Time passed quickly as Ren continued practicing.

Once he entered that kind of rhythm — train, adjust, repeat, cultivate, then do it all over again — hours stopped feeling like hours. The outside world seemed to fade away, replaced by the sound of his own breathing, the dull impacts of fists against the dummy, the sharp scraping of shoes against the floor, and the constant ache of muscles being pushed beyond what they were used to.

Before he fully realized it, two whole days had passed.

His punches were cleaner now. His stance felt more rooted. His steps had stopped being awkward half-movements and started becoming something sharper, something deliberate.

Even his body felt different. He still wasn’t strong by the standards of this world — not even close — but he no longer felt like someone who had just stepped onto the path by chance. Now, at least a little, he looked and felt like someone who was beginning to belong on it.

The room terminal gave a soft notification sound. Then a calm voice followed.

"One hour remaining."

Ren stopped moving.

His body, which had been in motion almost constantly, came to stillness in the middle of the training room. Sweat ran down the side of his face. His breathing came out heavier than usual. The front of his shirt clung to him, and his arms and legs both carried that familiar deep soreness that came after real training.

For the last two days, he had practically squeezed every bit of use out of this room. Morning until evening for fists, evening until late night for footwork, two hours set aside for evasion, and then the remaining time spent cultivating with Energy Cores until meditation replaced sleep.

Repetitive. Brutal in its own simple way. And strangely satisfying.

Ren rolled his shoulders, walked over to the chair, and sat down. His muscles were tired enough that even sitting felt good.

After a few moments of silence, he opened his status screen.

Name: Ren Valis

Age: 18

Talent: Bloodline Plant Lord

Lifeform Tier: 1

Evolution Pathway Level: Germination Stage

Skills: Basic Fist Technique (Proficient), Basic Footwork Technique (Proficient), Basic Evasion Technique (Beginner)

Ren stared at the panel for several seconds.

Then a grin slowly appeared on his face.

"Not bad."

Actually, not bad was an understatement.

In just two days, he had pushed both the Basic Fist Technique and the Basic Footwork Technique up to Proficient, while even the Basic Evasion Technique — the hardest to train alone — had still reached Beginner. That kind of speed was honestly ridiculous.

Even if the techniques were basic, they were still real combat skills. The school manuals had made it clear that most newly awakened students would need much longer to produce visible results — some people would spend days just trying to stabilize the posture and body coordination of the most basic forms.

But OPTIMIZE had changed everything. It had not only shortened the learning time, it had also improved how much benefit Ren gained from each hour of practice.

Still looking at the panel, Ren recalled the explanation for Skill Expertise Levels from memory. Four main stages:

Beginner — 25% Proficient — 50% Expert — 75% Master — 100%

These percentages represented how much of a skill’s true potential a cultivator could properly bring out. Beginner meant a quarter. Proficient, half. Expert, three-quarters. Master, the complete fully realized version of the technique.

Ren let out a slow breath. "Two Proficient and one Beginner in two days..."

Even saying it in his head felt unreasonable.

Still, he wasn’t arrogant enough to think that meant he was already strong. These were basic techniques, not advanced combat arts. And skill levels alone meant nothing if the body, experience, and mind behind them were lacking.

But it was still a huge step. A few days ago he had been a newly awakened teenager with no real combat foundation. Now he at least had something. A beginning. And that mattered.

— • —

After resting for a few more minutes, Ren decided to make use of the last hour wisely.

He opened the room terminal and ordered a Basic Nutrition Solution. Annoyingly expensive for what looked like a glorified bottle of liquid nutrients, but according to the room services description, it could quickly restore the energy of a Stage 2 pathway user. Normally Ren would have hesitated at the price — but after two days of near-nonstop training, he decided it was worth it.

Once the order was placed, he went to the small washroom attached to the training room, washed his face, and changed into fresher clothes from the spare set he had brought.

By the time he came back out, the Nutrition Solution had been delivered through the room service hatch — a clean bottle with pale blue liquid inside. He uncapped it, sniffed once, and made a face.

"Yeah... definitely not made for taste."

Still, he drank it. The flavor was strange — too clean, too artificial, like something designed by people who viewed food as numbers rather than enjoyment.

A few minutes later, the effect started to show. The heaviness in his limbs eased. His stomach no longer felt empty, and the general fatigue dragging at his body softened enough that he could move more comfortably.

"Expensive, but useful."

He sat quietly for the rest of the hour, not wasting energy on more practice. This time, he wanted to step into the next phase in the best condition possible.

An hour passed.

Ren stood up, collected his things, and left the room. He walked through the corridor and headed back toward the main hall, then from there moved toward the registration section of the building.

He had already decided this part. Now that enough time had passed, his cultivation progress would still look impressive, but no longer impossible. That was the key.

As soon as he entered the registration section, a message appeared on his light-brain. It contained a room number and a route guide.

Please proceed to Room 1964 for registration.

Ren blinked once, then looked around.

This area was completely different from the public service section. No open counters here — just enclosed rooms, long corridors, guided signs, and controlled access points.

And it was far larger than it had looked from outside. Far too large for the actual outer dimensions of this part of the building.

Ren’s eyes narrowed slightly. Space technology. There was no other explanation.

"As expected of a top superpower," he muttered.

— • —

He followed the directions on his light-brain until he found the correct room.

Room 1964.

The number glowed softly beside a plain but solid door. Ren placed his hand on the scanner. The door opened.

He stepped inside.

The room was simple. Empty, except for a table in the middle, two large sofas facing each other, and soft lighting built into the walls. No visible receptionist. No obvious equipment. No terminal desk. It looked more like a private waiting room than a registration office.

The door closed behind him.

The moment he sat down, a holographic message appeared above the table.

"Hello. Would you like a person or AI for assistance in registration and questions regarding it?"

Ren looked at the message for a second.

"Will the AI record any of this conversation?"

"No. All registration data will be encrypted and saved directly into the database. No one may view it unless access is granted under valid warrant authority in your name."

Direct. Clear. Good enough for him.

"AI, please."

The hologram shifted slightly. "Explorer Guild Registration Assistant active. Please proceed when ready."

"Let’s begin."

"Please confirm full name."

"Ren Valis."

"Confirmed. Please confirm age."

"Eighteen."

"Please confirm identity source — public citizen database, educational database, or direct manual submission."

"Public citizen database."

A brief pause. Then: "Identity matched. Ren Valis. Citizen verification successful."

"Please state whether this registration is for Explorer Guild explorer membership."

"Yes."

The moment he said it, a circular platform rose silently from the floor a short distance ahead of him.

Ren’s eyes widened slightly. He hadn’t expected that.

"Please stand on the platform. It will scan for pathway integrity, external abnormalities, parasitic interference, hostile possession, and identity consistency."

This time, Ren didn’t move right away. "Why is that necessary?"

The AI answered immediately, in the same perfectly even tone.

"Certain plants, beasts, parasitic organisms, and hostile entities originating from Secret Realms have the ability to possess or infiltrate living beings. In some cases, individuals have returned from Secret Realms while unknowingly carrying such entities. In other cases, hostile parasitic lifeforms or external consciousnesses may abandon one host and transfer to another."

"Younger individuals are considered higher-risk targets, due to natural growth changes being easier to overlook. Registration scans exist to detect signs of parasitism, hostile possession, abnormal pathway corruption, and concealed foreign biological or spiritual influence."

Ren stared at the hologram.

For a moment, he didn’t say anything.

That... was not something he had really considered before.

He had already accepted that this world was huge, dangerous, and full of strange things. Plants awakened. Beasts evolved. Secret Realms existed. New monsters and supernatural creatures kept appearing. So in a broad sense, it made sense.

But hearing it stated this plainly was something else. Things could come out of Secret Realms... and possess people. Or wait inside one person, then leave and hide inside another. And the guild was worried enough about it to make scanning mandatory even for a basic registration.

Ren slowly exhaled. Honestly? Given the kind of world this was, that sounded horrifyingly normal.

"Alright," he said at last. He stood up and stepped onto the platform. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The moment both feet settled into place, thin lines of light rose from around the edge. Several fine scanning beams moved over his body from different angles. Not painful. Just cool.

Ren stayed still as the scan passed over him once, then twice, then one final time. A few seconds later, the lights faded.

"No abnormalities detected."

Ren relaxed slightly.

Then the AI paused for just a fraction of a second before continuing.

"Bloodline Plant Lord Pathway detected. Stage 2: Germination Stage."

Ren didn’t react outwardly, but inside he was paying close attention. So the scan could indeed identify pathway and stage. That made sense. Which also meant he had been right to delay his registration for these extra days.

"Registration complete."

That made Ren blink. "Just like that?"

"Initial explorer registration has been completed successfully. You may now designate a primary identification method. Available options include eye scan, palm scan, or both. All methods are linked to identity verification through soul fluctuation confirmation."

"Soul fluctuation confirmation?"

"Yes. Biometric identifiers may be copied or altered under certain advanced conditions, and they cannot reliably detect parasitized or possessed individuals. Soul fluctuation verification is used as the highest-level identity anchor for registration-linked access."

That made sense. In a world with bloodlines, strange abilities, evolved plants, and possession risks, using only fingerprints or retina scans would be too unreliable.

"Both," Ren said. "Palm and eye scan."

"Confirmed."

A smaller device extended from the table. Ren walked over and placed his hand against the glowing surface. A soft light swept across his palm. Then another projection appeared at head level. He leaned in slightly and let it scan his eyes.

A moment later, the interface retracted.

"Primary identification linked. Ren Valis is now registered as an Explorer Guild explorer. Current rank: Basic Explorer. Current internal points: 0."

"Public services available. Beginner membership privileges available. Internal mission access limited by stage, authority, and risk category."

Ren nodded slowly.

There it was. Official.

He was in. Not as some important member. But still — it was a real step.

"Would you like a summary of currently available beginner services and permissions?"

"Yes."

A holographic list appeared — beginner mission listings, material buy/sell services, limited public archive access, training facility rental, beginner realm information packages, danger classification guides, emergency support eligibility in designated guild zones.

Ren read through it carefully. It was a lot. Not enough to make him powerful, but enough to give him structure — enough to help him move properly instead of blindly. Exactly what he needed.

"Can I take internal missions immediately?"

"You may view beginner-eligible missions immediately. Access depends on stage, risk level, and qualification."

"Can I enter a Secret Realm through the guild?"

A brief pause. "Basic entry is possible only for designated low-risk beginner realms."

Good. Ren nodded once.

"Would you like to activate guild message notifications?"

"Mission alerts only — beginner resources, training, and low-risk realm-related opportunities."

"Preference saved. Registration session complete. Do you have further questions?"