Niran woke up with his body aching. The sensation was now familiar: stiff muscles, tense joints, a dull burn spreading with every movement. His body was getting used to the constant training, but that didn't mean it was any less painful. As he rose from the futon, Kao watched him from his crouched position near the door, his head slightly tilted in an expression that seemed almost curious.
He had grown again. About one meter and forty tall, his build was becoming sturdier, muscles beginning to take shape beneath his coarse fur. Would he grow bigger than his mother? The monkey Niran had fought had looked massive, but Kao seemed destined to surpass her. With a smile, Niran tossed him a piece of leftover bread from the night before, which Kao caught mid-air with ease.
After a quick, thoughtless breakfast, Niran focused on what lay ahead. Two weeks of training had hardened him, pushing him beyond his limits.
Inside his mind, Sakchai awaited him, as always. The master's presence had become a constant, his imposing figure standing tall in the void of Niran's consciousness.
"Today we will focus on reaction speed. You have shown strength, endurance, and technique, but you must be faster."
Niran nodded, clenching his fists.
The first exercise seemed simple, only in appearance. Sakchai threw sudden objects at him: small spheres, fragments of stone, pieces of wood. Niran had to dodge or deflect them without thinking. The difficulty lay in speed. The objects came from unpredictable angles, and the pressure was such that the slightest mistake earned him a hit right in the face.
When a stone grazed his ear, Sakchai chuckled.
"You're slow. Your body moves, but your mind does not. You must anticipate, not just react."
After the object-throwing exercise, Sakchai subjected him to a series of physical trials. 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, 5 km of fast explosive sprints, 100 push-ups. Every day, the same hell. But Niran never complained. Pain was just another obstacle to overcome.
Halfway through his two weeks of training, Sakchai decided to take the training to a higher level.
"Today, you will fight an enemy that does not tire."
Suddenly, Niran found himself surrounded by copies of Sakchai, all with the same unreadable expression. Were they illusions? Or something more? It didn't matter. He had to fight.
The first copy attacked with a punch aimed at his face. Niran ducked, feeling the wind of the blow brush his hair, then countered with a side kick. The figure dissolved, but two more moved against him immediately.
For hours, Niran fought against an inexhaustible army, refining every movement, every decision. Fatigue was a poison seeping into him, but his mind refused to surrender.
In the end, he collapsed to his knees, breath heavy, hands trembling.
Sakchai watched him with a smile. "Not bad. You survived."
On the evening of his last day of his two weeks of grueling training. Once he had finished his usual routine and returned from his mind to the dojo, Kao motioned for him to follow him and led him to the entrance and saw it.
A message in front of the door. An address, written sharply, precisely. His blood ran cold.
Who had left it? And more importantly… why?
Niran clenched the piece of paper, his heart pounding harder than normal. He had spent weeks tempering his body and mind, and now fate was knocking at his door once again.
A mixture of excitement and uncertainty tightened his chest as possible scenarios for the next meeting took shape in his mind.
A small noise made him turn. Kao was there, sitting a short distance away, golden eyes fixed on him. The monkey had grown even larger, his slender but powerful figure looming in the shadows of the dojo. He was no longer the small, trembling being he had found that night. Now, with his measured movements and attentive gaze, he seemed almost aware of what was happening.
Kao tilted his head slightly, then stood on his hind legs and approached. He reached out a hand toward him, not with the playful eagerness of a beast, but with a gesture that had something deeper, almost human.
Niran looked at the outstretched hand, then at Kao's face. For a moment, he thought he saw a spark of understanding in his eyes.
"You feel it too, don't you?" he murmured, more to himself than to Kao.
The monkey made a low, guttural sound, a deep cry that echoed through the silent dojo. Niran didn't know why, but the sound struck him as a warning. As if Kao was sensing something he still couldn't.
Niran let his gaze slide over the monkey one last time. Then he stood up.
"We'd better get ready."