It’s been tough since I removed the poison from Lucia’s body and accepted it into my own. Before I went to sleep, I might as well have been a god in front of Lucia. After I woke up, I was comparable to an ant. But now, after months of cultivating and training within the space in my weapon body, I’m finally strong again. Though I can’t be stronger than Lucia, at the very least, I’ll be her equal. Her body might be overwhelmingly more powerful than mine, but I should be on par with her with the thousands of techniques I know! Or at least that’s how it should be.

“Eh?” Lucia tilted her head to the side, propping my weapon body up on her shoulder. “You sure you don’t want Puppers to help you? You might last a little longer if he does.”

Today’s after-dinner spar with Lucia has, once again, been a complete loss for me. It’s not fair! She’s only adept in three techniques: Breaking Blade, the Steady Mountain footwork, and her armor of slaughter. But no matter what I try, I can’t win. The weight of her sword let’s her win in any direct collisions. Her armor of slaughter reacts faster than she can, blocking any sneak attacks. Feints don’t work on her for a similar reason. The few times I manage to scratch her, her wounds heal in a few seconds. Thought an attack fully infused with qi can pierce her armor, the speed of the strike slows down, and if she grabs my weapon within that time, I immediately lose because nothing can escape from her grip. She’s like a towering mountain; how do you fight a mountain? Truly, her body was blessed by the earth. An ordinary person has no hopes of matching up to her, magician or not.

As her weapon spirit, I will never be able to pass her, only able to grow alongside her. That’s under normal conditions. Before, I was stronger than her because she wasn’t my original owner, but finding a new master that’s stronger than Lucia to surpass her is impossible. Which leaves one other method: enchantments. Unfortunately, the only diviner enchanter I know just so happens to be this high elf who’s spectating on the side. I say it’s unfortunate because a long time ago, Roland kidnapped her with my help. Did I mention that everything Roland kidnapped a child, I’d be forced to play the antagonistic role? After the child was thoroughly terrorized by me, Roland would swoop in like a savior, elevating his existence in their eyes.

So it’s safe to say Marilyn despises me. Elves have great memories despite their long lifespans. You think they’d forget things that happened over fifty years ago, but they don’t. “And history repeats itself,” Marilyn said, clapping her hands. “The spirit gets whipped by its master.”

“Hey! Don’t make fun of Durandal. He’s trying his best.” Lucia frowned. Don’t you understand that your sincere concern hurts a lot more than being insulted by an elf? Yes, I’m trying my best, but my best is not enough. “In the upcoming fights, I’m going to let him fight for me, so he can rebuild his confidence.”

“Mm.” Marilyn smiled and nodded at Lucia. “I never thought I’d enchant a weapon spirit that once imprisoned me. Now that I’ve seen how you use a sword and how he fights, would you like to begin?”

“Yes, please!” Lucia nodded. She had wanted to enchant me after I reached the peak of the divine realm for a chance to break into the legendary realm, but Marilyn had crushed that hope. Unless Marilyn broke through to the legendary realm, all her enchantments would only operate within the divine realm. There would be no chance of me breaking through, so Lucia decided to upgrade me right away. This won’t be my first time being upgraded, but Marilyn was going to wipe the slate clean before applying better enchantments. Maybe after being enchanted again, I’ll uncover a new skill. I thought I’d gain a new ability after breaking through to the divine realm, but I didn’t.

“Ah! But can you enchant my socks first?” Lucia asked. “I want to see the process done on Puppers before you do it to Durandal.”

Marilyn raised an eyebrow. “Sure,” she said. “But you know my enchantments never fail, right? Whether I enchant Puppers first or Durandal, there’ll be no difference.”

“That’s great and all,” Lucia said and tilted her head, “but I wasn’t worried about failure. I just want to make sure you don’t touch them in inappropriate places during the process.” She nodded twice and placed her hands on her hips.

Marilyn coughed. “Inappropriate places? Like where?”

“Like their penises,” Lucia said with a straight face. Luckily, Ilya had covered Mirta’s ears before Lucia had answered. That demon girl really can read Lucia like an open book.

Marilyn coughed again. A strange expression appeared on her face. “A little touch can’t hurt.”

“No touch!” Lucia snarled and bared her teeth.

Marilyn took a step back. “I was joking,” she said and raised her hands into the air. “There will be no inappropriate touching during the process. In fact, I won’t even have to make contact with their spirit bodies. There’s no reason to get so … prickly.”

Lucia’s tail deflated. “Oh. Okay.” She nodded and handed over a pair of socks with paw prints on them. Why was Ilya inspecting Lucia’s feet? Was she counting Lucia’s toes?

Marilyn’s nose wrinkled, but she accepted them gracefully. “What would you like enchanted on them? Speed? Durability?”

“Can you make them softer?” Lucia asked, her eyes shining like little stars. “And make them fluffier too.”

“Softer? Fluffier?” Marilyn asked and raised an eyebrow. She glanced at Pup—Gae Bulg, who seemed to be crying in a corner of the room. “Are you sure?”

“I’m absolutely positive!” Lucia said while bobbing her head up and down.

Marilyn made another strange expression. “Well, here goes.”

A series of runes flew into the air and encircled Marilyn’s body. I’ve seen this process thousands of times, performed by myself during my period of isolation. Of course, I’ve only seen a success happen once. I don’t see how Marilyn’s actions were any different from mine back then, but apparently they were. A few moments later, there were some flashing runes on the surface of the socks, and Gae Bulg’s fur coat seemed to become more voluminous and glossy.

Lucia put her socks back on. “It worked!” she said and closed her eyes while wiggling her toes. “Great! Now do Durandal.”

Marilyn chuckled and stared at me. “Do you want him to be softer and fluffier as well?”

Please no.