“Two years.” He voiced softly.

  “Young master, did you say something?” The burly man in front asked.

  “There is no problem. I was just thinking out loud.”

  “If you like, we can take a break. We’re almost back at the main estate, so I don’t think they’ll mind if we’re a little late.”

  Chris took a deep breath.

  “That would work just fine, if it’s not an inconvenience.”

  “You heard the young master. It’s time to make camp. Young-Pil, sweep our surroundings. Jun-Bok, put up the camp.”

  The carriage stopped abruptly, rocking as the two guards jumped out to follow their orders.

  The burly man stepped out first. After confirming everything was safe, he returned and helped the young master down. The night’s cold struck Chris’s face immediately.

  “If it’s too cold, you can wait in the carriage until the fire is started.”

  “You don’t have to worry. The weather is perfect.” Chris looked genuinely happy, happier than he could even remember.

  -Someone’s in a happy mood. What’s going on?-

  ‘I don’t know, but everything feels different. The place looks more alive than ever.’

  He knelt, plucked a few blades of grass, and let them drift away in the wind.

  -That thing in your abdomen might be the cause. It’s been swirling nonstop since you woke up.-

  Chris touched his lower abdomen. The new core there felt like a hungry beast absorbing every bit of Qi it could reach. It would take time for it to fully settle.

  -So? Can you finally use those fancy moves?-

  ‘I can’t access the core until I unclog the new paths leading to it. It’ll take some time to unlock everything.’

  -What a bummer. I was hoping to see the new moves.-

  ‘Me too. But it won’t be long before the new paths are cleared.’

  A whisper, soft as the wind, brushed past Chris’s ear, but too quickly for him to make out.

  “Did you say something?” Chris turned to his guard.

  “No, young master. I was waiting for your next assignment.”

  “It’s nothing. I thought I heard something.”

  ‘Did you say something?’

  -No. But I might know who did. You’ll have to go into the forest alone; it’ll be hard to explain to the guards.-

  ‘What did you plan?’

  -A surprise that’ll blow your mind.-

  Curious, Chris told the guards he wanted some time alone. The chief guard hesitated, but after Young-Pil returned and reported the surroundings were safe and no one had followed them, Chris pushed until the guard reluctantly agreed.

  Impatiently, he headed into the forest to see what surprise the system had for him. The forest should have been swallowed by darkness, yet to Chris’s surprise, he could see everything as though the sun were shining.

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  ‘This is pretty cool. I can see in the dark now. So where should I go?’

  Silence.

  Nearby branches fluttered. Chris jumped back, startled by his new and enhanced sense of hearing.

  ‘Haha, very funny. You scared me. Can you speak again now?’

  More branches rustled, one after another.

  ‘Okay, system, I don’t know how you’re doing this, but it’s time to stop.’

  Silence.

  Leaves fell onto his head. He looked up, he saw nothing, then suddenly his right leg was yanked up and he was pulled upside-down, dangling from a branch. He tried to free himself, but the rope wouldn’t budge. After minutes of struggling, he felt the blood rushing to his head.

  “I give up! Whoever you are, put me down before I faint!”

  “How can you give up so easily? As I remember, you used to be braver than this.”

  A girl’s voice came from the tree. Chris felt like he knew it, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

  “Do we know each other? I feel like I’ve met you before, but I can’t remember.”

  “I feel hurt.” The rope tightened. “You’ve known me my whole life, and now you say you don’t remember me?”

  “I’m sorry! I have a lot on my mind, so I can’t remember right now.”

  “Maybe this will shake your memory.”

  The rope loosened, and Chris dropped to the ground. His new clothes were instantly covered in dust. As he stood and brushed himself off, he heard a familiar hiss and looked up.

  From the canopy above, an obsidian-scaled head emerged.

  “Surprise!” The snake said happily.

  Chris was so shocked he fell on his backside, dirtying his clothes again.

  “Soa? Is that you?” He reached a hand toward her.

  She rubbed her head gently against his palm.

  “It really is you. You’ve gotten so big.” Relief flooded him. “So… can I have my pillow back?”

  “You already had it, silly. You were resting your hand on it while you slept.”

  Soa slid down from the tree. Her body was now the length of a small car, her scales darker, and on her forehead, a newly formed scale glimmered like a gem.

  “Come here and give me a hug.” Chris opened his arms.

  Soa rushed to him and wrapped around him. He knew she’d grown, but he still couldn’t believe she could coil around his whole body; she’d been so small two years ago she could only wrap around his arm or hide in his pocket.

  “Easy, Soa. I can hear my bones cracking.”

  She quickly uncoiled and returned to a branch.

  “Sorry… I still can’t control my strength.”

  Chris straightened and brushed off some of the leaves from his clothes.

  “I had a sore back after lying down for two years. Your ‘hug’ fixed it.” He smirked.

  “I see you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”

  “I had a lot of time to think up some great jokes. Want to hear them?”

  “NO!”

  -NO!-

  “Fine, tough crowd.”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to hear them, but I don’t have enough time. You can tell them next time we meet.”

  “What do you mean? We just met after so long, and you’re already leaving?”

  “I’d love to stay with the three of us together, but I have my own path to follow for now.”

  “Promise me you’ll be safe.”

  She hesitated for a few seconds, then answered softly,

  “I promise.”

  Chris understood what that pause meant, but accepted her answer.

  Before she left, he stepped closer, pressing his forehead to hers. They stayed like that for minutes.

  “Take all the time you need to finish what you must. I’ll be waiting for you at the Baek manor.”

  “Take care of yourself, Chris. I can’t lose another important person again so soon… I’m still grieving another.”

  She faded back into the forest. Her voice whispered from far away:

  “Remember to look inside the ring.”

  “What do you mean? Soa? What happened?”

  She was already too far to answer.

  “System, what did she mean? Answer me! What happened?”

  -Chris, I know you have questions. But it’s better to get back safely to the manor before you learn the truth.-

  “You can’t do this! I need to know!”

  -Jang Mu-Yeon is dead.-

  The horror hit him instantly. Chris fell to his knees, tears spilling.

  “He died because of me… didn’t he?”

  -He chose to stay behind to give Soa enough time to get you out. I don’t want to give false hope; there was no way for him to survive.-

  “What happened?”

  -We should go back before the guards worry and start searching.-

  “You’re right… but promise you’ll tell me everything.”

  -I will.-

  He stopped crying, wiped his face, dusted himself off as much as he could, and returned to camp.

  The chief guard rushed over when he saw his dusty clothes and bloodshot eyes.

  “Young master, are you alright?”

  “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I just stumbled over a root and got dirt on my clothes. Is everything ready?”

  “The camp is set. We were waiting for you to return to begin eating.”

  “Then let’s eat.”

  “We prepared a separate place for your meal, and the rest of us will…”

  “If you don’t mind, I want to eat together with everyone.”

  “Young master, you should…”

  “As I said, I’m eating with all of you. And stop with that ‘young master’ crap. Tonight, under this starry sky, we’re all equals. Forget our roles for a moment. Call me Yong-Su.”

  “As you wish, young… Yong-Su.”

  “See? Not that hard. Call the others to the fire.”

  The four of them sat around the campfire, sharing their meal and stories, the good times, the hard times, and everything in between.

  Young-Pil came from a poor family, the only son caring for five sisters after his parents died. He discovered he could cultivate and eventually earned a place among the Baek guards.

  Jun-Bok was a vagabond who gambled everything he had and lost, wandering near the Baek manor until Yong-Su’s father saw potential in him and offered him a place, eventually making him a guard.

  The chief guard refused to share his story; the only thing Chris knew about him was his name, Jin-Mu.

  By the time their stories ended, dawn approached. Everyone settled to sleep, everyone except Chris, who waited for the truth.

  -You should sleep. I can tell you tomorrow.-

  “It can’t wait. I need to know what happened to Mu-Yeon and Soa while I was gone.”

  The system hesitated, but it knew Chris was stubborn. So it began to tell the story.

  And by the end of it, Chris would be angrier than ever, mostly at himself for being gone when they needed him most