Khazak woke up as the sunlight streamed through the gaps between the stones he had placed in front of the cave. There was a faint pleasant smell in the air. When he looked around, Mylia was nowhere to be seen, and the stones he had placed at the entrance were pushed aside. He quickly stood up and looked around, but there was nothing. He immediately ran outside the cave and saw Mylia, carrying a bunch of fruits in her arms and holding an apple with her mouth. After Khazak and Mylia exchanged glances for a moment, he began to laugh with relief. Mylia, on the other hand, lowered her head shyly and placed the fruits next to the cave. Then, with a sudden burst of confidence, she stood tall, placed her hands on her hips, and said in a loud, energetic voice:
"Yes, our real training starts today, but first, breakfast!"
After hearing this, Khazak also gained the same childlike confidence as Mylia. He straightened his body, clenched his fist, and raised it into the air, shouting:
"Yes, breakfast!"
After that, Mylia quickly pulled a small knife from her pocket and began peeling the fruits in a strange but skillful way. Khazak sat nearby, watching Mylia work with the fruits. His thoughts wandered to Roran—what was he doing? Had he gotten his head straight? Was he lying at home alone, or was he hanging out with Lucia? As these thoughts swirled around in his mind, he heard Mylia humming softly. Her sweet voice accompanied by the gentle sway of her head made all of Khazak's chaotic thoughts disappear. It was just him and Mylia's sweet hum now. Khazak started nodding his head in rhythm with her.
After a while, Mylia fell silent and presented a fruit plate on a large leaf. Around the fruits, there were delicate rose-like shapes made from apple peels, and the variety of fruits together formed a beautiful flower-like arrangement. Khazak stared at the fruit plate, mesmerized, while Mylia confidently placed her hands on her hips, looking down at him proudly. Khazak, in awe, finally said:
"I didn't know you could do things like this. You really have talented hands, thank you."
After that, Mylia's confident demeanor instantly vanished, and her face turned bright red. Twirling a strand of her hair with her finger, she shyly said:
"Thank you, I've always loved cooking since I was little..."
Khazak's eyes lit up as he eagerly said:
"Really? I'd love to eat more of your cooking in the future."
Mylia blushed even more, with the tips of her ears turning red, and she could only manage to say:
"Y-yeah, sure."
Taking her own plate of food, Mylia sat across from Khazak, and they enjoyed their breakfast. After that, Khazak stood up, becoming somewhat serious, and said:
"Alright, when do we start the training?"
Mylia also became serious, stood up, and replied:
"Right now, come with me."
With that, she began walking toward the river, where the water flowed gently beside them, and the coolness of the morning sun hit them. Then, Mylia spoke:
"As I mentioned before, 'Ki' is related to breath. Now take a deep breath and fill your lungs to the maximum, then exhale slowly, releasing the breath from your throat with a gentle pressure that creates a sound like the wind."
Khazak nodded slightly in agreement, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Following Mylia's instructions, he exhaled gently through his mouth. Although he felt a little dizzy from the excess oxygen, he continued to repeat the process a few times. Then Mylia said:
"Now don't be afraid; I'm going to apply pressure to a vital area in your throat, and you'll continue to do this action. This way, your body will think you are in danger and will activate your 'Ki.'"
After a moment of hesitation, Khazak shook his head again and took a deep breath. As he inhaled, Mylia suddenly clung to his neck like a wild beast, applying pressure in a way that would not kill him but would make it quite difficult for him to breathe. Although Khazak's body wanted to escape this situation, he resisted, but after the third breath, he coughed and pulled back due to the lack of air. In response, Mylia said:
"We'll continue this technique until you can take about 30 breaths."
Khazak was very surprised at the thought of 30 breaths. Although it seemed like a low number, he had struggled to force out even his third breath against his own body. However, with Mylia's incredible strength and speed flashed before his eyes, he was filled with excitement to surprise Reagon and smiled eagerly as he said:
"Alright!"
Mylia was surprised by Khazak's high enthusiasm, but after getting into his energy, she also smiled and said:
"Just so you know, the next month will be like hell."
This didn't dampen Khazak's enthusiasm in the slightest; in fact, it motivated him even more. Khazak made a gesture to indicate he was ready and took another deep breath as they continued their training.
About 5 hours later
Khazak lay on the ground, exhausted to the point of fainting. By the end of the day, he had managed to reach four breaths, but he was extremely tired, with no strength left to even move a finger. The sun had been at its peak about 1-2 hours ago. Mylia approached Khazak's head, placed her hands on her knees, leaned over him, and said:
"You look tired."
She said this with a cheeky grin, while Khazak raised his hand toward Mylia's face, making a fist, and replied:
"At least I managed to reach four breaths."
"Yes, as a reward, I'm giving you a 2-hour break, and then we'll move on to physical training."
Upon hearing this, Khazak dropped his hand to the ground and let out a faint, hopeless laugh. After lying there for a while, he felt something at his waist; Mylia was carrying him into the cave. Overwhelmed with embarrassment, Khazak said:
"I-I can walk myself."
Mylia let out a teasing "heee" sound and replied:
"Your body doesn't seem to agree with that."
Accepting defeat, Khazak allowed himself to be carried in Mylia's elegant yet strong arms. He made a tremendous effort not to make eye contact, feeling like a proud man being carried by a woman, which was utterly humiliating for him. After what felt like an extremely embarrassing moment for Khazak, they finally returned to the cave.
After gently laying Khazak down, Mylia turned back toward the entrance of the cave. Holding the entrance with one ahand, she turned her head to look at Khazak with her crimson red eyes and said:
"Rest here for a bit; I'm going to gather us some food. After we eat, the second part of our training will begin, so make sure you rest well."
After saying this, she sent Khazak a sweet smile filled with sincerity, turned around, and left. Upon hearing about the second part of the training, Khazak let himself sink into the ground, placing his hand over his forehead, and smiled to himself at Mylia's grin. This slight embarrassment mixed with sincerity lulled him to sleep.