“This place is rather tiny...” Hakuro cautiously walked across the small interior of Yugai’s home. He was looking for a place to lay down but… there was not much room at all. All there is, is a stove, a sink, and a single microwave. All tucked together in wherever they fit all together, a rather tiny spot, for that matter. There’s a single tatami mat, laid out on the floor. Enough, on its own, to cover most of the whole thing. The floor, or whatever bit of it you could still see, was made of light brown wood. There's another door that leads to a bathroom, which was not even surprising at this point, was just a toilet, and a showerhead... next to each other by a drain. There’s a washing machine in the bottom left corner of it too. For the most part, the house was basically just a meager room, and that is no more than a tiny square with some appliances in it. Hakuro measures it mentally and it’d just enough free space for Yugai to lie down in and sleep, without touching anything around. Two people could sit down in this small space, but two could not sleep here. Perhaps, four lean people could stand up inside, but they'd all be touching one another in the process, much like the passengers within a cramped express wagon at rush hour.

“Wow. This is… I've known many people in the past that even now live in worse conditions than this. But for this part of the world, in this part of the country, in this city? You are quite poor. Not in monetary wealth mind you, I know you have money. Even before that gracious compensation. But you’re poor in heart, and mind.” The cat plods around, the only comfortable spot here is the tatami bed, and Yugai is already laying on it. He's blankly staring at his right arm. He clenches his hands into a fist, releases it, and then slowly moves each finger, joint by joint. “Oh, that. Yes, I healed your arm and reduced the severity of the wounds on your head. I couldn’t get back your eye though, it went down the stream and it’s a bit too much with how things are right now. It was not easy either.” Hakuro licks his right paw. Yugai blinks three times with his single right eye, and turns towards the cat.

“You brought me back to life, and fixing a missing eye is a problem?” There’s no malice or anger in his voice, just confusion and curiosity. “ Hakuro sighs and scratches the back of his right ear with his paw, and rests it back on the wooden floor before answering. “Ah, right. I have a few more things to tell you concerning that... I said before that you should think of me as something similar to a familiar of say... a witch. But you can also think of me as something like a contracted demon. As much as I loathe the comparison. I aid you, for a price. Fighting that beast was the conditions for the payment of a second life. If you were to fight more of them, you could ask for some minor wishes, say a bit more money, or a slight alteration to your physical features, or mental condition. Nothing all that astounding. The marks of The Foot are not worth very much, especially not the fodder. So, getting your life back for killing a minor minion, the bottom rung of the ladder. Did you think it’d be so easy? So cheap? Even a single life is worth a lot.” Yugai looks towards the cat. There’s no fear, betrayal, or anything negative. There’s no creepy weird smile either. Hakuro responds to a dumbfounded blink with another blink back. He has never met anyone like this before in all of his long life. He’s not quite sure how to react.

“Okay. Our relationship is now of Mystic and Disciple. Your resurrection comes with the stipulation that you keep fighting. Your life is basically on lease, or the equivalent of an installment plan. You have to continue to battle and slay targets, or complete quests, to renew the license for about a week. Soon, next Monday, exactly seven days from now, you will be going back to The Peak, and must do battle again.” Hakuro closes one eye as it looks for a reaction from the young man. No discomfort could be seen, just… acceptance of the strange situation. Hakuro decided to go ahead with his explanation. “You can also think of this agreement, to keep you alive, like a sign-up bonus. Making an initial contract grants you an immediate reward. In this case, not dying. Normally, this would be impossible even as a bonus, to keep you alive like this, but considering it is partially my responsibility… Well, an exception has been made. One that lets you pay back in instalments. I’ve already gone above and beyond, healing most of your wounds, in addition to this rare reward. You can also be granted wishes by hunting more than your weekly quota, so you can also benefit from all this, not just sustain your present state. So losing an eye, perhaps only temporarily, is a fine deal, is it not?” Yugai simply nods to this revelation of obscure knowledge.

“...Boy, are you suffering from some kind of brain damage? You seem… far too calm about all this. Your predecessors either cried out of joy at the prospect of magic, or were terrified about being drawn into a world of constant conflict. I’m just making sure, you do understand the predicament you’re in, right? The good and the ill before you.” Yugai answers with another nod, affirming, which trips up the ancient and powerful being. “Okay. Maybe, you’re thinking this is easy. I’ll just kill one of those things every Monday. I’m sorry to break your bubble, but you probably won’t be able to pull it off again, at least nowhere near that easily. That thing almost killed you for you to win this time… But seeing is better than speaking for this kind of thing. Try to do what you did again, use that Mystic Art, here and now.” Yugai lifts his left hand, and as if programmed to do so, his gaze fixates on the tip of his left finger. It takes a second, but a spark of silver light flies, and the talon has returned to being part of his hand. It feels almost like a tiny extra limb to him. The sharp tip glimmers under the light.

“How does it feel?” Those four words from Hakuro are all Yugai needed to understand. “It’s light. Too light. There’s nowhere near as much power or density as before. I pierced thoroughly, all the way through his eye and into his brain. It didn’t kill it, but it damaged its motor functions. If I redid that fight, here and now, I’d probably die. This would barely pierce his eye, and would definitely not go any further than that." Haruko exhaled as he heard the boy talk. "I’m not using my full body and muscles behind the attack, but just from looking at it like this I can tell. It’s totally different. The Tiger Sting I used on him was ten times better.” The cat couldn’t help but feel shocked. This boy was not a genius. He did not have talent, his stats were pitiful, yet, he had an incredibly sharp intuition. He'd only won the earlier fight by pushing aside all the barriers. Both physically, mentally, and even emotionally, only to get a single chance to turn the tide. It was his first time performing a Mystic Art, but he had somehow succeeded, and dealt a crucial, game-changing blow. Hakuro wasn’t sure whether it was luck, or just strong instinct, but he knew that the boy before him wasn’t particularly remarkable. And yet, something about him seemed to shine. Something he couldn’t quite put his paws on. But it was, without a doubt, the same factor that led him to win the life and death battle, and understand his predicament so quickly.

“Having good instincts won’t be enough to save you. Even those with talent, strength and the blessings of fortune need to train, improve, and learn. You, who have none of those things, need to work even harder than they do. If they are going at 100%, you need to give it at least 1000... if not more. Otherwise, you’ll perish in battle. No ifs and or buts. Do you understand?” Yugai does his simple peaceful nod yet again. “...I guess even at my age, you can learn new things. I need to adapt to the beat of your drum it seems... Okay. So, for you to get stronger, you need to improve your fighting skills, your magical power, and your ability to perform and execute Mystic Arts. Your power scales with your Charisma stat, as I stated before." Haruko took a deep breath.

“So we’ll need to raise that, to make sure you have an appropriate amount of stopping power. As much as technique is important, it’s, unfortunately, the truth, that pure brute force is the first deciding factor in a battle. With enough raw strength, you can overpower those with less force, even if they can perform well-polished moves. We need to start from the bottom with you. It’s the only way. I’ll teach you some martial arts when we have the time, but we need you to have more Charisma to actually make use of it. I have the perfect idea for raising it. Fresh experiences on your end, and listening to others, should aid a lot. It’ll also function as a new job for you, so you can keep yourself fed. Your diet has ruined your nutritional intake, and giving you a stronger body should also let you endure harsher training. Which of course will let you push yourself to higher heights, and break your limits. I know just the place. Follow me.”

Hakuro turns around, and sprints towards the door, and unlocks it with his paws. Yugai follows, opening it wide, and revealing a darkening horizon, as night was about to engulf this part of the world under its blanket.

The cat crawled and climbed up his body, until he landed on his right shoulder. “I will be your missing eye for now. Go to the train station and take the…” The cat gives directions, and Yugai follows them without question. He gets a few strange stares from the crowd while he is on the train, and a few people even try to pet, or ask about Hakuro. He answers them all with a smile, earnest and honestly, even when the only answer he can give is “I don’t know.” Of course, this reaction made some people uncomfortable and mystified, but something about his serenity and grinning face disarmed their worries, and no one bothered him for too long. Eventually, they reached the station they desired. Hakuro continued to be a navigator, and Yugai continued marching to the commands given, as if he was a wind-up toy soldier. But his eyes did wander to all the marvels of the large central-hub city he was in. Bright neon lights and signs of many colours, sights and sounds that send flashing signals to grab the brain's attention, the scent of food that enchants the body with newfound hunger. “Stop. Turn right. We’re here.”

Yugai finds himself staring at what seems like a normal looking building. It is neither large, nor small. The first thing he notices is a young woman with shoulder-length green hair and big sparkly sky-blue eyes. She’s wearing a rather extravagant red one-piece and a pair of matching scarlet high heels. Behind her, he could see two spiral staircases heading downwards, with gold railings and marble steps. There’s a third one, of the same make and design, heading upwards. The girl’s pale-white skin is immaculate. She stares directly at Yugai, and flashes him a smile as their eyes lock. She grabs the sides of her dress and cruises while bowing her head. “Welcome! I am Nenekaku, but please just call me Nene! I am your guide to this wonderful establishment! Above us, is the Number One Host Club - Olympus! Behind me is the way to our aquarium, Poseidon! To my left and below is the path to our grand shopping mall, Hades, but it is still under construction. So, dear customer, where do you wish to go today? I will do my utmost to assist you in any reasonable manner available!” Her voice is incredibly polite, yet bubbling with excitement.

“Hoh? What an interesting take. You humans certainly have gotten better at this. Yugai, touch that girl's face.” The cat commanded and the boy obeyed. He lays his right hand on her left cheek and blinks when he comes to a realisation. “This isn’t skin. It’s… porcelain?” Nene closes her eyes and falls silent. “Wow. Wait, is this one of those work service robots I’ve been hearing about? I didn’t think they were this realistic and advanced yet! I thought she was just a cosplaying employee, but it’s a real honest to goodness intelligent android!” Yugai suddenly becomes far more excited, as he is poised front to front with a small childhood dream of his. Nene is an actual robot, and he’s going over the moon. His eye dances around wildly to marvel her frame from head to toe, digesting every detail it comes into contact with, and committing to his heart and mind. Slowly, he began to feel heat radiate from her cheek, and onto his hand.

“Ahem. Customer, I am a gynoid, not an android, as I resemble the female form. Not the male one, and while I am an inorganic life form, my creator has taken great pains to make sure I can replicate the feelings of humanoids. So, what I’m trying to tell you dear customer, is that the heat you are feeling on your palm now, stems from embarrassment.” Yugai pulls back his hand and blinks again. “Sorry. It’s just… I’m amazed! You’re like… something out of a manga! Ah! This is a dream come true!” The cat sighed. “So you’ll only get excited about stuff like this? Well, I guess I cannot blame you. I do find works such as this maiden to be interesting from the viewpoint of a craftsman. Your creator has combined rare magical components with cutting edge machinery to give you both life and heart. I have seldom seen such success. You are a marvel, I must admit.”

“Your words of praise would no doubt please my creator’s heart… is what I wish to say.” She looks away and sighs. “Well, now that you’re done with inspecting me, where do you wish to go?” Yugai turned to look at the cat on his shoulder. “We’re going up. No need to call anyone… and if things get messy, don’t intervene.” There’s a steely tone to Hakuro’s voice and a hint of mischief.

“...Oh. I see." She sighs. " Very well, I’ll be waiting here if you need me. I wish you luck, challenger. You’ll need it.” Having heard her words, Yugai turns around, and starts ascending the marble steps, until he reaches the top, and spots a man sitting in front of a set of glass double doors. His skin is kissed by the sun, his eyes olive green. His dark hair was slicked back, and a sharp goatee on his chin made his character. Despite being dressed like a bartender, he was also wearing a pair of crimson trousers with zippers just above the thighs. His frame was massive compared to Yugai's, standing a whole head above, being at least 5ft9. With one look at his arms, a person could witness incredibly toned and trained muscles, honed over the years. Nevertheless, what stood out the most were his boots. They were made of animal skin, dyed black and had feathers in the back. The man, just from the looks, had to be at least in his late twenties or at most his early thirties.

“A man? Hey, today’s not Violet's day, and Hibari is on break for a few more hours. No reason for a scruffy guy like yourself to be here. Sorry, come again tomorrow.” The man gestures for Yugai to clear off. The boy looks to his cat for counsel again and is given a message directly to his mind in response. “Remember how you made those knives? Apply that to your whole body. Imagine you are wearing a layer of iron under your skin. Do not worry about the potency. Just do it.” Yugai nodded. He inhaled and imagined it. Just under the outer layer of skin a suit of armour is being forged, naked to the human eye. He lets his mana dance its way through his entire body. He feels heavier all of a sudden as his spell takes root. “Now put extra amounts into your hands. Curl your fingers. Yes, your thumbs too. Lower the posture of your body, as if crouching, separate your legs as if you were riding a horse. Left-arm forward, right arm back. Look him in the eyes.” The movements come naturally until his stance is just as described, surprising both Hakuro and Yugai, but neither speak a word about it.

“...Oh. You’re one of those.” There’s a flash of annoyance across the big man’s frown, as if he’s faced these exact circumstances many times before. “Hey, do you not know who I am? Back off kid. Unless you want a one way trip to the hospital. I’ll look away. Now go, and don’t come here again if you’re just going to cause trouble.” The big man does as he promises, literally looking away and shutting his eyes. “...Aren’t hosts supposed to be clean-shaved?” Yugai’s question comes off as innocent as possible. The man turns back.

“...I’m not a host. I’m a bouncer. Is that not obvious? ...Oh. You really, really, really, do not know who I am, do you?” The man is dumbfounded. Yugai blinks.

“Are you famous? I’m afraid I haven’t owned a TV, so sorry. I don’t recognise you.” The big man smacks his chest with his right fist. A powerful slapping sound resonates through the air like an audience applauding, as if to declare the coming of a star to the stage.

“I’m Raimon Vivas! Former heavyweight boxing champion of the world! The Cyclone of Catalonia! With a Win-Loss Ratio of 42-3-1! 30 wins via knockout! You sure you’ve never heard of me? If you haven’t, then now you know! You don’t stand a chance! Back off.” There’s overwhelming pride in the man, and when he says that Yugai stands no chance at victory, he says it with such confidence that it comes out of his lips as a clear fact. Yugai stares down his opponent, before turning his head to Hakuro. “...Why am I fighting him?” The cat sighs and a grumpy expression fills his face. “Your wish is to live, right? Well, live it up! A fight against such a man will no doubt light your fire again! That feeling, that rush! Chase it! Trust and believe in me, my disciple!” Hakuro leaps off the shoulder of Yugai and lands on a nearby balcony to watch his student face off against a far superior adversary.

“Are you really sure? You might die, you know? Last chance.” His olive eyes darken as the clouds pass above and cast a shadow upon his figure. “You don’t look like a heavyweight.” The direct comment disarms Raimon and Hakuro. “...I’ve been retired for just over half a year now. I’m probably about super-middleweight as I am right now. If you think the weight difference will throw me off, there’s no chance of that. I’ve kept up my training every day!” Raimon raises his fists, his left stretched out far beyond his right, both guarding his face.

A crack of thunder!

His left arm lashes out, and becomes a blur that the human eyes can barely even comprehend. It suddenly snaps the space between them, as if it were a razor-sharp whip. His fist retreats even faster than it fired out, it’s all done in less than a second. “See? You’ll be out cold if you take even one of my jabs! It’s a pain to explain this stuff to the authorities, so do me a favour and just back off.”

“Wow! That was so… breathtaking! Show it to me again!” Hakuro chuckles in disbelief. Raimon is completely silent but his eyelashes start batting like the wings of butterflies when he sees Yugai’s lips turn upwards and his left iris sparkles like a diamond. “There’s something... seriously, look, you seem like a nice enough kid, just in over your head. We don’t need to fight. You don’t need to go up against someone you stand no chance of defeating. I’m practically invincible, after all.” Yugai’s smile becomes a frown upon hearing those words.

“Invincible? You have three losses and a draw. You can be beaten.” Sympathy drains away from Raimon almost instantly.

“Okay. First off, your level is nowhere near those four. Not even close. And they didn’t even have any mana. Second, my power is even greater than when I was active, for the obvious reason of becoming a Disciple. Third, those losses and the draw were by decision. I’ve never lost by KO. So, there’s no way I can lose. Never in a million years.” The wind began to growl in seething rage.

“Never say never.” Yugai slowly pulls his right arm back even further.

“Swing your arms as if they are claws. Follow up every action with another. Do not stop until your opponent lays defeated on the ground before you! You can win. I believe in you.” Hakuro lies to his student, but the words of encouragement and the teachings give Yugai a burst of faith and adrenaline.

“Tiger-style Kung Fu? If you can even last one round, at least it’d make a good warm-up. I was getting pretty bored today, it’s been slow. Alright then, it’s your funeral! Come at me!” Yugai is uncomfortably calm. His eye focuses on the place he desires to strike, and once it is locked on, he leaps into action. His right arm swings wide and wildly, turning into a sweeping paw of steel. It travels in an upward arc, and aims for the chin from below! Two inches. The attack falls short of the target location, and is held in place, two inches away. Something invisible stopped the attack before it even had a chance to land. Yugai tries to push forward, but can’t. There’s a cushion-like sensation forcing him back. It is invisible to the naked eye, but there’s a wall here, impeding his progress.

“Gale Force Barrier. If you can’t break through it, this won’t even be a fight. It’ll be a one-sided beatdown.” Raimon relaxes his posture, his arms fall to his side, he isn’t guarding, or even putting up a stance any more by this point.

“Grrrrr!” Yugai tries to apply more pressure. He inhales deeply, and then breathes out a sharp burst of air, as he forces his body’s entire weight forward! ...There’s no change. The invisible wall does not budge in the slightest.

“Okay. Grit your teeth. You’re going down.” The moment the word “down” leaves Raimon’s lips a burst of black and white flashes before Yugai’s eye. Something strikes his jaw at such a speed he can barely comprehend its physical form. A gust of wind, mixed with force and gravity knocks him off balance. His body turns weightless. He falls. Thud. Bottom of the stairs. “Khhkkkk!” He expels spit and a few drops of blood as his body reels from the impact. Nene walks over to his fallen figure.

“Dear customer, I’d recommend against continuing this course of action. Raimon is incredibly strong and, to be frank and honest with you, he isn’t even trying. Do you need me to call an ambulance?” Yugai slams his hands against the very first step leading upwards. They are still in the claw position. His digits dig into the marble and his lips contort into a smirk. He pants to catch his breath… and then pushes his body upward until he stands on both of his feet yet again.

“No, thank you. I’m good.” He takes it one step at a time, ascending once more and, in a few seconds, is face to face with a champion for the second time, “I’m not done yet!” eager to fight and fail as many times as it takes.