Body Imbalance
Body Imbalance
Past me, you absolute bastard!
Chae-rin cursed her past self while sparring with Yor.
My past self had always been a bitch, but today she had outdone herself.
What on earth had that girl been thinking, preparing garbage content like this?
Of course, her past and present selves were still the same person, so she could vaguely follow her own thought process.
She must have wanted to get some lessons. With an almost educational-broadcast sort of vibe.
Like those players who lucked into connections and got taught by masters, she too had wanted to borrow someone else's power and gain Insight (心得).
To be honest, she'd also had the thought of wanting to get stronger through a bit of a free ride.
But what she hadn't known was that what awaited her was a place like this Avīci Hell (無間地獄).
Thwack—!
"Agh!"
Along with a heavy impact sound, the leather breastplate she wore caved inward.
As Chae-rin had raised her dagger high, he kicked her in the side.
Since she'd set her Assimilation Rate to minimum, the pain wasn't that severe, but the shock alone forced her to slump to the ground.
She hadn't even seen the attack properly—when had his foot even come up?
She wanted to use this opening to rest even just a little longer, but the words she heard from him were utterly heartless.
"Again."
Chae-rin put on a teary face and pleaded.
"Just a little... let me rest just a little longer."
"What's wrong with you? You still have stamina left."
"Can't you at least cut me some slack! I can't even land a single hit...!"
"I'm already cutting you plenty of slack."
Well... that was probably true. If he were serious, she'd already be a pulp.
In fact, the side she'd just been hit had mostly just taken the shock; the actual damage wasn't that severe.
But wasn't this a bit too much...? She'd been doing nothing but spar for thirty minutes straight now.
[Stop it! His life's already at zero!]
[He has no human heart...]
[Could you at least pass on some teaching... instead of just hitting mindlessly...]
[It's rare for the streamer to look pitiful lol]
[A man who beats you like a dog... actually I like it...]
[?]
In fact, most of the chat was sympathetic toward Chae-rin.
Of course, Yor had things to say too. Because it wasn't as if he was just hitting her mindlessly.
What was he, some psychopathic sadist who'd run someone ragged for no reason?
"Haaah... haaah..."
Though, seeing her pant for breath like that did stir a slight bit of sadism, but...
Anyway, that was beside the point.
Because he was genuinely running her ragged for the sake of her growth.
Being someone's teacher was quite a pleasant thing.
Come to think of it, back when he was at the orphanage, there was a time he'd dreamed of becoming a teacher while watching the nun instruct the children.
Though now he was teaching combat, not letters.
Either way, you could say he'd achieved his dream. So Yor wasn't half-assing it.
It was just that his teaching was less about talking and more about letting the body learn directly.
'Hmm...'
Still, since his partner seemed to be struggling so much, he offered a little advice.
"Do you know how many times you've been hit in the side now?"
"Huh? Maybe... three times?"
"Right. Looking at you, your side is way too open when you fight."
Yor was currently sparring with her while matching her level suitably.
Which meant that the attacks he was making were mostly adjusted to her level.
The attacks he could make were openings that the magical beasts here could definitely exploit too.
"It looks like an opening that forms when you try to cover the dagger's short reach with big movements. I can only see the downsides. If you're going to do that, you're better off just picking up a greatsword and flailing wildly—at least that's threatening."
"Your field of view's also way too narrow. Being agile is nice, but you get so buried in attacking that you can't see your surroundings. You couldn't even respond properly to my attack just now, right?"
"And why on earth are you widening the distance when you're holding a dagger? I don't really get it. At the very least, you should know the range of the weapon you're holding. That's why big movements come out, the attacks become obvious, and openings show."
These were problems even Yor, who'd never properly learned combat, could point out.
Of course, some of it might be visible because of the skill gap... anyway, it meant the problems were that glaring.
Now that he'd run her ragged for about thirty minutes, he could definitely see it clearly.
Sssk—! Sskt—!
Of course, to Chae-rin listening, daggers were being driven into her heart.
Chae-rin's eyes lowered like a guilty person's.
[Whoa, I thought this guy was only good at beating people physically, but he beats them up with words too, damn]
[Getting pointed out by that fierce face seriously feels like I'd piss myself T.T]
[Everyone upvote Chae-rin regretting her content plan lol]
Having fired off words like that for a moment, Yor paused to catch his breath.
He'd given the whip; now it was time for the carrot.
"Still, well... overall, you're not bad."
"Eh, really?"
"Yeah. You've got quick judgement, and your body's flexible."
It wasn't empty praise. In the first place, just a year ago, would the sum total of her combat experience have been clicking things on the internet?
Sure, it was still a game now, but. Ultimately, the one thinking and moving was her.
For a modern person to reach this level of combat ability in one year was impressive.
Yet even so, something still remained unexplained. A sense of discomfort Yor himself hadn't quite grasped yet.
In order to figure it out, Yor gave her another order.
"Then come at me again."
"Hoo... okay..."
Chae-rin nodded and launched herself at him once more.
Shhk—!
With a sharp sound, the dagger sliced the air. Since she knew she wouldn't hit anyway, there was no hesitation in her strikes.
Shhk—! Shhk—!
Yor dodged her dagger and nodded inwardly.
Because the more he faced her, the more his suspicion seemed to become conviction.
'As I thought...'
Her senses couldn't keep up with her physical abilities. Her body and mind were operating separately.
No, to be more precise, her mana couldn't keep up.
As he'd said before, everything in the world carried mana.
And the more you trained, the more that mana moved according to the user's will.
It didn't even have to reach the level of high-rank techniques like 'Sword Aura'.
Even a B-Rank Adventurer was more than capable of circulating mana through their body.
Surely they didn't literally tear bears apart with their bare bodies, did they?
It was all possible because of the miracle of mana.
Yet watching the way she moved, he could feel that mana failing to envelop her body in time.
It wasn't that she lacked mana. It just wasn't flowing properly.
As if she didn't really know how to move it.
'Well, it figures...'
Unlike the people of this land, Otherworlders would have been moving mana for barely a year or so.
It made sense—like suddenly growing a tail and being clumsy at moving it.
Rather, the game's correction effect, which pushed her all the way to B-Rank despite that, was so impressive.
Though, it seemed that even that met a wall once she climbed to this level.
So then, how to solve this problem?
Now that he knew the problem, its cause was also roughly guessable.
They'd sparred enough; now was the time to bring up the solution.
Clasp.
At that, Yor grabbed her wrist as she swung her sword in a trance-like state.
"Stop, let's end it here."
And that, it seemed, was a mistake.
Because the moment he grabbed Chae-rin's wrist, all her footwork got tangled.
"Whoa—...!"
Unable to overcome her forward momentum, Chae-rin's body pitched straight ahead.
Yor had only been dodging the dagger; he never expected her to close with her whole body. He had no choice but to collide with Chae-rin's body.
In a way, she'd caught him off guard. Having succeeded in a surprise strike, she was certainly praiseworthy.
Before long, Yor and Chae-rin fell, piled on top of each other.
Crash!
Along with the sound of falling, a hard yet soft sensation enveloped her.
The impact left Chae-rin momentarily dizzy.
"Ow ow ow..."
She clutched her head and opened her eyes.
And she could see him. Yor, pinned beneath her, glaring up at her.
Simultaneously, the chat window scrolled up at high speed beside her.
[Whoa damn]
[Kyahaha the streamer, this crazy bitch just straight-up tackled him]
[Chae-rin, no matter how horny you are, you shouldn't try this while streaming..]
[lolol you're screwed]
"H-hurk!"
The moment she grasped the situation, she sprang off Yor in a startled fluster.
And she immediately bowed her head and apologized.
"I-I'm sorry! It wasn't on purpose!"
"No, well..."
Yor scratched his head and nodded.
Like she said, it hadn't been on purpose. He actually found it a bit novel that she apologized first, if anything.
The texture he'd felt when they fell remained in his head. The sensation of something large and plush pressing down on him.
The breastplate she was wearing happened to be leather rather than alloy, so he felt it even more.
[Yor suddenly getting tackled, so pitiful, what to do T.T All women should just die T.TT.T]
[I've recorded the video and even saved a PDF, see you at the police station]
[Fuck Chae-rin, stop being happy]
An awkward atmosphere hung between the two for a moment.
Regardless, the chat window just diligently teased her.
Yor, sensing the awkward air, changed the subject as if nothing had happened.
"...Anyway, I'll tell you the problem."
"Ah, yes, yes! Let's do that!"
Feeling the same, Chae-rin vigorously responded to Yor's words.
The flow of mana was slow.
She couldn't properly utilize her outstanding physical abilities.
The reason was that the sensations she felt from her body were simply insufficient.
Because her senses were dull, she couldn't properly perceive the changes happening in her own body.
That was the cause of the problem Yor had diagnosed.
If so, the answer was also simple.
Having lightly finished his explanation, Yor spoke to Chae-rin.
"Want to try raising your Assimilation Rate?"
"To maximum, while you're at it."