Mist lingered low to the ground when Seraphina woke again, cool and silver against the violet trunks. She rose slowly from her resting place, testing her balance before fully standing. Pain still lived in her muscles, but it was no longer sharp—more like a reminder etched beneath the skin.
She rolled her shoulders, adjusted her footing, and took a few light steps across the moss.
Her movements were different now.
Not faster. Not stronger in any obvious way.
But cleaner.
Where yesterday she had compensated clumsily, today her weight settled more naturally. Turns no longer overcommitted. Steps landed where she intended. Even fatigue seemed to flow through her instead of against her.
She exhaled, surprised.
The forest greeted her quietly. No sudden rustles. No immediate threat. Just wind through leaves and distant water.
She checked her status out of habit.
[Status]
Cultivation: Body Building — Layer 2
EXP: 7.6 / 22.5
Shop Points: 1.0 SP
Nothing else appeared. Just as before.
Seraphina stretched, then stopped.
A memory surfaced uninvited: pages turned late at night, stories she had devoured back in her old world. Cultivators training not through battles alone, but through form. Through repetition. Through listening to their own bodies.
"Strength isn't only gained by killing," she whispered.
The thought lingered.
She moved to a small clearing where roots formed natural arcs from the ground. There, she stood still, feet shoulder-width apart. No enemy. No urgency.
Just breath.
She remembered a line from a novel she loved:
The body is the first scripture. Read it carefully.
Slowly, she attempted her first pull-up on a thick, low branch. Her chest pressed against the wood awkwardly, hips swaying under the strain. She could barely lift herself halfway before trembling violently and dropping. She tried again. And again. And again. Her exaggerated proportions made each pull-up a near-impossible task.
Next came sit-ups. She anchored her feet under a root and lifted, but her chest shifted forward heavily, throwing her balance. Sweat stung her eyes, and her arms ached from bracing against her own weight.
Push-ups were no easier. Her chest brushed the moss, limiting depth and speed. She gritted her teeth and powered through each rep, feeling each muscle scream.
She spent the day moving through the same exercises over and over: squats, lunges, planks, shadow strikes, and controlled twists. Every motion demanded calculation. Every adjustment required focus. By the afternoon, bruises formed where she had misstepped. Her arms, back, and legs trembled.
Minutes turned into hours. By evening, she collapsed on the moss, panting, soaked with sweat, and trembling from exhaustion.
Finally, she summoned the system.
[System Interface: Expanded View]
Name: Seraphina Vale
Age: 18
Height: 5'5"
Cultivation Path: Body Building Layer 2
Basic Stats:
Strength: 6.3 (+0.1)
Agility: 6.1 (+0.1)
Endurance: 6.6 (+0.1)
Balance: 5.9 (+0.1)
Condition:
— Muscle soreness severe
— Minor bruises, cuts healing
EXP: 8.2 / 22.5
Shop Points: 1.0 SP
Her lips curved into a tired, proud smile.
"…It worked. A little."
Not much. Barely noticeable.
But real.
No beast had fallen. No blood had been spilled.
Yet her EXP had moved. And more importantly, her stats—tiny improvements—were now recorded.
A quiet sense of triumph warmed her chest, even as exhaustion made her limbs heavy.
She dismissed the interface and sat on a fallen log, breathing evenly. The forest felt different now—not just a battlefield, but a place to grow.
If she survived long enough, she wouldn't rely only on desperate fights.
She would refine herself.
Tomorrow, she would hunt again
Slowly. Correctly. Humanly.
And for the first time since arriving in this world, Seraphina felt she was no longer merely enduring it.
She was learning how to live in it.