Lion's Roar Training #5
Lion's Roar Training #5
Without mercy.
—Knead, knead.
I wrecked Yu-ri's shoulders and shoulder blades.
"Hngh...!"
A breath slipped out.
Watching that, I kneaded her rock-hard shoulders firmly with my palms, pressing deep into her shoulder blades with my thumbs.
"Strength."
Repeating the process, I showed off a superhuman's grip strength. My mana-enhanced body, and the explosive power radiating from it.
If a regular person received this massage right now, their shoulders would turn a mottled blue like the Avatar Na'vi on the spot, then tear apart like clay.
But Yu-ri took all of it.
"Yu-ri. Can you feel it? My 'strength'?"
"Shut your mouth."
"Yessum."
I was just messing around a little, but she answered so coldly. Is she that pissed about me lying? Or does she just not like what I'm doing now?
"Yu-ri. You don't like this? Should I stop?"
"No... don't stop... more... keep going."
Yu-ri said it quietly.
Looks like I gotta put more heart into this if I want forgiveness. They say massage is all about the touch, right?
—Squeeze!
"Ugh...!"
"Oh, Yu-ri. Does it hurt? Is my superhuman massage too much to handle?"
"I-It feels good, that's why. It feels good. You're babbling a lot. Just keep going."
"Gotcha."
She said to do it, so I did.
—Knead, knead.
I kept up the massage.
"Oh... you son of a bitch. You're pretty good at this... ugh."
"Finally a compliment! I'm the massage Kim Geun-cheol, after all!"
Honestly, I pride myself on being damn good at massages and singing. Being recognized for it always feels good.
"Who else have you done this for...?"
"Well, you know."
Back in the military or whatever.
That's when I did it.
"Doesn't look like there's anyone else."
"Oh yeah...? Anyway, keep going."
"Hey. What about training."
"This is grip strength training, you bastard."
"Yessum."
I clenched my fingers and jaw. Anyway, as I was kneading her shoulders diligently like that to convey my apology.
—Nod, nod.
"..."
Yu-ri's head started drooping forward.
"Are you dozing off?"
She literally started nodding off.
Was she tired? Well, people like Yu-ri push themselves to the limit every day, so it wouldn't be strange for fatigue to build up.
Getting a massage and feeling relaxed probably put her right to sleep.
I gradually lowered the intensity of the massage to match the rhythm of Yu-ri's nodding. With that, her head drooped down completely like a robot whose battery had died.
"She's asleep."
I kept her in that position for a moment.
—Slowly.
Then I supported Yu-ri's back and carefully laid her down. She'd been sitting cross-legged from the start, so there was no problem laying her down.
"..."
As Yu-ri closed her eyes and breathed in, her chest puffed up full... this is a little awkward. I immediately grabbed the uniform top and hoodie she'd taken off and draped them over her like a blanket.
She needs to rest at a time like this.
"Do I train by myself then?"
So, I left the sleeping Yu-ri on the floor and practiced swordsmanship by myself, drawing up mana.
—Whoosh!
What's demanded of us heroes is a powerful, precise strike. Rushing toward a giant monster at high speed, leaping with all your might, and driving an intense blow into its vital point.
That's why weapons training is important. Ultimately, you need to train to deliver an accurate strike. Even if you have superhuman reflexes, your accuracy drops if you neglect training.
"Hoo."
Sweat started trickling from my forehead and the back of my neck.
I repeated a high-speed short dash using mana, thrusting my sword as I went back and forth.
Anyway, after training hard like that for about an hour.
"Huh... What the hell."
Yu-ri, who'd been asleep for a bit, raised her upper body like a vampire rising from a coffin, scratching the back of her head.
But looking at her face.
"You're a sight, seriously."
She was half-asleep, completely drunk with drowsiness. Her bangs were already a mess and her eyes were barely open.
"Wake up, Miss Milky."
"Wha-what the hell. Did I fall asleep?"
"Yeah. You were nodding off."
"Ah, shit. What time is it? Hey! You should've woken me up, you bastard!"
After checking the time, Yu-ri jumped up from her spot and yelled at me. But how am I supposed to wake you up?
"How am I supposed to wake you up. You were sleeping so comfortably. Aren't you doing brutal training these days? Are you super tired?"
"Hmph... About that."
"Anyway, your snoring was so thunderous I thought the Chairwoman was scolding me."
"What, what did you say, you fucker?! Hey!"
The moment I bullshitted about her snoring, Yu-ri's face instantly went red and she launched herself off the ground at me.
"Are you serious? I snored?"
"Like a damn drum..."
"Hey!"
A yell!
I thought I was gonna get hit, so I backed down immediately!
"Ah, bullshit! Bullshit! I was joking! It's a joke!"
"Seriously...? Are you serious? I didn't snore?"
But it must've really bothered her, because Yu-ri clung to me, asking in a pleading tone like she was begging me to tell her the truth.
"Did I snore or not!"
"I mean, so what if you do! Everyone snores!"
"Agh! What's actually the truth! You bastard! If you lie starting now, you're dead for real! What did I do, how was it!"
"You slept like a damn corpse. Quietly."
"Dead if you're lying."
"I'm for real!"
"For real?"
"Yeah! Ah, you've lived your whole life being fooled!"
"Hmm..."
Only then did Yu-ri rub her chin and calm down.
"Well, whatever. Never mind."
"Why. Are you self-conscious about snoring?"
"I dunno, dipshit! I'm outta here!"
"Hey! Where are you going!"
"Home!"
"Oh."
Yu-ri, who'd been grumbling like crazy, grabbed her stuff and went outside.
"No, come on."
She's leaving that coldly just because I teased her a little... I was trying to lighten the mood, did it backfire? I didn't expect her to grumble over the snoring issue. I even gave her that massage.
But well, Yu-ri's the type to get over things fast, so she'll forget it soon. She'll be fine by tomorrow.
"I should head out too."
I grabbed my stuff right away and went back home.
* * *
"Ah, ah."
After returning, I practiced the Silent Lion's Roar, concentrating on the flow of mana as the Chairwoman had advised. While I was at it, I drank some ginger tea.
—Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
"That's gotta be Si-hoo."
I opened the door, and as expected, Si-hoo came in.
"Geun-cheol, I'm here."
"Hey. Did you polish up that new technique well?"
"Yeah! I'll show you!"
Si-hoo, wearing a white boxy tee and shorts, replied energetically. She was totally hyped up to show off her technique.
"You bastard. Let's see just how amazing this technique is. Heh heh heh."
"Okay! Oh, hold on. I didn't bring my sword."
"Use this."
I immediately handed her the sword I had leaning next to my bed.
"If the technique's complete, you should be able to activate it even without your own weapon, right?"
"Geun-cheol. If you say another word, it's nagging."
Si-hoo spoke in a playful tone, then took the sword.
—Shing.
She assumed her stance immediately.
And then.
"Hahp!"
She let out a spirited yell and thrust with a single stroke, and for a moment, I wondered what kind of new technique this was. It was just an ordinary slash... as always, the realization came late.
—Bzzzt!
In that instant, I saw three trajectories!
"Wha-what...!"
Could this be...!
"One slash but three trajectories?!"
Was that a triple strike?!
"You insane psycho!"
"Hey! Why am I a psycho!"
"You slashed three times in one stroke, of course you're a psycho, you crazy bastard! Whoa! This bastard's an unimaginable psychopath!"
"I seriously don't know how that makes me a psychopath!"
Because you did something insane!
"No, anyway, what is it! How did you do that!"
"It's cool, right? I've been focusing on training lately, and this sort of thing became possible. I definitely feel my skill level rising."
Si-hoo crossed her arms, nodded, and spoke proudly.
"I guess with everything that happened, it made me work harder. So it just turned out like this. How is it? Isn't it incredible?"
"Go beat every single kid at school with this. You crazy bastard."
I was seriously shocked.
I thought it might be tough to keep up at my level, but that doesn't matter. I can just do it too, right?
"Hiyah!"
So I tried mimicking it, but it was totally off.
"Not yet. Geun-cheol, you have to further strengthen your mana. So you can explode that power while protecting your body. I'll teach you this later. Once your level's higher, Geun-cheol."
"Hoo. Thanks."
But man, this is really amazing.
"But seriously... hey. Pulling off that kind of technique even while being that constrained. Doesn't it get way more awesome when you unseal it?"
I said it very confidently, pointing at Si-hoo's chest. Looking at that flat chest now, those big ones are definitely wrapped up tight with bandages.
A clean Triple Strike like that, despite that penalty.
"No... Geun-cheol... I told you to stop pointing at my chest..."
Her face reddened, Si-hoo covered her chest with both arms and avoided my eyes while saying that... Wait a sec. I was just sincerely pointing something out?
"Why are you reacting like that! Hey! I'm just saying as someone who knows! I thought maybe you'd get stronger if you released that seal!"
"You just wanted to point out my big chest!"
"I told you that's not it! Simply! Uh! A tactical thought!"
Her big chest flickered before my eyes.
"I-Is that really it?"
Only after I insisted strongly did she acknowledge it.
"See, I told you. Hey, Si-hoo. Isn't that too much?"
"S-Sorry. But I keep thinking about it. That time."
The Chest Reveal Incident.
"Forget it. Anyway. If you release the seal, you definitely get stronger, right?"
"Umm... definitely. I do think efficiency would go up if I loosened it up a bit, really."
"That's exactly why I'm saying it. Hey. Isn't there anything like that? Not bandages, but something like chest armor."
"Chest armor?"
"I looked it up, and there's protective upper-body gear made to look similar to human muscles. I wanted some so bad, you should find something like that and try wearing it."
"You mean equipment."
If it's protective chest armor that clings right to the body, it'd cover her big chest stably, and it'd be perfect functionally too.
"I'll think about it. Oh, but speaking of which, should I try taking off the bandages and testing it out now?"
"What?"
"No! I don't mean it weirdly! I just want to test it out!"
Just what kind of morphing is this bastard trying to show me...!