Chapter 207

I barely had any chance to learn massage, but I did get the opportunity to learn something similar.

That opportunity came during the afternoon training session. As you know, the Academy offers useful skills for real-life situations.

It’s not limited to just one area, either; you can learn across quite a few diverse fields.

Although only a few things are useful enough to get added to the status window, it varies by depth.

The First Aid I learned in the first semester was overwritten by Regeneration. When you get a superior skill, the old one tends to disappear.

However, starting from scratch is perfectly reasonable if you have nothing at all.

“This semester, we’re going to learn about muscles. It’s very important alongside First Aid, so you need to pay close attention.”

Yeonhwa, dressed in Eastern-style clothing, began explaining the class content.

Last semester was First Aid, but this semester is muscles. More specifically, it’s about muscle injuries and treatment.

Maybe we’ll even learn how to relieve sore muscles. I listened attentively.

“Our bodies are filled with countless muscles. The legs are the most used. And, naturally, that means a higher risk of injury. Especially for people who engage in direct combat…”

As Yeonhwa spoke, she slightly turned her body. Her hand pressed against the back of her thigh.

It was covered by clothing, so it wasn’t easy to see, but thanks to her hand, a slight contour became visible.

“Here, in the back of the thigh. In Western terms, it’s called the hamstring. This area is very dangerous. The more muscles you have, the greater the risk of injury.”

Sports enthusiasts have likely heard about this often.

News about a famous athlete being sidelined for weeks due to a hamstring injury.

Though the commonly injured areas differ in various sports, the hamstring is a common one.

“If you have a minor injury, it feels like the muscles are tightening, but if it’s severe, you can end up unable to stand. Has anyone experienced this?”

Several hands shot up in response to Yeonhwa’s question. That included Kara and Luna.

When you’re born human and engage in rough brawls, encountering this is inevitable.

I’ve injured my hamstring while living in the Chaos Forest.

Fortunately, thanks to Regeneration, I recovered quickly, but there were definitely some close calls.

“Alright. The terrifying thing about muscle injuries is that you often experience them in both training and real combat. Even just a cramp is painful, but if it tears, it’s uncontrollable.”

“··· ···”

“So this semester, I’ll be teaching you how to heal muscle injuries. Learning it is easy, but applying it can be challenging.”

In the Soul World, perhaps due to game mechanics, muscle injuries didn’t exist.

Instead, when you accumulated fatigue, you couldn’t move at all. This could be alleviated with enough sleep.

While muscle injuries were absent due to game mechanics, reality was different. This knowledge was quite useful.

‘I definitely need to learn this.’

Even on Earth, athletes—whose bodies are their very assets—suffer from muscle injuries regularly. It’s something you can’t avoid even if you know it.

In fact, in the unfortunate cases, you might experience cramps just from stretching.

When a cramp hits near the rib cage, it hurts like hell. I’ve been there a few times.

“Does anyone have any cramps or muscle injuries right now?”

Yeonhwa asked. The perfect fit for that would be Grace.

But Grace didn’t raise her hand. She preferred not to have anyone touch her body.

Evidently, that rule applied even if the person was a woman. She sat there, keeping her mouth shut, trying to avoid attention.

“I will.”

“Sivar?”

“I’ll do it.”

So, I raised my hand instead. I didn’t have a tight muscle, but no one else was stepping up.

Yeonhwa looked surprised but quickly smiled gently.

“Alright. Where does it hurt?”

“I’m not in pain.”

“Then?”

“I’m just curious. Can you help me relieve my muscles?”

“Um. That’s a very good attitude.”

I meant to help someone else. Saying that seemed to deepen Yeonhwa’s smile.

Even if I couldn’t learn right away, I could ask a few questions and apply it. Maybe I could even use Divine Power.

Yeonhwa asked me to come closer and placed her hand on the back of my thigh.

“First, this is the hamstring… Sivar?”

“Yeah?”

“Could I ask what kind of exercise you do?”

“Oh, just various things.”

I wasn’t one to exercise in a structured manner. If anything, I’d rather hunt in the woods.

Yeonhwa nodded at my response, clearly impressed.

“You seem to have a very low risk of injury. Your muscles look as if they’re woven from steel threads.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It seems like someone put a lot of care into it. Muscles like this are truly rare.”

Yeah, they were made with a lot of hard work. Otherwise, I would have been dead long ago.

You have no idea how tough it was living in the Chaos Forest. I almost got bitten to death by a snake.

“Anyway, let’s get down to business. The first thing to do is to penetrate your magic power.”

I felt a cool sensation near my thigh. Yeonhwa was penetrating her magic power.

When another’s magic power infiltrates your body, it naturally tends to resist. It’s much like having blood of a different type.

But if you relax your body or accept that magic, it’s fine. I also accepted it with that mindset.

“Focusing on the muscle and rubbing it firmly can relieve tight muscles to some extent. You don’t have any tight muscles, Sivar, but if you try it on someone else, it should be effective.”

“Sounds easy.”

“Hehe. You might find it challenging to even penetrate your magic power. And the same goes for focusing solely on the muscles. Next…”

Yeonhwa used my body as a test subject, trying various methods. Starting from how to relieve tight muscles to treating different injuries.

Especially for muscle tears, she emphasized that it was still just First Aid.

It felt like forcibly moving a torn muscle with strands of magic.

This applied to the Achilles tendon or ligaments as well. She noted that these areas are fatal to injure, and learning about them is essential.

“The most important thing is that your magic power moves based on your will. Who would overlook someone cramping in the middle of a fight? So, after putting your magic where the muscle is tight or cramping, it’s most crucial to release it how you want.”

“What happens if I make a mistake?”

“As long as it’s for healing purposes, you shouldn’t worry. You couldn’t possibly tear a muscle while trying to help, right?”

Though she said that, I couldn’t shake the concern. That was regarding my Red Magic.

If even blood types cause big issues, how much worse would it be with magic? The difference in color made me extra cautious.

So when the practical session began, I approached Yeonhwa. She smiled brightly when I got near.

“Is there something you wanted to say?”

“Yeah. About the color of the magic.”

“The color of the magic?”

“Is it okay if it’s a different color?”

Yeonhwa blinked a few times at my question, then looked up.

After a little hesitation, she responded somewhat ambiguously.

“Well… it probably won’t matter. Blue Magic is a higher grade than regular blue, so it will cover it as a superior version.”

Is it similar to how the Sculpting and Condensation I learned before got absorbed by the Red Magic? Thank goodness for that.

While my Red Magic has strong output, it’s lower than blue magic. I don’t think it’ll cause any harm.

“What about the reverse?”

“In that case, it would actually be easier to penetrate. When Blue Magic penetrates with an output of 1, I’d have to counter with an output of 5.”

“Thanks. No, thank you.”

“I’d like to thank you for asking me. If you want to learn more in detail, come to me anytime.”

Yeonhwa waved her hand as she sent me off. I returned to my seat, politely greeting her.

Once back, I immediately sought out Grace. The usual group was gathered, including Grace.

“Grace.”

“Yeah?”

“Lie down.”

“???”

Asking her to lie down out of the blue made Grace’s eyes widen. The others reacted the same way.

For a moment, it felt like I’d become Luna! I quickly added an explanation before confusion arose.

“I’m gonna use what I learned today.”

“Oh. You want to help me with muscle relief?”

“Yeah.”

“Got it. Let’s give it a go.”

“Wait, hold on!”

Just as Grace was about to turn over, something seemed to click in Iyeonju’s head and she interjected frantically.

Grace shot her a confused look, and everyone else turned their heads to her as well.

In the blink of an eye, all eyes were on Iyeonju. She looked like she was picking her words carefully before cautiously suggesting.

“Uh, what if we let someone else go first? If it goes wrong, the muscles might tighten even more and could be dangerous…”

“Um… That does make sense.”

It was a plausible statement, and everyone accepted it. It definitely was risky to jump right into practice.

Especially since I was the owner of Red Magic. Grace might be the only one to suffer consequences.

“So who should go first? Should it be me?”

“I, I’ll go first. I’m the weakest among us…”

Iyeonju subtly sidled in to take her turn. She was timid yet assertive.

This made Kara raise an eyebrow at her. She sensed something was up.

“Why suddenly you? What does being weak have to do with it?”

“Earlier… I mean, the professor explained, didn’t he? The more muscles you have, the higher the risk of injury, and Kara has the most muscles among us, right?”

“True. That makes sense.”

Kara said, slipping her hand under her clothing. I could tell she was probably feeling her well-defined abs.

Excluding me, Kara was the tallest and strongest among us. So, I could see how that added up.

That only left Iyeonju and Luna. If someone knew the truth, they’d probably choose Luna, the weaker one.

Iyeonju was someone who had undergone rigorous training in the past. Naturally, her stats would surpass Luna’s significantly.

‘It’s not that Luna is weak; it’s just that Iyeonju is exceptional.’

Iyeonju had initially hidden her past to enroll in the Academy.

As far as I know, nobody else would be aware of her truth.

“Yeah. I’ll go. I’m the weakest amongst us.”

Iyeonju said with a look of relief. It seemed we were naturally heading in her direction now.

However, there was one unexpected factor…

“Iyeonju? You’re stronger than me!”

“······Huh?”

Our protagonist had spoken up. Luna’s words took Iyeonju completely by surprise.

Luna then proceeded to assess Iyeonju up and down, tilting her head. She clearly didn’t understand.

“I might be weak, but Iyeonju is in better shape than me. I’m sure about that.”

“How do you know that?”

Iyeonju’s voice dropped an octave. Those quick to notice would have caught her change.

After all, Iyeonju was completely covered in her clothing. Even in summer, she stuck to long sleeves.

Though she had a petite frame, her strength was likely better than Luna’s in her current state.

“Well… it’s just a gut feeling? Maybe Iyeonju herself doesn’t realize it. It might just be talent.”

Of course, Luna was just talking off the cuff, not aware of anything. She likely confirmed Iyeonju’s stats through sight alone.

From Luna’s perspective, Iyeonju would seem like someone wasting their physical talent.

If she could see beyond just their physicality, the conversation would have taken a different turn. Too bad she only had her eyes to go by.

“Uh, hold on, Luna.”

“Yeah?”

“Could you come with me for a bit? I have something to say.”

“?”

Iyeonju ended up dragging Luna away. I had never seen an event unfold that way.

In this strange atmosphere, the remaining ones were Grace and Kara. Among them, Kara scratched her head and turned to me.

“Seems like we can just skip it. We can do our own thing.”

“Are you going to go first, Kara?”

“Sure. I’ll just…”

Kara trailed off, sitting down. Then she turned her back to me and asked for relief on her shoulder.

“Start with my shoulders. They’ve been really tight from training lately.”

“Is it really just because of training?”

“How about you?”

“Yeah.”

I had no clue what they were talking about. But one thing was for sure: there was a reason her shoulder hurt.

Anyway, it was time to get on with it. I placed my hands on Kara’s shoulders.

The moment my hands touched, I could immediately feel the tension in her muscles.

‘Oh right…’

I noticed Kara had quite a well-endowed figure. It wasn’t an odd thought, just a realization.

Women with larger chests often have to deal with neck and shoulder tension. It’s like wearing sandbags.

Thus, women typically carry a certain penalty into battle. Kara seemed to have it particularly bad.

‘I wonder about Iyeonju and Luna; they seem better off.’

Their bodies are kind of optimized (?) for battle as women. Luna seemed to handle it well, but Iyeonju, well…

I shook off my useless thoughts and applied what I had learned. First, I had to penetrate the muscle with my magic power.

“Wow… it feels really nice already! What’s going on?”

“?”

I was just penetrating my magic power. I found it odd but continued diligently.

I meticulously infiltrated the muscles with my magic and kneaded them like dough.

To my surprise, the tight muscles started to loosen gradually. My magic was moving as I intended, making it feel vivid.

‘Is it normally this easy to relieve tension?’

I wasn’t entirely sure, but by looking at Kara’s satisfied expressions, it was undoubtedly working.

At last, having loosened both shoulders, I moved to the other side. It seemed Kara was still eager as she lay flat.

“This feels so good. I never experienced anything like this even in Tartar…”

“Is it really that good?”

“Yeah… what is this? Why does it feel so refreshing?”

I had no idea, but since Kara said it felt great, I worked pretty hard at it. This made me realize how impressive her body was.

Not in a perverted way, but as a warrior, she was remarkable. Her muscles weren’t bulky but rather compact.

They excelled aesthetically and practically, as there wasn’t a spot without muscle.

“Uhh… haah…”

“Uh… Kara? That sound is a bit weird…”

“Really…? Huh!”

However, when I pressed around her lower back and behind her thighs, the sounds shifted to something a little… off.

I couldn’t tell if she was finding relief or something else. I just kept going at it.

Eventually, I finished with her calves and feet, completing everything at the back.

Now it was Grace’s turn, but then…

“Not… yet.”

“Huh?”

Kara turned her body towards me, still not done.

She looked slightly flushed and then flashed me her signature refreshing smile.

“You still have the front part left, right?”

“··· ···”

“Focus on the abs. They’re feeling tight right now.”

Wait, was I actually allowed to touch her abs? Just as I started to feel hopeful…

“Stop! Stop! That’s enough! How far are you planning to go?!”

“Sigh. I’m also in pain right now. Can you just cut me some slack?”

“Cut slack? Get away from me!”

Grace, feeling threatened, boldly protested. As a result, Kara reluctantly backed off.

“Next time, you’re starting from the belly. Got it?”

As she stood up, she didn’t forget to whisper to me.

“By the way, it doesn’t matter if it’s above or below. It’s just a massage, after all, right?”

“··· ···”

The bluntness of it all made me feel terribly embarrassed.

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