Chapter 8

[Master, you’re looking awfully depressed.]

“Am I?” said Rain with a wry smile. “Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel the way you think and how you act. It also causes feelings of sadness and a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work.”

[… …]

“...with all that said, I embody several or not all of the symptoms. I guess, I’m indeed depressed…” he shook his head sorrowfully.

“Truthfully, I think I understand where she was coming from. However, I just wanted to become stronger…that’s something I don’t want to give up. I hope she understands my desire as well, and learn to trust me as I do to her. Was it too much to ask for? The needs and wants to protect her when it’s necessary, and the feeling of contentment when able to got strong and impressed her. Is that too much to ask for, I wonder?”

[I apologize but I hardly able to understand the Master’s worries and heartaches, for I am born with no such privileges and just couldn’t understand Master emotions aside from the logical and reasonable way. Though I hardly doubt it would give Master consolation, he needed. However, be as it may, when she leaves, Master can go down and fight those Bone Eaters, I suggest… Master will certainly become strong in that way…]

“Of course I want to do that!” exclaimed Rain with a remorseful expression. “But I’m afraid to die… just thinking about it makes my blood freeze. It’s far worse than having stage fright, you know. There is no do-over after death… or was it? Anyway, I ain’t a warrior, or a born a Saiyan… I might be hot-blooded, and had seen my fair share of violence and battles but that doesn’t mean I’m good with a fight to the death. There are many ‘what if’s’ filling my mind… it’s suffocating. And worst of all, it somehow affected my nerves, making me petrify from deep, senseless anxiety and fear,”

[…Master, everyone is not good at something at first time. There’s always a first for everything. What Master needed is the courage to take a step forward and take the first there. Eventually, everything would be easy…]

“I know and I can understand that. However, sometimes you need to know your limitation. Not everything can be done even with failure at the end. As I said, there is no do-over, especially like this. I may look pathetic still I only have a single life. At least, when I know how to fight, I can try… but I know nothing… I’m feeling uncertain in winning against those monsters with just theory and foolish confidence alone…” Rain shrugs his shoulders, feeling helpless. “I’m not some protagonist in a shonen manga where I can be bitten, blast away, cut to pieces but still live, stand up with heroic willpower and win in the end.”

“I’m just a normal person… an ordinary high school kid who had lived his entire life in a peaceful world…”

... ...

Rain and Lafetti’s cold war still continued.

Rain didn’t speak much and ignored Lafetti as if she didn't exist and continued doing his exercises and work-outs.

Despite feeling the aching pain inside his heart after seeing her cold eyes directed at him, Rain tried to endure. Different from Earth, Rain’s workout immediately showed its result as Rain’s somewhat skinny body became somewhat robust and toned, only after working out after a few days. Six-pack abs, good-looking biceps and muscle tone back. Quite a surprising result in just a short time. Miraculous even…

Although it’s not as amazing as weightlifters or wrestlers with their stone-like muscles but Rain had become taller and manlier compared to the him from before. Perhaps, this is also the result of the many monsters he had eaten; increasing his Physical Attributes steadily while not excessively expanding his muscles due to overwork.

After doing his routine-like work-outs, Rain sat down at the edge of the pedestal thinking of what to do while looking at a set of bones he had collected in the sea of bones near the sacrificial altar.

He doesn’t have an armor, with his clothes not giving any defense bonus. If he wanted to start a fight with monsters for leveling up, then he must be prepared. He needed armor at the very least. Something that could protect his body from naked blades and claws.

The Goblins didn’t have leather armors, while the short swords were dull and tattered. The short bow was the only one better among them.

As for asking Lafetti, Nah… Rain wouldn’t do that as he already knows the outcome even before he could ask her.

Forget about asking for defensive equipment, if she knows what he was planning, she would never let him do it. Therefore, Rain started thinking about how to create one. However, he doesn’t know blacksmithing, and even if he does, there’s nothing that could be used here as tools.

As for leather equipment, he didn’t have any fine leathers as he was not proficient in skinning monsters so he can only patch things here and there using sewing. But obviously, he cannot make entire clothing with the small patches of monster skin in his possession.

So what can he use…?

What he had right now are all but bones… then, he realized, he can actually use them.

“I can try, but I don’t know if it truly works,”

He picked up some sturdy and nice-looking bones he could get; humans and monsters alike seemed to be mixed with. There were even some different colors, such as brown and yellow bones among the white-bleached bones.

Now, looking at the bones he collected, Rain suddenly got an insight. He took the still intact but bigger ribcage and then several claw-looking bones, making it as a base for his breastplate. He then washed it before patching them using several pieces of beast skins sewed together.

As for the rope, it was made from deer beast’s tendons along with other beasts.

The tendons were actually much, much harder than normal animals back in Earth. Rain had recalled about making sinew ropes out of tendons back in Earth and it actually works especially the Four-horned Deer’s tendons.

Using the tendon sticky thread he had made beforehand, he then put the bones and ribs together to make it even sturdier and placed some patches of animal skins, especially the Bone Eaters, the Horned Ape, and the Four-horned Deer.

Now, with a bit of imagination, he sews all of them together and mostly succeeded in closing any gaps.

—And now, the finished product?

It looked like a cluster of bones that perhaps can now be called as armor, at the very least, one that was worn by shamans in some ethnic tribe. Then, he also made some gauntlets and graves to protect his arm and legs, though he simply attaches some wide-enough bone that it covers his arm. Most of them were femur bones.

With this Rain have finally ranked up his defence—from the colored ordinary shirt to creepy bone armor.

Well, at least it’s better than nothing~

While Rain was happily tinkering with the bones he collected, unbeknownst to him someone was already glaring at him from a distance, and her expression was fierce and ill-humored. Although she didn’t understand what he was doing at first, as time passed by, she was able to realize what he was making.

Why is he making something like that?

What did he an armor for?

However, what made it even annoying was that—was he actually ignoring her?!

How dare for a slave to ignore his master?!

Lafetti became extremely uncomfortable as time passed by. Often, she scolded him and gave him cold shoulders but Rain would ignore it. She attacked him but he wouldn’t respond. And this is getting on her nerves.

What’s worse is that her heart feels like being squeezed every time she saw his indifferent eyes. Why?! What did she do wrong?! Lafetti didn’t say anything wrong with her action. This is all Rain’s fault. Just what does he want to do? Why would she need to learn such a thing?!

Looking at him, tinkering with bones seemingly trying to create armor out of it, Lafetti’s expression became even more grave. What is he planning to do with that? Lafetti bit her lips in irritation. A bad premonition came unto her, and this somehow made her feel even more annoyed and unsettled—at the same time, become even more worried.

She attacked Rain that night, to vent her piled-up irritation. However, as usual, Rain would not even take the initiative to kiss her, or even talk to her.

Two days later, when she once again came she found Rain doing some strange actions.

He was throwing punches in the air. Jab, left jab, right jab, Mix jabs, crosses, hooks, and uppercuts… Rain throws punches in the air as if was fighting some sort of enemy. His expression was extremely serious and his eyes seem burning. Beads of sweat covered his face and arms, dripping into the ground.

Looking at him, Lafetti couldn’t help but sigh.

Finally, she couldn’t endure it anymore.

This cold war between them had been giving her heart a very difficult time. It's already suffocating!

“Rain,” She called out.

Rain stopped and turned around. “What?”

Suddenly Rain realized this was the first time she had called his name for a long while and confusion appeared on his face.

“Come here.”

Rain frowned but he obeyed. Did she want to do ‘it’ again?

“I’m sweaty and kind of smells… doing it again will become uncomfortable–”

“It’s not that.” Lafetti’s face was covered by a slight blush. “Just come here,” muttered Lafetti with a bit of impatience.

When Rain arrived at her side, she turned him around making his back facing her. She then pulled out her sword and while standing behind him, she put the sword in his hands.

“Eh?” Rain’s eyes widened in surprise. “What are you-”

“You want to learn, right?”

Rain heard Lafetti’s unusual gentle voice and even her breath breezed through his neck, giving him a hot and pleasant feeling.

“You’re going to teach me?!” Rain’s lips immediately turned into a dazzling smile. Like a kid receiving a present from Santa Claus in Christmas…

“Stop talking and move.” Lafetti scowled in annoyance. But her face finally softened, and her gaze even turned soft. Just who was the master between them? Why is she the one who had to yield? Lafetti could only sigh inwardly as she felt herself becoming stupid.

“Hehe,” Rain chuckled happily. Then suddenly turning around, he let go of the sword, causing to make a ‘Clang’ noise as it hit the ground. But neither cared about it, as Rain suddenly put his hands around her neck and kissed her. His left hand reached out towards her large breasts and pressed his lips onto Lafetti’s mouth.

With the soft feeling spreading through his mouth and hand, as well as the sweet fragrance which enveloped him, Rain’s accumulated desire exploded. He passionately kissed for some time, until he was finally willing to let go of her lips.

“…I know you really love me,” his voice rumbled in her ear. “Thank you,” Rain’s hands massaged her shoulders then ran up and down her arms.

Lafetti’s eyes narrowed and her brows furrowed. She was annoyed for some reason. However, she let out a helpless sigh, and then wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him again.

“——————”

However, Rain wasn’t surprised. Her tender lips consumed Rain’s and when she opened her lips, she enticingly licked Rain’s upper lip with her tongue.

Accepting the invitation offered by the woman he truly loved and desired, Rain responded to the commands being issued from Lafetti’s body. As their tongues circled each other’s in exploration, Rain could feel his legs weaken caused by Lafetti’s moist long tongue and lips probing and sucking his.

Their bodies were pressed tightly together and each could sense the increase in breathing and heart rate of the other.

Their sweet loving lasted for a few minutes before Rain stopped and separated. He moved his lips away from her lips.

“…Teach me first,” said Rain with a mischievous smile.

Frowning, Lafetti let out a sighed and started teaching Rain things he needed to know. She watched as Rain excitedly picked up the sword from the floor and turned at her with a beaming expression.

“This is a double-handed sword so gripped it with your dominant hand…That’s right… that’s it… no, not that way. If you want to swing it downward, do it like this and this, good… do it again…”

Lafetti coached him for an entire day and Rain wasn’t a bad student, actually. He managed to get everything quickly and if he made some mistakes he would adjust it for the second time until it was perfect.

He claimed he has no memories prior to his appearance in the cave. Yet, his competence for certain aspects, such as calculative ability, observation, insight, memorization, and many more was remarkable, and within eccentric limits, his knowledge was so extraordinarily ample and minute that his observations have fairly astounded her in so many occasions.

At the same time, Lafetti finds something unbelievable to the point of being humorous. His ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge. Of monsters, skills, magic, countries, kingdoms, normal tradition and custom and many more—he appeared to know next to nothing. Perhaps it’s because he had lost his memories?

At first, Lafetti didn’t believe his claim, but after knowing of this unbelievable inadequacy, she finally started to believe it.

Even still—isn’t this a very welcome thing for her?

Watching him, Lafetti couldn’t help but nod in amazement. She has alluded above his powers in terms of combat intuition and battle insight that he was able to reach the level that Lafetti had after a month of training, with only a day for him.

It was unbelievable, frightening even—but she was able to calm herself as she realized that his combat intuition was as eccentric as all his other accomplishments, especially in terms of language, that he can even understand and converse with her in her own tongue, and calculation prowess that could immediately calculate something instantly, in which she would need quite a while to answer.

He was indeed a quick learner but training for only just a single day, he still wasn’t ready for actual combat.

Even only against Bone Eaters, 66% he will die.

Although he has power and strength, his experience was still lacking.

Lafetti didn’t cut out any edges as she taught Rain all she knows.

Sweating for an entire day, Rain was extremely exhausted. Aside from the weight of a real sword which was extremely heavy more than he had expected, he swings it for an entire day without stopping.

“Here, have some water.”

Using her water magic, she filled a wooden bowl she brought for him with water and handed it to him.

“Thank you,”

Rain smiled while breathing rapidly. Then, he drank the water, with gulping sounds coming from his mouth. That was really strenuous, though.

Still, after eating, Rain endures his exhaustion and attack Lafetti… this time he initiated.

Trying to vent his stress and exhaustion on her body, as well as the overflowing desire that had been bottled up for quite a long time. Sitting on the ground, Lafetti felt his lips trail down her neck while his hands encircled her waist before moving up to cup her breasts. Lafetti couldn’t help but gasp at the feel of his slightly rough, yet quite soft palms caressing her. He tweaked his nipples then lowered his mouth to kiss her long elf-like ears, his hot breath tickling the sensitive skin.

“I’m happy that you let me do what I wanted, it’s as if you can finally accept me, trusted me…” Rain rumbled his true thoughts before turning her around and capturing her mouth with his.

Expertly, his lips teased hers and before she realized what she was doing, Lafetti opened her mouth, and his tongue slipped inside, gently stroking hers. Skilfully, his lips teased and caressed, stoking a fire within her. Involuntarily, Lafetti found herself responding, gripping his biceps as his hands run up and down her back, drawing her even closer.

Lafetti groaned as she could feel his hot erection pressing against her stomach and a strange quiver of excitement shot through her. This was what she had wanted all along, the thing that she had desired and dearly missed due to their nonsense argument. She then felt his hand caress her underbelly. Whether it was just her imagination or not, but she felt a puff of heat permeate into her abdominal region through his hand.

Like usual, Lafetti was not wearing any upper clothing. And only her waist was being covered by an animal fur, hence she was actually always naked in front of him.

Watching her like this every day was almost like torture. Aside from the time that Lafetti would forcefully attack him, Rain would just endure his sexual urges stubbornly. But now. Rain stared at her, lust and desire filling his eyes. He kissed her and caressed her, nipping and stroking, stimulating nerve endings until the poor Lamian’s entire body hummed with awareness.

At the same time, the Lamian’s breathing had become rushed, bosom undulating up and down. The heat was building up inside of her and she squirmed restlessly, her tail swaying like a dog’s wagging tail, displaying the emotions bubbling inside her heart.

“If you really want it, I believe you would be willing to help me take off my clothes.” Rain smiled mischievously.

Lafetti furrowed her brows, but then they softened and she gave a seductive smile and pulled Rain’s right wrist onto her breasts.

…Ah… He found that the tips of his Lamian lover’s breasts were already swollen and stiff. Just thinking about what Rain will do, already made her excited to this extent. Just how long – she couldn’t have already been like that ever since she started coaching him, right?

“……Rain, it seems I need discipline you again. Did you forget you are my slave?”

Lafetti muttered but her expression didn’t show any anger at all.

Rain chuckled in amusement. He couldn't help but adore everything about the moment. The way she looked at him with that predatory gaze... The way her eyes glimmered... The naughty grin she had between kisses. She looked at him as she lifted her head away from his again. She pushed her teeth out and pressed them against her lower lip rubbing her tongue against her lip taking his taste off of it.

“————!”