I walk over to a fresh tree of similar diameter, then apply the strongest body enhancement spells I can. I face off against the tree trunk, then pull back and punch it has hard as I can, throwing my whole body into it.
My fist goes crashing through the tree, and blasts away most of the tree trunk into splinters. The tree begins creaking, then snaps and falls into the clearing beside me.
I let out a smile…I won't pretend that didn't feel good, and I'm happy I'm not totally defenseless anymore.
I wonder how much this body enhancement will affect my speed though. I guess I should try it out since I already perfected the spell.
I crouch into a runner's stance, set my sights on the other side of the clearing, launch off the ground as hard as I can, and…fall flat on my face. The hell?
I stand up, wiping the dirt off my face, and inspect my surroundings for an explanation.
"Ahh…right." (Mizuki)
My body may be enhanced, but the ground I'm pushing off to run isn't. My back foot tore through the ground and I lost traction. Hmm…maybe it'd be better to just start slowly and see what top speed I can get up to. I pick out a starting point outside the clearing and another on the opposite side of the clearing, then take my position at the starting point.
First, I'll try it without body enhancement. I take off running and reach top speed before I enter the clearing, then it takes me about a minute to cross the clearing at top speed. From what I remember when I used treadmills on Earth, my top speed was probably about 20 kph.
Next, I return to the starting point and apply the body enhancement. I take off running, accelerating slowly, and barely reach top speed by the time I enter the clearing. At this point, the air is whipping past me with absurd force, and about ten to fifteen seconds later I cross the clearing. Slowly coming to a halt, I do some quick mental math.
"Holy shit, 100 kph? That's practically a car on the highway!" (Mizuki)
I'm so shocked that I wonder it aloud. The only problem is that my acceleration isn't much better than normal. That will be a drawback in a fight. Maybe I should try extending the enhancement spell into the ground to strengthen the ground and my traction on it?
I practice this by doing body enhanced sprints across the clearing. Eventually, I'm able to reach top speed in only a couple of seconds. Any quicker and it's too fast for my perception, so I think this is a good place to wrap it up.
Looking at the sky, I probably have about half an hour until sunset. If I hadn't worked on enhancing my speed, I might be in trouble. However, at a full sprint I could get back in under ten minutes with max body enhancement. Probably twenty if I slow to a walk within view of the city. I think I have time to try one more thing before I head back.
I find a tree just under a meter in diameter near the edge of the clearing and take up a position a short distance from it. I apply a max body enhancement, then pull out my katana and take a two-handed grip on it, holding it out to the side. Then, I extend the enhancement spell over the katana to strengthen the blade.
I crouch down, focus on the trunk of the tree, and then launch myself at it while pulling the katana forward in slightly upward slash centered on the trunk. The katana cuts through the tree like butter and I land just past it.
I turn around in time to see the tree slide off in the direction of my cut and crash into the forest.
A smile slowly spreads across my face – I've been wanting to reproduce that move ever since I found out I have magic. I unconsciously let out a lighthearted laugh into the forest, then I go around and gather my belongings to leave.
After a quick equipment check, I max out my body enhancement and start sprinting back towards the city. As expected, in about five minutes the city is within sight, and I drop my pace to a speed that won't freak other humans out.
I make it back to the gate just before sunset. Altogether, I'd say I trained for six hours today. Considering that just about any monster or half-trained adventurer could have killed me when I first started, I'm happy with my growth.
Now that I've stopped moving, I notice that my stomach is growling aggressively, and I feel like I'm starving. Time to head back to the inn, regroup, and get myself a well-earned meal!