EP.16 Adaptation Training -2
EP.16 Adaptation Training -2
Third period was time with the crow.
She'd said she would be lying low for a while, so I thought it would be skipped, but she came anyway, saying training was a separate matter.
"In my time slot, I'm thinking of covering not just my ability but also helping you adapt to your changed body, dear husband."
"How?"
"By using this to move your body."
Yata handed me a wooden sword and returned to her spot, taking a combat stance.
So this training was combat-based.
First, I created a connection link with Yata and tried using the ability...
"Guh...!!"
In the blink of an eye, Yata's fist flew at my face.
I tried to dodge by twisting my head, but it was already too late: her fist was right in front of my nose.
I flinched, thinking of the pain to come, but contrary to my expectations, nothing happened to my body.
"H-huh? What the?"
"You just saw the future, dear husband."
"I saw the future?"
"Yeah, this future."
Just like déjà vu, Yata threw a punch with the exact same posture and direction as the one I'd seen in the future.
Since I'd already seen it once, I was able to smoothly dodge her punch this time.
"How does it feel...?"
"Honestly, it's complicated. The vivid scene I saw was the future..."
"Ahaha! I guess that's how it is for a first-timer. Anyway, the future and present get mixed up, right?"
"Yeah."
"In my case, I eliminated that confusion by seeing the future with my right eye and the present with my left. But since you can only use one eye, dear husband, my method probably won't work for you."
"Then what should I do?"
"There's no other way. You'll just have to keep moving back and forth between the future and the present until you get used to it."
"So that's why you prepared combat training."
"Right. There's nothing better for adapting than moving your body directly."
The earlier training with Tia and Kor had required a lot of mental effort.
Both of their abilities involved imagining images and manifesting them.
But Yata's ability was of a different type. An ability solely for seeing the future.
It projected predetermined future images onto my eyes, rather than something I created myself.
However, there was a critical problem: while seeing the future, I couldn't see the present.
"Dear husband, the maximum future you can see right now is about three moves, right?"
"Right."
"Then at first, I'll use single attacks. Try to see the future and dodge them."
"Guh!!"
"See the future, quickly return to the present, and dodge! Your body only moves in the present!!"
Yata's fists and feet grazed past me. I could tell how they were coming, but perfectly dodging them wasn't easy.
If I returned from the future to the present too quickly, the future would change, and if I returned too late, I couldn't dodge.
I had to find the sweet spot in the transition timing and get used to it.
"Ugh, this is tough...!!"
"Close the gap between the future and present more, dear husband! You mustn't get absorbed in the future and linger there too long!"
"That's not easy! It takes me quite a while to realize whether what I'm seeing is the future or the present!"
"So you have no choice but to keep experiencing it. You have to constantly think, judge, and act!"
I checked Yata's unrelenting attacks in the future, returned to the present, and responded.
Because I couldn't do this process properly, I had to experience various pains—getting punched in the face, kicked by her feet, and so on.
It hurt, but since it was training Yata had set for me, it wasn't meaningless.
As time went on, the frequency with which I dodged Yata's attacks increased, and my responses also became much smoother.
For example, when a kick came at my abdomen, in the beginning I was desperate just to dodge.
But once I got somewhat used to it, I reached the level where I could block the kick with the wooden sword and turn it back on her.
"Looks like you've gotten pretty used to it now?"
"Yeah, I think I've got the hang of it!"
"That's good! How's your body feeling?"
"It still feels a bit unfamiliar, but I think I'm slowly adapting to this body."
"Really? Then from now on, I'll attack in combos. Try to block or dodge well!"
"C-combos?! W-wait a moment!!"
Yata's knife-hand struck the top of my head, and immediately after, her left foot, driven by rotational force, smashed into my side.
"Gahk!!"
Once I got past one hurdle, a new stage had been unlocked and forcibly started.
And once I got used to this, it would probably get even harsher with three-hit combos and whatnot...
"Ahahaha!! It's been a while since I stretched my body—this is fun!!"
"Ughhhhh..."
I felt like I was going to die.
Every muscle and bone in my body was screaming, my energy was completely drained, and I automatically collapsed onto the ground.
I was completely exhausted. I knew it was training that would make my body suffer, but I never imagined it would be this hard...
"My time is almost up. Let's do one more set and call it a day."
"Cut me some slack...! I can't even lift a finger, you know?"
"Hmm... Then as a special treat, I'll finish today's training with one final blow!"
"Ah, fine..."
I used the wooden sword as a cane and forcibly pulled myself up.
It was truly hard to even move, but I squeezed out the last drop of my energy and took my stance.
Alright then, how would Yata attack now?
A straightforward straight punch? Or a flying kick to the abdomen? Maybe she'd come with a knife-hand strike after all?
I closed my eyes, then slowly opened them. In my eyes, Yata's form, about to attack, was...
"H-huh...?!"
"Too late, dear husband."
As I panicked at the unexpected future, Yata had already come right up to me.
With a mischievous smile, she wrapped both arms around the back of my neck and pulled me toward her.
And at the same time, Yata lifted herself on tiptoe and conveyed a subtle warmth to me through her lips.
"That was my sure-kill strike, and you couldn't avoid it. Guess we'll have to start over from the beginning tomorrow?"
"No, this is...!!"
"Ahaha...!! Well then, good luck in your next class, dear husband!"
As Yata fled, her face flushed red, my own face grew hot as well.
"Yata..."
Honestly, I thought a surprise kiss was cheating.
***
Fourth period had finally arrived.
It was time with the fox, the most affectionate and most terrifying of my Companion Animals.
It was also a time when worry took priority over any anticipation of using the ability.
"Ufufu...!!"
Look at her, this fox woman just staring at me and laughing meaningfully.
Even though fourth period had started long ago, Miho was just laughing.
I was uneasy. So uneasy I felt like I was going crazy.
"So, shall we begin the lesson on my ability now?"
"Y-yeah."
"As you know, husband, my abilities are illusion and materialization. They might seem complicated, but they're surprisingly simple, you know?"
"Simple? Illusion?"
"Yes. To put it simply, you cast it like writing a sentence in your head. It's a kind of storytelling."
"Explain in more detail."
"Once you decide what you want to target with the illusion, you just set what you want to show them or what will appear in the illusion, and that's it. For example, if you want to show someone a nightmare, you just think, 'The thing they fear most appears,' and that's it."
"That really is simple."
"However, if you want to show a complex imagined world, the number of sentences you need to write in your head increases accordingly."
Writing, huh. I had no talent for creative stuff...
I was the kind of guy who couldn't even name things properly.
But if the ability worked through writing, then despite how simple it seemed, this ability would probably be pretty difficult.
"Don't worry. The ability you'll be taking won't be able to create complex worlds like that. Even if you did make one, the illusion's duration would be drastically reduced."
Miho read my expression and instantly figured out what I was worried about.
She lived up to her reputation as a fox who only had eyes for me.
"So, husband, when you use illusions, you just need to cast it like a command in a single sentence—like the 'see something frightening' I mentioned earlier."
"Mm-hmm, understood! Then how do you use the materialization ability?"
"To use the materialization ability, you first need to enter the virtual world."
"I have to enter the virtual world?"
"Yes, exactly like right now."
-Snap!
As Miho snapped her fingers once, the surrounding space distorted and transformed.
And so the landscape of the field, which had nothing but grass and rocks, changed into a hotel room.
"Wh-what is this?"
"This place right now is a virtual world I created."
"Does that mean you cast an illusion on me? When on earth?"
"The moment you cast your ability on me, I immediately cast an illusion on you as well."
"Really?! I didn't feel even the slightest hint of anything off...?"
"I'm sorry if I surprised you. But I really wanted to show you the strength of my ability."
Setting aside when it was cast, the illusion was so stealthy that I couldn't even tell I was under one.
Unless the opponent was immune to illusions, it was a setup anyone would inevitably fall for.
"Anyway, the materialization ability works like this: after entering a virtual world like this, you imagine what you want and take it out, or you think about wanting to take out something that exists in this space, and that's it!"
Miho created a pillow out of thin air.
Clutching the pillow tightly, she lay down on the bed in the room.
In that moment, the world shifted again and the surroundings returned to the original field where we had been.
However, the pillow Miho had been holding and the bed she had been lying on remained fully present.
"That's the entirety of the materialization ability!"
"It's an amazing ability no matter how many times I see it."
"Fufu, isn't it? By the way, husband? The explanation of my ability is all done now, but we have so much time left...?"
"Huh...?"
The pillow Miho had been hugging—on its front, the word 'YES♡' was emblazoned in large letters.
Why had I only noticed it now?
"Even so, doing it in such an open place is a bit much, isn't it...? Plus, I just understood the ability—I haven't even tried using it myself yet, right?"
"Then there's a good solution!"
Before even hearing my answer, Miho grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the bed.
She laid me down on the bed just like that, then climbed on top of me with a lewd smile.
"This time, all you have to do is cast an illusion on me♡"
"But there's no way an illusion would work on you..."
"Normally that would be true, but now that we're connected through your ability, you should be able to cast an illusion on me!"
"Really?"
"Yes, so hurry and cast an illusion on me! Otherwise...♡"
"O-otherwise?"
Miho used her index finger to undo the ribbon of her jeogori.
After licking her lips, she gazed down at me as if she was about to pounce at any moment.
"It'll be our commemorative first outdoor play♡"
Amazingly, that day I witnessed the miracle of mastering the illusion ability before any of the other abilities.
***
Two days later.
With only one day left of our hot spring village vacation, I'd completed all the training courses.
Thanks to my Companion Animals teaching me with such passion, I had sufficiently internalized the abilities.
Also, I had more or less adapted to my changed body, and though there was some discomfort, there was no cause for concern.
It was power gained in exchange for sacrificing comfortable rest.
Still, since it was decided that there was nothing more to learn, I managed to get a relaxed break on the last day.
Now I was going to rest! Since I hadn't been able to play during that time, I would spend the day playing, eating, and taking it easy.
That was what I resolved, but...
-BANG!!
The sound of a gunshot, completely out of place in the quiet, charming village.
It instantly turned the village noisy and chaotic.
"Kyaaah!!"
"S-save me!!"
"From now on, this is the new hideout of our Revolutionary Army!!"
"Gwahahaha!!"
"To think there was a village like this in such a remote place! This feels fucking amazing!"
The villagers' screams and the terrorists' laughter split into two extremes.
By the time I finished training and returned, the peaceful village had already become a scene of chaos.
I had thought that today of all days I could rest peacefully...
"Haha, fuck."