Chapter 224: Trial of Lord [9]

In the next attempt, Elias wasted no time searching for Stella. Having already memorized the route to the place where she encountered the Rotted, he reached her quickly, rescued her from the immediate danger, and carried her to the village after treating her injuries.

Unlike his previous attempts, he had no intention of spending months training in isolation with Stella. Instead, he wanted to prepare the entire village for the coming disaster, and with Stella’s swordsmanship and his own experience from the previous loops, they began training the villagers together.

Stella took charge of the knights and hunters who would serve as the village’s primary fighting force, while Elias focused on teaching them practical techniques that could help them survive against the Rotted. He showed them how to use their weapons efficiently, how to move without exposing their weaknesses, and how to retreat without breaking formation when faced with an overwhelming opponent.

However, their different approaches soon led to a strange rivalry between them.

Whenever Stella demonstrated a technique, Elias would point out a potential weakness or suggest an alternative. Stella, unwilling to accept his criticism without a challenge, would then ask him to demonstrate his method, only for Elias to find himself competing against her in front of the bewildered villagers.

Their rivalry eventually became a source of entertainment for the villagers, who had grown accustomed to watching the two argue over everything from swordsmanship to the most efficient way to organize their defenses.

One afternoon, after another training session had ended with neither willing to admit defeat, Stella crossed her arms and looked at Elias with an amused smile.

"You know, if you were not married, I might have married you."

Elias shook his head, chuckling at her suggestion.

"I cannot imagine a life without Natasha," he replied. "However, that does not mean there is no place for you."

Stella’s expression immediately changed, and a faint blush spread across her cheeks.

"W-What are you talking about?" she stammered before turning away. "I have to go train the villagers!"

Without waiting for his response, she hurried toward the training grounds, leaving Elias watching her retreating figure with a small smile.

He had not intended to fluster her quite so much, but he could not deny that he had grown fond of the woman during their repeated encounters. Even though each loop ended with their deaths, the feelings he developed along the way remained meaningful to him.

Before he could dwell on the matter any further, Natasha approached him and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Do you like her?" she asked quietly.

Elias turned toward his wife and nodded.

"Yes, I do."

Natasha remained silent for a moment as she looked at his face, and then she spoke again.

"For some reason, I feel like you have a burden that you cannot share with me," she murmured. "I do not know what it is, but if there is someone who can help carry it, I have no problems with them... I think."

Her final words carried a hint of uncertainty, as though she was not entirely sure.

Elias chuckled softly before leaning down to kiss her. As he drew her closer, his hand caressed her plump ass, and he whispered against her lips, "Do not worry. I will ask you first if I intend to do anything."

Natasha blinked at him, then nodded after a moment.

"All right."

Elias embraced her, allowing himself to enjoy the warmth of her presence while he still could. No matter how many times he returned to the past, Natasha remained the person he could never imagine losing, and he was determined to protect her even if it meant enduring the same nightmare countless more times.

However, his growing affection for Stella did not change the reality of their situation.

The preparations continued, and when the Rotted finally arrived, the villagers fought with everything they had. Stella led the knights into battle while Elias fought beside her, putting the swordsmanship he had learned across countless loops into practice.

As the Rotted’s tentacles swept across the battlefield, Elias moved to intercept one of them, cutting through its appendage with a powerful strike. The creature recoiled briefly, but the severed portion dissolved into black sludge before another tentacle immediately replaced it.

He continued fighting, dodging the incoming attacks and striking whenever an opening appeared, but the creature’s enormous body made their efforts seem insignificant.

When a tentacle finally caught him off guard and slammed toward his position, Elias raised his sword to meet it. The impact drove him backward, and although he managed to keep his footing, the tremendous force numbed his arms.

He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip around the hilt, refusing to surrender even as the black mass closed in around him.

Then, something within him changed.

His will surged as he faced the overwhelming creature, and crimson, water-like Aura burst from his body, spreading along his sword and enveloping its blade in a fierce glow.

Elias stared at the crimson water for a brief moment before turning his gaze toward the Rotted.

With his newly awakened power, he launched himself forward and struck at the creature’s tentacles, cutting through several appendages before they could reach him. Each strike carried greater force than his ordinary attacks, and for a moment, he managed to carve a path through the black mass.

However, the Rotted’s immense body continued to expand, and the creature soon overwhelmed him despite his newfound strength.

Its tentacles wrapped around his limbs and waist, crushing his resistance as they dragged him toward its enormous maw. Elias struggled desperately, swinging Lastbane against the appendages, but the black tar swallowed him before he could break free.

The rest of the village soon suffered the same fate.

Stella’s swordsmanship could not destroy the creature, Monica’s magic failed to halt its advance, and Natasha’s efforts to protect the villagers could not prevent the massacre. One by one, they disappeared beneath the Rotted’s grotesque body until nothing remained.

Elias died with the bitter realization that even awakening Aura had not been enough.

When he returned to the cottage, he understood that reaching the level of swordsmanship he had achieved with Stella was insufficient. He needed to go beyond it, to reach a level where his sword could inflict meaningful damage on a creature that seemed capable of devouring everything in its path.

Thus, he spent the next several loops training and sparring with Stella.

They did not return to the village during these attempts. Instead, Elias sought her out as quickly as possible and devoted the time they had together to improving his swordsmanship.

He studied her movements, challenged her techniques, and repeatedly tested the limits of his own abilities. Whenever he encountered a weakness, he worked to correct it, and whenever Stella demonstrated a technique he could not understand, he continued practicing until he could reproduce it.

Their training grew increasingly intense, and their relationship deepened alongside it.

Elias came to appreciate Stella’s determination, her sharp instincts, and the stubborn pride that made her refuse to back down from a challenge. Meanwhile, Stella grew accustomed to his presence and gradually opened up to him, sharing parts of herself she would rarely reveal to someone she barely knew.

They sparred, argued, laughed, and spent long evenings discussing swordsmanship, and each loop brought them closer.

Yet, despite all their efforts, Elias eventually realized that he was no closer to the level he needed to reach.

His swordsmanship continued to improve, but the difference between him and the strength required to defeat the Rotted remained insurmountable. No matter how many times he repeated the same training, he could not force himself past that barrier.

After another failed attempt, Elias returned to the cottage and sat silently on the bed, staring at the sword resting beside him.

’Perhaps I have been approaching this the wrong way.’

He had spent so many loops trying to become a swordsman capable of defeating the Rotted that he had barely considered whether swordsmanship alone was the answer.

Stella was an exceptional swordswoman, but even she could not destroy the creature. If he continued following the same path, he might spend hundreds of loops improving his swordsmanship without ever reaching the level he needed.

Instead of continuing to pursue a seemingly impossible goal, he decided to explore another possibility.

Magic.

Monica had demonstrated extraordinary talent during their previous encounters, and her earth magic had proven useful even against the Rotted. If Elias could learn to wield that power himself, perhaps he could find a way to overcome the creature’s immense body.

With that thought in mind, he began preparing for his next attempt.

This time, instead of seeking Stella first, he would seek Monica.

---

When the next loop began, Elias wasted no time traveling toward the village where Monica usually performed her magic shows.

He found her just as he had expected, standing before a small crowd while demonstrating a series of simple spells. A ring of light formed above her palm, followed by a small earthen wall that rose from the ground and a fireball that burst into sparks before reaching the spectators.

When the performance ended, Monica began collecting coins from the audience, apparently satisfied with the amount she had earned.

Elias approached her and offered the gold necklace he had obtained from Gram.

Monica glanced at the necklace before looking at him with suspicion.

"What are you trying to do?" she asked.

"Make a deal," Elias replied with a smile. "I want you to teach me magic."

Monica stared at him for a moment before tilting her head.

"What are you?"

Elias almost laughed at the familiar question.

It was the same question she always asked him during their first encounter in all the previous loops, and he now understood that her curiosity about his strange presence could be used to persuade her.

"Someone who would like to learn from you," he answered. "And someone willing to pay for your time."

Monica examined the necklace again, then looked at Elias with a thoughtful expression.

"Why do you want to learn magic?"

"Because I have something I need to accomplish, and your magic might help me achieve it."

She narrowed her eyes, clearly unconvinced by his vague explanation, but her interest in him had already been piqued. After a brief negotiation, she accepted his offer and agreed to teach him.

Elias soon discovered that he possessed a particularly strong affinity for earth magic, making it easier for him to understand and manipulate earth mana than the other elements he had encountered.

Monica was surprised by his progress and began teaching him the fundamentals of earth magic, explaining how to gather mana, shape it, and direct it according to the spell he wished to cast.

Under her guidance, Elias gradually learned to form earth mana into simple structures and project it into the surrounding environment. Although his progress was not immediate, his affinity allowed him to grasp the underlying principles more quickly than he had expected.

However, his time with Monica was limited.

The Rotted would eventually reach the region, and each loop offered only a narrow window in which he could learn before the creature destroyed everything around them.

As a result, Elias had to spread his studies across multiple attempts, returning to the beginning whenever he died and seeking Monica again to continue his lessons.

The process was frustrating, but it also gave him repeated opportunities to refine his understanding. He remembered the explanations she had given him, tested different approaches, and returned to her with increasingly precise questions.

Over time, their relationship began to change.

Monica was powerful and knowledgeable, but she had an unexpected weakness: compliments.

Whenever Elias praised her talent or told her that she looked beautiful, she would immediately become flustered, often turning away while insisting that his words meant nothing to her.

"You are surprisingly easy to embarrass," Elias remarked one afternoon after watching her struggle to respond to another compliment.

"I am not embarrassed!" Monica exclaimed, her cheeks turning red. "You are simply saying ridiculous things!"

"Then why are you blushing?"

"Because you are annoying!"

Elias laughed, and Monica turned away with an indignant huff, refusing to look at him until he stopped teasing her.

For some reason, he found himself wanting to tease the little mage whenever he had the opportunity. Her reactions were entertaining, but the more time he spent with her, the more he came to appreciate her personality, her dedication to magic, and the kindness she occasionally revealed beneath her prickly exterior.

Monica, in turn, gradually grew fond of him.

She began looking forward to their lessons, and although she continued to complain whenever he teased her, she no longer seemed eager to end their conversations. Their interactions became warmer with each loop, and the time they spent together developed into something neither of them had initially anticipated.

Elias continued studying earth magic, determined to make the most of every lesson before the Rotted arrived.

Eventually, he learned five zero-circle earth spells: Earth Wall, Earth Spike, Quagmire, Flat Ground, and Dust Cloud.

Earth Wall allowed him to raise a barrier of earth to obstruct incoming attacks, while Earth Spike enabled him to thrust sharpened pillars from the ground beneath his enemies. Quagmire transformed the terrain into unstable mud that could trap or hinder anyone caught within it, and Flat Ground allowed him to smooth and level uneven terrain. Finally, Dust Cloud scattered a thick cloud of dust across an area, obscuring vision and creating opportunities to reposition or escape.

Although these spells were relatively simple, they gave Elias a range of options he had never possessed before. He could defend himself, disrupt an enemy’s movements, alter the battlefield, and use the terrain to his advantage rather than relying entirely on his sword.

With each new spell, he became more confident that magic might offer him the means to overcome the Rotted.

On the final day of his twentieth attempt, Elias and Monica shared a bath after another long day of lessons.

The warm water surrounded them as they sat close together, and for once, neither felt the need to fill the silence with teasing or explanations. Monica leaned toward him, resting her head against his shoulder, while Elias gently brushed his fingers through her hair.

After a while, she lifted her face and looked into his eyes.

"Elias," she whispered.

He turned toward her, and she closed the remaining distance between them, pressing her lips against his in a deep kiss.

Elias wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss, holding her close as the warmth of the water surrounded them. For a brief moment, the approaching disaster and the endless cycle of death felt distant, leaving only the two of them together.

When they finally parted, Monica remained close, her cheeks flushed as she avoided his gaze.

Elias smiled and gently kissed her forehead.

"Thank you for teaching me," he murmured.

Monica glanced at him, then lowered her eyes with a small, embarrassed smile.

"You had better make good use of what I taught you," she replied.

"I will."

He held her a little longer, unwilling to let the moment end too quickly, but he knew that his time was running out.

Soon, he would return to the beginning once again, carrying everything he had learned into another attempt to defeat the Rotted once and for all.