45 Chapter 45
[Third Person's PoV]
Futarou arrived in front of his newly constructed mansion, which he luckily didn't have to spend a dime on due to the Gacha.
The mansion was three stories tall, painted white with a blue roof. Nicely trimmed hedges with flowers lined the front, leading up to the door.
(Image)
Futarou knew his master wasn't resting inside but was normally out in the sun, sunbathing near the large pool towards the back.
So, Futarou approached the front and stretched his hands all the way towards the roof, slinging himself over it.
As Futarou appeared overhead, he indeed saw his master sunbathing.
His master, Scáthach, was resting in a lounge chair wearing a burgundy and purple two-piece swimsuit, with a large flower in the same color resting on the side of her head.
(Image)
Grayfia was walking next to her in a maid outfit, carrying a tray with lemonade ready, which she offered to Scáthach.
Scáthach grabbed the drink, thanking Grayfia, and stood up as if waiting for someone while taking a sip with a straight face.
Futarou landed from the sky in front of her in a military salute, Kanna doing the same, "Futarou reporting for duty, master."
"You're late by a minute," she plainly said before continuing her drink.
"Well, you see, there was this dungeon break…" Futarou said, head down, pressing his two index fingers together.
Futarou was interrupted by Scáthach loudly slurping her drink.
"You see, as I was saying…"
*Louder slurp*
"As I was trying to say…"
*Progressively louder slurping*
"I'm not being excused, am I?"
"Nope," Scáthach said without remorse and put the empty cup back on the tray.
Grayfia looked at Futarou with a bit of pity, but then she remembered how he had used her underwear to summon her, and all that pity went away.
Scáthach pointed to the ground, "Position," she coldly demanded.
Kanna jumped off Futarou's shoulder and left immediately, looking for Raiha.
"Yes, ma'am," Futarou replied and got into a push-up position. Scáthach crouched down and started drawing a symbol on his back, which increased the weight Futarou was feeling and stopped his stretchy powers from assisting him.
When she was done, Futarou groaned as he pushed to the ground. Futarou felt as if he was suddenly carrying the weight of the entire world on his back.
After she was done, she went and sat back on the lounge chair, "You're not stopping until you break a bone or rip a muscle."
"Wha–!"
"Want to make it 2?" Scáthach threatened, which caused Futarou to shut up. As he started doing push-ups close to the ground and very slowly, veins protruded from his forehead and neck.
Futarou kept doing this for a while. Having suffered from this punishment before, Futarou learned something interesting: it was possible for him to gain stat points by pushing his body to the very extreme, where he had come close to death.
As Futarou grew sweaty, he started reminiscing about how he came to know Grayfia and Scáthach.
**Flashback, Grayfia:**
Futarou was in his room in the mansion, observing Puck and others by the pool, alongside Kanna, who had recently become his summon after sharing her backstory about a prank that led to her banishment.
Seeing them relaxing, Futarou accessed his system and retrieved the Devil Summoning contract.
Embarrassed, he grabbed the panties and placed them on top of the contract. Futarou then infused mana into the contract, causing a magic circle to appear on top.
Activating his Sharingan, Futarou watched as the magic circle illuminated and started rising up, revealing a pair of legs, thick thighs, and something else Futarou wasn't supposed to see, before being covered by a maid dress being pulled down.
As it finished, a woman with silver hair appeared, blushing and adjusting her maid dress.
(Image)
She quickly snatched the panties from the floor and looked at Futarou accusingly, muttering, "Perv," while blushing.
She pointed forward, "Turn around."
"Huh?" Futarou replied almost in a trance, the image ingrained in his mind due to his activated Sharingan.
"Just turn around!" she yelled in embarrassment, her cheeks burning red.
In a trance, Futarou complied, causing Grayfia to see the tent he was pitching.
Grayfia nearly shed tears from embarrassment as she put back on her panties.
Using her years of experience, Grayfia calmed herself down and said, "You can turn back around," which Futarou did.
Now composed, she asked, "Where am I? And am I all healed?" looking at herself in wonder, which she hadn't realized due to the urgent situation earlier.
"I could have sworn I was nearing death…" she said in a mystified way.
"Ah, that was my doing," Futarou explained. "My abilities allow me to summon beings from other realities at the moment of their guaranteed death."
Grayfia then had a self-deprecating expression, "So I truly was supposed to die…"
After looking at Futarou for a moment, Grayfia sighed, grabbed the helm of her maid outfit, and bowed slightly. "I thank you for saving me from my fate; you have my gratitude. I don't have any other way to repay you, so forgive me for that."
"Why don't you become a maid in our house? You're already dressed for the part, and we don't really have any maids, just one at the moment," Futarou suggested with a kind smile.
Grayfia studied his expression for a few seconds before looking at his body. "Since you didn't immediately try to take advantage of me, I can see you have some decency apart from being a perverted scumbag who likes to steal a girl's underwear—"
"Oi! That's defamation! I'll have you know I acquired that fine piece of art randomly due to my abilities, so I didn't choose it, okay!"
Grayfia looked at Futarou with disgust. "You just called it a fine piece of art… wow, I don't even know how to reply to that."
Futarou blushed and looked embarrassed.
Grayfia smiled in amusement before quickly hiding it. "Very well, since it seems you need more maids, it's your lucky day because I accept the proposition," she said, bowing. "To a happy cooperation…?"
"Futarou, Futarou Uesugi," Futarou replied with a smile.
"Grayfia, Grayfia Lucifuge," she responded with a smile.
Meanwhile, Tohru looked towards Futarou's direction, "I suddenly feel like my position is being threatened…"
**End Flashback**
Futarou smiled with hidden perversion as the image remained imprinted in his mind.
"I don't know what dirty thoughts you're having, but now you need to break two bones just for that," Scáthach said plainly.
"Wha–! But Master, I wasn't—"
"Wanna make it 3 for lying?"
"No, ma'am."
"Then keep on pushing. I want to hear those bones snapping," she said teasingly.
'She's the devil,' both Grayfia and Futarou thought simultaneously.
Futarou increased the pace, causing steam to be released from his body as he pushed himself.
Futarou then began to reminisce about how he met his master, Scáthach; it all started after he finished synthesizing all of his skills in the system.
**Flashback, Scáthach:**
Futarou was inside the training ground under the mansion, sitting cross-legged after finishing fusing skills related to ordinary Mana, like the Rasengan, mana barrier, physical enhancement, and mana manipulation.
[Name: Mana Art]
[Rank: SS]
[Description: Mana Art is an advanced form of magical mastery that transcends conventional spellcasting. It involves the intricate manipulation and shaping of mana into complex, sentient constructs and phenomena.]
Futarou then synthesized all the moves related to his sword into one, which turned into:
[Name: Sword King]
[Rank: S]
[Description: Sword King is an advanced martial skill that represents the pinnacle of swordsmanship. Those who master this skill possess unparalleled expertise in wielding swords of all types, showcasing flawless technique, precise control, and exceptional combat prowess. Additionally, they can infuse their blades with elemental energies or internal Aura, enhancing their cutting power and imbuing their strikes with extraordinary force and impact.]
Futarou synthesized all the skills related to his magic, including those without rankings, as elemental magic demonstrates its full effect through practice and proficiency rather than ranking. These unranked skills are much harder to master and require significant effort to increase proficiency.
[Name: Elemental Archmage]
[Rank: –]
[Description: The Elemental Archmage is a master of magical manipulation, capable of freely controlling and combining elemental forces to create entirely new manifestations. Through this unparalleled mastery, they can harness and shape the fundamental elements of fire, water, earth, air, yin, and yang, seamlessly blending them to forge potent and innovative elemental creations.]
Futarou then synthesized things related to his movement skills and CQC, alongside his dagger skills, which he had developed.
[Name: Martial Arts]
[Rank: A+]
[Description: Martial Arts represent an exceptional level of combat proficiency achieved through disciplined training and mastery of various hand-to-hand combat techniques.]
Futarou then used all of his spears to create what he believed was his strongest skill yet.
[Name: Spear Emperor]
[Rank: SS+]
[Description: Spear Emperor represents the pinnacle of spear mastery, characterized by unmatched skill and artistry in combat. Spear Emperors demonstrate flawless technique, precise strikes, and the ability to manipulate their spear with effortless control. They can infuse their spear with elemental energies and channel internal energy (ki) to enhance the power and speed of their attacks, making them formidable opponents on the battlefield.]
After he was done, he grabbed all of his spears in his possession (except for Chastiefol, of course) and synthesized them into one powerful spear.
'With everything, it's close to an SS+ spear,' Futarou thought, not even bothering to check it as it was going to be used as a sacrifice.
Futarou grabbed the Servant contract from his system and placed the spear on top of it. From it, he started pouring all of his mana into the spear, which was a lot. The room even started shaking due to the pressure he was emitting. He activated his Sharingan to memorize the magic circle.
"From the shadows of ancient lands, arise, O legendary warrior! Mistress of the battlefield, hear my call! By the threads of destiny, I summon thee! Teacher of heroes, come forth! With spear in hand and wisdom deep, join me now in this fateful hour!"
From the magic circle, a woman appeared wearing dark armor with a blood-red spear in hand. She had burgundy-colored hair with blood-red eyes and a cold, emotionless expression.
(Image)
"Are you the—" She stopped herself as she fully examined Futarou. "What potential…" She couldn't help but admire it.
She left the magic circle, held his face, turned it, examined his body, and nodded, as she could admire hard work when she saw it.
She then looked into his eyes. Futarou didn't look away and stared back, causing her to smile. "Good, you aren't a coward. You have limitless potential, but you don't have a goal; I can see it. You grow strong just because you can and for no other reason. I can't say that's bad, but it isn't very good either."
Scáthach then smiled before patting his face. "You're doing a very bad thing, kid. You're giving me hope—hope that you will be the one to kill me one day. How long has it been since I've been excited to train someone?"
"Your body is suitable for every kind of weapon. So, tell me, what do you wield?"
"A spear primarily, a sword secondarily, a dagger last," Futarou said with a smirk.
Scáthach put a hand on her hip, let out a sigh while looking down before ruffling her hair. "Aren't you just perfect? And based on the magic energy I feel from you, no doubt you wield magic."
Scáthach smiled with a sadistic glint flashing through her eyes. "I can't wait to see how long it takes until I break you and you can't take my training anymore."
**Flashback End.**
*Crack* × 2
"Owchie."
[+1 Strength]
[+1 Vitality]
"That's always nice to see," Futarou said, looking at his bones breaking through his skin.
Futarou then looked towards Scáthach. "You are one cruel woman."
Scáthach scoffed. "You haven't seen cruelty yet. Grab your spear and follow me to the training room. I'll really show you cruelty."
"Why do you hate me so?" Futarou said as he watched his own body regenerate.
"What do you mean? Aren't I showing you great love and affection by breaking your bones and making you stronger?" Scáthach asked, pretending to be oblivious.
"Enough dilly-dallying, let's go," Scáthach commanded.
Grayfia giggled, seeing Futarou's sad expression, as he got up and followed Scáthach with his head hanging low.
