Episode 78: The Hellish Special Training Begins
“Alright, that’s the plan, Yuma. Starting today, we’re going to train you thoroughly for a week, so be prepared!”
“Ah, yes… That’s fine, but where do we start?”
“First, we’re leaving the Dungeon and going back to the hotel.”
“We’re leaving? The Dungeon?”
The president strode towards the exit. When Yuma looked at Aisha, she gave a small smile.
It seemed she was leaving everything to the president.
Yuma followed after the president and exited the Dungeon.
◇◇◇
Back at the hotel, Yuma found the president writing something on paper.
“Alright! Done!”
“What’s that?”
“The training menu for the coming days. We’re in a position where we’re taking a request from Aisha and getting paid, so we have to do everything we can.”
Yuma took the paper from the president and checked the contents.
① 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats as one set, three sets a day.
② 5km runs in the morning and evening.
③ Two hours of Martial Arts training per day.
④ Enter the 20th to 30th floors of the Dungeon every day to defeat Monsters and collect Demon Ore.
“Ehhh… are we doing all of this?”
When Yuma asked anxiously, the president replied as if it were obvious.
“Well, we’ll add to the training as we see how it goes, so this is about it for the start. It’ll probably get harder in the end, though.”
Yuma turned pale upon hearing that.
Would he even be alive by the time this job was over?
Training began immediately. After finishing a round of strength training and catching his breath, the president brought out several types of Martial Arts mitts from somewhere.
“Alright, let’s go to the Dungeon, Yuma!”
He said, cheerfully leaving the hotel. Was it just his imagination, or did he seem lively?
Arriving at the first floor of the Dungeon, the president’s Martial Arts training began immediately.
“First, the one-two punch from boxing. Hit this mitt!”
The president put on punching mitts on both hands and took a stance. Yuma reluctantly tried to punch like a boxer, but—
“What’s with that weak-kneed stance! Straighten your posture and put some power into it!!”
While being yelled at by the president, he spent not two hours, but over four hours practicing Martial Arts that day. As he was about to return to the hotel, exhausted,
“Yuma, how about we run five kilometers before going back? I’ll run too, so let’s go together!”
It was truly hell.
From the next day, he pushed his body and devoted himself to training. After strength training and running, it was one-on-one Martial Arts training with the president.
He raised his right foot and stepped forward in a straight line. At the same time, he thrust out his right fist.
“That’s right, that’s the “One Fist Strike” from Chinese Martial Arts. That’s the big difference from the “Two Fist Strike” of Karate and Boxing.”
“Is this like the “Seiken Zuki (Straight Punch)” in Chinese Martial Arts?”
“That’s right. Because the movement is small, you can hit the opponent with your fist faster!”
After that, he practiced by hitting low kicks and middle kicks at the mitt held by the president. In the afternoon, he entered the Dungeon and hunted Monsters like crazy.
Since he didn’t have a Pickel, efficiency had decreased, but instead, he decided to increase the variations of weapons he could create with his Liquid Metallization.
“Yuma, here it comes!!”
On the twenty-second floor of the Dungeon, he was fighting a fast, four-legged Monster. Its back was covered with a shell harder than an Armadillo.
Metallized, Yuma caught the approaching Monster in his sights and raised his left hand.
His left hand undulated and changed shape, and Liquid Metal wrapped around it. It became a large axe, waiting for the Monster overhead.
As the Monster jumped in, Yuma swung down the axe.
One hit kill—He slashed the shell-covered Monster, killing it instantly. Red blood splattered around.
“Alright, it works well enough!”
“Yuma, keep it up. Let’s defeat the other Monsters too.”
“Yes!”
After that, he defeated dozens of Monsters with the president, and when it was time to return, they ran to the exit.
They ended up running over 10 kilometers, and by the time they arrived at the hotel, he was exhausted.
The next day would consist of strength training, Martial Arts instruction from the president, and an analysis of his Metallization Ability after being summoned by Aisha.
“How much can you change your form with your Liquid Metallization Ability? Could you change it a little for me?”
“Understood.”
Yuma took the clothes into his body and made the surface of his body smooth and tight.
“Oh! You can even do such fine things.”
“Well, if I can imagine it, I can change my appearance a little.”
“I see, then can you make your body like an “Armor” that is advantageous for fighting?”
“Armor…?”
Told by Aisha, Yuma imagined Western knights and Japanese samurai. Armor on his limbs, bulky armor on his chest. A helmet with horns on his head.
“Oh! That’s good, you look very strong!”
Aisha clapped her hands in joy, and the president also gave his approval, saying, “Indeed, it’s suitable for combat!”
Feeling good, Yuma further changed the shape of the armor. He attached Spikes to the fist area to increase the destructive power when punching, and sharpened the horns on his head to a sharper angle. If he headbutted with this, the opponent would be covered in blood.
He formed armor with Spikes on his shoulders, and his face was covered with a mask, so his true face was no longer visible. It was truly the “Metal Armor Form”—
When he checked his appearance in the mirror in the room, he was a stern warrior wearing black armor all over his body. He looked like he was from a hero show.
More like a monster than a hero.
And on the back of both hands, he concealed Longswords that could be taken out at any time. Only this part was a cool weapon that a hero from an anime would use.
Thinking about such things, Yuma entered the Black Dungeon again today.