Seeing that Xien had no objections, Alise continued.
"Then for the next week, Ryuu will be your training instructor. She'll start from zero and teach you, helping you gain the most basic combat capability."
"Please take care of me…" Ryuu added softly.
She still hadn't gotten over her embarrassment from their first meeting. Afraid Xien might dislike her because of it, her gaze kept flickering away, unable to meet his.
This was absolutely fine by Xien.
He pressed down the excitement bubbling in his chest—skills he wanted to learn, and a beautiful instructor. Put the two together… could anything be better?
Ohhh yeah—this is it.
Decision made: he was going to make Instructor Ryuu satisfied, no matter what.
So he shouted, "Instructor Ryuu—please train me hard!"
"Huh? O-Okay…" Ryuu replied, flustered.
She'd never heard anyone make a request like that in her life, and for a second she didn't even know how to react.
Watching the fire in Xien's eyes, Alise smiled with satisfaction.
"Then I'll leave him to you, Ryuu. Train him properly."
"Hey, Alise—" Ryuu started to call out.
She was having trouble handling Xien's blazing gaze and tried to ask her captain to save her—but in the blink of an eye Alise had already vanished from the training field.
Ryuu swallowed her helplessness with a sigh.
"Senpai Ryuu… am I doing something that troubles you?" Xien asked. "If I am, please tell me. I'll change it immediately."
He could tell she was uncomfortable, so he decided to be direct. He just didn't want her to end up hating him because of something he did wrong.
"N-No, it's not that. This is… fine," Ryuu hurriedly said. "Let's start training."
It wasn't his fault—she just couldn't bring herself to explain her own awkward temperament.
"Understood. Awaiting orders," Xien said.
Since she wanted to focus on business, he gladly went along.
"Alright. First, we'll test your overall physical condition," Ryuu said. "Once I know your limit, I can plan the rest. Okay?"
As a veteran adventurer, Ryuu had trained plenty of rookies. In her view, step one was always to understand a newcomer's physical ceiling, so she could allocate stamina across the different training segments sensibly.
"Completely agree. So first…?"
"Endurance. Run twenty laps around this training field."
"Roger."
The field was about the size of a standard soccer pitch. Once Ryuu signaled, Xien started running without hesitation.
One lap. Two laps…
A full loop around the outside was roughly 300 meters. Twenty laps would be about 6 kilometers.
In his previous life, a continuous 6K run would've been impossible—especially since he was smaller now.
But what surprised him was this:
By the time he'd reached the halfway point, he only just started to feel a bit tired.
His physical fitness had strengthened without him noticing.
That's probably Resilient Body… These skills really do keep surprising me.
Realizing his limit was higher than this, he pushed harder.
Off to the side, Ryuu watched with growing shock.
That level of endurance was not something a newbie who'd only just received a blessing should have.
Thinking back to what Alise had shared last night, Ryuu couldn't help feeling a thread of expectation rise in her chest.
How far can you ultimately go…?
Xien wasn't counting laps, and Ryuu didn't call a stop.
So he kept running… until he was drenched in sweat and finally collapsed onto the ground, totally limp.
Lying on the slightly soft soil, he could smell the damp, metallic sweetness of the earth beside him.
"Hmm. Forty-two laps," Ryuu said. "That's… beyond what I expected. For a first time, it's acceptable."
She walked over, and healing magic was already about to activate in her hand—when Xien waved her off.
He knew the taboo of the elf race. This was the kind of early "lose affection points" mistake he wasn't going to make.
Besides, he had his own method.
In his head, he muttered:
Holy hell… I broke ten thousand meters. I'm insane.
After cheering himself up, his hands didn't slow.
A mass of green life energy formed. He slapped it onto his chest—
And instantly it felt like taking a cold shower under a blazing sun, plus a full-body massage.
One word:
Heaven.
Strength began returning rapidly through his body. At this rate, full recovery would take only a few minutes.
Only then did he truly understand how brokenly useful his ability was—and why Tsubaki had looked so blissed out yesterday.
Ryuu, an elf aligned with nature, sensed the life force and reflexively swallowed.
A strange craving rose in her chest—uninvited.
She forced herself to suppress it, inwardly alarmed.
This ability was almost unfair to elves. They were naturally sensitive to "natural aura," and this kind of high-purity life energy hit them like catnip hits a cat.
I need to help him control this power precisely… fast.
Otherwise, the elf companions in Orario might be in real trouble.
After making that decision, the stiffness on her face softened slightly.
Xien's considerate little gesture warmed her heart.
He'd kept a proper distance, clearly trying not to make her dislike him.
That meant he had either done his research—or someone had warned him in advance.
Either way, it made her happy.
If it was research, it showed foresight. If someone told him, it meant he knew how to respect others.
Those were rare qualities for an adventurer.
"I've got a decent sense of your endurance limit now," Ryuu said. "And that recovery skill of yours—frankly, it's borderline cheating. It'll be hugely beneficial for your training."
"Next, I'll teach you the simplest combat techniques. I'll demonstrate first. Then you'll copy it once. If you have questions, ask immediately. I'll also correct you whenever needed. Understood?"
"Absolutely."
Ryuu gave a small nod, then pinched the wooden blade itself and offered him a practice sword.
Xien took the grip and tested the weight.
The handle was wrapped in cloth, reducing the risk of slipping. The length was about a meter—comfortable to swing, clearly selected with care.
It weighed around twenty jin—maybe ten kilograms.
Not heavy in absolute terms, but if he treated it like a weapon and swung it for long periods, it would become a problem for him at his current size.
Even from a beginner's practice short sword, you could see a lot.
At that moment, the orange cat popped out to steal the spotlight.
"Sensing Host is about to learn a new skill—activating Assisted Guidance Mode. Your recognition is this kitty's greatest support!"
Then Xien's vision snapped into a special mode—
A full 360-degree, zero-blind-spot view, and also an internal perspective similar to the "Transparent World" from Demon Slayer.
In an instant, Ryuu's movements were broken down frame by frame and poured into his mind:
How she breathed. How she applied force. How each movement chained into the next.
Crystal clear.
And even better—he could replay it.
Holy—this is cracked…
This was basically being fed directly.
Ryuu finished a smooth, flowing set of motions, her breathing steady the whole time. These fundamentals were embedded in her daily life.
Turning back, she saw Xien staring without blinking and nodded in satisfaction.
Whatever else, that learning attitude was perfect.
"Alright," she said. "Now you try once. It's fine—do as much as you can. We have time. Don't rush."
"Yes."
Having replayed everything in his mind multiple times, Xien was brimming with confidence.
He raised the short sword and began.
What Ryuu demonstrated was the most basic adventurer swordsmanship—foundational moves Orario had refined over time for dealing with most monsters.
Simple, but fundamental.
The best way to learn how to use a sword against monsters.
While Xien swung, the orange cat continued "recording."
"Thrust output insufficient. Increase output by 15% for Host-optimal force. Swing angle deviation—correct 7% left for most comfortable cut…"
Even more absurdly, to prevent him from missing the correct angles, a pale-white "correct range" phantom overlay appeared.
When his movement entered the correct range, it turned green.
With that kind of god-tier assist, Xien got more and more into it—until he slipped into a trance-like, self-forgetting state.
He didn't notice Ryuu's expression shifting into deeper and deeper shock.
What is this…? He saw it once and he's already doing it?
I'm not even correcting him—he's correcting himself!
And there were no wasted movements.
He wasn't copying her—he was finding the best way for his own body to generate force.
If she hadn't watched him adjust bit by bit, she would've thought he already knew the whole thing and was messing with her.
Is that the power of that skill…? "Firelight"… this is ridiculous.
Ryuu's mind trembled.
She'd never seen talent like this.
Of course, she had no idea it wasn't just talent—it was cheating.
Still in that flow state, Xien completed several full sequences with "all green" corrections before he finally stopped.
Then the orange cat's notification chimed.
"Congratulations, Host has learned: Adventurer Swordsmanship (Beginner). Interference Points +20. Another step on the path of strength—this is wonderful, meow! Please keep it up, meow!"
"Yeah… thanks for the help. That was insanely useful."
"Meow meow meow! Being recognized makes this kitty so happy, meow…"
Ignoring the cat spinning in circles, Xien wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He hadn't noticed in the trance, but now that his senses returned, the relief and soreness crashed into him all at once.
This wasn't a game where you "learn and instantly master."
It was his first time making such intense, whole-body movements—his body needed time to adapt.
But he didn't hate the feeling.
It was like the gym—after a heavy workout, muscles were exhausted, but the body released adrenaline to dampen the damage.
Pain laced with excitement.
He loved it.
That was why so many people loved training.
"Mm. You did very well," Ryuu said. "Learning after one demonstration means you do have talent in swordsmanship. Keep going."
To prevent arrogance, she praised him only lightly.
But it was the perfect amount for Xien—enough to feel recognized.
His motivation surged.
"Yes! I will, Instructor Ryuu!"
"Then rest for a bit," Ryuu said. "After that we'll start practicing earlier than planned. If things go well, I'll teach you ranged weapons like archery this afternoon."
"Understood—though resting might not be necessary. I have a skill…"
He was about to heal himself again when Ryuu stopped him.
"No."
"Using that level of restorative skill multiple times in a short period could cause irreversible damage to your body."
"If you want to use it repeatedly, you need to be cautious. Ideally, don't use it again with less than three hours between uses."
In her urgency, Ryuu grabbed Xien's right hand.
Xien froze at the sudden contact.
"Ah… o-okay."
Only after she'd said what she needed to say did Ryuu realize what she'd done, and she quickly pulled her hand back.
She wore gloves, but still…
I was too reckless. How could I act so impulsively…?
And yet… it didn't feel unpleasant…
Elves possessed an extreme pride—carved into their bones.
They would never allow someone they didn't acknowledge to touch them.
If touched by someone they didn't accept, it could even cause a physiological "revulsion" response.
Best case, the person would be beaten half to death. Worst case, they might lose their life.
(Handling corpses or unconscious people was an exception—those didn't "count as living people" to elves.)
But right now, she'd felt no disgust at all.
No discomfort.
Only a faster heartbeat.
Do I… acknowledge him as a companion now?
"A-Anyway," Ryuu said quickly, "rest here for now. I'll go get something."
"Yes, please."
Seeing she probably needed a moment to calm down, Xien obediently followed her wishes.
Watching her walk away, he felt genuinely happy.
She'd blushed just now—and she hadn't seemed to hate his touch, right?
Being accepted by a kind, noble elf… that was an honor.
Then another question surfaced in his mind.
"Orange Cat—"
"Here, Host! What are your orders, meow?"
"Was what Ryuu said true? About not using the skill repeatedly in a short time…"
"Mm… she's only half right, meow."
"For other people, yes—it can't be used frequently. Use it too many times, and the cells that make up the body may collapse."
"Because the essence of this skill is to revive dead-but-healthy cells in a near-miraculous way, and replenish them with strength."
"Most people's cells can't handle repeated cycles of 'death and rebirth,' so it can ultimately lead to cellular collapse."
"I see… so when you say 'other people,' you mean—"
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