Chapter 18 - Afternoon Sparring

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It was afternoon outside and the harsh sunlight seemed to be trying to burn every insolent thing daring to stand within its sight.

Leon was trying his best not to mind the heat. As a cultivator, he wasn't much affected by such things previously, but now was a different story altogether. His new cultivation strength wasn't enough yet to shield him away from such harsh conditions.

Malisa, however, wasn't much affected. Ever since becoming an Ice Mage, the Mana flow in her body tended to drift away all the heat, except the vital body organs. To her, it was similar to standing around a glacial mountain. Her body was at ease as her long black hair danced along with the occasional wind.

"Alright. You wanted to show me your new techniques right? See that wooden log over there? I want you to pick it up on your shoulders and run laps around the backyard like that. 20 times that is."

Leon's eyes turned to the wooden log as he tried to appraise its weight. His thin arms and muscles seemed absolutely inappropriate for the task at hand, but his spirit was more than willing to do it.

"Hmmm. I think that I can do it. Here I go!" Leon spoke as he looked back into the enchanting red eyes of the cold-hearted beauty.

Leon went forward and grabbed the log with both of his hands. He channeled the entire strength in his body and with a grunt, quickly raised the log above his shoulders. The veins throbbed dangerously on his swollen muscles as he tried to establish his balance.

The cultivation did help his body to become as strong as a regular human but, but even a regular human body had its limits.

Especially if picking up a log that weighed around 150 pounds!

Leon gritted his teeth as he tried to balance his body and began to walk slowly. Although his sister-in-law had asked him to run, he still wanted to get his new body used to the feeling of such extreme weight lifting.

Minutes went by, and so did an hour when Leon finally completed the 20 rounds. He pushed the log off his shoulders, as his knees felt weak as they trembled. He fell flat and sprawled on the ground, as amidst his heavy breaths, Leon started to comprehend the mysteries of life's existence.

His exalted thoughts were halted midway when his sister-in-law walked over. Malisa came over and sat down beside him as she muttered a spell.

In a moment, the air around Leon cooled down considerably and his overheated and exhausted body quickly cooled down. She stared at his pitiful figure as she started to regret pushing him so much. Unable to bear the feeling, Malisa finally spoke to him.

"I really never thought that you would even be able to accomplish that. I am honestly very impressed. However, I have one more test for you."

"It's an Agility test. The rules are very simple. I will be attacking you with just my fists and you have to try to avoid them every time. If you mess up even once though, just sit still at home from then on."

"The enemies need only one blow to kill someone. If you can prove that you could avoid attacks from someone like me, then I might consider taking you along. Don't worry, for your sake I would decrease the strength behind my punches as well as their speed. I have already limited myself to just fists. I could have even employed my legs, not to speak of Mana attacks."

Leon found some logic in her words since it would also give him an opportunity to test his own response time against enemies. At the very least, Leon was sure that his sister-in-law would not punch him to death.

"A-Alright... aah..haa.. just give me some time to rest..." Leon spoke as he tried to feel his numb hands and legs. Due to overexertion, he knew that beginning the next test immediately was downright impossible.

After 10 minutes or so, Leon stood back up as he felt his body becoming much more stable. Unlike a regular person, his new cultivator body was quickly absorbing everything that he was throwing at it. Leon rejoiced the new feeling as he started to prepare his body for the next round.

'Definitely a Devil King's physique.. such fast recovery.' Leon thought to himself as he was becoming more hopeful of his future by the minute.

After taking a deep breath, Leon adopted the fighting stance from his previous world as he awaited for his sister-in-law to begin the test. From his analysis before, he knew that this world's body training and fighting techniques absolutely sucked. He had no intention of adopting this world's fighting techniques into his arsenals.

As Malisa looked at the new and unknown fighting stance, she became a bit puzzled, before she focused back on the test and took an attacking stance herself.

Before Leon's eyes, Malisa's body movement speed exploded exponentially as he saw the fist quickly aiming for his chest.

Leon's body reacted almost automatically according to his instincts and quickly shifted his body away from the path. When he saw the other fist moving to target his face, Leon knew that there was no time to move sideways anymore and quickly ducked down and rolled his body to gain some distance.

As he lifted his head to look at his sister-in-law, he saw her already preparing to launch her next attack. Leon quickly pushed himself up from the ground and started to move backward.

What followed next was a barrage of attacks from Malisa, as she tried to test Leon's Agility to the limit. What was very impressive to her was that Leon always seemed to find an unconventional way to dodge her attacks.

She had tried combo attacks, sneak attacks, and feint attacks among many others, but Leon's body was like a very slippery snake. As soon as she thought that she finally got him, he would narrowly dodge her attack and increase the distance between them.

'I wonder what kind of movement technique is that? I don't think that I saw anyone use it before. Where did he learn such a skill?' Malisa thought to herself as she was amazed at his improvement. It wasn't long before Leon was just a common man who could easily be bested by even a farmer. Malisa kept that thought to her heart as she prepared to attack him again.

Leon was sweating very badly as he panted heavily. His body and limbs were trembling very badly. It was just his will pushing him forward.

'Even if sister-in-law is very strong, there must be way stronger individuals in hiding. I.. refuse to submit. I refuse to give in! I have had enough of being a weak coward in one lifetime. Never again... would I let anyone walk over me.' Leon thought in his mind as he clenched his fist and tried to focus his senses on Malisa's next attack.

As Malisa saw the fighting spirit in Leon's eyes despite the bad condition of his body, she knew that there was nothing left to test anymore. He had proved himself more than enough times to her.

What Malisa wanted to test wasn't his attacking power, but his attitude and ability in survival circumstances. At least he had proved his endurance and agility in front of her that day.

'He has the instincts of a survivor. I think he can at least keep himself alive in the world.' Malisa thought to herself as she relaxed her posture and nodded at Leon in approval.

"Well done. You have worked hard behind everyone's back, didn't you? If you plan on following me though, you must train yourself more, especially in your attack power, muscle hardness, and stamina. Your technique is good though. If you need a combat partner, find me anytime. As for the auction.. it's already very late today. Do you want to go right now?" Malisa asked Leon as she herself started to feel a little exhausted.

She had just returned from work outside when she started to test him and her empty stomach was beginning to torment her as her hunger shot up as well.

Leon looked around him as he now realized that it was evening already. He also had to get back to Benica's place later that night. However, he also knew that his sister-in-law was usually very busy with outside activities and didn't know if she would be able to make some time for him later on.

"Let's go right now, sister-in-law. Time is of the essence. Who knows what kind of situation we may have to face tomorrow because of lack of money." Leon wiped his sweat with his clothes, only for his face to end up being smeared by mud instead.

Looking at Leon being so silly, Malisa suppressed her urge to laugh and turned around to hide her smirk as she started to walk back into the mansion.

"I see. Then take a bath quickly and change your clothes. We would be leaving in a short while. Wash your body thoroughly. And.. remember to clean your face too." Malisa walked back inside and disappeared from Leon's sight.

Leon stood in wonder as he stared at his sister-in-law's retreating back and became a little confused. He somehow felt that his no-nonsense sister-in-law just made fun of him somehow.

'From previous Leon's memory, he always thought that his sister-in-law was a quiet and mysterious person... I think sadist must be added to that list as well.' Leon mused to himself, as he rushed to quickly prepare himself.

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A/N: Hey, dude... where's my chick..?