I woke up the next day to In-su poking me in the face.

"Wake up. Wake up. Wake up!"

I covered my face with my hands to block his onslaught of pokes.

"Urgh…" I must have been really tired last night because I didn't remember falling asleep.

"Breakfast is ready!" In-su shouted as he ran out of the room.

I sat up and looked around; all of the mats were empty. Dae-sung or Hae-won must have sent him to wake me up.

I hurried towards the large dining room in the other building.

The sun was at the edge of the sky- it was still early, a lot earlier than what I was used to.

As I entered the dining room the smell was enough to make my mouth water.

However, I suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure- I felt like I was suffocating. It took me a few seconds to realize the source-

It was Dae-sung!

So this was what it felt like to sense Ki. His presence was phenomenal! Now I was all the more curious-

Open Dae-sung's Status.

[Dae-sung]

[???]

I still couldn't read it. I'm guessing it's the classic 'he's too strong to have his stats read.'

Hae-won motioned for me to sit down next to her. "Come on and eat your fill!"

Breakfast was delicious as well.

***

Being an orphan here was the best.

There was no school, no work, nothing! I just had to eat, sleep and clean up after myself.

Gi and Hana had to help out around the orphanage, but the rest of us could do whatever we wanted.

"The Flame Sect is here already…"

What's this? Dae-sung had mentioned the Flame Sect.

I was going to ask if there was anything I could do to help since I was bored out of my mind, but I decided to snoop for some of that juicy info instead.

"Did you run into them?" Hae-won and Dae-sung were doing the dishes together.

"Yeah… they caused a scene, but nothing came of it. They're always about a month early anyways."

You're killing me here, Dae-sung! You couldn't be any less specific!

I couldn't hold back and blurted out my question. "What's the Flame Sect early to?"

Dae-sung whipped around.

"Oh, Kwang-sik! The entrance exam to the Martial Alliance Academy is in about a month, and the Flame Sect always arrives early for it."

"The Martial Alliance Academy?"

Dae-sung must've seen my face flicker with excitement because he shut me down accordingly.

"You aren't old enough to attend yet, you'll need to wait at least 5 years."

"There's an age requirement?"

"...No, but you'll need to be as strong as Gi to stand a chance during the entrance exam. He barely failed last year, and will be taking it again next month."

As strong as Gi, huh? It's time to find out how strong Gi is!

***

Gi was outside, diligently practicing martial arts.

Open Gi's Status.

[Gi]

[Rank: Third-rate]

[Strength 105/100] [Agility 102/100] [Stamina 110/100] [Ki Level 65/100]

He was a third-rate rank like me, but his stats were monstrous!

Suzie, how does he have stats over 100?

[There is no stat limit, it just becomes very difficult to raise them once they hit 100. If he were to rank up now, his strength stat would go to 5 instead of 0.]

And why can't I see his other stats?

[You can't see how dextrous someone is just by sensing their Ki. The same goes for the other two.]

…Can I get as strong as Gi in a month?

[You can get as strong as him in 2 weeks.]

[First, you need to form your Dantian.]

***

[Feel all of the Ki in your body. Do your best to pull it all to the pit of your stomach.]

This was very, very difficult.

Awakening my senses to Ki didn't take that long, so I gravely underestimated the difficulty of the Dantian creation process.

From the 2 martial arts novels I actually read, I knew that the Dantian was basically the equivalent of a Mana Heart, so I was naturally very excited.

It was still the middle of the day, however- the middle of my free time- and I was just sitting on my mat; everyone else called them beds, but this was not a bed!

[Focus, Kwang-sik.]

Ok, ok.

I kept on trying to pull my Ki towards my stomach, but it kept on rushing towards the edges of my body.

It felt like trying to push all the water in a pond into one spot, but with your hands.

[You can stop now.]

I sighed and slumped backward, covered in sweat; I must have been at it for hours, but I didn't even form a Dantian.

[Open your status.]

I was sure nothing was going to be different, but I opened it obediently.

Open Status.

[Kwang-sik]

[Rank: Third-Rate]

[Strength 6/100] [Agility 12/100] [Stamina 9/100] [Ki Level 8/100]

[Dexterity 11] [Ki Control 40] [Ki Resilience 2]

Holy shit! Ki level had only gone up 2, but Ki control had gone up a whopping 37!

[Even if you haven't formed a Dantian yet, your control over your Ki is still phenomenal for your age.]

Is that because I'm 17 on the inside?

[I cannot answer.]

…Suzie, do you not know that I've reincarnated?

[I cannot answer.]

Can you tell me anything else about this world?

[I only know what you know.]

[If you keep this up, you will be able to form your Dantian in 5 days.]

Suzie said 'I cannot answer,' not 'I don't know.' That might mean she does know something but can't tell me. Suzie refraining from answering me like that made her feel oddly distant.

However, the main issue on my mind was that I would have to keep up this grueling regimen for the rest of the week.

Suzie, how long does it normally take someone to form their Dantian?

[Someone your age would need a minimum of 3 years, on average.]

…!

I thought that I might be ahead of the crowd, but not to this extent.

Is that because of my own doing, or because you're helping me?

[I am only training you. Your Ki control went up because of your own hard work.]

I see.

***

"Honey, does Kwang-sik seem off to you?"

I stopped the yard work I was doing; Hae-won was standing at the edge of the garden.

"What happened?"

Hae-won had a worried expression, but that didn't bother me too much since she was always worried about the kids; I'd say it's rather endearing.

"Kwang-sik acts normally during meal times, but I don't know if he's getting along well with the other kids. He's spent most of the last 3 days sitting on his bed, even during free time."

That was odd, but it wasn't like he was doing anything wrong. "Maybe he's having trouble adjusting because he lost his memories. Let's just give him some more time."

Hae-won still looked worried, so I walked over and put my hands around her waist, and rested my head on her shoulder.

"Don't worry too much Hae Hae, it's bad for your health. I'll check on him later today, okay?"

Hae-won put her head on my shoulder as well. "Okay."

I had let go of her but Hae-won had wrapped her arms around me already. "I'd love to stand here and hug you the rest of the day, but I need to finish working."

Hae-won let go and stepped back in an instant, with her face flushed red. "Y-yes…!"

She hurried back into the house.

How can someone be so adorable?

***

I had finally finished uprooting weeds in the garden. All the kids besides Kwang-sik were playing out in the yard- I'm guessing he's still inside.

I made my way towards the children's villa.

As I entered the boy's room, I saw Kwang-sik passed out in a puddle of his own sweat.

His breathing was heavy.

"Kwang-sik?"

My chest tightened as I rushed over to him. Did he have another fever or illness? If so, why was he hiding it from us?

I checked his body's condition and was hit with a shock.

I didn't understand.

When I examined him in the medicine villa, his senses hadn't even awakened to Ki.

…How does he already have a Dantian?

***

[Keep pushing down on your Ki as hard as you can. You might be able to form your Dantian today.]

I was sweating profusely as I tried to hold my Ki in place. After 3 days, my Ki had stopped being as sporadic, and it wasn't leaving my stomach area as much when I tried to hold it there.

However, I had already been at this for 4 hours today. I was at my limit, and I could feel my Ki slipping-

[Focus, Kwang-sik.]

Ok, ok!

I grimaced as I tried to hold out as long as possible; I felt like I could drop any second.

Around ten minutes later, I felt it- most of my Ki was now swirling in the pit of my stomach, without me needing to hold it there.

[Well done!]

"Argh!"

I grunted as I suddenly felt pain surge through my body.

Suzie, what's happening? Did I mess it up?

[No, this is normal. You formed your Dantian too early.]

I fell backwards into the small puddle of sweat I had created. Why does it hurt so much?

[Your body has to adjust to the sudden increase in strength. It will take 2 hours.]

Can you do something about the p-pain?

[I can force you into an unconscious state.]

P-please do!

[Sweet dreams, Kwang-sik.]

***