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And this was irritating some people.

"He's being protected," a man's voice echoed in the room, where several others were present. "It's pointless to keep a bounty on his head. With Xenovia protecting him, we need something equal or superior," he said, crossing his legs on the dining table, staring at the ceiling.

"What do you suggest?" he asked aloud, with four others in the room: three men and one woman.

"I'm out," the woman said, standing up from the table. "If you want to get yourselves killed, go ahead. I don't want to be a target of our sinister sister, especially with that boy being trained by her. Xenovia never even wanted to train with us, but now she's training him every day. Do you think that's normal? Of course not.

Our sister sees potential and has been training him," she said, turning towards the exit. "Are you chickening out, Veronica?" one of them questioned.

"Chickening out? The strong choose the right fights. According to the youngest reports, Strax challenged our father without even flinching, because he knew the rules and used them against him. Do you think someone who vanished for years would have such courage?

There's something off about him, and I'm not willing to find out as an enemy," Veronica said and left, slamming the door hard, unremorseful about being a coward in her brothers' eyes.

In the same room where the plans were discussed, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. After Veronica's departure, silence reigned momentarily until one of the men, with a calculating look, decided to break it.

"With Veronica out, that leaves us with one less unpredictable variable," he said, standing up and starting to pace around the table. "We need a new angle. Direct attacks won't work, but maybe we can exploit weaknesses that Xenovia can't protect. We need to find something Strax values and use it against him."

"What do you mean?" one of the other men asked, frowning. "Are you suggesting blackmail? The boy seems to have few connections besides Xenovia."

"We need to be creative," the first man continued, his voice growing firmer with each word. "We can create distractions, force Xenovia away from his side. Perhaps even manipulate the information she sends. There's always a loophole; even shadow guilds have flaws. We can spread false news again."

"Wasn't he supposed to marry that baron's daughter?" The third man, who had been quiet for some time, questioned, and they all thought for a moment. "Beatrice von Stainhardt; she sold her title some time ago…" the second man murmured. "Let's investigate further. If she's in the Duchy… well, we can use that." The first man said, "Alright, let's meet tomorrow.

Try to gather something; the Sword Garden will open soon."

Everyone present nodded and left the room, going to dig up information about Strax's life.

Meanwhile, Strax, unaware of the conspiracy forming, remained focused on his training. Xenovia, demanding as always, pushed him to surpass his limits.

His strikes were precise, his defense impenetrable. Every session with her was not just a physical exercise but a mental test, requiring him to stay vigilant and adaptable.

"You're progressing much faster," Xenovia said in a rare moment of praise, her sword resting briefly as she watched Strax catch his breath. "But remember, the real battle won't be here in training. Your strength will be tested where you least expect it, and you must be prepared for the unexpected, or we won't achieve our goal."

Her words echoed in Strax's mind as he headed home. Night was falling, and Samira was already waiting for him, with her observant gaze and sharp mind. The training with her was less physical and more about strategy and intelligence to use fire powers, something Samira had mastered her entire life.

"When are you going to explain to me how you did that?" She said, throwing a fireball.

"When are you going to stop asking me about it?" he retorted, dodging and launching another highly concentrated fireball.

"Ah~ Complete Cultivator... Ah~ That's hard," Samira said, panting. After all, she always focused on cultivating her body; mana was never her forte, and that was a problem now. She wasn't as resilient when using mana, not that it was an issue for her. What was pushing her to the limit was the amount of mana Strax had.

"Ah~ Damn it, do you have an infinite mana reserve?" She grumbled, sitting down on the ground totally exhausted, her heaving chest making it clear she was at her limit, and Strax just smiled and sat down beside her. "Your mana, that's not normal," Samira said, and Strax just shrugged.

"I was born this way, can't do anything about it," he laughed, "But if it were a sword duel, you'd obliterate me with your strength," he remarked, and Samira gave a smile, "Yes, that's true."

Samira let out a short laugh, but her eyes sparkled with renewed determination. "Still, it's frustrating. I was getting used to being the strongest around here," she joked, wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "Man, I'm exhausted," she murmured.

Strax just gave a knowing smile. He knew that Samira's comment, however light-hearted, carried a weight of truth. His mana was a mystery even to him; he understood it was a result of his Dragon-Demon physique. "There's still room for growth; I need that sword soon..." he thought. His greed for strength was already starting to cloud his judgment; his goal was still to be the strongest.

"Let's rest for a bit," she said, getting up, extending her hand to help Strax up. "You've been training too hard. The last thing we need is for you to be overwhelmed; training is good with control, not by destroying your body like this, always pushing it to the maximum," she said. Lately, he was really overloading himself.

Samira had already spoken with Beatrice and Monica to try to lessen the burden he had placed on himself; he was already overburdening himself too much, and that worried her.

The constant training and pressure to become stronger were self-imposed, but he knew there was a fine line between dedication and self-sabotage. "Thank you," he said, his voice low but sincere. "You're right. I need to find a balance."

Samira gave a small nod, her gaze soft. "Strength doesn't just come from the body or mana. It also comes from the mind and spirit. If you break yourself, none of it matters." She turned to walk towards the house, with Strax following closely behind. "Now, let's eat something and rest. Tomorrow is a new day."

"I didn't know you could be so poetic," Strax commented, laughing, and received a light tap on his arm, and he could only laugh at the girl. "Idiot," she said and started walking ahead. "Hey, don't be like that, you were really cute, you know?" He questioned, and she walked even faster. "So cute," he thought.

That night, as the moon illuminated the sky, Strax allowed himself to relax a bit. The tension in his muscles eased, and for the first time in a long time, he simply rested without thinking about training, women, or any little thing that distracted him. He had dinner with the women and went to sleep in Beatrice's room.

The next morning, Strax woke up with the feeling that something was different. Beatrice was no longer in bed. The house was quiet, but he could feel a vibrant energy in the air with his Dragon eyes. He quickly dressed and descended the stairs, finding Monica in the kitchen, preparing a simple breakfast. She greeted him with a smile that seemed laden with passion.

"Good morning," he heard from behind him, as Samira hugged him and grabbed an apple from the table. "You look like you have something on your mind," he said, looking at Samira.

"Maybe," Samira replied, biting into the apple. "I've been thinking about our training, and I think we need to diversify a bit. Maybe a little trip? Something to change the scenery and challenge your skills in a different way."

Strax raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "A trip? Where to? Are you that bored?"

"Well, it's not exactly a long journey," she explained, her gaze fixed on him. "But there's a place in the Shadow Mountains. I heard from some merchants yesterday that there's a different beast roaming around there. Maybe it's of interest to you, well, it's just a rumor, of course."

"Is that so? Sounds intriguing," he said with a smile, taking the apple from her hand and kissing her passionately.

*Smooch*

"Don't do that in front of me," Monica said, pouting. "Well, if you want, it's up to you..." Before he could finish, Monica pulled him into a kiss.

*Smooch*

A kiss as passionate as Samira's. "Hm, today is going to be a good day," he murmured. "Where's Beatrice?" Strax asked after pulling away from Monica's lips. "She left early, went shopping," Monica informed him.

"I see."