A week had passed.
Today, as usual, after training at the Shadow Heaven Sword Hall and returning to my apartment, I felt my body trembling.
It was the muscle soreness I'd been experiencing every day for the past week.
At home, I gritted my teeth and glared at the time displayed on my smartphone screen.
When ten minutes had passed, the cooldown ended. Without hesitation, I activated the skill.
Complete Recovery.
The muscle soreness vanished instantly.
If it weren't for Complete Recovery, I would have quit Jin Seyoung and everything else immediately.
I collapsed onto the bed. My body was fine, but my mind was exhausted.
Jin Seyoung wasn't just tough; she was Spartan incarnate. If she suddenly shouted, "This is Sparta!" I would have agreed in an instant.
"Full recovery is really great."
At first, I hesitated to use full recovery. After all the hard work I'd put in, wouldn't using it just erase all the exercise benefits, like pouring water into a bottomless pit?
"But the exercise benefits didn't disappear."
The proof was right there in my stats:
[Sung Yujin]
[Level: 16]
[Strength: 12 Stamina: 11 Agility: 11 Intelligence: 2 Vitality: 15]
[Available Points: 30]
Even though I hadn't spent any points, my Strength, Stamina, and Agility had all increased.
"And by consistently visiting the Vampire Detective world to satisfy my desires, I've already accumulated 30 points."
I pondered where to spend these points.
Hoarding them is just a waste.
I was someone who largely agreed with that sentiment.
If I increased my physical stats, Jin Seyoung would notice immediately and intensify my training. Moreover, it was obvious that the higher my stats, the harder it would be to improve them through exercise.
Boosting my Vitality isn't a bad idea, but... another random draw? No, that's too risky. I'll upgrade my skills instead.
[Acceleration Lv.3]
[Accelerates the body for 10 minutes.]
[Cooldown: 1 hour]
I invested 3 points, stopping there because leveling up to Lv.4 would require a staggering 5 points.
Should I upgrade my Hacking skill after all?
Then my gaze fell upon the Erogenous Zone Detection skill.
Skills become more effective as their level increases. If I upgraded Erogenous Zone Detection, would it only reduce the cooldown time?
Or would it unlock new additional effects, like Hacking?
An additional effect for Erogenous Zone Detection... that would be one sexy skill.
It's not that I lack confidence in my sexual prowess. Quite the opposite, in fact.
My massive cock and the techniques I'd naturally honed through daily sex in the Pleasure World App even this alone would be enough to make most women moan beneath me.
But sex skills are every man's fantasy.
The ability to make a woman climax with just a touch!
What an ultimate power.
Heh heh heh.
I grinned, a smile that would make anyone uncomfortable, and leveled up my Erogenous Zone Detection skill.
[Use 2 points to upgrade Erogenous Zone Detection Lv. 2?]
I nodded. When it reached level 2, the cooldown time had decreased, but at level 5, the skill itself transformed.
[Erogenous Zone Detection Lv. 5 has evolved into Erotic Enhancement Lv. 5.]
[Erotic Enhancement Lv. 6]
[Detects the target's erogenous zones. Must be within 5 meters.]
[Cooldown: 30 minutes]
[This skill intensifies the target's sexual sensitivity. The more you touch their erogenous zones, the faster their sexual arousal increases.]
[The Erotic Enhancement effect lasts for 5 minutes.]
[Cooldown: 1 hour]
In essence, it's a single skill with two distinct effects.
Heh heh heh. This is one hell of a skill.
[Use 2 points to upgrade Erotic Enhancement?]
[Yes / No]
The required points remained unchanged.
As if entranced, I pressed firmly on my smartphone screen.
A total of 10 levels. I couldn't upgrade it further.
[Erotic Enhancement Lv. Master]
[Erogenous Zone Detection]
[Detects the target's erogenous zones. The target must be within 5 meters.]
[Erotic Enhancement]
[This skill can heighten a target's erogenous zones. By making physical contact, it grants the target a mild pleasure and increases their sexual arousal. Touching the target's erogenous zones further amplifies the effect.]
[Erotic Enhancement consumes the user's vitality.]
I smirked.
I was curious about the extent of Erotic Enhancement's effects, so I used the skill on myself.
[Activating Erotic Enhancement. Vitality will be continuously drained.]
Hmm?
I felt something draining from within my body no, from my entire being. It was like slowly deflating a large balloon.
Well, doesn't seem dangerous.
The sensation was so subtle, I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been concentrating. It wasn't unpleasant, either.
I gripped my left wrist with my right hand and began massaging it.
"Oh... O-oh?!"
My mood brightened. Even though I was clearly touching my own hand, it felt like someone else was slowly caressing it.
If this was the effect of touching myself, what would it be like to touch someone else's body directly?
The sensation would undoubtedly be even more intense.
My erogenous zones were my cock and neck, right?
I gently stroked my neck with my right hand.
...!!
A shiver ran down my spine, and my back muscles twitched. This felt even better than I'd imagined.
After about ten seconds of lightly caressing my neck, my cock was fully erect.
Of course, simple contact alone wasn't enough to bring me to climax. But the Sensual Amplification Skill's effects intensified over time.
Let's try jerking off with this.
I pulled up a Room Sex video I'd filmed earlier and started masturbating. In less than three minutes, I came.
"Hah... hah... hah!"
I gasped for breath, cold sweat streaming down my cheeks. My body felt fine, but my energy had completely drained.
I wasn't the type to be this exhausted from just one orgasm. This had to be the Sensual Amplification Skill.
The Sensual Amplification Skill was real. The problem was, I didn't have the vitality to maintain the Erotic Enhancement for long.
"Shit... my dick won't even get hard..."
What exactly was vitality?
The answer was vitality.
If vitality were just physical stamina, there'd be no reason my dick wouldn't get hard. I was the kind of guy who could always get hard, no matter how tired I was.
But after just one wank, my dick had gone completely limp. There was no way it would get hard again today.
[Ending use of Sensual Amplification Skill.]
"I need to be more careful when using this..."
I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes. I didn't want to move another inch today.
The next day.
I subtly used the Sensual Amplification Skill on Jin Seyoung.
"Noona, have some water."
A week had passed, and Jin Seyoung and I had become close enough to speak informally. After exercising and talking together for over four hours every day, it would have been stranger if we hadn't grown closer.
"Ah, thank you."
When Jin Seyoung took the water cup from me, our fingers accidentally brushed. I activated the Sensual Amplification Skill.
[Using Sensual Amplification. Vitality is being continuously consumed.]
"Ah!"
Jin Seyoung flinched in surprise, then took the cup and tilted her head in confusion.
[Ending Sensual Amplification.]
The Erotic Enhancement Skill was supposed to induce mild pleasure and increase sexual arousal, but a brief touch like this wouldn't produce significant results. And as I'd confirmed yesterday, the effectiveness varied depending on the area touched.
"But there's a saying: 'If you lack quality, make up for it with quantity.' What if I maintain brief, continuous contact? Heh heh heh."
Of course, I didn't think this would let me bed her. If the world were that easy, Earth would be a much more peaceful place.
"One~ two~"
"Ugh...!"
Jin Seyoung exercised alongside me. Strangely, she could pinpoint even the slightest flaw in my form with uncanny accuracy.
"Watch your back! And your elbow angle too!"
Frustrated, Jin Seyoung approached me and adjusted my elbow angle. I chuckled inwardly.
[Erotic Enhancement activated. Vitality continuously draining.]
Unlike her initial startled reaction, she showed no surprise this time. Her expression and movements remained normal, making it seem like the skill had no effect.
But I trust the Pleasure World App.
[Erotic Enhancement deactivated.]
Next was a fundamental skills class for the Youngcheon Style.
"No, you can't swing the sword like that. It might feel awkward now, but once you get used to it, this stance will feel much more comfortable. Focus on your waist."
[Erotic Enhancement activated. Vitality is being continuously consumed.]
Jin Seyoung touched my waist, adjusting one of the fundamental stances of the Youngcheon Style.
Erotic Enhancement deactivated.
I cleverly used Erotic Enhancement, activating it only when she touched me and immediately deactivating it once the contact ended.
"...Phew. It's getting hot in here. I should lower the air conditioning. Just a moment."
The temperature was the same as usual.
This meant my body temperature had risen due to the effects of Erotic Enhancement. I chuckled inwardly. Whether it was because of Erotic Enhancement or not, today's workout felt surprisingly easy.
I chuckled inwardly, but after an hour, I couldn't laugh anymore.
She's so hot.
Jin Seyoung was sweating more than usual, channeling her sexual arousal into her workout. I could hear her slightly flushed cheeks and the strangely sensual rhythm of her breathing from beside me.
The erotic scent radiating from Jin Seyoung's body was stimulating me.
I guess I'll have to visit the Vampire Detective world in the Pleasure World App again tonight to relieve some pent-up urges.
Focusing on keeping my erection in check, I repeatedly practiced the stances of the Youngcheon Style.
The training and workouts at the Shadow Heaven Sword Hall seemed set to continue indefinitely.
But today, two weeks into this routine,
I saw the end of this life.
"...Yujin-ah, I'm sorry to say this, but... you don't seem to have the talent for the Youngcheon Style."
Jin Seyoung spoke to me with a grave expression.
I was reminded of a fact I had forgotten: to continue training here, one must possess talent for the Youngcheon Style.
"...I think I just need a little more practice," I insisted stubbornly.
In truth, I knew I lacked the necessary talent.
I hadn't made any progress in the past week. I had memorized all the basic techniques of the Youngcheon Style, but when I tried to execute the stances in sequence, they failed to flow smoothly together.
When stances connect seamlessly, they form movements, and these movements constitute the fundamental techniques of the Youngcheon Style.
The transitions should flow as naturally as water, but mine were as creaky as a poorly oiled machine.
"You know it too," Jin Seyoung said. "It's been a week, and there's no sign of improvement."
"..."
Jin Seyoung was right. Even when I focused all my mental energy and perfected my posture, the subsequent movements still felt awkward and strained.
"Haa... It's not that you're particularly lacking in talent. Most people fail at this stage. That's why I value talent so highly."
"...I still don't understand why I'm failing. Is the movement itself impossible?"
"I can do it perfectly. The technique is sound. But... I can't deny that we lack sufficient data. As I said, the reason I'm working as a hunter trainer is to gather more information. We need a wider range of data to refine the fundamentals of the Youngcheon Style."
"..."
"I'm sorry. But I'll still teach you diligently for the remaining two weeks. Who knows? Your potential might just blossom a little later."
"...Yeah, well, what can you do?" I forced myself to answer.
That day, after returning to my rented room, I muttered a curse under my breath.
"...Fuck."
I wasn't angry at Jin Seyoung. I act impulsively, but I know how to assess situations.
From the beginning, Jin Seyoung had told me she would observe my talent for the Youngcheon Style for a month. If she had suddenly announced this today, I would have been furious, but she had made it clear from the start.
"This fucking sucks."
I was angry at myself.
This body devoid of any talent.
I thought I'd never feel this shitty again after awakening my Pleasure World App abilities.
"And I haven't even fucked Jin Seyoung yet...!"
I know she's been subtly touching me on purpose. The payoff for using the Sensual Amplification Skill all this time is finally showing.
Of course, this wouldn't lead to intimacy with her, but physical contact was a powerful way to deepen connections between people.
"Why?! Why does it have to be because I lack talent?!"
I had never given a second thought to talent before, but today, the fact that I lacked it felt like a bitter curse.
I grabbed the iron sword leaning against the corner of the wall and began practicing the basic techniques of the Youngcheon Style.
"Why?! Why?! Why can't I get this right?!"
I swung the sword wildly. I was moving exactly as I had been taught, but the movements kept breaking down, stuttering and halting mid-motion. The flow was completely disrupted.
The sword's tip sliced through the wallpaper, but I gritted my teeth and continued swinging.
After nearly ten minutes of mindless practice, I collapsed onto the floor, too exhausted to even hold the sword.
"Huff... Huff... Fuck..."
What the hell am I doing in my room?
As a wave of self-loathing washed over me, I instinctively pulled out my smartphone. By now, the Pleasure World App had become my mental anchor.
"...Huh?"
When I launched the app, a notification window I'd never seen before popped up.
[Conditions met.]
[The 'Youngcheon Style' trait can now be unlocked.]
[Spend 10 points to unlock the 'Youngcheon Style' trait?]
[Yes / No / Later]
I had accumulated a total of 28 points through playing the game.
More than enough.
Sensing that something was about to change, I pressed "Yes."
[Unlocking the 'Youngcheon Style' trait.]
[Youngcheon Style Lv. 1[
[You can now use the Youngcheon Style.]