Adam was still deep in thought when footsteps suddenly approached the entrance of the house.
Before he could react, a boy stepped inside.
He looked about the same age—thirteen.
The moment Adam saw him, another wave of memory surfaced clearly.
Herozen.
His childhood friend.
They lived close to each other in the slum. They had grown up playing together. Along with a few other boys from the area, they had shared small dreams and small struggles.
Herozen stopped the moment he saw Adam sitting upright.
"You're awake?!"
His expression immediately shifted from surprise to worry. He quickly walked over and sat beside him.
"I told you not to mess with those guys because of Monica! I warned you not to get involved with those Khayer City boys. Look what happened to you!"
As he spoke, Herozen began checking Adam's arms and shoulders, examining him for injuries.
"Did you tell your parents?" he asked seriously.
Adam slowly shook his head.
"No."
Herozen sighed in frustration.
Adam, however, wasn't reacting emotionally. Every word Herozen spoke was being carefully processed. Calculated.
Monica.
Khayer City boys.
Beating.
Everything aligned perfectly with the memories he had already seen.
Herozen was still muttering when Adam suddenly spoke.
"Herozen… have you ever heard about magic?"
The question cut through the air.
Herozen froze.
"What?"
"I'm asking… have you heard about magic?"
Herozen stared at him in disbelief.
"I've been worried sick about you, and you're talking about nonsense like this? Did they hit your head too hard?"
He shook his head.
"No. I haven't heard about magic."
Adam's eyes sharpened.
He grabbed Herozen by the shoulders firmly.
"I need to know."
The seriousness in Adam's voice made Herozen pause.
This wasn't casual curiosity. This was intense.
Herozen swallowed and spoke more carefully.
"I don't know about magic… but I've heard about an academy."
Adam's grip tightened slightly.
"Academy?"
"Yes. In the capital. The nobles who live there… and some children from the royal family… they attend an elite school."
Adam's eyes widened.
"An elite school? Do they teach magic there?"
Herozen quickly cut him off.
"I don't know! I just said I don't know about magic."
He exhaled, then continued.
"But my older brother—he's a city guard. He heard from his seniors that the academy teaches incredible things. Things normal people can't even imagine."
Adam felt something ignite inside him.
Incredible things. Royal children. Nobles. Elite academy.
Herozen noticed the sudden spark in Adam's expression.
His brows furrowed.
"Don't tell me… you're thinking about that school?"
Adam didn't respond immediately, but his silence was answer enough.
Herozen sighed.
"You really did hit your head."
He leaned back slightly and spoke firmly.
"No one like us can go there. That academy is only for nobles. Only high-class families. Lower-class citizens like us? We're not even allowed near it."
The words were harsh, but realistic.
Adam slowly released Herozen's shoulders.
---
Herozen looked at Adam for a moment, then stood up.
"Wait here. I have some leftover food at home. I'll bring it."
Before Adam could respond, Herozen was already at the door. He stepped out and disappeared into the slum.
Adam didn't move.
His mind was working.
'If an academy exists… if nobles send their children there to learn incredible things… then it's real. Some form of energy, some form of power exists in this world.'
The logic was simple. Academies don't teach nothing. If the Royal Knights could kill a hundred men with one swing, and if an entire institution existed to train noble children, then the power behind it wasn't a rumor. It was a system. A learnable system.
'And if it's learnable, then I don't necessarily need the academy.'
Adam had read dozens of web novels. Cultivation stories. System stories. Mana awakening stories. The settings varied, but one thing was consistent across almost all of them—energy existed inside the body. You just had to find it.
He closed his eyes.
He was already sitting on the cot. He focused inward, trying to feel something—anything—inside his body that wasn't just hunger or exhaustion.
Nothing.
He sat there for a while. Eyes shut. Hands on his knees. Trying to sense what was already inside him.
Still nothing. Just the dull ache of bruises and the hollow feeling in his stomach.
Adam opened his eyes briefly. This wasn't working. Sitting normally and hoping to feel energy wasn't enough.
He shifted his position. He crossed his legs on the cot, placing each foot on the opposite thigh. Lotus position. The kind he'd seen described a hundred times in cultivation novels. Spine straight. Hands resting on his knees. Chin slightly down.
He closed his eyes again.
Same result. He could feel his heartbeat. He could feel his breathing. But nothing beyond the physical.
Minutes passed.
Adam didn't give up.
He changed his approach.
Instead of searching, he focused on his breathing. He slowed it down deliberately. Each inhale drawn out over several seconds. Each exhale released even slower. The gap between breaths widened.
He knew the principle. Slower breathing quiets the mind. A quiet mind perceives more. If there was something subtle inside him—something his normal senses couldn't pick up—he needed to strip away every distraction.
In. Hold. Out. Hold.
In. Hold. Out. Hold.
His heartbeat slowed. The sounds of the slum outside faded. The pain in his ribs dulled. His awareness narrowed to just his body.
And then—for a fraction of a second—he felt it.
Deep in his stomach. Below the navel. A warmth. Not physical heat, but something else. Something that existed in a layer beneath his muscles and bones.
It was small. Incredibly small. Like a single flame on a wick in a dark room. It flickered once, held for maybe two or three seconds, and then vanished.
Adam's eyes snapped open.
His hands were shaking. Not from fear. From adrenaline.
'It's there.'
He hadn't imagined it. It was real. Faint, almost invisible, but real. A tiny point of energy somewhere deep inside him. Like a lamp that had been burning so low it was almost out.
But it was burning.
Adam's heart pounded. His mind raced through every technique, every method, every trick he had ever read about in web novels. Breathing exercises. Meditation cycles. Mana circulation. Qi gathering. He didn't know which one applied to this world, but he would try every single one of them until something worked.
He didn't need the academy. Not yet. Maybe not ever. If the energy was already inside him, all he needed was a way to grow it.
"I'm back! What are you doing?"
Herozen's voice cut through the room.
Adam looked up. Herozen was standing in the doorway, holding a small bundle wrapped in cloth. His expression was somewhere between concerned and confused.
Adam broke his concentration. He looked at Herozen, and for the first time since arriving in this world, he smiled.
"Thank you very much."
Herozen stared at him.
The smile. The words. The tone.
None of it matched the Adam he knew.
Herozen set the food down slowly and sat across from him. His eyes narrowed.
'He got beaten way too hard,' Herozen thought. 'His brain is completely gone.'