Chapter 3
"Congratulations. You have received the All-Devouring Breathing Technique.
All-Devouring Breathing Technique:
A technique from lost records that enables the host to absorb the Soulforce of cursed beings.
Would you like to learn it?
[Yes] [No]
Note: By pressing the [Yes] button, Vivi will automatically transfer all the information about the technique directly to the host's brain."
Before learning it, I needed to confirm a few things first. I pressed the [No] button and then tapped [Return to Home Screen]. My doubts were cleared as soon as the home screen popped up.
"Host's Name: Raj
Age: 21
Title: The Awakener
Skills: N/A"
I had been teleported to some unknown world, and just like one of those famous novels I used to read on the web, this strange system had been thrown onto me.
I started laughing and shouting, "Hahaha! This is ridiculous. I became part of some cliché fantasy story. What's next now? Am I supposed to save this world from otherworldly dangers? Is some ancient being guiding me through this Vivi or whatever, to accomplish something they couldn't?"
I fell to my knees and, with a soft voice, started sobbing, "I… I don't want this. I'm not some kind of hero. I'm just a college student. My family must be worried about me."
I looked up toward the sky and pleaded, "Please… send me back home."
"Error. Host doesn't have enough authority to access this feature."
"What the hell! So I can actually talk with this system?" I mumbled, wiping off the tears from my eyes.
"Vivi, where am I?"
"Host is currently in the centre of the Forest of Cursed Gumiho. This forest is situated in Vyoman."
So the name of this world was Vyoman. "How can I return to Earth?" I asked.
"Error. Host doesn't have enough authority to access this information."
"Who are you, and how can you talk to me?"
"My name is Vivi. I am your personal assistant and guide to unlock your true potential. Originally, I was the Sword of Awakening. When the sword pierced Host's heart, the condition for awakening was triggered, and I got absorbed by the user in the form of nanoparticles. That's how I can talk with the Host."
So I literally absorbed some strange sword and even lived after it pierced my heart. All kinds of ridiculous things were happening to me.
But there was one thing bugging me. When I was about to die, I saw something strange—something about being from a certain bloodline.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to ask the next question.
"Vivi… who—who am I?"
"Error. Host doesn't have enough authority to access this information."
"This shitty authority." I gritted my teeth in frustration and asked one last question.
"How can I increase my authority?"
Vivi didn't respond for a few seconds. Then, a message window popped up in front of me.
"It's simple. Just get stronger."
Hah, so I needed to do what this system wanted in order to get answers out of it. So be it. This system was the reason I was still alive, so I was supposed to do at least this much for it.
"Vivi, I would like to learn the All-Devouring Technique."
"Processing the Host's request.
Sending all the information about the technique to the Host's brain."
A sudden electric pulse shot into my brain, and my head began hurting as if it would explode at any moment. I held my head in pain and screamed at the top of my lungs. The veins at my head popped out as if something forcefully was pushing into my brain. The pain stopped after a few seconds, and I finally felt some peace.
"Congratulations. You have learned the All-Devouring Technique."
That's it? I didn't feel anything different. Wait, wait, wait… Something was definitely different. I could understand how to use this breathing method as if I always knew about it. How could this be possible?
I sat on the ground, closed my eyes, and thought about how to use this technique. I could feel every movement inside my body—my heartbeat, my blood flowing from the heart to every part of the body—and there were these strange particles spread all over my body. I didn't know how, but I knew what these particles were called. It was my Soulforce.
With a little focus, I began moving these particles to my dantian and started collecting them there. After gathering all the particles, I forcefully compressed them into the form of a sphere.
"Congratulations. You have formed your core.
Now you can absorb the Soulforce of cursed beings and convert it into your own.
Soulforce absorbed: 0/100"
I slowly opened my eyes and got up. It was time now. I need to get out of this forest.
I moved my foot and took the first step toward that massive forest. The deeper I went inside, the creepier it became. It was dark- the only source of light was the moonlight of two moons. The leaves of the trees were radiating a strange purple color, and even some branches and bark were tinged with the same color.
The slow, cold wind passing through the forest created an ominous sound, as if it were screaming at me to go back — to not enter this cursed forest.
It took me several minutes just to pass a single tree. I was moving cautiously and slowly. I hadn't survived all that just to become food for some wild animal.
I kept looking back to ensure no one was following me, but when I turned my face forward, there was a skeleton of an animal lying in front of me. It nearly gave me a mini heart attack.
Its skull was long and narrow, and there were antlers growing out of it. Even a kid could tell it was the skeleton of a deer. But when I got closer, there was one thing that seemed totally absurd about it.
Its antlers were as tall as me, and its skull was almost the size of my torso. I grabbed a stone and struck the skull where the antlers were growing out. With a little force, I pulled one of the antlers free. This could be used as a spear to defend myself.
But I never thought that I would be needing it soon.
I placed the antler on a stone and started rubbing its end with another stone to make it sharp enough. Amidst the noise of the howling wind and creaking bones, I heard a different sound. It was the sound of heavy breathing.
Then, suddenly, a drop of water fell on my head.
"Is it raining?" I wondered.
I turned my face upward to look — but it wasn't a raindrop.
It was saliva—dripping from the mouth of a giant deer, staring down at me like I was some kind of delicious meal.