"Ah!" Shun groaned and tripped on his own feet. 'Wait, let me rest for a while."
"We are only jogging for 15 minutes, yet you're dying from exhaustion," Yami chuckled in amusement. "You have weak stamina and endurance, Shun."
"Le-let me breathe for a sec," Shun stated and rolled on the ground to catch his breath.
Yami shook his head and looked at the screen from the corner of his vision.
[!QUEST]
[THE TRAINING.]
[DESCRIPTION: HELP AND ASSIST SHUN'S REQUEST TO TRAIN.]
[REWARD: TANK SOUL 'MAD STEEL' THIRD SKILL.]
[FAILURE: QUEST CANCELLED.]
"Okay, but don't slack too much," Yami stated and stretched his body. He flinched when the fresh wounds were opened from the movement.
Yami removed his soul ring for the fairness of their training since using the artificial body would gain an advantage on his side. Aside from that, Shun asked it to be removed as well.
They were currently jogging to increase their physical endurance and stamina. Yami also needed the exercise since it gave a small amount of exp in his stats.
"Ying, tell me again why we need to do this? I thought we're gonna fight each other," Shun stated while pulling himself from the ground. He was still catching his breath and drank a bunch of water.
"It's easy to understand," Yami paused. He tapped his head to check if there was bleeding from the wound and didn't want Shun to see it.
"And that is?" Shun asked. His mind was fogged by tiredness that he couldn't think straight.
"This is how it works. We need to train our original body so that when we transform into our vessel's artificial body, our movement will be twice as fast as normal," Yami explained. He went toward Shun and handed him a towel to wipe his sweat.
"I see," Shun nodded in understanding. He knew he had trouble with endurance and stamina, but also strength. Thinking about those things made him want to give up, but every time he did. Mei's face would appear in his mind, which motivated him to do better.
"That's why you need to take care of your original body, too," Yami muttered and bonked Shun's head playfully. "Get up. We still have more laps to go."
"Okay."
Ying did a couple of jumping jacks while waiting for Shun to start running.
They spent thirty minutes jogging before Shun's body collapsed completely from fatigue. He was breathing profoundly to supply his body with a vast amount of oxygen.
Yami was also panting, but he was surprised that he had a better physical body than Shun, even at his current low-level status.
'I wonder what level Shun might be if he had a system with him,' Yami thought while amused at Shun's face as he struggled to lift himself from the ground.
"You know, we still need to battle each other," Yami chuckled and stretched his muscles again.
"Wa-wait," Shun raised his hand to encourage Ying to slow down. He sat on the ground while drinking another bottled water. "Can we use our artificial body for the duel?"
"But I'm still not an official combatant. I can't use the rookie vessel outside our branch," Yami shook his head at how Shun forgot about the Defender's rule. "If I used my soul ring, someone might catch me as a— "
"Okay, okay," Shun stated. He sighed and stood up. "It can't be helped then."
"You were the one who asked to train without the vessels," Yami was amused at Shun's sudden change of mind. "Anyways, tell me, what do you want to learn?"
Yami tilted his head to one side while waiting for Shun's answer.
"I'm in Tank Class, and you're an Assassin. I want you to attack me while I defend myself. I need to learn how to strike back and defend at the perfect time," Shun stated firmly. It was his foul when he was training with Quan.
"Sure," Yami agreed and prepared his body to strike. "Since we have no vessel. I'll use the skills I've learned from my previous job."
Shun was about to ask what Yami's job back in his world was when he jumped and kicked his chest. The attack surprised Shun since he had thought Yami was weaker without his artificial body.
"Ack!" Shun coughed from the impact. His body couldn't handle the blow, which caused him to fall to the ground again.
"Shun, are you okay?" Yami ran and pulled Shun to his feet. "I must have put too much strength."
"No, it's fine," Shun muttered while coughing, but he was determined to continue.
Yami stood there, baffled when Shun positioned himself in defense. He felt pity for him but was amazed at his determination.
"We can go to the base and duel together," Yami gestured to go, but Shun stopped him.
"We can't. I don't want to face Senior Quan without any improvement," Yami's voice trembled. He clenched his fist and looked at Yami with a serious gaze. "We're gonna train here."
"Okay, the pain you've felt can help train your instinct," Yami muttered as he took a step back. He waited a few seconds before launching an attack and kicking Shun in his legs.
Shun stepped back to evade Yami's attack. He grabbed Yami's leg but stopped his movement since he didn't know what to do next.
Seeing the opportunity, Yami used his other leg to push himself and kicked Shun's face. He used weaker force to prevent Shun from getting hurt again.
"Ow!" Shun flinched in pain while holding his chin where Yami had hit.
"Don't ever hesitate on what you'll gonna do next or else, you're dead," Yami sighed and squatted in front of Shun. "I won't apologize for what I've caused you since you wanted this."
"I know, Ying," Shun smiled at him and pulled himself. "This slight pain won't stop me from getting better."
"That's the spirit!" Yami exclaimed and patted Shun's shoulder. "I'll try to be careful this time."
Yami tried to encourage Shun, but he knew he was in pain from his body language.