WIEDERGEBURT: Legend of the Reincarnated Warrior: Volume 1 Page 18

  “Did it?”

  “Yes. Please keep doing that.”

  She raised her hips once more. By this point, my dick was coated in a layer of her juices, which acted as a lubricant that helped make moving inside of her easier. I think it also helped Kari feel better because her body was beginning to pick up the pace. I made sure to time my thrusts with her movements, and each time I did, the two of us moaned.

  By this point, neither of us were able to talk, and soon the only sounds in the cave were those of our moans, grunts, and the slapping of our groins. As my fingers dug into the soft flesh of her hips, I looked up at Kari. Her body was haloed with light, breasts bouncing as she rode my dick. There was a look on her face that was unlike anything I’d ever seen. Her eyes were closed, but her mouth was open as she released lyrical noises that made me even more aroused.

  At some point, she opened her eyes and locked onto me. Leaning down as she used the muscles in her lower back to move just her hips, she claimed my mouth in a sloppy, wet kiss. The sound of our messy exchange mixed in with the slapping of our hips. I could feel saliva gathering in my mouth, but I didn’t mind. I let Kari push her tongue inside and sucked on it. The loud but muffled moan she produced made me feel like I was doing something right.

  I moved my hands from her hips to her butt, reaching around to dig my fingers into her firm cheeks and squeeze them. Kari’s moans grew louder as her butt shook and her thighs clenched.

  Time almost seemed to stand still for us, but I soon felt my balls tighten and realized that something was going to happen. With my lack of knowledge, I had no idea what that was, but Kari also seemed to be feeling it because the speed and intensity of her hip thrusts increased. Her moans had turned into desperate, nasally pants as her body became slick with sweat.

  I kept pace as best I could, but I don’t think I did as well. Kari was far more athletic than me right now. At some point, I was forced to concede and let her just do as she pleased. The feelings soon became even more intense.

  Kari’s insides suddenly tightened. It was like she was trying to milk me. At the same time, her juices flowed out around my dick and leaked onto my hips, and her entire body shook as if she was experiencing aftershocks. The thighs that were straddling me suddenly clenched against me, to the point where it hurt. I didn’t know if it was caused by the pain or the pleasure, but I released whatever was inside of me into Kari, who shook and moaned even more afterward.

  As Kari pitched forward and fell on top of me, my own body felt exhausted, like I had just spent all day training. In fact, I think I might have been even more exhausted now than when I did Kari’s training. It took everything I had to lift my arms and wrap them around Kari’s still shaking body.

  “That…”

  “Kari?” I mumbled.

  “That was amazing,” she muttered. Lifting her head, she gave me a bright smile. “Thank you.”

  “Um, sure.” I blinked. “Anytime.”

  I had no idea what she was thanking me for. To be perfectly honest, I was pretty sure that my mind wasn’t all there. It felt sluggish. Just thinking was a chore that I could have done without.

  Kari didn’t seem to mind my confused response as she lay her head back on my chest and nuzzled her cheek against me, seemingly unbothered by the fact that I was covered in sweat. She must have been similarly tired because her body slackened seconds later. Her breathing also became deep and even as she fell asleep.

  I squirmed around a bit to try and get comfortable. Her breasts, slick with sweat, and her nipples, which rubbed against me, made it hard to relax. However, I was more tired than I realized. Even as I thought about the amazing sensation of her breasts mashing into my chest, my mind slowly succumbed to exhaustion, and I fell asleep.

  A few days later, I would learn that Grant Leucht had been unable to make Kari orgasm during their first and only night together, which was the reason she had thanked me. My chest would once again swell with useless masculine pride.

  Two days passed in what felt like the blink of an eye, though I think a lot of that had to do with how busy I was. Between my job at the library, talking with Kari, and training, I had a pretty full schedule.

  I arrived at the smithy early in the morning on the second day. Despite trying not to, I couldn’t stop the yawn that escaped my mouth. Last night, I’d dreamed of when me and Kari had sex for the first time. I’d woken up with the erection to end all erections and been forced to deal with matters myself. Not only had the dream left me in something of an unusual emotional state, but having to deal with the issue of using my hand to relieve myself felt awkward.

  Well… I suppose it couldn’t be helped.

  “You’re here bright and early,” the blacksmith grunted. He seemed a little disgruntled. It looked like he hadn’t even lit up the forge yet.

  I shrugged. “I have a lot do to today, but I can’t start until I have those cylinders.”

  “I still can’t believe you requested a blacksmith to make something so easy.” With a heavy sigh, the man grabbed a large sack that was sitting on the table. The sound of jingling metal echoed around the room as he walked up to me and thrust the sack into my hands. “Here. This is what you wanted, right? Next time you come here, make sure you actually have a job that will test my skills as a blacksmith. At the very least, make sure it’s something that requires some talent.”

  “Of course,” I said as I took the sack. The moment the man let go, the sack immediately tried to pull me down under its immense weight. I grunted and lifted the thing with both hands. The blacksmith grinned at me, but I ignored the condescending look on his face and lugged the heavy sack out of the smithy.

  Getting this sack of metal back to my room was a task in and of itself. It could almost be considered a form of training. What was normally a twenty-minute walk took one whole hour. That didn’t include going up the stairs. By the time I finally managed to enter my room, my back hurt, my legs felt like all the muscles in them had been pulled, and my arms and shoulders were basically jelly. I needed thirty minutes before I possessed the strength to begin my next task.

  Reaching inside of the bag, I pulled out one of the metal cylinders, studying the object before nodding. It was perfectly smooth and rounded. I grabbed one of the vambraces the seamstress had made and slid the cylinder into one of the pockets. It fit perfectly.

  “Excellent,” I said.

  Holding the cylinder in one hand, I channeled Spiritual Power into my other hand, directing all of that energy into my index finger, which began emitting a faint blue glow that crackled and sparked. I placed the tip of my finger against the cylinder. Steam swiftly rose from the metal with an intense hiss. Seeing that I was indeed able to use Rune Writing, I began moving my finger across the metal surface.

  Uruz: The rune of physical strength, speed, and untamed potential.

  Nauthiz: The rune that meant delays and restrictions.

  Isa: A challenge or frustration. Psychological blocks to thought or activity.

  Dagaz: Breakthrough. Awakening. Awareness. Daylight clarity as opposed to nighttime uncertainty. A time to plan or embark upon an enterprise.

  With meticulous movements, I embedded each rune into the metal cylinder one by one, connecting them by thin threads and swirling lines to symbolize how they would all come together and form meaning.

  By the time I was done, I actually felt a little tired. My shoulders sagged as I looked out my window. The sun still hadn’t reached the apex of the sky, meaning I still had at least an hour before I needed to leave.

  I managed to get six more done before I had to head out to the library.

  It took sixteen days to embed all of the runes into the metal cylinders. Perhaps if I didn’t have to work at the library, I would have been able to finish faster, but it wasn’t like I could just quit my job either. Besides, I liked working at the library. That was where I could meet Kari whenever she wasn’t attending classes at the Spiritualist Academy.

  The day after I f
inished drawing runes onto all of the metal cylinders, I went to the library and opened as usual. However, something unusual happened that day while I was putting several books back in their proper places.

  “Eryk…”

  The familiar voice made me turn around. Kari was standing a few steps away, a warm smile on her face. She had chosen to wear a sleeveless green dress that day. A silk shawl sat over her shoulders. The dress itself had a small dip in the middle, revealing a hint of her creamy white cleavage. Like her shawl, the dress must have been made from silk because it was very thin. It stopped at her knees, which was odd because her dresses usually were long and went all the way to her ankles. That said, I wouldn’t deny she looked great. A pair of sandals adorned her feet.

  Her presence caused many people in the library to stop what they were doing, though quite a few of them returned to their tasks after taking a moment to admire her. Most of the people who came here regularly already knew she frequented this place. Even so, there were still quite a few men who glared at me…

  I shook my head and smiled at the girl. “You’re here early.”

  Her smile widened. “I don’t have classes today.”

  “No training either?” I asked. She shook her head. As she did, I noticed the scroll in her hands. “Is that a map?”

  “It is.” She raised the rolled scroll to her face and gave me a proud smile. “It’s a map of the few areas in the Demon Beast Mountain Range that the people of Nevaria have been able to explore.”

  “Huh?” I muttered, not quite sure what to say.

  Kari just smiled at me. “I’ll be going upstairs first. Come up when you’re done with your work.”

  “Will do.”

  I didn’t know why she was carrying a map at first, but I soon found out when I finished my tasks. She was already pouring over the map by the time I finished. Several places had been circled with ink. As I studied the circled spots, which contained a decently detailed drawing, I realized what they were.

  “Are those ruins?” I asked as I sat down beside her.

  “Yes!” Kari’s eyes held an excitement that was hard for her to contain. “These are all of the ruins that have currently been discovered. Some of them have been explored, like this one right here. This is an ancient city that was destroyed during the Great Catastrophe. It’s fairly close to Nevaria and has been completely explored and mapped out. However, there are a number of ruins that have been found but not explored as thoroughly because of how dangerous they are, like this one to the south. It’s one of the ruins that resembles a temple. The Spiritualists who explored it said it looks like a place where people worshipped long forgotten gods.”

  As Kari enthusiastically explained what she knew about each of these ruins, I realized what she was doing.

  “These are places you’d like to explore, right?” I said with a smile.

  Kari’s cheeks suddenly lit up as though two small flames had appeared inside of them. She placed her hands in her lap, twiddled her fingers, and looked at the table. Her hair parted slightly, flowing across her forehead as though to hide her embarrassed expression.

  “You said… before, you told me you’d explore some ruins with me if I asked you to,” she said in a halting, hesitant voice.

  “I did, and I meant it.” Scooting a little closer, I leaned against the table and studied the map. “Which ruin were you thinking of exploring first?”

  Kari looked at me, almost dumbfounded, but when she saw that I was serious, her expression lit up, becoming brighter than the first rays of morning light. She immediately began pointing out which ruins she wanted to try exploring first. They were the ones that had already been explored and wouldn’t pose much danger. She told me it was because she wanted to gain experience before exploring the ones that hadn’t been investigated.

  It was just as well. The unexplored ruins were located deeper in the Demon Beast Mountain Range, which was where Demon Beasts many times more powerful than the ones that Spiritualists normally dealt with lived. I wasn’t even talking about the B-Rank Demon Beasts either. The ones who lived that far out were A-Rank and above. I was honestly surprised someone had the audacity to travel that far into the Demon Beast Mountain Range.

  “By the way…” Kari began, “What happened to your hand?”

  “My hand?” I looked at my hand when Kari gestured to it. It was the one that had been bitten by that snake. The puncture marks were still there, having not healed over. What’s more, there were now numerous black lines running along my ring finger. They looked like thorny vines. “I’m not sure. It wasn’t like this yesterday.”

  “Do you think something happened?” asked Kari.

  “I don’t think so.” I dispelled my concerns over this matter since I couldn’t detect any poison. Glancing at Kari, I decided to satisfy my curiosity over something I’d been thinking about recently. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”

  “Sure.” She smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her right ear. “What did you want to ask?”

  “I understand that your family won’t let you journey into the Demon Beast Mountain Range right now.” I paused, wondering if there was a delicate way to put this, but then I shrugged and continued. “What would it take to convince your parents to let you travel and explore ruins?”

  Kari paused, her face becoming so blank it seemed cold. I didn’t let that bother me. When Kari was thinking really hard, this was the face she often made.

  “It would probably be the same way my brothers convinced them,” she admitted slowly, as if choosing each word with care. “I would have to prove that I am strong enough to protect myself and fight off Demon Beasts.” Her smile suddenly became self-deprecating. “However, right now, I do not have that kind of strength.”

  I hummed and thought about what she told me.

  The Kari that I remembered during the Demon Beast Invasion had seemed invincible. However, the one before me did not have that strength.

  I think the strength Kari gained back then was because of what happened to her. Being forced into an unenviable position had likely given her the determination to become stronger. The years of being married to Grant Leucht had forged her into a woman of incredible strength and willpower. Right now, Kari was just a girl who happened to possess a ton of potential. She was the Kari I knew from before her marriage.

  “If I told you that I could help you get stronger, what would you do?” I asked.

  Kari perked up. “You can? How?”

  I was happy that she didn’t outright deny my offer. It meant she really believed I could help her, which made my chest feel warm.

  Taking her quill and ink bottle, I grabbed a sheet of scrap parchment and wrote the ingredients needed for the Three-Way Spirit Widening Pill and the Body Forging Pill. Once I was done, I slid the parchment over to her.

  “If you can get me these ingredients, I can refine two pills that will greatly increase the speed of your training,” I said.

  Kari bit her lip as she looked at the list. “This is… alchemy, isn’t it? Can alchemy really help increase my training speed?”

  “It can,” I said with all the confidence I had, which was admittedly a lot. I might not be considered anything more than a middling alchemist in Midgard, but I at least had the confidence to refine a number of powerful pills that helped with training.

  “How much of each of these ingredients do you need?” she asked.

  I took the parchment back and quickly wrote the amount before handing it to her again. “This is the minimum amount you’ll want. With this much, I can refine enough pills to last you one month.”

  “The minimum?” she raised an eyebrow.

  I shrugged. “The more pills I can refine, the more you’ll benefit from them… at least up to a certain point. Pills eventually become ineffective after your body builds up a resistance to them, but they’ll help you grow stronger until then.”

  “I see,” she murmured in a soft, almost impossible to hear voice.

&
nbsp; I didn’t know if she believed me at the time. However, the next day, Kari arrived at the library despite having classes to deliver three times the amount of ingredients I had written down in the list.

  It was the first day that I would be doing physical training to strengthen my body, and since it was the first time, I didn’t actually use the metal cylinders. I was smart enough to know that I wasn’t very strong right now. It took a whole hour just to get those damn things up to my room. Increasing the weight I had to work with wouldn’t benefit me until I raised my current level of strength.

  I had decided to make the place where I’d first met Fay Valstine my permanent training ground. With the level of control I had over my Spiritual Power, I didn’t need to use the waterfall training method anymore, or rather, that method would no longer work. In either event, I was good in terms of Spiritual Control. That meant it was time to increase my physical capabilities.

  I was using the training method that Kari had first created for me after the Demon Beast Invasion. Since I wasn’t very strong, that meant running for two kilometers, then performing fifteen pushups, fifty sit ups, ten pull ups, and one hundred squats. The only exercise I couldn’t do was the dodging one. However, I replaced dodging with practicing the two fighting styles I was a practitioner of. It was just too bad I didn’t have my weapon.

  “Ha… ha… ugh… I don’t feel so good…”

  I think I might have gone overboard a little. While I did manage to complete my exercise routine, my body felt like it had been put through a meat grinder, and I struggled to contain my urge to vomit. I did my best to shove these feelings aside. If I wanted to change the past for the better, I needed to become stronger as swiftly as possible. Pushing myself was the only way to reach my goal.

  As I began the long walk home, stumbling between boulders and trees, one of the bushes on my left shook. I paused. Looking over at the bush, I waited to see if something would come out. When several seconds passed and nothing happened, I frowned before continuing on my way.