Martial Arts Worlds

The water poured from the showerhead, soaking the bathroom and the young man standing underneath it.

With the water droplets falling off his body, Kiernan washed off the soap from his skin, closed the shower, and stepped out onto the bath mat.

The bathroom was warm and steamy because of the hot shower he had just taken, and the mirror was all fogged up.

He grabbed a towel from the top of the toilet and wiped himself off before changing into his clothes.

With the drenched towel in hand, he left the bathroom and went straight to his room with his damp hair hanging in his face.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

His phone kept buzzing with notifications as his friends and some classmates of his, whom he really didn't know, spammed him with messages.

He didn't even know that he had so many phone numbers on his phone, but when he checked out the messages, he saw that they were coming from social media.

Since the social media needed an account to browse through, he made one, and it looked like it was discovered by everyone, as his follower count had risen close to five thousand.

"How the hell do I turn off the notifications?"

Kiernan touched the phone and noticed how warm it actually was. It was almost at the brink of overheating.

He quickly went to the social media, turned off the notifications, and then tossed the phone to his bed.

He dried his hair, then tossed the towel to the top of the door, and walked over to the window to let in some fresh air.

"Yip! Yip!"

Fen hopped on the bed with the phone in his mouth and shook it around as if it were a toy.

"Hey, Fen, it is not a toy."

Kiernan grabbed the phone and did a short tug-of-war with the little puppy, who actually tried, as he thought they were playing around.

"Fen…"

Kiernan firmly said and waved his finger in front of Fen's nose.

"This is not a toy. Please, let it go."

Hearing his owner's serious words, Fen let out a low whine and dropped the phone reluctantly, knowing he had crossed the line.

Kiernan put the phone on his desk, sat down, and enjoyed the fresh air caressing his face.

He actually enjoyed Irio's gloomy cold weather instead of Gaul's and Tiamut's scorching hot summers, as he didn't like the feeling of his skin almost melting off his bones.

At that moment, he opened his inventory and took out the soul fragment, which he tossed up and down in his hand as if it were a stress ball.

"Yip!"

Fen suddenly stood up on all fours, his tail in a straight line with his spine, and he let out a low growl that echoed throughout the room.

It was a strangely low growl from someone who looked so cute, and it seemed somewhat out of character.

"What's wrong, Fen?"

Kiernan asked with a frown and saw that the little puppy was staring at the soul fragment with hostile intention.

'Fen is able to sense the soul fragment's hostile nature? I am pretty sure he had an ability regarding that…'

However, at that moment, Fen jumped through the air and snatched the soul fragment from Kiernan's hand with his jaw clenched tightly around it.

"Hey!"

Kiernan shouted, but before he could do anything, Fen bit through the soul fragment and swallowed the pearl-looking object whole.

"Fen, what the hell?"

Kiernan screamed in disbelief and ran over to Fen. He opened his small mouth, trying to see the pearl anywhere, but it was already going down his throat.

'Is he going to be alright? Should I take him to a vet? Why in the world would he eat that thing?'

Kiernan scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to do next.

It was quite annoying to lose the soul fragment since he hadn't even found a good use for it yet, but his worries for Fen's safety were much more pressing.

At that moment, he heard strange dinging sounds.

Ding! Ding!

[Fenrir Has Consumed A Soul Fragment!]

[RANK UP!]

[Low Stage Martial Fighter → Middle Stage Martial Fighter!]

"Wha—"

Kiernan's eyes widened in shock, and he then turned to Fen, who returned to the bed, and lay down on his pillow.

It looked like consuming the soul fragment took a great deal of energy from him as he closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

But he looked very peaceful, as if the sudden meal greatly satisfied him.

'If Fen eats soul fragments, he'll get stronger? So, this is their use, huh? Food for magical beasts like Fen.'

Kiernan sat on the bed next to Fen, caressed his fur, and then reached out to his phone on the desk.

He opened the secret Martial Order app and thought about writing about his findings to Cold Shade, but after a moment of contemplation, he decided not to.

'I can't be careless with the knowledge I possess. If no one has found any use for soul fragments, then magical beasts like Fen must be extremely rare.

'Who knows, I might have the only magical beast in existence, and if I am careless and others find out, they'll do anything to get their hands on him.

'Fen's healing capabilities already make him one of the greatest treasures in the world, so despite Cold Shade helping me in the past, I am not going to trust any of them.

'People are greedy, and trusting them blindly will just bring misfortune upon me.'

Kiernan closed the phone, pocketed it, and then lay right beside Fen while he snuggled close to his face, pressing the side of his furry face against Kiernan's.

With sleepiness attacking him, Kiernan drifted off into a deep sleep.

It was the first time in a long while that Kiernan was able to sleep without any worry in the world.

Even while he was sleeping somewhere that seemed safe, he still always kept his defenses up, as he learned that through his days on the Earth.

It didn't matter where he was. He could always be killed when he was sleeping, and not wanting to experience that fate, his nights of sleeping were always restless and filled with anxiety.

Yet, now, even though he didn't know why, he completely dropped his guard and peacefully fell asleep.

It was Fen's soothing ability that he didn't know about, and as soon as Kiernan fell asleep, Fen's eyes shot open, and he sat up, guarding him like a watchful protector.

…

End of the Second Volume - The Two Geniuses.