Ryan went to his room and said with relief,
"Finally… I can sleep."
Selin replied,
"Not yet."
Ryan froze, surprised.
"What?"
Selin said,
"Your powers have evolved, and someone else will appear to help you."
Ryan asked,
"And what about you?"
Selin smiled,
"I'll stay with you… don't worry."
Ryan rolled his eyes,
"Great… just my luck."
Selin exploded,
"What did you say?!"
Ryan ignored him and asked,
"So, where is this person you mentioned?"
Selin replied,
"First, you need to enter your consciousness into the stone. You'll meet him there."
Ryan sighed,
"Alright… what should I do?"
Selin answered,
"Do exactly what you did before, but this time focus only on your stone. Don't think about any other stone."
"Fine," Ryan said.
He closed his eyes and held the stone tightly. Suddenly, a bright golden light flashed. When he opened his eyes, he found himself inside a golden shaded room.
Ryan whispered,
"It looks a bit like the place I went to when I tried to learn who the original owner of the stone was."
Selin appeared in front of him and said,
"Hello."
Ryan jumped.
"What are you doing here?!"
Selin smiled,
"This is your stone… so I can be here too."
Ryan groaned,
"Great… just when I thought I finally got a break from you…"
Then he remembered Selin mentioning someone else. He turned around and saw a man behind him — wearing a military uniform and sporting a thick beard.
The man said,
"So, you're the new stone wielder, huh? You idiot."
Selin yelled,
"Who are you calling an idiot?!"
Ryan asked,
"Okay… what are we supposed to do now?"
The man smirked,
"Greetings. My name is Chris. I'll be your instructor, and I'm here to help you all become stronger."
Ryan blinked.
"How exactly?"
Chris replied,
"You'll train here, inside this room."
Ryan frowned.
"What about the others? How will you train them?"
Chris smiled,
"Easy… I'll use your body."
Ryan's face went blank.
"Use… my body?"
Chris nodded,
"I'll control your body for a short while. You'll stay here, but not for long — because if you remain here too much, I'll end up draining your life energy."
Ryan shouted,
"No way! I'm not agreeing to that!"
Chris said calmly,
"You have no choice. This is the only way to protect you… and everyone with you. Otherwise, the only ending waiting for all of you is death."
Ryan clenched his jaw,
"Fine… I'll start. See you later."
Chris asked,
"Where do you think you're going?"
Ryan replied,
"To sleep."
Chris smirked,
"You're not going anywhere. Your training starts now."
And the torture began.
Ryan did squats and push-ups endlessly while Chris struck him repeatedly.
Ryan screamed,
"Are you sure this is training?! It feels like you're trying to kill me!"
Chris ignored him completely and continued.
Hours passed.
Finally, Chris allowed him to leave.
When Ryan returned to reality, he realized it was already time for university.
He shouted,
"I didn't even rest!"
Then he looked at Selin,
"I didn't sleep, but… I actually feel refreshed. I'm not tired at all."
Selin smiled,
"Of course. The stone takes care of you too. When you're inside the training room, it's as if your body has rested — like a dream you don't feel, yet you wake up full of energy."
Ryan asked,
"Then what's the point of the training?"
Selin explained,
"You don't feel tired, yes… but while you're training inside the stone, the stone strengthens your real body and increases your experience with every exercise."
Ryan stood up,
"Alright. Time for university. Now let's wake Jamal and go."
Ryan went to wake Jamal, who opened his eyes slowly and stretched before getting up. They got ready to leave, and just as they stepped toward the door, Jamal asked in a low voice:
"Where's Liana?"
Ryan replied while arranging his things,
"She's on a special mission. Don't worry about her… she'll be fine."
Jamal nodded, though the worry didn't leave his face. After a few steps, he stopped suddenly and looked down at his new body.
"Ryan… how am I supposed to enter the university like this? They won't let me in—the photo on my ID looks nothing like my current appearance."
Ryan smiled confidently.
"Don't worry. First… I brought your old clothes, just like we planned."
Jamal frowned.
"Yeah… and then what?"
Ryan continued,
"We'll do this: I'll temporarily disable the stone's effect. Go to the bathroom and change into your old clothes. That way you'll look normal among the students. After we get inside, you'll go back to the bathroom and we'll reactivate your ability."
They executed the plan carefully—and it worked perfectly.
When they entered the university, every eye turned toward Jamal.
His new size, his defined muscles, the complete disappearance of his old weight, and even his sharper, more attractive facial features… Many girls tried to hide their surprise, while Jamal struggled to keep his composure.
As they reached the lecture hall, a short girl with light freckles on her cheeks rushed toward them, waving excitedly.
"Hey!"
Ryan smiled.
"Hi, Mira. How are you?"
She answered cheerfully,
"I'm good! But… where's Jamal? I wanted to see him."
Ryan tensed slightly before replying,
"Something important came up for him. He couldn't make it."
She sighed.
"That's a shame… I really wanted to talk to him."
Then she pointed at the "new" Jamal.
"And who's your friend?"
Ryan replied instantly,
"This… is Jamal."
All three—Ryan, Celine, and Jamal—froze for a moment, unable to believe Ryan said it so directly.
The girl blinked.
"He has the same name? Seriously?"
They all exhaled in relief.
She stepped closer and studied him carefully.
"I don't know why… but he looks familiar somehow."
She paused briefly, then said,
"Anyway, send my greetings to the other Jamal. See you later!"
After she walked away, Celine asked,
"Who's that girl?"
Ryan snickered mischievously.
"That's the girl Jamal likes."
Jamal's face turned bright red.
"Stop saying nonsense! Cut it out!"
Ryan laughed.
"Alright, alright… let's go. We're gonna be late."
The lecture ended, and the two walked down the hallway. Jamal looked at Ryan.
"So, what's the next plan?"
But Ryan's phone suddenly rang. He saw Liana's name on the screen.
He picked up immediately.
"What's wrong, Liana?"
Her voice was tense.
"I'm near that girl… and I overheard talk about a kidnapping operation."
Ryan asked,
"Did you hear anything else?"
"No… the voices got louder. I couldn't focus anymore."
"Send me the location right now. I'm coming."
She sent it instantly.
When they arrived, they found a girl surrounded by armed men.
The fight had already begun; every time one of them tried to hit her, she slipped right through them, phasing in and out as she used her light stone to pass through bodies and strike from impossible angles.
Liana watched her from afar and said,
"She's good… but her energy won't last long."
Ryan and Jamal arrived, and Ryan asked,
"What exactly is happening?"
Liana replied,
"She's been fighting for fifteen minutes… and more keep showing up. I don't think she can hold out."
Suddenly, one of the men sneaked behind the girl and grabbed her wrist, snapping a metallic cuff onto it.
She scoffed confidently,
"This? You think this will stop me?"
She tried activating her ability… but nothing happened.
Her eyes widened.
"What is this device?!"
The man laughed.
"Not so cocky now, huh?"
The men closed in around her.
She was exhausted, barely standing, and for a moment she felt she had reached her end.
She shouted,
"You said… you'd be there if I ever got in trouble!"
At that exact moment, Jamal charged forward like a raging bull, smashing through the attackers and sending several flying with raw power.
Liana leaped into the fight as well, dropping three men with clean judo moves, then locking another with jiu-jitsu.
Ryan stood back, watching calmly.
"Looks like I don't need to step in."
Celine's voice echoed in his mind mockingly:
"Coward."
A man rushed Ryan and threw several punches, but Ryan dodged all of them with ease, almost bored.
He thought to himself,
"These punches… so slow. They're nothing like Kris's."
Celine chuckled,
"That's the power of training."
One by one, the attackers fell—until only Ryan, his team, and the defeated girl remained.
The girl staggered toward Ryan, then collapsed into his arms, muttering,
"You idiot… you think I didn't notice you following me?"
Everyone thought the fight was over…
But then a strange man stepped forward among the bodies on the ground.
He was tall, pale, with long black hair and a thick beard.
He looked at them with a cold smile.
"Things just got interesting."
Jamal warned him,
"I suggest you walk away now… unless you want to end up like the rest."
The man laughed.
"Actually, you're the ones in danger."
Suddenly, his body started swelling. Muscles bulged, fur grew across his skin, and long pointed ears appeared…
He transformed into a creature resembling a werewolf.
With a deep growl, he said:
"Let's play."