[Obtained: Lesser Restoration Pill ×3] [Obtained: Shaolin Sobering Stone ×1]
Guy froze.
Lesser Restoration Pills?
He opened the description.
[ Lesser Restoration Pill: A Shaolin healing pill. Quickly restores stamina and treats moderate injuries. Suitable for use in battle.]
Good stuff.
He looked at the other item.
[Shaolin Sobering Stone: Hold it in your mouth to stay clear-headed. Offers some resistance to ordinary illusions.]
[It can also be swallowed. When swallowed, it greatly increases the body's resistance to illusions.]
[Side effect of swallowing: You can no longer get drunk.]
After reading the description, Guy's mouth twitched.
No longer able to get drunk?
And that was supposed to be a side effect?
What kind of side effect was that for an ordinary person?
Anyone who couldn't drink would be thrilled.
But then Guy suddenly remembered something.
Among Shaolin's secret techniques, there were...
Drunken Fist.
Drunken Staff.
Drunken Sword.
And even the Drunken Eight Immortals.
All of those martial arts relied on being drunk to unleash their power.
If he took this thing, how was he supposed to practice them in the future?
Would he be stuck forever at the novice level?
Guy shook his head again and again.
"I'm absolutely not eating this!"
He put the Sobering Stone away.
Holding it in his mouth to resist illusions was fine, but he wasn't going to swallow it.
If he unlocked Drunken Fist later, he'd be kicking himself.
Guy stood up and pulled the huge cleaver out of the ground.
He gripped it and gave it a few swings.
It felt good in his hands.
Though it was bigger than he was, it didn't feel heavy.
It just looked a little out of place.
A child not even eight years old, carrying a huge cleaver longer than he was.
What did that make him look like?
Guy thought about it, but couldn't come up with anything.
Who cared what it looked like?
As long as it worked.
He took a deep breath and assumed the starting stance.
After months of practicing the Precept-Breaking Blade, he'd mastered it.
"Precept-Breaking Blade: First Form!"
Whoosh!
A flash of steel streaked past.
It felt much more natural than the training blade he usually used.
The blade cut through the air with a faint whistle.
"Second Form!"
"Third Form!"
After completing all forty-nine forms, Guy lowered the blade and caught his breath.
Sweat ran down his forehead.
But his eyes shone brightly.
This blade felt great!
He was about to practice the forms a second time.
"Guy!"
A voice came from the edge of the woods.
Guy turned his head.
Kurenai Yuhi stood there, her black curls swaying in the breeze.
She held the familiar cloth bundle in her hand.
Guy froze.
"Kurenai? What are you doing here?"
Kurenai walked over, her face faintly red.
"I... I guessed you'd come here during the break."
"My family gave me half a day off, so I came to look for you... you guys."
Guy said nothing.
He just looked at her.
Kurenai felt awkward under his gaze and turned her head away.
"W-what are you looking at?"
Guy grinned.
"Nothing."
He knew Kurenai was lying.
What break?
She'd probably heard that they went to wipe out bandits yesterday, worried he'd been hurt, and made a special trip to check on him.
But girls were like that.
They were shy.
If you saw through it, you didn't say so.
"What did you bring?" Guy asked, pointing at the bundle.
Kurenai handed it to him.
"My mom made it... She made too much."
Guy set the huge cleaver on the ground, took the bundle, and opened it.
There were rice balls, pickled radish, and a small box of dumplings.
He picked up a rice ball and took a big bite.
"Mmm, delicious."
Kurenai stood beside him, watching him eat with a little smile on her lips.
After watching him for a while, Kurenai suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right!"
Guy was chewing a rice ball. "Hm?" he asked indistinctly.
Kurenai's eyes sparkled.
"I've been practicing a really powerful illusion!"
Guy froze.
"An illusion?"
"Yeah!" Kurenai nodded. "My family taught it to me. I've been practicing for two months, and I finally learned it."
She looked excited, but a little nervous too.
"Would you... like to try it?"
Guy looked at her expectant eyes and grinned.
"Sure."
He stuffed the rice ball into his mouth and brushed the grains of rice from his hands.
"Go ahead."
Kurenai took two steps back.
"Are you ready?"
Guy nodded.
Kurenai raised her head and formed hand seals.
"Illusion: Falling Cherry Blossom Sight Technique!"
Guy's vision blurred.
Cherry blossoms appeared before his eyes, one after another.
His mind grew hazy.
His body stiffened.
He couldn't move at all.
He stood right where he was, staring straight ahead.
Seeing him like that, Kurenai's eyes lit up.
"Guy?"
No response.
"Guy!"
Still no response.
Kurenai cautiously took a step forward.
She came right up to him and waved her hand.
Guy didn't even blink.
Kurenai pressed her lips together.
Then she glanced around.
The woods were quiet.
Only the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard.
Nobody was there.
She took a deep breath.
Then she asked softly, "Guy, do you know who I am?"
Guy stood there with a dazed look in his eyes.
He answered in a muddled voice.
"Ku...renai Yuhi..."
Kurenai smiled.
She was so happy.
She bit her lip.
Then she glanced around again.
She made sure nobody was there.
Then she leaned a little closer.
Her voice dropped even lower.
"Guy, then... do you..."
She hesitated.
Her face grew redder and redder.
But she still managed to ask.
"Do you... like me?"
Guy stiffened and stood there.
His eyes were still unfocused.
But his mouth opened.
"Guy... likes Kurenai the most..."
Kurenai froze, her face instantly turning bright red.
Then she smiled.
Her eyes curved into crescent moons.
She was so happy.
She looked at Guy's dazed face.
She suddenly rose onto her tiptoes.
She quickly kissed his cheek.
Then she took two steps back.
She covered her face.
"I... I'll head back first!"
She turned and ran.
Her black curls bobbed in the sunlight.
She soon disappeared into the woods.
Guy stood where he was.
Without moving.
He waited until Kurenai's footsteps had completely faded away.
Only then did he blink. The expression on his face was indescribably strange.
Then he opened his mouth and spat out a small stone.
The Sobering Stone.
Just now, while Kurenai had lowered her head, he'd secretly slipped a hand into his pocket and fished out the Sobering Stone.
He'd put it in his mouth and tucked it beneath his tongue.
He'd planned to test the Sobering Stone's effects.
The thing was a little cool.
When Kurenai had cast her genjutsu, it had also released a bitter taste.
Guy had immediately come to his senses.
He'd only meant to tease Kurenai a little, but he hadn't expected...
"What was that? A girl's confession?"
Guy's expression turned peculiar.
"But if that really counts as a confession, then just now, I was the one confessing, wasn't I?"
Guy shook his head.
He cast aside the distracting thoughts, picked up the large cleaver from the ground, and resumed practicing the Precept-Breaking Blade.
He'd only just performed it once.
But for some reason, Guy felt as though...
He had boundless energy!