Chapter 7: Welcome to Anatomy 101
Garion smiled as he led Dahlia down a quiet hallway toward a heavy wooden door.
"This way, Dahlia. Time for your first lesson."
Dahlia nodded as she followed Garion inside. But the moment she looked at what was inside, she was so shocked.
The room was filled with bandit corpses that had attacked her the day before.
But the thing that shocked her the most was something deeper inside.
The body was already cut open from chest to stomach. His ribs were spread apart, and the organs inside were on full display for her to see.
Dahlia couldn’t help but immediately gag, stumbling back to the wall and vomiting hard.
"Master... What the hell is this? Why did you do this?"
Garion raised an eyebrow and smiled as if nothing was strange. He just pointed at the open cadaver.
"Of course, it’s for your lesson. Come, follow me."
Dahlia wiped her mouth and forced herself to follow, although her body was trembling and stomach churning.
Garion stood beside the cadaver and turned to Dahlia to calm her down.
"Relax. The smell isn’t bad. See? Still fresh. This one is perfect to study."
Dahlia frowned, hearing what Garion just said. She stared at the coprse and couldn’t help but to think something else.
Just what’s the matter with the master? Could it be... this sect is a demonic sect?
She had heard some rumours that a demonic sect kidnapped people, tortured them, and cut them open for experiments.
Her frown deepened, and Garion noticed it immediately. He crossed his arms and sighed.
"Dahlia, stop that thought. This isn’t a demonic sect, and also these corpses aren’t for sacrifices or other things."
"They are just for me to learn more about the human body. Don’t worry about that."
Dahlia bit her lip, wanting to argue, but she had no strength to fight back.
All she could do was nod weakly.
"... If you say so, Master."
Garion smiled.
"Good. Then let’s start our first lesson."
He turned to her, asking some questions.
"Dahlia, before we start, I want to know. Do you know about these organs or at least their function?"
Dahlia frowned as she shook her head.
"No, Master. I don’t know anything about these organs. I never heard about the function or even the shape."
Garion nodded, knowing her current knowledge.
"Good. If that the case, today we will learn about the human body, including the organs, muscles, bones, etc."
Dahlia was shocked, staring at him intently.
"Why would I need to learn this, Master? Shouldn’t we be learning cultivation methods, techniques, or... even other things other than this?"
Garion leaned closer and tapped her forehead.
"Because you’re my disciple. And believe me, Dahlia, this knowledge is more important than those techniques."
Dahlia wanted to argue, but couldn’t. She just couldn’t tell him that this was useless, even before learning.
She could only lower her head, nodding.
"I understand."
Garion smiled as he picked up a stick and used it to point inside the cadaver.
"Good. Now that you understand, let’s begin to learn from the organs."
Dahlia nodded, turning toward the organs and holding back her vomit.
"Yes, Master."
---
After an entire day inside the experiment room, Garion finally wrapped up the lesson.
And also, Dahlia seemed to have relaxed more and no longer twitched or even panicked when looking at the inside of the cadaver.
"Alright, Dahlia. That’s the basic. Today, you learned how the body works, including movements, digestion, healing, and breathing."
He turned to her, grinning.
"It’s easy, right? And also not scary, right?"
Dahlia smiled as she continued looking at the cadaver.
"Yes, Master. At first, I thought this was boring and strange, but the more I listened, the more interesting it became."
She looked down at her hands, clenching them slowly.
"I never knew the human body had a complex system like this. If I can understand them all, maybe I can even learn how to cure people."
Garion smirked, nodding in satisfaction.
"Good. That’s exactly the point. If you know the body inside and out, you’ll know how to break it, protect it, and even how to cure it."
Garion leaned closer, putting his hands on her shoulder.
"That’s why I told you that learning the body is the most important one. Better than anything you learn in other sects."
Dahlia nodded, agreeing with him.
"Yes, Master. And also, it’s quite easy to learn the basics, but I still need more time to visualize how the system works."
Garion crossed his arms, smiling.
"Good answer. Visualization is the key to understanding the system."
He clapped his hands, showing the end of the lesson.
"Alright. That’s enough for today. Go back to your room and revise everything. Tomorrow we will continue to learn other systems."
Dahlia nodded.
"Yes, Master. I’ll study hard tonight."
She bowed, then turned and walked away, returning to her room.
Garion watched her leave, smiling.
"Good. She’s learning, and even better, she’s interested. The more she learnt, the more she knew about what we need."
"Once she’s fully trained, she’ll not only be strong but also a perfect poster girl for the gym."
He grinned ear to ear, thinking about that and also what lessons she would give her tomorrow.
---
The next morning, Garion walked toward the experiment room, stretching his arms.
He wanted to check the cadavers so that they would not go smelly, but the moment he came in, he was so shocked.
"What the! Dahlia? What are you doing?"
Dahlia nearly jumped at his voice. She quickly turned around and weakly smiled.
"Oh, Master! I’m sorry, but I’m just too curious. The door wasn’t locked, so I came in to study."
Garion blinked, twitching a bit after hearing what she was saying.
This is teh same girl who puked her guts out yesterday from just looking at an open cadaver.
But now she is standing there, very calmly, looking at and even touching the organs directly.
Knowing that she was wrong, Dahlia quickly bowed down.
"I’m sorry for entering on my own, Master. I just... wanted to learn more."
Garion sighed, then chuckled, waving his hand dismissively.
"Don’t worry about it. Honestly, I’m glad that you’re this eager. That’s exactly what I want in my disciples."
Dahlua straightened, feeling relief.
"Thank you, Master."
Garion then walked toward the cadaver, and Dahlia also walked toward the other side of the cadaver.
"Alright then. Since you’re already here and quite excited, let’s just start the lesson. I’ll teach everything I know."
Dahlia’s eyes brightened up.
"Yes, Master, I’m ready."