Chapter 6: Stinger
The next morning, I woke up to find Sena right in front of me. It seemed I had fallen asleep while being embraced by her, and I was snugly nestled in her arms.
“—Ugh.”
As I tried to wriggle free from her embrace in a panic, Sena let out a soft, sultry sound in her sleep. I reconsidered waking her up and decided to stay still until she opened her eyes. After a while, she finally stirred awake, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
“Ichiro?”
She called my name right away.
“Yeah, it’s me. I’m right here.”
With her eyes slightly narrowed, Sena said, “Good morning.”
I felt a bit bashful meeting her gaze, but I was grateful for her natural demeanor.
“Good morning,” I replied.
“Yeah, I’m hungry.”
Sena’s sudden declaration of hunger caught me off guard.
“Is that the first thing you say when you wake up?”
Well, I figured she was just trying to act normally so I wouldn’t feel awkward.
“Come on, hurry up and start making breakfast.”
Watching her urge me to get cooking made me realize she was genuinely hungry rather than just being considerate of me.
“Leave it to me. I’ve got eggs in my Magic Bag, so I’ll whip up some omelet rice.”
“Omelet rice… Ichiro, you really know me well. Make sure to give me a large serving.”
I felt nothing but gratitude towards her. If I could repay her even a little with a large serving, then that was good enough for me.
“Sure thing, but wash your face and brush your teeth first.”
And just like that, another day began.
“Ichiro, you passed.”
“Phew.”
I switched from the breathing technique I learned during Zhan Zhuang to my normal breathing. The ground was covered in puddles—of course, all my sweat. I lifted my lowered waist and wiped my face with the cloth Sena had given me.
“My training is going smoother than I expected.”
Although some time had passed since I started training, it seemed I was making decent progress.
First, I had to learn to sense the Qi within my body. Next, I needed to move the sensed Qi freely within me. I had successfully cleared both of these stages.
“It’s because I’m a good teacher.”
While I couldn’t deny that her teaching was effective, I had to admit that she was far more strict than her looks suggested. She would say things like, “Don’t worry, you won’t die,” and “The moment you whine is the starting line. You’ll stay like this for another three hours,” while putting me through incredibly tough training.
By the way, the above lines were what I heard after enduring a full day of Zhan Zhuang. And to add to that, her “another three hours” was never just three hours. She would repeat the same line to me three hours later.
As I reminisced about my hellish training with her, Sena squinted at me.
“What?”
“N-no! It’s nothing! Really! Nothing at all!”
There were many moments when I thought she could read my mind, but if she really could, I’d have to die (I’m sure some people have thought about what they would do if they were in a situation where they were mind-readers). So, I tried not to think about it.
“Well, whatever. Follow me,” she said, turning her back to me and heading toward a barren area a little way from the cabin.
I had no idea how she knew, but the place she led me to was filled with large rocks scattered across the rocky terrain. It seemed she had finally reached her intended destination, as she beckoned me to come closer to one particularly large rock.
“I’ll hide behind this rock.”
Her explanations often lacked detail.
“I think you’ll clearly understand what the next stage of training is with this rock.”
The hemispherical rock stood about three meters tall, and if I went behind it, it would completely conceal her. While it wasn’t something I couldn’t lift, it was definitely an enormous object by any reasonable standard.
“What do I need to do?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll explain now. Right now, there’s a group of Angel Wolves at the entrance of the forest area where we usually go for gathering. They’re very cautious, so if I show myself, they’ll run away.”
I didn’t ask how she knew that. It was Sena, after all. Her detection abilities far surpassed mine.
“Ichiro, I want you to go there now and bring back just one. Right here.”
She pointed to a specific spot.
“So I just need to bring back one?”
“That’s right. I’ll be waiting behind the rock on the opposite side. So hurry up and go.”
With her urging me on, I dashed off.
Well, it wasn’t impossible, but I figured it would be quite a challenging mission.
As Sena said, the Angel Wolves were indeed at the entrance of the forest area. The name “Angel Wolf” came from the stories of them taking humans to heaven after eliminating them, and they had bird-like wings.
However, contrary to their name, they were anything but gentle. The Angel Wolves attacked swiftly from the air.
Moreover, being wolves, they generally traveled in packs. This time, there were five of them.
“Ahhh! Damn it! This is such a hassle!”
I grumbled as I dodged their fangs, which were lunging at me from the sky, using my bare hands without relying on Mana or Skills.
When only two were left, one of them howled, “Gaaahhh!” and unleashed a beam from its mouth (?). I rolled on the ground to avoid it, then dashed toward the Angel Wolf that was closest to me.
“Guwaaaah!” it screamed as I evaded its fangs, grabbing its wing and kicking off into the air with both feet. The wing tore apart, and its body vanished far into the distance.
Finally, with only one left, I turned my back to the Angel Wolf and fled.
Checking behind me to see if it was following, I focused on the large rock ahead.
“I brought one!”
Sena, hidden behind the rock, replied, “I know.”
The opposite side of the large rock was the designated spot she had indicated. Just as the Angel Wolf was about to pass by that spot, I felt Sena’s Qi surge and release.
The Angel Wolf let out a strange cry, “Wooooo!” before convulsing and eventually collapsing, spewing blood as it died. It reminded me of the time Sena had taken down the Boar in one blow, but this time, she hadn’t even touched it.
Sena emerged from her hiding spot, and a butterfly resting on the rock took off into the sky, indifferent to the scene.
“The person who taught me this called it Stinger.”
That’s right, Sena’s Qi had passed through the rock and struck the Angel Wolf. But that alone—
“Yes, exactly. You understood well. The Qi that penetrates and reaches the target permeates its insides, vibrates, wreaks havoc, and halts its life functions.”
I felt a shiver run down my spine. Sena hadn’t used any Skills or Mana at all. What she had just done was a pinnacle of power.
I wanted to master this ability as well. Seeing my determination, Sena let out a triumphant “Mufu.”
“Don’t worry. I understand what you’re thinking. Let’s work even harder starting tomorrow.”
Oh no! At her declaration, I bolted away from the spot.
It goes without saying that I was caught almost immediately. However, a completely different issue arose at that moment. It was a pressing and urgent problem.
I had nearly used up most of the seasonings and ingredients in my Magic Bag.
“This is strange. I thought I had a full Magic Bag,” I muttered, glancing at Sena, who quickly averted her gaze.
Regardless, a shopping trip was inevitable. No matter how much Sena ate, I would eventually need to go.
It was because of this need for supplies that I found myself descending to the lower world once again.