## Chapter 596 – Scent of Spring

The technique Liztina demonstrated was similar to Internal Force Palm.

—Strike the exterior to damage the interior.

That was Internal Force Palm, but this was beyond that. It wasn’t even a strike; it was using manifested mana from a mere touch to thrash the inside.

If I mastered this, I could definitely show extreme dominance in close combat. When using a sword was not feasible, when employing fist techniques was difficult, I could decide the match in a fleeting moment.

Furthermore, beyond directly damaging the opponent, it could be applied to shatter the weapon itself.

It was a hidden technique that would leave you utterly screwed if you didn’t know it.

—Of course, all of this could be done with sword energy.

I didn’t even need to touch them with my hand; with a blade coated in sword energy, I could shatter anything. That was easier and had a longer reach.

In other words, this was the ultimate auxiliary technique.

From the start, fist techniques themselves were auxiliary to weapon techniques.

“First, I’ll tell you the trick.”
“Yes!”
“You seem happy. But it’s a difficult technique, so don’t expect to use it right away. Take your time. Get into position.”

—Pa-pa-pat!

I immediately launched into the deadly stance of the Assassin Fist.

Liztina frowned at this, then came behind me and started adjusting my body.

“Drop that shitty stance. Just do it normally.”
“No.”
“Make a fist, extend your arm. Manifest mana like that.”

Was she telling me to manifest fist energy?

—Tss-tss-tss.

I extended my arm as instructed and manifested fist energy.

Immediately, a blue aura bloomed like a heat haze, consuming mana. Now that I could use sword energy almost at will, fist energy was no problem at all.

“…You’re quite good.”

Liztina said, touching my forearm.

“Hehe, right? I’m good, aren’t I?”
“Yes. You’re damn good. Now, open your palm.”

I unclenched my fist and opened my palm.

“Imagine creating thorns with mana on your palm, and do that.”
“Huh?”
“Like, imagine manipulating the mana as if thorns are sprouting all over your palm. The key to this technique is to infiltrate that into the interior and instantly convert it into an impact. Try it first.”
“Huh?”

No, I don’t understand at all.

“Wait, sis. Your explanation is too vague. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t quite get the feeling, do you?”
“Yes.”

It sounded like she was telling me to manipulate the mana blooming on my palm like thorns, but with my current abilities, I couldn’t do such detailed adjustments.

I didn’t even know how to do it.

“How can you grasp it in a day? Just think of it as that kind of feeling and practice. It’s natural not to know. Manipulating mana isn’t something you can do just by listening to someone’s explanation. You realize it by getting used to doing it yourself.”
“Ah.”

That was it.

“That’s right. Anyway, if I keep doing it with that feeling, it might work, right?”
“No. That’s just the first step. Once you get the feeling, you have to move on to the next step. I don’t know how long it will take, but if you can do this much at your age, I think you’ll get it soon.”

It meant that such a difficult technique required time and effort. What I was practicing now was the most basic thing.

Anyway, there was no such thing as impossible for Cheonma Kim Kat.

“Alright. I’ll master it right away.”
“Ha, cocky.”

Liztina came in front of me, and I practiced with my palm open to get the feeling. I poured mana into it, trying to make the mana blooming like a heat haze sprout like thorns.

Of course, it didn’t work well.

“…You little rascal.”

—Kkuk.

Liztina, who had been watching me, suddenly pressed my forehead with her index finger.

“What, rascal? This older sister is serious. Go lie down on the bed.”
“No, how long have I been practicing that you’re already asking for it? And I already showered!”
“Hehe, just kidding. We have to practice first.”
“Really, what is it…!”

More than half of the mana in my body was still remaining.

“Keep practicing!”

I stood in place and listened to Liztina’s explanations, manipulating the manifested mana with my palm open. But the mana blooming like a heat haze still scattered like a heat haze.

Damn, it’s so hard.

“I really don’t get it.”
“It’s natural not to know since it’s your first time today. It took me a long time too, so trying to do it in one day is reckless.”
“That’s true.”

Everything requires perseverance and effort.

Continuous training and practice, refinement based on actual combat. And inhuman repetition based on tenacity is what makes a person strong.

Well, I didn’t think I could acquire such a technique in the near future either. Since I had plenty of time, I would try to master it slowly.

Cloudy would like it if I completed something like this.

“I’ll tell you in advance, don’t try to use it in an incomplete state. It’s dangerous to force an incomplete technique in actual combat. If you want to use it in actual combat, have me check it first.”

I was also educated on safety rules.

“Karin said that too.”

This was a precaution I had heard from Karin when I first used sword energy.

As expected of a strong person, she knew such rules very well.

“Well, by this point, everyone knows that. It’s strange if the person teaching you doesn’t say that.”
“I won’t use it in actual combat, so don’t worry. I’ve been around for a while, would I do something like that?”
“…I guess not.”

And so, with Liztina’s assistance, I repeatedly trained while continuously consuming the mana in my entire body.

There was no particular result, and I couldn’t even get a feel for it.

I felt that roughly 10% of my mana remained.
Let’s stop here for today.

“Even when you don’t have mana, try to recall the feeling and keep practicing. That’s how you improve.”
“I’ll keep doing it whenever I have time.”
“Good. That kind of attitude is what achieves success. When I look at you, Kat, you seem really diligent.”
“Hehe, if I wasn’t diligent, I wouldn’t be standing here.”
“That’s true too.”

Liztina looked into my eyes for a moment, then blushed and said.

“What should I say, Kat, you… the more I see you, the more I get that feeling. My first impression was just that you were crazy.”
“I thought you were a total gangster at first.”
“Why me?”
“You suddenly kidnap people and beat them up, of course. Mariel scolded me a lot in front of you too. Do you know how scary that was?”

Of course, she was still a gangster now.
Because I had learned the truth about the Martial Arts Guild.

“Ugh… that’s true, but don’t talk about that anymore.”

Liztina, as if embarrassed, clung to me.

“…I’m your woman now.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Well, work hard. It’s useful in many ways. I’m only telling you because it’s you.”

That was really kind of her to say.

This was a technique that could be applied in countless ways.

“Like this.”
“Hmm?”

Suddenly, Liztina grabbed my hand.

I wondered if she wanted me to hold her hand, but,

“If you pretend to shake hands with a smile, then blow up their hand, it can be quite fatal, you know?”

That’s what she said.

“…Sis, have you done that before?”
“Of course.”

—Hehet.

Liztina answered with a sweet smile.

She didn’t seem like it because she was just a pushover in bed, but she was actually the leader of a gangster martial arts group. Even though she liked weapons, she was strong enough to fight Karin in her own way. She must have overcome various life-and-death situations to gain that much power.

She must have done rough things like eating meals.

“But if you’re going to do that, you can just tear them apart with your grip without using this.”
“There’s an atmosphere, an atmosphere.”

That would definitely be scarier.

“And actually, this is more useful against monsters than people. It’s very effective when dealing with monsters with tough hides or shells. No matter how hard it is, if you stick it in their head, it’ll explode.”
“Oh, that’s true.”

Certainly, no matter how tough the hide was, if they were hit by Internal Force Palm, they were guaranteed to be screwed.

But couldn’t this be done with sword energy too?

Well, the important thing was that you could do with your bare hands what you could do with a sword. There would be plenty of times in life when you couldn’t use a weapon. And being able to attack with just a touch had more meaning than that.

“How is it?”
“What?”
“I’m a pretty strong woman in my own way, so you know you can’t treat me however you want now, right?”

Liztina said triumphantly with her arms crossed.
Why did this older sister keep demanding that I treat her as I pleased?

“I understand very well.”
“Hehe, then that’s good. Respect me a little more.”

Looking at her arrogant face, I felt a tingling urge to violate her again.

“Of course I respect you. Then first, stand here, leaning against the wall.”
“What?”
“Just one last time. Huh?”
“Ugh…! You really!”

Liztina grumbled, then blushed and obediently took off her panties and stood with her hands on the wall, as I asked.

“I think you only think about that all day long… What do you think my butt is…”

In that state, she turned to me and wiggled her butt.

“You’re the best.”

I patted her butt gently and pulled down my shorts. The feeling of it fitting snugly in my hand was quite good. Liztina’s butt was also fun to touch.

“Augh…! Don’t hit me however you want… What do you think my butt is…”

And so, I spent time with Liztina.

* * *

“Hmph, so you learned something like that, huh?”

When I came home and told Karin about it, she nodded.

“Good job. Now that you’ve made her your wife, you should squeeze out anything good. Well, it’s a good thing, so maybe I should try thanking her instead of cursing her when I see her next time.”

Karin, who was sitting on the sofa, put my Living Sword, which she had been polishing, into its scabbard, then flicked her finger. It was a signal to come closer.

When I approached, Karin suddenly hugged me tightly.

“Kyahehe, but my husband is really doing everything with his dick, isn’t he?”
“Excuse me?”

Karin, who was hugging me, tapped my crotch.

“Huh? I’m saying you’re doing everything with this. That gangster bitch is even teaching you her secret technique.”
“Hehe, is that so? But you told me to learn it, sis.”
“I didn’t think she’d give it up so easily. Anyway, how much did you fuck her that you’re this late?”

Karin acted cute and kept kissing my cheek.

“More than I thought. Hehe, why? Do you want to do it?”
“I want to do it every day.”

Karin kept kissing me and even pulled on my cheek.

“But if you only focus on that because you’re learning a new technique, you’ll be in trouble? Do all your swordsmanship first, then master that while distributing mana. You’re at home anyway, so you have to concentrate.”
“I was going to do that anyway. You know I’m diligent, right?”
“Yeah. I know.”

It’s so busy even when I don’t work.

Anyway, I usually do morning training until lunchtime, but if I add this Internal Force Palm training to that, I’ll have to do it until almost noon.

Well, if I’m at home, I have to do something.

“Did Blackie come?”
“Yeah, Winia.”

And so, while I was talking to Karin, Winia and Cloudy came up from the basement.

“What, were you all doing something downstairs?”
“Magic experiments with Risha. I was just watching.”

It seemed like they were doing something with Risha. They had already set up a simple workshop in the basement. Winia and Risha had been doing a lot together lately.

“Hehehe, Kat’s here?”
“Yeah, yeah. But where’s Alaune?”
“She’s cleaning up with Risha.”
“I see.”

I was glad that Alaune seemed to be doing well at home too. Recently, Risha had been teaching her this and that, researching whether she could unleash her original power.

It would be troublesome if her abilities suddenly manifested and went out of control.

That was to prevent that from happening.

I told Cloudy and Winia about what I had learned today. Cloudy just liked it, and Winia also said I did well. Good things were good.

But I was starting to think that I should work soon, but I didn’t think they would allow it. Even though the snow was melting, the mountains visible in the distance were still pure white.

It could only be said to be spring when all the snow had melted.