Growing Pains (1)

The uninvited agony struck around the break of dawn.

At first, I assumed it was nothing more than a simple cramp and tried massaging the muscle loose. But the pain refused to subside; instead, it only grew sharper with every passing minute. Clenching my teeth, I shut my eyes and attempted to endure it, but when even breathing became a chore, I resorted to running my Mind Cultivation Method.

"Aigoo..."

Even meditation proved impossible. The pain was ferocious, punching straight through every shred of concentration I could muster. In the end, I had no choice but to collapse flat on my back. A river of cold sweat drenched my skin.

[Where does it hurt?] Cain inquired from beside me.

"Everywhere. Every single inch of my body."

My reply came out sharper than intended, but my physical state was in absolute shambles. It was not as though I was running a fever; rather, my entire body throbbed with a deep, punishing ache. The worst of it was concentrated in my limbs—specifically, the joints. It felt as though invisible horses were tied to my arms and legs, pulling in opposite directions to draw and quarter me alive.

I knew the day would come when I'd fall sick, but I wasn't hoping for this.

No matter how scrupulously I managed camp hygiene and guarded against insect bites, this place was the raw wilderness. I could easily have contracted some exotic pathogen unknown to modern science, so falling ill was hardly a surprise. Yet normal illnesses usually brought a fever. This was different. It was just... purely physical agony, like being crushed in a hydraulic press. It sounded absurd even to my own ears, but there was no better way to describe it.

"Ggyu-uu..."

"Ppiiik..."

As I lay there groaning, Wonmo and Tyrano stared down at me with wide, mournful eyes. Looking at those adorable, precious little rascals made the relentless throbbing fade just a fraction.

[They look to me as though they are merely begging for food,] Cain noted dryly.

"Shut up."

The tragic part was that Cain was probably right. Resigned, I ended up leaving breakfast duty to Ludwig. Ludwig was missing a foot, not his hands, so preparing a morning meal was well within his capabilities.

"Mister. Can I ask a really shameless favor?"

"What is it?"

"Could you... feed me?"

"......"

"Don't look at me like that. I'm deadly serious."

My body was in such agonizing knots that I couldn't even summon the strength to lift a wooden spoon. Seeing that I wasn't joking in the slightest, Ludwig quietly sat down and spooned porridge into my mouth bite by bite. Breakfast was warm fish porridge. It vividly brought back memories of when I had nursed him back from the brink of death. To think our positions would be completely reversed like this—life truly was full of surprises.

"Looks like I'll have to stay cooped up in the shelter all day."

"Mm."

Originally, the plan had been to inspect the Squirrel's Shelter before holding a sparring session with Ludwig. But reduced to this pathetic state, I had no choice but to remain pinned to my bedroll.

"Ugh..."

I took a tiny sip of Elixir to act as a makeshift painkiller. The golden draught took the edge off the burning ache, but it was far from a total cure. My muscle fibers still felt as if they were snapping one by one.

No bug bite marks... Is it delayed strain from yesterday's combat?

Groaning between clenched teeth, I racked my brain for every conceivable cause. Sure, I had fought a raptor yesterday, but a minor skirmish like that had never left me crippled afterward. The encounter with the Biological Chainsaw Armadillo was the same story; I hadn't pushed myself past my limits.

Then is it because of that acorn jelly I ate two days ago?

That was the only unusual factor that came to mind. It had certainly purged what seemed to be a massive amount of bodily impurities. But for the backlash to strike now rather than the following morning made little sense. Unable to find a clear answer, I blinked blearily up at the empty ceiling.

Ludwig had already confessed he didn't know what was wrong. That left only one lifeline.

At least I don't need functioning limbs to browse the Gallery.

My consciousness was slipping in and out, but navigating the mental interface required only my thoughts. Rolling my eyes slightly, I began drafting a forum post.

Lick—

A warm, rough tongue brushed against my cheek. I had been in so much pain that I hadn't even noticed someone approaching. Turning my neck stiffly, I found Tyrano peering down at me with deeply troubled eyes. The fierce, charismatic demeanor the little dragon usually displayed was entirely gone, replaced by soft, trembling pupils. Even amidst the blinding ache, a faint smile tugged at my lips.

"I'm all right. Nothing to worry about."

"Ppii-ii..."

Despite my reassurance, Tyrano remained visibly anxious. Just as I was musing on why people found so much comfort in keeping pets, another shadow crept into view.

"Ggyu-uu!"

Wonmo came waddling over on all fours, his sharp beak clamped tightly around something that was thrashing in desperate panic.

It was a live snake.

"...I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don't need to eat. You have it."

"Ggyu!"

Thud!

No! Master must eat plenty!

...Or so Wonmo seemed to insist as he unceremoniously dropped the squirming reptile straight onto my face. The serpent writhed frantically across my nose and cheeks. Under normal circumstances, I would have leapt to my feet screaming bloody murder, but right now, the sheer agony paralyzing my body prevented even a whimper from escaping.

[Oh dear. You must not do that,] Cain scolded, stepping forward.

"Ggyu-uu! Ggyu!"

[At the very least, you should roast it over embers first. This man cannot consume raw flesh like you beasts.]

Fortunately, Cain reached down and plucked the squirming snake off my face, bringing a swift end to the crisis.

"Ggyu-uu?"

"Ppiik! Ppii!"

"Hey. Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't you dare!"

I hastily amended my relief. Hearing Cain mention that food needed roasting, Tyrano had immediately inhaled deeply, stoking the fires in his throat to unleash a dragon breath right at my chest. I barely managed to croak out a warning before he incinerated the cave. Eventually, Ludwig stepped in and herded the chaotic pair outside, finally restoring quiet.

"Ppii-iiii! Ppii-iii!!!"

"Good grief."

Only Wonmo was dragged out. Tyrano dug his claws into the floorboards and adamantly refused to leave my side. He had always clung to me like glue, and he was still somewhat wary of Ludwig's touch. Ludwig was bound to feel a bit sulky about the rejection, but what could anyone do? The little guy simply loved me best.

"...Tyrano?"

"Ppiik?"

"...Never mind. Just stay right there."

That said, he was getting genuinely heavy. I let out a weak chuckle as Tyrano curled his scaled body directly across my stomach like a weighted blanket. It was manageable only because he was still a hatchling; if he grew even a few inches larger, having him lounge on my gut would crack my ribs.

Now then, did anyone leave a reply?

The pets had swarmed me the instant I posted, distracting me from checking the thread. Praying that someone held the answer to my plight, I pulled open the Gallery.

As expected, the replies poured in with concern. I had always appeared in peak physical condition on the forum, so hearing that I was suddenly bedridden must have caught them off guard. Pondering whose comment to address first, I settled on the Heavenly Demon. In circumstances like this, her martial expertise was the most reliable anchor.

Evidently, the Heavenly Demon had recognized something. Sword Master had chimed in with another reply in the interim, but I set it aside for later. While Sword Master was peerless in swordsmanship and aura manipulation, internal cultivation methods were not his primary forte.

It had happened so long ago, and the jargon was so esoteric that my memory drew ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a total blank. Back then, I had simply nodded along, thinking good results were good results, and brushed past it.

Physical Rebirth out of nowhere? Bewilderment far eclipsed any sense of wonder. Physical Rebirth was the legendary transformation reserved for supreme martial masters in wuxia epics. Even if my constitution had mutated like an invasive species, undergoing Physical Rebirth felt completely nonsensical.

In fact, one of those exact episodes had occurred merely two days ago. My trust in her words grew considerably. That said, knowing the cause did nothing to dampen the unrelenting agony. Wincing through the throbbing waves, I focused on the glowing chat window.

She truly was an elite instructor. Her analogy was so crystal clear that even a complete layman like me grasped the core issue instantly. If that was the case, then only one path remained: shed the old husk and undergo Physical Rebirth.

Can Physical Rebirth really be achieved so easily, though?

I seriously doubted it. Protagonists in martial arts novels shed their mortal skins at the drop of a hat, but I was living in reality. True, growing this powerful in the span of a single month was an anomaly in itself, but I lacked spiritual "depth." And Physical Rebirth was an ordeal where depth was everything. That was the crux of the problem.

Becoming a cripple in a death forest like this was a literal death sentence. I had to fight back with everything I had.

I asked the Heavenly Demon to wait a moment, then called out to Ludwig. Ludwig, who had been working just outside the entrance, came hurrying over at once.

"Mister. The thing is, I have to go through Physical Rebirth right now."

"......"

Announcing it with the casual tone of someone saying they needed to use the outhouse, I watched Ludwig's expression turn into a spectacle. His eyes flickered with utter disbelief, caught somewhere between taking me seriously and wondering if fever was talking.

Regardless, I was dead earnest, so I pressed on.

"I might not be able to get up for a while. Strange noises might start coming from inside my body, too."

"Mm."

"So please keep watch over me. Pass word along to Ggobongi as well."

In this cave, Ludwig was the only one I could genuinely rely on. Ggobongi was still closer to a laborer or beast of burden than a reliable comrade, leaving him somewhat questionable for a vigil like this. With all preparations in place, I took a ragged breath and sent a message to the Heavenly Demon.

Merely sensing the energy and surrendering my body had pushed me to the brink. Now she wanted me to hold it in my hands? It felt like a teacher scribbling a basic formula on the board and immediately demanding I solve an advanced university calculus proof.

Her words resonated directly with my raw will to survive. It was the exact image of me thrashing and scrabbling in the dirt, doing whatever it took to claw my way out of this deadly forest. Marshalling every desperate tool and scheme at my disposal just to raise my odds of living by 0.00001%.

After a brief silence, the Heavenly Demon transmitted a verse far longer and more intricate than anything she had given me before.

Closing my eyes, I initiated the circulation of my internal cultivation method. First, I chanted the opening mnemonic formula, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠letting my senses expand into the air. Next, I recited the second verse, surrendering my flesh to the surrounding atmosphere. Finally, chanting the third formula, I focused every ounce of my will on coaxing my stubborn body to shed its mortal husk.

The instant the theoretical principles and poetic imagery converged in my mind—

Crack!

A bizarre, jarring pop sounded from deep inside my chest.

Crack! Crunch! Snap!

A grotesque symphony echoed through the cavern. It sounded as though every bone, muscle fiber, and tendon in my body was being unstitched, twisted like a wrung-out rag, and violently hammered back together.

"!!!"

The sheer savagery of the pain stole my breath, choking off even the ability to scream. Yet I clamped my jaw shut and held on. Forcing down the tearing agony with stubborn fury, I anchored my consciousness entirely to the flow of my internal cultivation art. Cold sweat poured off me in such heavy sheets that it felt as though water was being splashed across my face.

Then, at the absolute climax of that unbearable torment—

"Ggwaaack...!"

I let out a horrifying, strangled choke, and the world vanished into pitch-black oblivion.

Crunch! Snap!

"......"

Ludwig stood frozen, unable to process what his eyes were seeing. An impossible realm, a boundary he himself had not yet touched, was unfolding directly in front of him.

Physical Rebirth—or as the knights of his homeland termed it, the Body Change.

It was a phenomenon akin to biological evolution, a miraculous transformation granted only to those who reached the pinnacle of martial enlightenment.

Just what kind of monster is this man...?

And that mythic event was occurring to Grylls. By Grylls' own admission, he had only awakened to mana barely a month ago. Yet here he was, undergoing a full Physical Rebirth before his very eyes. Every shred of common sense Ludwig had built over a lifetime of warfare lay shattered in the dust.

No. There was one other.

Ash, the peerless Swordmaster celebrated as an unprecedented prodigy of the continent. Ludwig remembered hearing that she had undergone Physical Rebirth in her late teens.

"Aack... eeurgh..."

"......"

"Ggwaack... kkeeck..."

That being said... the hideous, dying-toad noises escaping Grylls' mouth were intensely unsightly. With his eyes rolled back and his tongue lolling grotesquely out of his jaw, the scene was far from majestic. Typically, Physical Rebirth was an awe-inspiring, solemn spectacle enveloped in sacred radiance, but Grylls...

[He looks like a complete and utter moron,] Cain observed flatly.

"......"

[Yet it remains profoundly bizarre that such a creature grows stronger all the same.]

Cain had voiced the exact thought lingering on Ludwig's tongue. Grylls' trajectory of growth was simply that alien. Watching the young man's skeletal structure pop and rearrange under his skin, Ludwig slowly scratched the back of his head.

Is he truly an invasive alien species from beyond the world?

The suspicion felt more reasonable by the second.