Heroine-Saving System: Reborn In A Third-Rate Manga As The Protagonist-Chapter 116: Frame Training [II]

"Woah..." She let out while flipping mid-air even after that hit, though it seemed that the laws of gravity didn’t really apply here. "You’re much stronger than last time."

Koya held his fists up... It had been a while but he was finally using the Dragon Flowing Fighting Style.

"Thanks." Koya said as he jumped up to meet her and she threw her sword to the right, letting it fall to the ground.

Their hands met mid-air and generated a shockwave.

"Huhuhu... If you keep coming at me like this, Koya-kun." She spun him around with both hands and kicked him in the stomach, making him shoot backward. "I’d think you were trying to seduce me."

His body went through a frame and he shot backward, colliding with the wall of frames behind him and got the breath knocked out of him.

"Using the Frame World in a closed space and a large space is different... within an enclosed space, it doesn’t extend past that." She landed on the ground and placed a hand on her waist. "Also there are limitations. For example, we can’t go through things that exist in the real world and to land attacks against beings in the real world while in the Frame world since this is a higher world which is why Takeru had to come back to the real world to attack."

Her gaze moved over to Disguise Master, who was paused in place as expected, they were moving faster than she could sense but that cat... it wasn’t in the Frame World and it was seeing them. A shiver ran down her spine.

"What kind of Familiar is that?" Mio asked from behind her. In her astral form only Pale could hear her.

’I don’t really know but it’s scary.’ Pale replied and refocused on Koya who had stood back up.

"I see..." He stretched his back like the throw hadn’t affected him. "What about the frames?"

"The frames... you can move through several in a row to increase your speed and attack strength. Each frame you pass through doubles your speed, so if you enter the Frame World in a large area it’s possible to close even the longest distance and land a strike in what looks like an instant from the outside." She said and moved toward him. "Why don’t we put that to the test now?"

Pale closed the distance and threw a kick which Koya parried, leaving her exposed in the air.

He threw a kick back but she balanced on her hands and used his leg as leverage to flip him into the air, making him float upward.

’She’s very experienced with hand-to-hand combat.’ Koya thought.

Even Dragon Flowing was inferior to her Fighting Style. He could feel the difference in the way she absorbed his counters... she wasn’t simply blocking them after all, she was redirecting them and turning them into her next move.

"Come on..." She threw a punch mid-air and he moved his face out of the way, striking back with a punch of his own that made her shoot downward but she canceled the force and landed on her feet. "Alright, a test run."

"Test wha..." Koya looked back.

It looked like once you reached a certain height in the air, gravity stopped applying and you floated upward... and as for where he was floating to, it was one of the frames suspended mid-air.

The moment his body touched it he was sent flying back down at greater speed than before, coming down on Pale but the goddess was one step ahead... she took hold of his punch and spun once, throwing him through a series of other frames.

Koya gritted his teeth as the pressure on his body built with each frame he passed through.

The world blurred around him and he collided with the wall, this time hard enough that the impact came through his whole skeleton and he coughed out blood and slid to the ground with one knee down.

"Now you see... the Frame World is very generous but at the same time, it’s dangerous for the users." Pale said, watching him from across the space. "Have you finished learning or do we need more demonstrations?"

"I think that’s enough." Koya stood back up. "So are we fighting for real now?"

"Yes we will... I have to establish something though. Since we’ve talked about what you’ll do if you win." Pale took a step forward. "I have to say what I want."

"You got to suggest for me, it won’t be fair to add another..."

Pale looked at the ground while twirling one of her silver bangs.

"Come on Koya-kun..." She gave him a sweet smile that she clearly knew the effect of and he let out an exasperated sigh.

He genuinely could not fight the urge to say yes when she did that... It was annoying but she was cute and he was a sucker for cute girls.

"What do you want?"

"Yay." She said. "If I win, you have to watch a full season of a Romance anime of my choice with me while cuddling. If you win, alongside kissing Mio, you can ask me anything you want and I’ll do my best to fulfill it if it’s within my power."

’Just romance anime?’ He thought and looked at her excited face. Was that what was making her excited?

"Sure, let’s just go... and make sure not to hold back, I’m trying to learn not be babied." He said while expanding Domain Sense outward.

It worked within the Frame World and Domain Sense didn’t just track her but it also tracked the frames themselves. He could feel each one in the space like objects hanging in the air so he would be able to plan with them in mind.

"As you wish." Pale sprinted forward and he did the same. They met mid-way and collided their fists, sending a shockwave outward.

The frames rattled but didn’t break.

Pale brought her hand back and threw out her other hand which he parried, and he threw a punch directly at her stomach but she flipped backward, her rotating legs nearly catching his jaw if he hadn’t cancelled the punch and backed off. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Pale landed and closed the distance again, throwing a cartwheel... the first leg came down and he blocked against it, but she spun and the second leg broke through his guard and flipped over.

’She’s really athletic.’ Koya thought.

He found himself wondering if Mio was athletic like that as well.

She landed on his face, burying her crotch against his face as she laughed out loud.

He tripped backward and grabbed her ass to peel her off but she locked her legs tight around his head instead, crossing her ankles.

"Koya-kun, I hope you’re enjoying this... Mio and I washed up for you down there so you better service us good." She said with complete composure, like this was a normal training exercise.

Once she confirmed he was in line with a frame she hopped down, taking him with her by the grip and using her arm and leg strength to throw him through a series of frames... building his speed up with each pass and aiming him directly at the wall, then following up immediately before he could correct his trajectory.

But while Koya was blasting backward he angled himself in a strange way and she noticed it.

They came out of the series of frames and she brought a kick for the finish.

He brought his arm up, entering Mana Mode and pushed against the wall... visible cracks sounded from his arm and not only did he succeed to absorb the momentum but he also leaned out of the kick.

Her leg hit the wall instead, shattering the bones on impact.

He followed up with a punch to the gut with his free hand and she rolled through a frame and hit the wall with her back, coughing out blood.

"Ouch." She touched her back as she got up as her advanced healing repaired her leg instantly.

Koya cracked his hand... it had already healed as well. "Koya-kun, don’t you know it’s bad to hit women?"

"It was self-defense, you’re trying to kill me after all." Koya said and they both got into stances again. "We won’t decide a winner like this... Let’s go again."

They went again, charging at each other.

Pale ran her palm along the edge of a frame as she moved and the friction passed through it accelerating her fist... she came in with a right hook that arrived faster than the wind-up suggested and Koya barely got a forearm up in time.

The impact broke his guard instantly and sent him sideways across another frame’s edge that accelerated his shoulder but he quickly recovered by stepping into a frame mid-motion and emerging from a different angle entirely.

He came in with a blow that he put his full body in and upon seeing that she could not dodge it, Pale instead twisted her body to absorb on her side rather than take the full hit.

She rolled with it and used the momentum to launch herself upward through three frames in sequence with her speed doubling with each one and then she came down from above like a hammer with her elbow aimed at his head.

He dove through the nearest frame sideways and she hit the ground where he had been with the impact ringing the floor beneath them but it didn’t break.

Both of them moved away from each other and Pale took a deep breath as Koya was a bit exhausted.

’He’s getting used to the frames the more time he spends in here.’ Pale thought. ’But in terms of performance, I can out-last him even if I don’t have your strength.’

"Koya-kun really is that strong, huh?" Mio’s astral form wondered and Pale shrugged, she was feeling extra motivated today. She needed him to watch anime with her!

Mana flared in her eyes and they began glowing even more.

"I’ll give it all I’ve got." She said and Koya smiled as he moved first.

He passed through two frames on his approach and the force blurred his body in addition to Mutant Speed however Pale stepped through a single frame to offset the angle and his punch caught only air past her ear.

She grabbed his extended arm and ran it through the edge of a frame deliberately, rendering it useless for the moment and she used the chance to spin him before following with a kick to his lower back that sent him stumbling forward.

He caught himself on a floating frame with both hands and used it to bounce directly back at her but she was already mid-step into a frame of her own.

They both committed to their attacks and collided in the center with his fist against her palm crashing together in the Frame World with the combined force of the frames as well as their full power.

The shockwave that followed had nowhere to go in the enclosed space.

...

Disguise Master sighed and looked at the blank training room.

Were they still there? She had no way to tell since she couldn’t sense either of them at all but Riffi’s eyes were moving.

Left, right, up, down like it was tracking something moving through the empty air so she guessed that it could see it which was amazing... not so amazing for her though.

’I’m not weak because I want to be...’ She thought, remembering his words.

It wasn’t her choice... She had awakened but when she did, she got no affinity.

It was one of those conditions that couldn’t be cured. For an awakened to rank up, the body had to veer toward a specific affinity whether physical or elemental. Those were the two bases and without one, there was no path forward on the power ladder.

She had tried for years before she stopped trying so she settled for doing the one thing she could do best... Hiding herself.

It had always been like that, from before she joined the Order, from before she ever took a mission.... Even now she didn’t show her true self to anyone, they didn’t know her real face, her real body or even her real name.

The only person who actually knew everything about her was Hakai and the reason she did was because they were re—

She didn’t want to think about it.

’I’m really pathetic.’ She thought. ’I don’t know if I can...’

A blast of wind exploded outward from the center of the room, blowing her hair and her maid uniform back.

In the center of the room now was Koya pinned to the ground with Pale sitting on his back and one of his arms pressed flat behind him while her knee was in the space between his shoulder blades.

"I... won." She said, falling sideways off him and lying flat on her back next to him.

Both of them were battered and breathing hard, though it was more Koya than her. "You really learn fast, Koya-kun, but I win so you have to do what I asked."

"Sure... we’ll do it at your house." She pulled herself upright and in a flash of healing, every wound on her face cleared.

"Wait..." Koya rolled over properly and looked up at her standing there fully healed already. "Why aren’t you at ALI today?"

"We took the day off with permission." Pale said and stood, glancing at Disguise Master. "Girl, be a darling and bring him over to my house once he’s healed. But for now, I’ll be off."

Pale ran out of the training room and back upstairs instantly, leaving Koya, Disguise Master, and Riffi in the room.

Disguise Master walked over to him and stopped at his feet.

"Master, did you get as much training as you wanted?" She asked and he nodded, extending a hand upward.

She took it and pulled him to his feet without comment.

"I got to learn how to use Frame Skip better, thankfully." He said, rolling his shoulder once to check it.

He glanced at her before reaching out and cleaning something from under her right eye, it was a tear. "Were you... crying?"

"It’s nothing like that." She blushed and turned away. "I-I just got dust in my eye from that wind."

"Well sure, I have a promise to fulfill so can you drop me off at her place?" Koya asked and she nodded.

"As you wish, Master." She said quietly. ’I really have to do a better job at hiding my pain.’

...

Koya knocked on the door of Mio’s house about an hour later.

They had driven out of the rich neighborhood and come down to this side where the houses were smaller and closer together and the street had actual people on it.

"Both of you should be on your best behavior." He said, looking at Disguise Master and Riffi.

The door opened revealing Pale wearing Mio’s casual clothes.

The problem with that was that it pushed against Pale’s bigger frame in ways that Mio’s clothes were not designed for.

"So glad you could make it, Koya-kun." She said. "It’ll be both of us... you don’t need to come in, Disguise Master. I outrank you so naturally he’ll be very protected here."

"I was assigned to stay with him as his personal maid." Disguise Master said. "That’s what I’ll do."

"Suit yourself." She pulled Koya inside and showed him the couch.

Riffi followed without being invited.

There was a home screen on the television with an anime cover displayed... a blond haired guy with short hair on one side and a silver haired girl on the other with both of them in school uniforms and a very mature art style.

The English title sat across the top of the screen.

’Drama School Season 1’

"Oh, Drama School? I’ve heard about this one but I haven’t had the time to watch it." He said. He had been reading the manga he purchased in between free periods and was almost ready to put out a new video on it.

’I’ll need to notify them ahead of time again.’ He thought.

"Hehe~ I knew you would like it too." Pale said as she sat him down and reached for the remote, starting from Episode 1. "Let’s get into it."

That was what they did...

Episode 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and then 6.

At some point Disguise Master had gotten tired of standing and quietly sat down on the long couch with them, pulling her knees up and not saying anything about it.

Even Kuu had returned from school at some point and joined without being invited, sitting on the far end and watching with full attention by Episode 3 though she had just gone upstairs to take off her uniform.

"I have to say..." Koya said as Episode 6 ended and the credits ran. "I didn’t expect you to have this kind of taste."

"What do you take me for?" Pale pressed a hand against her chest. "I’m a romance anime connoisseur... Of course I’ll only select peak. You can’t just pick any romance show, you have to find the ones where the tension is actually real and the characters aren’t stupid about their feelings for twelve episodes straight."

She said. "Besides... the episode ended with a kiss."

She placed a hand on his chest and moved one leg onto his lap, showing off her thick thighs.

"Wanna re-enact it? Maybe we can go to my room after that." She said.

She had a mission after all and besides, she genuinely wanted to know how it felt... she had done enough research between hentai and pornhwa to understand that for women it was enjoyment and that some even cheated on their partners to find others that could give them good sex.

She wanted to experience it once with Koya to understand what sex actually was.

"Sure." Koya placed a hand on her waist and drew her closer, making her eyes widen as his lips neared hers. "Let’s go to your room afterwards."

Disguise Master raised both hands to her ears and closed her eyes firmly... She didn’t want to see any part of what was about to happen.

From behind her closed eyelids and her own palms she was still aware of the room going quiet like everything paused.

Pale on the other hand looked at his lips as they came closer.

She had kissed him before when he was weaker than her so it shouldn’t have been a problem... she had been telling herself that since she set up the condition but the thought of doing it again, now, with him being the one drawing her in rather than the other way around... and then even going to the room to do the deed after.

It made the goddess extremely nervous and she poofed before she could make herself stop.

Pale’s hair turned back to black immediately and the frame that had been pushing against Mio’s shirt vanished as Mio came back into her own body with a small confused sound.

She blinked, looked at Koya’s face this close to hers and even looked at his hand on her waist but that really didn’t matter... Koya used his other hand to stabilize her waist and kissed her anyway.

’All the women I know except for Hakai sure are chicken.’ He thought as he took hold of her tongue. It was time for revenge.