This was too much.

Staring at the paper before him, Leion was tempted to rip his hair out.

The English alphabet was a great and powerful alphabet. Tracing its origins from Latin used by the Romans, its simple make allowed quick and convenient learning. The alphabet was relatively small, boasting a mere 26 letters, of which, 5 were vowels while the rest were consonants. If one were tasked to write out the letters of the alphabet, they would weep with joy knowing the average word required 3 strokes to complete.

Leion immensely missed the English alphabet.

Manmanic was nothing like it!

The alphabet of the Manmanic language contained over 200 letters alone. Most of which required 10 or more strokes to complete in writing. Frankly speaking, the letters that made up the Manmanic alphabet resembled Chinese characters more than English letters. Each containing certain small, minute details that barely differentiated them from each other. A person could easily mistake one “letter”, a term Leion used loosely, for another.

In summary, Leion was really struggling.

The worst part about it? All of this was before the added difficulty of using primitive writing tools. Leion was forced to write with his left hand due to the quill’s peculiar bend. He was also forced to write in only downward strokes lest he smudge the ink or worse, tear the paper. Many a time was he close to breaking the quill, ripping the paper in half, and shattering the ink bowl. It felt damn unfair to have to learn writing a second time.

‘Goddamn Giant!’

The sole thing keeping Leion sane was, oddly enough, the sword the Giant used to strike at him. Whenever Leion reached his breaking point, his “Master” would act. She would feed him tasty stew, massage his small body and then allow him to sleep. Despite it though, there were tons of times Leion felt tempted to blame her. After all, she was still the one directly forcing him to do this. Though she may be under the influence of the Giant, it was still no excuse.

But...

It was really hard to hate someone who so earnestly wanted to help you. At the end of the day, Leion was very much a freeloader in his “Master’s” home. Watching her put a lot of effort into taking care of him was starting to eat at a conscience he didn’t know he had. His “Master” no longer left the cabin for extended periods of time. She would only leave for a moment in the morning, come back while Leion was doing his chores, and then proceed to teach him once he finished.

In his previous life, Leion hadn’t had someone take care of him like this. Sure, there were his parents, but they kind of brought that onto themselves. It didn’t count. He couldn’t feel an ounce of guilt mooching off them, and when he finally came of age, he managed to support himself. He was a guy who did the bare minimum to survive by himself.

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To suddenly have someone aiding him was… different.

And not in a good way.

“One more.” (M)

Leion’s brows twitched as his body stirred in her lap.

His hand was already finished.

He couldn’t do one more.

“Master… I’ve been meaning to ask. How do I shift back to my other form?” (L)

Perhaps due to his excessive complaining at the start or the quietness that enveloped the cabin when he’d work, his “Master” was at least willing to humour a question or two of his every now and then.

“Hm…” (M)

While patiently waiting for a reply, Leion passed the time by gingerly recalling his first steps into this world. The first few days spent in this world were absolutely the best. At the time, stuck within the body of a tiger, he spent the entire days’ worth of time lazing away. Sleeping, chewing snow, and dreaming. There was no life greater than that!

‘Sigh…. how long had it been since that time?’

Two months, three months? It was honestly hard to tell considering he had never bothered to keep track. The days spent within these four walls had all blurred together. Creating something Leion couldn’t be bothered to sort within his memory.

Leion sighed once more.

Despite not a lot of time passing, he felt an odd nostalgia looking back.

“We will stop here.” (M)

The sudden declaration stunned Leion. Did… did she seriously just ignore his question again? Just when he thought there was some progress in their communication, she goes ahead and—

Leion instantly froze.

“S-Stop?” (L)

Disbelief caused his mouth to gape.

Ever since starting to learn Manmanic, his “Master” had become even more unrelenting. She would demand he fill three sets of practice papers before finally allowing him to rest for the day. Hovering over him like an eagle staking its prey in order to ensure completion. Any trick or scheme to hasten up the progress would be mercilessly torn down and corrected.

In this sense, she had become a literal tiger mom. A strict mother who ensured success for her child no matter what. Leion seriously doubted his hearing until he felt the quill in his hand be taken from him. He was lifted off the lap of his “Master” and placed on the ground. She organised the table before getting up and staring down at Leion.

“I will teach you how to shift.” (M)

‘Ah, she is short’

As piercing blue eyes bore down on Leion, a random thought entered his mind. He had first noted this… shortcoming when they were first arriving at the village. In the arms of his “Master”, he had subconsciously realised something amiss when the majority of eyes fixed on them were looking down. The dots hadn’t really connected at the time until he saw her standing beside the village humans.

‘Ha!’

The thought was absolutely hilarious.

“Ekp!” (L)

Nursing the site of the hand cop, Leion glared at the perpetrator.

“Focus.” (M)

With a light nod, Leion turned and observed his “Master” properly.

“Secure the seal in your mind.” (M)

At her words, the world seemed too slightly darkened.

“The reason you shifted before was because you were scared.” (M)

A low, chilly wind picked up in the cabin. It moved about in an unnatural calm manner.

“You lost control of a fundamental part of you. Letting it roam freely.” (M)

The low wind gradually increased in speed. It twisted and turned within the cabin in a chaotic manner. Repeatedly trying to break through the pitiful walls that stood in its way.

“All you have to do is grasp it, rein it in.” (M)

The once shallow winds burst with freakish intensity. They generated a deafening sound and obscured Leion’s view of his “Master”. Leion’s sense in space swiftly faded away as the assault on his senses rendered him a new unique blind. Trapped in the perilous situation, he stood silently. Unable to even muster an iota of resist.

But, fortunately for Leion, the wind died down as rapidly as it came to life.

Unfortunately, though, it left him face-to-face with a terrifying being.

Confined in a too-small room.