"…Yes."
Mikami Yuu hesitated for a moment, then made his choice.
The next second,
a line of dynamic text with flaming visual effects appeared in front of him:
[Eight Gates: Yo! Big bro! Are you here to burn your youthful passion too? Looking at your skinny frame… you don't seem like the type who can hold me. Come on—run a hundred laps around the training ground first and let me see what kind of caliber you've got! (She wipes her nose with her thumb and flashes a gleaming grin.)]
A: (Eyes blazing, hot blood surging) OOOOOH! This is youth! Please let me join! No matter how tired I get, I'll hold on to the end!
B: Instead of running, how about we talk about life philosophy first? That powerful figure of yours is so captivating! Let me feel that scorching heat too!
C: Wait! Won't that kind of training destroy you first? I want to observe a bit before deciding.
"…"
Mikami Yuu twitched his lips.
So this was what you got when you triggered an [Encounter] through the Might father and son…
He didn't expect even the personified "Eight Gates" to be full of youth-talk, looking like something wasn't quite right in the head. And these options were all kind of weird too—like any choice could be a trap.
Still,
after thinking briefly, Mikami Yuu picked the most reasonable option—A.
[Eight Gates: Oh? You're not running away—you're coming closer to me instead? What a brave big bro! (She grins and shows little fang-like canines.) But shouting slogans isn't enough. Prove yourself with action! Are you prepared?]
…
On the training ground,
Might Duy released his Eight Gates state. The violent chakra around him receded like a tide. Breathing heavily, he said, "That's how you open the first three gates… Yuu, remember: the body is the vessel, the will is the key. Only when both combine can you break past your limits."
"Now, do you want to try…"
"Wait a second, Uncle Duy."
As Mikami Yuu spoke, he jumped down from the tree root under Duy's stunned gaze—and started sprinting around the clearing training ground like a madman!
"Hey! Yuu! My youth explanation isn't finished yet—"
Duy shouted twice, but then Might Guy also yelled and chased after him:
"Damn it! Yuu, you bastard—you're secretly training extra by yourself! Wait for me! Youth can't bloom alone!"
"…?"
Duy stared at the two boys sprinting around the field. He scratched his head, blank for a few seconds—then the blazing youth fire lit up inside him. He threw his arms high, face full of excitement:
"OOOOOHHH—!! Is this the resonance of youthful bonds?! This is amazing! Guy! Yuu! Go! Burn! Run a hundred laps around the field—leave no regrets for youth!!"
This training ground wasn't huge, but one lap was still three to four hundred meters.
A hundred laps meant over 30 kilometers.
Compared to Mikami Yuu's recent "ten laps around the village every day," that wasn't an insane distance. The problem was, he'd already run ten village laps that morning—his stamina wasn't fresh anymore. Running a hundred laps now was not going to be easy.
Meanwhile, Might Guy didn't seem tired at all. He ran while yelling at the top of his lungs, like he wouldn't feel satisfied unless he shouted every ounce of strength out. And Duy's drumbeat cheering beside them was loud enough to shake the sky.
Little by little,
the sun began to tilt toward the west.
Sweat soaked through Mikami Yuu and Guy's clothes, then dripped from their hems onto the dry dirt, leaving tiny dark marks. A damp path had already formed around the training ground, reflecting the sunlight.
When the final lap was finally finished,
Mikami Yuu stumbled a few steps from momentum before stopping, then collapsed flat on his back in a spread-eagle sprawl. His chest heaved violently as he tried to calm lungs that felt ready to explode—he didn't even have the strength to speak.
Guy wasn't quite that extreme, but he was bent over with both hands on his knees, gulping air.
"Haa… haa…"
As Mikami Yuu panted, the text box appeared again:
[Eight Gates: Wow, big bro—you actually ran?!]
[Eight Gates: But I like that decisive personality! That's the kind of reckless sprinting that makes your blood boil—only someone like that has the capacity to carry me! Come on—keep running! Run even faster! Let youth explode! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧]
A: OOOOOH! Any number of times is fine! Let youth and power burn together!
B: Spare me… I don't have a single drop of chakra left… can we run tomorrow…?
C: Ugh, just kill me.
"…"
For a split second, Mikami Yuu wanted to pick C.
But reason made him choose B.
As for A… yeah, no. He didn't want to die. If he got up in this state and ran another hundred laps, his muscles would probably dissolve on the spot.
Unfortunately…
this forbidden technique clearly had no intention of letting him off that easily:
[Eight Gates: (Instantly closes in, face practically right in front of you, overwhelming pressure) No! Youth has no tomorrow! It's now! "Not a single drop left"? Who are you fooling?! I can feel it—there's still a flame flickering inside you. Come on, follow me. Deep breath—]
[Eight Gates: Feel better? See? You weren't drained at all. Come on, come on—get up and try opening a gate. It'll feel amazing. Like you're going to heaven! ]
[Eight Gates has invited you to experience "Gate of Opening": Accept/Decline]
Mikami Yuu finally understood.
No wonder the system warned that romancing "Eight Gates" was risky… this was basically psychological torture!
And the worst part was you couldn't outsource this target. Otherwise, Mikami Yuu would've loved to outsource Eight Gates to Might Guy—let Guy handle the romance mission, and Mikami Yuu would take 30% of the affection points…
Just then,
Might Duy came closer and stuffed a soldier pill into both Mikami Yuu and Guy's mouths, then handed over two bottles of water. He grinned widely.
"Yuu—so, are you ready to try opening the first gate of the Eight Gates?"
"…Screw it. If I die, I die!"
With the atmosphere already this pumped, Mikami Yuu hardened his heart. He chewed the soldier pill up, swallowed it, rested a few minutes until some chakra recovered, then sat up again with a jolt.
Then, following what Might Duy had just explained, he tried to mobilize chakra—shaping it into a sharp "drill"—and drove it toward the Gate of Opening located in the brain!