I didn't want to move, but think about what had happened. However, if there was one useful habit I had gained from my time as a student-athlete, it was always better to be moving.

However, first, I consumed the pill she had given me. I didn't expect it to be poison for two reasons. First, she could have killed me easily if she wished. Second, the system — despite its annoying name — roughly confirmed its nature as something to enhance my abilities.

I trusted it … because I didn't have any other option.

I pulled the bottle open, and the most delicious smell I had ever enjoyed wafted into my nose. "In for a penny…" I murmured, and swallowed the pill. Warmth immediately spread into my body, forcing me to hold against the nearest tree. I started sweating and trembling at the same time, but it only lasted a few seconds.

Once it was gone, I found out that there was no difference. I thought about trying to get the other one from the System, but I decided against it. There was no guarantee that the magic lady from earlier couldn't somehow sense it.

And, I couldn't trust her with such a secret. She was nice to me because she pitied me — as confirmed by the System, which I had to trust for the moment — and I did not know how she would act without it.

"It's time for some experimentation," I said instead. I didn't know the name of the pill she had given to me, but since the enhanced version was a martial aptitude pill, I expected it to be the same.

I raised my hands, took a basic boxing guard, and started doing a shadow-boxing routine. I was not a boxer, but I had learned a few moves after my injury during my desperate rush to find another sport that could help me maintain my scholarship.

"Fascinating," I said after completing a few basic routines, moving through a fluidity that surprised me. "If I had this pill back on Earth, I would have been a professional boxer," I said. Each punch flowed fluidly, and the footwork felt natural, just like how sprinting techniques had felt as easy as breathing. "Can I return to my world, System?" I asked, in English.

There was no answer.

I decided to move before it was too late. But, first, some shoes. I tried to rip the cloak she had gifted me to make something to cover my feet, but I failed. It was stronger than I expected.

Instead, I gathered some leaves, and tied them with some soft branches to create something that could function as a shoe. Then, I broke a thick branch, one that could be used as a weapon against a wild beast, and started walking.

I did not know where the nearest civilization was, so I started moving toward the nearest hill I could see. Hopefully, the elevation would allow me to discover somewhere else.

It was barely a couple miles away, which I felt like an easy distance, but the more I walked, the more I realized how big of a challenge was to walk without proper shoes. What was supposed to be a short distance turned into something that took almost an hour.

I stopped before climbing halfway and saw a village in the distance. However, it was at least ten miles away, and it was already late afternoon. I doubted I could arrive there before the darkness — assuming I didn't get lost.

And, even if I arrived, could I explain myself with my very limited command of the language?

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I looked around, but I wasn't able to see the mysterious magic lady. Technically, she could be still watching me, but I took the risk. If she was still watching me, it would mean that she suspected something, and it was hard for me to hide anything.

It was risky, but not as risky as trying to traverse an unknown forest at night.

I closed my eyes, trying to reach to the System, to get the language jade. The moment I thought that, another green, glowing rock popped into my hand from nothingness. This one glowed even brighter. "Well, it has a smooth user experience," I muttered to myself even as I brought it to my temple, preparing myself for the pain.

Yet, the pain didn't come. It felt like a gentle whisper, followed by a click, and suddenly, my mind was filled with the full comprehension of several languages, along with some contextual information. Like, how much someone should bow for a foundation establishment cultivator, or how long one could make eye contact with a connate realm martial artist.

Annoying, considering I did not know what a Foundation Establishment was, who was a cultivator.

However, the number of ways that were there to explain why one had killed their enemies — a shocking number of them including mentions of mere disrespect — clued me I wasn't in a peaceful world.

Luckily, despite the horrifying implications, using the jade was a simple process and useful. "At least the better they are, the less they hurt," I said as I summoned the aptitude enhancement pill. However, this time, before I opened it, I tried to put it back to where it came from, to see if I could use the Inventory as storage.

It didn't work. "Well," I said as I opened the bottle. It smelt even more spectacular than the previous one. I took it, expecting a gentle caress after I swallowed, but the moment it touched my mouth, it melted and mixed into my body and —

My blood turned to lava, and my bones were replaced with ice needles. At least, that was how it felt as I hit the floor. I didn't cry, and as much as I wanted to say that it was about my incredible willpower, the answer was less glorious.

It hurt too much even to breathe, so I just whimpered.

Worse, I couldn't even fall unconscious. I just lay on the ground, helpless, watching the sun move… It probably lasted less than an hour, but felt like a lifetime. "Damn, that was worse than I expected," I said as I stood up. For all my memories of pain, my body felt good.

Amazing, even.

"Maybe it will teach me about making assumptions."

Despite the torture I just had, as I moved, I felt better than ever, like the pain was nothing more than a bad dream. I took a deep breath, feeling refreshed. I sat on a nearby rock, wondering if I could light a fire to keep the wild beasts away.

"First, let's test if it helped me as much as I expected," I said as I once again took a basic boxing stance and punched. Breathed. Punched. Breathed.

A weird rhythm took me as I moved smoother than I had ever done. It felt like a dream, but instead of the panic of a missed exam, it filled me with true understanding. Every lesson I had about boxing made sense. I took a deep breath, and something clicked.

Warmth and pain filled my muscles in equal amounts, but after the effect of the pill, it was easier to ignore. I continued to go through basic patterns again and again, and I felt another click, then another…

It was midnight when I stopped. I was tired and sweaty, hungrier than ever. Yet, I felt stronger than ever as well. I eyed a rock, one that must have weighed at least two hundred pounds. A weight I could handle as a deadlift, but barely. Yet, when I grabbed and lifted it. It weighed nothing.

"I'm a superhero," I said, then sniffed. "A smelly one," I added. I smelled bad, far more than I expected, even after exercising for several hours. I grabbed the stick and started walking around the hill. My earlier fears about finding my way during the night faded, as the moon was bright enough to illuminate my path.

Even better, despite being barefoot, my feet didn't hurt anymore, allowing me to move far faster. And, once I dashed, I felt my old sprinting techniques coming back in a way I never felt before. They were perfect. Better than perfect, even.

After some searching, I found a nice little spring, and washed myself. There were several plants next to the spring, but since I did not know whether they were poisonous, I didn't dare to eat them, even if my hunger felt like it was digging through my stomach.

I washed the cloak, though its impossibly soft texture didn't surprise me after punching for half a day gave me superpowers.

Instead, I let the spring water cover me while I enjoyed the rest. Soon, I lay on my back, treating the cold water as a bed. It felt weird, but somehow, I balanced it perfectly for it to feel natural enough to fall asleep.

It was certainly more comfortable than bare ground.