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Chapter 22: A New PressureThe second stage of my training started with me courting death.
Tameiki-san took refuge high in the sky and I practiced somewhere away from the camp house; I had to use my ability up to its limit.
The sound of an explosion echoed and the shock wave made the sea of trees rustle.
I let the magical beasts and birds escape beforehand with a light threatening sound, so that I am not killing the animals pointlessly.
However, as the explosive sound resounded further away in the sea of trees, the birds in those areas all flapped their wings simultaneously.
At first, it was rather fun using my ability at its maximum, but it gradually became tough on me.
After several times of doing it over again, I lose consciousness without even realizing it. This phase is actually quite painful.
This is also when Tameiki-san comes to my help.
Then, she waits for my physical strength to return even a little and then wakes me up forcefully.
I wake up in the worst possible mood being tortured by nausea, dizziness and headaches, but these sensations lessen after a short while.
After that, Tameiki-san forces me to eat the food she prepared in order to somehow recover enough strength to move around (half of the recovery is done through pure fighting spirit from my part though).
This is not at all funny.
What Roll told me about dying if I use my ability up to its limit was in fact true.
My body felt so eroded that I really thought I would end up dead if I continued with this.
"How is it?"
Tameiki-san sneaked a look at my super groggy face.
I fell prostrate on the table placed in the open space right in front of the camp house.
It was only natural since she forced me to eat while in this groggy condition.
"How is it……you ask? I feel so terrible that I can't even move……."
"Can you hear my heartbeat?"
"…….I can't."
"This is the off state. Your physical strength will gradually recover.
However, even when your physical strength returns completely you must preserve the off state."
"Preserve it? How even?"
"You grow accustomed to the sensation when you don't use your ability.
When your strength returns and you naturally start to hear things again, you challenge yourself not to hear them.
You deny your ability."
I see.
At this point I really don't know what I'm supposed to do, but well my ability itself is used through senses and sensations, so I'll figure something out through the same senses and sensations.
As I thought about these things, I continued with my training.
Still, reality wasn't that generous.
Right after my body recovers a little, I naturally start to hear sounds no matter what I do.
While my body is weak I can somehow restrain my ability completely, but once I'm recovered I can't restrain the permanent state of my ability.
If I can't maintain the off state, I'm forced to continue with the training.
I have to use up my ability and drive myself into a corner over and over again.
This training is taking quite some time.
Because it takes time until my physical strength recovers, I can't practice many times over in one day.
Since this training is supposed to last for three days and nights, in one day-night cycle I can enter the forced off state only three times.
Tameiki-san also advised me not to enter that state more than three times a day.
It appears that she thinks about me a little.
Well, still, it is a hellish experience.
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The fourth time I repeated the process I got a hang of what I had to do.
The fourth time I tried it I managed to preserve the off state exceptionally longer than the third time.
I immediately informed Tameiki-san.
"That's the way. Do your best as you continue with the training.
Think about why it did the trick this time."
So she said. I'll do my best as I continue with the training then.
Why did it go well?
Maybe because I did something else this time.
Up to the third time I only waited for my physical strength to return as I fell prostrate on the table, but the fourth time I forced myself to pace around.
My goal was to make myself lose consciousness and have Tameiki-san nurse me.
This wicked heart of mine helped me take a step ahead.
If I only think about my ability it has an opposite effect and I thoughtlessly enter the on state.
Instead of concentrating only on my hearing, perhaps it is more important to grasp the sensation of naturally not using it.
I continued with my training.
I had no problems with my sleeping hours since every time I used up my ability and fainted I had to sleep for a while as my body recovered.
Well, when I think about those ten days, here in this safe place even if I don't sleep at all for three days I can still be unconcerned.
At any rate, with the fifth and sixth sessions my training started to show favorable results.
It was during the seventh challenge that something happened.
I managed to once enter the on state from the off state and then switch back to the off state.
It only lasted for an instant though.
I wanted to immediately inform Tameiki-san, but at that time she was sleeping.
She is sound asleep in the camp house's bed even though I can't do anything else but try my utmost best to complete this training.
And yet, if I stealthily approach the camp house she instantly wakes up and prevents me from doing so.
Despite me hiding my presence and the sounds I make, just how can she even notice me!?
Well, that's all right.
In any case I can't wake Tameiki-san up.
However, this achievement of mine shouldn't be wasted. At great pains I finally got a grip of this but I now don't have Tameiki-san's advice.
What I thought about next was to challenge myself once again and see what happens when I fully release my ability this time.
My physical strength isn't fully restored though.
Tameiki-san told me that even after I recovered enough for my ability to switch to the on state, I had to rest my body for a short while.
Taking this into consideration she limited my attempts to three times per day.
The reason was the real danger I would face if I continued to reach my limit in succession.
Still, I now want to recall that sensation I just felt.
If I'm able to grasp that feeling again……I have a hunch that I'll soon achieve my goal.
Just one more time. I'll try it just one more time.
Thinking about this I walked further away from the camp house and advanced inside the sea of trees.
Walking helps me recover to a certain extent, but the fact that I got used to this tiresome condition is somewhat of a strange story.
During this early eighth challenge, since Tameiki-san is not around to help me, I can't use my ability up to the point I lose consciousness.
I must only reduce my physical strength enough to enter the off state.
I arrived at the place where Tameiki-san gravity barrier ended and, without leaving it, I released my ability.
I can't release loud sounds for this would wake Tameiki-san up…….or this is what my previous self would have thought. However, every time I used my ability to its limit, it's not like I blindly released sounds all around me.
The sound's directionality.
Yes, I more or less became able to control the directionality of my sounds to some extent.
I still can't pinpoint something like the explosion of my sounds, but I can now sort of control the direction of the sounds I produce.
Right. By doing this I can reduce my physical strength without Tameiki-san realizing it!
This is…..quite a masochistic method of training……
I kind of feel sad that I'm starting to enthusiastically enjoy this kind of training.
But I'm doing this in order to get stronger.
And so, I began my masochistic training.
I pointed my sounds towards the sky.
I continued to release sounds that were not actually that powerful.
I occasionally released different sounds and played with their frequencies.
This was rather fun.
Also, it appears that my sounds are not obstructed by the gravity barrier.
I thought about this while I listened to my sounds passing right through Tameiki-san's gravity barrier and spreading far away in the distance.
After that I continued to release sound after sound for a little while, and right when it became painful to continue doing so, something happened.
That thing came, easily breaking through the gravity barrier up in the sky.
Translation: Nana