Chapter 24: Growth in Strength

“Smack! Smack! Smack!”

Every single one of A1’s attacks landed squarely on Mo Yubai, while Mo Yubai could not even touch the hem of A1’s clothes.

By the end, Mo Yubai felt as if she were actively throwing herself into every single one of A1’s attacks ⦁֊⦁꧞.

Ten minutes later, Mo Yubai pressed down on her arm, which was trembling from overexertion, and rubbed her shoulders, which were sore and aching from A1’s strikes. She let out a bitter smile. The gap between them was simply too vast!

Her confusion lasted only a moment, and her gaze grew firm once more as she looked at A1.

She had spent so many gold coins on this training precisely because her speed was lacking. It seemed this training would be worth every penny!

Looking at the dancing flames within Mo Yubai’s soul and her unyielding eyes, A1 felt the true meaning of the word “vitality” for the first time.

With a soft chuckle, she realized she really could not stay cooped up in the mechanical fortress forever. Only by coming out to explore could she discover such an interesting soul.

Accepting her defeat gracefully, Mo Yubai was now thoroughly convinced of A1’s skill and began to listen intently to her short class on speed-boosting tips.

In truth, A1 had not expected her to choose a full year of training right off the bat, let alone at the highest difficulty level!

Aside from the Ephemerae^[1], very few creatures could be so ruthless with themselves. Most living things would instinctively hold back and leave themselves some breathing room.

She watched the human get knocked to the ground time and time again, only to pick herself up and face her once more.

She watched her grow step by step, her speed increasing until she finally reached the absolute limit of her race.

Mo Yubai had become highly proficient at running, jumping, and dodging the monsters that lunged at her one after another.

They were far faster than the gray giant wolf from the Silver Treasure Chest. She went from being bitten black and blue at the start, even dying twice from direct hits to her vitals, to handling them with ease now.

By the end, she could easily dodge attacks from wind-element creatures like the Gratitude Hedgehog.

A1’s guidance was truly superb, helping her gain complete control over all of her own power.

Mo Yubai’s heart pounded wildly. She could clearly feel her strength growing!

This feeling utterly fascinated her. She did not mind being covered in wounds, tirelessly pushing her body to its absolute limits!

Eventually, she grew numb, mechanically dodging the attacks of various monsters almost on instinct.

Jumping, ducking, spinning, and nimbly sidestepping, she watched the monsters brush past her one by one without touching a single thread of her clothes.

With a smile on her lips, Mo Yubai moved swiftly through the crowd of wind-attribute monsters, her posture light yet carrying an invincible momentum!

She was like a petrel^[2] before a storm, completely unafraid of any thunder or lightning!

She sliced through the pressure of the towering waves, swooping down to skim the crests before soaring straight into the clouds in the blink of an eye!

Free and passionate.

In their final spar, Mo Yubai was finally able to land a hit on A1, though at the cost of taking a hit herself.

Still, she was highly satisfied with the results of this training. Her current self could easily thrash the version of her that had first entered the training room.

Stepping out of the speed training room, A1 looked with appreciation at Mo Yubai, who was still full of fighting spirit after a year of being battered. She teased, knowing the answer, “Would you like to rest, Ms. Mo? Or do you want to enter the Real Combat Training simulation field right away?”

Mo Yubai looked at A1 with amusement and raised an eyebrow. “Teacher, you’ve been teaching me for a year now. Can you please stop calling me ‘Ms. Mo’ so formally? Why not just call me by my name?”

A1’s lips curved slightly at her playful look. “Yubai, do you want to rest?”

Hearing how A1 addressed her, Mo Yubai narrowed her eyes happily. “Of course not! I love this feeling of constantly getting stronger! Right now, I just want to head straight to the Real Combat Training field!”

“As you wish.”

Inside the Real Combat Training field, Mo Yubai stood below the city walls with a longsword in hand, slaying the surging monsters one by one.

She was finally tasting the sweet fruits of her previous speed training. The monsters she used to fight tooth and nail to kill could now barely last three seconds against her.

As the number of monsters she slaughtered grew, she could even completely bypass the one-click identification system. Standing atop the city walls, she could pinpoint the monsters’ weaknesses with absolute precision. Every single throwing knife she hurled was a fatal strike!

Thousands of monsters vanished under her blade. She seemed to have fought to the point of numbness, but her pounding heart bore witness to her existence and the thrill she felt.

The moment she walked out of the training room, Mo Yubai saw A1’s undisguised admiration. She tilted her head up and looked back triumphantly.

A1 stared blankly for a moment at the girl’s proud, radiant smile, and she couldn’t help but smile faintly in return.

It was a smile completely different from the standardized, programmed expressions of a machine, seemingly carrying some unknown emotion.

Looking at A1’s smile, Mo Yubai experienced for the first time the breathtaking beauty of melting ice and snow.

With a look of awe in her eyes, she extended an invitation to A1. “Teacher, I want to visit the Service Area’s trading plaza and mall to pick out a weapon. Do you have any recommendations?”

She wanted to buy a handy weapon. Bending down to retrieve the Flying Feather every time she threw it looked far too clumsy. She wondered if there was anything suitable in the system mall.

“There is no need to go anywhere else. Just head straight back to the hotel. The hotel has virtual trading cabins. Once you make an online transaction, the item will be teleported directly into the cabin’s independent compartment. You can also search directly for the items you need, including hidden items, which will save you time.”

Mo Yubai’s eyes lit up at this. Excellent! Today was the last day of the novice period, and she still wanted to rack up some mileage using her modified Electric Tricycle.

“Alright, Teacher. Let’s head back to the hotel first.”

As Mo Yubai followed A1 back toward the hotel, she casually opened her personal status panel.

Name: Mo Yubai

Health: 10/10 (Good Condition)

Strength: 8/10 (Strong as an Ox)

Agility: 10/10 (Race Limit)

Luck: 5/10 (Schrödinger’s Luck)

Accumulated Mileage: 215 km (Accumulate a certain mileage to exchange for special treasure chests)

Gold Coins: 436 (Moderately Wealthy)

Profession: (Unopened)

Mo Yubai looked at the results of her training in high spirits, her steps feeling much lighter.

Lying on the soft bed of the Presidential Suite, Mo Yubai let out a comfortable sigh and opened the game panel again to analyze her stats.

Huh… I didn’t expect my Strength to increase by a point even though I didn’t do any strength training.

She looked in pleasant surprise at her Strength, which had gone from 7 to 8. It seemed her strength had also improved during the Real Combat Training.

Her speed was already maxed out. Since she had reached the limit, further improvement would likely be very difficult.

Oh well, I won’t think about it now. I’ll worry about it when I have more money. I can look for potions or fruits that can break the race limit later. In any case, saving money is the top priority.

Mo Yubai got out of bed, took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and lay down in the virtual trading cabin.

When she opened her eyes again, she was already inside a virtual mall.

Looking at the sweet and cute lady of the Mechanical Race in front of her, Mo Yubai flashed a friendly smile.