Chapter 52

"Hmm... phew..."

I spawned at the inn where I logged out yesterday, stretched my body, and then checked today's schedule.

I had a sparring session with Kohaku starting at noon, and although I logged in early, my plans were slightly thrown off because I was kidnapped by Shuten.

When I opened the menu to check the time, I felt something was off.

"Huh? What? The time hasn't progressed...?"

The difference between the time I logged in and the current time was almost nothing.

I'm pretty sure I was in for at least five minutes... Did I misread the login time?

"Whatever. Uh, the water arena in the center of Torilia, right?"

With the ticket Kohaku gave me in hand, I left the inn.

The location she specified is a small entertainment venue in Torilia, commonly known as the water arena.

A tournament is held here once a week, and players can participate by paying a fee. On regular days, it seems to host public gambling against monsters.

Adjacent to the water arena is a mini arena that serves as a training space.

This training space is used for quests like training with NPCs. It's said that adventurers and other NPCs train here, making it a good place for practice.

Naturally, the reason I was called here is for that.

☆

"Let's do our best today."

"Wako"

"Wakoko"

"Wakokoko"

"Is this some kind of conjugation?"

I chuckled at the comments that immediately flooded my live stream, which had turned into a sort of free-for-all broadcast due to my interactions with Kohaku yesterday.

While that was fine, considering I was going to meet Kohaku again, it might be good to interact a bit with the audience.

"There's still some time..."

"Whatcha gonna do today?"

"Looks like Venice."

"Whoa, the water in the canals is deep... isn't it?"

"The water is so clear."

"Indeed, it's quite deep. Oh, I can see a water dragon."

Enjoying the streets of Torilia, the city of water, I walked towards the arena.

As the name suggests, Torilia is located right in the middle of a lake. I wonder how they managed to build a city like this?

Canals run through the city, and it seems more comfortable to ride in small boats, which feel like taxis, rather than walking around.

My destination is easy to find, but I might take a boat on the way back.

"Hey, miss! You look new!"

While looking around, I was called by an old man at a street stall.

"I just arrived yesterday."

"Hmm, then you haven't tried Torilia's famous water dragon buns, have you? How about one?"

"You're quite the businessman... I'll take two, please."

"Sure thing!"

I paid 500 Iris and received two large buns... no, these are huge!?

They're about 30 cm in diameter and 6 cm high. Two of them in a bag take up quite a bit of space.

"Huge"

"Really big"

"Big"

"Isn't the size a bit off?"

The audience seemed to share my thoughts, and I couldn't help but look at the sample at the stall. Yeah, they look like regular buns.

I bought them thinking Kohaku might want one, but I wonder if she'll eat it.

I took it with a slightly dubious expression and was laughed at by the stall owner as I continued on my way.

They say bigger is better, but a 30 cm bun is just too much.

"Oh, it's delicious."

"What does it taste like?"

"Seems watery"

"Seems soft and mushy"

"No, it's just a regular bun."

"Tch"

"Tch"

"Keh"

The audience's reaction was a bit harsh.

It's just a really big bun, but it was delicious because of that.

After that, I enjoyed some skewered fish, which was then stolen by a young water dragon that jumped out of the canal. Despite the mishap, I had a good time sightseeing.

☆

"Hey, you're early."

"No, Kohaku, you're too early."

"I was so excited, I've been waiting for about two hours."

The training space adjacent to the water arena is a vast training ground that could almost be called another arena. Kohaku said this with a laugh.

It's still about an hour before noon. Two hours ago would be around 9 in the morning?

Around us, NPCs and players were practicing their arts and skills, making the place quite lively.

Some NPCs seemed to be curious about the famous Kohaku and were gathering around her even though she was just standing there.

"Here, a water dragon bun. I'll give you one."

"Oh, nostalgic. I used to eat them a lot when I was young because they're cost-effective. ...Yeah, they're delicious."

"I was surprised by how big they were."

I had already finished mine before coming here, but Kohaku happily took it and finished it in no time.

She must be a big eater?

"Thanks, it was delicious."

"You're welcome. So, what are we doing today?"

"Before that, do you remember the dances I taught you yesterday?"

"The Rasha Dance and the Manyo Dance, right?"

"Good, you remembered well."

The rare skill "Oni Dance" includes "Rasha Dance" and "Manyo Dance." Both are very useful and can be used by Oni people with almost no drawbacks.

Rasha Dance is a simple art that buffs physical skills by setting the intelligence stat to zero.

You can learn it when your strength stat reaches 100, but if it's less than 100, you can't learn Oni Dance at all.

The buff is quite high, about 20%, and there are no real drawbacks. The only downsides are the short 1-minute effect duration and the 10-minute cooldown.

Manyo Dance, as the name suggests, is an art that sacrifices defense.

It sets both magic defense and toughness to zero and removes the defense bonus from armor, in exchange for high buffs to strength and agility.

The buffs are 2x for strength and 1.5x for agility, which are impressive numbers. However, with toughness at zero, using skills that cause recoil damage is severely limited.

For example, the skill "Tenfold Cherry Blossom" in "Unarmed Combat" reduces recoil damage based on toughness, so without toughness, you'd dissolve instantly.

Of course, losing all toughness means all attacks from enemies are fatal. It's truly a double-edged sword.

The effect lasts for 5 minutes, and its most powerful feature is that it stacks with the effects of Rasha Dance and "Garei."

In other words, I can achieve a state where my strength stat is more than tripled instantly. My agility also exceeds 2x.

Incidentally, these effects stack multiplicatively due to the "Garei" effect.

This skill, which might seem like a weaker version of Manyo Dance with heavy drawbacks, actually has a very powerful effect by multiplying all buffs.

For example, if you have a 2x and a 3x buff, instead of adding them to get 4x, you multiply them to get 6x, which is a clear advantage.

The required strength stat to learn it is 150, and the cooldown is 1 hour. Compared to Rasha Dance, it can't be used as frequently, but compared to Garei, it's a lighter art.

"Yesterday, I only explained the Oni Dance, so you didn't get to test it out. Today, I thought we'd give it a try."

Kohaku signaled to one of the NPCs at the edge of the training space.

Soon, the other players and NPCs who were scattered around the training space left, leaving only Kohaku and me in the circular mini arena.

"I made a small arrangement. I paid to use this place for a short time."

"Are we going to fight some monsters?"

When I heard that Kohaku had cleared the area, I thought we might be practicing against monsters, which are also fought in the adjacent arena.

Kohaku smiled and shook her head firmly.

"No, what you'll be fighting isn't a monster."

"Huh?"

"You're strong. Your talent is outstanding. In terms of combat talent, you even overshadow me, who was called the strongest Oni. That's why I need to teach you."

Kohaku lightly jumped to the center of the training space and took a relaxed stance.

I'm not that stupid; I understood what she was showing and saying.

A mock battle. That's why she rented this training space for a limited time.

Understanding this, I lightly clapped my heavy metal gauntlets together to focus.

In the center of the circular field, Kohaku and I took our stances.

Kohaku closed her eyes, then opened them.

At that moment, a pressure swept through the entire training space.

"Come at me with all your might. I'll subdue you completely."

Facing the smiling Oni princess,

I felt an overwhelming presence, as if I were standing before a giant beast.