Julian's body twitched the moment he noticed the change in the atmosphere. Since he wanted to spend more time getting used to the new unit, he couldn't forget about the fact his spells could hit Sena if he cast them recklessly.
"Sena, be careful." He called her back in a calm voice, and she immediately followed with a snort, smirking at him as she stood just ahead of him.
Rustle
Then remembered that his commands wouldn't directly control her like Umbra, but thanks to the capsule, Sena would react faster than another person would.
"Remember, we can hit each other because of the lover's capsule."
"Y-You, don't keep saying it, are you not embarrassed?"
Julian enjoyed pushing Sena's buttons, small reactions from things he never dared to do in his past life.
This Julian wasn't the same one, after all.
"One moment, Sena there are monsters in the forest, let's practise our teamwork. Can you please show me your status panel?"
Julian stepped closer and pulled Sena back, his arm touching her waist. He enjoyed the warmth and springy sensation of her curves as she stepped out of the forest.
'That's good, the monsters in the dream cannot leave their sections.'
"Ah… Y-Yeah."
Sena's cheeks turned red when his arm wrapped around her hips and pulled her back, and she leaned against his chest, able to feel the sensation of his body and the beating of his heart.
The two didn't realise that their bodies were in a similar position in the capsule, which made the sensory information so precise and vivid.
Kang Sena • SwordMaster (A)
• Level: 2
• HP: 30
• MP: 10
• Attack: 5
• Defence: 3
• Speed: 2
• Magic: 1
• Total: 11 (+2)
• SwordSchool: The Swift Blade (Iaido style)
"Hmm…"
Julian muttered to himself while his fingers hugged Sena closer.
The warmth and scent of her body were almost addictive, something he did instinctively as if to push away the negative and dark memories that lingered in the back of his mind.
"Is something wrong?" Sena's voice wavered. Her hands trembled as she placed one on Julian's hand. She then stroked his knuckles with a faint smile.
"No, it appears that our experience levels were synchronised. I just saw the message."
[Lover's Capsule Detected: Experience values normalised]
Before entering with Sena, Julian only received enough to be at 10 experience points into level two.
"Ah! I was at 100 out of 200 before, why has it changed to 50?"
"Yeah, it appears that the one who is higher level will lose some experience to help the one who is lower, but the amount of experience we gain is increased, so it's a fair trade."
Julian's mind started working to see if he could use this system to their advantage.
Higher levels required more experience.
So if he switched to playing with Sena only when one of them had just levelled up and the other was above halfway, the higher level would lose 10% of their experience, but both would have the same experience.
"See, look at my screen, I was at 10 out of 200 before."
When he leaned forward, his screen appeared and showed what he meant, but when his body pushed against her.
Julian could feel Sena's heart racing.
The sensation of her back against his chest was too vivid to help, but I wondered if this was a smart idea.
Julian Pendragon • ShadowMancer (SSSR)
• Level: 2
• HP: 20
• MP: 50
• Attack: 1
• Defence: 3
• Speed: 2
• Magic: 6
• Total: 12 (+2)
• CommandPoints: 10
Julian's experience increased by 80 points because he entered the world in a capsule with Sena. He wondered if he could use this system to level faster.
"Wow, your magic is so high." Sena gasped, pointing at his attributes.
"Your attack is pretty good too, please protect me well, princess."
"Hmph, well, if you behave, I will."
The pair spent a few moments showing each other their skills. Julian then told Sena about his abilities, how he would support her from behind, and how he would give commands.
He noticed the panther lingering at the edge of the forest and couldn't help but smile.
"Let me show you what I can do."
Julian's staff appeared from his inventory, temporarily hidden. As it pointed towards the night prowler, a dark aura started to crackle from the staff.
Sena turned around to see Julian's figure while casting his spell, a black and purple aura wrapped around his body and the staff collecting into a volatile orb at the tip of his staff.
"Shadow Bolt!"
He didn't know why, maybe because he could sense the movement of Mana now, which allowed him to control the speed his magic gathered a little faster.
Vwoom
Unaware of the attack, the orb burst from the staff, shot through the air and struck the creature in the chest for 40 damage.
The force flung into a tree with a loud thud, and it faded into a black mist, leaving two small boxes hovering above the ground.
"Wow!"
[◊ Night Prowler—Slain ◊]
• Gained 10 Experience Points
• Gained Panther Pelt
• Gained Panther Fang
Sena looked at Julian, her eyes filled with awe as she walked towards the items left behind.
"Only 10 Experience points?"
Julian wasn't sure what happened. He wondered why it died so easily. Then he realised this monster was much weaker than the nightmare panther.
Night prowlers only gave 10 experience at level one, and because they are so low-level, their HP would have been much lower, too.
"I can't believe you can move so well… Maria, who tried to heal and attack, struggled because she needed to dance, haha."
"Hm?"
Julian's eyes focused on Sena, who stood a few metres away.
When he heard Maria could heal, his chest fluttered, and he realised that having a healer would be important in the future.
"Dance?"
"Yeah, she told me that she needed to chant the spell name while performing a dance routine. Maria struggled at first but, seems to have started practising on the dance machine we bought at the start of college and never used, haha."
'I wonder if her evolution is a special type of healing class.'
"It would be good to play with her sometimes, you have to invite her in the future."
"Eh, why?"
Sena's face seemed to become a little sullen, but Julian couldn't help but tease her a little as he stepped closer and showed a faint smile.
"I guess you prefer me being naked in the same capsule, right?"
"Y-You!"
Suddenly, her eyes shifted, and she lowered her hips, grasping her blade and placing it at her waist.
Though she used a two-handed sword, it was thin and lighter than the heavy types.
"W-What are you doing?"
A moment passed.
The rustle of leaves. The faint hum of an unsheathed blade.
A brilliant blue aura flared to life, swirling around Sena's body like flowing water, coiling along the blade.
"Kang School Style – Flowing Swallow Strike!"
Her sword flashed. The first slash ripped across the air in a deadly arc, left to right—a line of blue light that cut as cleanly as it shimmered.
Before the glow could fade, her wrist flicked. The blade reversed, sweeping upward in a diagonal slash. The twin arcs formed the shape of a soaring swallow, the aura trailing her strikes like wings in motion, dealing 20 damage.
Swift. Lethal. Beautiful.
Thud!
The next moment, a black panther dropped beside Julian, who remained captivated by the moment Sena performed her family swordsmanship.
[◊ Night Prowler—Slain ◊]
• Gained 10 Experience Points
• Gained Panther Pelt
• Gained Panther Fang
Sena took a shallow breath before sheathing her sword and wiping the sweat from her cheek.