Skills and Specialties!

But by then,

Lami's little face had already turned bright red. Merlin silently rolled his eyes at her.

"What are you thinking about?"

Lami giggled and slurred, "Brother Merlin, you're so stingy!"

Then she lost her balance and toppled into Merlin's arms. Her eyes grew hazy, and she slowly closed them. A steady, catlike breathing soon followed. She had passed out cold.

Merlin chuckled. "Go to sleep!

You haven't had a proper rest in a while. Get a good night's sleep tonight!"

Yol glanced over at Merlin, stamped out the burnt grass on the ground, then spread out the monkey hides they had cut up.

They used the largest hide, a neat piece three meters long and four meters wide, as a mattress, then laid three smaller, irregular hides on top to use as blankets.

After tidying up, Yol leaned all their backpacks against the cave wall at the "head of the bed."

She came over to Merlin and smiled. "Give Lami to me. I'll carry her to bed."

Merlin handed Lami over. Yol carried her to the hides, laid her down, and propped her head up with a backpack. She took off Lami's shoes, changed her into her pajamas, and covered her with one of the smaller hides.

Merlin sat on the ground, drinking monkey wine and feeling the warm currents envelop his body. A tipsy haze gradually crept into his mind.

After a while, Yol came over and sat beside him. Merlin glanced at her and handed her a bamboo cup full of monkey wine.

"Here, sweetheart. Drink up!"

Yol hesitated. "If I get drunk, I won't be able to keep watch tonight. How about I take the second half of the night, and you take the first?"

Merlin shook his head. "You won't get drunk. Being drunk is a negative status, a kind of disaster.

And since it's a disaster, I can absorb it.

Monkey wine is good for the body. Drink a bit more. Once you're tipsy, I'll teach you some stretches.

That way, it won't hurt as much."

After speaking, Merlin glanced at her again and explained, "It's not that I don't want to absorb the disaster of pain for you. Pain is part of training, too. Experiencing it can make your will stronger."

Yol's expression immediately grew serious.

"Okay. I'll do whatever you say."

She picked up the bamboo cup and gulped down the wine. Merlin's mouth twitched as he complained, "Couldn't you drink a little slower? This delicious fruit wine is meant to be savored, little by little!"

Yol rolled her eyes at him, swallowed the wine in her mouth, and licked the wine from her soft, pretty lips.

"I don't know how to savor wine. But this fruit wine really does taste good. I've never had anything like it before.

Give me another cup."

Yol held out the bamboo cup. Merlin rolled his eyes and pointed at the hollow beside them. "Go pour it yourself."

Yol's pretty face had gradually turned rosy. Her bright, light-brown eyes glistened with moisture.

"Stingy!"

But after repeating Lami's earlier words, she giggled to herself. Then she braced her left hand against the edge of the hollow, knelt on the ground, and leaned in to scoop up wine with the bamboo cup in her right hand.

At that moment, the curves of Yol's body were on full display before Merlin.

She was one meter and ninety-one centimeters tall.

But her figure was slender and well-proportioned. Now that she wasn't wearing the nun's habit that covered her from head to toe, her delicate, girlish frame and striking curves were revealed all at once.

Especially the full, shapely swell of her chest...

Merlin found himself admiring the view,

then took a sip of wine to moisten his throat.

Yol scooped up some wine and sat upright. She took the cup in her left hand and licked the wine clinging to the rim with her right.

Yet her beautiful eyes stole a glance at Merlin.

"Do you like what you see?" Yol suddenly teased him in a gentle voice.

A hint of surprise flickered in Merlin's eyes as he looked at her.

A smile tugged at Yol's lips.

"You know my body's in excellent shape, Merlin. So it makes sense that I'd be a little more sensitive to someone staring at me, right?"

Merlin stroked his chin and nodded solemnly. "Of course.

The connection between a living being's body and mind is incredibly close.

And as a strong body ages, it naturally nurtures a strong mind as well."

Yol blinked and looked at Merlin in confusion. She understood every word he'd said, but somehow, strung together like that, they left her feeling a little dazed.

Her mouth fell open. A retort caught in her throat, and she gloomily gulped down her wine.

After that, Yol poured herself another three bamboo cups in a row and drank them all.

Merlin watched her, the corner of his mouth twitching. It wasn't exactly a waste of good wine, but her way of guzzling it worried him. He was afraid she'd suddenly throw up and ruin the wine.

Yol looked at him with a gloomy expression. She set the bamboo cup on the ground and tugged down the neckline of her V-neck T-shirt. Then she asked,

"Merlin, how should I stretch my muscles and bones? I feel like my body's full of warmth and strength right now.

And I'm only a little tipsy. I'm still pretty clearheaded."

"Clearheaded? You'll find out in a bit why they call it the aftereffects of alcohol."

Merlin gave her a helpless look. Although Yol was strong and had a good physique, she'd never trained before. Her tendons and muscles were still tight.

Merlin downed the half cup of wine he had left, then set the cup on the ground beside him.

He walked over to a flat patch of ground. Breathing slowly, he stood straight, drew in his abdomen, lifted his chest, and let his shoulders relax.

Seeing Yol watching him, Merlin began in his clear voice.

"I'm going to teach you a stretching method called Yoga. First, I'll show you the simplest foundational pose.

"First pose: Mountain Pose. Stand straight with your feet..."

Merlin began teaching her Yoga. In his previous life, he'd bought an online Yoga course on his phone and taught himself the exercises.

Yoga really was an excellent way to stretch and improve the joints, muscles, and every part of the body.

Standing in front of Yol, Merlin demonstrated each movement and explained it word by word, coordinating the poses with the rhythm of his breathing.

"Cat-Cow Pose. Get on your hands and knees, with your knees hip-width apart and your hands shoulder-width apart. Keep your thighs vertical to the ground, wrists directly beneath your shoulders, and fingers spread wide, pressing firmly into the ground.

"Keep your back straight, your head and neck aligned with your spine, and your eyes on the ground.

"Inhale into Cow Pose. Starting at your tailbone, extend your spine one vertebra at a time. Tilt your pelvis forward, lifting your hips; let your lower back dip and your chest rise. Lift your head and look forward or upward as you gradually open your chest.

"Exhale into Cat Pose. Starting with your pelvis, curl your spine backward and tuck your tailbone in. Round your lower back and push your chest backward. Lower your head, bringing your chin toward your collarbones, and look at your navel.

"Downward-Facing Dog Pose...

"Chair Pose...

"Hero Forward Fold..."

Equipping [Lynx] had given Merlin tremendous agility. As he moved through the Yoga poses, coordinating them with his breathing, he focused on teaching Yol and gradually gained a deeper understanding of how to coordinate his breath with his movements.

Even though this was his first time practicing them in this life, Merlin felt as though he'd done them hundreds or even thousands of times before.

As time passed, Yol, watching and listening intently, began to widen her eyes.

As Merlin's words and strange movements unfolded before her, he gradually seemed to transform into a large, well-proportioned wildcat, stretching its body to the fullest.

Yol shook her head hard. The "wildcat" turned back into Merlin, and she muttered to herself,

"Am I drunk? Why am I seeing things?"

As he continued through the Yoga poses, Merlin's movements subtly began to change without him noticing.

Gradually, they no longer stuck to the confines of Yoga.

Instead, his movements grew increasingly fluid, coordinated with deep and shallow breaths. But Yol's gaze grew more and more bewildered.

"Weren't you supposed to teach me? Why are you the one practicing without stopping? Am I supposed to teach myself by following along?"

She only half understood.

Yol gritted her teeth, stood up, and clumsily tried to imitate Merlin's movements.

But she only managed to copy him for a little while before staring at him in bewilderment, unable to continue.

His inhuman twists and turns were simply impossible for her to reproduce.

At that moment, Merlin's eyes had gone vacant without his noticing. He was down on all fours, just like a lynx.

His movements on the ground looked simple: twisting, pouncing, rolling. Yet each one engaged most of the muscles and bones in his body.

A tearing pain spread through him, from his muscles and bones to his flesh.

But black flames quietly spread from his hands to cover his whole body.

By instinct, Merlin used Disaster Absorption to absorb the pain arising in his body, so it wouldn't affect his physical or mental state.

Perhaps because of the aftereffects of the monkey wine, Merlin's mind was now caught between half-awareness and hazy confusion.

Guided by the earlier Cat Pose from Yoga, he unconsciously imagined himself as a lynx, entering a wondrous state of [Synchronization] with one.

Then, by instinct, he brought together the various stretches from Yoga and the lynx's agility and form.

At that moment, a quiet joy surfaced in Merlin's heart. He was gradually creating a training method for stretching his body, muscles, and bones.

After an unknown amount of time, Merlin emerged from that strange state.

He was drenched in sweat.

He rose from the ground and stared blankly ahead. Yol, standing in front of him, thought he'd finally noticed her. A flicker of anticipation appeared in her eyes.

Unfortunately!

Merlin was looking at the blue Equipment Slot interface that had appeared in front of him.

At that moment,

the information about [Lynx] in the Equipment Slot had quietly changed.

[Name: Unconscious Lynx]

[Effect: When equipped, grants you the biological traits of a lynx.]

[Synchronization Value: 1% → 6%]

[Evaluation: A healthy, strong lynx. A versatile hunter among felines of its size. When equipped for a long time, there is a chance of permanently gaining this lynx's special skills.]

Merlin's Synchronization Value with [Lynx] had shot up by 5% in a short time.

It was a dreamlike improvement.

And that wasn't all. The Equipment Slot in Merlin's eyes blurred for a moment.

Then it seemed to flip over, and its display changed in a strange way.

The two simple equipment slots transformed into text.

Name: [Laplace. Merlin]

Skills and Specialties: [Beginner Level Lynx Body Tempering Technique]

Special Skills: []