Nai had a dream.
In his dream, he was looking at a place covered in pale and dark fog. There's no moon above, only the infinite stars shining with dim light.
Not far from him were the picturesque clouds that looked like they had been painted with purple-to-green gradient colors.
Nai was appalled by the reason he was here.
He was apparently floating in midair. Then there's the movement below. The pale black fog covering what was below seemed to ripple like someone would toss a stone in the calm water.
All the fog in sight started to move forward on the center, which is below him, forming a whirlpool of clouds.
It looked like an eye of the storm had formed.
In the next moment, he was swept down like he was free-falling.
Ahhhhh. He didn't even have time to fully increase his shout, which he didn't seem to notice was not coming out of his mouth.
By the time he realized it, his eyes were already opened and he was seeing the black fog seem to be thinning and gathering in many directions around him.
One of such gatherings even formed a tornado beside him. But strangely, he felt no movement of the wind.
Ugh.
He tried to sit up, but he was immediately hit by the feeling of exhaustion and soreness in his whole body.
"Ugh." Right, it became like this after all. Using all kinds of frightening and difficult movements in battle for the first time.
That would have been deadly in battle were it not for his extreme confidence and instincts controlling his mind and body correctly.
He just followed, and then he got it right. Is this what they called battle sense? I have talent in combat.
Bah! Even if I do have it. I won't fight like that anymore.
Sensing some pain around him, Nai gritted his teeth in anger and fear. He might have died were it not for his outbursts back then.
Remembering his battle just now. Nai felt emotional; I can also do that, huh?
Now that he thought about it. He seems to remember that red moonlight back then. But there should be no moonlight tonight because it's a new moon.
The fog covered the land too. So where did that come from? It seems to have only appeared when Argar, the noodle man, showed himself up.
Is that a sign? Seriously? That's a sigh for danger. It's too late, isn't it? There's not even an hour of buffer time, but seconds.
That's right; I could also see in the dark back then. Why is that? Could it be caused by my spiritual mind?
My spiritual mind can do inner sight simultaneously.
I might have gained another ability — night vision. To see the night as day!
A guess is a guess; he can always see the truth after this event.
Now, then, where are we?
"Senior?" A young man's voice filled with nervousness rang beside him.
Another bizarre person? No, this one could talk. I need to calm down.
His heart almost leapt out of his chest just from the sudden voice right now. Nai turned his head and gazed darkly at the young man not far away.
Even if you're not an enemy, at least wait for me to completely register everything. You almost gave me a heart attack!
If he still had the energy to shout, he might have really have done that. But through thinking it rationally sometime.
He felt that shouting at someone who might get angry and kill you might be a bad thing.
Thankfully, he wasn't that rushed. "P-pond...water." Saying this almost made him choke on his own saliva.
He can only hope this young man isn't an enemy but a friend. Worse, if this is one of those bizarre people who can talk and converse without their creepy eyes and smile,
"Pond water, right, senior? Alright, I'll go get some." The young man seemed nervous from hearing his trembling voice, but he still did as he was told.
An ambush? Poison? Nah, the latter won't affect me. It's the water from the pond that would neutralize the poison before it reached his throat.
As for ambush? Who is he?
Soon the young man returned with a bowl of water. He put it near Nai and walked some distance away.
Nai smiled at that reaction.
An actor or a survivor. Nai didn't care; he rested for a bit and circulated his breathing exercise.
A few seconds later, he focused all the flow he had just gathered into his hand. It was then that he felt some strength had been regained in his arms.
Move.
Within a few seconds, he managed to move his hand and lift the bowl of water near his mouth.
Splash.
All the water entered his half-opened mouth, almost choking him to cough.
Ugh—cough, cough!
"Senior, are you—?"
Nai glanced at him and raised his shaky hand, feeling the strength returning to him slowly. "I'm fine."
Even his dry voice seems to have met a spring rain after a long drought. Nai took a deep breath while he savored the relaxation brought by the water's coolness.
A few minutes later, he found that he could now move, feeling all the exhaustion he had receding away. So he sat up and did some simple stretching with his hand.
He didn't mind the black, foggy tornado around him at all. Even in the moonless, starry sky that was slowly showing itself after the fog started thinning out, Nai didn't look.
Even the young man not far away was more afraid that Nai might kill him than marveling at the view above.
Ten minutes later, another man walked near them and slowly sat beside the young man. Nai only glanced once before he continued the breathing exercise.
I forgot to mention the flow circulation path in the Viridescent Vitality Breathing Exercise in the stele. I'll carve it later.
Thankfully, the stele remains unharmed. I don't know if it's a lucky one or not.
Looking at the stele that still stood not far from the pond, it was surprising.
Nai stood up and walked towards the pond. He scooped water with his bowl and continued to drink until he finally felt full.
The man and the young man can only see dimly in the dark thanks to the stars above the slowly clearing sky. When Nai moved up, they were cautious.
They didn't dare to lose their guard, even if their resistance was futile. At least they tried to resist.
Now that the young man thought about it, how come he could see the senior back then when it was so dark outside without any fire to light up the surroundings?
"Hey, were you be able to see in the dark a few hours back then?" He asked the man beside him, who had clearly relaxed much more than he had.
The man thought for a bit before nodding. "Yes."
"Me too." The two looked at each other for a bit before looking away.
"Then it can only mean one thing. This place is special." The young man guesses.
The man did not argue, as he felt the same.
...
Nai saw that the two were well behaved, so he motioned for them to come over.
The young man and the man who was observing him noticed his cue. Looking at each other, they immediately stood up in decision.
Since they can't escape, they might as well follow for a chance to live. Although they could just run back home or kill Nai when he was asleep back then.
The two who didn't yet kill someone can't bear the heaviness of such sin and guilt, so they opt to wait.
This led to their current situation.
"What's your name?" Nai asked them calmly. He can feel more than half of his strength returning.
The young man was first to answer, "Raelgar senior."
"Gahani senior." The man beside him followed in a respectful tone.
Nai nodded. "Let me give you a quick test first."
"A test?" Before Raelgar and Gahani could ask and react, Nai suddenly slashes with a stone knife that has appeared at some point on his hand.
Shocked, they wanted to ask what those fast shadow-like movements were when suddenly Pain registered in their minds.
They subconsciously flinched and looked at the source. A huge, gaping wound spurting with fresh blood flows down from their arm.
Raelgar's eyes delated as he subconsciously opened his mouth in an attempt to scream when suddenly someone poured water on their wound.
The two couldn't help but step back to avoid it. Unfortunately, they were too late. They can only brace themselves for the pain that will come.
They took hold of their arms while looking at Nai in fear. They can even hear their hearts beat faster next to their ears.
"W-why?" This question is the only thing they can utter in their current panic heart. They seem to have lost the ability to speak from shock just now.
They even forgot the pain that was slowly receding instead of intensifying.
Nai saw the result clearly; they were real people. He calmly breathed in relief, finally calming down his tense nerves. "Now I can finally relax."