I was lying on the floor at that moment, exhausted, I was sure that I was going to die. I was desperate.

But I was so sure of myself too. My fear grew more and more every second. But I had the courage that was rising inside me. I held my breath in the hope that I would strike back with a balanced blow.

Then, I saw a vision.

A vision of someone like me, but he was older, and he was smiling. He looked at me with pride.

He then turned towards me and said,

"Show them who you are and what you can do, Ryuu. Get up!"

He was a middle-aged and well-built man. But his smile and voice were very reassuring, and I felt something inside of me. It's a very warm feeling. 

It felt like home once more.

So I lifted myself with my remaining strength, took a deep breath, and stood up again. Now I had different energy forming inside me. And it was giving me the power that I truly needed. When the creature attacked me again once more, I saw the attack coming this time and got ready for it.

"It won't be the same."

By dodging the creature's first blow, I landed a blow. I was able to sense the creature, but more than that, with my senses, I was able to see the monster. I was landing punches and kicks nonstop. I hit its neck, its belly, its face. I was pushing it back while damaging it a lot.

This time I was the one who was fed by fear.

"It's time to finish this!"

When it attacked me again, I landed the final punch. That made the creature fly back just like me and it broke 10 or 20 trees. Then it landed and it stopped moving after the vital damage it took. I was maybe harsh, but at least I had survived.

I felt my body was getting better. This was probably the power that Ronk told me about. My body healed and I was moving as if I had slept for hours.

I stretched my bones and looked at my healed arms,

"They really look smooth.."

But I knew I had to go back to the House. So I didn't waste time and started walking again.

Then after three hours, I managed to get home at last. My body was covered with dirt and sweat just like every training session. And even though I had no injuries, I fainted from exhaustion when Ronk took off the fabric.

Because Ronk let me sleep just once, I didn't see any sight until noon. Then I got up confused as usual and woke up my body to check around. 

I was so glad it was over, I was now covered with excitement and wanted to tell everything to Ronk to its littlest detail. However, I was surprised to see Ronk's arm. He had a bad wound, and he was covering it tightly with a bandage. It was something that I didn't realize in the past couple of days. It seemed to be new.

And I wasn't sure about asking him but I did anyways,

"Ronk, Where did you get that wound?"

"It happened on the way back yesterday, but it doesn't matter. It's not something important."

I remembered the time I got saved by somebody mysterious. It was a time that I wasn't waiting for it. And couldn't save myself from a situation like that if that didn't happen. It was him at last.

I asked him once more,

"It was you who pushed me there, wasn't it? You said you wouldn't help, but you helped anyways. Why did you do it?"

He sighed and replied,

"There was no reason I saved you, I just didn't want to regret it in the future. That's all."

I knew it was Ronk that saved me that day, but I really didn't know why he helped me even though he always let me by myself on all of those trainings we did before. It was a thing that bothered him to talk. I decided to leave him with that.

So I asked another question,

"And Ronk, I want to talk about what happened yesterday."

"I'm listening."

"I felt a strange energy burst inside me, and then I started to see around me in the fabric. Could it be because of the power you're talking about?"

He looked at me quite surprised, then looking at the bandage on the table, he replied,

"It looks like you've completed all the pieces of training I gave you."

Then Ronk approached me, and added,

"Congratulations kid, you have proved your power."

Ronk congratulated me. And for the very first time, he was smiling. Smiling. A stone-cold man that had a serious manner and a thinking style, that had a merciless heart like a creature was smiling for the very first time. And it was one of the most heartwarming things that I felt in my life.

I guess that was more interesting for me to survive throughout that scary forest.