I reappeared in the manor, the faint shimmer of magic fading as I materialized. Several of the girls turned to look at me, curiosity evident in their expressions. The Keyblade Armor on my body gleamed for a moment before condensing into a sleek gauntlet covering my left arm from shoulder to fingertips.
Rachel floated over, her violet eyes narrowing slightly as she inspected the weapon still clutched in my hand. "I take it you got something good?"
"Yeah," I replied, flexing my fingers as the Keyblade pulsed lightly with power before vanishing in a flash of light. "For starters, we all have acausality now—so time travel shenanigans won't be a problem in the future. I also picked up some new sword and magic skills. Oh, and I unlocked another way to travel between worlds."
Her eyebrow arched. "And what exactly is that?"
I tapped the gauntlet. "Keyblade travel. The weapon itself is ridiculously broken—unlocks any lock, opens pathways between worlds, channels magic, and makes for a damn good sword. The armor and glider are designed for safe interdimensional travel, kind of like moving through the Dimensional Gap in High School DxD. Protects against all the bad stuff that comes with it."
Rachel's gaze flicked over my arm again. "That's... actually really useful."
A few of the others perked up at the mention of new travel methods, but Rachel just crossed her arms, floating slightly closer. "Alright, spill. Did you do anything dangerous or stupid while you were gone?"
I rolled my eyes. "Not really, no."
Her stare intensified.
I sighed. "Okay, the most 'dangerous' thing I did was speed-blitz a relatively weak evil sorcerer before he could even react." I shrugged. "Jafar was just a normal human with some magic tricks. No superhuman stats, no real defenses against a high-speed attack. He barely even saw me before I took his head off."
Rachel hummed in thought before nodding in satisfaction. "Alright. And?"
"And that was about it," I continued. "I was in and out of that world in maybe fifteen minutes. Didn't bring anyone back, didn't mess around too much, just grabbed what I needed and dipped."
Her expression softened, though I could tell she was still mentally filing this information away for later.
"Well," she finally said, "I suppose that's fine."
I smirked and leaned in to give her a quick kiss.
Yue, who had been listening quietly, tilted her head. "You said you picked up new sword and magic skills?"
"Yep," I said, stretching my arms. "Keyblade combat, spellcasting, summoning, and a bunch of techniques that'll come in handy."
But despite these upgrades, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were still lacking something—proper combat training.
We had mostly been winging it in the Ancient Stone Talisman's dream space, using books and self-study to improve. It worked, but it wasn't efficient. None of the Hollows had formal training in weapons or combat. Saeko had some solid kendo and swordsmanship skills, and Zhu Zhuqing had recently started training under Serenity. She was shaping up to be another high-speed assassin—built for the shadows.
As for the others… Yue, Rachel, Fleur, Hermione, and Luna were still primarily mages, even if they had some martial arts training. They preferred using magic.
Xiao Wu was the only one besides me who actually enjoyed brawling, while Serenity thrived as my little assassin.
That left the Hollows to fill in the gaps. They had the potential to be my brawlers, swordsmen, and all-around fighters. They were fast, durable, and deadly, lacking neither power nor long-range options thanks to Bala and Cero. If trained properly, they could become terrifyingly effective.
I glanced around the room. "We need a combat teacher."
I mentally brought up the peerage pieces I had. I wasn't planning to use one of the new ones but rather an older opportunity I had put off for a while.
I checked my available destinations and the potential gains from each. Sure enough, there was a freebie combat teacher—one of the best I could ask for. Assuming, of course, that she didn't try to kill me outright.
"Be back in a moment," I announced, making the necessary adjustments before activating the travel function.
~~~
My eyes snapped open as searing pain burned through my body and hand. A glowing magic circle flared in front of me, its intricate lines pulsing with power.
A figure emerged from the light.
Long, flowing purple hair. Wine-red eyes filled with wisdom and danger. A form-fitting bodysuit that accentuated her curves and hinted at the sheer strength within her lean frame. In her hand, she held a blood-red spear, its edge glinting ominously.
As soon as her gaze locked onto me, an overwhelming sense of danger flooded my instincts—a primal warning that I was standing before a true predator.
"Are you the one who summoned me?" Her tone was neither submissive nor arrogant, but carried the weight of someone accustomed to absolute authority.
I straightened, meeting her gaze without flinching. "Greetings, Queen Scathach. My name is Ryan, and yes, I am the one who summoned you."
Scathach, the Queen of the Land of Shadows. A god-slayer. A master of countless weapons and martial arts. The ultimate teacher of warriors.
Her expression remained unreadable as she examined me, her eyes gleaming with an almost predatory curiosity. Then, without warning, she stepped forward and began running her hands over my body.
It wasn't sexual—more like an expert craftsman inspecting a new tool. Her fingers pressed into my muscles, traced the lines of my limbs, testing flexibility, density, and strength with practiced efficiency.
"An impressive physique," she murmured, more to herself than to me.
Her sharp gaze pierced me once more. "You are neither god nor demigod. A mortal, yet… something is different about you." She circled me, her eyes alight with intrigue. "Your soul is also unusually strong."
She finally stopped, standing directly in front of me. A slow, dangerous smile formed on her lips. "It has been far too long since I've encountered something interesting."