Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnated as a Beast Race-Chapter 145 - Really Useful Gifts

"One can also feel how much the other is suffering through it..."

Rygar smiled, touched by the gesture, and without a word, placed the amulet around his neck.

Then, he pulled Ghislaine in for an intense, passionate kiss, loaded with feelings that went beyond words.

She immediately reciprocated the gesture, her tail swaying animatedly from side to side.

The others averted their eyes, visibly embarrassed by the public display of affection, except Aisha.

But no one complained—everyone knew what one meant to the other. The couple separated their lips, still connected by intense looks and a knowing silence.

It was then that Aisha stood up, calling everyone's attention.

"Master!" she said with enthusiasm.

"As our gift, we all gathered together to go after something suitable to give you."

She took a deep breath and began describing the adventure they had experienced in search of the gift.

She detailed the journey to an S-rank maze, painting a vivid picture of the difficulties they faced.

And as she spoke, she reinforced the role of each member of the group: Nina, Jino, Isolte, Eris... Everyone was fairly acknowledged, so that they felt they had participated and contributed to it.

The story continued to describe how they found a secret cave inside the maze after dealing with the Boss. Then Aisha approached with a large, sturdy box in her hands.

"These are the two magical items we found there, Master," she said excitedly.

"And these are the books we found there, but they are in an unknown language."

And she handed him the three books with iron clasps.

"We couldn't exactly identify what the ring does, but it seems to conjure some kind of barrier around the user. But the cloak... the cloak has an incredible effect!"

Rygar took the books and the box, and, after opening one of the books, furrowed his brows.

Aisha asked, "So, Master?"

And he replied, "I don't even know what language it is... I have never seen it before. When I meet my master again, I'll ask her, anyway, what is the effect of the cloak?"

She smiled excitedly, and everyone around seemed equally animated.

"It appears to be made from the leather of some demonic beast, because it is extremely durable. But besides that, it has a magical effect that allows the wearer to change direction instantly, almost completely ignoring inertia! But that seems to cost mana..."

Aisha then added with a mischievous look:

"Not that that's going to be a problem for the master!"

Rygar's eyes widened, fascinated. If it really worked as Aisha described, it would be an incredible trump card.

He took the cloak, briefly examining the dense material, with reinforced seams and a slight latent energy pulsing through its fabric.

Without wasting time, he put on the cloak in front of the group, who watched with anticipation.

Rygar then stepped back, gave an impulse with Battle Aura and leaped straight ahead at high speed.

In the middle of the leap, he concentrated mana in the cloak and tried to change direction—and he did so suddenly, almost unnaturally.

He abruptly stopped in front of a rock, the air exploding behind him with a supersonic roar.

Rygar was shocked, his eyes wide open.

'It really works! Damn, this is incredible...'

The mana expenditure had been considerable, but to him, it was just a small fraction. Nothing concerning.

He returned to the group with a radiant smile, the cloak fluttering behind him as if celebrating the victory.

"I really liked it, and I can guarantee it will be very useful..." he said sincerely.

"Thank you all: Nina, Jino, Eris, Isolte, and Aisha, for choosing to give me this item. I know it would probably be a great differentiator for swordsmen... I will not forget this."

Nina crossed her arms and said:

"Hmph! It's for the best!"

Despite her tough pose, the smile on her face betrayed her.

Jino smiled:

"It was nothing..."

Isolte also spoke:

"I believe that only someone like you could make better use of such an item. And after all, the one who planned the operation was Aisha. The greatest credit goes to her. I honestly didn't know what to give as a present before that...."

She finished somewhat embarrassed, scratching her neck. Then Rygar looked at Aisha, who had a bright smile on her face.

He approached her slowly, his thoughts mingling with emotions.

This girl was truly amazing... Sometimes Rygar seriously thought, even being so talented, am I worthy of being this girl's mentor.

And the more he looked at her, the more he thought that despite everything she was capable of, she was still just a six-year-old child.

When he thought about it, he felt that she shouldn't push herself so hard being so young...

He knelt down to be at her level and affectionately ruffled her hair.

"Thank you, Aiz... Since I accepted you as my disciple, you have done nothing but give me more and more pride, surpassing my expectations again and again..."

He paused for a moment and said, "I know you worked hard for that, and I am really very happy with it, but after that, I hope that you relax a bit... ok?"

Aisha looks a little confused, but still says, "Ok master!"

Rygar then smiles, satisfied.

Nigav had already informed Rygar that he did not have a gift.

But he did not mind—in the first place, he hadn't even expected to celebrate his birthday. All of that was an unexpected surprise.

Then Rygar spoke while looking at the rest of the group:

"Well, that concludes the gifts, right?"

Nina was about to respond, but Eris interrupted her energetically:

"No! I still have a present!"

Eris moved forward with a wild sparkle in her eyes and a fierce smile on her lips.

"Rygar, I challenge you to a duel!" she declared, her voice carrying excitement and daring.

Nina immediately grumbled in the background, frowning.

"Eris, is this really the time for that?"

Rygar, on the other hand, showed no sign of discomfort.

On the contrary. He found it interesting to see Eris so excited, his eyes slightly brightened and a smile formed on his face.

"No problem... I accept, Eris. The usual match?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Eris excitedly, before unsheathing her real sword—a lethal weapon, different from the one she usually used in training, which was wooden.

Rygar, for his part, drew his blue blade, Tsukikage, but remained steady, preparing to face her also with his fists and claws.

He had not used touki in his fights against Eris since the challenge.

But choosing selectively whether to use touki or not was not as simple as he made it seem.

Rygar was an Emperor in multiple combat styles, proficient in the use of Battle Aura, holder of the Eye of Magical Power, and possessing colossal physical strength.

Saint-level warriors could even control and manipulate their touki, but they didn't have the freedom to activate and deactivate it as fluidly as Rygar. He had long surpassed that level.

Eris assumed with firm posture the high stance of the Sword God Style—her favorite stance, the one that best expressed her direct, aggressive, and impetuous style.

At the edge of the improvised combat field, Isolte murmured, watching with curiosity.

"What could be a gift that requires a duel?"

Aisha crossed her arms, frowning. "I don't know this time either..."

Jino, intrigued, ventured a guess. "Perhaps she is confident in winning?"

Everyone present fell silent, speculating on the reasons behind Eris's sudden challenge. Until Ghislaine, with a little smile at the corner of her lips, commented:

"Maybe she is confident... Eris was doing special training with me over the last few days and asked me not to tell Rygar anything. I don't know if she can win... but it will certainly be a surprise."

Without ceremony, without hesitation, Eris shouted: "Haaaah!" and lunged forward with ferocity.

Rygar immediately responded, propelling himself forward with his incomparable speed. In the blink of an eye, he wielded Tsukikage with mastery, even without using touki.

What followed was an intense fight. Blades clashing, footsteps echoing, bodies spinning.

The days when duels between Rygar and Eris were guaranteed victories for him were long gone.

Rygar's physical strength was rapidly growing, indeed. He was capable of defeating any Saint with relative ease.

But that came with certain limitations. Without the use of touki, there were no mystical techniques, only pure swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat.

Every attack and defense by Rygar was based solely on his brute strength, extreme speed, and the experience accumulated over a decade of intense battles.

Most of his moves in this fight derived from the North God Style—a school that also had techniques that did not depend on touki.

Normally, that was enough to give him an advantage against the Saints. But not against Eris.

The title of Red Lioness was no joke. There was no warrior among the Sword Saints who could match her ferocity in combat.

Nina and some of the strongest could keep up—but not match her.

Even Isolte, who had once been on par with Eris at the beginning, eventually fell behind. In her more recent fights, Eris won seven out of every ten bouts against her.

The young Eris Greyrat, with innate talent, unwavering determination, and resilience forged in sweat and pain, had been training with the goal of reaching none other than Rygar, Ghislaine, and Gall Farion.

More importantly, she was training to face the Dragon God!

That placed her ahead of her peers.

Gall Farion, in fact, recently mentioned that he planned to hold the next contest for a new title of Sword King at the Sanctuary in the coming months.

Eris was proficient both in the Sword God Style and the North God Style, boasting a Saint-level classification in both.

Moreover, due to constant training, she had learned to effectively face techniques from the Beast God Style and the Water God Style.

The determination Eris displayed was one of the reasons why Rygar could never ignore his feelings.

Yes, she was fierce, impetuous, and wild—but with Rygar, it was as if she transformed. When she talked to him, she became a young girl in love, tsundere down to the last strand of hair.

It was a unique treatment, reserved only for Rygar.

With other people, like Aisha and Ghislaine, Eris was gentle. But only with Rygar did she reveal that vulnerable side, in fact, quite adorable.

Rygar never needed to say much—a mere correction in her training and Eris's eyes would light up with pure determination.

As Ghislaine once said, perhaps Eris trained and pushed herself so hard with only one goal: to be able to fight alongside Rygar and Ghislaine. But with Rygar... there was something more. She desired him as a woman.

Rygar didn't consider himself dense. The girl had been showing very clear signs for a long time.

There was a time when he believed it was just a youthful infatuation, perhaps a result of their close companionship and him having saved her and Ghislaine.

But now, after so many years... he knew. He saw, felt, and perceived clearly: there was a burning flame in Eris Greyrat, an intense, violent, irrepressible passion.

A love so pure and direct it could move even the most unyielding mountains.

Eris was, indeed, a magnificent young woman.

While these thoughts danced through Rygar's mind, the duel reached a new level.

The sound of clashing blades echoed loudly, vibrant, as Eris's strikes became faster and heavier.

Rygar retreated fluidly, dodging with impressive flexibility, maintaining his composure even in the face of the red lioness's destructive impulse.

As the duel approached its climax, the injuries on both sides were accumulating.

Rygar had a few scratches and cuts, but Eris was clearly more wounded.

Her breathing was irregular, her arms trembling from effort and sweat beading on her injured skin. Even so, she did not retreat an inch.

Then, Eris advanced with everything she had, her eyes sparking with determination.

With a cry, she executed the Longsword of Light, cutting in a diagonal arc toward Rygar's solar plexus.

But Rygar dodged perfectly, as if he had eyes in the back of his head.

The blade passed centimeters from his body, and he immediately counterattacked with a front kick.

Eris blocked with her sword, but was nonetheless sent flying backwards with brutal force.

She soared toward a rock and, with remarkable dexterity, landed with her feet on it, keeping her body horizontal.

Her chest heaved, but her eyes... her eyes shone with something fierce.

Rygar pursued her with speed, ready to end the duel.

But then, even before she touched the ground, Eris used the momentum of the previous throw to spin her body around.

The world seemed to slow down.

For Eris, everything was in slow motion.

She looked at Rygar. And smiled.

Rygar felt a chill run up his spine.

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"Secret technique..." Eris whispered.

"Rotation of Light."

Still with her feet on the wall, she altered her footwork in an unusual manner, spinning around herself as if she were a spring being wound up.

Then, with an explosive burst, she leapt toward Rygar at incredible speed.

Her body spun like a hurricane—a chaotic and beautiful sight.

The touki around her was erratic, dancing uncontrollably... yet gathering around the blade of her sword like a brilliant spiral.

To the onlookers, it seemed like nothing more than a spinning leap.

But in Rygar's eyes, it was something completely different.

A technique that blended the North God Style and the God of the Sword Style in perfect harmony.

The Longsword of Light, already deadly, had now become unpredictable, impossible to parry.

A true masterpiece created by Eris.

Rygar realized in an instant: he would not be able to completely avoid it without using touki, unless he chose to injure himself gravely.

So, he raised his left arm and placed it in front of the strike.

Eris's blade cut with brutality.

Driven solely by his muscular strength and the resilience of his bones, Rygar's entire left arm was severed, and the blade struck his shoulder, slicing violently, leaving a deep trail of blood.

But Rygar's right hand reached Eris's neck in midair, with instinctive precision.

With a brutal movement, he threw her forcefully against the ground.

The impact created a crater of earth and dust all around.

Eris groaned in pain, the air being ripped from her lungs.

And as always, Rygar won.

If he wished, that hand could have become his claws.

But then, Eris felt something warm and comforting running through her body.

Her wounds began to close, and her pain slowly diminished.

She opened her eyes.

Rygar was crouched beside her, still with his hand on her neck—but now, applying healing magic.

His arm was regenerating, strands of flesh and bone reconnecting swiftly.

He smiled gently at her, his eyes full of affection and respect.

"That was a beautiful gift, Eris."

The words were simple, but laden with sincerity.

Eris's heart raced.

Upon seeing that warm face, those gently swaying canine ears, her blood rushed to her face.

She blushed completely red, her cheeks aflame.

"Y-y-you're welcome!" she stammered, her voice heavy with embarrassment.

Then Rygar lifted her up in his arms, in a princess-carry style, with surprising delicacy.

And, as if that fierce duel had never happened, he returned to the group with her in his arms, like a gentleman carrying a damsel.

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