"Eh? You mean… you're willing to train me?"
"Yes."
"What's the catch? Don't tell me you're going to ask for my memories as compensation?"
"No no no, I just want to help improve your spiritual powers. Every spiritual being would leak some of their energy into their surroundings, and I have a feeling yours would also benefit me in the future, when you become strong enough."
"...Really?"
"Yes. Although I would be grateful if you are willing to share more intriguing stories about your former world when you have time."
"That's fine. How will you train me?"
"Well, I would need you to come with me to the Tree of Life, as there is an abundance of spiritual energy there."
"Eh? But… I don't want to separate from Kio, that man over there-"
Right as she said that, Kio's body also vanished. She wasn't paying attention to what he said to the rest of his group, so she didn't know that he was going to where Miyu was.
"Nooo! Kio, where did you go?!?!"
"Calm down, girl. I can still sense his spiritual fluctuation nearby, in the direction of the Tree of Life."
"Eh? How did you know?"
"Oho. As long as you receive my training, you will be able to do that too. Right now, although your spirit is unique, it is far too weak to be able to do anything."
"Can you bring me to him, please?"
"No. You won't be able to do anything with how weak you are."
"..."
"If your friend gets into trouble in the future, don't you want to be able to help him?"
When Riko heard his words, she knew that following Kio and Miyu around would be a waste of time. She didn't want to remain as a weak, fragile girl because she also wanted to help them somehow in the future.
After a few minutes, Riko thought it through and made up her mind.
"Alright. I will follow you to receive your training."
"Great! Let's start immediately!"
"Before that, can I ask you for a favor?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"Can you please help Kio somehow? I don't want to see him get hurt."
"You already have the privilege of receiving special training from me, yet you also want me to help that man? Do you even know how lucky you are to receive this opportunity?"
"..."
Seeing her pitiful expression, Ou'Ki didn't want to disappoint his new promising disciple. He was fine with granting her that small favor, but he didn't want her to ask again in the future, so he had to intimidate her a bit.
"Hmph. Fine. I'll grant him a small protection if you show promise in your training later."
"Really?! I'll definitely work hard!"
He was shocked to see her be more excited about that small protection rather than the training he will soon give her.
"If there's nothing else, let's go now."
"Alright."
Riko followed Ou'Ki towards the Tree of Life. However, instead of going straight into it, she saw him ascend higher and higher through the clouds in the sky.
"How high is he going to go…"
Although she didn't have a way to keep track of time anymore, she felt like she followed him for at least a few minutes. By the time he stopped, she couldn't even see the ground below her anymore.
"How high is this tree?"
"Hm? I believe we're only halfway to the top. However, our training will start here, because you won't be able to handle the dense spiritual energy if we go any higher."
"What will happen if I get exposed to it?"
"Your spirit will end up being poisoned and eventually become corroded, causing you to vanish and be unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation in the future."
"What?!"
"Oho. You don't have to worry too much, I'll watch after your training so you won't be in any danger."
"..."
Riko decided to trust in his words as she followed him into the tree. As soon as she entered, she looked at her surroundings.
The place she entered was a hemispherical dome with a radius of roughly 25 meters. There were also a few balls of light flying around the room, causing her expression to change as the sight of this seemed too unreal.
"Those are spiritual entities, just like you and me. However, I'm not sure if you are able to see their true form at the moment, given how weak your spiritual energy is."
"What? I thought these were just balls of light."
"Hahaha. With practice, you will be able to see and converse with them properly. Now, let's start the training."
"Alright."
"First, sit down in a comfortable position and empty your mind. It may help if you close your eyes to remove all forms of distraction from your sight."
"..."
"Next, I will channel some of my spiritual energy through your body. Try to feel the flow of energy."
"..."
After an hour, Riko became confused as she didn't feel anything different.
"I'm not feeling anything, are you sure this is working?"
"Hush. Concentrate properly. It normally takes a few years for spiritual beings to sense their energy. Even with the help of an external force, it will take an average of 30 days to feel it."
"No way…"
"That's why, it's better if you concentrate now, so you don't waste any time. You do want to finish your training faster, right?"
"Yes… By the way, I'm feeling a little itchy on my back, is it fine if I move my arm to scratch the itch?"
"Hm? Yes, that's fi- Wait!"
"What is it? Can I move my arm or not?"
Ou'Ki moved his spiritual energy from her back to her shoulders, to see if his assumptions were correct.
"Huh? How come I feel itchy on my shoulders now?"
"Oh my goodness. How can this girl sense spiritual energy this quickly?!"
"Eh? What do you mean? I just feel itchy, not any of that spiritual energy you're talking about."
"That's precisely how it feels when you first sense spiritual energy! Listen, try to get a better understanding of what this energy feels like. Next, you will need to circulate this energy throughout every part of your body and become accustomed to this feeling."
"Alright."
Riko listened to his words and continued with her training. She lost track of time as she just wanted to get stronger as fast as possible.
While this was happening, many days passed as Kio and Miyu woke up from being unconscious and eventually left the Tree of Life. A night passed as they woke up from their slumber inside one of the elven houses.
***
*Snore*
"..."
"Zzz.. Nnn..."
"Hehe."
Kio felt something poking him as he slowly opened his eyes. The windows were mostly blocked, only allowing a small amount of sunlight to brighten a few spots here and there.
As his vision slowly cleared up, he saw Miyu's face a few centimeters away from him. She quickly gave him a kiss on the lips when she saw him look at her.
"Hehe. Good morning. You wouldn't let go of me while you were asleep, so I was trying to wake you up by poking you."
"Nnn? Morning, Miyu."
When Kio woke up, he noticed he had his arms wrapped tightly around Miyu. Her body felt warm and soft, causing him to instinctively bring her closer to him. He also subconsciously squeezed with his hands, as there was something in his grasp.
"Hiyaa!"
"Huh?"
"Geez, Kio. You're such a pervert in the morning."
Kio squeezed a few more times before he realized what he was doing. One hand was on her butt while the other was on her chest.
"Ah! Sorry, Miyu. I didn't mean to do that. I wasn't fully awake yet."
"It's not like I mind…"
"You might not mind, but I do. We're currently in a dangerous place, so let's quickly get up and get ready to move."
"Kay~"
Kio gave her a small kiss on the cheek before he released her from his embrace. After they finished their routine and had a light breakfast, he started to remove the furniture blocking the door.
The sound from his action attracted some of the nearby zombies, as banging sounds were heard from the other side of the door.
His [Threat Detection] also gave him a small warning, so he knew it wasn't as bad as the zombie wolves from yesterday.
He opened the door and walked out, with Miyu right behind him. With his short sword in his right arm, he began to decapitate the zombies one by one.
However, as he was currently concentrated on the ongoing fight, he didn't notice a small light flying towards his body. His [Threat Detection] didn't detect anything too, signifying that it was harmless.
Miyu was also too busy shooting some of the zombies with her bow to notice it.
As the light entered Kio's body, he felt a weird sensation for a brief moment before it disappeared. As the weird feeling lasted for less than a second, he didn't pay too much attention to it as he continued to kill the zombies.
Floating in the skies above them, one person was watching them as he felt surprised at Kio's reaction, or lack thereof.
"Oho? For him to absorb my blessing so smoothly. Interesting…"