Pain was a teacher.
It had no warmth, no patience, and no forgiveness. But it did not lie.
Feng Yao learned this truth over the next seven days.
The cracked ribs from the spirit deer made breathing a struggle, and the torn muscles in his back pulsed like coiled wire every time he moved. He could barely lift the machete. Even sitting cross-legged took effort.
He didn't go to the village healer. He didn't dare.
Too many questions. Too much attention.
So he endured.
"Your body is damaged," the Sword System observed flatly.
"Your rate of growth has slowed. Recommendation: accelerate recovery through system interface."
He blinked wearily from his bed mat.
"…You can heal me?"
"No. I can offer options. You heal yourself."
"New Shop Option Available – Temporary"
[Emergency Recovery: Bone-Knit Paste – 1 SP]Stimulates recovery of fractured bones and soft tissue. Reduces pain, lowers inflammation.Warning: Ingredients will be pulled from local terrain. Will cause extreme internal discomfort.
Yao stared at it.
He only had 1 SP again.
He hadn't unlocked a new technique yet. And the next quest would almost certainly be harder.
But—
He tried lifting his right arm.
The pain made his vision blur.
"…Purchase it."
"Confirmed. Emergency Recovery: Bone-Knit Paste deployed."
Five minutes later, he was doubled over, clawing at his stomach as the most vile sensation he had ever experienced rolled through his intestines like boiling tar.
His vision dimmed.
His heart pounded like a war drum.
And then—
A burning sensation swept through his chest, like something was knitting itself together one thread at a time. Sharp, tugging. Tight.
He blacked out for a moment.
When he woke again, it was dusk.
His ribs still ached. His back still burned.
But he could breathe again.
And his right arm moved when he told it to.
That night, he didn't train. He simply sat by the fire pit, sipping bitter root broth and letting the silence settle.
"You endured the cost," the Sword System said.
"Your tolerance is higher than projected."
Yao said nothing.
But the system's voice shifted ever so slightly.
Less like a machine. More like a whetstone. Testing the blade against him.
"The world rewards the reckless only once. After that, it eats them."
Yao stirred the pot slowly and stared into the flames.
"I wasn't reckless."
"You were desperate. It is not the same."
He didn't respond.
Not because he disagreed—but because he knew it was right.
The next morning, he returned to training.
His movements were clumsy again—two steps backward from where he had been. The rhythm was off. His grip too tight. The stance too stiff.
It made him furious.
"Adapt," the system whispered.
"Rebuild. If you cannot flow, then become the stone that shapes the river."
He tried.
Failed.
Tried again.
Days passed.
Each morning, he awoke sore. Each night, he collapsed face-first onto the mat. The Sword System offered no new quests. No rewards. Only silence and the dull presence of something watching.
Until one evening—
He spotted the bird.
A raven.
Jet black.
Perched on the edge of the woods.
It watched him train for nearly an hour. Didn't caw. Didn't move.
Then it flew off toward the mountain.
He felt a shiver run down his spine.
"What was that?" he asked softly.
The Sword System didn't answer.
Not yet.
Later that week, he stumbled upon another beast while searching the outer woods.
A stone-backed boar.
Massive. Dangerous.
And alone.
He had killed one spirit beast already. He thought this would be the same.
It wasn't.
The boar charged before he could draw.
He dodged.
Too slow.
Its tusks clipped his thigh and sent him sprawling through the underbrush. Blood spattered the leaves.
He limped away.
Didn't fight.
Didn't chase.
He spent that night hiding in a hollow beneath the roots of a tree, clutching a crude poultice to his wound and watching the stars through the branches.
His pride stung worse than his leg.
"You are not ready," the system said plainly.
"Yet."
Feng Yao clenched his fists.
And said nothing.
By the end of the week, he was walking with a limp and still no closer to another Sword Qi Fragment. The tally remained:
System Points: 0
Fragments Collected: 2/5
His body was improving. Slowly.
But the path ahead now seemed longer than ever.
Far across the valley, a traveler passed through the trade road into Stoneshade.
Clad in dusty robes and bearing a merchant's token, he smiled as he entered the village square.
But when he looked at the mountains in the distance—at a place no villager ever went—his smile faded.
His fingers twitched.
And beneath his robes, a thin layer of glowing script along his chest flared with warning.
A system had awakened.
He continued smiling.
But his eyes did not.