As they walked hand in hand along an avenue near the river, Lala suddenly laughed.
"Today, Teacher Honekawa was really funny~!"
Rito blushed a little with embarrassment: "I feel a bit guilty about that. He misunderstood me and ended up thinking I was talking about his class."
"But it was fun~" Lala smiled.
"Well..." He touched his face, unable to deny that fact.
"Rito...! Shall we sit for a bit?" She pointed to a bench facing a public square.
"Sure." He agreed.
When he sat down, instead of sitting beside him, Lala chose to sit sideways on his lap, letting all her body's weight rest against him as she leaned back.
"Lala, you really like physical contact." He said.
"Are? Is it just me? Well... The truth is... I just love being all clingy with you, Rito." She turned to look at him: "Don't you like it?"
That coy and needy look was swallowing him whole.
For a moment, he had the illusion of seeing her hair come to life and start wrapping around his body, binding him to her.
"Rito..."
Her sweet, coy voice brought him back.
Shaking his head, he said: "No, I really like it! Especially because it's you, Lala."
"Rito!" She hugged him tightly: "That makes me so happy~!"
After that, they stayed embraced in silence, watching the scenery.
"Lala." Rito said suddenly.
"Yes?"
"It's nothing, I just wanted to call your name."
"Rito."
"Yes?"
"Hehe~ It was nothing, I just wanted to say your name."
"Lala."
"Rito!"
"Lala!"
"Rito!!!" She hugged him even tighter and let out a happy giggle.
Some passersby who saw this scene had some common thoughts that they inevitably ended up murmuring. Something like: "Stupid couple." or "Hope they explode!"
==
==
"I'm surprised!" Zastin said: "Kid, I thought you wouldn't train today."
"Even if a bit later, I won't skip training." Rito replied.
"Haha! That's the spirit!" Zastin laughed loudly, slapping Rito's back, but then got serious: "Kid. Your strength is increasing at an astonishing speed. Luckily, you're still young and developing. Keep it up, and it won't be a dream for you to one day become one of the most powerful people in the universe!"
"I don't have such a grand dream." Rito said: "I just want to be strong enough to hold up the skies for the people I love."
"But, kid." Zastin said: "If that's true, only by becoming one of the most powerful beings in the universe will you be able to uphold that conviction, don't you think?"
Rito closed his eyes and fell silent.
Seconds later, he opened his eyes and sighed: "Yeah, you're right. I think I'd be tormented if something happened and I was left with too many 'what ifs...'"
"Yes, Rito, kid." Zastin spoke deeply: "Nothing is more painful than knowing you could've tried harder and lost what matters. But never lose yourself in your path seeking only power. Only if you can balance it well, like you did today, will you thrive."
"Yes!" Rito nodded firmly.
"Alright, let's get started." Wearing gloves, without his armor, Zastin assumed a fighting stance.
By the way, a small detail: without his armor, he's 1.78 m tall, and with the armor, he's 2.05 m. It was peculiar, but it wasn't the strangest thing Rito had ever seen.
Even without the armor, when Zastin assumed a fighting stance, Rito felt an immense pressure.
Swallowing his fear, he also assumed a fighting stance, raising his guard.
"I'm going to kick." Zastin announced.
*Whoosh!*
His kick came like a whip.
If Zastin hadn't warned him, he wouldn't even have had time to react and dodge by ducking, the kick passing just above his head.
"Now a punch with the left hand."
This time, it felt like his hand was a meteor crashing toward him.
The flag of "Death" was raised, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
Retreating quickly, he couldn't even manage to dodge.
"Not like that, kid." Zastin said: "Either block or dodge. Retreating isn't a good solution, look."
In the next instant, it was as if Zastin had teleported in front of him, and a right hook was almost hitting his chin.
Before it connected, Zastin stopped, but just the pressure of the wind made Rito fall backward, his butt hitting the ground.
"Urgh..."
After he got up, Zastin said: "Let's start over."
"Yes!" He continued to use the energy from the orbs to recover faster and strengthen himself.
==
==
In the hunting dimension.
It was still the same grassy plain. Although rabbits were no match for Rito now, and he could kill the huge white rabbits in a second, other monsters were something he couldn't mess with.
He could only keep being a cold and calculating rabbit hunter!
"..."
Okay, now even he felt embarrassed thinking about that...
And if he started getting cocky just because of that, he could face another terrible death.
After walking a bit, he spotted a scene that left him stunned and made him ponder the question...
If two rabbits engage in the act of coitus... Is the male's final reaction the same as a normal rabbit's?
Of the two rabbits, one was completely black, and the other was completely white. The black rabbit was worth three light orbs. Its arm was roughly the same size as the first rabbit he saw.
Honestly, he could kill both rabbits effortlessly. But was that right? Should he wait for them to finish?
At the very least, he should let them have their last happy moment, right?
The male rabbit seemed like a machine gun, but the bullets ran out quickly, and he collapsed after running out of ammo.
Rito's feet pressed into the grass, and when he exerted force, he shot forward like an arrow.
The rabbit couple noticed him, but before they could even stand, he was already in front of them, and with two punches, he killed them with a one-hit kill.
Before his eyes, the rabbits disintegrated into ashes, leaving behind five red light orbs, each the size of a cherry.
He collected the five light orbs. Then, he noticed a huge cave not far away in the grass.
'Wait... Is that...'
If it was what he thought it was, he'd hit the jackpot.
The cave was a meter wide, but he could easily enter if he crouched.
He didn't dare venture too far into the map, but he wasn't afraid to face several rabbits.
And as his power grew, the demand for orbs also increased.
It was time for him to take a bit more risk.
If it was a rabbit burrow, there should be plenty of rabbits, right?
==
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