"Exactly. That restriction doesn't apply to you, Host," the orange cat said. "The Seed of Abundance you were given prevents that from happening. Or rather—when you use the skill on yourself, you're not reviving cells from the dead. The Seed of Abundance generates new cells to replace the damaged ones. So there's no such risk, meow."
"…Why does that sound kind of awesome?" Xien said. "The Apothecary really thought this through."
In that moment, he truly got it. That Apothecary deity was incredible—everything had been arranged perfectly for him.
"But we still recommend that you use it on yourself as little as possible, meow."
"Huh? Why? Didn't you just say there's no side effect?"
Xien scratched his head, confused. Was there some taboo he didn't know about?
"That's true. But using it too frequently can cause the Seed of Abundance to sprout early, meow."
"…What?"
Only then did Xien remember there had been a note attached to the skill description.
Resilient Body (Passive): The Benevolent Medicine King grants the Host a Seed of Abundance, continuously providing vast life energy. It extends lifespan and rapidly restores injuries. (The Seed of Abundance can develop.)
"'The Seed of Abundance can develop'?"
"Exactly, meow. This Seed is basically a life-seed—something capable of nurturing an entire world. Even as a seed, it's already providing you with an endless stream of vitality."
"But if it sprouts and blooms… that level of power is not something the current Host can withstand."
"In the worst case… you might directly become a life-type calamity that threatens the universe, meow."
"..."
Xien's scalp went cold.
"So that's where the landmine was… Why didn't you tell me earlier?!"
Cold sweat poured down his back. So this was what the "Apothecary" was like—handing him a treasure so hot it might as well be a sun.
The orange cat just shrugged, utterly unbothered.
"First, you didn't ask, meow. Second, you haven't used it like that before, so it wasn't urgent."
"Third, it's not a big deal as long as you don't spam it on yourself. To force it to sprout, you'd have to use it tens of thousands of times."
"And lastly—under this kitty's assistance, as long as you work hard, you'll grow very fast. Controlling a seed like this will be easy later, meow."
"Whew…" Xien exhaled hard. "So it can be controlled. You scared me half to death."
Hearing how casually the cat explained it, he finally relaxed.
And honestly, he agreed—after seeing the system's "assist mode" earlier, it was hard not to believe he'd grow fast. If his past life had had tech like that, what skill couldn't he learn?
"So… looks like I have one more reason to get stronger." Xien clenched a fist. "Motivated."
"That's the spirit, meow. That's the vision and will a Host should have."
After a while, Ryuu returned—calm again—with a cup in her hand.
She really had gone to get something.
"Drink this," she said. "It's not as good as your skill, but it helps relieve fatigue. After you drink and rest a bit, we'll try sparring."
"Understood."
Xien took the cup and drained it in a few gulps.
Sour and sweet—surprisingly tasty. A few seconds later, warmth spread through his stomach.
Special training drink, huh…
This city's technology and accumulated know-how were clearly built around the "adventurer" profession. A small cup like this probably represented countless lessons learned the hard way.
He held the empty cup, quietly appreciating it.
Strangely, even though they were close and neither spoke, there was no awkwardness—only comfort.
He actually enjoyed the quiet.
But comfortable moments never lasted long—and the heat of what came next was something to look forward to.
Looking at Ryuu standing not far away in a casual stance, Xien instinctively tightened his grip on the wooden practice sword.
Maybe she noticed his tension, because she spoke first.
"It's fine. Just charge me and attack. Don't think about anything else—only think about how to hit me."
"Understood."
He followed her advice.
Heart set, he raised his sword and rushed in, unconsciously adopting the offensive posture he'd just learned. When he reached her, he swung down hard—
He felt no impact.
But the next instant, a faint sting bloomed across his back.
A surge of intuition—he didn't see it with his eyes, but combining that feeling with the techniques he'd learned, his body reacted almost purely on instinct, twisting aside.
A split second later, a gust of force swept past.
Ryuu's strike arrived—and missed him by a hair.
"…Hm?" Ryuu's eyes sharpened.
"That was…?"
Having slipped behind him, she was genuinely surprised.
He'd dodged.
Even if it was only a casual hit, a normal rookie shouldn't have been able to avoid it.
As a battle-hardened Level 2 adventurer, she immediately caught the pattern.
"That dodge… that was pure bodily instinct."
"So it's a premonition?"
"Terrifying…"
"No wonder he has skills like that—at his core, he's a martial prodigy."
The more she thought about it, the more shocked she became—yet also more satisfied.
The higher his talent, the better for them.
To become strong, you needed both talent and sweat. He had the first.
As his companion, it was her duty to make sure he gained the second.
Only after dodging did Xien realize what he'd done.
A bead of cold sweat slid down.
Considering that gust he'd sensed—if it had landed, his back would've turned red instantly.
"So this is Flow…" he thought, thrilled. "I love it. What a practical skill."
That blind "foreknowledge," and his body moving on its own—this was the power he'd bought.
No time to admire it.
Ryuu's command snapped out.
"Again!"
"Yes!"
Xien went in again.
The training field soon echoed with rhythmic thunk-thunk collisions of wooden weapons—occasionally punctuated by screams that sounded like someone being slaughtered.
Near noon, Ryuu finally called, "That's enough."
Xien—clothes in tatters, bruises all over, face swollen like a pig's head—collapsed onto the yellow earth, shaking.
He felt burned out to ash.
He didn't even want to imagine how many hits he'd taken. And that was with Flow helping him dodge as much as possible. Otherwise, he would've been unable to move an hour ago.
He tried to heal himself, but his trembling hands had gone numb and refused to obey.
No choice—he'd have to endure a bit longer. Once he recovered enough strength, he'd use the skill. Time had passed anyway.
He didn't want to rely on it, but his body felt like it was about to shatter.
Ryuu realized her problem too.
Without noticing, she'd started using strength and speed approaching Level 2.
It couldn't be helped—he was annoyingly hard to put down. If she didn't raise her output, he might've actually forced his way through her defense.
The torn corners of her clothing proved it.
He'd only learned the most basic sword technique, but combined with absurd endurance, he'd made even her restrained self feel pressured.
And at this point in the story, she wasn't yet at her later peak. At Level 3, she still couldn't fully control her power.
When she sensed "threat," her body reflexively used higher-level output.
If Xien's miserable condition hadn't snapped her out of it, she might've stayed immersed even longer.
She hurried over to check his injuries—only to see he was already close to serious injury.
Self-blame flooded her.
"I-it's… f-fine…" Xien mumbled through swollen lips. "I'll be okay… I'll just use the skill…"
He tried to smile, but the movement tugged at his injuries and made him hiss in pain.
"…."
Ryuu wanted to laugh, but couldn't. She felt too bad.
Regret. Relief. Heartache.
All tangled together.
She placed her right hand on his chest and began chanting without thinking.
"Gaia Heal."
A blue-green healing light spread across Xien's body, and he felt himself slowly mending.
After one cast, he could finally feel his body again.
He raised a hand and slapped his own chest.
One Breath of Abundance later, warmth surged through him—and he recovered to about seventy or eighty percent.
Most importantly: his face returned to normal.
Good. Full revive.
"Come on," Ryuu said. "Let's eat. We have more training this afternoon. Proper rest is part of keeping training efficient."
"Okay."
Xien agreed readily.
Forging steel wasn't a one-day job. Steady progress was the way.
Even this morning, he felt he'd improved a lot—at least he'd gone from a powerless boy to someone who could dodge three of Ryuu's strikes.
A small victory—but a victory.
On the way back
"You don't resent this kind of training?" Ryuu asked. "Your development path is more like a support mage—someone protected. The most important thing for you should be mastering your abilities, not suffering through physical training."
Ryuu initiating conversation like this was rare, and it made Xien feel oddly honored.
"…Well," he said, "training definitely hurts. But I think it's worth it."
"No one can guarantee that someone will always be there to protect me when danger comes. If I learn this, then at least in a critical moment I'll have some ability to protect myself."
"That way I won't become everyone's burden."
"…You really think that way?" Ryuu turned to look at him.
Xien scratched his head, embarrassed.
"And also… I think it'd be really cool to learn close combat and personally cut monsters down like chopping melons." He laughed. "Haha."
It was one of his real motivations.
Every Chinese guy had a swordsman dream buried somewhere in his heart.
"…."
Ryuu didn't comment—only the faintest curve touched the corner of her mouth.
"Childish and unrealistic… but as motivation, it's not a bad idea."
This world could be cruel.
But Astraea Familia hadn't reached the point where such dreams had to be crushed.
After all, they'd all walked forward because of some small wish that belonged only to them.
The dungeon's cruelty…
She could teach him that slowly, later.
Back at the Familia
He washed at the public bath, then changed clothes.
"Public bath" was basically his private bathhouse—Alise had craftsmen from a related familia remodel it overnight after he joined.
After all, he was the only male in the familia.
The funny part was that the women's bath was right next door, apparently designed that way for water access.
What confused him was that no one raised questions or objections—maybe this kind of setup was normal for the familia.
Just like in anime.
The clothes were standardized training wear, with plenty of spares.
Lunch was made by Kaguya—cuisine from the Far East.
Xien never thought he'd experience that country's food like this. It felt novel.
After a couple bites, the flavor was distinctive… but there were things that were only barely "one or two tenths cooked."
After tasting those, he really couldn't keep going.
"Yo," a girl's voice purred behind him. "Little guy—don't you like big sister's cooking?"
Kaguya had appeared behind him without warning, one hand teasingly lifting his chin, her expression provocative.
"N-No, it's not that," Xien said honestly. "I'm just not used to raw food. Back home, I mostly ate cooked meals."
Faced with her sudden flirting, he didn't understand her motives. With not enough information, he could only answer truthfully.
"That won't do," Kaguya said. "In the dungeon, in extreme situations you might lose your food stores. Then getting any energy you can from the surroundings becomes critical."
"And in that situation, being able to get raw meat is already a 'good ending.' So you need to adapt."
"Understood. Thank you, Sister Kaguya."
He thought she was right.
He hadn't lived it, but he could imagine it. This world wasn't like his old one—poor didn't mean you'd starve.
The dungeon, though?
It specialized in kicking you while you were down.
Anime already showed enough of that truth.
With that thought, Xien looked at the sashimi on the table, speared a few pieces with a fork, chewed, and forced them down despite the discomfort.
That obedient action made Kaguya pause.
Was he sincere… or was he just far too deep?
She quickly hid whatever she'd been thinking.
"Oh? So obedient. Good boy," she said. "Big sister likes you."
When she tried to take it further, Ryuu's voice cut in from the side.
"Kaguya. That's enough. He's still a child."
"How can you say that?" Kaguya replied. "Where I'm from, sixteen is already considered an adult."
Lady, do you hear yourself? Xien's mind screamed. Do you actually mean that? Are you that… desperate?
His whole body went stiff, suddenly sitting on pins and needles.
"You know that's not what I mean," Ryuu said flatly.
Under Ryuu's sharp stare, Kaguya finally yielded.
"Tch, how boring. Then you better watch him closely, you damn elf."
-------
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