"Yep. Good morning, Christina."
Christina was already outside, wearing leather armor.
It was designed to maximize agility and mobility, suitable for light martial arts.
'She must be doing some morning exercise without overexerting herself.'
Thinking this, he felt a bit disappointed.
But Rune didn't show his feelings and clicked his fingers lightly.
'Can't help it. It would be ridiculous for an elder like Christina to take a young hatchling seriously.'
After stretching, Christina took a light defensive stance, and Rune followed her example well.
'Amelia could do this much easily, so it's not strange.'
Rune demonstrated proficient movements, referencing the level Amelia had shown in the past.
"Oh, Rune. You have a good sense of posture. You have quite a natural talent?"
'This is nothing. It's too easy to be boring.'
While smiling harmlessly, Rune snickered inwardly.
What he showed was just the ability to naturally connect his strength and balance based on which body part he used to attack or defend.
Just knowing this instinctively would likely raise the difficulty of the lessons he would receive.
Sure enough, Christina smiled and commented,
"I thought you were just a kid, but you're quite something."
Suddenly, Rune sensed a foreboding from Christina's smile.
'...! The atmosphere has changed.'
That unconscious detection saved him.
Taking a few quick steps back, Christina smiled deeply as if praising him.
Just the presence alone was overwhelming, making him gasp for air with each breath.
'To feel this much pressure without even manifesting her true form...?'
It felt like a massive mountain was walking towards him.
Christina placed a hand on her hip with a proud look.
"You have good instincts, Rune. If you had taken one more step from that distance, you would have been within my attack range."
Despite her gentle voice, the space around her gave no room for error.
Rune took a deep breath to steady himself.
'I need to focus. I can't be this stiff before she even attacks.'
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
The desire to do something to relieve the suffocating tension made him want to act.
Rune clenched his fists naturally and calmly suppressed his urge.
'It's just anxiety. If I rush in recklessly... it's over.'
The belief that she wouldn't kill him?
No one would dare to provoke the temper of a predator capable of killing the weak at any moment.
'Not just a hungry predator, but a relaxed one. If she makes even a gesture...'
Rune's eyes darkened as he finished his thought.
The reaction when his survival instinct was triggered was coldly calm.
'...It's been a long time since I felt this kind of tension.'
The thrill that heightened his focus and the chill that made him fully engage were strangely addictive.
Rune lightly cracked his knuckles.
To restrain his genuine desire to fight, he hid his smile and exhaled.
The strength he should display as a hatchling.
He had to use just enough of it.
Silent darkness gathered at the tips of his index and middle fingers.
Christina looked at him with admiration.
'A child who has just begun to sense and control darkness.'
The edge of the night was thick.
Her gaze was momentarily captivated by that darkness.
Seizing the opportunity, Rune quickly moved into a corner.
Aiming for the most effective spot to attack from an angle where immediate reaction was difficult, he targeted her neck.
A dark light tail pierced her neck precisely.
Christina struck Rune's wrist with her hand and extended her other hand to subdue him.
Rune waited for her hand to come close and then tilted his head slightly to avoid it.
Using the momentum of dodging, he performed a backflip gracefully.
His small body spun quickly, and his spinning foot checked and knocked away the hand trying to grab him, while his other foot aimed for Christina's chin.
A fleeting, relaxed expression crossed her face as she tilted her head to avoid it in the same way.
She didn't increase the pressure and seemed to be letting him off.
'Good. She's treating me like a child, so she's holding back.'
He had to seize the opportunity from the strong one's relaxed state.
Rune landed on the ground and prepared to counterattack, his body springing into action.
"Your judgment was good, Rune."
He didn't have time to reorganize after landing.
Christina, who had only tilted her head slightly to avoid the attack, reached out to strike Rune's back as he was still in mid-backflip.
Christina's outstretched palm struck Rune's back.
Unable to plant his feet on the ground, Rune flew and only stopped after breaking a tree.
While Rune groaned and struggled to get up from the broken tree, Christina looked at her hand that had struck his back.
Then, she smiled intriguingly and lightly shook her hand.
"Rune, when did you learn Dragon Skin?"
The feeling of striking a thick, solid shield rather than human flesh.
Christina quickly realized that her palm strike hadn't been as effective as it should have been.
Rune's back, where the strike landed, had his clothes torn, but that was all.
The true terror of a palm strike lies in the internal shock it causes.
But Rune had activated the solid 'Dragon Skin' in that split second, sending pain back to his opponent.
Meanwhile, Rune felt despondent.
The shock he received, despite minimizing damage through counter and neutralization, was immense.
'I didn't expect to be unable to maintain my balance.'
He had been hit in mid-air, but he was certainly prepared.
The ability he used naturally to withstand the pressure of the deep sea had protected him in that moment.
'While visiting Amelia, I unconsciously activated it, so the timing was accurate.'
Still, the destructive power that tore his clothes.
A faint, delicate scale pattern briefly appeared and then disappeared.
"This much, I can probably use a bit more force."
Rune's face showed a look of disgust.
The blonde beauty smiled gently, lowering her eyes slightly.
"Don't worry, Rune. I know the effects of my healing ability very well."
He never imagined that her usually kind demeanor could be so terrifying.
Rune then recalled Ferdikion's advice.
'Just focus on surviving.'
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
The training had just begun.
Seeing Rune's haggard face at the dining table, Heumi hurried over and examined him.
"Master Rune, why do you look so aged?"
Heumi, with a mix of worry and anxiety, tiptoed and placed her hand on Rune's forehead.
"No fever... Did you have a scary dream?"
Rune shook his head silently.
He was indeed tired and exhausted, but strangely, he had no visible injuries.
He had already received perfect healing.
'Who would have thought she would heal me every time I got hurt and then hit me again...'
It was cruel to the point of being sickening.
Struck down to the brink of fatal injury and then healed.
As a result, Rune had to roll on the ground with palm strikes all over his body.
Only then did Rune realize why she had set the training time for dawn.
'If we did this after mealtime, I would have lost everything.'
Moreover, what truly infuriated him wasn't that.
Rune recalled Christina's words while he was sprawled out.
'Rune, did you, who said you wanted to become stronger, plan to back down like this?'
If he had agreed, it would have been the same as breaking his pride and will.
That was something Rune couldn't tolerate, so he mustered all his strength to get up.
He fought without giving in to defeat.
But life doesn't always go as smoothly as one wishes.
'...To faint so pitifully!'
Just thinking about it made his neck heat up and a sigh escape his lips.
But he couldn't blame himself or her.
Rune recalled Christina's words as he lost consciousness.
'Rune, you are a child who must never die. When you are in danger, you must be more sensitive and skilled than anyone else in dealing with it.'
He was enveloped in the light of healing.
Christina, who had picked up the limp Rune, whispered warmly like the sun.
'So, even if you are on the brink of death, I can't let you off. Of course, you won't really die.'
After finishing his recollection, Rune looked at the pudding bowl in front of him with sunken eyes.
He had definitely chosen to undergo training to become stronger, but he never expected to end up with his back torn open.
Even more absurd was the fact that his skills were steadily improving.
'The lessons were three times a week, right?'
From the first day, it felt like the gates of hell had opened.
"Here, for dessert, we have chocolate pudding and vanilla pudding."
The sweet, chocolate-flavored pudding in front of him shimmered, unaware of his inner turmoil.
With a half-given-up attitude, Rune scooped a spoonful of the smooth surface and put it in his mouth.
The sweetness of chocolate and the milky softness.
The pudding, with its subtle honey aroma, not only restored his mana but also his internal injuries, soothing his mood.
By the time he finished the pudding, he had steadied his resolve.
'No, I won't give up this easily.'
Rune gripped the spoon tightly.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt the heat from Christina's provocative question.
This was no longer just pure training.
For the Imugi who had trained alone on a harsh island for 999 years, his pride was at stake.
The young black hatchling burned with determination.
His desire to challenge and his will became the driving force for continuing the lessons.
Rune, whose back was torn open, steadily followed the lessons.
Although he had to keep the fact that he dreamed of Christina chasing him with a whip a secret, he was indeed becoming stronger as he had wished.
"Oh, Master Rune! We finally got to show you how to use it!"
A few days later, Heumi finally received the instructions for the communication artifact from Jed.
The usage was intuitive, so Rune could use it without difficulty.
'So... I just tap the mana stone plate to check the characters, and write the ones I want with my fingertips.'