Chapter 405

405 Those Preparing for Winter #3

“Indeed, you resemble a volcano. Even Vulcan’s foundry couldn’t be boiling over more than you are right now.”

I hastily arrived at Hippolyte’s residence.

She was presumably getting ready for bed, clad in comfortable attire, and scanned me from head to toe.

With a slight frown, she added, as if somewhat perplexed, “Suddenly visiting late at night to request a sparring match? Hassan, even though we are friends, I must admit, it took me by surprise.”

I was aware that this was quite a rude thing to do.

However, I felt it necessary to exhaust the energy brewing within me. Unless I released it through combat until my body collapsed from exhaustion, I wouldn’t be able to contain it.

And as far as I knew, there were only a few people in this city who could match my current strength, and Hippolyte’s face was the first that came to mind.

“I would prefer to preserve my energy until the Amazons’ Festival.”

Of course, Hippolyte’s response was a bit tepid. As she mentioned, she wished to maintain her condition in preparation for the upcoming Amazon Festival, which was just a month away.

Getting injured in an unnecessary fight with me would be a significant setback.

But still, she, like many formidable warriors, had a penchant for combat.

“But, exchanging a few blows should suffice. Ignoy, prepare the torches for the backyard.”

She agreed to a brief sparring session, indulging my reckless request.

Thus, Hippolyte and I headed to the backyard, where I had received guidance in Ora and other combat techniques.

Whoosh-.

A tear nymph, Ignoy, soon lit the torches, illuminating the dim training ground.

Meanwhile, Hippolyte, dressed in thin cotton clothing, stretched her arms and shoulders to warm up gently.

Smack-! She even slapped her cheeks with both hands as if to prepare fully.

“I won’t be holding back today. So, you must attack me as if I’m your sworn enemy. I’ll do the same.”

Hippolyte then bent her knees slightly, extending her palms forward, setting the stance of a seasoned martial artist.

Gaaaoo-.

Her declaration of no mercy was no bluff. The formidable presence radiating from her was no joke. Grains of sand and pebbles around her swirled outward in a perfect circle.

Clunk clunk clunk-.

One of the seven great wonders, self-moving stones, manifested before my eyes.

It took a lot of training both physically and in spiritual energy to produce such an aura visible to the n*ked eye. Quite honestly, I couldn’t fathom how much effort went into it.

Ordinary minions might have gone insane just seeing this situation and foamed at the mouth before collapsing. Even I might’ve.

Under normal circumstances, I would’ve surely lost my resolve to challenge her before even attempting it.

But today, I was different.

Against Hippolyte’s maximum effort, I had a hint of hope that I might stand a chance.

Gaaaaaak-!

I clenched my fists.

Had my fists ever felt this powerful? I felt confident that I could rip apart steel plates with my bare hands right now.

And then,

“Coming all the way here late at night to challenge me to a fight, yet now you’re hesitating? Are you scared?” Hippolyte spoke to provoke me.

Indeed, it was me who challenged her to a duel, but being lost in deep thought while she prepared the area was rude.

“Then, let’s go!”

I powerfully pushed off with my legs.

“Whoaah-.”

At the same time, an unexpected sound escaped my lips.

Because my attempt to leap toward Hippolyte unexpectedly collided with something solid I hadn’t anticipated.

Boom-!

Crashhh-.

The shattered wall of the sparring ground.

Emerging from the debris, I couldn’t hide my astonishment.

All my senses felt strange.

It was like playing an FPS game with the mouse sensitivity set to maximum—my movements weren’t aligned with my intentions, and everything spun around.

I had intended to move slightly, but with boosted agility and stamina, my body couldn’t follow the usual sense of control.

“Ah, swears, what was that just now?”

Pfft-.

Bang-.

The same happened each time. With every leap, the scenery changed rapidly, and my body impacted walls, destroying the surroundings.

“…”

Hippolyte seemed to have relaxed the intense focus she’d maintained thus far, rubbing her forehead.

“Hassan, I’m well aware that you’ve accumulated great Karma in Ideope and that your physical strength is unmatched compared to before.”

“…”

“But it appears your body is incapable of controlling the sudden surge in power. Am I right?”

Hippolyte’s assessment hit the nail right on the head. Her keen eyesight came from years spent battling on the battlefield.

Ssshh-.

Rising from the ruins of shattered walls, I shook off the debris.

To which Hippolyte added, “Watching you reminds me of Gloria. That one used to break everything because they couldn’t control their strength. But things have improved since then.”

“Isn’t there a way?”

“I’ll teach you Gloria’s method, specially devised by Kairos. It should be quite suitable for your current state.”

Hippolyte disappeared into her house, rustling around, and soon returned, carrying something in her hands. She passed one to me.

Round, hard, white with a golden hue inside.

“Is this… an egg?”

“Yes, it’s an egg. It’ll make you perfect.”

Will eating the egg improve me? I momentarily thought so but soon realized that wasn’t the case.

Whoosh-.

Hippolyte retrieved an egg from a basket, tossed it into the air, and began skillfully dribbling it with her foot, showcasing great control.

Whack!

She eventually kicked it hard towards me.

“Your turn.”

Like playing soccer, I lifted my leg to hit it but, as soon as it touched my foot, it shattered with a thud.

Despite Hippolyte throwing multiple eggs, the results were always the same.

My legs, covered in the yolk, turned yellow as a result.

Hippolyte then explained, “Right now, you could juggle this egg over a hundred times, even a thousand if you have the time. Your goal should be to never break it. You must learn to use just the right amount of force, not too much.”

Ssh-.

She handed me another egg.

It immediately ruptured as soon as I grabbed it with my hand. These eggs are so d*mn fragile. It made me angry.

Of course, they’re not fragile; I’m just too powerful now.

Can being excessively strong without control be considered a sort of obstacle?

Hippolyte continued, “When I visited Kairos’ academy, Gloria could manage to kick the egg once before breaking it. By now, they might be able to do it twice. How about you, Hassan?”

So, even the once unruly Gloria trained with eggs to control their immense strength. Picturing them wandering around holding eggs and breaking them everywhere made me chuckle a little.

But when I thought about having to do the same, the amusement quickly faded.

“Hippolyte-sama, thank you. My body feels refreshed, and I’ve gained a method. I’d hug you now if I didn’t fear breaking you like an egg.”

“Hmph, you talk nicely. But, you should learn to control your strength quickly. If you don’t, you might accidentally squish a soft Noxdotty while sleeping.”

“…”

It’s an utterly absurd scenario, but with my current condition, it seems possible. If I struck Luna’s head in my sleep, that’d be terrifying.

*

“Hassan, why did you buy so many eggs? And why did you destroy the door last night? Doris and I had to fix it all night.”

As morning broke and I returned to the hut, Luna confronted me. She sniffed the air, reminiscent of old memories, evoking nostalgia.

“I understand. This smell indicates lies. You went to Hippolyte’s, didn’t you?”

Ssssst-.

Luna’s narrow eyes opened slightly.

Still, realizing I hadn’t done anything untoward with Hippolyte, she didn’t question me further.

I explained to Luna about my excessive strength and the egg training intended to control it.

“Such a waste of eggs. They’re delicious. Hassan, don’t waste food! Wasting edible things is a big problem!”

“I know.”

Thus, my egg training began.

As with most self-regulated training, the results weren’t immediate.

“Swears, it’s so d*mn hard!”

Even in the cemetery or open fields, I tried diligently to kick the eggs with my hands and legs, but I couldn’t manage more than once.

They would burst apart, oozing contents in a round mess.

“Is this, swears, even possible?”

Gloria managed to kick the egg once.

That means it should be possible for me as well.

And it must be.

“Uwaaah, it hurts so much-!”

“Ow-! My arm! The bones feel like they’re about to snap!”

With my body grown excessively strong, even massaging the people at the shrine became too strenuous.

Without intending to, I shattered the door handles, making my physical strength unsuitable for massages. Consequently, I couldn’t improve in that regard.

So, the task of massaging people visiting the shrine fell to the priests.

Thankfully, I’d been regularly quizzing the priests on massage techniques and pressure points. However, with only about ten priests, handling the crowds daily might be difficult.

It would be wise to recruit and train more priests.

And I, too, need to get accustomed to this strength.

But not breaking eggs? That’s d*mn hard.

The eggs would burst like soap bubbles pricked by a needle upon contact with my body. To juggle them would require an act of incredible skill.

First, I tried relaxing my body as much as possible.

But naturally, when moving, force enters your body, and unknowingly, excessive output occurs.

This even interfered with daily life.

Zizz-.

My clothes would tear when I tried to wear them. Spoons would bend, and doorknobs and railings would break, making normal life nearly impossible.

“Paranoi, open the door.”

“Understood…! I, Paranoi, am the door’s opener!”

Because of this, I had to bring Paranoi around like a personal servant to handle various tasks for me. Could this be why deities bring nymphs around?

Of course, it wasn’t practical to delegate everything to Paranoi.

Was there any other way?

At this rate, the souls of over ten thousand chicks might torment me. I’m practically a born egg slayer.

As I sat in the cemetery’s open area considering solutions, Paranoi, who’d finished the day’s services, approached me with an insidious tone, like a cultist scheming.

“Hassan-sama, I have an important message to deliver while you train…!”

“An important message?”

“Plans to save your grand warriors have roughly come together…! While Hassan-sama was away, I, Paranoi, did extensive work in various areas…!”

Now I remember.

We had discussed increasing the temple’s guard force and forming an armed group of my personal grand warriors to enforce disciple discipline and protect the temple.

“I, Paranoi, deserve the most lavish praise among the other nymphs…!”

Paranoi loved receiving praise and admiration, driven by a strong desire for promotion.

Honesty, recognizing her efforts during my absence, I decided to reward her with the thing she cherished most—praise.

“Then, I’ll increase your share by one percent. Now your share is nine percent.”

“Nine percent of my share…! It’s so, extremely wonderful…! There could be no greater joy in this world…!”

As I had anticipated, Paranoi was incredibly pleased at the increased share she’d someday receive.

After all, her diligent work was motivated by her share of the underworld.

But it seemed the reward wasn’t sufficient for her, as she awkwardly murmured a few more words to me.

“Recently, I’ve been actively interacting with other nymphs to form a nymph choir…!”

“Nymph choir?”

“Nymph choirs have divine powers with excellent effects…! In those discussions, I heard astonishing stories from the other nymphs…!”

7-9 minutes

Those Preparing for Winter

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