"Thud!"

My body, which was supposed to crash on land, fell on something soft. I looked down and discovered her slim figure below my chest. For the first time in my life, I came so close to someone of another gender. Not to mention- in such a position. Her scent was like the scent of fresh peach blossom, which makes one crave it. I filled in my lungs with her scent before letting it go. My mind went blank for a moment.

After coming back to my senses, I saw her eyes looking at me. As our eyes met, I panicked and hurriedly stood up. Erica also got up silently, but a red hue could be seen on her cheeks. Ultimately, an annoyed expression took over her face.

Seeing her attitude, I apologized right away,

"Ummm, I am truly sorry. I couldn't control the torque and -accidentally… I mean -caused an accident."

I didn't dare describe that embarrassing position she was in. But she grabbed her practice sword and got in the battle position. I didn't know if she decided to beat me up for this, I also channeled my elemental energy.

Erica again used Reapers Cloak and charged toward me. Even though I could pinpoint her position, I couldn't accurately outline her. So, while in motion, she became a hard target to attack. And with her elegant footwork, she continued her slashes and advanced while I retreated step by step.

I decided not to attack her and dodge. Most of her slashes were aimed at my chest and arms. With my speed and unrefined footwork, I dodged all of them. Suddenly I received the tip of the sword instead of a slash as she lunged.

'Wow, she hid her intention really well by using those consecutive slashes.'

But that was useless as I was way faster than her. I tilted my body enough to dodge the sword tip with a slight margin. Not giving up my chance to counterattack, I instantly arrived by her side, my punch landed on her abdomen. I didn't use full force in that punch. But that had enough power for her to give up.

Her sword flew from her hand. She sat down and frowned in pain. Her facial expression made me feel guilty again.

'The f*k I am doing? Did I come here to collect bags of guilt?'

Sighing, I was about to apologize again. But Erica stood up, took her sword, and yelled,

"Again."

Looking at her, I couldn't help but smile.

'Quite tenacious.'

After that, our sparring session went on for 2 hours before we called it a day. Both of us were exhausted and filled with bruises. I couldn't just send off a lady in that state, so I used the remaining of my energy to heal Erica completely.

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Erica voiced out, "How can you hit a lady in the same spot continuously, without even blinking? Couldn't you be more gentle the first time?"

I was speechless. If anyone were to listen to Erica, they would definitely get the wrong idea. But I understood what she was talking about. As I didn't use any weapons, I could only punch with my fists and palm attacks. Her chest and face were off-limits. So, I could only target her stomach and arms. And she was complaining about it.

I retorted, "Says someone who left so many burning cuts on me. Not to mention, you were the one to become aggressive first."

And that's how our bickering went for another hour. Neither I nor Erica could believe that we met each other just today, for the first time at that. I couldn't figure out how we became so close enough to talk with each other like that, it was a weird feeling. It just clicked right to talk like that. But of course, there is no romanticism in it- beating each other is not romantic at all.

But we both knew, we would make great friends for sure.

In that period, aside from bickering, we also discussed our flaws that needed to be fixed.

I noticed that her biggest flaw was her elemental energy consumption. Her 'Reapers Cloak' and 'Dark Sword' techniques use too much elemental energy. Especially the reapers clock as it needs to be maintained for a long time. But Erica didn't rely too much on elemental techniques. Her attacks were precise and decisive. Her footwork is also smooth while reaction speed is otherworldly. So even with techniques with high energy consumption, she didn't have any grave flaws. But, the problem occurred when she was against speedy opponents like me, who can easily dodge her attacks. So, she will run out of energy against opponents like me- it was inevitable.

And about my flaw, I came to realize something obvious yet crucial- my fighting style was way too crude and brute, just like my use of elemental energy. Till young age, most of my time was dedicated to the "Vajrasana Body" as practicing it was stupidly hard. Not to mention the tiredness I felt all day just after every daily session. Even the temporary deformity I received was like a nasty curse clinging onto me.

So, to fully complete my Vajrasana Body, I practiced it every single day for 8 years! I didn't even bother to study martial arts or footwork techniques. Resulting in today's blunder.

"I get more than enough raw power from my current core, but my skills and battle techniques are that of a child." That's what I commented on myself.

As, I used lightning energy only to make me speedy or sensitive- which are all passive abilities. I didn't have any trademark techniques like Reaper cloak or Dark swordlike that Erica had.

Erica was also confused about my lack of battle techniques and asked about it.

I could only reply with a bitter smile, "Well, it can't be helped. You are a typical darkness user with such a good property. So, you can follow the footsteps of other darkness users, use available techniques, and can even receive their guidance. But my property had completely cut off the road to typical lightning users. In this current situation, I had to brawl like a metal user to overcome my property disadvantage."

I lamented over my stupid combination of element and property.

"Looks like I need to create battle tactics by myself. Even though it won't be strong like other element users, that would be only in the early stages. But, this will be crucial in the late stages of cultivation."

After thinking of this viable route, I started planning my next course of action, and another to-do list was added to my busy schedule.

The spar I exchanged for my olive branch was certainly fruitful. Although I didn't get what I wanted, nor did I believe I could in just one day, I found the path to walk on. This sparring session also gave me such a gorgeous yet strong girl as a friend and a sparring partner.