After arranging a time with Orie Shiroi to go 'kick some ass,' Rin left the underground nightclub alone. A group of subordinates lined the way to see her off, all bowing 90 degrees in unison.
"Big Sister, walk slowly!"
Rin couldn't help but feel a little flattered, nodding with satisfaction as she exited the underground nightclub.
After leaving the main entrance, she hurried out of the alley. Rin really couldn't stand the smell. Once on the street, Rin raised her hand to check the time; it was already eleven-thirty!
"Oh dear! I need to quickly change clothes and get back to the shop, or I'll be late."
The Big Sister who had just faced down a crowd of enemies without batting an eye, in a blink, let out a flustered scream and frantically rushed to where she had stored her clothes.
After quickly changing back into her going-out dress, she sprinted at full speed towards Shinos.
Just before reaching the shop door, she spotted Gao Wei looking around outside. She made an emergency stop, her small leather shoes skidding three meters on the ground, and directly dove into Gao Wei's arms, who had seen Rin. Her face nestled perfectly between Gao Wei's comfortable breasts. She raised her hand to check her watch: exactly 12:00, not a minute off, safe landing.
"Sister Wei, I'm back."
"Mm, welcome back, Little Rin."
"Is it time to work?"
"Yes, the scheduled time is almost here, Little Rin. Hurry to your post."
Rin's so-called post was standing on a small stool, holding a rag, washing dishes by the sink. Because Shinos' business was booming every day, the inventory of plates would quickly run out. Therefore, they had to constantly collect, wash, and reuse them. If the speed and quality of dishwashing didn't meet standards, it would greatly affect the shop's business.
Rin held a used, collected plate in one hand, and plunged the other into the sink, her expression as serious as if she were heading to battle!
Reinforce, dish soap, decontaminate!
One, two, three... forty... fifty-five... 240... 250... The college students working part-time, who had initially not taken Rin seriously, treating her as a child, soon found that the stack of plates beside the twelve or thirteen-year-old Little Girl was five times larger than their own. And while they initially thought it was just a child playing and they'd have to rewash them later, the manager, Shinomori, who always demanded perfection in every step, confirmed they were up to standard after inspection!
And her method of washing dishes was simply to put the plate in water, swish it twice, and then take it out completely clean.
So, magic is clearly so practical. Why bother with all the secrecy and hiding its true power every day? With proper disguise, it's so convenient.
So Rin leaned against the sink, humming a tune (a children's song?) and chewing candy. Whenever plates arrived, she'd swish them twice in the water, looking more relaxed than anyone else.
To others' questions, she replied, "Because I understood my job was washing dishes, I went to an outside store this morning and bought several ingredients to make a stain remover and cleaner. The formula is confidential, don't look at me like that. As someone trained to be a family heir, I'm a genius! Even a genius washing dishes is not something you mortals can compare to!"
Full of chuunibyou vibes... There's no other way to explain it if she's not a genius. Without an explanation, the source would be like a certain 'fist' constantly nerfing skills, which Rin couldn't play with.
Perhaps from an outsider's perspective, Rin had no need to return here. At worst, if she had money, she could just pay it back. But Rin believed that doing so would be a decadent form of self-indulgence. Money can be repaid with money, but the kindness of assistance during difficult times cannot. Properly accepting help from those who genuinely care for you is also the duty of the one being helped.
Therefore, Rin would diligently work off her debt here and do her best in all tasks!
Of course, it would be even better if she didn't cheat.
Busy until three o'clock, Shinos finally entered its break time. After eating her work meal, Rin was released again.
Go play somewhere, but remember to be back by 8 PM.
So what's next? Find another gang to kick their turf? Damn, if the boss does everything, what do we need underlings for!
So Rin decided to train in the mountain forests outside Misaki Town.
Learning is like sailing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall back. This saying is always true and one cannot relax in the slightest.
"Dong!"
The impact of Magic Power resonated within her body once again after a long time. Her body, having 100% adapted to the Magic Power Refinement, would no longer be damaged no matter how strong the Magic Power impact was. Therefore, Rin had entered the stage of fully unleashing and tempering her body.
At this stage, progress became a slow and steady effort. It was no longer possible to experience the rapid advancements of breaking down and rebuilding, as when she first started training. What followed was a test of patience and perseverance.
Not necessarily. Rin thought to herself while detonating Magic Power to scour the muscles and flesh of her body.
If the internal impact is not enough to cause destructive damage to the body, then external force can be used! Body training is a process of being frustrated and then strengthened. Once an injury, fatigue intensity, and impact are endured, the body gradually adapts, rendering them ineffective again.
Enduring unbearable fatigue will increase muscle mass, and being injured by a powerful attack will enhance defense. Heracles's bound noble phantasm, the "Twelve Labors," exemplifies this to the extreme: "Any attack, once endured, can no longer be effective."
If possible, Rin really wanted to project that divine artifact. Unfortunately, it was a mythical noble phantasm; modern magecraft's projection simply couldn't analyze it, just as Emiya Shirou couldn't project the Sword of Rupture.
To further train Mana Burst, if Rin wasn't willing to slowly improve with the growth of Magic Power, she could only intentionally break down her own body tissues and then have Magic Power reshape them, further enhancing herself.
Damn, she's really forging herself into a weapon.
Rin stood before a giant rock, complaining internally. After collecting her thoughts, she reached out and pressed her hand against the boulder.
Reinforce and harden.
Looking at the rock in front of her, which she had reinforced to be as hard as diamond, Rin couldn't help but take a deep breath to calm herself. After all, it's not easy for anyone to calmly punch something that will break their own bones and tendons the first time.
Rin was currently in a Magic Power Refinement state. Although she hadn't activated Mana Burst, her skin and muscles, infused with Magic Power, were still as hard as diamond. The strength required to crack such a body was no joke, and the pain it brought was exponentially increased.
Project - Fierce Tiger Climbs the Mountain (Technique)!
Simply projecting the technique, perhaps it wasn't as powerful as the Heroic Spirit noble phantasm-level might of Unmatched Strike, but it was still heavy, powerful, and relentless! Perhaps a human couldn't reach the realm of a Heroic Spirit, but it was still a strike of the highest-level skill!
"Boom!"
"Crack!"
With a crisp cracking sound, what shattered was not the boulder but Rin's body. Her body, without reinforced endurance and hardness, could not withstand the rebound force. Her Magic Power-infused body, without any other protection, cracked like fragile porcelain. Her hands bore the brunt, directly splitting open on the surface, skin torn and bleeding, muscles ruptured, bones fractured. Rin was severely injured again after a long time.
Good, objective achieved.
Rin panted, guiding this damaging muscle information to spread throughout her body, allowing the trauma to her arms to drive the overall reinforcement. Under advanced Mana Burst, the recovery of injured wounds was remarkably swift; soon, the cracks healed as good as new.
Again!
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Throughout the afternoon, Rin didn't know how many times her hands had been twisted and broken. Her strong willpower, forged by years of enduring pain, drove her to recover and then strike again and again. The diamond-hard boulder was smashed by her, forming a basin-sized pit!
Rin looked up at the twilight red sun on the horizon, waiting for her arms to recover before changing clothes and preparing to return.
Cultivation is something that cannot be rushed, and this becomes even more true the further one progresses.
Watching the cracks on her arms completely close and heal, and her muscles and bones return to normal, Rin let out a sigh of relief. She was about to unbutton her clothes... "Hello, you seem to be doing something interesting."
"!"