Kai woke up with a crack.

Whatever way he slept wasn't right, so when he sat up after who knows how long his neck let out a sharp crack. It wasn't nice.

"Ugh"

Kai was, quite frankly, absolutely wrecked. He had been running on fumes the last few days, but he was the one who had done it to himself. He had so much to do and so little time to achieve it.

His statshifting was coming along nicely, so was his training with Umbra. The only thing that could be said to be lacking would be his motivation.

Everything he had done in the last few days were done on the premise of survival, but if this is the final stage and he does end up surviving the tutorial...

What would he do after?

The easy answer was to eat enough food to last a whole city and sleep for a month afterwards, but how realistic was that?

What The Ever-changing had told Kai about the new world outside the tutorial was scary. Shifty, extremely strong beings trying to force him into unfavourable contracts. Galaxy Eaters who can accidently create gods by eating and excreting apples and much more.

Even the gods could be terrible. Based off Princess Ethania's diary, some gods could just be massive perverts who abuse their power if they get a litte butthurt.

Kai know knew how lucky he was The Ever-changing wasn't like that.

Well, they could be. They are called The Ever-changing after all, how east would it be to change their personality?

Kai dismissed the thought. The way his master acted when asking about the different ways of speaking was too genuine to be fake.

Kai hoped it was, anyway.

Grunting, Kai pushed himself of the ground and made his way over to the waterfall.

This was an essential part of his routine after all. He felt as if he didn't shower under the freezing cold water he would just fall asleep randomly at some point in the day.

While showering, Kai looked down and delicately traced a finger on his stomach. The faintest outline of abs could be seen on what was once a chubby mess.

The sight gave Kai a bittersweet smile.

Once he was washed and dried, Kai trained with Umbra for a while before deciding to take a stroll.

It was peaceful.

Until it wasn't.

"Catalyst, I've been looking for you."

Hearing a gruff voice behind him, Kai turned around and spotted a large gray wolf standing calmly behind him.

Large, yellow eyes, claws sharper than any blade Kai had ever seen and a tail that looked as powerful, if not more, as the Depth Dweller's tentacles.

Of course Kai knew the furry being behind him.

"Hey Aldred, how are you doing."

Kai resisted the urge to yawn as he spoke, he was an extremely polite person after all.

The large beast looked at him blankly for a few seconds, before opening his maw and responding in his signature tone.

"There are two reasons I came looking for you. The first is to do with congratulations."

Now it was Kai's turn to blink.

"For what?"

Aldred remained silent for a few moments, letting out a small sniff as if to make sure of something.

"For forming your soul, of course. It would not be an easy feat for someone of your age and situation."

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Kai's eyes widened slightly, shocked by what the wolf said.

"Huh, how do you know?"

Kai hadn't exactly been very social the last few days. The only person he had spoke to other than Umbra was Wa'rak, and even then he didn't say anything about forming his soul. The only thing the two talked about was fighting and Kai asked the wolf one time about advice with girls as a way to pass the time and distract Wa'rak from the fact he hadn't hit Kai in a while.

That didn't go well.

The arrogant wolf just said be upfront and show confidence.

If it was someone other than Kai it probably could have worked, but for Kai it was a one way ticket to get slapped in the face.

Aldred looked unfazed by the question as he answered.

"I can smell it. Before, you smelled like sweat and stress. Now you smell a lot less sweaty, slightly less stressed and there's another thing mixed in.

A hint of apple.

As for why your soul smells of apples, how am I to know?"

Kai blinked.

No way...

If what Aldred is saying is true, then does that mean that the beer Kai had with his master wasn't just special cider, but a special cider with special abilities on top.

The question of what could have possibly been in the drink to cause the domino effect of forming his soul lingered in Kai's mind, but he just accepted the situation gratefully and was happy it happened in the first place.

If Kai ever met the Apple Lord who was friends with The Ever-changing he would be sure to give them his most honest thanks.

"So you can smell souls?" Kai asked curiously. Then, an idea popped into his head.

"Does anyone else here have a soul?"

Aldred let out a soft chuckle, but with his fangs the sight was anything but funny. Kai didn't mind though, he'd known the wolf long enough by now

Actually, had he really? Looking back, Kai spent the first week and a bit wandering the forest with Noelle and then Sofia joined them as well.

They then eventually met the gray wolf, that was around two weeks ago. And if the tutorial was to end a week early because of the upcoming duel...

"Of course they have souls. But if you're asking do they have them formed, the answer would be no, you are the first."

Kai grinned. It seemed he had done something truly exceptional. His efforts had not been in vain, the pain and not been for naught, the-

"Even though you are the first in this tutorial, you are by no means the fastest. There have been many in the previous generations much more gifted and talented than maybe all the humans in this tutorial combined.

Even if you practice all your life, completetly dedicating yourself to the art, you would always fall short to those who have natural talent.

Of course, there is the odd outlier who manages to break free from the cycle, but those are near impossible to discover."

Kai's shoulders slumped slightly.

Damn, there's people really that talented? Wait... Is he saying I'm not talented?

Glaring slightly at the wolf, Kai crossed his arms and asked:

"Alright then, what's the quickest time someone formed their soul?"

Aldred let out a low growl, as if in thought, before answering.

"I have no way to confirm if the story is true or not, but apparently their was someone who summoned into their tutorial with their soul formed. So I guess they would be the quickest."

So the record is basically zero seconds.

Kai sighed and looked back at the wolf.

"Well, thank you Aldred, for the congratulations. Um... Congrats to you for being alive so long?"

Aldred blinked.

"Try harder."

Kai smiled weakly in response.

"Nevermind" Aldred sighed as he shook his head softly.

"As for the second reason I'm here..." Aldred's expression grew slightly more serious, a strange look hiding in the depths of his yellow eyes.

"Come to Failure's cabin in a few hours time, there will be something happening."

Now Kai was slightly nervous, and sceptical. Why on Earth would they want him at the cabin? Kai hadn't spoken to the charismatic man in forever.

Well, it wasn't that long, but in a place like this everything felt much longer than it actually was.

Kai's brows furrowed.

"Why?"

Aldred grunted before turning his large gray body around, facing the centre of The Dome.

"You'll see. Make sure to come, otherwise I'll pay you a visit and carry you there in my mouth."

And with that slightly terrifying warning, Aldred left Kai alone to his thoughts.

Why the hell does he want me to go to the cabin? I'm too tired for this crap.

Kai didn't know what to do. He had only just woken up, yet all his plans for the day were disrupted.

He stood still for a while, just admiring the surroundings around him.

The small forests filled with beautiful brown trees, the small streams that looked to be flowing endlessly, even the artificial blue sky painted onto the roof of The Dome.

I wonder is there a movie about the founding of this subdimension?

If there was, Kai would most likely watch it if he got out of here alive. And if there wasn't...

Kai knew exactly what his motivation would be.

Being a director sounds pretty good to me. Plus, I wouldn't have to worry about being drowned or murdered.

Sighing, Kai decided to shift a few more stats before taking a nap.

Though could it really be called a nap if it was going to last longer than the other times he's slept in the last few days?

If he was going to have to go to the cabin, he would much rather do so fully rested rather than looking like a zombie.

Even though he'd only just gotten rid of the black bags that haunted under his eyes for so long, they were already having a comeback.

Approaching the pond and waterfall, Kai dismissed his tunic and boots before submerging himself into the crystal clear liquid.

Two hours of tiring statshifting passed and Kai gave up, he threw in the towel, even though he didn't have one.

While his familiar emerged from his shadow, Kai laid down on the ground. Watching the wolf come out, Kai yawned slightly as Umbra lied down beside him.

Using Umbra's sleek and soft fur as a pillow, Kai got some well needed rest after the last few days of work.