The Dream Tree

Kanoru's sword met the leopard's claw, forcing him to take several steps back from the impact. The leopard landed gracefully and began prowling around him, searching for an opening to strike. However, this gave Kanoru the chance to attack first. 

He swung his sword from a distance where the blade itself couldn't reach the leopard. But Kanoru had stepped into the first realm of the sword path. As he swung, a wind blade emerged, slicing through the air at incredible speed. The leopard had no time to react. The invisible force of the wind cut deep into its belly, spilling its internal organs onto the ground. The beast collapsed, dead. 

Exhausted from the technique, Kanoru closed the two gates he had opened at the start of the battle and took a deep breath. That single strike had consumed 30% of his chakra. 

"Yesterday, when I used this technique for the first time, it drained 50% of my chakra. Now it's down to 30%—the potion from the blood beast must be working. My chakra reserves have increased enough for me to release one more strike." 

With that thought, he approached the fallen leopard, swiftly removing its internal organs and draining its blood. Then, carrying the carcass, he made his way back to camp. 

Near the camp, he stopped by a small stream to clean the body, removing its fur and preparing the edible flesh. As he entered the camp with the cleaned carcass, one of the samurai guards remarked, "Your first hunt is a leopard." 

Kanoru replied, "I wouldn't have chosen it if it hadn't attacked me." 

Another guard asked, "What do you like to eat?" 

"Deer, boar, and red seagull," Kanoru answered. 

At home, red seagull meat was eaten only during the New Year. It was said that the bird's red hue came from a trace of blood beast lineage—a distant relation to the legendary giant seagulls. 

The first samurai nodded. "You'll find deer and boars along the stream. It flows south into the Kōgyoku River and north into a lake in the core area. Follow the southward stream if you're hunting them." 

Kanoru nodded in acknowledgment. 

The second guard added, "As for red seagulls, they nest on the cliffs by the western ocean. But hunting them requires opening your third gate and a team to fend off the other seagulls while you take one down." 

Kanoru nodded again. "Thank you. I'll share some of the leopard meat with both of you after it's cooked." 

The three of them took the leopard to the kitchen, seasoned the meat, and roasted it over an open flame. The aroma filled the air as they grilled it to perfection, producing four large bowls of meat. Kanoru ate one bowl immediately, then carried the remaining three outside. Handing a bowl to each samurai, he ate the third while they chatted about the forest and its dangers. 

As he finished eating, the second samurai advised, "For hunting, you should practice archery. There are bows and arrows in the arsenal." 

Kanoru nodded, then cleaned the bowls and utensils before heading to the cave. He took a short nap and, upon waking, entered the Cold Spiritual Pond once more to refine his body. 

In this way, a week passed.

A week later, Kanoru perched on a tree branch, staring at a bear by the stream. He debated whether to hunt it. The red markings covering its body indicated it was a blood beast—more specifically, a lower-ranked impure blood beast. Judging by the number of markings, he estimated its strength to be on par with a lower-rank samurai. 

"It's a bear. With its raw power, I'd normally need to open three doors to hunt it without risk." 

Kanoru was in a dilemma. He had only opened the first and second doors in his body, but for the past two days, he could feel he was just a step away from unlocking the third. 

"The pressure from fighting the bear might be the final push I need to open the third door." 

He glanced toward the camp in the distance. 

"If things go south, I can always retreat." 

Having made his decision, Kanoru notched an arrow on his bow, aiming to weaken the bear as much as possible before engaging. He released the arrow, which struck the bear's shoulder. The beast roared, snapped its head toward Kanoru, and swiped the arrow away with its paw, barely injured. Then, with terrifying speed, it charged at the tree. 

As the bear's strike landed, Kanoru leaped into the air. Mid-air, he heard the sharp crack of wood splitting. When he landed and turned, he saw the tree snapped in half. 

The bear locked eyes with him and charged again. 

Kanoru had already opened the two doors inside his body, seeking to fight under life-or-death pressure to break through to the third. Instead of retreating, he met the bear's charge with his sword, and the battle began. 

For two grueling hours, both were left bloodied—Kanoru more than the bear. He felt that if he didn't open the third door within ten minutes, he would have to flee. Desperation fueled his resolve, and as he fought, his chakra pounded against the barrier blocking the third door. 

With only two minutes left before he was forced to run, the barrier suddenly collapsed. Energy erupted uncontrollably. His skin turned red, steam rising from his body. 

Seizing the moment, Kanoru created distance between himself and the bear. Then, with all his strength, he swung his sword. A Wind Blade shot out, cutting deep into the bear from its nose down through its mouth, neck, and belly. 

The beast fell lifeless. 

Kanoru closed all three gates inside his body and collapsed to his knees, taking deep breaths. 

A sound broke the silence—clapping. He looked up and saw Master Junzo approaching on horseback, accompanied by two teenagers from the training camp.

Kanoru looked up. "Master Junzo," he said, attempting to stand but failing. 

Master Junzo waved a hand. "No need to get up." 

Kanoru nodded and remained seated, catching his breath. 

Master Junzo turned to the two teenagers. "Go clean the bear." Then, facing Kanoru, he said, "I should congratulate you for killing an impure blood beast, but I won't. You took an unnecessary risk." 

Kanoru lowered his head in silence. 

"If, instead of us, another beast had shown up, you would be dead," Master Junzo continued. 

Kanoru bowed his head deeper. "Sorry, Master Junzo. I won't do it again." 

Master Junzo was right. He could have opened the third door through normal training. It would have taken days, but his life wouldn't have been at risk. In his eagerness to grow stronger quickly, he had lost sight of his goal. 

Master Junzo sighed. "That said, congratulations on opening the third door. You're the first in our city's history to do so at just ten years old." 

With that, he turned and walked toward the teenagers to help clean and skin the bear. 

Kanoru slowly got to his feet and made his way to the stream to clean himself.

At dawn the next day, Kanoru, wrapped in bandages, sat on a tree branch near the camp, studying his bow. If it had been stronger, his battle with the bear wouldn't have been so difficult. It was just an average short bow. He needed to improve it. 

He recalled a video he had seen about different types of bows. "I can't practice or hunt today, so I might as well try making a stronger bow." 

His memory was flawless. After completing the first chapter of The Way of Dreams, he had gained perfect recall. When he came to this world as a dream seed, he retained that ability. 

Using the knowledge from the video, he experimented with different bow designs. After testing them, he chose the Mongolian recurve bow. He crafted it using wood from the inner trunk of a Black Kanji tree and a bowstring made from a snake's vein he found in the kitchen. 

The samurai guards watched as he aimed at a Black Kanji tree and released an arrow. With a sharp snap, the arrow sank halfway into the trunk. A guard retrieved it, inspecting the hole—a full finger deep. Previously, arrows from the standard short bow had barely left marks. 

A guard stepped forward. "Let me try." 

The result was the same—an arrow buried a finger deep into the tree. One by one, the guards tested it, all achieving the same outcome. 

One of them turned to Kanoru. "I'm going to inform Master Junzo so he can report this to the lord. With this, we could gain an advantage in the war against the Niwai." 

Kanoru nodded. "The faster the war ends, the better," he thought. If it ended soon, his father would be safe, and he wouldn't have to participate. 

He let the samurai take the bow to Master Junzo.