"If you would shut your mouth, I'd feel a little better."
Shami still couldn't withstand the endless chatter of the tablet spirit, so he couldn't help but retort.
With Lureya's support, he came under the tree, and his stomach started growling loudly.
This physical training was exhausting, and he felt an unprecedented hunger.
"Hey, are you sure you're okay?"
Lureya looked at him worriedly.
"Just did two sets of 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10-kilometer run, that's all."
"To describe self-reward in such detail, indeed, it's an unforgettable memory of being completely spent."
You're lamenting over nonsense!
Shami's mouth twitched speechlessly.
He wasn't making metaphors at all!
Lureya, seeing Shami leaning against the tree, an inexplicable scent all over him, with eyes barely open, grew frightened.
"Hey, are you dying? What will happen to my necklace if you die…"
It's just the smell of dried sweat after a human works out, stuck to the skin, not some unfathomable scent.
"I'll throw it away."
"No way!"
Lureya grew anxious because Shami seemed to be on his last legs.
Shami frowned and said, "Then be quiet, or I'll actually die from your noise."
The tablet spirit finally shut her mouth, paused for a moment, and took out an Aikoya Fruit from her Storage Space, handing it to Shami.
"Try eating this to restore your energy… Chewing it up and feeding you mouth-to-mouth is just wishful thinking!"
"Isn't that disgusting?"
Shami took the Aikoya Fruit from the hand of the tablet spirit, and if it were yesterday, he'd decisively save this 10 gold coin value fruit.
However, his current physical condition didn't allow that. Shami took a bite of the Aikoya Fruit and slowly ate the entire seedless fruit.
A sweet and comfortable warm current flowed from his stomach to his limbs, and wherever this warmth reached, his whole body visibly began to recover. Whether it was his sore muscles or the excessive loss of body fluids, all rapidly recovered.
It surprisingly healed about 30% of the negative effects!
Shami himself was amazed.
No wonder it's a fruit produced in Elf Forest, even at the price of ten gold coins, it's worth it.
"I feel a lot better."
"Eh, so fast? I thought Aikoya Fruit doesn't restore kidneys…"
Although Shami wanted to protest, looking over, the tablet spirit had a rare concerned expression—though he still found her to be infuriating, he said thanks.
"Thanks…"
Lureya relaxed and said, "Good to hear… Then let's go back to the village…"
"I'll rest a bit more, still too tired…" Shami, although a bit energized, was still in poor overall condition.
"Alright then."
Lureya sat beside Shami, habitually crossing her legs.
Suddenly, looking at the still weak Shami, she realized her long-thought strategy on [How to defeat the Demon King and retrieve the necklace] had a concrete plan.
A person is at their weakest both physically and mentally when utterly exhausted.
Looking at the half-dead Shami before her, she asked softly.
"Are you going to train tomorrow too?"
Shami glanced at her suspiciously.
"I just want to join, having someone to accompany isn't bad, right?" The elf maiden explained.
After starting the daily physical tasks, one needs to persist every day, missing even a day would reduce the continuous improvement gained.
Shami nodded.
"Yes. At four in the morning."
"So early!"
Shami cast a sidelong glance at the tablet spirit. He never thought she'd be able to wake up at such an hour. The so-called training together, in his opinion, was just hollow words.
"I will wait for you at your inn at that time for one minute, if you don't show up I'll leave by myself."
The next morning.
Shami actually waited until four in the morning for the elf maiden.
"Hum, don't underestimate my resolve! Even at four in the morning, the village is just the same…"
The two began training.
But after running for five minutes, the elf maiden collapsed, panting heavily under a tree.
Shami didn't wait for her; his training task was still far from accomplished, so he left saying "I'll come back eventually," and ran off on his own.
Watching Shami's back, the elf maiden gradually revealed a sly smile.
Don't mistake the elf maiden's stamina as just that.
Everything now is just preparation for later's solo strategy.
After finding weaknesses in Shami, who was weakened post-training, and reviewing Spirit Technique overnight, she felt confident enough to pin the Demon King down.
Moreover, how could she give her genuine long socks to Shami without reason, even as a return for the ring, it wouldn't be such an item.
The white stockings she gave were merely to physiologically weaken Shami's fighting capability.
Now, with the combination of the stockings and daily training, Shami's state after training sinks to a trough.
If only she grasped the timing well, the solo strategy would be complete.
After the run, Shami returned, his body already at its limit. The continuous high-intensity training for three days made his entire body strongly protest.
It's like running a thousand meters in a dream of a previous life, but ten times harder now.
The elf maiden stood up, slightly nervous but still calmly looked at Shami.
"Shami, are you okay?"
"Hmm… not dying yet…"
"Shall we enhance the training?" The elf maiden seriously said: "In such a state where you're near physical limits, if there's another push, it'll surely help you break the human limits."
"Speak plainly."
"Want to fight me now…" The elf maiden pouted.
Shami wanted to refuse.
"Someone finally wants to improve their strength; fighting you might bring new insights. You could also challenge your limits…"
Shami looked at the plain elf maiden.
Neither from her chest nor her strength does she pose any threat!
Shami sensed his own situation, barely having enough strength, maybe even squashing a cockroach would be difficult.
But he's still above the level to beat the tablet spirit.
"Alright."
He agreed.
Seeing Shami agree, the elf maiden instantly activated level 2 of the Spiritual Protection Technique, defining the surroundings as a space prohibiting any living creatures from entering.
At the same time, she drew a soft sword from her Storage Space.
"Wait, still using swords?"
"I won't hurt you, surely."
The elf maiden confidently spoke, then found a wooden sword in her Storage Space and tossed it to Shami.
A fight that suddenly stirred up at dawn, began.
"Shami, be careful."
"Bring it on."
For the first time, Shami found himself confronting the tablet spirit, apart from being entirely terrified in Demon King Castle.
The elf maiden tapped the ground with her toes, launching quickly toward Shami.
The soft sword aimed to cut at his wooden sword.
The elf maiden wouldn't be foolish enough to actually kill the Demon King, otherwise, how could she retrieve the necklace.
Shami struggled to defend against the attack using the wooden sword.
The elf maiden's figure shifted around, yet every attack was within Shami's capacity to defend.
Shami didn't sense any murderous intent.
Was the tablet spirit taking his stamina issues into account?
A righteous duel indeed.
"Spiritual Light Entwining!"
At that moment, the elf maiden jumped back, her little mouth exclaiming.
Shami found seven or eight strands of Spiritual Light forming cords around his body, the endpoints of Spiritual Light were trees not far to both sides. As the elf maiden spoke, the Spiritual Light tightened, binding him into a large X shape.
"?"