Chapter 21

Just as I was in a state where my muscles were thoroughly destroyed and my protection had vanished, I decided to have Rina hit me with her sword.

"If I said I would do it, I'll really do it seriously, okay? Don't whine halfway through, got it?"

"Of course."

--- And thirty minutes later.

"Stop it, please! I'll really die if you continue!"

"Not yet. Keep going."

"My whole body is covered in blood!?"

"Relax. I've been on the brink of death countless times. Determining the line between life and death is no big deal. ...I'm still five steps away from death."

"My heart is already broken from all this beating!?"

"Don't whine."

"That was supposed to be my line!?"

For some reason, Rina reached her limit first.

"Are you really a masochist? I made a mistake just by agreeing to this pervert's training!"

After being hit for another ten minutes, Rina threw her sword away, clearly fed up.

"Hmm. Well, this is good enough."

I was completely battered.

"Haha, this really hurts."

I couldn't help but laugh. My mouth was full of blood, and the droplets flew into the air.

"…I've never seen or heard of such training…"

Rina collapsed on the ground, her face pale. Even as a swordsman, she was not used to seeing blood and injuries, thanks to the protection.

"But I'm hungry. Let's have breakfast."

"Don't eat with that appearance! Drink holy water quickly!"

"There's no need. My protection will return eventually, and I'll heal on my own."

"…This man is an idiot…"

I feel offended.

I'm just doing what's normal.

If I want to stand at the top as a swordsman while being a "jobless" person, this is the norm.

"But, can we really learn the 'Tough' skill with this?"

"Probably not."

"What!?"

"Just from this. So, we need to repeat this… let's say, at least a hundred times."

"A hundred times!?"

I said to Rina, who was wide-eyed.

"So, I need you to do this ninety-nine more times."

"You said, 'If I said I would do it, I'll really do it seriously,' right?"

"At that time, I didn't know how crazy you were! Doing that a hundred times is insane!"

After finishing breakfast, we returned to the training room.

Incidentally, my wounds had healed. Lilia had forced me to drink holy water.

But holy water is expensive.

We need to repeat this at least ninety-nine more times.

If we drink holy water each time, it will cost a fortune.

"Besides, there's no guarantee that this method will definitely teach the 'Tough' skill! Skills are the blessing of the goddess! Therefore, they are not something humans can acquire on their own!"

"That may be so, but I can use several skills, can't I?"

"Gr…"

I find it strange.

Not just Rina, but why is everyone so stuck in their fixed ideas?

Whether something is possible or not can only be determined by actually trying it.

Impossible.

Difficult.

Can't do it.

Only those who have tried and tried and tried and still failed have the right to say it's impossible. Declaring something impossible before trying it is foolish.

"Let me borrow that sword for a moment."

"? Sure, but it's too heavy for you, right?"

I took Rina's sword.

It was indeed quite heavy.

Probably several times the weight of a normal sword.

But, this is no problem for me.

Swing, swing, swing!

"What…!? How can you swing it normally!? And that speed…! Only I, with the 'Super Strength' skill, can match the speed of other swordsmen!"

"Double Blade Slash."

Swish!

"Could you really do a 'Double Blade Slash' with that sword…!?"

"No, that was a failure. It's still difficult to do a 'Double Blade Slash' with this sword. But, I will be able to do it eventually."

"Why!? Why can you, a 'jobless' person…"

"Of course, I don't have the 'Super Strength' skill. But I can train my muscles."

The method, of course, is

"Weight training."

"Weight training…?"

Does this guy not know about weight training?

"It's a training method to increase muscle strength. The more you train, the stronger your muscles become."

"I know that much! But… such a thing…"

"Is meaningless in front of the 'Super Strength' skill, right?"

"…"

Rina fell silent.

It seems she finally realized her strong preconceptions.

"Since our rematch, I've been doing weight training every day without fail. For example, doing push-ups after a handstand. I do ten thousand a day."

"Ten thousand!?"

"The result is this."

I rolled up my sleeve to expose my arm.

When I tensed, the muscles bulged.

"～～～～～～!?"

Rina was speechless.

"Hmm. It's looking pretty good, but there's still room for improvement. Well, in just over a week, this is what I can do."

In the past, to learn the 'Agility' skill, I did ten thousand sprints every day, which took about three months.

Agility is essential for a "Sword Maiden."

"In short, what I'm trying to say is that effort never betrays you."