After making his bold declaration, Shad Darc realized that he could no longer afford to waste time.
He couldn't remain in the tree forever.
The creature below had waited long enough, and although Shad had gained a new source of power, he still didn't know whether it would be enough to survive an actual confrontation.
So he returned to training.
His first objective was to develop control over the Flow he had absorbed.
For roughly an hour, he focused on moving the energy through his body and directing it beyond himself. The process was difficult at first. The Flow resisted his attempts to manipulate it, dispersing whenever his concentration weakened.
But Shad continued experimenting.
Eventually, he managed to push the energy outward.
The result was crude and unstable, but it was progress.
He could now manipulate the Flow outside his body instead of merely absorbing it or using it to reinforce his physical capabilities.
That discovery led to another idea.
What if he could wrap the Flow around his dagger?
The thought sounded unreasonable, even to him.
But curiosity had always been one of his more persistent flaws.
Shad drew the short dagger he had used since arriving in the forest and held it in his left hand. He studied the weapon for several seconds, imagining the possibilities of combining it with the energy.
A blade reinforced by supernatural power.
The idea was simple.
Its application would probably be anything but.
Shad cleared his mind and focused on the task.
He began by directing the Flow he had already absorbed into the dagger. At first, the energy moved sluggishly, refusing to follow his intentions. He adjusted his concentration and tried again, guiding it through his arm and toward the weapon.
The Flow gathered around the dagger for a brief moment before dispersing.
Shad frowned.
He tried again.
And again.
The process was strangely intuitive. He didn't fully understand why he knew how to approach the energy or why certain methods felt more natural than others.
It was as though he wasn't learning something entirely new.
It was as though he was recovering something he had once known.
The thought disturbed him.
There was no logical reason for him to possess such knowledge. He had never trained with this particular form of energy on Earth, and yet his instincts continued to guide him toward the correct methods.
There was a truth hidden somewhere in this world.
Shad could feel it.
He couldn't explain why, and he had no evidence to support the feeling, but he believed that his arrival here was connected to something he had yet to uncover.
However, discovering the truth would have to wait.
He needed to survive first.
"Damn. My mind is wandering again."
Shad closed his eyes and exhaled.
"Focus."
One thing he had learned to accept about himself was the instability of his thoughts. His mind rarely followed a straight path. He could be concentrating on one task and suddenly find himself questioning an entirely unrelated matter.
Overthinking had become almost habitual.
Sometimes, he wondered whether his thoughts were a consequence of his psychological condition or simply another part of who he was.
Either way, it wasn't helping him now.
"Calm down and focus."
He steadied his breathing and returned to the dagger.
This time, he maintained his concentration for longer.
The Flow slowly gathered around the weapon, but controlling it required continuous effort. Whenever his attention slipped, the energy weakened or dispersed.
Shad refused to stop.
He continued for nearly two hours.
By the time he finally lost control, his entire body had become exhausted.
His arm trembled. His breathing grew heavy, and a dull pressure settled behind his eyes. The strain spread from his mind into his muscles until he could no longer maintain his position.
Shad collapsed onto the broad branch.
He lay on his back, panting as he stared at the approaching night.
At least he had learned something important.
The Flow was not an unlimited resource.
Using it beyond what his body and mind could currently sustain placed considerable strain on him. The more he forced himself to continue, the more severe the exhaustion became.
Shad considered absorbing more Flow to restore his strength.
Then he dismissed the idea.
Although this world was filled with supernatural phenomena, he still respected the limits of his body. Rest was necessary when exhaustion reached a certain point.
He wasn't interested in blindly pushing himself beyond his limits simply because determination sounded impressive.
"I'm not some kind of protagonist who survives on willpower alone."
The words escaped him with a faint scoff.
Shad had never considered himself special or unique. He wasn't convinced that he had been chosen for some grand purpose, nor did he believe the world revolved around him.
Yet one question had followed him throughout his life.
What was he born to do?
What purpose did his existence serve?
He had asked himself those questions countless times, sometimes several times in a single day.
Now, standing at the threshold of an impossible world, he felt closer to an answer than ever before.
The thought lingered briefly.
Then exhaustion claimed him.
Shad fell asleep.
Approximately an hour later, he woke.
His body felt considerably better. The heaviness in his muscles had receded, and his thoughts were clearer.
He sat up and immediately resumed absorbing the Flow.
Once he had gathered a sufficient amount, he noticed something unusual.
The amount of energy he could absorb seemed to have increased.
Only slightly.
Perhaps by one percent.
Shad studied the sensation carefully.
Had his total capacity increased because he had exhausted his reserves and allowed his body to recover?
The possibility made sense, but he couldn't confirm it.
"Or maybe I'm wrong."
"You're both right and wrong," said the Meditating Advisor.
Shad glanced to the side, though there was no one physically present.
"Explain."
"You're right that exhausting your reserves may have created room for a greater amount of Flow. However, you're assuming that the increase is caused by rest after exhaustion."
The Meditating Advisor paused.
"We don't have enough information to establish that."
Shad remained silent.
"Put simply, your conclusion is based on a single observation. You would need repeated tests under controlled conditions before determining whether exhaustion, rest, or another factor caused the increase."
"Hmm."
Shad considered the explanation.
The advisor was right. He had reached a conclusion before gathering sufficient evidence.
"Let's leave it at that for now."
He returned his attention to the dagger.
Yet another thought surfaced.
Why does everything feel so familiar?
Shad shook his head.
I need answers.
He pushed the thought aside and continued his experiment.
The hours passed.
Through repeated attempts, he gradually improved his control over the Flow surrounding the dagger. He still couldn't manipulate it with precision, but the energy no longer dispersed immediately whenever he directed it toward the weapon.
Once he had achieved a basic level of control, he moved to the next stage.
He wanted to manipulate the external Flow using the energy already contained within his dagger.
During his earlier experiments, Shad had noticed several properties of the Flow.
First, once he absorbed the energy, it no longer seemed to belong to the surrounding environment. It became part of his own reserves, although he still didn't understand why.
Second, the Flow functioned as a source of usable energy within his body. It could be stored and drawn upon later, similar in principle to how the body processed food and retained energy for future use.
The difference was that the Flow appeared capable of directly enhancing both physical and mental performance.
He had yet to test the full extent of that effect.
Third, when circulated properly, a portion of the Flow seemed to integrate itself into his body permanently. The increase was extremely small, but Shad could sense a subtle improvement in his overall physical condition.
Whether that improvement was permanent or merely a temporary sensation remained uncertain.
For now, he had identified three possible properties.
That was enough to continue.
Shad focused on the Flow within the dagger.
The energy he had absorbed seemed to maintain a connection with the Flow surrounding him. It was almost as though the two possessed a natural attraction, similar to opposite poles of a magnet.
If he could use that attraction properly, he might be able to influence the external energy.
But that wasn't his immediate goal.
He didn't need to control the Flow throughout the forest.
He only needed to control the energy around his dagger.
By confining the interaction to such a small area, he hoped to make the process more manageable.
His first attempt failed.
The second was no better.
On the third, the Flow gathered around the blade before collapsing.
Shad adjusted his approach.
Instead of forcing the external energy into the dagger, he used the energy already contained within it as an anchor. He drew the surrounding Flow closer, keeping it within a narrow space around the weapon.
The process required patience and precision.
Several more attempts ended in failure.
Then, finally, the energy remained.
A faint, transparent blue glow formed around the dagger.
It was barely visible, resembling a thin layer of sky-blue light wrapped around the blade.
Shad stared at it.
A smile slowly spread across his face, and his heartbeat quickened.
"So, it's time," said the Pondering Fighter.
"Of course it is."
Shad rose to his feet.
"I've kept the creature waiting long enough."
"Oh, how bold of you," remarked the Lonely King sarcastically.
Shad ignored him.
He stretched his arms and shoulders, testing his recovered body. He was still far from being in perfect condition, and his control over the Flow remained crude.
But he had a weapon.
He had energy.
And he had a plan.
Shad looked up at the night sky.
The nine enormous stars remained arranged in their circular formation, shining through the gaps between the branches.
I wonder where this false confidence is coming from.
He looked down.
The bear-like creature had stood up.
Its massive body shifted beneath the tree, and its red eyes remained fixed on him. The beast released a low rumble, almost as though it had been waiting for this exact moment.
Shad smirked.
There was no guarantee that he would survive the confrontation.
He knew that.
Yet the fear he had experienced during their first encounter was no longer present in the same form.
Whether that confidence came from his training, the Flow, or something deeper, he couldn't say.
He tightened his grip on the dagger.
"Ah, thank you for your patience."
The creature lowered its body.
Shad's smile widened.
"Now, allow me to return the favor."
He stepped toward the edge of the branch.
"Let's see which one of us gets to leave this place alive."
Then Shad Darc descended to face the beast.