"No..."
Looking at the ground she had just damaged again, Ais lifted her foot and stomped on the ground twice. It wasn't particularly soft ground; it couldn't be damaged simply by force.
"Move your feet faster, and lighten your force."
Just as Ais was moving her right foot, trying to get a feel for it, a voice came from the side.
In Ais's line of sight, Takatsuki walked out from the edge of the forest: "Why aren't you resting? Still training so late?"
"I want to get stronger."
Ais's answer was always so straightforward.
"But resting allows you to get stronger more effectively, doesn't it? Maybe you'll master the trick after a good night's sleep."
"No..."
Ais immediately expressed denial of Takatsuki's words.
"..."
This person is truly too blunt. For anyone else, this would be completely looking for trouble, but Takatsuki saw Ais's expressionless face and knew she genuinely believed it wouldn't work.
"Ha..."
Taking a deep breath, Takatsuki said: "I have a method here that might help you master it quickly. Do you want to try it?"
"Yes!"
As soon as Takatsuki finished speaking, Ais immediately responded, leaving Takatsuki speechless: "Aren't you going to ask what method it is?"
Hearing Takatsuki's words, Ais belatedly asked: "What method?"
"..." Rubbing his temples, a little headache, Takatsuki continued: "The main reason you can't master Shave right now is because you can't find the knack, and that knack is very difficult to describe in words. So, if you experience it yourself, you might be able to master it quickly."
"Experience it yourself?"
"That's right. I have a method to inject energy into the human body, simulating nerve signals to issue action commands. But the premise is not to resist, otherwise it will interfere..."
"Come on!"
"..."
Ais was too unguarded, but Takatsuki wasn't going to be coy about it.
"In that case, come closer. The power of Hamon isn't strong, so the best way for it to work is by being closer to the brain."
Looking at the golden electric arc in Takatsuki's hand, Ais walked over and asked: "Magic?"
"No, this is called Hamon. It's energy released through a special breathing technique and blood to produce Hamon energy. Its essence is the materialization of life energy, so it can simulate nerve signals sent by the brain."
"It feels very warm..."
The golden Hamon passed through Takatsuki's hand and entered Ais's body via her neck.
Ultimately, pure Hamon itself has no lethal power for humans.
"Not ready yet?"
"..."
Listening to Ais's words, Takatsuki rolled his eyes: "So Ais, if you don't relax, the Hamon won't have any effect..."
"Ah, sorry..."
But relax...
How does one relax?
If she just spaced out, it would be fine, right?
Just as Ais cleared her mind and completely relaxed, under the effect of the Hamon, her right foot suddenly stomped out more than ten steps continuously on the ground in an instant.
And her body instantly appeared on the other side. However, because only her right foot moved, she stopped instantly, causing her entire body to suddenly lose balance and flip backward, flying out.
Ais suddenly came to her senses in mid-air. She pushed off a tree behind her with both arms, flipped forcefully, not only completely neutralizing the force of inertia but also using it to directly flip onto a branch.
After stabilizing herself, she jumped down from the tree and walked in front of Takatsuki: "Again."
"Were you okay just now? Wasn't that a bit too dangerous? Let's just stop. I was careless."
The scene just now made Takatsuki a little scared. The nerve signals sent by the Hamon were too singular; they couldn't produce a series of smooth actions. So, after the high-speed movement of Shave, stopping became completely uncontrollable. If Ais's reflexes hadn't been strong, she would have crashed directly into the big tree just now.
"Daijoubu!"
Ais held up her right hand and gave a thumbs-up: "I already have experience."
Since Ais insisted, Takatsuki couldn't say much. But just as Ais said, she already had experience. The second time she made an emergency stop, she managed to stop steadily using only her left foot.
"Again."
Returning to Takatsuki's side, Ais spoke again...
"Again."
"Again..."
"Again..."
And then, after an unknown number of repetitions, Takatsuki finally couldn't take it anymore. It wasn't that he ran out of stamina, but constantly repeating the same thing. He didn't have Ais's patience of dripping water wearing away stone, or rather, this wasn't his training!
Why should he bother using Hamon to correct someone else's posture!
"Haven't you mastered it yet, Ais? It's already very late."
Hearing Takatsuki's words, Ais nodded: "Goodnight, Takatsuki."
"Alright, then I'll go back and rest first."
It seemed that even after the Hamon correction, Ais still hadn't fully grasped the knack of Shave. However, she was LV6, so even if she didn't sleep for a day or two, it was nothing. Takatsuki's physical fitness was still just that of an ordinary person.
Watching Takatsuki's retreating back, Ais looked at her right foot again and tentatively pushed off the ground.
Bang!
With a sound, Ais quickly appeared on the other side. Although the ground was not damaged, this was not mastering Shave; it was simply relying on her own explosive power to rush out.
"Hamon..."
Looking at the results from earlier, Ais took a deep breath.
Golden electric arcs leaped around her. If Takatsuki had been there, he would definitely have known what this golden electric arc was.
However, he had already returned to his tent and begun to rest.
Takatsuki didn't know how long Ais trained, but the next morning, Takatsuki saw the Sword Princess eating breakfast at the breakfast area.
"Teacher..."
Ais took a portion of breakfast and handed it to Takatsuki, who had just arrived.
But...
"Why are you calling me Teacher?"
Taking the breakfast Ais handed him, Takatsuki asked with some surprise; she hadn't called him that last night.
"Tiona said I should call you Teacher, because you taught me a lot."
That girl...
Takatsuki didn't know if Tiona was serious or joking, but Ais had certainly taken it seriously.
Not far away, Bete snorted unhappily, watching the two converse, and walked towards a corner.
Today was the day to continue exploring downwards.
After a day of rest, the personnel exploring the deep floors gathered. The Loki Familia consisted of several LV5 and LV6 members, as well as Raul as a supporter.
As for Takatsuki's group, it was Takatsuki himself, along with Tom and Jerry as supporters.
"This is Tom, and Jerry. You don't need to worry about them; they'll find a way to protect themselves."
There wasn't much of an introduction. Since they were people brought by Takatsuki, the Loki Familia didn't ask many questions.
However, before going down, Riveria still cast defensive magic on everyone.