"Where am I...?"
Tiger's voice echoed through the darkness as he looked around desperately. "Where am I?!" His breathing became heavier and faster. Everything around him was dark. He couldn't see anything clearly. It felt as if he had been thrown into an endless void where nothing existed.
Then suddenly, something appeared.
Tiger's vision flickered, and he briefly saw a blurry figure standing in the darkness. It looked like someone was attacking another person, but Tiger couldn't see clearly enough to understand what was happening. Everything remained distorted, almost as if his eyes refused to focus.
Then another image flashed before him.
A massive creature appeared.
Tiger only caught a glimpse of it, but he could see the creature attacking someone. Before he could understand anything else—
Tiger suddenly woke up.
He immediately sat up on his bed and began breathing heavily. His heart was racing as he looked around his room.
"What was that...?"
Tiger slowly got out of bed and opened his door. The floor where he lived was surrounded by large glass windows, allowing him to see outside without even leaving his room.
Morning had already arrived.
Several staff members were working around the building when one of them noticed Tiger standing near his door. The staff member approached him while carrying a tray.
"Sir, is everything alright?" he asked. "You don't look very well. Are you in a hurry or something?"
Tiger hesitated for a moment. "No... no. I'm fine. Thank you for asking."
The staff member nodded politely. "Alright, sir. If you need anything, just let me know."
With that, he continued walking away.
Tiger returned inside and slowly began drinking some water. However, his mind was still trapped in the dream. As he stared through the glass window toward the morning sunlight, the images kept replaying inside his head.
"What was that dream...?"
He continued drinking slowly.
"Could those people have been someone related to me?"
Tiger finished the water, but the glass remained in his hand.
Then another thought entered his mind.
"Could it have been my fath—"
The glass suddenly slipped from his hand.
But before it could hit the floor, Tiger quickly caught it using his leg and saved it from breaking. He immediately picked it up and carefully placed it on the table.
Tiger stood silently.
"Could that really be possible? No... that's ridiculous. Why am I even thinking about this?"
But his expression slowly became serious again.
"Ever since those monsters and strange dreams started appearing... I can't ignore them anymore. What if they aren't just dreams?"
Tiger looked down.
"Could that creature have killed my father before I even started school?"
He let out a deep sigh.
"But what was that creature? Could it be..."
Tiger stopped himself.
"No. Forget it. I don't know anything yet."
Suddenly, Tiger looked at the time.
"What?! I'm going to be late for school!"
Tiger immediately began rushing around his room, quickly preparing everything he needed. After grabbing his things, he hurried outside.
But as he stepped out of his room, something immediately caught his attention.
The glass wall that had been damaged during Tiger and Leon's fight was completely repaired.
Tiger stopped for a moment.
"...It got fixed already?"
He didn't have time to think about it any longer. Tiger quickly continued toward school.
Fortunately, he managed to arrive before it was too late.
When Tiger entered the training area, everyone was already practicing. His trainer immediately noticed him and walked toward him.
"Tiger, are you alright?" his trainer asked.
Tiger nodded. "Yes, sir. I'm completely fine."
"Good," his trainer replied. "Then shall we begin today's training?"
"Yes, sir."
Tiger's trainer turned around and faced the training ground.
"Alright. Today, you won't be fighting anyone."
Tiger immediately felt relieved.
But then his trainer continued.
"Because today, you're fighting me."
Tiger's expression instantly changed.
"What?"
His trainer calmly turned toward him.
"Let's begin."
Without giving Tiger any more time to react, his trainer suddenly attacked him.
Tiger immediately dodged.
His trainer stopped and looked slightly impressed.
"Interesting. You dodged that. Although... that wasn't even one percent of my power."
Tiger's eyes widened slightly.
"What?"
Tiger already knew his trainer was powerful. His Swiga had even given him a strange feeling about the man's strength. According to what Tiger sensed, if his trainer ever used around thirty percent of his power, he could potentially destroy the entire school.
And Tiger knew that his trainer hadn't even come close to showing his true strength.
His trainer suddenly attacked again.
Tiger prepared himself.
But this time, the attack was fake.
Tiger reacted immediately. "Oh, no—"
Before Tiger could move away, his trainer grabbed his hand.
Tiger tried pulling himself free.
But it was impossible.
His trainer's grip was far stronger than Tiger expected.
Instead of continuing to struggle, Tiger suddenly moved. He used his trainer's body for support and quickly climbed onto his shoulder.
His trainer's eyes widened slightly.
"Interesting."
Tiger immediately used the movement to free his hand and jumped away.
For a moment, both of them stood silently.
Then Tiger's trainer smiled.
"Stop there, Tiger."
Tiger looked toward him.
"You did well. Actually... perhaps I should say you did extremely well."
Tiger remained silent.
His trainer continued, "That's enough for today. One day, when you graduate—or whenever you decide to leave this school—we'll have our final fight."
He then turned away.
But inside his mind, another thought appeared.
I couldn't defeat him either.
His expression became serious.
I couldn't measure even a fraction of his true power. Ever since he joined this school, nobody has been able to defeat him. No matter how powerful someone is...
He glanced back toward Tiger.
...I'm not sure anyone ever will.
Then he spoke normally again.
"You can go now, Tiger."
Tiger nodded. "Yes, sir."
With that, Tiger left the training area.
Later that night, after everything that had happened throughout the day, Tiger finally returned to his rented apartment.
He lay down on his bed.
His thoughts slowly became quieter.
And eventually—
Tiger fell asleep.