Bathing with the Master (1)
Bathing with the Master (1)
In my hand was a crystal vial containing a colorless, odorless liquid.
The elaborate dragon carved into it made it obvious at a glance that this was no ordinary object.
Yet even that work-of-art exterior was not enough.
It still fell short of the grandeur of the Heaven-Sent Spring Water.
"Can you feel the dragon's energy within it?"
"Yes. It's incredible."
It was an item that made even Master, the S-rank No. 1, click her tongue in amazement—and left even me, the Second-Round Hypnosis Breeding Guy, impressed all over again.
It was an elixir that made an awakener's stat-growth rate skyrocket once consumed.
It was a one-of-a-kind item. Even in my Second Round, I had searched everywhere for another bottle and never found one.
The Heaven-Sent Spring Water.
A thrill surged through my body.
'If I drank this and hit the weights, my stats would rise ten times faster!!! Thank you, Master!!'
A fresh surge of gratitude was a welcome bonus.
I looked up to thank her.
My eyes met Master's. She was still wearing her bathrobe.
"You hardly know what to do with yourself, you're so delighted. Is it truly that pleasing?"
"Of course I am pleased, but... Master, wouldn't it be better to change before you grow cold?"
"I am perfectly fine, so drink it now. Here before my eyes, without leaving a single drop."
...I had not expected her to hurry me before changing clothes.
But well, it wasn't as if Master could catch a cold anyway.
If she wasn't embarrassed, I supposed it didn't matter.
I decided to drink it gratefully.
"Yes. Then I will drink it."
—Gulp.
I immediately pulled out the cork and poured it down my throat.
I could feel the effect immediately.
[By consuming 'Heaven-Sent Spring Water,' you acquire the Trait 'Divine Dragon's Blood'.]
『Divine Dragon's Blood (S Rank) — Stat-growth rate increases tenfold until the limit is reached. However, if excessive divine-dragon energy accumulates within the body, all stats gained through this Trait will be lost.』
'...Even the first time I drank it, I thought the taste was oddly familiar. It was strangely similar to Pine-Needle Snow.'
It was as refreshing as drinking an ultra-premium Pine-Needle Snow.
I could vividly feel the elixir's energy spreading to every extremity of my body.
Master sounded impressed as well.
"Hoh. This must be what the marrow-cleansing rebirth I read about in Korean martial-arts novels feels like."
"This disciple is not familiar with that, but I can feel my body brimming with energy."
"Good. Then let me take a— Ahem. No. Excuse me for a moment."
—Feel, feel.
Master then began feeling me all over as though it were perfectly natural.
At Master's level, she could tell just by looking...
Was she personally checking me this thoroughly for her disciple's sake?
As expected of Master. I love you.
"Contrary to appearances, your arms are quite... and y-your abs are also...."
"How is it, Master?"
"......!!!!? K, khm. It is excellent. Your absorption rate is better than I expected."
The results of her palpation seemed to please her; Master's cheeks flushed slightly with excitement.
But only for a moment.
Gravity settled into Master's eyes once more.
"As I told you before, from now on you must repeat this grueling training every night, without missing a single day."
"Because if I take even one day off, all its effects will disappear?"
"Indeed. Until you stand at the peak, you will not have a single night of comfortable sleep. You will probably cry yourself to sleep in agony."
As she said, the downside of the Heaven-Sent Spring Water was clear.
From then on, I had to push myself close to my limits every day.
Because resting even a single day would make me weaker than before I drank it.
That was why I had fallen asleep regretting it every night during the First Round.
I had been wracked with severe muscle pain, lamenting why I'd brought such suffering upon myself.
However, this was now the Second Round.
That was no penalty at all to me.
"Would Master's disciple cry over something so trivial? Do not worry."
"Hoh."
"So, what should I do?"
I looked at Master, conveying my desire to throw myself into training immediately.
Of course, I already knew what Master would have me do.
She'd probably begin by making me swing a sword to establish its basic form.
Then she would teach me the basic stances of Japanese kendo.
After that would come various practical techniques.
And finally, her secret Jaha Sword Art....
"Do some exercise."
"Huh."
She just told me to lift weights out of the blue.
A dumbfounded noise escaped me.
Master shrugged.
"Why? Are you disappointed that it is nothing special?"
"...Honestly, I thought you'd make me swing a katana, since both of us use one."
"If you were a complete novice, I would have. But you learned fairly competent swordsmanship in your dreams."
"Ah."
"I could drop you into a Japanese kendo tournament right now and you'd earn a seventh dan. Making you repeat the basics wouldn't be training; it would be harassment."
In other words, I was already far beyond needing that sort of training.
"You also possess the ability known as hypnosis. First, you must build a body capable of supporting it."
"What about swordsmanship...?"
"Even now, your body cannot keep up with your swordsmanship. To teach you the sword properly, I must have you begin with physical training."
In short, I needed to raise my stats first.
Then my innate ability would strengthen as well, and I'd become able to handle the Jaha Swordsmanship properly.
As for teaching me the sword...
"As for the sword... Very well. If you succeed in hypnotizing me, I will teach you then."
"...Hypnosis?"
"Yes. If you manage even a single second of it, I will acknowledge you."
Only after I became capable of hypnotizing Master.
...Wasn't that an absurdly high graduation requirement?
In the game, Master had been a heroine who could not be hypnotized at all.
Even after I completed all my growth in the First Round, it had been impossible unless she deliberately allowed it to work.
And what kind of ability was hypnosis, anyway?
I used it wholesomely, but wasn't it fundamentally an ability designed for an erotic game?
Yet she wanted me to use hypnosis on her.
Her complete lack of caution made me sigh.
"Haa... I understand."
"Hoh? You are complaining less than I expected. Are you confident?"
"I'm not confident, but what else can I do? A disciple does whatever their master orders. Isn't that common sense?"
Of course, I would do anything she ordered.
Satisfaction settled upon Master's expression.
"Good. Then begin right now."
"Yes. This disciple will go exercise in the Training Room and return, so please wait a little...."
"What are you talking about? I said to begin now—here, before my eyes."
"......?"
Why here, when there was a perfectly good Training Room?
The question occurred to me, but I didn't ask it.
If Master told me to do it, I had to. Yeah.
"Understood. I'll work up a sweat and smell, so please watch from a distance."
"I cannot. For the training to be efficient, I must assist you as your master."
"If you say so."
I immediately lowered myself to the floor.
I intended to begin with push-ups as a warm-up before moving on to the real workout.
"Then...."
"Hoh, push-ups? I shall assist you."
—Plop.
"......M, M, Master!!!!!?"
Master sat down on my back.
A weighty softness settled onto my back.
I nearly drew my sword.
"I will gradually increase the weight. Do not give out; endure it. You may reinforce your body with mana all the way to its limit."
"Th, that's. The contact..."
"Even I would not be embarrassed by something this minor, my disciple."
Master, by contrast, looked rather excited.
A mischievous laugh, unbefitting her dignified image, rang out.
"Fufu... Ah, yes. My disciple, you said you could hypnotize yourself, did you not?"
"Th, that's possible, but."
"For the next hour, hypnotize yourself so that you cannot use hypnosis."
"What!!? Why would I do such a thing?"
"Because your hypnosis is far too versatile. When people near their limits, they instinctively seek an escape. As long as hypnosis offers you one, you will never truly give your all."
"......."
In other words, no hypnosis for one hour.
I was worried about what might happen if I drew my sword, but I had no choice except to obey quietly.
Obeying one's master was common sense for a disciple, after all.
"I, Seo Yujin, shall be unable to use my Innate Talent, Complete Hypnosis, for the next hour."
[The target falls 'completely' under hypnosis.]
"Good. Now, my disciple, do your best to endure it. Fufufu."
"Yees...."
It was a terrifying workout with the S-rank No. 1 perched on my back.
Thus began a training session even more grueling than I'd expected.
* * *
It took only thirty minutes for me to be utterly destroyed.
[......Through repeated experience, Strength and Agility increase by 0.08. Mana increases by 0.07.]
'I thought my back was going to break... What was that, a Thousand-Pound Drop? Why did a technique from martial-arts fiction actually work in real life?'
When she said she would adjust the weight, I assumed she would bring over something heavy.
But how could she simply make herself heavier instead?
When I asked in disbelief, she explained that she used mana to press down on herself and increase her body's weight...
No lie, I seriously thought my back would snap.
It had literally felt as though she weighed a thousand tons.
Worse, Master kept demanding one more. Then one more.
I had to drag out and use every scrap of mana in my entire body just to move my arms.
It was only natural I'd be turned to mush in 30 minutes. Yeah.
"You endured without a single groan until you reached your limit. Magnificent!"
"Master... because I'm your disciple...."
"Good. Then go wash up now."
"Yesss......."
The one saving grace was that my legs could still move.
I headed off to wash up at once.
All I could think about was showering, eating, and sleeping.
—Creak.
"......."
'I managed to bring a change of clothes, but I couldn't raise my arms high enough to reach the showerhead.'
Yet once I entered the bathroom, I was in just as much trouble.
Had the showerhead always been hung that high?
It felt almost as distant as a star in the sky.
With no other choice, I forced my trembling arms upward...
[My disciple, I will give you ten seconds. Wrap this around your waist and cover yourself.]
—Swish.
Just as I tried to raise my arms, a towel flew toward me from behind.
Without understanding why, I wrapped it around my waist first.
And then,
'But why had Master thrown me a towel...? Wait, what? This was the bathroom!'
—Creak.
"I'm coming in."
"......!!!!!?"
An eight-ton truck that had used its turn signal only as a formality bore down on me again.
I collapsed in horror.
"I am in the middle of showering, Master!!!!?"
"Don't lie. I can tell without even looking that your arms are too weak to hold the showerhead."
"That is true, but— No, I am naked right now."
"You wrapped a towel around yourself, so it's fine, is it not."
But instead of yielding to a vulnerable road user like me, Master advanced as though determined to commit a hit-and-run.
Her damp footsteps went slap, slap.
She wore nothing but a bathrobe.
"Do not worry, my disciple. This is merely to soothe your overworked body, if only a little."
—Splash....
"N-no. Even so, this is a little..."
"No more protests."
"Turn around and give me your back. I shall wash you."