As soon as Elizabeth started sparring with Irene, she immediately started using [Slow] on herself, if not to start getting used to its application, then for the sole reason that she could completely overpower her otherwise. Having her speed reduced by a measly half a percent barely made a difference in the grand scheme of things, but at least she there was progress being made on two fronts.However, using [Slow] was simply not enough, and the first practical use of the dojo"s magical equipment had its appearance as well. Elizabeth donned the weights Jane would train with before the dimensional upgrade and only then would her movement be limited to the point where Irene could put up a fight.
The spar itself was more or less exciting than the hour she spent sitting still to cultivate Speed; the reason being her inability to watch her numbers rise, as all her focus needed to be concentrated on reading and reacting to Irene. Her a.s.sumption that Irene would be a great whetstone for her to sharpen her experience was well founded as Elizabeth was exposed to several attacking and defending strategies and moves that caught her unprepared several times.
More often than not, it was Elizabeth who found herself beaten. However, every time she made a mistake and lost, it would just raise her durability for the subsequent run in the gauntlet. With nothing but her Muay Thai and physical parameters rising, it was to no one"s surprise that the numbers rose as if Elizabeth were still a total beginner; in essence, she technically was.
However, though the numbers were increasing fast, they weren"t at their potential max; a fact that didn"t sit right with Elizabeth at all. After all, Irene wasn"t a Peak-phase Solider or beyond. Thus, she could never test Elizabeth"s limits but the two could only make do with the reverse.
In any case, time would pa.s.s faster when presented with something fun to do, so it was in no time at all that several hours pa.s.sed and Atid called for this second part of training to end. Looking at Elizabeth it would be hard to tell that she had just gone through hours of sparring, as she looked exactly the same as before the fighting began; her breath was steady and there was not a trace of bruise or injury on her body. The same could be said for Irene as she never had to use the totality of her strength and by proxy, her endurance lasted the whole sparring session.
Atid called for everyone to gather around him and once they"d done so, he said, "Now then, since today"s the first day, we"ll end compulsory training here. You have until 5 AM tomorrow to do whatever you want. But for those that wish to continue training for longer, form a line so I may distribute Resting Pills."
This being the training regimen leading up to a compet.i.tion, literally no skimped out on a chance to get some extra training out of the way. Everyone formed a line and when it was Elizabeth turn to receive some Resting Pills, she took her pills and immediately left to the kitchen area. As she walked to prepare herself a snack, Elizabeth read through the Resting Pill"s status.
[Name: Core Resting Pills
Grade: High-tier Mortal Grade Pills
Description: Pills that can be subst.i.tuted for sleep and exhaustion recovery. Though they"re well made with a decent 85% refinement rate, the pill"s overall state limit their use for heavy and longtime use.
Current Effect: Eliminates any need for sleep and recovers stamina. Only three of these pills can be used back-to-back before the body revolts.]
"Holy s.h.i.t! I can skip sleep for three days in a row with these pills?!" As Elizabeth marveled at the alchemical pill"s effects, Yrre looked on with disdain and even a faint sadness. Yrre looked at Elizabeth"s excitement presumably from discovering the effects of the pills somehow and carefully said, "You… Are you happy with those pills?"
Responding through their link via the Law Linking Chains, Elizabeth said, "Of course! Do you know how much progress I could make if I only had to sleep every 72 hours?"
Whilst shaking her head, Yrre said, "Wouldn"t it be better if you never had to sleep?"
A familiar glitter appeared in Elizabeth"s eyes as maddening greed seemed to manifest around her. To those around her, the way she bobbed her head back and forth made her seem silly, even foolish. But Elizabeth herself couldn"t care less as she indulged in her fantasy of being perfectly efficient.
Seeing Elizabeth"s response, Yrre asked Elizabeth if she could see one of the three pills she received. Naturally, as someone who she knew couldn"t possibly betray her, Elizabeth didn"t even have to think as she gave up one of her pills to the mysterious Level 79 Djinn. The degree of cringe Yrre displayed after taking the pill and properly a.n.a.lyzing its compounds left even Elizabeth impressed. But before Elizabeth could show it, she was left flabbergasted as Yrre actually started burning her pill!
Just as Elizabeth was about to jump to conclusions and become the demon the dojo members never wished would appear again, Elizabeth calmed herself down to wait for Yrre to explain herself. She didn"t know what Yrre was doing as her knowledge for alchemy and pill making was next to none and given their relationship, it was hard for her to believe that her servant would do something so idiotic.
Still, even if she was completely oblivious to the methods of an alchemist, Elizabeth didn"t neglect her current set of skills to see what Yrre was doing to the best of her ability. She used her Timeworn Eyes and "medical sight" to redouble her ocular prowess and even though she stared right into Yrre"s blindingly white flames, she could see that the pill wasn"t being completely destroyed. Rather, it looked similar to when Elizabeth refined ores, as she saw impurities vaporize to ash as the source material — the pill itself — compacted and shrunk in size.
Given the pill"s initial quality as High-tier, it didn"t take long for Yrre to complete her work and present it before her master; especially considering she had risen to Level 10 after Elizabeth"s breakthrough to Level 15. After Yrre gave Elizabeth her pill back, it was still warm to the touch as Elizabeth called for its new status to appear before her.
[Name: Consummate Resting Pill
Grade: Peak-tier Mortal Grade Pill (Threatens The Barrier To Spirit Grade)
Description: A pill that can be subst.i.tuted for sleep and exhaustion recovery. This pill is virtually perfect, with the only caveat being the fact that perfection was thrust upon after pill concoction.
Current Effect: Eliminates any need for sleep and recovers stamina. Given the fact that you possess pills of this quality, your body will probably evolve into perfect autonomy long before any negative side effects arise.]
Elizabeth stopped looking at the pill, opting to look at Yrre instead, then back to pill and back to Yrre, in a cycle that seemed to go on for far too long. In the end, it was Yrre who said, "Give me the rest of your pills and I"ll enhance them..." She also promised to upgrade any pills Elizabeth came across in the future and after the two entered the kitchen area, Elizabeth vowed to treat Yrre like the treasure she thought her to be!
…
In the background, Yrre was busy burning away the impurities of Elizabeth"s two remaining Core Resting Pills, as Elizabeth approached the kitchen counter. She was surprised as her entry into the cooking station was barred. Before her, a tall and grizzled middle-aged man in cooking attire blocked her and asked, "You hungry? What do you want?"
"Uh… I cook for myself..." The man"s rude att.i.tude confused Elizabeth more than it did arouse any other negative feeling. However, the man took her response the same a normal person would react to being spit on. He said, "HUH?! This is MY cooking station and I won"t allow any unworthy dishes to be made while I"m around. Aren"t you a martial artist or whatever? Just pick a f.u.c.king dish and I"ll cook while you practice or whatever."
To this hyperbolic response, Elizabeth fired back a half laughing response. She found this man funny and had a hard time containing herself as she said, "Nah, I"m good. My dishes are probably more than good enough to be made here so move over." Up until this point everything she had said was made in a cordial and civil manner.
However, the man didn"t seem to think so, as his face turned grim and he pointed his knife at Elizabeth. He said, "You want to challenge… ME? Fine! But if your dishes aren"t up to par with mine I want an apology in front of all your peers and the master of the ship himself!"
With a look of disbelief and disappointment, Elizabeth accepted this challenge as she finally felt something she hadn"t felt in weeks; a desire to humiliate. Very rarely did someone find the right combination of b.u.t.tons to push to make Elizabeth react this way, as she was usually an all-or-nothing kind of gal. Given that the fool before her wished to test her cooking skills so badly, she didn"t feel any guilt from the loss of respect he"d earn after she thoroughly bested him in his own craft.
Elizabeth said, "Alrighty then, how about this? I"ll go to my room and bring my own equipment and you can go ahead and round up everyone who"s willing to watch this silly fight. We"ll each present our dishes to each other and to those that watch and they can be the jury. The loser has to apologize to the winner and admit their skill to be lesser. You in?"
The man didn"t even feel the need to verbally a.s.sent as he gave a loud "Hmph!" and stormed off to look for Atid. Elizabeth"s schadenfreudian smile saw the light of day once more as she carried it around with her from the kitchen to her room. Once the doors were locked, she materialized her reward for the Chef"s Rank Milestone #1 Hidden Quest, and with her shiny new a.s.sortment of knives, she returned to the kitchen.