On the spaceship, in the training room, he looked at Zastin as he said: "Can you increase the gravity by two more this time?"
"Okay. But, be careful. If it gets tough, let me know." Zastin said.
"I will." He nodded.
Even before Zastin increased the gravity, he consumed one of the red orbs.
He tried to do it without taking it out of the three-dimensional space in his brain and succeeded.
He didn't even need to consume the entire orb at once, but rather, separate it from the rest and consume it little by little.
This way, it was even more effective without waste.
As he felt the need, he consumed more of the orb's energy.
This time, instead of a hundred of each exercise, he wanted to increase it to two hundred.
...
When Rito successfully completed the sets of two hundred each, with only running left, Zastin, who had been silent, merely providing support with proteins, opened his mouth to say: "Kid, if you keep up this pace, I believe you'll soon be able to start training with me in the Deviluke Combat Art."
"Seriously? I can't wait…" Even though he was tired, he smiled a little upon hearing that.
This time, Zastin came prepared. Wearing a surgical mask, he approached him.
Just like yesterday, or perhaps even more than yesterday, Rito expelled a lot of greasy slime from his body.
"Here, drink this." Zastin offered him a bottle.
"Thanks." He accepted.
"It's nothing." Zastin stepped back.
It seemed that even with the mask, he could still smell the unbearable stench coming from Rito.
With an awkward smile, Rito simply opened the cap and drank all the liquid in the bottle.
Two minutes later… He stood up.
"Alright! Just the run left."
Just like yesterday, he intended to run until he couldn't anymore.
==
==
In the spaceship's bathroom, Rito scrubbed his skin thoroughly until there was no trace left of that disgusting slime.
After the bath, he noticed that his skin had become very beautiful.
His mouth twitched. If he went to school with that skin, people would stare at him intensely.
Those girls would definitely admire his skin, right?
And this was the effect of twelve orbs… What would happen when he used all the orbs?
However, from what little he understood, he had finished refining his skin to perfection, and his muscle refinement had reached halfway. So, perhaps continuing to use the orbs while training wouldn't cause another drastic change…
And, luckily, tomorrow was a holiday and it was Friday, so he'd have three days away from school.
Lala's soft, characteristic voice rang out as soon as he entered the room: "Rito, welcome back!"
"Mm, I'm back." He replied.
"How was it? Tired?" She asked: "Want me to give you a massage?"
"Tempting, but right now, all I want is to lie down and sleep." He said, exhausted.
"Really? Got it!" She patted the bed beside her: "Come on, let's sleep, I warmed up the bed for you~!"
Even tired, some things were tempting enough to make him want to do a little more exercise.
Seeing the beautiful girl with long bubblegum-pink hair sitting on his bed, naked, even with her hair covering the most important parts… In fact, that made it all the more captivating. But he managed to resist the temptations and trials that God placed before him and lay down beside her without trying anything funny.
Facing him, Lala hugged him while pressing her breasts against him, her lips against his neck as she said: "Rito, good night."
"Yeah, you too, Lala."
He replied, but felt he wouldn't be able to sleep anytime soon…
==
==
*POW!*
*Thud!*
"With this one, that's six…" He muttered as he knocked out another rabbit with a punch to the head.
He had basically become a Saitama, defeating giant rabbits with a single punch.
Picking up the two red orbs from the ground while feeling invincible, the sound of heavy footsteps began to approach him.
"Something's coming…"
He raised his guard.
And then, that's when he saw it…
It was a kind of flaming red lion, two meters tall.
'Damn it!'
Knowing the original storyline, he knew what this creature was and what it was capable of.
*Whoosh!*
But before he could turn and run, a giant fireball, about two meters wide, was launched toward him, faster than a bullet from a gun.
*Boom!*
With a terrified expression, the fireball hit him hard.
"Ahhhh!!!"
His body burned rapidly, as if it were doused in alcohol.
Every particle of his body burned, and he felt it on his skin.
The pain was excruciating. He had never felt such pain in his entire life.
All he wanted was to die quickly and wake up from this endless nightmare.
It was as if every millisecond he spent burning felt like hours, and finally, his mind went dark.
==
==
Rito opened his eyes.
His body was instantly drenched in sweat.
He didn't scream or make a sound; his body simply trembled like a frightened cat, and then, for the first time, he cried after dying.
Tears began to stream from his eyes without him wanting them to.
"Rito?" Lala, who was sleeping beside him, woke up.
Her groggy state vanished when she noticed his condition.
"Rito, are you okay?" She touched his face: "You're freezing!"
"I… Hic…" When he opened his mouth to say something, he let out a tearful sob.
His body trembled even more.
Seeing him like that, Lala pulled his head against her chest.
She began to stroke his sweat-drenched hair while saying softly: "It's okay, it's okay, it was just a nightmare…"
While he felt comforted, Rito also felt miserable for letting the girl he liked see him in such a pathetic state…
'I can't keep going like this, I need to be strong…!' He made a vow.
He finally realized that the 'hunting dimension' had been kind to him until now.
Up to this point, he had died, but it had never been as painful as this time.
The sensation of burning to death was something he wouldn't wish even on his worst enemy.
…
Almost an hour later, Rito managed to calm down, took a bath, and changed the bedding.
Lala also took a bath, as she had gotten soaked with his cold sweat. Throughout the entire process, Lala was incredibly kind and sweet to him.
It was only because of her that he managed to calm down so quickly.
When they lay back down, Lala hugged him tighter than usual.
Before falling asleep, she whispered: "It's okay, Rito. I'm here with you. I'll always be by your side."
Those words had an effect better than magic.
Lala's warm, soft body against his made him feel at peace, and soon he was able to fall asleep.
==
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