Tiger Energy (2)
Tiger Energy (2)
The whiskers attached to the corners of her mouth began to twitch. Seeing that, Dojin realized she had beastkin-ified.
'Why?'
It had been a very long time since he last saw her beastkin-ify. Back when he first arrived at this dojo. That was the only time she briefly showed it while testing Eunha's skills.
But back then, there was at least an opponent named Eunha. So why was she beastkin-ified now when there was no one around?
"Is something...... wrong?"
"Nothing...... nothing at all, so just go back already."
Hearing Hoyeon's words, which made it obvious to anyone that something was up and made it impossible to just leave, Dojin approached her slowly out of worry.
"Anyone can see you look like you're in pain-."
"Eut-! Get away from me!"
Kyaaaak-!
Watching Hoyeon swing her hand sharply like an excited cat slashing with its claws, Dojin realized she really had a huge problem.
For her to show this side, her who always maintained a mind as serene as the State of Absolute Calm?
Maybe something happened to her body and she couldn't control it anymore, or perhaps she was cursed and couldn't contain her emotions—Dojin speculated.
"Wait a sec— just for a moment......."
Ignoring Hoyeon's words, Dojin approached her and lightly tapped her shoulder. She had been pushing him away nonstop, but when he actually touched her shoulder, all she did was tremble violently.
And so, upon making contact with Hoyeon's body, Dojin checked her condition.
Sense Sharing—Observing inside her body, he realized she was enveloped in some unidentified Yang Energy.
It was intense heat, enough to make sense of why she, a martial artist with years of training, couldn't even control her own body properly.
Dojin immediately absorbed that heat. In that instant, a scorching sensation flooded his body, making his head burn, but soon it came under control.
"Phew...... Master, you're good now."
Having absorbed the heat, Dojin let out a hot breath and removed his hand from Hoyeon. He didn't know what the problem was, but this should be enough for her to regain her senses.
Sure enough, with the heat gone, Hoyeon quickly came back to her senses and started looking up at Dojin while trembling.
"Y-You......."
"Are you okay? And what was that Yang Energy?"
"......You don't know about beastkin?"
"Yeah. Not...... really."
"Then how did you just do that?"
"My ability's pretty good......."
Fortunately, Hoyeon didn't pry too much into Dojin's ability. That wasn't the important part.
What mattered to her right now was that Dojin could solve her problem.
"......That thing, how many more times can you do it?"
"How many times?...... Well, no idea."
"─No limit?"
"Well, there probably is a limit? But absorbing Yang Energy isn't that hard."
Thanks to his Extreme Yang Body, Dojin had no issue taking in as much Yang Energy as needed.
On top of that, hadn't he been pouring too much energy into his stamina lately, leaving him short on Yang Energy?
Yang Energy was basically the same as stamina, so taking in a lot wouldn't be a problem.
"I see, so that's how it is."
Hearing that, Hoyeon fell into thought for a moment. Whether she should tell him about her situation or not.
But the guy was Dojin. The man who brought her prized disciple, a trustworthy swordsman.
He wouldn't exploit her situation, she thought—and with that, Hoyeon opened the door and let Dojin in.
"You must have come here for a reason? Come on in."
"Ah, yes. Excuse me."
And so Dojin entered the Ho-beop-gwan. Unaware that it was the jaws of a tiger.
The Ho-beop-gwan, always bustling with people, had become a cold, empty dojo without a soul in sight. Anyone seeing it would think the thriving dojo had gone bankrupt......
That was probably due in part to the snow piled up everywhere in the vast dojo. The unswept snow covered the roof and courtyard.
"Don't you clear the snow?"
"My condition isn't great right now...... I'll do it later."
As Dojin had expected, Hoyeon wasn't normal. What illness did she have? That would explain why there was no one at the dojo.
If even a superhuman like Hoyeon caught it, it must be a deadly disease that would kill ordinary people on the spot.
"Did you catch some illness?"
"Illness? You could call it that...... since I've been stuck with it stubbornly for half my life."
"Stuck with it for half your life......?"
Wondering if it was some incurable disease, Dojin recalled her body condition from earlier.
Other than the weirdly hot temperature, there didn't seem to be any particular issue. Plus, this world had Divine Power that could heal most wounds and diseases, right?
He'd never heard that beastkin were immune to Divine Power, so if it was a disease, she'd have gotten it treated ages ago. A powerhouse like her wouldn't lack the money for treatment either.
While he pondered the reason for her inexplicable behavior, Hoyeon let out a small sigh and gauged Dojin's reaction.
"It's not easy to say, but......."
Earlier, her head hadn't fully cleared from the excited state, so she thought it was fine to mention it, but now face-to-face, it felt awkward to bring up.
On top of that, Dojin was a man. If he were a woman, she wouldn't have to agonize like this......
'How do you tell a guy that you're in estrus-!'
Yeah, that was the problem.
Being in estrus meant her body needed a man right now, and the way her mouth had twitched earlier at the sight of Dojin was basically admitting she was aroused by him.
Considering that the purpose of romance or marriage ultimately boiled down to reproduction, the shame Hoyeon felt now was similar to a woman getting caught liking a guy.
But she had to say it. There was someone right in front of her who could easily solve the problem she'd have to carry her whole life until she grew too old to bear children.
"You, how much do you know about b-beastkin?"
"Beastkin?"
"Yeah, beastkin."
Not much. To Dojin, who came from Earth where beastkin didn't exist, they just looked like cosplay with animal ears and tails.
Superior physical abilities to humans? In this otherworld, even regular humans could lift massive boulders over ten thousand catties with enough effort.
To Dojin, that physical difference was no big deal—just like different skin colors between races.
"Not much."
"Hmm, I see...... Then let me explain simply. What's the biggest difference you think between beastkin and humans?"
"......They have ears and tails?"
"That's part of it, but...... beastkin have a fixed period when they can get pregnant."
"......Pardon?"
Hearing that, Dojin froze and asked her back. He thought he'd misheard. It was way too heavy a topic to suddenly bring up in their relationship.
But Hoyeon, as if confirming he hadn't misheard, flustered him with an even more explicit expression.
"......I mean, estrus."
Even saying it herself embarrassed her, so she blushed and turned her head away—but Hoyeon was that desperate.
Her beastkin estrus lasted nearly a month. For that long, hellish month, she had to comfort her overheated body alone.
It was pretty agonizing. With years of training, she could suppress the arousal with meditation alone, but even the tiniest stimulation during that time could set her off into full estrus.
"Estrus...... Then that Yang Energy was......."
"Yeah, not some illness, poisoning, or curse...... just the heat I emitted from getting aroused."
"And the reason you couldn't control the beastkin-ification?"
Nod—Hoyeon silently nodded. But once her head was down, it didn't come back up.
Feeling something off, Dojin looked at her closely and spotted thin whiskers growing around her mouth.
Again. She'd beastkin-ified again.
"......No way, already?"
"......."
Nod.
Hoyeon just nodded silently. Then, haa haa, she let out a tiny hot breath.
No matter how much it was Dojin, he couldn't eliminate her estrus. It wasn't a disease or injury—it was just a perfectly natural thing.
However—he could remove the arousal she had right now. The moment he placed his hand on her shoulder for that, Hoyeon trembled at the touch of a man's hand.
'......Was she always this small?'
She was from the tiger clan, outstanding even among combat bloodlines, and trained in her clan's unique martial arts—a martial artist with a solid build. But right now, she just looked like a frail woman.
Shaking his head to dispel the illusion, Dojin drew out the heat from her, freeing her from the aroused state.
"......There, done."
"Tha......nks."
Freed from estrus, Hoyeon thanked Dojin—and popyong! whiskers started sprouting again at the same time.
"......Master?"
"Th-This is, well......."
Unable to say anything, she just bowed her head deeply.
The reason whiskers grew even after he'd just drawn out the Yang Energy was simple.
She'd gotten aroused by seeing Dojin.