As Ray slowly lifted his heavy eyelids, all he could see were rays of white light. His vision was blurry at first, but after a few seconds, the details became clearer. He could make out the white textures on the walls, the bar-like lights on the ceiling.
Where was he?
As his vision adjusted, he noticed a large, shiny round object in front of him. It was reflective enough that he could see his own face in it. As the object moved, he realized—it wasn't an object at all. It was a bald human head.
"Hey man, you're finally awake," Kyle said.
Ray's head was pounding. "Why am I in the hospital? Wait… why are you in the hospital?"
Kyle placed a hand on Ray's shoulder and gently pushed him back toward the bed. "Hey, don't move too soon, man. An old guy came running in here with you on his back. He asked us to call a healing mage as soon as possible, but when we ran some tests… you were completely fine."
"What do you mean, we?" Ray asked.
Just then, the door swung open, and Sylvia walked in.
"You're awake! I hope Kyle didn't bother you too much. He's been nagging all the female patients since he started here."
"You joined the medical club?" Ray blurted out in surprise.
Kyle's face turned slightly red. "You know, I've always been interested in the medical field," he said, giving Ray a wink and a thumbs-up as if they were speaking in code.
Ray glanced around the hospital. Kyle was one of the only male students in the medical club. He didn't want to doubt his words, but something about it felt suspicious.
Sylvia approached, holding a clipboard in her hand. "The doctor said we could look after you while you recover since we already know you."
"Am I okay?" Ray asked. His head still felt like it was about to explode.
Sylvia glanced at the clipboard. "When you first came in, you showed all the signs of mana sickness, which should have been impossible. We called for a medical mage, but before they even arrived, your condition had completely healed. We ran a second test, and everything was normal. Most likely, it was just a false reading. You just need to rest for a few hours, and then you're free to go."
After resting for a few hours, Ray was discharged from the hospital. When he returned to his room, the others were discussing their experiences at their clubs. It seemed that the first day was all about learning the basics of Ki.
Kyle and Sylvia had learned how to use Ki to activate cells in a person's body, allowing them to self-heal. Martha had been taught how to infuse Ki into her arrows, while Gary learned how to apply it to his sword. No one had actually practiced using Ki yet—they had only been introduced to the theory. After hearing Ray's story about landing in the hospital, the others weren't in a hurry to experiment with it.
The next day, Ray went to the martial arts club. This time, the old man was already waiting for him at the front gate. Without warning, he grabbed Ray and pulled him inside.
"You could have died, you silly boy!" the old man shouted.
What followed was a long-winded lecture. The old man nagged and complained until Ray's ears felt like they were bleeding. The only upside was that the incident seemed to make the old man forget about what had happened to him just before. Ray had spent time thinking about what to say if asked about it, but luckily, he didn't have to.
When the old man finally finished, they both sat down on the floor.
"I don't want to praise you for what you did," the old man said, "but it's actually incredible that you managed to gather that much Ki on your first attempt. However, you must learn the limits of your body. If I hadn't been there, you might have never been able to use Ki again—or worse."
The old man sighed, then clapped his hands together. "Now, gather your Ki like you did yesterday. But this time, make sure it's only the size of a fist. No bigger, no smaller."
For the next few days, Ray focused on controlling his Ki. He practiced simple exercises—adjusting its size and moving it around his body.
On the fifth day, he finally succeeded in activating his cells using Ki. The first step was hardening his cells, strengthening his body and fists in a way similar to the dark guild member he had fought before. At the moment, he could only use a fist-sized amount of Ki, meaning his body hardening wasn't very effective if spread across his entire form.
That was why the old man had taught him to move Ki through his body. Instead of covering everything at once, Ray could activate only the cells in the specific body part he was using. If he was about to punch, he would only need to harden his fist. If an enemy attacked with a blade, as long as he predicted where the strike would land, he only needed to reinforce that area.
To test this, the old man started doing drills where he would strike Ray randomly. The goal was to harden the targeted area before impact. At first, Ray failed—he took several blows and even coughed up blood. But after a few rounds, he started getting the hang of it.
After five days of hard work, his basic Ki training was complete. The old man told him that all he needed to do now was gradually increase the size of his Ki control. If his muscles started hurting, it meant he had gathered too much Ki at once.
What Ray wanted most now was a chance to test his Ki abilities. And the perfect opportunity was just around the corner.
Tomorrow, the students would finally go hunting for magical beasts.