Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Dick?
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Awakener sparring or training was generally done inside gates.
Novices who had awakened recently might not know better, but a skilled awakener's power could demolish even the sturdiest building with ease.
That was why the Management Bureau, corporations, guilds, or certain individual awakeners set up dedicated gates for training.
Persistent gates would regenerate their interiors over time, even if they were destroyed.
"Mom lent it to you?"
"Yeah. She bought it a while back for occasional stress relief. The guild has a training gate too, but..."
"Well, I'm an outsider, so it's only natural. I'm just grateful she lent me her personal space."
True to its purpose as a stress-relief spot, the gate featured beautiful scenery.
A cool sea breeze blew, mingled with the pleasant rustle of grass blades brushing against each other.
The space was vast enough to make it perfect for sparring.
Sia neatly set aside her usual baggy training clothes and cap before picking up her sword.
Jiyu, on the other hand, went in bare-handed.
She rotated her wrists, flexed her fingers, and dropped into a low stance.
The instant Sia gripped her sword, the smile vanished from her face.
It was a familiar expression after all this time—no, actually the first one Jiyu had seen on her that carried such an eerie pressure.
Jiyu steadied her breathing and asked shortly.
"...I'll go first?"
"Yeah."
At the response, sleek, well-toned muscles sprouted cool scales.
Her pupils narrowed into vertical slits like a reptile's, stretching long and thin.
Small horns even protruded from the sides of her head.
Dragon Humanization.
That was her skill.
Awakener skills weren't supposed to have any genetic component, yet Jiyu's ability bore an uncanny resemblance to her mother's.
...Though I can't wield lightning or ice.
Instead, she possessed exceptional toughness and strength.
Jiyu kicked off the ground and charged at Sia.
With a boom, the distance closed in an instant.
Charging straight ahead, she stomped once more right in front of Sia's nose.
Her body sprang left, closing in again at a sharp angle as she swung her steel-hard claws low from below.
Clang!
The instantaneous speed outpaced a car, but Sia tracked her movements with leisure.
She swung her sword, striking the claws precisely from below upward.
Then, in one fluid motion, she brought it slashing down.
Jiyu didn't dodge the sword. Instead, she raised her arm to block it head-on.
"Guhk!"
Scales cracked and scattered around her.
Blood trickled down her arm.
Those scales had blocked rock-shattering blows time and again, yet they shattered from a single sword strike.
The sword felt heavier than sharp.
It was less about slicing with finesse and more about brute force bulldozing through.
Facing an axe instead of a blade.
But she knew instinctively.
Sia wasn't lacking in technique.
On the contrary, she knew a real display would cause serious injury—so she was holding back.
...I've got to close the distance.
At least make the sword awkward to wield.
This wasn't the time for wounded pride.
If anything, she should be grateful for the mercy and act fast.
Channeling mana into her legs, Jiyu lunged repeatedly, probing for openings.
Max speed bursts, light feints mixed in.
Concealing herself in dust clouds or rolling ugly to seize chances.
But every attempt failed.
Blade cuts multiplied across her body.
Dark bruises bloomed on her face.
Panting raggedly, Jiyu racked her overheated brain.
Her lingering pride had long since shattered.
She simply marveled at the skill on display.
Yet at the same time, a burning urge to land just one hit surged within her.
"...Not bad?"
At that moment, Sia—who had been swinging her sword with a blank expression—flicked the blood off the blade and smiled.
The out-of-left-field comment sapped her momentum, leaving Jiyu irritably pouting.
"What?"
"That you didn't get all showy about it."
Even as flesh parted, she swallowed her groans and readied her next attack.
Despite the overwhelming gap, she gritted her mind to find some way through.
She didn't care if it was dirty or unsightly.
The fact that she wasn't disheartened after getting one-sidedly thrashed by a friend was impressive.
It wasn't uncommon to see people beg for instruction, lose, then throw tantrums about losing face in public.
Kids and adults alike—plenty did it.
An understandable feeling, but laughable from Sia's perspective in the midst of war, when Jiyu had sought training to grow stronger.
That made Jiyu's attitude all the more appealing.
Her skill's solid too.
No attacks had landed, but her experience was piling up fast.
There had definitely been moments where she nearly grazed her.
"...You're not just consoling me, right?"
At those words, Jiyu shot Sia a sullen glare.
"Why would I?"
Sia replied with a touch of smugness.
Jiyu stared hard before nodding.
It wasn't mere friendship favoritism—no, she had gone easy, but still.
Anyway, with that bruise on her face, Sia wouldn't say it lightly.
"I'll heal you up first, so come here."
"Now?"
"Yeah. Sparring in bad shape defeats the purpose."
"Don't they say you learn better in extreme conditions?"
Like cramming for exams with deliberate distractions or holding it in.
"Total nonsense. Best to train at peak condition. Start with the mindset of not getting hurt. Prepping for injury after the fact is pointless."
Made sense, so Jiyu strode over to Sia.
Sia took Jiyu's hand and channeled Divine Power into it.
"...But why hold hands?"
"Huh?"
"...Then what is it? Pervert?"
"Psh. Just to get closer."
Sia beamed mischievously and slyly rested a hand on Jiyu's waist.
Perhaps because of her earlier words, Jiyu didn't protest.
Or rather, having never gotten this close before, she focused on scrutinizing Sia's face.
...She's fucking stunning.
Was it the sparring?
Or Sia's Divine Power?
A strange itch stirred in her chest.
The hand she was holding suddenly felt embarrassingly intimate, so she pulled away the moment the healing finished and created distance.
"Next round. Going."
"Got it."
Sia wiped the smile away and assumed her stance again.
The sparring dragged on for hours.
The once-beautiful hillside was torn up, the ground upheaved like an earthquake had hit.
Sia had stuck to parries and counters at first but began swinging in earnest midway through.
Jiyu knew it was impossible, yet she fell into the delusion that she might actually die.
Her fingertips went pale as the sword traced a beautiful arc toward her throat.
She threw herself backward to dodge, but the onslaught didn't relent.
She didn't turn tail and run, but she flung her body back in ugly scrambles again and again.
After enough repetitions, she realized Sia's speed wasn't all that blistering.
A precarious pace that could be handled calmly without fear.
Like Sia had done, Jiyu swung her claws to deflect the sword.
She attempted counters now and then as they clashed fiercely for a good while.
Her claws and scales splintered; her lungs and heart felt wrecked.
But rest wasn't permitted.
Even mid-fight, Sia healed her.
The brutal combat and Divine Power gradually hyped her body up.
Jiyu charged like a zombie.
"...Fuck, I'm dying."
"Hey, watch the language."
"What're you... Ah... Feels good..."
Sprawled on the ground, Jiyu cooled the heat building in her head with the chilly sea breeze.
"Break's over. Get up."
"...Can't do more today."
"I know. Still gotta head out. Can't crash here."
"Yeah..."
Jiyu grabbed Sia's offered hand and rose, scrutinizing her intently.
After hours of intense fighting without landing a single hit, Sia looked spent too—sweaty and breathing heavily.
She around Mom's level?
Her mother, an awakener for half a lifetime, stood out even among superhumans.
How had she reached this level in just three or four years? Jiyu wondered.
"Nothing special. Did what we did today—every day."
Sia answered the question readily.
"...Every day?"
"Yeah. Every day. Fight, heal, heal, fight. Turns out I grow more in real combat than drills."
This vomit-worthy training daily?
It was her own request, but Jiyu had no confidence repeating it every day.
Her body was perfectly healed... but her head felt leaden, ready to drop.
Noticing Jiyu's darkening expression, Sia giggled.
"My situation was special, so don't worry—I won't make you do it daily. Maybe once a week?"
"...Sorry."
Taking her time like this, and here she was whining already.
At the sudden apology, Sia burst out laughing and patted Jiyu's shoulder.
The pair exited the gate and ducked into a nearby restaurant.
"Everything from here to here, please! Always wanted to say that."
"Pardon...?"
"Ah, one item at a time, slowly."
Awakeners were big eaters by default.
Two of them, fresh off grueling exercise? They couldn't help devouring even more than usual.
Jiyu's skill especially guzzled calories.
"How much?"
"Roughly 300,000 won."
"No charge for the lesson, but dinner's on me."
"Thanks."
They quickly demolished the table piled high with bowls.
"But doing that daily—don't you get exhausted? Feels like your head couldn't take it..."
"Exhausted? Like crazy. Especially before I became a girl."
"Huh? You saying you went easy because I'm a girl?"
"Hm... Nah, not that."
"Then?"
"...Wanna know?"
Sia paused mid-bite with a sly grin.
Jiyu chewed her pork cutlet, tilted her head, then nodded.
"Gotta be some killer rest that lets you handle daily grind like that. Sign me up too."
...
...
"...So what's this?"
"Massage."
"Massage, but do I need to be in underwear...?"
They were friends, and Sia was a girl now—but she'd once been a guy.
Showing her in underwear felt a tad embarrassing, but Jiyu cashed in on Sia's promise to grant any request.
"Special massage with Divine Power. Lie down on your stomach. I'll make you feel amazing quick."
...Fine, we're both girls.
Would've been risky if she were still a guy, but same here.
Over three years as a girl, she said.
Should be fine.
Thus convinced, Jiyu hesitantly flopped onto the bed face-down.
Looking up at Sia kneeling beside her, she said.
"Ready... but what's that?"
"Hm? What?"
Jiyu stared vacantly, tilting her head and squinting.
Only the bed lamp was on, leaving things dim—outlines fuzzy at best.
"Looks like... something between your pants."
"Oh, this?"
"Yeah."
"Dick."
"...What? Dick?"
"Ma, ssage starting."
"Wa, wait...! What? What do you—uh, uh...! Ah...♡"