Unlike after his battle with the bear-like creature, Shad Darc did not lose consciousness when he reached toward the faint light within the giant snake.
The moment his fingers touched it, two things happened simultaneously.
The snake's enormous body began to shrink.
And the resonance Shad had felt before passing out returned.
This time, however, it was clearer.
Shad's eyes widened as the serpent's body gradually reduced in size. Its thick, massive frame contracted, the scales drawing closer together until the creature resembled a gigantic python rather than the enormous snake he had just fought.
"What the hell is going on?"
He stared at the shrinking corpse, baffled.
Yet after a moment, he remembered where he was.
"I'm in a strange world filled with supernatural phenomena. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised anymore."
Even so, the sight remained difficult to accept.
Shad shifted his attention toward the resonance moving through his body. Unlike before, he was conscious enough to observe the sensation carefully.
The first thing he noticed was that the resonance responded to the strange feeling he had originally experienced when he first encountered the Flow. It seemed to draw that sensation into focus, making it easier for him to recognize and understand.
The second discovery was even more significant.
The faint light being absorbed into his body did not increase the quantity of Flow within him. Instead, it strengthened the quality of the energy already present.
It was not giving him more energy.
It was improving the energy he possessed.
Shad considered the difference carefully.
"So, the resonance enhances the quality of my Energy Flow without increasing its quantity."
"Interesting."
His interest was genuine.
He glanced at the now-smaller serpent, which had shrunk to roughly the size of a large python—though it was still considerably larger than any ordinary snake he had encountered on Earth.
"So, this faint light is basically an energy upgrader," he muttered. "That would explain why fighting this snake felt easier than it should have."
The realization did not answer every question, but it gave him a possible explanation for his recent improvement.
Shad did not waste any more time.
He approached the dead snake and examined its fangs. They were not particularly large, barely reaching the length of his palm, but they were sharp enough to serve as weapons.
Removing them was not easy. The fangs were firmly embedded in the creature's jaw, and Shad had to use the Flow to reinforce his grip and apply controlled force.
After several attempts, he managed to pull both fangs free.
He held one in each hand and studied them.
"Is all of this real?"
The question surfaced without warning.
He had already accepted that he was no longer on Earth. He had fought creatures that should not exist, discovered an unfamiliar form of energy, and survived injuries that would have killed an ordinary human.
Yet a part of him remained skeptical.
If someone had told him, even through a dream or some supposed revelation, that he would one day be transported from Earth to another world and gain the strength to fight monstrous creatures, he would never have believed them.
Not without evidence.
An inner voice stirred within him.
'You know that isn't entirely true, right?'
Shad did not respond.
He simply pretended not to hear it.
With the two fangs in his hands, he walked toward the corpse of the bear-like creature.
When he reached it, he lowered himself onto one knee and examined the two empty sockets where its eyes had been.
For a moment, he wondered whether he had truly been the one to kill it.
It was not that he doubted his ability to defeat such a creature. His strength had already grown beyond anything he had possessed on Earth.
What unsettled him was the speed of his progress.
His body was adapting too quickly. His understanding of the Flow was expanding too quickly. Even his survival in this strange world seemed to be unfolding with suspicious convenience.
It felt as though someone—or something—was feeding him answers one at a time.
'As if I'm being guided.'
Shad's eyes narrowed.
He had no evidence to support the thought, but his instincts refused to dismiss it.
If he wanted the truth, he would need to become stronger and explore this world himself.
That much was certain.
And yet, despite everything, the forest felt strangely welcoming.
In some inexplicable way, he felt more at home here than he ever had on Earth.
The realization disturbed him more than he expected.
"I wonder why."
His words disappeared into the forest.
None of his three identities answered.
Shad eventually pushed the thought aside and returned to the task at hand.
Using the snake's fangs as makeshift tools, he worked at the base of the bear-like creature's horns. The process was difficult, but the reinforced strength provided by the Flow allowed him to loosen them.
After considerable effort, he finally removed both horns.
He held them up and examined them more closely.
Now that they were separated from the creature's head, he could clearly distinguish them from the horns of a rhinoceros.
Rhino horns were usually rough and slightly curved. These were different.
Their surfaces were smooth, and both were completely straight. The lower horn measured approximately sixty inches, while the upper one was around twenty-five inches long.
They were far too large to have appeared so ordinary during the battle.
Shad looked at them without much expression.
"Well, it isn't like that matters to me."
He adjusted his grip.
"All that matters is having a weapon."
He stood and swung one of the horns experimentally.
Then he stopped.
His expression changed.
The horn had become unexpectedly light.
Not completely weightless, but close enough that holding it felt almost like holding a feather.
Shad stared at the weapon in his hand.
"Damn. What's wrong with the creatures in this forest?"
He swung the second horn, confirming the same sensation.
"Are they exaggerating their size to make themselves look intimidating, or am I just too weak to notice the difference?"
He paused.
Then another detail came to mind.
"Now that I think about it, these horns weren't this long or intimidating during our fight."
He examined them again.
"They only became this large after the creature died."
Shad remained silent for a while.
"Strange. So many bizarre and illogical things."
He glanced toward the forest.
"Well, it is a strange world."
Rather than waste time trying to explain something he currently lacked the information to understand, Shad decided to focus on what he could control.
"Instead of wasting time on things I can't explain, I should train. If I want to survive in this world, I need to become stronger."
With the two horns in hand, he returned to the enormous tree that had sheltered him.
As he approached, he looked up at its towering trunk and sprawling branches.
"It really is enormous. Probably the largest tree I've ever seen."
He studied it more carefully.
*Although, from an objective perspective, it doesn't look as large as it should. It feels as though its true size is being concealed.*
"You think too much," the Lonely King remarked. "And it isn't necessarily a good thing."
"Is that so?" Shad replied plainly.
"Never mind. We have more important things to do."
Shad did not bother answering.
He climbed the tree and settled onto the same broad branch where he had meditated before. Once he was comfortable, he crossed his legs and adopted a lotus position.
He closed his eyes.
His breathing gradually settled as he began circulating the Flow through his body.
This time, he did not focus on strengthening his muscles or increasing his energy reserves. Instead, he guided the Flow toward his injuries, directing it through his damaged ribs and the surrounding tissue.
He wanted to understand whether the energy could be used deliberately for healing and restoration rather than merely absorbed or used as a source of strength.
Of course, he already knew that the Flow could do more than enhance his physical abilities.
The three days he had spent unconscious after fighting the bear-like creature had provided enough evidence. He had awakened with his wounds completely healed and his body in better condition than before.
But he had not yet tested the process himself.
Now, he began experimenting.
He circulated the Flow through his body, adjusting its movement and concentrating it around the damaged area. The energy moved through him with a subtle warmth, easing the pain and gradually restoring what had been injured.
As he continued, another realization began to take shape.
The Flow was not simply a source of strength.
It could be used for recovery, reinforcement, and perhaps other functions he had yet to discover.
Shad opened his eyes slightly.
"Energy Flow."
The phrase came to him naturally.
It meant the same thing as "flow of energy," but it was shorter and sounded more precise.
He considered it for a moment.
"Energy Flow," he repeated quietly.
The name felt right.
From that point onward, he decided, he would refer to the energy within him as "Energy Flow".