Time passed quickly as Ren continued practicing.
Once he entered that kind of rhythm—train, adjust, repeat, cultivate, then do it all over again—hours stopped feeling like hours. The outside world seemed to fade away, replaced by the sound of his own breathing, the dull impacts of fists against the dummy, the sharp scraping of shoes against the floor, and the constant ache of muscles being pushed beyond what they were used to.
Before he even fully realized it, two whole days had passed.
His punches were cleaner now.
His stance felt more rooted.
His steps had stopped being awkward half-movements and started becoming something sharper, something deliberate.
Even his body felt different.
He still wasn't strong by the standards of this world—not even close—but he no longer felt like someone who had just stepped onto the path by chance.
Now, at least a little, he looked and felt like someone who was beginning to belong on it.
At that moment, the room terminal gave a soft notification sound.
Then a calm voice followed.
"One hour remaining."
Ren stopped moving.
His body, which had been in motion almost constantly, came to stillness in the middle of the training room. Sweat ran down the side of his face, and his breathing came out heavier than usual. The front of his shirt clung to him slightly, and his arms and legs both carried that familiar deep soreness that came after real training.
For the last two days, he had practically squeezed every bit of use out of this room. Morning until evening for fists, evening until late night for footwork, two hours set aside for evasion, and then the remaining time spent cultivating with Energy Cores until meditation replaced sleep.
It had been repetitive.
Brutal in its own simple way.
And strangely satisfying.
Ren rolled his shoulders, then walked over to the chair and sat down, leaning back slightly as he rested.
His muscles were tired enough that even the act of sitting felt good.
After a few moments of silence, he opened his status screen.
The familiar panel appeared before him.
NAME: Ren Valis
Age: 18
Talent: Bloodline Plant Lord
Lifeform Tier: 1
Evolution Pathway Level: Germination Stage
Skills: Basic Fist Technique (Proficient), Basic Foot Technique (Proficient), Basic Evasion Technique (Beginner)
Ren stared at the panel for several seconds.
Then a grin slowly appeared on his face.
"Not bad."
Actually, not bad was an understatement.
In just two days, he had pushed both the Basic Fist Technique and the Basic Foot Technique up to Proficient, while even the Basic Evasion Technique, which had been the hardest to train alone, had still reached Beginner.
That kind of speed was honestly ridiculous.
Even if the techniques were basic, they were still real combat skills. The school manuals had made it clear that most newly awakened students would need much longer to produce visible results. Some people would spend days just trying to stabilize the posture and body coordination of the most basic forms.
But Optimization had changed everything.
Not only had it shortened the learning time, it had also improved how much benefit Ren gained from each hour of practice.
And that difference showed clearly now.
Still looking at the panel, Ren recalled the explanation for Skill Expertise Levels from memory.
There were four main stages:
Beginner — 25%
Proficient — 50%
Expert — 75%
Master — 100%
These percentages represented the level of a skill's power, efficiency, or usable ability that a person could properly demonstrate in that area.
In simpler terms, reaching Beginner meant being able to bring out about a quarter of what the skill was truly capable of.
Proficient meant half.
Expert meant three-quarters.
And Master meant the complete, fully realized version of that technique—at least within the limits of the technique itself.
Ren let out a slow breath.
"Two Proficient and one Beginner in two days…"
Even saying it in his head felt unreasonable.
Still, he wasn't arrogant enough to think that meant he was already strong.
These were basic techniques, not advanced combat arts.
And skill levels alone meant nothing if the body, experience, and mind behind them were lacking.
But even then, it was still a huge step forward.
A few days ago, he had been a newly awakened teenager with no real combat foundation in this world.
Now he at least had something.
A beginning.
And that mattered.
After resting for a few more minutes, Ren decided to make use of the last hour wisely.
He opened the room terminal and ordered a Basic Nutrition Solution.
It was annoyingly expensive for what looked like a glorified bottle of liquid nutrients, but according to the room services description, it could quickly restore the energy of a Stage 2 pathway user.
Normally, Ren would have hesitated at the price.
But after two full days of near nonstop training and cultivation, he decided it was worth it.
No point walking into the next step half-exhausted.
Once the order was placed, he stood up and headed toward the washroom attached to the training room.
That had been one of the room's more useful features. Not luxurious, but practical.
He washed his face, cleaned himself up as much as he could, and changed into fresher clothes from the spare set he had brought with him.
By the time he came back out, the Nutrition Solution had already been delivered through the room service hatch.
Ren picked it up and looked at it.
A clean bottle with pale blue liquid inside.
It didn't exactly look appetizing.
He uncapped it, sniffed once, then made a face.
"Yeah… definitely not made for taste."
Still, he drank it.
The flavor was… strange.
Not bad in the normal sense, but it tasted too clean, too artificial, like something designed by people who viewed food as numbers and function rather than enjoyment.
A few minutes later, though, the effect started to show.
The heaviness in his limbs began easing.
Not disappearing completely—he wasn't stupid enough to expect that—but clearly lessening.
His stomach no longer felt empty, and the general fatigue dragging at his body softened enough that he could move more comfortably.
"Expensive, but useful."
He sat quietly for the remainder of the hour, not wasting energy on more practice.
This time, he wanted to step into the next phase in the best condition possible.
An hour passed.
Ren stood up, collected his things, and left the room.
He walked through the corridor and headed back toward the main hall, then from there moved toward the registration section of the building.
He had already decided this part before.
Now that enough time had passed, his cultivation progress would still look impressive, but no longer impossible.
That was the key.
As soon as he entered the registration section, a message appeared on his Light Brain.
It contained a room number and a route guide.
Please proceed to Room 1964 for registration.
Ren blinked once, then looked around.
This area was completely different from the public service section.
There were no open counters here.
Instead, there were numerous enclosed rooms, long corridors, guided signs, and controlled access points.
And it was far larger than it had looked from outside.
Much larger.
Far too large for the actual outer dimensions of this part of the building.
Ren's eyes narrowed slightly.
Space technology.
He immediately understood.
There was no other explanation.
This registration section was clearly using some level of internal space expansion.
"As expected of a top superpower," Ren muttered quietly.
He followed the directions on his Light Brain until he found the correct room.
Room 1964.
The number glowed softly beside a plain but solid door.
Ren placed his hand on the scanner.
The door opened.
He stepped inside.
The room itself was simple.
There was no one inside.
Just a table in the middle, two large sofas facing each other, and soft lighting built into the walls.
No visible receptionist.
No obvious equipment.
No terminal desk.
It almost looked like a private waiting room more than a registration office.
Ren stepped in, and the door closed behind him.
The moment he sat down, a holographic message appeared above the table.
"Hello. Would you like a person or AI for assistance in registration and questions regarding it?"
Ren looked at the message for a second.
Then he asked, "Will the AI record any of this conversation?"
The holographic interface responded immediately, its voice calm and even.
"No. All registration data will be encrypted and saved directly into the database. No one may view it unless access is granted under valid warrant authority in your name."
Ren considered that answer.
Direct.
Clear.
That was good enough for him.
"AI, please," he said.
The hologram shifted slightly.
"Explorer Guild Registration Assistant active. Please proceed when ready."
Ren studied it for a second.
Then nodded.
"Let's begin."
"Please confirm full name."
"Ren Valis."
"Confirmed. Please confirm age."
"Eighteen."
"Please confirm identity source: public citizen database, educational database, or direct manual submission."
"Public citizen database."
A brief pause followed.
Then the hologram spoke again.
"Identity matched. Ren Valis. Citizen verification successful."
Good.
Smooth so far.
"Please state whether this registration is for Explorer Guild explorer membership."
"Yes."
The moment he said that, a circular platform rose silently from the floor a short distance ahead of him.
Ren's eyes widened slightly.
He hadn't expected that.
The AI continued in the same calm voice.
"Please stand on the platform. It will scan for pathway integrity, external abnormalities, parasitic interference, hostile possession, and identity consistency."
This time, Ren didn't move right away.
Instead, he looked at the platform, then back at the hologram.
"Why is that necessary?"
The AI answered immediately, in the same perfectly even tone it had used for everything else.
"Certain plants, beasts, parasitic organisms, and hostile entities originating from Secret Realms have the ability to possess or infiltrate living beings."
"In some cases, individuals have returned from Secret Realms while unknowingly carrying such entities. In other cases, hostile parasitic lifeforms or external consciousnesses may abandon one host and transfer to another."
"Younger individuals are considered higher-risk targets due to natural growth changes being easier to overlook."
"Registration scans exist to detect signs of parasitism, hostile possession, abnormal pathway corruption, and concealed foreign biological or spiritual influence."
Ren stared at the hologram.
For a moment, he didn't say anything.
That… was not something he had really considered before.
Sure, he had already accepted that this world was huge, dangerous, and full of strange things. Plants awakened. Beasts evolved. Secret Realms existed. New monsters and supernatural creatures kept appearing.
So in a broad sense, it made perfect sense.
But hearing it stated this plainly was still something else.
Things could come out of Secret Realms…
…and possess people.
Or wait inside one person, then leave and hide inside another.
And the guild was worried enough about it to make scanning mandatory even for a basic registration.
Ren slowly exhaled.
Honestly?
Given the kind of world this was, that sounded horrifyingly normal.
"Alright," he said at last.
Then he stood up and stepped onto the platform.
The moment both feet settled into place, thin lines of light rose from around the edge.
Then several fine scanning beams moved over his body from different angles.
They were not painful.
Just cool.
Ren stayed still as the scan passed over him once, then twice, then one final time.
A few seconds later, the lights faded.
The AI spoke again.
"No abnormalities detected."
Ren relaxed slightly.
Then the AI paused for just a fraction of a second before continuing.
"Bloodline Plant Lord Pathway detected."
"Stage 2: Germination Stage."
Ren didn't react outwardly, but inside he was still paying attention carefully.
So the scan could indeed identify pathway and stage.
That made sense.
Which also meant he had been right to delay his registration for these extra days.
Then the AI continued.
"Registration complete."
That made Ren blink.
"Just like that?"
The hologram remained unchanged.
"Initial explorer registration has been completed successfully."
"You may now designate a primary identification method. Available options include eye scan, palm scan, or both."
"All methods are linked to identity verification through soul fluctuation confirmation."
Ren's brows lifted slightly at that.
"Soul fluctuation confirmation?"
"Yes," the AI replied. "Biometric identifiers may be copied, Cannot Detect Parasitized & Possessed Individuals or Altered under certain advanced conditions. Soul fluctuation verification is used as the highest-level identity anchor for registration-linked access."
That made sense too.
In a world with bloodlines, strange abilities, evolved plants, hidden creatures, and possession risks, using only fingerprints or retina scans would obviously be too unreliable.
"Both," Ren said after a moment. "Palm and eye scan."
"Confirmed."
A smaller device extended from the table.
Ren walked over first and placed his hand against the glowing surface.
A soft light swept across his palm.
Then another projection appeared at head level.
He leaned in slightly and let it scan his eyes.
A moment later, the interface retracted.
"Primary identification linked."
"Ren Valis is now registered as an Explorer Guild explorer."
"Current rank: Basic Explorer."
"Current internal points: 0."
"Public services available. Beginner membership privileges available. Internal mission access limited by stage, authority, and risk category."
Ren nodded slowly.
There it was.
Official.
He was in.
Not as some important member.
But still—
It was a real step.
The AI continued.
"Would you like a summary of currently available beginner services and permissions?"
"Yes."
Immediately, a new holographic list appeared.
It included:
Access to beginner internal mission listings
Material buy and sell services
Limited public archive access
Public and member training facility rental
Beginner realm information packages
Basic danger classification guides
Emergency support request eligibility in designated guild zones
Ren read through everything carefully.
It was a lot.
Not enough to make him powerful immediately, but enough to give him structure.
Enough to help him move properly instead of blindly.
That was exactly what he needed.
Then another thought occurred to him.
"Can I take internal missions immediately?"
"You may view beginner-eligible internal missions immediately," the AI answered. "However, mission access depends on stage, risk level, qualification requirements, and specific task type."
"Can I enter a Secret Realm through the guild immediately?"
The AI paused briefly, then answered.
"Basic entry is possible only for designated low-risk beginner realms."
Good.
Ren nodded once.
The AI's voice came again.
"Would you like to activate guild message notifications and mission alerts?"
Ren thought for a moment.
Then said, "Mission alerts only for beginner resources, training, and low-risk realm-related opportunities."
"Preference saved."
Smart.
No point getting spammed with useless notifications for work he couldn't do yet.
Once that was done, the hologram shifted again.
"Registration session complete. Do you have further questions?"
(Author Note: If you enjoyed the chapter, please vote, rate, and leave a comment if you can. Your support really helps the novel grow and motivates me to keep writing. Thank you for reading!)