After once again forcing the boy in front of him back with his wooden sword, the blond-haired swordsman stopped moving.
"That's enough for today... You look tired, Kevin."
"Really?"
Kevin reached out to wipe the sweat from his face and answered unconsciously.
In reality, he had just been almost entirely relying on his fighting instincts and muscle memory to keep up with Ais's training.
After all, not long ago, he had consecutively defeated two labyrinth king-level bosses, and his physical strength was severely depleted.
If he hadn't remembered that today was the training time he had agreed upon with Ais, he would have fallen asleep long ago.
"You look similar to your Familia members when they've just finished an expedition."
Ais sheathed her weapon and sat down on a row of wooden boxes nearby.
"If you work too hard, your body will break."
This sentence was as meaningful as "If someone is killed, they will die."
"Use the remaining time to rest."
Seeing that Ais had no intention of continuing the training, Kevin approached her and sat down beside her, relaxing his body.
A lot has happened to me in the past few days.
Looking back, the Melting Fire Festival feels like a long time ago.
But for Ais, it should only have been an experience from a week ago.
Suddenly, Kevin, who was resting with his eyes closed, felt a light tug on his shoulder.
After opening his eyes, he found Ais staring at him with golden eyes, hesitant to speak.
"What's wrong, Miss Ais?"
"...Lap pillow, do you need one?"
"?"
"Lap pillow, that is."
It seemed a bit difficult to explain, so Ais applied a little force and made Kevin rest his head on "Zero One Three's" lap.
"If you mind, please say so."
"How could I possibly mind..."
Feeling the soft touch behind his head and Ais's flawless face looking down at him, Kevin narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling as if he was ascending to heaven.
"But why did you suddenly think about a lap pillow?"
"Lord Loki said that a beautiful girl's lap pillow can quickly relieve fatigue."
like something he would say.
"Then, Lord Loki was locked in a small dark room by Riveria and was only released a few days later."
"Why? Even if it's Loki... he couldn't possibly be guilty of such a crime."
"I don't know."
Ais shook her head gently, and her fine hair swayed in front of Kevin's eyes like a golden waterfall.
"It seems he was angry because I didn't ask him to give me a lap pillow."
"Ah... I see."
After all, Riveria Ljos Alf was very sensitive about her age.
It was said that this happened because Ais had once called her "old woman" when she was little.
They tied her up and threw her into the water on the grounds of swimming practice.
Thinking of this, Kevin asked casually.
"By the way, can Ais swim?"
Facing this question, Miss Sword Princess fell silent for a moment, which was rare.
She turned her face slightly and spoke in a low voice.
"As long as you are careful and don't fall into the water, there won't be any problems."
In other words, she was a land person who couldn't swim at all.
I didn't expect Ais to be so stubborn sometimes.
Perhaps because she was asked about something she wasn't good at, Ais ruthlessly ended the lap pillow service.
"You're making rapid progress."
Before parting, Ais's team said seriously.
"In terms of ability alone, you've already reached my level around Lv4."
"Well... if I remember correctly, you're almost reaching Lv6 now?"
"Before leveling up, Lv5 is still Lv5."
Ais shook her head slightly.
"In the next training, I also need to fully concentrate to fight against you."
Kevin was naturally very happy to receive such an evaluation and recognition from the Sword Princess.
It seemed that his day and night efforts to challenge the Boss had paid off.
Tit...
"Miss Ais was clearly holding back her strength when fighting me."
I just said that in terms of ability, [it's already equivalent to LV4].
Regarding the difference in strength, there was obviously a huge gap between a Lv5 Sword Princess and a Lv2 Kevin.
"I will only use my full strength when facing monsters."
Ais placed her hand on the sword at her waist and spoke in a firm tone.
"I would feel very bad if I hurt you."
What a pity.
Kevin originally wanted to experience the Sword Princess's posture when she exerted her full strength.
I don't know how long I could last against such Ais.
"Ah, right." Ais suddenly remembered something, "You have the ability to protect yourself, and you're also a blacksmith who can forge magic swords."
"If you want, you can join our next 'expedition'."
"The leader will definitely be very happy to have someone like you join us."
"..."
Heading to the deepest part of the dungeon for exploration.
Kevin was slightly surprised to hear this word.
"Didn't the Loki Familia just return from their expedition a few days ago? Are you going again?"
"No... not yet."
Ais shook her head.
"I was just thinking about this and asking what you thought."
"My thoughts... if I have free time then, I'll go."
Kevin's answer made Ais raise her eyebrows slightly, emitting a cheerful mood.
"Okay."
"I look forward to adventuring in the dungeon with you."
Although Ais's last words were somewhat touching.
But Kevin was so tired that he didn't pay any more attention. He returned to the store and fell asleep.
"Huh... I slept for almost a whole day."
Looking at the scene still shrouded in night, Kevin silently thought that it was fortunate he remembered to go back to Terraria to catch up on the time difference.
Less than 12 hours had passed since the local and black bullet world time error.
Otherwise, when he woke up, there would probably be a mountain of affairs piled up.
"Um....Master?"
At that moment, a small head emerged from Kevin's blanket.
"Lily? Why are you in my bed?"
Kevin rubbed his eyes.
"Because master was in a bad condition yesterday, Lily was a little worried."
The dwarf girl hugged Kevin's chest with both arms, her voice lazy and charming.
"Good morning, Master... Does Master need Lily's help?"
"Whatever you want."
Kevin put both hands behind his head and thought.
This time, being able to defeat the World Devourer and the Hive Mind successively was a surprise beyond our plans.
After the World Devourer was defeated, there was a possibility that the "Meteor Shower" event would be triggered in the Terraria world every day.
Meteorite was a mineable mineral that could be used to make various weapons and armor.
The Shadow Scales and Demonic Ore dropped by the World Devourer could be crafted into the Shadow Set.
But this was not important to Kevin, who already had soft leather armor.
What was important was that his mining tool could finally be upgraded to mine the hellish "hell stone."
"The focus of the next exploration... should be hell and the sky."
Recalling the azure light of the sky he saw when killing the Rotten Hive Mind, Kevin began to ponder.
This azure light meant that the "Sky Blue Mine" on Sky Island had been filled and could be mined.
Azure Ore was the last mineral in Terraria before hard mode.
In addition to being used to make Sky Series equipment, it was also a synthetic material for many Calamity special properties.
For example... the prototype diagram that Kevin obtained from the Sunken Sea, the equipment recorded in it could finally be made!
"There's also the Unfinished Environmental Sword, Sky Feather Wings, Aesthetic Staff... all can be made."
"Sky Blue Ingots can also be used to make 'Muramasa'."
"I have the 'Grass Sword' I made earlier, the 'Magic Light Sword' made of Magic Ore, the 'Volcano' made of Hell Stone Ingots, and 'Muramasa'."
"You can create the strongest melee weapon before hard mode - the Night's Edge!"
High base damage, beautiful and practical attack effects, wide attack range, multi-weapon synthesis production method...
If the weapons made before were all small-scale.
Then the "Night's Edge" was one of the most representative and powerful weapons in Terraria!
Not to mention it could be further synthesized into even more powerful weapons!
Thinking of this, Kevin couldn't help but close his eyes.
It wasn't the scene of manipulating the Zenith Sword God to stop and kill the God that appeared in his mind.
Instead, it was Lily exerting her strength.
After a while, Kevin hugged the small body that had also softened.
"Good job, you've worked hard."
"Hehehe... Lily is very happy to be able to help master."
After releasing the pressure that had accumulated for several days, Kevin suddenly felt refreshed.
By the way, after defeating the World Devourer, some of the goods in the "Merchant's" store were also updated.
For example, the upgraded versions of the two weak potions—healing potion and mana potion.
Their recovery amount had doubled compared to before, and the price had also increased, 10 silver coins and 2.5 silver coins each....
Perhaps because the magic power in the Terraria world was very easy to recover, so the price of mana potions was not very high.
However, this type of product was quite popular in Orario. After all, the situation varied from world to world.
In terms of functions, Kevin also unlocked a new function - the dryad!
The dryad would sell some items such as plant seeds and planting pots.
It also provided the Dryad's Blessing buff to nearby friendly units.
Because there were currently no suitable contractor candidates, Kevin planned to leave the position vacant for the time being.
After all, he didn't really need the dryad's merchandise.
"But, according to the dryad's setting... after all, 'elves' are the most suitable, right?"
"After all, they are all races deeply connected with nature."
After leaving Terraria, Kevin first went to the Adventurer's Guild.
Business had been booming recently, so he needed to replenish his stock frequently.
Lily could also directly purchase some basic goods from his own store.
For example, if he wanted to create unique weapons and protective gear using boss materials, Kevin needed to do it himself.
Thanks to the resounding title of "Hero Craftsman," the Adventurer's Guild had been having quite good revenue lately.
This was in stark contrast to the police company, whose deficit cycle was equivalent to the company's founding time.
"It's time to expand the store and add some new products."
Looking at the bustling store, Kevin nodded in satisfaction, already having a plan in mind.
But this matter was not urgent, there was something more important he needed to do at the moment.
"Too slow! The police from other companies have already set off!"
When Kevin and Enju arrived at the office leisurely, Kisara was already jumping around anxiously like an ant on a hot pan.
"President, this isn't a spring picnic for elementary school kids. There's no need for everyone to go together, right?"
Kevin didn't look anxious at all.
After all, it was impossible to kill all the protoceratops in the restricted area, so there was no need to compete with others for them.
"Time is money!"
"You— Where did those goblins come from?"
Kevin picked up the documents Kisara had prepared for him and was about to leave when he heard a "wait" behind him.
The president had left her armchair sometime and walked over to help Kevin straighten his collar.
"You must come back alive."
"Don't worry, I have no intention of seeking death for the time being."
Kevin looked at Kisara, who rarely showed her true feelings, and saw her shift.
"But after all, I'm risking my life on this business trip... President, you should show a little appreciation, right?"
"What do you want?"
Kisara thought about it and it seemed to be true.
Even she didn't dare to underestimate the dangers of the "forbidden zone."
As a new employee, Kevin was immediately facing such a difficult task.
Even a black-hearted businessman couldn't bear it.
"..."
Kevin smiled and leaned down to whisper something into Mu Xiao's small ear.
The girl's ears immediately turned red, followed by an embarrassed and angry glare from Kisara.
"No way! Whatever I say - I'd better say that you dare to make such an absurd condition, Are you challenging me?!"
"..."
Seeing Kisara shaking her head repeatedly, Kevin very disappointedly touched Enju's head.
"Enju, look, don't be a woman who doesn't keep her promises in the future."
Enju repeated the words seriously.
"Okay, I will definitely not be a big-breasted, stupid, and untrustworthy woman, Brother!"
At such a young age, she already knew how to smuggle goods, so her future was bright.
"Guuuu... you two!"
Facing the combined attack from her two subordinates, Kisara said with gritted teeth.
"I've changed my mind. If you can rank first in total contributions in this operation, I will agree to what I just said!"
"Agreed."
Kevin agreed without hesitation.
If only this was a way to taste Miss Kisara's "Holy milk"...
Then he would let other police officers see what a professional in boosting scores looked like.
"I feel like I'm getting more and more perverted."
After getting into the vehicle prepared by Sima Heavy Industry for this operation, Kevin looked out the window speechlessly and sighed.
"Maybe this is the price for becoming stronger."