It was midnight, by the time we reached my 10 floor apartment building. A solid modern structure, made of concrete, brick and mortar. There was hardly a student in sight. Which was unusual given that this is a student accommodation.

Usually there’d either be a party in one of the upper flats with more rooms, or people playing on the street or just hanging out. The place would smell like chicken and kimchi and occasionally a delivery guy would drop off someone else’s food for him to eat.

There was none of that. Which made me uneasy, as it seemed like it could be a trap laid out for us. Kira also voiced her concern.

“Keep your eyes out and be alert for any sudden movement,” she commanded.

The collar around my neck tightened, before letting itself loose. I’d gotten a little bit used to this collar. On our way back she issued me several commands which I had to follow. If I didn’t follow them, it would tighten around my neck until I was struggling for air and would only let go until I accepted the command.

It had some sort of psychic link between my brain and itself, as if it was sentient and could read my mind. It was probably the most remarkably advanced collar I’ve seen up till now and for some reason I was drawn to get to the bottom of how it worked.

Who knows, maybe I might need it, one day? I thought to myself as Kira. I quickly looked away, as she returned her gaze onto me. She cleared my throat, to wash away my nervousness.

“There’s nothing here, so we might as well move forward. We can take the lift-.”

“No lift,” she butted in.

“No lift? My apartment is on the tenth floor, if we don’t take the lift, we’ll have to walk up ten stories. Plus your carrying someone. You’ve been carrying him pretty much the whole day, aren’t you tired enough to grab the lift.”

Kira glared at me, as if my suggestion was completely absurd. "I'm not taking any chances," she said firmly. "We don't know who is waiting for us in the elevator or on the staircase. It's safer to take the stairs."

“AND, it’s because if we were ambushed we’d be stuck in the lift. At least with the stairs we might have an opportunity for some freedom.”

I grumbled in resignation, knowing she had a point. But at the same time, it seemed unlikely that they would be foolish enough to launch an attack out in the open like this. one thing I noticed about the docks today was that there wasn't a single dock worker around - which suggested these assailants were not keen on fighting out in the open. And yet, something made me uneasy.

Climbing the stairway was a long and arduous process, not because I was sluggish, but because Kira had to carry Viktor with her. She needed to bear his weight while shielding him from anyone or anything that could spot him. Whenever we were in an area where suspicious people or cameras could see us, she opted for the route on top of the buildings instead of walking along the streets. It appeared as if these Murimin had some type of police surveillance installed in the city.

Every now and then, she would keep a watchful eye on me from atop her tower. I was sure that she could jump down in my direction in the twinkle of an eye. But it seemed that all this effort was taking its toll; I noticed her breath was ragged and her walk was slow. It looked like she had been injured, but it didn't show up anywhere. Possibly she had been poisoned like the two soldiers of the Cheomyeon clan, though I doubted it was due to Viktor's bullets.

As I followed her lead, with her never taking her eyes off me, I quickly made some upgrades. Over the course of our journey, when exhaustion started setting in, she used the collar to give me orders to keep going, not even allowing me to take a pit stop at a store for water. So, instead I put my points into increasing my Strength and Movement stats.

I willed my stats screen open so I could check the changes. I hadn’t had the time to check it whilst looking over my shoulder like Kira, to see if anyone was following. Being suspicious of every average person walking by.

But this time I felt relaxed, Kira was behind me but I felt that

Name: Josh Sanders

Level: 10

Stage: Ki Gathering

Stats:

Movement: 100

Strength: 100

Will: ♾️

Ki: 0 (years)

Perception: 115

145 free stat points left to allocate.

Class: Not selected yet.

There were a few changes upon looking at this sheet. It correctly displayed my increased strength and movement. I invested 70 into each, bringing down my 285 free points to 145. I decided not to invest further, instead saving the points for the future. However, thinking back on it, I didn’t really need to invest into strength.

When I invested in movement I felt my stamina immediately come back to me. It felt like it wasn’t spent in the first place and I had an even bigger reservoir than before. I wouldn’t get tired so easily.

But there was something new There was a new entry, called Stage: Ki gathering stage. I don’t know exactly what this meant, but a rough idea formed in my head, given that the word Ki was a dead giveaway.

"Hey so, I got a question. What does Ki mean?"

Kira didn't answer immediately, her eyes darting around as we climbed the stairs. She seemed to be looking for any signs of danger. After a moment, she finally spoke.

"Ki is the energy that flows within all living things," she murmured, keeping her voice low. "It's the force that allows us to manipulate the world around us and ourselves. You can use it in combat or in your daily life. It forms the foundation of martial arts and serves as the basis for all abilities in our World."

I listened carefully to Kira's explanation, trying to absorb all of the information. Ki sounded like a powerful force, and the fact that it was the foundation of martial arts made me even more curious about it.

"That's...interesting," I said slowly, trying to wrap my head around it. "So, how do you use it? Can anyone use it?"

Kira glanced back at me, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Not everyone can use it," she said cryptically. "It requires a certain level of innate ability and training to unlock your Ki. And even then, not everyone can master it."

"So are there like stages, or levels to this Ki stuff?"

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"Yes, there are stages within in our world that we give to Martial Artists of different strength. The beginning stage is the Ki Gathering Stage, where a Martial Artists becomes accustomed to the Ki within his body he draws from outside. In the pinnacle of human strength and movement. Usually you reach the height of this stage around 15 and then move onto to the Ki Strengthening stage."

So I'm basically way behind if I'm on the first stage of the Ki Gathering Stage. Great, even kids are better than me.

"The Ki strengthening stage is where the Ki in body strengthen your bodies, enhances your muscles. In the pinnacle of this stage your body can shatter blades or stop bullets, but they still do hurt and they have to be non-ki infused."

So if I reach this stage, then I'll be extremely strong, fast and be able to stop bullets. Okay that doesn't sound too bad now.

"Then once you reach Ki Forming Stage, you can begin to infuse Ki within your body to strengthen yourself physically and move at even faster speeds. You can even Infuse Ki into weapons such as Bullets and swords. My sword and Viktor's bullets are Ki infused."

"But... when I look at you I sense a seed in your core, which shouldn't be possible" she said, her eyes searching mine.

I blinked, feeling a mix of surprise and worry, did she know about the screens I'm seeing?

"Um, what do you mean?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"I mean, there's a seed of Ki within you," Kira said, her voice low and intense. "It's just a small morsel right now though. Maybe... it's because of the Serum, coursing within your body."

She stared at me, her eyes probing me, investigating my core. I felt vulnerable and stripped naked, like someone had pulled off my skin and was staring straight into the bare muscle and bone beneath.

My hearth was palpitating as Kira's eyes sunk in deeper. Was she able to sense the effects of the Serum on me? Did she catch on about the system I could see? I tried to hold onto my composure, but I could feel sweat starting to bead on my forehead.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied.

Suddenly, a jingle from the elevator diverted her attention. We both stepped back into defensive positions just in case before an unfamiliar group of students appeared, each holding a styrofoam container with what appeared to be hot fried food.

They all shared strange glances with me before they continued down the hall into one of the dorms on my right. I let out a sigh of relief and carried on walking until we reached our floor where I stopped in front of an apartment door before pushing it open and gesturing for Kira to enter.

The inside was still just as clean and tidy as I had left it the day I had been abruptly kidnapped. I walked over to the bedside table and ran my finger across it, noticing how dust had settled during my absence. Kira placed Viktor gently on the bed, where he groaned in pain yet unable to move or respond since his kidnapping at the docks. Worriedly, I voiced my concern to Kira.

"We have to rush him to the hospital," I asserted. "Whatever you gave him will not heal these deep cuts."

"We can't take him to a Hospital, he'll need to a see healer," Kira said firmly. "I'll not risk getting caught."

"You mean a doctor, that's exactly what I'm saying."

Kira sighed and gave me inquisitive look. "I forget that you are new to this world. Healers are the doctors of Murim. They utilize Ki and natural medicines for healing rather than drugs. Although recently with the advances in technology, more healers have become hybrids using modern medicinal practices with old techniques. The only difficulty is that it may be hard to locate one while we're on the r-"

I saw her face grow with realisation and then she opened her cell phone and randomly pressed in a few numbers. She spoke quietly, her gaze scanning the walls of my bedroom for something. After some time, she hung up and sighed in relief.

"I got someone," she stated. "A healer who is prepared to help us. But we will not go see him, he'll be coming here to us."

I hesitated, asking uncertainly, "Wait just like that?"

"Yes," she answered firmly.

"How can you be sure this guy won't snitch on us after treating Viktor?"

"He's an independent doctor, whose patients are people in desperate need, although he charges a hefty fee for his services. He's not associated with the Murim Alliance, so there's no worry of him ratting us out."

We waited what seemed like an eternity, until finally, there was a knock at the door...followed by another knock. He knocked in a pattern, in quick succession, each knock evenly spaced apart, like a metronome keeping beat.

Kira opened the door.

The man standing at the door appeared to be tall and thin, and wore a dark blue long Chinese coat with intricate embroidery. His head was covered with a black bowler hat. He looks around with a cautious eye, almost as if he is surveying the area.

Then he walked into the room and room went from warm to a slight chill. I kept my gaze on him, as I suspected brought with him a chill of winter air, as if the cold was attached to him wherever he went.

The stranger then looked at us curiously for a moment before speaking in a deep, husky voice.

"You must be the one who called for my services?" He asked, with a slight grin on his face.

Kira nodded her head slowly and gestured for him to come inside. He stepped in, looking around the room as if he had been here before. The Kira gestured him towards Viktor, whose breathing had now slowed down.

"A chair please," he asked and Kira looked at me. I rushed into the kitchen quickly and plucked a chair neatly settled under the table.

He sat down then began examining Viktor. "It looks like he's been injured severely. He's ki flow seems normal "

"Can you treat him." Kira asked.

He chuckled,"Now, now little Kira. Who do you think I am."

Kira asked the question again, with a hint of irritation, "Can you heal him?"

The Healer replied, "Yes I can, but it will come at a cost."

Kira dangled a pouch in front of him, that she had taken from her coat pocket. "I'm not short on funds," she said.

"Good. Let me begin then," the Healer replied.

He sat down and the next moment was probably as astonishing as what Yeonju showed me on the ship. A warm, soothing light began to fill the room as he his hands began glowing yellow. He flipped over Viktor on his back and his hands were placed lightly on the cuts and gashes, the tips of his fingers lightly tracing over the wounds. His hands were glowing a bright yellow, and the light was gradually seeping into Viktor's skin. His hands moved up and down the wounds in a wave-like pattern, almost as if they were erasing them away.

I could see the wound slowly closing, the cuts closing in and gashes transforming into normal white skin. He then removed his hands and and then clicked open his suitcase and revealed a series of intriguing items: small glass vials filled with multicoloured liquids, strange herbs and spices, and a number of tools and instruments that looked oddly out of place in our bedroom. He opened one of the vials and spread some of its contents onto a cloth which he then placed over Viktor's body. Within seconds, I could see Viktor's chest rise as he began to breathe normally again.

Then he flipped him on his back. He looked at Kira then at me. "Make sure he stays like this for at least two days. I've treated the Ki imbalance within him, to allow his body to naturally close his wounds. Then I applied diluted Night Scorpion poison to treat the impurities on and within his skin and body."

"Night Scorpion poison, are you really sure, it'll work?"

He looked at Kira, slightly wide-eyed, then formed a curved smile. "He's not from Murim, is he?"

She looked at me. "No."

"Hehe, so unlike you Kira to bring trouble to yourself. Well it doesn't matter, you're already in a lot of trouble once he finds out."

All of a sudden, the walls began to creak. I watched in awe as the walls around her suddenly began to warp and distort, stretching in impossible ways. The air was filled with baking heat and intense light that was nearly blinding.

A deep grinding noise echoed throughout the room like an earthquake, followed by creaking and splintering wood.

The old man seemed unfazed, but I wasn't. She was wrecking my house.

"Hey, stop it" I reached out to her. "You're going to destroy this house."

Her anger simmered for a few more moments, before it blew away. I looked at the old man again. This time a curved smile was replaced with a massive grin.

"Marvellous," he exclaimed. "You've grown stronger since the last time I've seen you."

But Kira wasn't impressed. She was disgusted and she made it known. "Take your damn money and get out of here."

She flicked him five coins, from the pouch. They were gold and he swiped them midair. Then he closed his suitcase and stood up, tipped his hat to her and walked out.

But he stopped just before he left. "It was nice seeing you Kira, didn't think you would reach out to me after all these years. But a word of advice. If you're thinking of tipping even a toe back in Murim, you won't get out. Second chances don't come easily."

He left with a small, yet somewhat warm smile.

I asked hesitantly, "Was there something between you two?"

"That's none of your business,," she replied sharply. "Let me rest for now. Viktor is stable, and that's all that matters."

She pulled the chair, the healer sat on, to the wall adjacent and folded her legs as she sat on and closed her eyes.

I didn't think she'd want to carry on anymore, so I decided to get some sleep. I opened the my wardrobe and grabbed a pair of pyjamas and headed to the bathroom to change. As I looked in the mirror, I was thinking back to what just had transpired these past few days.

Despite championing myself as someone who adapts to any situation. This whole situation has left me pretty tired. Weakened even. I touched the collar on my neck. I needed to find a way to get this off, find a way to make them trust me. It'll make my plans to escape more easier and I need to do this before they take me to heavenly doctor.

I splashed my face with lukewarm water, pulled out a futon, pillow and quilt from the drawers underneath the wardrobe. I bought a few of them incase I made some friends and they wanted to come over. However, I didn't and so they were left collecting dust. Never did I think I'd have to use them in this situation.

I set up everything to the floor beside the bed, and wrapped myself in my quilt and fell asleep instantly. For some reason, despite what had happened this was the best nights sleep I had in decades.