Alex slowly looked around the room.
It was slightly larger than a normal chamber. A simple bed stood against the wall, neatly arranged. A wooden table sat near the window with two chairs beside it. A small mat was placed on the floor for cultivation. There was an attached bathroom separated by a sliding door. Nothing extravagant. Just practical furniture arranged with care.
Then his gaze shifted.
A mirror hung quietly on the wall.
"I wondered how do I look now?" Curiosity stirred within him.
He walked toward it, Standing before the mirror, he studied his reflection carefully.
To his surprise, he looked almost identical to how he had appeared on Earth. The only noticeable difference was his age. He seemed younger. Perhaps sixteen or seventeen.
Short black hair.
Black eyes.
A tall stature.
He stared for a few seconds longer but did not dwell on it. After hours of walking through the forest and then navigating the city, exhaustion finally caught up to him. He sat down on the bed and let out a slow breath.
Then a sudden thought crossed his mind.
"What's the name of this city?"
He tried to recall if he had heard anyone mention it. Nothing came to mind.
After a moment, he let it go.
He lay back on the bed.
The moment his body relaxed, a strange calm spread through his mind. The tension he had been carrying since arriving in this world loosened slightly.
His breathing slowed.
And memories surfaced on their own.
His mother's gentle voice calling his name.
His father's steady presence beside the dinner table.
His sister's bright smile as she laughed at something trivial.
Alex's eyelids trembled.
Tears gathered quietly and slid down the corners of his eyes.
But these were not tears of despair.
The universe was vast.
If this world existed, then others must exist as well. If there were worlds, there had to be ways to travel between them.
Ways to return. Ways to reunite.
'I just need strength.' he thought silently.
Alex wiped the tears away and slowly clenched his fist. A quiet determination settled deep within him.
No matter how long it took.
No matter how difficult the path became.
He would find them.
With that resolve firmly rooted in his heart, Alex eventually drifted into sleep.
The next morning, Alex opened his eyes.
He freshened up, brushed his teeth, bathed, and changed into the robes he had purchased the previous day. After dressing properly, he stood before the mirror once more.
"Looks good." he muttered to himself.
Then something clicked in his mind.
"Status." He said.
A blue screen materialized in front of him.
His eyes immediately focused on one number.
[Qi Energy: 495]
Alex froze seening this high number.
Four hundred ninety-five?
That was far more than he expected.
'Fast…' was the only thought that surfaced.
But when he thought about it logically, it made sense. When he first arrived in this world, he had only twenty Qi energy. Within few hours, he had gathered around a hundred and twenty. After using a hundred for his earlier actions, nearly twelve more hours had passed since then.
Reaching close to five hundred was not unreasonable.
Still, the speed was impressive.
"System, breakthrough to the next stage," Alex said firmly.
In the next instant, Qi surged violently through his body. Energy rushed through his meridians like a roaring current. His dantian rapidly filled with dense Qi, expanding slowly under the pressure.
The expansion continued, then stabilized.
A wave of clarity spread through him.
Alex slowly opened his eyes.
The difference was immediate.
Power flowed through his body more clearly than before. His meridians felt wider. His dantian steadier. Even his senses seemed sharper.
He clenched his fist slightly.
Feeling the strength inside it.
Without wasting time, he walked toward the door. He planned to explore the city and finally learn more about the place that he will bw living for some time.
He grabbed the handle and pulled it open.
~Grrrnnnngh~
The sudden sound froze him in place.
His stomach growled loudly in protest.
Only then did Alex realize something important.
He hadn't eaten anything since the previous day.
After wandering through the forest and later entering the city, he had completely forgotten about food. Exhaustion had taken over, and he had fallen asleep without eating.
Slowly, he closed the door behind him.
"Right…" he muttered quietly.
Turning back into the room, he remembered the talisman Mei Lin had given him. She had said he could use it if he needed help.
Naturally, the first thing he wanted to ask was where he could eat.
However, there was one small problem.
He didn't know how to circulate his Qi.
In fact, he didn't even know where to begin.
Alex picked up the talisman and stared at it silently.
"How do I do this?" he muttered.
He tried to focus inward, but nothing happened. He wasn't even sure what circulating Qi was supposed to feel like.
After a few awkward attempts, he gave up and sighed.
"System… how do I circulate Qi?" he asked.
The response came instantly.
~Sigh~
Alex let out a heavy sigh, he had truly expected the system to give an answer.
"So, I am doing it on my own."
He sat cross-legged on the mat, closed his eyes, and focused inward, searching for the energy within him.