"Ha! Ha! Aah!"
The sun was about to rise in a few minutes.
The echoes of panting and exertion reverberated across the snowy meadow as I persistently tried to land a strike on Leo.
We pressed on with our training for the whole night, pausing only when my mana reserves or physical strength depleted.
When that happened, Leo offered me some high-grade mana and stamina recovery potions to help me replenish my energy before resuming the training.
I'm gradually starting to get the hang of shrouding my entire body in mana and harnessing its energy to augment the power of my strikes.
No matter how fast my speed is, I can now maintain a near-constant stream of mana and utilise it to cloak my entire figure.
Of course, there are occasional moments when my concentration breaks, causing a temporary disruption in my Martial Aura.
Nevertheless, for the most part, I find myself capable of sustaining it effectively.
As Leo skillfully evaded my Martial Aura-infused punches, he couldn't look more surprised at the alarming rate I was growing.
"Haa!"
Letting out a fierce cry, I stomped my foot upon the ground to acquire a proper footing on the slippery snow and threw a high roundhouse kick.
Fwoo—!!
Yet, with apparent ease, Leo swiftly crouched, allowing my leg to pass over his head unscathed.
Using this chance to swiftly close the distance, he deftly grappled the leg I stood upon before quickly pulling it back.
Thwak—!!
Because of that, I lost my footing and fell back first on the snow-covered cushiony ground.
"Argh!" I could only grunt as, in the next moment, I found a clenched fist inches away from my face.
"Thirtieth defeat," Leo remarked, his tone carrying a hint of amusement, as he opened his fist and extended a hand toward me, offering assistance to stand.
With a sigh of disappointment, I accepted his hand, clearly displeased with my performance.
Noticing the expression etched upon my face, Leo gently pulled me up and gave my shoulder a reassuring pat.
"Don't be too hard on yourself," he said. "It's truly remarkable that you've come so close to mastering the fundamentals of Martial Aura within just a few hours of practice. It usually takes individuals weeks, even months, to achieve what you've done in such a short span of time."
"How long did it take you when you were learning it?" I inquired.
"Oh, I never did," Leo answered. "I was naturally able to wield it without any need for practice."
"....."
The words caught in my throat, leaving me utterly speechless.
Just how fucking overpowered is this guy?! Huh?!
"But don't compare yourself to me. What you've accomplished is remarkable on its own," Leo interjected, his tone filled with genuine admiration. "It's as if you possess the blessings of the heavens themselves. I think you really are a genius."
...Ha! Little did he know, I indeed held a blessing, one bestowed upon me by a God-like entity.
You see, when Leo summoned me earlier tonight, I knew he would commence my training.
So, I did what any sensible person would do in possession of a pen capable of tempering with reality itself.
I took two bottles of water.
Using my Edit Pen, I transmuted the water within those bottles into potions with the power to temporarily enhance my learning speed of martial arts.
Basically, upon consumption, these potions caused my martial arts learning speed to be tripled.
However, their effects are to diminish within two weeks.
Although I initially wanted the effects to remain permanent, the required Edit Points necessary to achieve such a result were completely out of my budget.
Even the creation of two bottles of learning buff potions cost me around 2,700 Edit Points, leaving me with a mere 878 more.
Such an outcome was to be anticipated, considering no such item existed in this world in the first place.
So I basically just created something completely fictional in a fantasy world.
And furthermore, I was transforming normal water into a potent buff elixir.
It was far from an equivalent exchange; thus, demanding a higher expenditure of Edit Points to balance it out was normal.
Leo took a few strides backwards and skillfully assumed a combat stance.
"The very reason you're unable to hit me is because you think of your body solely as your physical form. Start thinking of it as an instrument of combat," Leo declared.
After a brief pause, he continued, "Use your hands and legs as weapons while harnessing the remaining aspects of your body to support those weapons. Attack me with everything you have– use your whole body instead of using only your limbs!"
Nodding, I raised my hands over my head and bent my knees slightly. Taking a few deep breaths, I tunneled my vision at my opponent.
Fwoosh—!!
In the next moment, I propelled myself towards Leo like a bullet.
Upon entering the striking range, I launched an onslaught of attacks against him.
Starting with a low kick, swiftly followed by a straight jab and then a forceful knee thrust to the abdomen.
Finally, I spun my body, aiming to connect a spinning elbow strike to his face.
Yet, despite my relentless assault, Leo deftly blocked each and every one of my attacks.
Not a single strike managed to find its mark.
To throw him off balance, I tried to use feint attacks and combos like high and low kicks and crouching down to show that I'll attack down before transitioning into an unexpected uppercut.
However, no matter what I did, I still was unable to hit him even once.
I was about to hop backwards and catch my breath, but Leo didn't give me that chance.
In the blink of an eye, he swiftly closed the distance and outstretched his hand, his fingers barely grazing my chest.
In a seamless motion, before I could even react, Leo clenched his fist and forcefully planted his foot on the ground.
And then, with an explosive burst of power...
Thwack—!!
He delivered a devastating one-inch punch.
"Khuuk!"
The sensation was akin to being struck by lightning as the impact surged through my chest.
My vision blacked out as the sheer force flung me back into the air.
Eventually, gravity forcefully pulled me back to the ground, as I crashed with an undignified thud.
"Do you see now?" Leo remarked as I struggled to rise to my feet, wincing in discomfort. "I used every part of my body– every fiber of my being to land that strike."
"Yeah, I have to admit, that was pretty impressive," I conceded.
Despite the pain, I couldn't deny how cool that move was! God, I wanna learn that!
Leo's lips curled into a smug smile.
"Indeed it was," he replied before moving on to his next point. "By the way, are you feeling hungry?"
"...Uh, I guess?" I responded, slightly puzzled.
What's with the sudden question?
"Good. Then let's go on a hunt," he declared.
