Outside the Sixth Unit's headquarters, Naoki—now changed into a comfortable set of training clothes—began a simple warm-up to loosen his muscles.
"People start exercising less after graduating and entering the workforce because of how busy they get with their jobs. Slowly but surely, fat accumulates in the stomach, the belly grows, and the body weakens." Naoki muttered while running a hand over his still-flat, firm abdomen. "I don't want to end up the same way again."
This was a bitter lesson from his previous life. Sitting in front of a computer screen for hours on end, eating instant food, and lazing around on weekends had taught him a valuable truth: a body that is neglected will eventually betray you.
Determined not to repeat the same mistake, Naoki committed himself to training his body.
"That's enough warm-up. Let's begin."
Without further delay, he crossed the protective barrier and ran straight out of the safe zone. His feet landed rhythmically on Mato's dry ground, leaving faint imprints on the hard surface.
The cold morning air hit his face, carrying the foreign scent unique to Mato. Naoki regulated his breathing, drawing oxygen deeply and releasing it steadily—a rhythm he hadn't experienced since his previous life.
Only ten minutes into his run, Naoki suddenly stopped. Ahead of him, a Shuuki emerged from behind a dirt mound, blocking his path.
"This is the first time I've seen a Shuuki of this form." Naoki observed the creature with curiosity.
Before him stood a massively built humanoid giant, yet its anatomy deviated in terrifying ways. Dozens of muscular arms grew wildly from its back like the legs of an enormous spider. Across its shoulders and chest were numerous white mask-like faces that clung there motionlessly, each frozen in an expression of suffering with mouths gaping wide. At the center of its chest, outer ribs jutted outward sharply like protective fangs, radiating a dense aura of pressure.
"ROAAARRRR!!!"
Its roar was deafening, echoing across the silent plains of Mato. The Shuuki charged toward Naoki at a speed surprising for its size. Every time it took a step, the ground shook violently under its mass of several tons. Dust scattered at each footfall, leaving small craters in the surface of the ground.
"Defeating it would be easy enough, but that would be wasteful. Let's use this monster as a sparring partner." Naoki smiled faintly. This was a perfect opportunity.
The inverted cross pattern appeared in his pupils, signaling that «Pandemonium» had been activated. However, he didn't activate a single slot on the Qliphoth Tree. No Peach Blossom Blessing lit up in his mind.
He wanted to fight relying solely on his physical capabilities—which, though at the absolute peak of human capacity, were still those of an ordinary human. This was a test to determine how far his body could be relied upon without depending on supernatural power.
*BAM!*
Naoki surged forward and punched the Shuuki's chest with full force. His knuckles struck a surface as hard as steel. Pain shot immediately through his hand.
As he had expected, the attack didn't harm the opponent in the slightest. The Shuuki didn't even budge. Its thick, hardened skin absorbed the entire impact of the punch. Naoki drew his fist back, flexing his fingers to ease the ache.
The gap in physical strength between them was clearly enormous. Peak human versus monster—an inherently unbalanced comparison by any logic.
*SWOOSH!*
The Shuuki, angered at being "pestered" by the small creature before it, brought all dozen of its arms into motion. Lethal blows were launched simultaneously from every direction, creating a net of attacks that was nearly impossible to evade. Shadows of fists filled Naoki's field of vision.
If an ordinary person were struck by these attacks, it would be the equivalent of being hit by a speeding truck—an impact that would send them to an isekai to save the world from the Demon King in the typical anime fashion.
But Naoki was not an ordinary person.
*WHOOSH!*
Naoki ducked low, feeling one fist whip past just centimeters above his head. The wind from the blow swept through his hair.
*WHOOSH!*
He twisted his body to the right, evading a sideward strike coming from the left. The fist slammed into the ground beside him, carving a crater a meter wide.
*WHOOSH!*
Without pause, Naoki leaped backward, performing a quick backflip to evade a barrage of attacks coming from the front. Three arms chased after him, but he was already out of reach.
He kept moving—dancing between the Shuuki's rain of blows. His body moved with remarkable agility, exploiting every gap no matter how small. Sometimes he ducked, sometimes he leaped, sometimes he tilted his body at angles that seemed nearly impossible. Occasionally, in between evasive maneuvers, he launched counterattacks—punches to the Shuuki's elbows, kicks to its knees, strikes at points that human logic suggested should be weaknesses.
All of it was meaningless.
His attacks left no wounds, caused the Shuuki no pain, didn't even make it stagger. But Naoki wasn't discouraged. Quite the opposite—he was using these moments to sharpen his reflexes. Facing an opponent so physically superior forced him to move faster, read attack patterns more accurately, and respond with greater efficiency.
This was training that could not be found anywhere else.
For several minutes, the fight played out in imbalance. A giant monster with destructive force against a human relying on nothing but agility. Naoki kept moving, kept evading, kept searching for patterns and weaknesses. Sweat began to bead on his forehead, his breathing grew slightly labored, but his eyes remained focused.
"That's enough. You're no longer useful."
Finally, Naoki had no more desire to keep playing. He had gotten what he came for—a warm-up far more intense than a simple morning run. Now it was time to end the fight.
He activated his Peach Blossom Blessing. In his mind, the A'arab Zaraq slot on the Qliphoth Tree diagram lit up brightly—«Night Storm», ready for use.
Naoki's arm rose, his fingers forming a specific pattern. Around the Shuuki, the air began to move unnaturally. Wind circled into an invisible wall, compressing and pressing in from all directions.
"So Shuuki don't need to breathe, huh..."
Using Air Manipulation, Naoki had created a vacuum zone around the Shuuki. Oxygen was drawn out of the area, creating a void that should have suffocated any living creature in seconds. But the attempt failed. The Shuuki remained standing firmly, completely unaffected. Its bead-like black eyes still glared at him with fury, and its arms were still moving to find their target.
"Then how about this!"
Naoki changed strategy. He took a wide stance, feet shoulder-width apart for maximum stability. Both arms spread out to his sides as though he were about to embrace the world. Immediately, the air around him began to vibrate. The wind spiraled faster and faster, forming a giant vortex encircling both himself and the Shuuki.
*SSHHIIING!*
A rapidly moving wind barrier formed—a circular wall of air rotating at extraordinary speed. Dust, small rocks, and fragments of earth were sucked into the vortex, spinning along the invisible current. The wall surrounded them both, preventing either of them from escaping. The Shuuki tried to charge through it, but the ferocious wind forced it back into the arena.
Naoki then moved his arm in a counterclockwise direction—slowly, with full control. His hand's movement was followed by the wind wall beginning to contract, drawing steadily closer toward the Shuuki. The monster's space for movement grew increasingly constrained. It thrashed, its many arms striking repeatedly at the pressing wall of wind, yet unable to break through.
When the wind wall was close enough, Naoki shifted his motion. Both hands were now level, palms facing forward.
*WHOOSHHHH!*
The rotating wind changed form. From a contracting vortex, it transformed into a projectile shaped like a giant drill—air spinning so fast that its density increased, creating a devastating tip capable of tearing through anything. The wind drill shot directly toward the Shuuki.
*CRAAAAASH!*
The impact was devastating. The wind drill penetrated the Shuuki's body effortlessly, tearing through its flesh and bones from within.
*BANG!*
The Shuuki exploded into fragments, disintegrating into black particles that were then scattered by the wind. Nothing remained but a shallow crater in the ground.
Naoki lowered his hands. The wind settled. Silence reclaimed the plains of Mato.
"Phew... That can pass for exercise." Naoki wiped the sweat from his forehead. His breathing was slightly labored, but his body felt warm and full of energy—the effect of a good workout. "Time to head back."
Nodding with satisfaction at his morning training session, Naoki turned and jogged back in the direction of the Sixth Unit's headquarters. Behind him, only the silence of Mato remained, and the violet sky that never changed.
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