For the first time since entering this world, I could eat whatever I wanted, unrestricted.
I was swimming in meats, spiced chicken, fried rice, and more.
"Hey, Karman, wake up!" Tono woke me up.
"What are you doing, disturbing someone who's having a beautiful dream?"
"What beautiful dream? Just look!"
Still not fully united with my body, I struggled to open my eyes.
"What the heck?"
The sun was already very high. I was probably going to be late for class.
"Tono! Where are my clothes? Help me get dressed. I'm late—"
"Class is over," Tono said flatly.
"Oh no... What should I do now?"
"I have good news.
"What good news?"
"You're summoned to Instructor Adi's room."
"Noooooo... I don't want to clean the storage room again!"
I was really tired after hunting last night. I never thought I would be summoned again just for a trivial task I shouldn't have to do.
Grrrr...
Ugh, and now I'm hungry again, and I've run out of the points I got with Tono yesterday.
On my way to Instructor Adi's room, I became the center of attention.
"Look, it's him. He caused a commotion during the entrance exam. Do you think he cheated?"
I saw him carrying so many beast cores yesterday. It's impossible for a new disciple like him to get that many in one day."
"I also heard he eats like a pig. So much."
Many more were whispering. They speculated about why I was summoned to Instructor Adi's room.
"Excuse me," I said, opening Instructor Adi's door.
His room was full of pictures of mythical creatures: There were dragons, phoenixes, and animals whose names I didn't know.
"Sit down," Instructor Adi said while feeding a three-headed snake.
"Okay."
"So, do you know what you did wrong?"
"I'm sorry. I was tired, so—"
Suddenly, Instructor Adi released pressure with his qi, making it difficult for me to move. I felt like a mouse in front of a venomous snake.
"Who are you really?"
"What do you mean?"
Instantly, he lowered the qi pressure.
"I understand now. If you show even a hint of hostility, I will blow your head off."
Then, Instructor Adi took out an animal hide.
"Take a look," he said, taking out a dagger.
Slash! Slash!
He slashed the hide. But the hide didn't tear at all.
"Do you know what that means?"
"That hide is hard?"
"Not just hard. It's also coated with qi. You need greater qi to penetrate it."
I was still wondering why he was showing me this.
"How did you get so many cores?"
"I just did this and that, like this and like this," I answered, explaining how we hunted beasts in Kidang Alas.
"Impossible. Did Elder Hartono help you?"
"Not at all," I answered firmly. "Can I show you how I did it?"
"Do it."
I took my usual stance.
Bam!
The room shook, and the hide brought by Instructor Adi had a hole in it.
"How was that, Instructor?" I asked, but I was cut off because I was surprised by Instructor Adi's reaction.
He was frozen, looking at what I had done. "You can't use qi?"
"Yes."
"Hm.... I've gathered all the information. You may go."
I left Instructor Adi's room and was greeted by dozens of students gathered in front of it.
"Weren't you beaten up by Professor Adi?" one of the students asked.
"What do you mean?" I replied.
"That sound earlier?"
"Mind your own business, you idiot! Move! I want to go hunting," I answered irritably.
Meanwhile, inside Instructor Adi's room...
"I never expected this. So it all makes sense now. Before his punch hit the beast's hide, the qi protecting it dispersed. It's similar to what the White Tiger and other mystical animals do. I must find out this child's origins," Instructor Adi said while examining the beast hide.
"Karman! What is this?!"
"Enough! I'm trying a new method," I said, leading a horde of beasts. "Pull the trigger! Now!" I continued.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
Hurry!"
I was thrown into the air. I bit my lip, enduring the pain of my broken ribs from being thrown by the beast trap.
I tried to mimic the movements in the book Elder Hartono gave me. But...
Bruk!
My body hit the ground again. I couldn't feel the usual energy flow at all.
"Karman!"
"Don't come closer, Tono! Run!"
"B-but..."
"Get help now!"
Bruk! Bruk! Bruk!
The horde of beasts overwhelmed me with stomps, claws, and kicks. My leg was broken, so I crawled as best I could to escape.
Bruk!
My shoulder was stomped on. My spine broke. My body kept regenerating faster and faster.
I didn't know what would happen to me when I lost consciousness in the middle of the horde.
My vision began to blur, accompanied by an increasingly torturous hunger.
Darkness. I was back in the void, but this time, I wasn't chained. I was sure that my body must have gone berserk outside.
As usual, the mysterious man stood in front of me. But this time, he didn't look at me. His gaze was fixed in a distant direction. From the void, I could see my body staring blankly ahead. It wasn't going berserk at all.
The beasts continued to attack my body. My body kept regenerating. From the constant regeneration, my body grew thinner.
Perhaps this was the end of my life. Suddenly...
ROOOOOOAAAARRRRRR!
An ear-piercing roar that even penetrated the void erupted. All the beasts fell silent. A flash of light descended from the mountain peak towards me as fast as lightning.
A second later— All of the beasts were shattered to pieces. They created a rain of blood. At the end of it all, A white tiger stood.
"White Tiger?"
Was this the creature Tono meant? The ruler of this realm? But instead of being intimidating, it was actually crying.
Tears fell from the forest ruler's eyes. The man inside the void, who was always cheerful, was also crying.
The White Tiger approached and licked my severely injured body. His gaze was full of longing and worry. So did the mysterious man in the void. Then, the White Tiger left.
My consciousness returned. All my wounds healed, and my body returned to normal. But the strange feeling of longing remained. Who is the true owner of this body?