—He was aware that this was a dream…
Renya was having a nostalgic lucid dream.
It was a scene from his training with Cú Chulainn, much like the one before.
"Alright, for today's training, I want you to climb this."
Saying this, Cú Chulainn had brought the young Renya to a sheer cliff, one of the dangerous zones within the vast Netherworld, an area even designated as off-limits.
Here, magical power couldn't be used. To be precise, even if released, it would dissipate.
The only thing usable was, at best, physical enhancement. For Devils who tended to rely on magic, this was precisely a danger zone, which was why no one approached it.
Renya, who had grown stronger through running endlessly at the bottom of this chasm where the fissure above couldn't even be seen, responded with a look of resignation, half-closing his eyes as he had grown accustomed, yet still spoke.
"I've gotten used to Master's outlandish actions by now, but to think you'd bring me all the way to the bottom of the earth for rock climbing... May I ask the reason?"
"To be honest, I wanted you to figure it out yourself... but fine. It's because there's a difference in efficiency and motivation between understanding the meaning of training and not."
Saying this with a smile on his lips, Cú Chulainn continued.
"First, it's simply to build your body. You've gotten used to the running, but that's exactly why you need new stimulation. Training is most dangerous when you've gotten used to it. By doing this, you'll gain stamina and guts, and you can also train your body."
Indeed, Renya had grown completely accustomed to the non-stop running, and now he could keep running for a whole week.
However, one must never become too accustomed to training. It is only by applying load that the mind and body grow stronger. Training with less stimulation is largely meaningless.
That was precisely why Cú Chulainn intended to change the venue.
"Now, this is where the main course begins. Here, a Devil's characteristic magical power can't be used properly. All you can use is, at best, physical enhancement. That's precisely why it's useful for training the multiplier and efficiency of physical enhancement. After all, in your current state, you can't even climb without keeping physical enhancement active all the time. And if you keep using magic, the amount will naturally increase too."
The magical power operation for physical enhancement is a basic skill for Devils, but from Cú Chulainn's perspective, the way Devils tend to focus on releasing magic was extremely crude.
That's why, by climbing this long cliff, he meant for Renya to learn the art of using magical power efficiently.
And it would certainly lead to increasing his magical power capacity as well.
"Next is the training of perception. Cultivate the eye to discern the strong parts of this cliff from the weak spots because your hands won't become more skilled than your eyes. Once you master perception, it will definitely be useful in battle."
A windswept cliff face naturally has many weakened sections.
If you misplace your hand or foot, your stance will crumble, and if you're unlucky, you'll fall straight to the bottom. By cultivating the eye to see through such things, you'll acquire the crucial technique of finding a way out in battle.
"Finally, master body movement. In short, learn to understand the center of gravity. Just that alone will completely change the sharpness of your movements. Once you've mastered this, you'll finally be at the stage of learning combat techniques."
If you master how to shift your center of gravity, you can maintain your balance even on somewhat fragile holds, and you'll also learn how to move your body.
"Ah, and I'll also set a time limit. At first, let's say... climb it within five hours. If you can't, you start over from the bottom. Eventually, I want you to clear it in under an hour."
"...I-I have to climb this? Even for you, isn't this too unreasonable?"
Having heard the explanation, Renya could understand the merits of this training, but the unreasonable condition presented at the end made his face twitch.
Even looking up, he couldn't see the sky, and he had no idea how many stories of a high-rise building this equated to.
However, Cú Chulainn would not allow any indulgence.
"If you can't do it, that's the end of it. Especially this time, I have no intention of interfering. If you're going to give up at a training level that depends on you, then real combat is impossible. Give up now."
"...I'll do it!"
"Yeah, that's the spirit. Well then, I'll go ahead and wait for you."
Saying this to his motivated disciple, Cú Chulainn effortlessly and lightly climbed the steep cliff, as if walking on flat ground.
It was a feat of agility so light it was as if he were walking on a plain.
After this, Renya also attempted it, but of course, he couldn't complete it within five hours. He climbed many times, only to be thrown back to the bottom and made to start over.
Not only his physical stamina, but his spirit was nearly broken by the repetitive sense of futility. However, by continuing to challenge himself, his time gradually shortened, and eventually, he was able to clear it in under an hour.
Through that process, Kurosaki Renya mastered everything Cú Chulainn had spoken of, and after this training, he was finally allowed to learn how to fight.
"I had another nostalgic dream."
Early morning.
In a Western-style room with a blue-toned interior, a young man sleeping on the bed stirred. Eventually, he sat up, stretched to loosen his body, and opened his eyelids.
Short black hair and azure eyes that conveyed a sharp, strong will.
A young man with a well-trained, toned physique evident even through his sleepwear—Kurosaki Renya.
"Ah, mmn..."
When Renya removed the covers, the one sleeping beside him was a beautiful woman letting out a cute voice.
Long, beautiful blonde hair.
A body with skin as white as snow.
She wore only light blue lingerie, with the shoulder straps undone, looking strangely alluring.
Her abundant, soft breasts, threatening to spill from the bra, were pressed against his arm, stirring his desire.
"Mmm, Leo...kun, no..."
Was the faint, sweet sigh a remnant of last night's passion?
Looking closely, various marks remained on her white skin.
"Mm... Leo-kun?"
Suddenly, her eyelids opened, and the woman's deep blue eyes looked up at Renya.
"Lavinia."
"Hehehe. Good morning, Leo-kun. ...You're full of energy this morning too, I see."
The girl who smiled playfully—Lavinia Reni—sat up and clung to Renya's arm, wrapping her slender arms around it, pressing her full fruits against him.
Yes, he had shared his bed with Lavinia last night.
Just a few hours ago, he had been making her cry out countless female moans.
"Come on, you can sleep some more, you know? Or do you want to do something that feels good?"
"No, school starts today, so I can't do that. Too much self-indulgence will make the body sluggish."
"...Before coming to Japan, we did it every day, you know."
"Well, we are students for now. Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time during the break."
"Ann! Leo-kun, slurp..."
As Renya kneaded her ample, soft breasts, Lavinia, entranced, gave him a good-morning kiss, intertwining their tongues fully.
In the end, they took time with kisses and caresses, but both Renya and Lavinia moved out of bed without a hint of morning sluggishness, left the room, and headed to the bathroom.
"Leo-kun loves sucking my boobs."
Upon reaching the bathroom, they removed each other's clothes and entered the shower.
Along the way, while enjoying Lavinia's breasts, they washed away the remnants of last night's fuck-session—though during the process of washing each other, they were driven by desire and left new marks on each other's bodies—then dried each other off, changed, and attended to their grooming, including brushing their teeth.
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