The Superior Farmer
Chapter 2 — Learning to Control the Light
Renn did not sleep.
Every time he closed his eyes, the light inside his chest pulsed stronger, like a restless storm trapped in his body.
He sat on the cold stone floor of the ruined building, breathing slowly.
In.
Out.
The golden glow flickered around his hands.
"So it's real…" Renn muttered.
He focused.
The light responded instantly, flowing to his palm like liquid fire. It was warm, but it didn't burn. It felt… natural. Like a part of him that had always been missing.
He clenched his fist.
The glow condensed.
The air vibrated.
"Control it… don't let it explode…"
Renn remembered the shockwave from before. That wasn't control. That was instinct.
He slowly opened his hand.
The light stretched into thin threads, dancing between his fingers.
"That's it…"
A small smile appeared on his face.
Suddenly—
CRASH!
A section of the ruined wall collapsed.
From the dust, a massive shape emerged.
A beast.
Its body was covered in dark fur and stone-like plates. Its red eyes locked onto Renn.
A Ruin Hound.
A monster that hunted survivors in destroyed zones.
Renn's heart pounded.
"I can't run…"
The Ruin Hound growled and charged.
Renn stepped forward.
The light surged into his legs.
His body moved faster than ever before.
He dodged.
The beast slammed into the wall, cracking stone.
Renn raised his hand.
Not wildly.
Not in fear.
With intent.
The light gathered into his palm, dense and focused.
"Go."
A compressed blast of golden energy struck the beast's side, throwing it across the room.
The Ruin Hound howled, injured but not dead.
Renn felt it.
The drain.
His breathing grew heavier.
"So this power… costs energy…"
The beast stood again, blood dripping.
Renn tightened his fists.
"Then I'll finish it."
The light wrapped around his arms like burning wind.
He rushed forward.
One step.
Two steps.
He jumped.
His glowing fist smashed into the beast's head.
CRACK!
The Ruin Hound collapsed, motionless.
Silence returned.
Renn stood there, chest rising and falling.
He looked at his hands.
"They're shaking…"
Not from fear.
From exhaustion.
"This light… is powerful. But if I don't master it… it'll consume me."
From far away, unseen eyes were watching again.
"He survived a Ruin Hound on his first day…" a voice whispered.
"That light… it's real."
Renn did not hear them.
But the world had begun to noti