"Huh," I sighed deeply, the words escaping my mouth silently. As I contemplated the situation, I thought to myself, "A brutal method it is, then."
With a surge of energy, I unleashed my power, startling him and throwing off his aim. He stumbled and landed on the grass in front of me. We had reached our destination, and in that moment, he looked outside with a mix of ecstasy and awe. Tears streamed down his face, as if he believed I would forgive him for his thoughts and actions because of this display.
My expression darkened, matching the night sky despite the brightness of the hour.
…
My cherished memories flooded into my mind like a broken dam, filling in the gaps that had plagued me for so long. Suddenly, I remembered what an elder was, what home meant to me, and even what a genie was. It didn't happen in a matter of seconds, but rather, it took several hours for these memories to resurface.
I recalled how I used to run freely with my fellow members of my race, my brothers and sisters, and how we fought and lived together. I also remembered the foolish decision I made to follow a Humas after my initial encounter with them, which resulted in me consuming a child and selling an adult to a weaker creature.
As my memories approached their end, the reason for their loss became clear. It was the torment I experienced during my first experiment in this hellish place. My body, in an effort to manage its resources, including the energy in my brain, had been thinking excessively, draining too much energy. Consequently, my brain discarded most of my memories to conserve energy, unlike in the fourth and fifth month when I fell asleep.
I couldn't help but wonder if I had been asleep throughout this entire ordeal. Surely, that would have prolonged my endurance even further. As tears streamed down my face, my smile widened with excitement. I finally understood what had happened to me since I woke up. By directly confronting and conquering my racial desires, I had become a true miracle. I had skipped an entire level, transforming from a weakest category creature to one that was so close to being classified as strong category, I was a peak weak creature. This was something that was normally deemed impossible.
I realized that I was not worthless; in fact, I was exceptional, special, and incredibly fortunate. Whatever the right word may be, I embodied it.
And with this new information, a brand new confidence washed over me. I now understood why I wasn't even that scared of IQ120. Surely, a creature in the weakest category, only a few dozen meters away from a creature in the weak category, would probably not even be able to get a good night's sleep, let alone continuously argue and talk back to the higher-level creature.
I stood up confidently and walked towards a small, bright green bush adorned with beautiful flowers. I lovingly caressed them, finding solace and calmness in their presence. To me, they were everything, the key that allowed me to regain my cherished memories.
Speaking of keys, the person who led me to this key… she was still here, sitting calmly on the grass, observing me with a book in her hands. As I looked at her, my eyes seemed to tighten to their limits. I wasn't deceived by the soft smile on her face. Her presence still radiated danger, but now it felt several times worse than before.
Did my instinct evolve further with this new knowledge? Or did she…