“Dude, don't make fun of me! If I had completed my first transformation, I could have walked around the entrance of the forest with ease!”

Upon the bedridden boy's response, Mel considered his own situation and agreed with him. Although he did not know exactly what physical transformation was like, he saw that even the changes in his arms would suffice for the first parts.

"Well, do you think you can complete the first transformation if you get better?"

Sivo's eyes were widened in anger. Those two questions were like pressing his buttons.

"Look at me! Okay, my ability to turn the energy of nature into spirit power is weak and I cannot retrieve the necessary resources for that method, but I am brave enough to endure all the pain of physical transformation. Maybe, I will never recover, I will die in this bed in a few years, but if I had a choice again today, I would enter that forest again without hesitation!"

Mel, who lived alone for a long time, was witnessing the warrior instincts of a man like himself for the first time. Sivo was someone who really dedicated himself to the path of physical cultivation.

"I understand. Can you tell me a little about physical transformation?"

Although it was like putting salt on the bedridden boy's wound, Mel wanted to use the opportunity he had to learn the cultivation method. Judging by his relaxed face and relaxed state, Sivo would have had no difficulty in explaining.

“Humans and wild creatures are in a non-stop war. This has been going on since the world was created. Ancient sources say that for a long time humans lived as food sources for wild creatures. Humankind could not escape from being prey until the Savior came down from the skies and taught them the spirit techniques!”

“The Savior, who saw that very little of the population had the qualifications to exercise these techniques, showed the people one more way. That way was the Physical Cultivation. People, who could not turn the energy of nature into spiritual energy, tried to get stronger by conjugating with wild creatures that are gifted in this regard!"

The first curtain of mystery in Mel's mind was slowly disappearing. As he understood the basic logic of the cultivation way, he turned to the bedridden child for more information:

"Can you tell me a little bit about the cultivation stages?"

Even though Sivo found the curious attitude of the child he saw for the first time suspicious, he had nothing to do but to explain it to Mel.

“A person, who will enter the path of Physical Cultivation, must first target a creature suitable for his own temperament. The harmony of characteristic features is the most important factor. Then the creature's core is needed to be assimilated. When the process is complete, the first transformation takes place. Of course, to absorb the core, the body must be strong enough to endure. Otherwise, dying is as easy as falling off a log!"

"Most of the time, one core is not enough. Only if the core of a boss-class wild creature is assimilated, success is 100 percent guaranteed!"

After seeing that the description in the book and the explanation of this kid were basically telling the same thing, Mel realized that the core in his hand was something quite valuable.

“This is the first stage of the ‘Discovery’ level. Then the ‘Skin Transformation’ level comes and the cultivator's skin begins to change to match with the wild creature’s energy which he has absorbed. The time that distinguishes people, who choose the path of Physical Cultivation, from others starts with Skin Change!”

“The peak of ‘Discovery’ is the moment when the first feature is acquired. The Physical Cultivator internalizes a talent belonging to the wild creature he has absorbed and begins to use it as if he had been with it since birth. Rich families and deep-rooted formations feed their members through the process of ‘Discovery’ with the flesh and blood of the animal which has its core absorbed. That way, they get a chance of developing at least twice as fast as others.”

The inequality was huge. If you were poor, there was no guarantee of success even if you could barely find a wild creature core. So, you were doomed to lag behind others in the process of development.

"After the ‘Discovery’, ‘Harmonization’ process comes. Certain parts of the cultivator's body begin to show wild creature characteristics. His blood begins to transform and tries to become like the blood of the wild creature. Eventually, the cultivator turns into the wild creature he assimilated!"

Mel jumped onto his feet in astonishment. The last thing he heard sounded very interesting.

“You are right to be afraid my friend. This stage is the turning point for a Physical Cultivator. After complete transformation, he has to become a human again by using his will. Otherwise...!”

The bedridden boy stopped suddenly, and Mel clearly understood what he meant.

"Some say boss-level wild creatures are actually humans who could not fully transform and return to the human form!"

Every new thing Mel heard was like a hammer struck on the previous one. It was as if a long nail was constantly being hammered into his brain.

"With ‘Recycling’, the ‘Domination’ process begins. But I am sorry that I do not know much about this level!"

Mel took a deep breath. He didn't need much. What he had heard was more than enough for him. A light flashed in his eyes.

“Sivo, I'll ask you one last question. Doesn't it scare you to turn into a wild creature and not being able to return to the human form?"

The bedridden was biting his lips. After a minute or two of silence, he began to speak.

"Mel, can you remove the cover on me?"

The young boy did what he was asked, but what he saw after that wouldn’t please him at all.

"What happened to you?"

The bedridden boy was disastrous from the waist down. He was doomed to death with his two thin rod-like legs and his body lying in his own filth.

“I can't even crawl, let alone walking. It's better to turn into a wild creature than to be in this state!"

The bedridden boy's words were sad, but Mel was smiling. In the face of this act, Sivo was about to make a harsh scold when Mel stopped him with his hand.

“We will make a deal with you. No matter what happens, you will not tell anyone what happened tonight. In return for this, I will heal you!"

The two boys glanced at each other for a while. Sivo could understand that the child standing in front of him was not making fun of him. When the two young boys agreed without words, Mel walked out of the small room.

There was no sound in the house. Obviously, the Guard and his wife were already asleep. It was not easy to stay at the door all day, and it was also natural for the woman living under difficult conditions to be tired.

Entering the room again, Mel turned to lock the door twice from inside. The next thing he did was to get the bedridden boy out of the bed with one move.

When he took off his clothes and threw them aside, Sivo's crooked body was exposed. He looked more like a freak than a human.

"You will crawl from now on, my friend. But I believe you will be one of the strongest among the crawlers!"

Sivo, lying on the wooden floor, was waiting calmly. But after a moment, he got shocked when he saw the bottles coming out of Mel's tin-like ring.

"You carry a ring with an interfield dimension! Who are you?"

The ring, that didn’t attract attention and looked, so to speak, lousy at first glance, was revealed to be an item his father wouldn’t buy even with his salary of 10 years.

"It doesn't matter who I am. But we agreed that you won’t tell anyone what you saw, right?"