Hassan Masseur of The Wild (4)

The stars twinkling in the night sky were reminiscent of the scene of a deep blue-colored silk being sprinkled with grains of pure white salt. At the center of the sky, the two moons hung high above while subtly illuminating the objects on the training ground.

Swish

Hippolyte spoke as she raised her body from the bench.

Hassan, I heard that you apparently have an interesting talent related to your hands.

Hippolyte was talking quietly and softly, but somehow I could feel goosebumps spreading on my nape from hearing her voice. It was because her tone suggested that she knew about everything there is to know, so I couldnt help but confess before I got entangled in another troublesome scenario.

Where did you hear such a thing?

Where did Hippolyte hear about my talents? Did Daphne break the oath she made by the River Styx and talk around about it? Hundreds of thoughts began spinning in my mind about where she mightve learned about this secret talent of mine

I heard about it from Mr. Baltma.

Baltma? Who was Baltma again? Looking back on my memory, I finally recalled the face of a middle-aged man who saved me from being slapped by Daphne when I first joined the Mars guild.

It seemed like the half-bald mans name was actually Baltma. I forgot about that because I hadnt even seen him once after that day. Yes, he was the first person to inform me about my blessing.

So what do you want to talk to me about?

When you attacked me that night, you probably already learned about why I refused my promotion offer to the gold tier.

Pardon?

I didnt know anything about that though. I only recently learned that Hippolyte refused to be promoted to the gold tier.

But before I could make any excuse, Hippolyte continued her speech.

My overall stat points is already over 40. I mean, its been a long time since I passed the gold tier promotion standard. But this stat is only applicable when the sun is shining above the sky. Im weak under the moonlight. Im probably as vulnerable as an untrained ordinary person in that state.

Hippolytes words reminded me of the moment I encountered her in the pond not long ago.

At that time, Hippolytes level dropped drastically for some reason and only remained around level three.

In that sense, Hassan Do you want to spar with me once again?

Hippolyte clenched her fists and then entered a stance resembling a Muay Thai athletes.

I couldnt comprehend the sudden change in this situation. I mean, she just confessed that she was as weak as an ordinary person during the night, didnt she? Then why was she suddenly asking me to spar with her? It just didnt make any sense to me.

Are you serious?

Bring it on. The last duel was unexpectedly interrupted by a bothersome third party. Lets make this an additional part of the last duel then.

Hearing her mention the interference in the last duel, I was able to understand that Hippolyte was somehow able to notice that time had stopped for a brief period during the duel. At the time, the female warrior just shrugged her shoulders once and didnt say anything about it.

What are you hesitating about? Are you scared of me, Samaritan?

Well, dont regret it.

It might seem like a provocation, but this time the odds were strongly in my favor as I had already been able to bring a bathing Hippolyte down the last time around.

At that time, Hippolyte was weak enough that I could easily overpower her, even with my meager strength. If what she said was true, she must be as vulnerable as that time since she was also under the presence of moonlight at this moment.

Lets pretend to make a mistake while sparing I felt my motivation beginning to spark into a blazing flame. Lets squeeze that big, soft, and pillowy bosom once more.

Okay, from your expression, you seem to be full of fighting spirit. Then Ill go first.

Kick.

Hippolyte swiftly rushed toward me with the sound of her feet kicking the earth.

She was pretty fast even after being weakened to such an extent, but this time I could follow her movements with my eyes. The last time around, she was so fast that it felt like she was literally teleporting from one place to another. But of course, pursuing only with your eyes and reacting with your body were two different things altogether.

Whoosh

Then Hippolyte stuck out her hand toward me. Her hand was directed toward my collar, and just as I thought that she was going to grab it, my body rose into the air and my back landed on the ground with a loud noise.

Uck!

In an instant, all the air gushed out of my lungs. It hurt so much that I wasnt even able to breathe properly, but I was more curious about just what happened than the pain that was surging throughout my body.

Now, youve already died once.

Hippolyte stepped on my chest. Looking up from below, I was greeted by the sight of her slim calves, firm thighs, healthy abs, and the lower delightful curves of her large breast. It felt really nice to be able to witness such a sight.

Do you want to go for another round, Samaritan?

Sweep

She removed her foot that had been putting pressure on my chest as she stepped on it. Her next action was to offer her hand to me as though she wanted to help lift me up. I grabbed her hand and raised myself while still bewildered about how she could defeat me with such ease.

D-ring

[Stats] Name: Hippolyte Heavensinger

Level: ?? 3

Conditions: Boiling Blood Moonlight Enervation Severe Menstrual Cramps ????

On the status window that showed up inside my mind, her level is definitely shown to be decreased to three. Most probably this phenomenon had occurred due to the Moonlight Enervation condition that was shown in the window.

However, I couldnt understand. How she, who was currently only at a meager level 3, could put me, who was almost thrice her level, to the ground just like that?

You look like you still dont understand why this happened. Then try, try to beat me until you realize just what is causing you to lose. For starters, if you succeed in attacking me, I will give you a prize.

Prize? Holy shit! Truth be told, I was actually hiding my real skills for such an occasion. It was a tactic to catch Hippolyte off guard and attack her to aim for the greatest benefits.

Now, just what are you trying to do here? Ignorantly swinging your arms like that wont land you a good attack.

Keuukkk!

But damn it, no matter how many times I restarted the spar, my attacks would never land on Hippolyte.

Come on, untie it, hurry up.

With both arms held, I was being choked on the neck by her strong thighs.

Squeezeeee Pressss

Although I liked the feeling of her soft and strong thighs being in such intimate contact with my neck, I couldnt breathe properly due to her chokehold. I started to lose my vision and my eyes began rolling up into my sockets.

Geck

I felt like I was going to die due to being suffocated by Hippolyte.

Youre dead once again.

Only then, did the strength of her thighs tightening around my neck loosened, and I could finally take a relaxed breath after a long time.

As blood seemed to flow back into my head, my body was so tired that it almost gave out all its functionings. Was this something like the choking game or what?

Ugh. Cough. Cough.

Samaritan, youve already died 12 times tonight. When the hell are you going to finally land an attack on my body? Although I dont mind continuing this game for the whole night.

I was furious at how she looked down at me while I breathed heavily, gasping for each breath. Now I was convinced that I couldnt beat Hippolyte even in her current heavily-weakened state.

Despite getting defeated a few times already and the extreme pain surging through my body that was enough to make me faint, my fighting spirit was somehow soaring high like never before.

This situation was completely different from the time when I subdued her with sheer strength alone. Damn, are you cheating?

You look like you still dont realize the reason youre in such a state. If we are to look at the current stat points between us, it would definitely be strange if your attack, which is twice more than mine, isnt working on me, right?

T-Thats true.

Because ever since epic-grade artifact, the needle of appraisal, has been discovered, adventurers have become more inclined to rely only on their stats to get stronger. Only wimpy scholars who have never been on the field would take these numbers seriously. You should not disregard someones experience and skills in combat.

In other words, as Hippolyte said, no matter how high the numerical representation of your level was, if you lacked the combat experience and skills, the result of winning or losing was unknown.

To be honest, losing to a mere level 3 Hippolyte was a bit of a shock to me. It meant that having a high level wasnt the most critical factor to guarantee that you would win in combat.

I know that you must have realized it by now, Samaritan. You are like a beginner who has not even learned the basics. Its a pity that youre wasting your talents like this.

D-did you call me in the middle of the night just to tell me that?

Yeah, because those who got a blessing tend to be conceited and eventually face their downfall sooner or later. Thats why I thought it was better to lower your arrogance at least once before you develop a bad habit of being too arrogant and ignorant about your own reality.

Indeed, what Hippolyte said was absolutely true. These days, I have earned a good amount of money from several different sources of income, so my confidence and arrogance have indeed risen quite high.

After continuing to suffer such overwhelming defeats, I finally realized the importance of being more humble. Damn, I was still such a sore fucking loser!!

While I was suffering a setback, Hippolyte lifted my body and shook the dust off me. Then, she said with a firm tone.

But youre the first to try more than 10 times to defeat me without giving up on the second or third time. Ill acknowledge your determination and spirit. I like your mindset of not wanting to remain a loser like that.

I-is that so?

Hippolyte seemed to have misunderstood something. Actually, I didnt keep coming at her because I didnt want to lose per se.

Hippolyte, whose level was decreased, mainly used the ground grappling technique to attack me. Due to the nature of the grappling technique, her body and mine had no choice but to stick together.

Because of that, whenever she used the arm bar technique, she would hold my hand between her bosom.

Another reason to not give up was that I also liked how her toned thighs pressed my face, and I could smell her sweaty fragrance. In fact, Hippolyte would never know that I was the real winner in this sparring. I was such a friggin genius.

When I was giggling to myself like that

Since you have lost looking so excited and all, tonight you will be my slave. Actually, Ive wanted to own a Samaritan slave for a long time. Samarians are hard to tame like wild horses, but theyre so strong that theyre treated as luxury goods, right?

W-What!?

I was shocked by the unexpected words she uttered, and my body started to tremble. Be her slave? What the hell did this mean?

Did this duel suddenly have some Duel to the death rules without my knowledge? It was so unfair that I was falling into slavery once again..

What did you mean by being your slave? Just what the hell are you talking about?

What are you so surprised about? How can you not know that the lives of those who lost a duel or a fight will be up to the winners to decide?

B-But, isnt this just a mock duel?

There is no such thing as a mock duel. Its simply a duel. Will you discuss your circumstances with the evil spirits who are trying to take your life?

Its not like that, but being a real slave is a bit.

Dont worry. Im not going to make your life hard. Now, shall we start with running five laps around this training ground? Of course, do it in the leapfrog position.

Fuuuck

That was how I had to carry out all the silly things Hippolyte ordered me to do. From doing leapfrog jumps around the training ground to sitting on a transparent chair and doing personal training.

I ate well these days, so I thought I gained some fat in my body. But I felt like my whole body was losing all of its calories due to the intense training regimen.

Get up and do one more!

I-I really have No more strength left in my body. Ugh

Only when you exceed your limits do you gain stamina and muscles properly. Hurry up!

Ugh, n-nineteen

Good, one last time, then!

But, you said it was the last time before.

Ill finish it after you reach twenty. This will be the last one. Now, go for twenty!

T-T-Twinty

Twinty? You must have said twenty wrong, right?

Ack

After finishing five sets of 20 push-ups with Hippolyte sitting on my back, I completely lost all of my strength and fell on the dirt-covered ground. I didnt even have any strength to lift a single one of my fingers.

Youre weak, Samaritan. Children in Kairos introductory class could have done this much well. Didnt you say you wanted to be a hero? A Gold-tier adventurer, huh?

T-Thats true.

Fuck, just what kind of strict training is this!? Apart from being trained, I just felt like she was slowly chipping away all my life energy.

Come on, the night is still long. Theres still a lot of training to do. If you want to exceed the overall stat points of 40, you cant do it with ordinary training alone.

Well, didnt you say that its not all about points in a duel?

Yes, however, the promotion is still dependent on overall your stats. To be a Silver tier, you must have an overall of above 30, while to be a Gold tier your overall stats must be above 40. Come on, stop thinking about these things and get up quickly.

I really cant lift a finger. Im telling the truth.

You are being personally trained by Hippolyte. Dont you know just what type of an opportunity this is? Its not something that anybody can get even if they pay gold for it. Hurry up!

Keug

But I was telling the truth. My head was spinning, and I didnt have any energy left in my body.

The face of a senior officer from my military days immediately came to mind. My senior officer was a famous gym rat in the battalion, and whenever we had time, he would drag me to the gym and torture me with all kinds of fitness training.

That senior officer also habitually said, Not everyone can learn this kind of thing from me, even if they wanted to pay me for it. Damn, are all those workout maniacs the same? Was this something that transcended both time and the boundary of worlds?

Therefore, I was lying on the ground and dragging time.

Suddenly, a firm grip started putting pressure on my back, and at the same time, I could hear a loud cracking sound from the joints of my spine.

A-ack!

In addition, I also started screaming at the unexpected pain that assaulted my senses.

Then stay on your stomach. Ill try to loosen your muscles and joints.

While hovering above my back, Hippolyte began pressing the area near my waist with her huge palm.

It was a very rough touch, but my muscles, which were being overworked, felt more relaxed than I thought after that massage.

Although Lunas massage felt somewhat commendable, it was still a little clumsy. Meanwhile, being massaged by Hippolyte felt like getting an authentic massage.

Did all people who like to work out know more about how to release the tension of muscles like this?

All my muscles that felt stiff were already loosened from the shoulder blade region that I couldnt reach to even my nape. She even loosened my neck. I felt like my body was softening under her experienced touch..

You have a knack for massages. Have you studied the human body before?

Ive killed a lot of people. If you look at where and how to hit to deliver a critical strike, you will naturally grow familiar with something like this.

Shit, I wish I hadnt asked that. The massage I initially received at ease started to give me anxiety. I felt like I was an experimental animal under the hands of a mad scientist.

But this is my first time touching a mans body other than hitting them. On top of that, this is actually the first time Ive met a man other than my father alone. Yeah, since were talking about my father, it looks like youve met him, havent you?

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