## Chapter 228 – Training (2)
My mind is hazy. Ryu frowned, feeling the persistent pain in his stomach, and slowly opened his eyes. Clara, seeing him squint at the sunlight filtering through a small opening, spoke in a gentle voice.
“You’re awake?”
If not for the intense pain in his abdomen, the recent events would have felt like a dream. Clara was as kind as could be. She wore a benevolent smile, as if nothing had happened, and offered Ryu food she had personally prepared.
Clara’s meal consisted of a salad made with various vegetables and large chunks of meat. Simple, yet appetizing, Ryu swallowed hard, his mouth watering.
Resting under the shade of a tree, with food before him, felt incredibly peaceful, as if he were on a picnic. Of course, what awaited him next was time spent in hell.
Clara fed Ryu the food herself, saying, “You’d better eat well. Today will be a long day.”
He choked instantly. The food that had tasted so delicious now felt like chewing sand. Seeing Ryu’s hardened expression, Clara spoke in a calm but firm tone.
“You can give up anytime you want. But if your resolve crumbles with this much pain, there’s no need to see how the rest of the journey goes.”
Hearing those words, he couldn’t give up even more. He had already experienced this much pain countless times.
Ryu shoved all the food into his throat like someone who hadn’t eaten in days and said to Clara, “Please, one more time.”
Clara smiled contentedly at Ryu, who had emptied the food in an instant, then shook her head and replied, “You need to digest it first. Now, lie down here.”
She pointed to her lap and said it. Ryu, now accustomed to this situation, didn’t refuse and immediately rested his head on her lap. The blowing wind and Clara’s gentle stroking of his hair made him feel like he would fall asleep again.
Clara carefully rubbed the area she had struck earlier and asked in a worried tone, “Did it hurt a lot?”
If he said it was okay, she would probably take it at face value. If the training intensity increased, his life would really be in danger, so Ryu cautiously replied, gauging her reaction.
“Yes…”
“Sorry, it’s not easy to control my strength. It was worse when I was younger.”
“Then how did you get better now?”
Clara tilted her head.
“Get better? No. It’s still difficult, you know? You almost died.”
Ryu broke out in a cold sweat at Clara’s cheerful words. Clara continued to gently rub Ryu’s stomach and said, “But to think you can withstand my attacks, you really are special.”
Could he even say he withstood it? He had fainted the moment her fist landed in his stomach. Of course, it was better than never opening his eyes again.
The pain in his stomach gradually faded. Ryu slowly sat up and asked Clara again, “Please, one more time.”
“Okay.”
At the same time, Clara’s demeanor changed again.
While Ryu was lying down, Clara had prepared a weapon similar to the one he usually used. The sharply honed spear possessed a force that seemed capable of piercing anything in its path.
Could he really point this at Clara? He only had that question for a fleeting moment. There was no way her body could be pierced by a mere spear made of minerals.
Still, the act of pointing a spear at someone he was friendly with pricked the conscience that everyone possessed.
Of course, that slight discomfort was only temporary.
Clara disappeared from sight, and Ryu reflexively raised the spear, but he couldn’t muster any strength.
Crack!
Her shin split the center of the spear and struck Ryu’s side.
He didn’t even feel the pain at that moment.
He only had the illusion that he had already become a dragon and was flying.
It didn’t take long for his body, which had been floating in the air, to fall.
The belated intense pain and the dying scream he barely managed to utter were drowned out by the sound of breaking trees. With a single kick, she had shattered Ryu’s mana-infused spear and sent him flying into the depths of the forest.
His vision blurred again.
Was he going to die like this? He couldn’t even muster the strength to hold the shattered spear in his hand. The sound of footsteps rustling through the undergrowth was getting closer. Ryu barely turned his head to the side with his narrowly opened eyes.
Clara was approaching with a stern expression. He expected her to pick him up again, saying he was okay, but Ryu’s expectations were completely off. Clara grabbed Ryu’s arm and flung him with all her might towards the clearing where they had been earlier.
Clara said to Ryu, who was struggling to regain his composure, “I realized it from your reaction. The opponent you’re picturing in your head is no ordinary one. An Outer God? No… at least someone close to the Demon King’s strength.”
Clara took another step closer and said again, “Ryu, I’m grateful to you. It’s a great favor that I probably won’t be able to repay in my lifetime. The reason I can be here like this now is because you supported me. So if you want to become stronger, I will definitely grant that wish. If there’s an opponent you want to defeat, I can help you until you can defeat them.”
After finishing her words, Clara tossed the spear she had somehow obtained back at Ryu’s feet.
“But there’s only one way to become stronger in such a short period of time.”
No sooner had Ryu picked up the spear than Clara swung her fist wildly with an exaggerated motion.
Even though she was clearly far away, he felt a chill all over his body. At the same time, he felt it.
‘I’m going to die…!’
The mountain screamed from the wind pressure created by the punch alone. Cold sweat poured down Ryu’s entire body as he felt like her fist was right in front of him.
“Overcoming countless life-or-death situations. Only those who surpass their limits in the face of death can become stronger. Are you prepared for that?”
“I’ve been prepared from the start.”
“Okay, I hope you don’t die.”
After that, Clara’s one-sided attacks continued. The mountain shook, and the trees shattered. The ground breaking was commonplace, and the rocks hit by her fist instantly turned to dust.
She wasn’t just mindlessly strong, but also possessed speed. He couldn’t see a moment to attack.
Clara spoke to Ryu, who was only running away.
“Tell me if you want to give up. Of course, even as you do this, that guy will get stronger and stronger.”
Ryu gritted his teeth and barely replied.
“I can keep going.”
Immediately after, Clara slammed down on the spot where he had been. The ground caved in with a thunderous roar, as if lightning had struck. If he had been hit directly, he would have been turned into mincemeat.
“Then move faster. Think about how that guy will move before he even does.”
Unlike her harsh words, he could vaguely sense that she was being considerate in her own way. He couldn’t feel the same murderous aura as when she killed Rodelia. That was also why he could still think straight.
What if Clara was serious? What if the opponent in front of him was Orca?
No matter how much Ryu thought about it, he could only see a future where his limbs were twisted and he was reduced to her plaything.
He didn’t want to experience that again. He said he needed the power to protect everyone around him, but in reality, they were already in such high places that they didn’t need his help.
He wanted to become an equal existence to them.
For a future where he could stand proudly by the side of Aserna, Charlotte, and the other Demon Kings he had formed bonds with, instead of being a burden to them.
Ryu watched Clara’s movements again.
He had only just noticed it, but Clara was showing her movements far too exaggeratedly. As if telling him to watch and react.
This time, without averting his eyes, he dodged Clara’s fist, which had come right in front of his nose, by a hair’s breadth, and thrust the spear with all his might towards her chest.
The attack didn’t connect, but Clara showed a change in expression for the first time.
He couldn’t pierce her body with a simple weapon. Now that he had no means to resist, Clara’s hand reached out towards Ryu’s face.
This is the end… Just as he was thinking that, her large hand gently stroked Ryu’s head.
“Isn’t it fun?”
“Huh?”
Clara picked up the broken spear, threw it back into the mountain, and said, “I know the thrill of seeing the opponent’s attacks little by little, dodging them, and succeeding in your own attacks.”
Clara took Ryu’s hand and returned to the clearing where they had rested earlier. She sat in the shade of the tree, wiped away Ryu’s blood and sweat, and treated his wounds before casually saying, “Orca enjoys fighting. Because she enjoys fighting, she has a lot of余裕 and can handle any situation. So you can’t possibly win in a stiff state. I didn’t want to tell you to enjoy fighting, but you can never beat that kid if you only think of fighting negatively.”
“I see…”
There was one thing he couldn’t just let pass.
“But did I say I was fighting Orca?”
Clara, who had bandaged his wounds, didn’t say anything and just smiled.
“You’re fighting me, but you’re moving while imagining the opponent in your head, right? Your movements looked like you were fighting that kid.”
He thought he had grown quite a bit, but he was still in the palm of her hand.
At the same time, a question arose. Ryu didn’t doubt Clara’s goodwill, so he asked what he was curious about right away.
“Have you ever fought Orca?”
Clara nodded, as if it wasn’t a secret, and replied, “Yeah, I have. Should I tell you about it?”
There was no reason to refuse. If he was lucky, he might be able to find a way to attack Orca from her story. Seeing Ryu’s sparkling eyes, Clara began to tell her story.
