Even though my secret trip with Professor Baldwin had ended, my suspension was not over yet. So, with time to kill, I threw myself into training the new skill I had learned, the Ashen Flame.
Maybe it was because a long time had passed since I learned a new technique, but I became obsessed with the skill. I trained day and night, barely eating or sleeping, and eventually managed to wrap not only my sword but even my fists in Ashen Flame. The technique itself was incredibly taxing on my meridians and energy flow. My entire internal energy network was in tatters. However, that was nothing major since the Blessing of Resurrection could easily fix that.
Thus, from the crack of dawn, I constantly danced between death and revival in a relentless training cycle, forgetting the time. What made me stop was a ring at the door, around the time when the cadets’ classes finished.
[Cadet Yuren Helios and Berald Ryu, access rights confirmed.]
With their classes over, Berald and Yurina entered the training hall. Yurina, who was in Yuren’s disguise, saw me and immediately said, “Ah, Dale. You’re already here.”
“Yeah.”
Berald stroked his chin, looking genuinely concerned. “Hm, Brother, you’ve been here since this morning, haven’t you? I know training’s important, but overdoing it will ruin your body. It’s best to pace yourself.”
Although Berald wasn’t part of the main Ryu family, he was still a member of House Ryu. He had his own private training ground. But ever since we went on that ruin exploration party together, he had started coming to Yurina’s personal training space to train alongside us from time to time.
I chuckled and waved him off. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, man.”
There was an old saying in the Republic: “Too much of anything is bad.” But that didn’t apply to me, especially since the guy who taught me that in my past life was none other than Berald himself.
Just then, a memory from my past life, a conversation between Berald and me, came flooding in.
“Brother, are you exhausted?” he had asked me.
Panting, I had replied, “I-I’m dying. Seriously, I’m going to die!”
“Hahaha! Don’t worry, Brother!”
“So, that means we’re stopping here for today, right?”
“If you’re about to die, just die and come back to life. Then we go again!”
“You lunatic.”
“Come on, how can the legendary Undying Fiend whine like this? Get up!”
“AAAGHH! S-stop! AAAAGHHH!”
Just thinking about it was enough to piss me off even now. What was that? Overdoing it will ruin my body, so take it easy? You, of all people, have no right to say that.
It seemed Berald sensed something from my gaze. He said, “W-why are you looking at me like you want to tear me apart? Did I say something wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing.” I smiled sweetly as I approached him. “Anyway, today is our sparring day, isn’t it?”
He replied, “Y-yes, that’s right...”
“Hahahaha.”
“Actually, I was thinking I’d just train on my own today,” Berald replied, turning to leave.
I grabbed him by the shoulder and said, “Oh? Planning to run away? Come on, don’t waste time. Go change into your training clothes.”
“Ugh, fine.”
“Oh, and wear something loose just in case you get battered up again today.”
“Wait! Why are you being like this all of a sudden, Brother?”
I shoved the whimpering Berald into the changing room, smiling to myself in anticipation of the payback to come.
Just then, Yurina approached me cautiously. “Dale, are you really okay?”
“Hm?”
“You look exhausted.”
“Do I?”
She gently touched my cheek with a worried expression. “Yeah. Your dark circles are worse than usual, and your face looks so pale.”
It felt a bit weird when she was doing it while looking like Yuren. If she were in Yurina’s form, maybe I could take it, but a blond, pretty boy caressing my cheek with soulful eyes was not a pleasant experience.
“I said I’m fine,” I replied.
“Still, judging by the entry logs, it looks like you’ve been here pretty much all day, every day. Are you even sleeping properly?”
Truthfully, I had been getting less than two hours of sleep a day lately. But I replied, “Well, I’m sleeping enough. Don’t worry.”
“Liar. The log says you didn’t leave the training hall until 3 a.m. yesterday.”
Yurina narrowed her eyes, clearly ready to push the issue further when Berald stepped out of the locker room in his training clothes and said, “Brother! I’m done changing!”
I quickly made my way over to him. “Good. Let’s get started right away.”
He clenched his fists and confidently declared, “Hmph! I won’t go down as easily as last time!”
I smirked and stepped into position in front of him.
“Haah. You two are hopeless.” Yurina sighed and walked to the wall. “I’ll start the countdown.”
She activated the magic device on the wall, and a glowing number appeared in the air.
[Spar begins in 5 seconds.]
Berald took a deep breath. “Phew!”
His muscles swelled with tension, and his soul stigmata began to glow.
[4 seconds.]
He clenched both fists.
[3 seconds.]
He dropped his hips low, shifting into a ready stance.
[2 seconds.]
His gaze locked firmly onto mine.
[1 second.]
When the timer hit zero, he kicked off the ground and launched forward. His battle cry echoed through the spacious training ground. A punch, infused with a deep, earthy brown aura like the vast ground itself, tore through the air and rushed toward me.
I deflected his fierce punch with my palm and swept low toward his knees. Using Berald Combat Style: Falling Leaf, I executed a sweeping kick aimed at his exposed lower body.
It looked as if Berald had remembered how I swept his legs last time and slammed him into the ground and was anticipating the move. He said, “I won’t fall for the same move again!”
He stomped hard, then leaped high into the air. As he floated, his fingers interlaced and he brought his fists down like a hammer. A blow packed with enough force to crumple metal like paper came crashing toward the top of my head.
“Oho.” With a glint in my eye, I tilted myself slightly to dodge the punch and slipped inside his guard, driving my knee upward. My sharply raised knee dug into his solar plexus.
“Urgh!”
Just before my knee could hit the mark, Berald retracted his descending fist and shielded his torso with a thick forearm.
I let out a short whistle at the smooth, fluid exchange of offense and defense. “Your movements have improved a lot.”
I had already thought he had grown during our last ruin exploration, but the progress he showed now was on a whole different level. It made me wonder if this was how Professor Baldwin felt when she saw my growth. This growth was more than surprising; it bordered on awe-inspiring.
Berald replied, “Heh heh. Did you think I got beaten up by you for nothing all this time? I can practically read your every move now!”
I smirked and said, “Yeah?”
Berald grinned broadly. “This time, I’ll try one of the techniques you taught me!”
He tightened his fist and pulled his arm back like drawing a bow. With a fierce battle cry, he stomped again. Earthy brown aura gathered around his fist, releasing immense energy.
He shouted, “Mountain Breaker!”
Then, with a heavy step, he hurled his punch forward. The air around him ripped apart with a deafening roar.
He can read my moves, huh? Well then, let’s see how this goes, I thought.
There was a time I wouldn’t have dared meet such an attack head-on. However, that was not the case now. Ashen flames erupted around my fist. With divine power coursing through me, I hurled myself straight at Berald’s punch.
Berald’s eyes widened in shock. “Wha...?”
I twisted my lips into a grin and swung my fist to meet his incoming blow.
Mountain Breaker, right back at you.
My fist collided with his fist in a tremendous explosion. My burning ashen flames devoured Berald’s earthy aura and violently repelled him.
Berald’s massive frame, over two meters tall, was flung like a toy and slammed into the training hall wall. “Guh!”
Then, an alarm rang. Red lights blinked throughout the training arena, accompanied by an alert.
[Warning.]
[Shock absorption barrier malfunction detected. Please halt the sparring match.]
I looked at Berald and said, “Still think you can read my moves?”
“Ugh, I-I was wrong, Brother...”
Berald slumped to the floor with a groan, head drooping. It looked like the impact had hit him hard as drool trickled out from the corner of his open mouth. For a moment, I felt a twinge of guilt, wondering if I had hit him too hard. But that quickly disappeared when I remembered all the times Berald had tormented me in the past.
Yurina, who had been observing from the sidelines, looked at me with wide eyes. “That move just now...”
I turned to her and shrugged. “Well? Doesn’t it suit me better now?”
“W-wait, don’t tell me... Did you change your fighting style because of what I said before?”
“It’s not so much that I changed styles, it’s more like I had an enlightenment. And it’s thanks to you, Yurin— no, Yuren. I appreciate it.”
Yurina’s face turned red as she grinned like a fool. “An enlightenment? You had a breakthrough... because of me? Hehe! Ehehe! Then, that unusual-colored aura, was that also thanks to your enlightenment?”
“Yep, that’s right.”
“R–really?” Unable to contain his joy, she clenched her fists and bounced excitedly in place.
I chuckled softly. “You gave me a great insight, shouldn’t I repay the favor somehow?”
“Hmm? A favor?”
“Yeah. I mean, it doesn’t feel right to just take your advice without giving something in return.”
If not for her advice, I probably wouldn’t have been able to unlock the Ashen Flame.
Yurina shook her head, trying to decline. “There’s really nothing I want. Wait, actually.”
She froze mid-motion and said, “Then, c-could you... praise me?”
“Praise you?”
Her eyes sparkled as she nodded eagerly. “Y-yeah! While patting my head!”
I stared at her in disbelief, but her expression was dead serious. With a sigh, I reached out and placed my hand on her head. “Well, if that’s really what you want.”
I gently patted her hair, which, given her current appearance, felt a bit awkward. “You did great, Yuren.”
“Yurina.”
“Hmm?”
“Call me Yurina.”
“But...” I glanced over to check on Berald. He was out cold, drooling, clearly unconscious. With another sigh, I gave a small nod. “You did great, Yurina.”
Yurina smiled bashfully and nodded in satisfaction. “Mmhmm!”
I let out a breath of disbelief and removed my hand from her head. A small, disappointed sound escaped her lips. It made me feel a bit guilty that I had stopped too soon. So, I reached out again to rest my hand back on her head, but then, something strange happened. Before I realized it, my vision flipped upside down.
“Huh?”
The solid floor of the training ground suddenly reared up and smacked me across the face. No, it wasn’t the floor rising.
Did I... collapse? I wondered.
In the swirl of confusion, I could hear Yurina shouting, “Dale! W-what’s wrong? Are you okay? Dale!”
“I’m... fin—”
I couldn’t finish the sentence. It felt like I was sinking into a deep, dark abyss. Then, my consciousness vanished into the dark.

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