its flow, its rhythm, and eventually reaching a point where the blade and wielder moved almost as one existence.
A connection between heart and steel.
One of the most basic yet hardest truths behind the path of the sword.
And compared to someone like Kessi…
Rain's current swordsmanship honestly looked more like a random street thug wildly swinging around a giant piece of wood.
'If that's the case—'
Rain's expression immediately changed, confidence and excitement returning to his face once again.
"As long as you're willing to help, there's no way I'd refuse," he said with a grin.
Kessi gave a small nod before replying calmly, "That's good then… daily at 2 PM every day. How about that?" As she spoke, she slowly offered her hand toward him.
'This could seriously help me grow stronger…' Rain thought inwardly.
Honestly, there were only benefits for him here. Someone like Kessi personally helping him train was an opportunity people would kill for. There was no way he would miss a chance to become stronger—especially when he had his own reasons for desperately chasing power.
Rain grabbed her hand firmly before lightly closing it into a fist and bumping it with his own in a casual gesture between comrades.
"Deal," he said with a faint but genuine smile.
Kessi quietly glanced down at the strange gesture they had just made, the corners of her lips lifted ever so slightly into a faint smile of her own.
[You made 2/4 friends]
With happiness practically leaking out of him, Rain secretly celebrated.
'Two more left to go…'
---
The next day—
Inside a massive hall resembling an arena, rows of students stood lined up neatly while a giant portal towered before them. The gate glowed with deep blue light, waves of energy rippling across its surface like water, giving off an unstable yet mysterious aura. Occasionally, faint crackling sounds echoed from the portal as if another world existed right behind it.
A middle-aged instructor stood near the front with his arms crossed. Honestly, he wasn't important enough to deserve much attention.
"Today is your practical exam," he announced in a bored tone. "I hope all of you perform well… or at least try not to embarrass yourselves too badly. That's all"
And with those words, the orderly lines quickly dispersed as students scattered around the hall, talking among themselves while preparing for the exam.
Meanwhile—
Rain casually let out a long yawn while stretching his arms lazily without a care in the world.
"What's there to worry about?" he said carefreely. "It's just a small test. Beat a few monsters into pulp and an A+ should land in my pocket in no time."
[Hubby is the best! Nothing can trouble hubby! Beat their asses and plant them into the ground like vegetables!] appeared with overwhelming excitement and energy, looking completely fired up for no reason.
'I can do that little favor for you even without asking,' Rain thought as a crooked grin slowly appeared on his face, already looking ready to finally have some real fun.
The practical exam itself was extremely simple and straightforward. Students only needed to enter the pocket dimension through the portal and hunt monsters roaming inside it. The more monsters they killed—or the longer they managed to survive—the higher their final grade would become.
Simple, brutal, and perfectly designed to separate the truly talented from the weak.
"Oh? Looks like someone's getting cocky."
A voice filled with arrogance and obvious hostility suddenly came from nearby, every word dripping with irritation toward Rain.
Rain lazily turned his head toward the source of the voice.
"Hm… just a dudblade. What a disappointment," he replied immediately with a deadpan expression after realizing it was Shion standing there.
"W-Why you…!" Shion roared in rage, his eyes almost popping out from anger. "Just tell me what the hell I even did to you! Did I sl—"
But before he could even finish his sentence, Rain suddenly raised his hand to stop him.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
'I already know where this is going,' Rain thought with immediate boredom after hearing the starting words.
"Don't bother saying something like 'Did I kill your family?' or 'Did I sleep with your wife?' Those lines are way too old already," he said while lazily yawning as if the entire conversation had become painfully predictable.
Shion could only stare at Rain blankly, his expression completely frozen after having the words stolen directly out of his mouth.
'B-But… that was the newest line from the latest chapter of Breeding Patriarch of the Seven Immortal Realms…'
Rain looked back at him with an unbelievably satisfied grin on his face.
'Kekek… kiddo, those things are ancient history to me.'
Even though the world of OG was far more technologically advanced compared to Rain's original world, one thing strangely lagged behind horribly—novels. Most stories here felt outdated, repetitive, and painfully dramatic. After all, who would willingly waste their precious gaming time reading half-baked second-rate novels inside a game world?
…Well.
There were definitely a few idiots who did exactly that.
Rain himself being the perfect example.
The guy had shamelessly read almost every single LN and story available in OG out of pure boredom back then.
Shion finally regained a bit of his composure and angrily pointed toward Rain. "I-I will make sure you—"
But once again, before he could even finish speaking, he got interrupted midway through his sentence.
…At this point, it honestly felt like fate itself was bullying him personally.
'What the hell is this timing!?' Shion screamed inwardly, not even knowing whether to curse himself, his terrible luck, or some unknown higher entity messing with him.
Meanwhile, the instructor casually scratched the back of his head lazily before sitting down on a nearby chair.
"Oh right, forgot to mention something," he said with complete boredom. "You can only participate in teams of three. Anyone without team will get an F–"
For most students, those words weren't a big issue at all.
But for Rain—
It was an absolute disaster.
The very moment the announcement reached everyone's ears, countless female gazes immediately shifted toward Rain at once. Their eyes locked onto him like predators spotting prey in the middle of an open field.
Rain's expression instantly stiffened as cold sweat slowly formed on his face.
'Hahaha… I'm screwed. Completely screwed. Unless I do something fast…'
His brain immediately started racing at full speed.
With every passing second, the danger kept approaching closer and closer as more girls began stepping toward him one by one, each fully aware that the others were now competition.
Rain silently swallowed.
'Do something. Do something. DO SOMETHING!'
Meanwhile, Shion stared at him with growing confusion and slight concern.
'…What exactly is wrong with this guy?'
Rain's desperate eyes finally found a ray of hope within the incoming disaster.
A perfect shield.
A flawless scapegoat capable of protecting him from the terrifying horde approaching his direction.
His previously stiff expression instantly brightened up as his eyes locked onto the target.
'Found it!'
At that moment, the grin on Rain's face looked less like relief and more like the smile of someone about to shamelessly sacrifice another poor soul for his own survival.