Chapter 16. Besto Frendo! (Part 1)

"First and foremost, I have only one question for you. What type of girls do you like?"

At this moment, right now, even though I was experiencing one of the most iconic moments of the 'Magical Battle,' strangely, I didn't feel any excitement about it. Perhaps it was because my memories and feelings from the past world had long faded and petrified, or maybe it just stopped being something special for me. In any case, alongside the sweet anticipation of the battle, I also felt a hint of disappointment.

"A strange question, though unexpected," I continued after a brief pause, pondering for a couple of seconds. "In the grand battle of 'Chests vs. Butts,' I choose a tall girl with a sporty, soft butt." 

But honestly, lately, I find myself thinking more and more that I like the 'strong woman' archetype. I think my tastes have changed significantly in the almost two decades I've lived in this world. While before, I was attracted to actresses or simply cute girls, now the focus has shifted toward a woman's power... I don't know, there was something special when a woman like Mei, who could crush a stone with her bare hands, looked at you with a misty and satisfied gaze. Although my preference for tall girls hasn't changed."

"Got it," Todo said, pausing and contemplating something for a moment. Then his face lit up with tenderness and joy. "You are a true connoisseur of beauty, my brother! And even though we are different, as Takada says, 'Every girl is a beautiful flower that needs to be cherished and protected!'"

Why does he quote an idol at every opportunity? Besides, I don't think this Takada would be thrilled that, by 'beautiful flower,' he means voluptuous forms... And since when did we become brothers?

"However, in one thing, we are alike – when a girl has something to grab onto – isn't that happiness?"

"Exactly," I nodded in response. "And if she also has a toned stomach that slightly protrudes..."

"And stockings that cling to her thighs," Todo continued my thought.

"Then happiness knows no bounds!"

"Happiness knows no bounds!"

Silence hung between us, but it was strangely peaceful and pleasant as if it wasn't a battle but a meeting of two old buddies.

"Sukehiro, my brother, you are indeed interesting!" Todo was the first to speak with anticipation written on his face. "And that's why I won't hold back!"

"Even if I turned out to be uninteresting, you would hardly hold back," I skeptically shook my head.

"No need for more words!" the scar-faced guy interrupted me. "Fists! That's the best way for true men to make a promise!"

Seems like Kinji's influence didn't spare this guy either. As they say, 'The essence of the fight club is not in victories and defeats. Words here are empty sounds. Hysterical cries in unknown languages, like in a Pentecostal church. After the fight, the problems didn't diminish, but you didn't care about them. Everyone felt reborn!"

"By the way, almost forgot... My preference – tall girls with huge breasts!"

And we charged towards each other!

Perfectly understanding the power of Ayo Todo, I didn't hold back and immediately began reinforcing my body with Cursed Energy, causing it to heat up relentlessly and rapidly. My fierce and swift "Right Hook" was blocked by a simple left-hand defense, and in the next moment, Todo's fist was heading towards my temple. Slightly tilting my head, dodging the blow by a hair's breadth, I retaliated with a left punch. Todo's strong block and swift counterattack were deftly redirected by me. Right after that, my left fist dug into the guy's liver, who decided not to waste time on defense this time, opting to attack alongside me, delivering an elbow under my eye. As if neither of us had received a blow comparable to a tank shot, we continued our dance of combat.

Second Great Technique: Kou Kai Mon!

The sharp release of Cursed Energy gave momentum to my body, allowing me to swiftly move forward, presenting a reinforced elbow in front of me. Although Todo was fast, he couldn't evade the technique I used almost right up against him. Without encountering any obstacles, my elbow crashed into the guy's diaphragm, and the impulse of this attack emerged behind him in the form of a fiery line.

"Not bad," Todo smiled, much to my surprise. "But not strong enough."

A quick sweep knocked the ground out from under my supporting leg, and following that, like executing a combo, a fist flew towards me, almost instantly reaching my body, and slamming me into the ground.

As clear as I am now, this guy instinctively applies Cursed Energy to strengthen the area where the attack will land. Simply amazing! Unbelievable! It took me years of beatings, broken bones, and damaged organs to achieve something like this. How did this guy live if he mastered something similar?

A massive foot, clearing my head of unnecessary thoughts, relentlessly approached me. Quickly regrouping, instead of trying to get up, I grabbed Todo's Achilles tendon with one hand and struck his kneecap with the other, causing his knee to buckle, enabling me to flip his legs along his thighs and, pressing with them, topple him to the ground.

"Sambo?" Todo was surprised. "I didn't think I'd see the 'Knee Lever' executed by a Sorcerer."

"Do you know the third rule of fight club?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The fighter yells "Stop!", goes limp, taps out, and the fight is over. But before that..."

Right after saying that, I forcefully twisted his leg. Thanks to my developed hearing, my ears were filled with a symphony of bone creaks and "pain groans" from the guy's muscles.

"AHH!" 

But Todo wasn't from the timid bunch; enduring the pain, he raised his hands and, free from my grip, his leg, then struck the ground with it resoundingly. In a split second, the impulse he transmitted to the ground beneath us with his Cursed Energy erupted, creating a small explosion. Sections of sandy clay, the size of a person, rose several meters into the air, along with us and Todo. In that short moment when I had no support beneath my back, Todo managed to escape my hold and, following that, hit me with his other leg, thereby propelling himself out of the epicenter of the "explosion."

Regaining composure in the air, I landed on the ground with my feet and braked, drawing two short furrows, where the earth almost immediately turned charred.

"Don't sleep!" Todo emerged from a dust cloud in front of me with a furious cry and an equally furious "Overhand."

Todo Aoi... You truly are a monster among Sorcerers! With his body and Cursed Energy alone, this guy stands on par with any other First-Rank Sorcerer. His muscular body is filled with a raging, beast-like power ready to explode at any moment, crushing anything in its path. Despite his size, he is incredibly agile and nimble. This guy is truly a naturally talented Sorcerer, as his physical strength can rival mine, a Seventh Sequence Otherworldly.

It's worth noting his Cursed Energy, specifically his remarkable level of mastery in manipulating it. I don't want to exaggerate, but in this regard, he's not far from Mei Mei... Which is incredible, because he's only seventeen!

I positioned both hands in front of me, blocking the hefty punch from Todo. Once again, I had to slide back, leaving marks on my feet. I managed to dampen the impact only when my back met a tree.

"Your strength is impressive. Even more astonishing is how you use your Cursed Energy," Todo commented, shaking his hands and relieving a slight tension in his forearms. "However, a minute has passed."

Enhancement is a basic skill allowing spellcaster to reinforce their body with Cursed Energy, thereby enhancing their primary physical characteristics, whether it's speed, striking power, or durability. The strength gained depends on the amount of energy flowing through the body. However, in my case, a "small" clarification is necessary — due to the fire property of my Cursed Energy, instead of simply filling my body with it like most Sorcerers, I also generate an enormous, simply colossal, amount of heat, which I've learned to accumulate and retain inside my body, literally turning into a furnace.

But the main feature of such enhancement is that the longer I fight, the stronger I make my body. And the first significant threshold is one minute because initially, during the first sixty seconds, my "furnace" is just getting up to speed, heating up. What will happen afterward?

As the body heats up, blood vessels dilate, leading to a decrease in blood pressure and forcing the heart to work harder to circulate blood throughout the body.

At this moment, a distinct, constant pounding emanated from my body, as if a drum was setting the rhythm in my bones and muscles.

Following that, the volume of blood my heart can pump increases several times, causing my muscles to slightly swell, filling with oxygen and strength.

I take a step forward and, in an instant, find myself next to Todo, covering a distance of fifteen meters in less than a thirtieth of a second. This speed already surpassed the speed of sound. Swinging, I deliver a standard side blow that encounters no obstacles and lands squarely on Todo's ribs. This time, the guy, not expecting such a sudden change, didn't manage to reinforce his body enough to neutralize the force of my blow... though he tried.

Todo's body flew several dozen meters, breaking numerous trees along the way until it crashed into one of the boulders, creating a network of cracks on it.

"Don't sleep!" I appeared next to him almost immediately after he slammed into the stone.