Chapter 603

This time, the reply also came very quickly.

【Tsukishima Rin:... I thought you were already asleep at this time.】

【Natsume Chikage: Classmate Tengyuan came to my house today to discuss manga plots with my sister and her classmate, so I slept a bit late.】

On the other end of the phone, Tsukishima Rin, who was leaning against the head of the bed, saw this line of text and almost instantly sat up straight from her half-lying position.

Wha... what?

Classmate Tengyuan Kui... has already been to Natsume-kun's house?

She thought she could proceed step by step, starting from playing chess, and slowly looking for a more natural opportunity...

How did she suddenly get "home-stolen"?!

Tsukishima Rin felt a slight panic, but she immediately forced herself to calm down and shook her head.

No, no, no, no.

Classmate Tengyuan Kui is just Natsume-kun's part-time colleague, school classmate, and club companion.

Between them, it should just be a normal friendship.

And Natsume-kun has clearly stated that he has no plans for romance at this stage; if Classmate Tengyuan Kui also knows this, she should keep her distance.

There are so many boys in school, Classmate Tengyuan Kui shouldn't need to...

She tried hard to convince herself, but a clear sense of crisis still climbed into her heart quietly.

She always felt that in places she couldn't reach, Natsume-kun was being "approached" by other girls in ways she hadn't anticipated.

This thought made her feel slightly irritable deep down.

【Tsukishima Rin: (=^_^=) I see... it seems your sister really likes manga? Otherwise, she wouldn't have chatted so engrossingly with Junior Classmate Tengyuan.】

【Natsume Chikage: I wouldn't say she particularly likes it, but she does read some girls' manga to relax when she's tired from studying. Classmate Tengyuan heard she was trying to draw manga recently and enthusiastically wanted to help take a look.】

【Tsukishima Rin: (*^▽^*) I see. However, why did your sister suddenly think of drawing manga?】

【Natsume Chikage:... She feels she is young and cannot work, so she wants to try to see if she can subsidize some household expenses in this way.】

Tsukishima Rin looked at this line of text, was stunned, and a hint of subtle pity surged in her heart, while at the same time, she developed more favor for that Natsume Ruri she had never met.

Understanding her brother's hardship while in junior high school and wanting to share the family pressure... she really is a very sensible and gentle girl.

【Tsukishima Rin: Your sister is really sensible, she is a very good sister.】

【Natsume Chikage: Yes.】

【Tsukishima Rin: By the way, Natsume-kun, will you be in the Collection Force tomorrow after school until you go to work?】

【Natsume Chikage: If nothing unexpected happens, I should be.】

【Tsukishima Rin: My club activities aren't too busy tomorrow either. Then... can I come over to learn shogi from you?】

【Natsume Chikage: Of course you can.】

【Tsukishima Rin: (*￣? ￣*) That's great! Since your sister likes girls' manga, I'll bring a few works that I think have good art styles and stories tomorrow, so she can use them for reference.】

【Natsume Chikage: Thank you, I'll have her return them to you after she finishes reading.】

【Tsukishima Rin: Mm-hmm, no rush. It's getting late, good night, Natsume-kun.】

【Natsume Chikage: Good night, Senior Tsukishima.】

After replying to all the messages, Natsume Chikage exited LINE and clicked on the document editing app on his phone.

In the dim room, only the phone screen emitted a steady faint light, and the subtle sound of his fingertips tapping the screen.

Time passed quietly.

Near twelve o'clock at midnight, intense sleepiness finally struck.

He yawned, saved the document, and took one last look at the word count statistics of "Snow Country."

"130,000 words..."

There were 30,000 words left until completion.

He put down his phone, threw it to charge, listened to his sister's steady breathing, and slowly drifted into a dream.

The next morning.

Shibuya Ward, along a riverbank with few pedestrians.

Natsume Chikage ran at a steady speed along the path alone.

The cool air of the early morning rushed toward him, carrying the unique moist scent of the river.

His bangs were already soaked with sweat, his breathing slightly rapid, but his pace remained steady, continuing his daily physical training.

Just as he was focused on adjusting his breathing rhythm and taking the next step—

In his field of vision, a line of concise prompts jumped out without warning.

【Agility 4→ 5】

In an instant.

Natsume Chikage felt a strange sensation of "tightening" in his body.

This feeling came abruptly and disappeared extremely quickly, like a fine electric current darting through his whole body, then loosening, merging into his limbs and bones.

There was no physical torture like when improving constitution, nor the soul-deep pain like when improving spirit.

There was only a moment of slight "discomfort," followed by a kind of indescribable "smoothness."

A hint of surprise surged in Natsume Chikage's heart.

The Agility attribute finally improved from 4 points to 5 points!

This process seemed slow, but he knew in his heart that for ordinary people without the guidance of an attribute panel, this subtle progress in basic physical ability might require years of specialized training, and it might even be difficult to break through the bottleneck for a lifetime.

And he, as long as he continued to exercise, seemed to be able to see this clear, slowly rising path.

Of course, he also vaguely sensed that the speed of improvement seemed closely related to the "quality" and "quantity" of exercise.

The current daily running and basic activities indeed had limited improvement.

If he could conduct more professional and targeted training, such as going to the gym for systematic exercise, the efficiency might be much higher.

What specific changes occurred after the improvement?

With this anticipation and curiosity, Natsume Chikage decided to strike while the iron was hot, right here on the riverbank in the early morning, to simply test the changes in his body.

He slightly accelerated his pace, clearly feeling that the feedback from his feet pushing off the ground was lighter and more powerful, and his stride frequency seemed to be able to increase more easily.

When stretching, the movements that were originally a bit difficult became easy; he even tried to perform a near-standard split that he couldn't do before.

What surprised him even more was that the flexibility of his joints such as fingers, wrists, and ankles had also increased, and there was no longer a stiff resistance when bending backward.

These discoveries made Natsume Chikage pleasantly surprised.

The improvement of the Agility attribute was far more than just "running faster."

It seemed to comprehensively improve the body's coordination, flexibility, nerve reflex speed, and control precision over subtle movements.

Although from a direct intuitive feeling, it might not be as "huge" as the changes brought by the improvement of constitution or spirit, its scope of action was extremely wide and practical.

Especially in fields that require rapid reaction and precise control such as Kendo, fighting, and ball sports, the advantages brought by the improvement of Agility would be decisive.

In this way...

For the upcoming Tamaryu Flag National Kendo Tournament, the certainty in his heart undoubtedly added another heavy weight.