Morning came with pale light and the smell of wet soil.
Rivan woke before the sun, as usual. For a moment he lay still, listening to Lira's breathing from the other side of the room.
It was smoother today.
The herb had worked.
A weight he hadn't realized he was carrying eased slightly from his chest.
He stepped outside and stretched.
His body felt different again.
The soreness from yesterday's fight was gone. His muscles felt tighter, more responsive. When he clenched his fist, there was a faint sense of pressure under his skin, like coiled strength waiting to move.
He walked to the water jar and lifted it with one hand.
Before, it would've taken effort.
Now it felt light.
Rivan stared at it, then set it down slowly.
"I really did change…"
But there was no excitement on his face. Only quiet acceptance.
If this strength existed, he would use it. That was all.
After making sure Lira was resting, he left again for the forest.
This time, he didn't hesitate at the tree line.
The moment he stepped under the canopy, the world sharpened. The faint flows of energy he could see were clearer than yesterday. He didn't need to sit to guide them anymore — his breathing alone drew in thin strands.
As he walked, he tried something.
He focused on the warmth in his chest and moved his arm.
The energy followed, faintly reinforcing his muscles.
He swung at a low branch.
Crack.
The wood split.
He blinked.
"…So that's how it works."
No one had taught him. No book, no master.
Yet his body understood.
A rustle came from the bushes ahead.
Another wolf-like beast emerged, smaller than the first but quicker. Its eyes locked on him.
Rivan didn't wait this time.
He stepped forward instead of back.
The beast lunged.
He shifted to the side and felt for that inner pull, grabbing the flow inside it. The moment he did, the creature faltered — just enough.
He struck its neck.
The fight ended quickly.
As the familiar surge entered him, he didn't panic. He guided it with his breathing, letting it settle instead of classic
The process felt smoother now.
More natural.
Afterward, he stood quietly
The forest no longer felt overwhelming.
It felt like a place of opportunity.
By midday, he had defeated two more small beasts.
His movements grew cleaner. His reactions faster. The energy inside him thicker.
When he jumped across a stream, he landed farther than he meant to.
He looked back at the distance and exhaled slowly.
"I guess… this is cultivation."
He had heard traveling merchants mention the word before — people who grew strong through training and strange methods.
He never thought it would have anything to do with him.
Yet here he was.
Walking a path with no guide.
As the sun began to lower, he turned back toward the village again.
Behind him, leaves shifted in a wind that hadn't been there a moment ago.
Deep underground, roots trembled slightly, as if something far below had felt the faintest touch.
Rivan walked on, unaware.
Each step took him further from the life he knew.
And deeper into a road that had existed long before memory.
A path that did not begin with teachers, sects, or scriptures—
But with something older.
Something waiting.