Guide: "Oh, it seems the teleportation was off again. Oh well, there's nothing I could do about it now."

The Guide began to fall to the ground from a hundred yards in the air.

Lee watched the falling Guide with surprise. [He's falling.]

Oscar looked on anxiously. [He shouldn't survive that landing. This fall is from more than a hundred meters in the air.]

The Guide, falling from the air to the ground, looked toward the group. ["I should talk to them about the teleportation. Everything got messier when this man got back to the realm. Oh, it seems I'm close enough. It's time to transform."]

On the outside, the Guide was seen falling to the ground.

Two seconds before the man crashed to the ground, Lee could see the Guide's legs beginning to change and grow bigger as the pressure emanating from him doubled. His legs landed on the ground.

Boom

A massive cloud of dust was released in all directions where the Guide landed.

In the dusty aftermath, the shadow of a bent man began to straighten up. This man was different from that of any ordinary person. the guide stood at 5.8 feet tall.

As Lee's gaze fell upon the guide's legs, a sense of unease crept over him. The sight was far from what he had expected – the legs resembled something out of a science fiction nightmare rather than a human's. Their appearance, strikingly similar to insect appendages with their segmented joints, left an unsettling impression.

As the Guide drew closer to the group, the pressure the Guide released intensified fourfold compared to when he was in the air. The ground under their feet started to fracture from the immense pressure. Even Lee and Oscar knelt down, and after a short while, even Oscar, who had an iron will, fainted from the pressure, just like the others.

Lee, fighting against the pressure with all his might, suddenly remembered an old childhood memory.

/

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Lee's Past

About a week after his mother had died, Lee recalled his father taking him to their garden. His father handed him two boxing gloves and wore his own boxing pads.

Lee: "What are these for, Daddy?"

Lee's Father: "What do you think, kiddo? They're for boxing. I used to do it when I was younger, and so will you."

Lee: "But I don't know how to box, Dad."

His father smiled warmly. "I'll teach you, son."

Spending time with his father was a rare treat for Lee. He eagerly put on the gloves and started hitting his father's boxing pads.

Twenty minutes passed.

Lee's father instructed him, "Put your weight into your punch. Have a strong stance so you can defend yourself. Put all your body's power into your punches while keeping your eyes up, ready to react to any changes."

Lee followed his father's guidance. "Dad, I'm tired."

His father encouraged him, "You can keep going. If you have the power to speak, you have the power to punch. Keep at it, son. You must always strive to be stronger."

Lee got up and continued punching the boxing pads, correcting his stance and gradually improving his punches under his father's guidance.

An hour later, Lee's breathing was heavy, and his body seemed ready to give out.

Lee: "Dad, I can't move anymore."

His father's words were a source of strength. "Come on, son. You can do it! Channel all the pain you feel about your mother into your fists."

Lee remembered the pain of his mother's death. He kept hitting his father's boxing pads, blood starting to drip from his gloves with each punch. His stance and punches grew stronger and more precise.

Two hours later, Lee's breathing was labored, and his body trembled on the verge of collapse. Hallucinations began to creep in, a voice in his head urging him to give up. As he teetered on the edge of unconsciousness, Lee suddenly heard his father's voice.

Lee's Father: "Lee, get up. I believe in you just as your mother believed in you too. You have a sister to protect now. You need to get stronger. So get up."

/

Inside Lee's Mind

Lee found himself in a dimly lit chamber, facing an enigmatic presence. He could only discern a shadowy figure before him.

Shadow: "If you don't give up, your body will suffer injuries."

Lee: "Even so, I have to push through. Not just for Mom, Dad, and Naomi, but also for myself."

Shadow: "Your body is still too weak to contain even a fraction of my power."

Lee: "I understand that already. I will grow stronger, no matter what."

Shadow: "Very well. I'll aid you this time. However, you'll collapse and be unconscious for three days afterward. I'll consume most of your excess energy to regain my strength. You'll remain relatively thinner than the average person for a couple of years, and we won't communicate for at least thirteen years. And remember, you owe me."

Lee: "I accept the terms."

The shadow unveiled itself, revealing two malevolent black eyes and a mouth full of teeth. The pact was sealed.

Back in the present, Lee's father looked on at his exhausted son with a mix of concern and relief. ["Maybe I pushed him too hard. Maybe he don't have it."] As he moved to remove Lee's boxing pads, an instinctual warning surged through him. He quickly dodged, and as he glanced at his son, he saw a shadow behind him—two black eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Lee's pupils shifted to a deep purple, a gray aura enveloping him.

Lee's father sensed the predatory gaze upon him from lee, a sensation that made him feel like prey in the presence of a looming predator.