BXBX NOVEL Chapter 97: System is updating
"Thank you for the meal, my dear Master," Ouroboros said with a mischievous smile. Her voice was soft and tempting, bordering on complete sensuality.
A distinctive notification appeared for Strax after he sheathed his swords, signaling the end of the battle:
[The System is updating, please wait for the update to complete >]
[ Estimated Time: 3 hours >]
Strax sighed, a wave of relief washing over him. He had defeated Darius. The fight had been exhausting, but something within Strax ignited when he assimilated with Ouroboros. He felt an overwhelming power, a strength that seemed invincible.
"Thank you," he said, holding the black sword firmly and conveying his gratitude. There was no response from the sword, which struck him as odd, but he chose to ignore it. However, deep within a hidden realm...
"You sly old hag!" Tiamat roared at the woman who blushed like a smitten schoolgirl, clutching her face in an endearing manner. She seemed to be lost in thoughts about Strax, which appeared... suspiciously sentimental.
Upon hearing the dragon's outburst, she snapped out of her reverie, "Quiet! The Master is loving me! Don't interrupt!" she exclaimed, though her shout had an unexpectedly gentle tone. Tiamat was left speechless. How could someone speak in such a tender voice? Was receiving a "thank you" from a young man really that delightful?
But Tiamat's pride wouldn't allow her to accept this or be outdone by that sly snake! She puffed out her chest and huffed, "Hmph! I will have him to myself! You crafty serpent!" With that, she turned and left the spiritual realm, retreating back into her own golden sword.
Inside her sword, a fully gilded castle with a throne could be seen, where she sat, plotting various ways to attract Strax's attention. Well, at least her pride was serving Strax well. The more these two obsessive ladies vied for his favor, the stronger he became! Though he wasn't aware of this yet, he would soon find out...
Maybe these swords wouldn't remain swords for much longer if their obsession continued to grow.
"Strax." He heard a voice calling him while he stared at the black ice statue in front of him. Many thoughts swirled in his mind, particularly about the manner of Darius's death. He wished Darius had suffered more and was not entirely satisfied, but it was fine for now. "Strax." He heard the voice again, this time it was Xenovia nudging him back to reality.
Strax snapped out of his thoughts and turned to her with a calm look. He no longer seemed like the enraged, insane man he had been in the past days. He appeared completely renewed. "Are you alright?" she asked, scrutinizing his body, which was indeed quite wounded and tired. But he merely nodded, not wanting to trouble her now that he was fully back in the world.
"I'm fine, relax," he said, placing a hand on Xenovia's head and gently stroking her long white hair. "Thank you for everything," he said sincerely, appearing truly different from before.
"Alright," she smiled and hugged him tightly, but...
"Ah! That hurts!" he exclaimed. His body, despite appearing fine, was in great pain. "S-Sorry!" Xenovia said, panicking and stepping back, making expressions no one had seen before.
Others in the vicinity began to leave, none too keen on just watching this peculiar couple interact, especially Strax's siblings. As for his sisters... well...
"I'm leaving. I'll go back to my city; I need to train," Veronica said, the first to leave without waiting for anyone else's responses. She was distressed by what had happened. "I won't let this trash become stronger than me," she thought, genuinely infuriated as she departed.
"What's up with her?" Eva asked, probably the most innocent person there, and her childlike appearance didn't help much. "Leave her be. Jealousy is consuming her again... the same thing happened when Xenovia advanced to Master Level years ago," Hinna said. She, too, seemed different from before, her body tenser and her mind more distant.
Vine felt the same; both were somehow regretful and fearful of what they had just witnessed.
"Boring!" Eva said, running to Strax, leaving the two unsure of what to do about the problems they had brought upon themselves. They were afraid he might turn on them for revenge.
But the reality was that Strax didn't care about any of that anymore. The issue with his family was essentially settled, though significant matters remained, like his mother's death.
"Do you want to go home? I think we need time to recover from what happened here," Hinna suggested to Vine, who quickly agreed, and the two walked away calmly, leaving only a few people in the arena.
"Two High-Class Spiritual Swords, five stars," Diana murmured. Even she hadn't achieved that; she knew it was almost impossible, especially because swords with spirits were very different from ordinary swords. They might have the same durability, but... depending on how the user viewed the sword, things could change. Especially when...
"He made two contracts..." Albert murmured. He hadn't spoken since the incident began because he was genuinely impressed and analyzing what was happening.
For a spiritual contract, a lot had to be involved, and he knew this because... "He has a soul too strong, stronger than yours, old man." He heard in his mind, a serious but still gentle and feminine voice. It was the White Tiger's voice, a guardian's voice, after all, a protector.
"Hm." Albert grunted, lost in thought. Since the beginning, he had been unsure about his decision to let Strax kill those three. He didn't care about their deaths, but the potential repercussions troubled him. There was much he wanted to discuss with Strax after everything that had transpired, but for now, he chose silence.
Watching Xenovia smile beside Strax intrigued him; something about the child piqued his sharp eyes, but he couldn't quite grasp what it was.
"Teach him how to use two swords," Albert instructed Diana, who looked at him, puzzled. "Give me a report on his training progress every day," he added, rising from his seat. A slight release of his aura caught their attention without him having to call out.
Suddenly, Strax, Xenovia, and little Eva, still on the field, felt the aura permeate the space and quickly turned their gaze to Albert.
"You did well," Albert remarked before turning to leave. The sensation was odd. They all expected something more to happen, but he merely spoke and walked away, leaving everyone speechless.
Diana, bound by his command, approached Strax with crossed arms. She wasn't exactly thrilled about being a teacher, especially for a man using dual swords. Though she knew he had potential, his clumsiness showed that he had a lot to learn about wielding two blades effectively.
"He asked me to teach you how to fight with two swords," she said, her expression less than enthusiastic. Her mind wandered to the things Strax had mentioned to her in passing during their encounters in the mansion corridors. She was... interested but also apprehensive about what might happen. Despite her reluctance, she had to comply.
"You? I'll continue teaching him," Xenovia retorted, her voice sharp and cold, almost slashing at Diana with her words alone. She wanted to seize this opportunity to get closer to the man she had always loved, but even now, she realized she would have to proceed more cautiously. Diana's gaze hardened, meeting Xenovia's purple eyes with defiance.
"Orders from the Patriarch. If you want to object, talk to him personally. After all, you've been causing enough trouble lately. I'd love to see his reaction to your critique of Strax's training regimen," Diana said, her tone embodying not just Diana Vorah the swordswoman but Diana Vorah, the Patriarch's wife.
"Whatever," Strax interrupted. For him, becoming stronger was just a bonus from this training. He gave Diana a greedy grin, causing her to flinch back for a moment. "Hey! Don't look at me like that!" she snapped, nearly drawing her sword to threaten him.
"Quiet, we'll talk later. I'm going home," Strax said, turning away and taking Xenovia with him, leaving Diana behind.
At that moment, despite achieving a satisfactory measure of revenge, one concern lingered for Strax—his wife. Was she alright? That was all that mattered now. He intended to stay by her side while waiting for the message to disappear, eager to know what happened with the System.
[< Estimated time for Update Completion: 2 hours and 43 minutes >]
The messages seemed different, he read it and a strange air settled over him. Did he need to see Beatrice? Yes, but this System update thing.
"I hope this is a good sign..." He thought, as he continued to stand firm