A Date with the Heavenly Demon (2): "Tough Date?"
Carrying stones was no big deal. Bunny hops were the same.
What made it tough was...
"Hahaha!!!"
On top of those two, the Heavenly Demon was pressing down on my body with her energy, restricting my movements. Thanks to that, I was really starting to stink of sweat.
Heavenly Demon, you're insane.
Not only was she blasting me with energy, but she was also channeling it into her own body—and yet she climbed the mountain without spilling a single drop of sweat.
I hustled to keep up behind her. After all that intense hiking, we finally reached the summit.
"Phew... What do you think? Pretty awesome, right?"
The sun had already risen, and I gazed up at the brightly shining sky.
"It sure is impressive."
The air and sky felt different from Earth's, fully infused with that Murim vibe.
"Hehe, we've hiked, so it's time for breakfast!"
"Then let's head down quick."
Without any restrictions, I could descend a mountain like this in minutes.
"No need to go down."
The Heavenly Demon grinned mischievously and pointed to one spot. There, incongruous with the mountaintop, stood a building.
"They've got killer steamed chicken there. Let's go."
She grabbed my wrist and yanked.
"Whoa!"
She pulled so hard my body lifted into the air. Normally, in a situation like this, you'd instinctively grab the hand back, hearts fluttering, feeling all shy and embarrassed...
It hurts...
My wrist throbbed in pain, and the Heavenly Demon showed zero romantic vibes.
"Welcome, Heavenly Demon."
"Yeah, the usual—two servings."
From overhearing her chat with the staff, this place seemed built exclusively for the Heavenly Demon. The food came out fast.
Like, really fast.
Damn, it came out the second we ordered.
They must prep it ahead for her usual arrival time.
"Looks delicious."
"Right? It's my favorite."
The Heavenly Demon grabbed her spoon, urging me to eat before it got cold. I picked up mine too.
Something... this wasn't the date I had in mind. It's weird. So weird.
This is like a bunch of middle-aged guys hanging out. No heart-pounding excitement!
Well, there was heart-pounding. My heart was racing like crazy, but that was the problem.
Just exercise-induced heart rate spike.
This won't do.
I needed to take the lead, but the issue was I didn't know Murim well.
First, let's get down the mountain and stroll the village.
Shopping. That might feel date-like.
"After breakfast, we're hitting the training grounds."
While I was lost in thought, she'd wolfed down her meal. Even her fast eating mimicked some old uncle.
If that's gap moe, then yeah, it's gap moe.
The Heavenly Demon waited for me to finish, her eyes sparkling like a kid eyeing a toy, eager for sparring after training.
Sorry, but no training grounds. I couldn't go.
"Skip the training grounds—let's tour the village instead."
"Why?"
"Just follow me. You promised me your day as a reward, right?"
"Hm... Fair enough."
Surprisingly, she went along without a fight. That freed me from her pace.
We finished eating and descended the mountain—walking normally this time.
I could've gone fast, but I suggested taking it slow. On the way down, we chatted about this and that.
Like a background check on the Heavenly Demon? Since I knew zilch about her, I used the descent to probe.
Thankfully, she answered willingly. Grateful for that, but...
No useful intel.
Her tastes and hobbies all tied back to fighting. Favorite animal? Tiger.
Why? Looks strong. Ideal type?
Strong man, talented man, man with potential to get strong. Hated types?
Lazy man, weak man, untalented man. Hobbies?
Training. Only training.
Man... what do you even call this?
She claimed looks and personality didn't matter. Probably not literally, but they'd take a backseat if the rest fit. Her tastes were clear-cut, easy to match.
Problem was, her bar for "strong" was sky-high. Needed to be at least Peak Expert level to spark interest.
Small mercy: she saw growth potential in me. My frontline battle growth caught her eye.
If only I could beat her with raw power.
Could I get that strong in this dimension? Sparring with her nonstop might do it...
Last spar triggered battle growth, so it'd keep firing till I hit her level. Question was whether she'd keep sparring.
Lost in thoughts of conquering the Heavenly Demon, I'd reached the mountain base before I knew it.
"So, what's next?"
"Just wander the village."
"Hm, sounds boring, but you won the bet, so I'll follow."
True to her word, she trailed me. We browsed an accessory shop.
"This'd suit you great."
I bought her a necklace as a gift.
"Hey, some kind of performance over there."
We even watched what seemed like pansori. First time in Murim, so I enjoyed it, but the Heavenly Demon looked bored.
Lunch was tasty, though. Lucky find in a back alley eatery.
"Hm... Gonna keep village-hopping?"
The Heavenly Demon spoke up after some thought.
What now?
I wanted to keep the date going, but she was bored...
"Fight broke out over there!"
Someone yelled while I pondered date directions.
"A fight?!"
The Heavenly Demon bolted toward the noise, her face lighting up brighter than any time since the descent—off to spectate.
Right, that's it.
I'd clung to stereotypes of dates. Holding hands, shopping, cafe chats.
But dates aren't just that. For her, hiking was training, training grounds were training, sparring was all part of the date. Starting with the hike set weird expectations and bummed me out.
I was the idiot.
I cursed myself and approached the fight-watching Heavenly Demon.
"Having fun?"
"Yeah! Fights are the best. Amateur scraps have their own charm!"
She raved about fighting's joys. Being scrubs, their brawl ended quick.
"Over too soon..."
She sighed in disappointment.
"So, what's next?"
Her face soured back to boredom.
"Training grounds."
"For real?"
Vitality returned to her bored expression. Grinning ear-to-ear, she led me by the hand to the cult's training grounds.
Normally, checkpoints galore, but with her, we breezed through.
"Hehehe! I'll show you this body's training routine!"
Opposite of earlier, she bounced around like a kid. Dragged along, I tried every apparatus.
Yeah, this is a date.
Dates aren't scripted. As long as we're both enjoying, it's a date.
But damn, it's intense.
The training was brutally hardcore.
"Hahaha! Tasty! So tasty!"
Balancing massive boulders on each arm, she did squats, spouting gym bro lines like "tasty" nonstop.
"Alright. Training's done for today!"
After hours solo, she finally called it.
"Now you. Come here."
I dashed over at her call.
"Assume a stance."
I struck an attacking pose in the air as ordered.
"Mm. That's not how you move from there."
She picked up a wooden sword and demonstrated.
"Ah..."
Watching her move, I spotted my form's flaws. I'd never used my body right.
"Urk!"
Tried correcting, but it wouldn't obey.
"Flexibility's lacking."
Shoulder range was trash, as she said. Did it a few more times her way.
"Then add flexibility drills and..."
She pulled out paper and jotted notes on my moves.
"Good. Here."
Handed me the sheet—a custom training plan.
"Follow this, and you'll grow fast."
She'd pinpointed my weaknesses and built around them. Partly for me, sure.
Mostly to keep her favorite toy intact.
No Peak Experts in sight now. I was her most fun plaything.
She'd crafted it to prevent breakage.
"Thank you."
Whatever the reason, she'd invested time, so I thanked her.
"No big deal. Grow quick and entertain this body properly."
A hint of shyness in her reply. Seeing that eased my worries—this day wasn't wasted.
"Plenty of time left before day's end. What's next?"
Sun was setting.
"Spar to wrap it up."
"Perfect! Day ends with a bout!"
She scooped me under her arm and leaped skyward.
Boom—!
Kicking air for aerial maneuver. Her strength left me chuckling in disbelief.
We hit the sparring arena instantly and dove right in. Naturally, I lost.
"Today was fun."
She left those words behind.
"Packed a solid day."
A brief midday stumble, but overall, fulfilling.