***
Training with Hu Tao was tough.
Of course, they were only sparring with fists and with weapons, not with actual Visions and abilities.
However, the biggest problem he had while facing her was...
Her shirt and short leggings were really, really tight...
You wouldn't normally be able to tell she hid away such an attractive figure as it stayed hidden underneath the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor Director's coat that usually covered her up fully from top to bottom.
During her spars, however, she always took the coat off, which revealed her toned body, and all of the rich angles.
The shape of her bubble butt, toned stomach and her small buds kept on bothering him during the fight on a daily basis.
(Why does she have to take off her robe whenever we fight...She doesn't do so when we kill monsters or Treasure Hoarders...She can beat my ass even without this kind of advantage!!)
***
A young man could be seen repeatedly swinging a large sword in his backyard.
──It was a very thick sword, made out of White Iron and one of the strongest minerals called Crystal Ore, which he got as a gift from Diluc after they saved Dvalin.
He promised him a good sword, and he truly delivered!
———————
Name: Prototype Archaic
Rarity: 4* Artifact
Weapon Type: Claymore
Description: This blade is endowed with the elegance of antiquity. It is of equal value both as a weapon and an ornament. Such a fine creation possessed of both scale and subtlety is worthy of a name like no other. May it be known as Archaic.
———————
Apparently, Diluc was sent this as a gift from an acquaintance in Liyue that he helped on multiple occasions.
This was his gift, yet he gave it away to Yomite, as he had many other weapons he didn't use.
The weapon wasn't like any of his previous, disposable claymores.
It was far heavier, sturdier and much more powerful than anything he held in his hands before. There were no scratches after he used it multiple times to spar with Hu Tao, and it didn't break even after using his full strength.
It was a great weapon.
The weapon truly looked like a magical artifact, even exploding and pulsing occasionally when he hit monsters with it, dealing damage to multiple enemies at once.
It was shaped to the point that it would at least look like a sword in shape, but it was so thick that if a grown man were to hold it, he wouldn't be able to touch his thumb and index fingers together.
Yomite had been swinging that huge claymore around continuously for about two hours.
The strength of his grip had already been long gone for quite some time.
Right now, he was barely holding onto the sword using only the strength of his fingers.
He mustered the last bits of his remaining strength and swung the sword down powerfully, and then he fell down on the ground, facing the sky.
He finally finished his daily training. 3000 practice swings with his claymore.
"I-I'm dying..."
Those words slipped out of his mouth. He didn't know how many times he'd said those words up until this point.
He looked up at the sky, hoping to find some kind of meaning in his life as he gasped for breath.
"I see, Assistant-kun, you're dying. You really had a short life...stay in good health in the other world too. I will send you off now."
"... Hu Tao... don't even...joke..about that... I'm beat..."
A spear descended from the sky like an arrow. Yomite twisted and barely dodged it.
There was a piercing sound. The ground where he was lying on just now was pierced by the spear's tip.
Seeing that, Yomite's survival instinct commanded him to stand up.
That attack would surely give him a lethal wound if he didn't dodge.
Yomite grit his teeth and gave an angry shout as he felt cold sweat on his back.
"Are you trying to kill me!?"
"What's this, you can actually still move. That's great! My dear Assistant! You aren't dead yet! It's not good to slack off~ We're training now!"
"I would've died if I didn't move back there! You're a monster!"
Hu Tao laughed off her assistant's outrage as if it were just a breeze.
She brushed her trademark brown hair that was the same color as a walnut and stuck out her tongue.
"You need to try harder! Maybe try doing handstands!"
"I'm telling you... I'm not gonna be doing handstands with one hand while swinging my claymore with the other, it's simply not possible for me!"
Hu Tao stroked her chin and murmured, "I suppose that's true... Assistant-kun isn't a genius like I am... he's just a dummy."
"You know I can hear everything, right?"
"Oh well, what's missing with talent, will be experienced the hard way."
She grasped her spear and dashed towards him.
It was a sharp weapon that could kill a human if it hit the wrong place...scratch that...with Hu Tao's strength, any spot she hit would kill him for sure.
He was completely exhausted. They already sparred thrice this morning and then he did the practice swings.
Now, she wanted to fight him again. He was starting to think she enjoyed beating him down into the ground.
Yomite felt like he wanted to cry. He was subjected to this torture for the past two months.
The last time he cried was when his father passed away in his old world...
For the sake of that memory, he will not allow himself to let loose on something as emotionally insignificant as training.
Even so, for the sake of his survival, he had to keep handling the consecutive attacks of Hu Tao, which were extremely hard to predict.
Without any strength in his grip remaining, the claymore was hard to use.
He couldn't grip the sword firmly. If he lost focus, the sword would immediately slip from his hands.
But if that happened, then Hu Tao's attack would hit his body directly.
The attack was merciless even though this was just training.
Yomite had experienced getting hit or having his bones fractured many times until now.
Thinking back, it was thanks to Sia, giving him a strong enough body to survive in this world.
Still, he was forced to frequently visit Jean's office to get healing from her.
He tried going to the Church of Favonius but Deaconess Barbara told him that her healing wasn't as effective and only worked on things like scratches or bruises, so he had to bother the ever busy Acting Grand Master...
Still, he noticed Barbara seemed really down when she was of no help, but he thanked her nonetheless, as he completely forgot Jean used a healing spell during the Dvalin fight.
