After about an hour, the process was completed. Master removed the needles from my body, and passed a towel.
"Wipe yourself down. After you're done, turn around." [Vincent]
I did as he instructed. I was curious as to why I needed to turn around, but I didn't ask.
"Done." [Solace]
"Good. Now, I'm going to strike your back." [Vincent]
"What?" [Solace]
Master raised his hand back, leaving his fingers open like he was going to slap .
"Breathe out when I hit you." [Vincent]
Before I could reply, I felt his palm strike the center of my back.
"Oof!" [Solace]
His palm knocked the air out of , causing to sputter like a car engine.
"Breathe in now." [Vincent]
I regulated my breathing, stopping my coughing fit and allowing myself to inhale.
("Phew...") [Solace]
As I breathed in, I felt sothing ripple throughout my body. It was similar to how a chill down a spine feels, but it was warm instead.
"You have acquired the skill, |Gentleman's Favor|." [Spirit Guide]
I felt my body tense up, crack, and then relax. Afterwards, I felt incredibly energized.
"Ah, it seems you've finally unlocked it." [Vincent]
"This... What just happened?" [Solace]
"You unlocked |Gentleman's Favor|, a passive skill I created." [Vincent]
"You... created it?" [Solace]
I could've sworn it was a skill made by gods or sothing. Considering that the Spirit Guide would be the one giving skills to , I didn't think a person could create one.
"How... exactly do you make a skill?" [Solace]
"You experint. Upon successfully making it, the gods will give you the choice of naming it." [Vincent]
"That's possible?" [Solace]
I was pretty surprised that the gods would do that. From all the light novels I've read, skills gained are usually just given.
"Indeed. The original thod wasn't through acupuncture. In fact, I made it through battle." [Vincent]
"...How?" [Solace]
"I got struck by poisonous needles, ate an Immortal Phoenix fruit, ate a Freezing Hell fruit, and then almost got crushed by a Behemoth." [Vincent]
"...I have no idea what those are." [Solace]
"You don't need to." [Vincent]
From the sounds of it, Master went through more than enough hardships. I was pretty curious about it, so I asked the Spirit Guide instead.
("Hey, Spirit Guide. Can you identify what Master has told ?") [Solace]
"Response: The poisonous needles are most likely from a Beltrough, a monster who is capable of launching needles from its body." [Spirit Guide]
Listening to that response, I could only imagine a porcupine.
("What about the Immortal Phoenix fruit?") [Solace]
"Response: The Immortal Phoenix fruit is an edible plant-like substance that can give the body complete resistance to fire, if they survive consumption." [Spirit Guide]
("Huh... Wait, "if" they survive consumption?!") [Solace]
I looked at Master, wondering how he had survived.
"...Master?" [Solace]
"Yes?" [Vincent]
Unsure of how to go about it, I decided to use my special ability: "lying."
"I rember reading in a book sowhere... That you may not survive eating the Phoenix fruit? How did you survive?" [Solace]
"You read about it in a book?" [Vincent]
"Y... Yeah?" [Solace]
"That's strange... I don't recall any book holding that information." [Vincent]
"Is that so?" [Solace]
My heart was racing. My special ability didn't work!
"Well, to answer your question... I ate the Freezing Hell fruit. Usually the Immortal Phoenix fruit would burn you to cinders, but the Freezing Hell fruit's cold balanced each other out." [Vincent]
"...Wait, you ate them at the sa ti?" [Solace]
"Correct." [Vincent]
"Why would you eat them in the first place?" [Solace]
"I was being attacked by a Behemoth and a Beltrough at the sa ti. I thought I was going to die anyway, so why not?" [Vincent]
I looked at Master in disbelief. I didn't think I had co into the tutelage of soone so insane.
"Either way, it ended pretty well. Thanks to the fruits, I heal faster than normal people. Not only that, I have complete immunity to ice and fire, along with the ability to wield them." [Vincent]
"That's... Overpowered." [Solace]
"Ah! That's a term from the spirit world! Does that make an epic gar?" [Vincent]
"..." [Solace]
There was no amount of words I could use to describe the amount of cringe and disappointnt I felt.
"Just... Just teach how to use |Gentleman's Favor|." [Solace]
"Hm... It appears that you didn't like my joke." [Vincent]
I looked at him with unamusent.
"Fine. For you to learn |Gentleman's Favor|, you must ingrain it into your body." [Vincent]
"Uh-huh..." [Solace]
Master reached for his wooden sword, causing to reflexively take a stance.
"Don't defend. Take a form that will solidify your feet so you don't fall." [Vincent]
"What?" [Solace]
"Gentleman's rules, number six?" [Vincent]
"...A gentleman should listen to their master's orders. They may refuse if it involves killing." [Solace]
I sighed. Just from what I was looking at, Master was going to beat the crap out of .
"Solidify your stance." [Vincent]
Following his orders, I did so kind of semi squat.
"Good. Now, endure." [Vincent]
("He's gonna hit isn't he.") [Solace]
Just as predicted, he struck with the wooden sword.
"Urgh!" [Solace]
That mont, I heard sothing crack in my body.
"W-wait! I heard sothing crack!" [Solace]
"That's normal." [Vincent]
He continued to puml , making terrible cracking sounds around my body.
"H-hold on!" [Solace]
Master kept going, until suddenly, the sword broke.
"...Eh?" [Solace]
"Hm. It seems it has hit its limit." [Vincent]
Pulling out another sword, he swung it at .
"Woah! Chill!" [Solace]
Surprisingly, the sword snapped as well.
"Huh?" [Solace]
"Good." [Vincent]
Master nodded with satisfaction. However, I was clueless.
"What's going on?" [Solace]
"Your body has grown stronger. Rember, the |Gentleman's Favor| is to strengthen the body the more it receives blows. Like how a gentleman would calmly deal with any situation with finesse." [Vincent]
"Uh..." [Solace]
I gave him a dumbfounded look.
"...The more you get hit, the tougher you beco." [Vincent]
"Not that. Why are you so fixated on gentlemanly stuff?" [Solace]
"Don't worry about it." [Vincent]
As he said that, he pulled out a tal rod.
"...You're going to hit with that aren't you?" [Solace]
"Yes." [Vincent]
"It's going to hurt too, right?" [Solace]
"Quite so." [Vincent]
"Hm. Goddamn it." [Solace]
Just hearing his replies made my heart sink.
"Dear disciple. I trust that you will ingrain this lesson with your body." [Vincent]
"Dear Master. I trust that you will spare your dear disciple from pain." [Solace]
Master looked at with a mischievous smile.
"No." [Vincent]
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