When I regained consciousness there was no light, no sound, and no sensation. I could think clearly, I could remember everything, yet I couldn't feel my body at all I can't move my legs, I can't feel my shell, I can't even tell if I'm breathing. It wasn't pain or numbness. It was simply the absence of anything physical.
So this is death again… huh… what a joke.
First I died as a human and thought that was the end. Then I got another chance and woke up in this strange world as a swamp tortoise. I had barely started understanding anything and now I'm dead again before even surviving a full day. Such a great second life as my favourite animal.
Then I heard it.
A faint ticking sound echoed in the darkness. It was subtle, mechanical, and strangely familiar. My thoughts tightened instantly. I had heard that sound before. When I swallowed the berry, something strange had appeared before my eyes. When the poison and cold energy clashed inside me, I heard it again. At that time I was in too much pain to focus on it. But now, in this silent void, I could not ignore it.
Tick.
The sound was small but clear, like something mechanical moving in the dark. My thoughts stopped for a second. That sound… I had heard it before. When I swallowed the berry. When the poison was spreading inside me and something strange flashed in front of my eyes. At that time I was in too much pain to understand anything.
Tick.
The darkness in front of me flickered faintly and thin violet words slowly formed in the empty space.
[ Host Consciousness: Recovered. ]
[ Core Condensation: Successful. ]
What…?
I stared at the words, my mind blank for a moment. Recovered? From what? I thought I was dead. And what is this core condensation supposed to mean. Am I dreaming? Is this some illusion before real death?
Before I could think clearly, more lines appeared one after another.
[ Alert: Unknown Rich Qi Source detected. ]
[ Warning: Energy levels exceeded Vessel capacity. ]
[ Emergency Protocol: Initiating Forced Integration… ]
[ Integration Rate: 5%. ]
[ Excess Qi : Expelled. ]
[ Core Formation: Stabilized. ]
My head started spinning when I saw those words. Unknown rich qi source… vessel capacity… forced integration… what does that even mean? I don't understand half of this. It sounds important but also too complicated. Vessel capacity… is that talking about my body? Was my body too weak for something? And forced integration… does that mean something was pushed inside me without asking?
Then I saw the line saying five percent.
Five percent of what?
That number bothered me more than anything. If five percent was absorbed… then what about the rest? Where did it go? Did it disappear? Or is it still inside me somewhere?
Before I could calm down, new words appeared.
[ Host forcibly awakened from emergency state. ]
The moment that line appeared, the darkness around me cracked like thin glass. I didn't get time to react. Something pulled me forward violently. It felt as if my consciousness was grabbed and thrown back into something heavy and solid.
Cold pressure slammed into me from every direction.
My thoughts shattered. Liquid rushed into my mouth and nose. My chest burned instantly and instinct took control. I thrashed without thinking. My limbs moved slowly, as if they were not fully mine yet. Everything felt heavy, thick, suffocating.
Water.
I was underwater.
Blue light shimmered around me. The liquid was not normal water. It felt dense, pressing against my shell constantly. My back legs moved. They were no longer numb or lifeless. They felt heavy and stiff, but they obeyed me. My front leg, the one I was sure had cracked when I crashed against the rocks, felt tight and painful but it responded.
So I survived.
The small pressure inside my chest pulsed again. A compact presence, steady and tight. I didn't know what a beast core truly was, but I knew that was it. It felt like something compressed, holding itself together with effort.
My lungs screamed. I pushed against the ground beneath me. The water resisted strongly. It felt like moving inside thick oil. I kicked again. Slowly, I rose a little. The pressure increased the higher I went, but it did not tear me apart like before.
Five percent.
That number flashed through my mind again. If only five percent was absorbed, then most of this place was still beyond me.
After struggling for several long seconds, I finally broke through the surface. Air hit my lungs roughly and I coughed, floating awkwardly before dragging myself toward the edge of the glowing pool.
When I reached stone, I stayed there, breathing heavily.
My body felt different. Not just healed. Changed. There was weight inside me now, like something solid had formed where there used to be emptiness.
Then the violet words appeared again.
[ Breakthrough Achieved: Wild Beast — Mid Stage. ]
[ Beast Core: Formed. ]
[ Dormant Qi : Restricted. ]
Wild Beast.
The words stayed in my mind even after the violet light disappeared. I didn't move for a long moment. Wild Beast… Mid Stage… I kept repeating them silently, trying to understand why they felt so familiar.
Fragments from my past life began to surface more clearly. I could almost see that small room again, the faint light of my phone under the blanket while everyone else was asleep. I would scroll for hours, reading chapter after chapter of cultivation stories, telling myself I would stop after one more page.
I remembered how those worlds felt so distant and exaggerated—systems appearing out of nowhere, glowing panels listing ranks and abilities, beasts forming cores after swallowing rare treasures.
I used to shake my head at the dramatic scenes. Protagonists waking up confused, staring at floating words they barely understood. I would think, Of course they're confused. Who wouldn't be? Then I would keep reading, curious about how they adapted, how they slowly figured things out.
I remembered reading about spiritual energy entering the body, about breakthroughs happening at the edge of death, about hidden potential being unlocked in critical moments. At the time, it all felt like a convenient plot device. Something created to push the story forward.
Back then, it was just fiction. Something entertaining. Something far away from reality.
I never once thought those strange terms would ever apply to me. I never imagined I would be the one staring at invisible words, trying to make sense of them. And I definitely never imagined that something called a "core" would be quietly rotating inside my own chest.
Wild Beast.
Mid Stage.
It sounded like a classification. Something decided by rules I couldn't see. If this was "Mid," then there must be an Early… and a Peak beyond it.
I hadn't trained. I hadn't cultivated for years. I had simply nearly died. Somehow, that brush with death had condensed something inside me and pushed me forward
Dormant Qi : Restricted.
That line stayed heavy in my thoughts. Restricted meant something was there. Something sealed. I focused inward without knowing how I was even doing it. The core inside my chest rotated slowly. It felt solid and real. Stable. But there was also a strange pressure behind it, like something larger was being held back.
Maybe it was because everything happened too suddenly. The energy from the pool rushed into me. My body couldn't handle it.
The system forced something to stabilize. It didn't feel natural. It felt like something barely held together.
I do feel stronger. That much is clear. My shell feels heavier and harder. My body moves with more steadiness. My senses are sharper. But I don't feel powerful in the way those stories described. I don't feel like some great beast standing at the top of anything.
I slowly turned my head toward the glowing pool again. That place nearly killed me. If that energy was too much for me, then I'm still small compared to whatever this world truly holds.
The snake came to mind again—the cold eyes, the creeping paralysis, the fear that spread when my body stopped responding. I still don't know how strong it was, and I don't even know how strong I am now.
Everything feels uncertain.
System. Core. Rank.
Restricted Qi.
These were once just words I read casually without thinking too deeply about them. Now they are no longer distant ideas; they exist inside me and shape what I am.
I lowered my gaze toward the surface of the water, watching my reflection shimmer beneath the faint blue glow of the pool. At first it looked ordinary, only a distorted shape broken by ripples, but when I steadied myself and focused, the details became clear.
The tortoise staring back at me was not the same as before.
The cracks across the shell had completely disappeared, replaced by a darker, smoother surface that looked denser and more solid, as if something had strengthened it from within.
Subtle patterns traced naturally across the shell, refined and structured, and even the eyes seemed different—clearer, steadier, no longer dull.
I remained still for a while, observing quietly.
The cool pressure of the water against my limbs felt steady. The rough stone beneath me carried weight. The slow rotation inside my chest continued without disturbance. The darkness from before had receded, replaced by sensation and presence.
If this is truly a cultivation world, then survival will not depend on chance again. It will depend on understanding ranks, energy, limits, and growth. And right now, despite forming a core and reaching whatever this stage means, I have not even taken the first proper step.