[Current Location: Kyoto Ryokan - Private Training Grounds, 6:00 AM]
[Current SP: 40 | Level: 5 | HP: 250/250 | MP: 200/200]
[Days Until Rating Game: 6]
[Active Quest: "Train with Koneko - Unlock Hand-to-Hand Lv.2"]
[Status: About to get punched by a catgirl for 8 hours straight.]
"Again," Koneko said flatly.
I was face-down in the dirt. "We've been at this for 3 hours..."
"It's been 20 minutes," she replied, cracking her knuckles. "Get up, Pawn."
[Ding! Training Rules: You are NOT allowed to use Queen Promotion. You are NOT allowed to use Flash Step. You must fight with your base stats only.]
[System: This is called 'gitting gud'. Endure.]
I pushed myself up. Base Stats: HP 250, STR 9, AGI 10, DEF 12. Against Koneko's STR 90. ****[Weak to Strong]
"Taijutsu Basics activate," I muttered. "Let's dance, Kitty."
Koneko vanished. I threw a punch where I thought she'd be. Air.
Her fist buried itself in my stomach. HP: 250 → 178
"Too slow," she said. "You rely on Flash Step. Without it, you're trash."
[Koneko Toujou: Respect +1 for not crying. Affection: 25]
I wiped blood from my lip. "Okay. No mobility. Then I just need to tank and counter."
[Promote: Rook] I said in my head.
[Error: Training Rules. Promotion blocked. System is evil.]
"System, you traitor!"
[System: Pain is the best teacher. Also, you have 40 SP. You're broke. Suffer.]
Koneko appeared to my left. I managed to raise an arm. Iron Body Lv.1 + DEF 12 took the hit. HP: 178 → 141. Better.
"Good," she said. "You're learning. Senjutsu lets me read your ki. Your movements are obvious."
[Ding! New Side Objective: "Learn to Hide Your Ki"]
[Description: If Koneko can't read you, she can't predict you.]
[Reward: Progress toward "Hand-to-Hand Lv.2"]
Hide my ki? How? I'm literally made of demonic energy now.
[Pervert's Intuition: When you were peeping... I mean training in the bath... you had to suppress your presence. Same idea.]
"Right," I muttered. "Poker Face Lv.1, activate. Suppress ki. Be a rock. Be invisible."
I exhaled and tried to make my presence 'smaller'. Like I did when hiding from Rias after the Akeno incident.
Koneko tilted her head. "...Huh." She threw a punch. It was aimed at where I was 0.5 seconds ago. I barely sidestepped.
"Better," she said. "Again."
For the next 4 hours, she beat the concept of 'dodging' into my skull. I went from getting hit 10/10 times to 7/10 times. Progress.
[HP: 34/250] I was lying on the ground, seeing stars. "I think... I leveled up... in pain tolerance..."
Koneko walked over and dropped a water bottle and a strawberry daifuku on my chest. "You lasted 4 hours. New record for humans."
She sat next to me, pulling her knees up. "...Why did you grab my sister's tail during tag?"
Oh. So that's what this is about.
"Strategic target," I said honestly. "Also, you told me your weakness was sweets and ticklish. I figured tails are similar."
She was quiet. Then, "...Nee-sama was angry. But she was also impressed. No one touched her tail in 200 years."
[Koneko Toujou: Affection +5. Current: 30. Status: Talking to you willingly. Major progress.]
"Does that mean I'm on the 'don't kill immediately' list?" I asked.
"...You're on the 'annoying but useful' list," she said, then stood up. "Get up. Last round. If you land one clean hit on me, I'll acknowledge you."
I chugged the water. HP: 34 → 89 from natural regen + daifuku buff. Thanks, strawberry.
[Ding! New Skill Unlocked: "Ki Suppression Lv.1" - You can hide your presence from low-level detection.]
"One hit," I repeated. "No Flash Step. No Queen. Just me and you."
Koneko nodded. "Come."
She charged. I suppressed my ki, made myself 'small', and waited until the last second. Instead of dodging, I stepped into her punch, letting it graze my shoulder HP: 89 → 61, and used her momentum.
[Taijutsu Basics + Ki Suppression + Iron Body = Shoulder Throw]
I grabbed her arm, pivoted, and tossed her over my shoulder. She hit the ground with a thump, eyes wide.
For 1 second, I stood over Koneko Toujou after landing a clean throw.
Then she swept my legs and put me in a headlock. "...Good. But still weak."
[Ding! Sub-Quest "Train with Koneko" Complete!]
[Rewards: +100 SP, Skill Unlocked: "Hand-to-Hand Lv.2" - Your melee attacks now have +25% crit chance and can stagger enemies]
[Koneko Toujou: Affection +10. Current: 40. Respect: MAX]
[Total SP: 140][Harem][Romance]
She let me go and stood up, offering a hand. I took it. "You're not trash anymore," she said. "You're... a decent Pawn."
Coming from Koneko, that was a love confession.
Asia ran onto the field with healing magic. "K-Kazuki-san! Koneko-chan! You're both okay!"
[HP: 61 → 250]
[Ding! Balance Breaker Fragment 1/3 Obtained]
One down. Four training partners left. Six days until Riser.
[End of Chapter 12]
------------
Chapter 13: Training Day 3 - King's Right Hand
Vote Power Stones :
Time Left: 3h
50 Power Stones = 3 Chapter early.
100 Power Stones = 6 Chapter .
200 Power Stones = 10 Chapter .