Zankita's statement sounded really imposing. However…

"But, you have to be able to win," Hisas.h.i.+ retorted.

"Why do you think that I can win?"

"It's easy to understand even if you think about it with your knee rather than your brain. How can some strange ability you received so recently possibly compare with an experienced Spiritual Ability user's powers!?"

"How can you know without even trying!?" Zankita's eyes were burning with battle fervor.

Seiji clearly recalled how Zankita was the first time that they met… He had been burning up with a similar desire to do battle. Seiji now had a better understanding of why Hisas.h.i.+ constantly called Zankita an "idiot."

Seiji supposed that Zankita was simply a battle maniac.

"You don't need to try, as you definitely wouldn't be able to win," Hisas.h.i.+ said helplessly. "Please use your brain once in a while, Big Bro Zankita… Can a person who randomly picks up a sword possibly compare to a veteran swordsman? That's also impossible!"

"I'm already a veteran fighter as well. In that strange dream, I absolutely crushed that Tengu!"

"I'm not talking about fighting techniques, I'm talking about Spiritual Abilities! You received this ability just a few hours ago! And how many hours do you think real Spiritual Ability users have practiced cultivating their powers for? Just think about it, idiot!"

"Time spent cultivating doesn't equal strength!"

"Stop trying to go against everything I say!"

"That's what I should say to you!"

The brothers began arguing just like this.

'Should I say that they have a really 'good relations.h.i.+p?'' Seiji thought that to himself as he idly sipped on some tea.

"Could you please teach this idiot a lesson?" Hisas.h.i.+ asked Seiji, not wanting to waste time with his idiot older brother. "Make this guy clearly understand the difference between himself and a real Spiritual Ability user."

"A fight? Great!" Zankita punched his own hand eagerly, causing flames to cover both his fists. "I'd really enjoy a second round with you as well! This time, I'll be the winner!"

Seiji was rendered speechless.

He sipped some more tea before putting down the tea cup, unable to refuse Hisas.h.i.+'s imploring expression and Zankita's burning desire to do battle.

"Alright."

And so, they moved over to the dojo in the Juumonji residence.

"Please don't injure him to the point of hospitalization this time. This idiot still has some uses," Hisas.h.i.+ requested after Seiji finished changing his clothes into a martial arts uniform and arrived at the dojo.

"Hey! Don't say something unnecessary like that!" Zankita shouted at his little brother. He had also changed into a martial arts uniform. "Harano-san, no need to worry about anything, go all-out against me!"

"All-out, the h.e.l.l! If Seigo uses his full power, your corpse probably wouldn't even be in one piece!!"

"Don't look down on me! How can you know when we haven't even fought yet!?"

"I don't need to look to know the result of a fight between a kitten and a lion!"

"I'm no kitten!!" Zankita made a fighting pose and ignited both his fists with blue flames. "Let's begin, Harano-san!"

"Yep. Please take good care of me." Seiji cast [Body-strengthening technique] and [Mana s.h.i.+eld] on himself and made a fighting pose as well.

The next second, Zankita suddenly punched at Seiji and rushed over with his flames!

Everything happened exactly as Hisas.h.i.+ surmised.

His idiotic older brother was defeated in less than a minute.

In fact, Zankita only lasted that long because Seigo let him attack as he pleased for the first thirty seconds. If Seigo had gone all out from the very start, this fight would have lasted shorter than three seconds.

'No, this isn't even a fight. It's just a lion playing a game with a kitten,' Hisas.h.i.+ thought to himself.

"While your ability is quite powerful for attacking in tandem with your fists… that's all it will amount to if you can't use it defensively as well," Seiji stated.

Just like last time, he used only one attack to defeat Zankita.

Each and every one of Zankita's punches were able to send blue flames at Seiji. These blue flames were indeed an actual threat to his [Mana s.h.i.+eld], but no matter how strong Zankita's attack power was, he lacked any defense power whatsoever, so the outcome of the fight was a foregone conclusion.

"Ack… amazing, as expected of you." Zankita crawled up while clutching his stomach.

"This time, you finally know how foolish you were, don't you?" Hisas.h.i.+ sighed. "If it wasn't for Seigo carefully holding back this time, you would have been hospitalized again."

Zankita fell silent for a moment.

"Harano-san… no, Harutsama." He looked towards Seiji with a serious expression. "I would like to ask, how can I become stronger?"

Seiji blinked in surprise to see Zankita's change in att.i.tude.

"How an Awakened becomes stronger… I'm not sure, but I suppose the first step is to be able to properly utilize one's own ability."

"Isn't there a more specific method? I want to become stronger as soon as possible! I want to be able to protect my family and the guys in our group." Zankita's eyes and words were both filled with strong resolution.

Seiji was somewhat moved.

"If I knew, I would tell you. However, I really have no idea," he told Zankita.

"I see…" The glimmer in Zankita's eyes dimmed slightly. "Thank you for fighting with me today."

He turned around and left after saying so.

"You have a good older brother," Seiji said softly as he watched Zankita leave.

"He's merely an idiotic older brother," Hisas.h.i.+ commented as he adjusted his eyegla.s.ses.

While there was no specific method for Awakened to speedily increase their power, there was still a possible method: Spirit Worlds.

Seiji figured that perhaps the resources obtainable in Spirit Worlds, such as silver fruits, might be of use to the Awakened as well.

'Should I give Zankita a silver fruit when I'm done increasing my [Spiritual Power] to a sufficient level for the Yin-Yang Seal if I have any extras?'

Seiji considered it and decided to think about it later when the time came.

When he returned home, he received the Storage Scroll that Hana had sent to him.

He opened it up to see a silvery-gray scroll inscribed with an intricate black runic spell formation.

There was an instruction booklet included as Hana promised. He followed the instructions and injected his Mana into the Storage Scroll along with setting a pa.s.sword which would activate it.

A black hole appeared above the Storage Scroll. Seiji placed all his silver fruits inside this dimensional storage s.p.a.ce to prevent the fruits from decaying.

After that, Seiji put the Storage Scroll away. Seiji opened up his system to check his [Gifts] option, only to see that his younger sister's gift to him had rewarded him with...

[All-stat improvement card - Expectant Hopes.]

[This card contains Hana Haruta's expectations for you. After using it, all of your stats will be increased. Lower stats will increase by a greater amount.]

[Mind and body protection card - Worried Heart.]

[This card contains Hana Haruta's worry for you. After using this card, all of your physical injuries and any damage to your soul will instantly be cured. Also, your defense will be doubled for the next 3 minutes!]

[Mental suppression card - Desire to Retort.]

[This card contains Hana Haruta's strong emotions about wanting to comment on you. You may target any one person with this card. That person's mental spirit will undergo great suppression. This effect will last for 2 minutes and 22 seconds.]

Seiji was rendered absolutely speechless.

Something strange appeared!

An all-stat improvement card was a reward he had received before when Yui gave him the black cell phone containing the Haruta Family secret manuals.

The mind and body protection card didn't require any commenting on. It was obviously a one-time powerful life-saving tool, with easy to understand effects of a full heal plus doubled defense afterwards.

However, what the h.e.l.l was a mental suppression card!?

[Desire to Retort] - with an effective time of 2 minutes and 22 seconds… even the time felt rather subtle to him!

What exactly would happen to someone whose mental spirit was greatly suppressed? What would their condition be? Why couldn't the system explain it more clearly!

Seiji's expression became somewhat complex as he looked at this card.

Hana's "strong emotions about wanting to comment" about him had turned into a card that could literally curse someone. Was this supposed to be a materialization of the verbal ability to harm someone with words?

'My younger sister is amazing as well.'

Seiji was feeling some pressure from being the middle sibling with such amazing older and younger sisters.

Seiji turned off his system while thinking such things.

He decided to use his all-stat improvement card later in the evening. For now… he wanted to focus on writing the storyline for his dating sim game.

Although he was mainly focusing on cultivation these days, he didn't want to forget about working on his game, either. After all, the game wasn't only about him. And, it was a good way for him to relax.

Seiji soon immersed himself in the act of creation as he entered the world of his imagination through his writing.