“Ow, my heart hurts so bad,” Noen groaned, clutching his chest.

“Ah, that’s a sign that you’ve gained a story power."

“Hah? What kind of power?” 

“Focus it into the finger you want to store it in," Raven said as he flew low.

Noen stopped running and closed his eyes.

This time, his left middle finger glowed faintly.

Raven placed his wing on Noen’s glowing finger, and a seal ring appeared again.

“The power is called Primal Wave. You’ve gained the instinct and emotional surge of the beast you defeated, but not its endurance, Because this story power only affects the mind.” 

“So this is what it feels like to gain a power,” said Noen. “When I nearly died by suicide in my room, I felt this same pain in my heart. I thought my body was just giving up.”

“You’ll be taken to another beast’s habitat next time so this power can evolve," Raven said as he flew to Noen's shoulder again. 

“Just give me a break, please."

“Come on, run. There's no time to rest."

Fortunately, the Tigrizzly’s territory stretched more sideways than deep, so crossing through it didn’t take too long.

They nearly encountered another Tigrizzly, but Raven flew overhead to scout the path. Thanks to his sharp eyes and quick decisions, they managed to avoid the beast and slip past unnoticed.

Once they were outside the Tigrizzly’s habitat, they could finally relax a little.

“Why did you help me avoid the rest?” said Noen, panting and clutching his knees. “I thought I’d be tortured all the way through by those beasts.”

“You gained your second story power faster than I expected,” said Raven while perching on Noen's shoulder. “With that power, it’s not about fighting many of them. You only need to face one to absorb its instinct. If you want to fight them all, just go ahead, but you’re just shortening your lifespan by using story power recklessly.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Please, can we rest here?” 

“Fine."

They finally rested after distancing themselves from the edge of the Tigrizzly’s territory. The sun was nearly overhead, casting short shadows and warming the grass beneath them.

“Finally, I can lie down,” said Noen, dropping himself onto the short grass.

“Human stamina is so limited."

“Yeah, Humans are the most restricted creatures when it comes to that," Noen said while panting. “I want to ask more about this world. It’s been a few days since I arrived, and I’ve noticed time here feels faster than in my world. I can’t be sure, though. Thanaven village didn’t have anything called a clock."

“You’re right. One day here is about twenty hours in your world. But the way time is measured here is different,” Raven answered the question.

“What do you mean?” 

“According to their clocks, a day here is thirty hours,” answered Raven. “But you feel it’s shorter because one hour here equals forty minutes in your world. Luckily, seconds and minutes are exactly the same as in your world. What’s strange is just the number of minutes they count in an hour. So they believe a day is thirty hours, while you experience it as only twenty.”

“The more I think about it, the more confused I get."

“You’re smart sometimes, and dumb other times."

“Yeah, that’s just how humans are. We can’t be smart in every field."

“Yeah yeah, whatever."

The grass beneath Noen was warm, but not too hot. He stared at the sky, watching clouds drift lazily. His body ached, but his mind was strangely calm. Even though he imagined the burden that awaited him, but he felt like he could breathe.

Raven perched nearby, silent for once. Maybe even he understood that some moments didn’t need commentary.

They spent the rest of the day resting until night fell and sleep took them.

---