When we sat down together, I found myself staring at the stone floor, wondering what to do next.
"Should I absorb more world energy?"
Thea glanced at me briefly, her stormy gray eyes sharp with thought.
"You could, but I think it's better to focus on consolidating your energy first. After fusing with external energy, it's important to get used to moving that new volume of energy around. You won't be able to immediately control it like your original amount."
I nodded. "That makes sense." I paused, smirking slightly. "But I wasn't exactly used to my original energy either, you know, before you dragged me to the floor."
Thea chuckled lightly. "Well, think how much better you'll be at it now."
She smiled at me, and for a brief moment, I forgot about the cold floor and the exhausting training.
Alright, back to focusing. No more gym bullies. No more crazy girls itching to fight me. Just me and this cold stone floor.
So cold… no, no. Forget it.
Breathe.
I felt it again, that faint hum of energy, fuller than before. Some of the world's energy had escaped during the fight, but some of it had fused with my own.
I focused on it, starting from my fingertips, guiding it toward my Nexus. I circulated it throughout my entire body, letting it flow naturally. After a few minutes, I pushed harder, forcing it to flow in the opposite direction.
It felt… weird.
Kind of like trying to force yourself to pee after being trained your whole life to hold it in until you get to a bathroom. Trust me, way harder than it sounds.
When I finally opened my eyes, my energy felt restored. And when I stood up, I actually did feel stronger. Like I could take on the world, or at least jog across the room without collapsing.
"Alright," I muttered to myself. Now what?
More cultivation? Weight training?
I glanced over at Thea. She was completely absorbed in her own meditation, her brows slightly furrowed, her lips pressed into a firm line.
Better not bother her.
But before I could decide on my next move, heavy footsteps thundered from the doorway.
Our instructor, the hulking old man, was back.
The room fell silent as everyone froze in place, all eyes snapping to the towering figure in the doorway.
He walked to the center of the room, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder.
"I hope you trained hard. Tomorrow we will begin endurance training, so I hope your stamina stat has been raised enough to handle it."
A collective shiver ran through the room. Some recruits visibly flinched, while others broke out into nervous sweat.
That… concerned me.
If the system kids, who presumably had been pumping stats into stamina, were nervous about what was coming, what chance did I have?
The instructor's gravelly voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.
"Now, follow me. We're heading to the dorms."
Without another word, he turned and began walking away. Around a dozen recruits fell in line behind him, shuffling forward with quiet obedience.
I glanced at Thea, still sitting cross-legged with her eyes firmly shut.
Should I wake her up?
Yeah, probably.
I crouched down next to her and gave her shoulder a gentle shake.
"Thea. Grandmaster Thea. Wake up."
Nothing.
"Hey, Thea!" I shook her a little harder. "Come on, we have to leave!"
Her stormy gray eyes shot open, sharp and piercing. For a split second, she looked like she was about to unleash some vicious insult or possibly throttle me where I stood.
Before she could say anything, I raised my hands in surrender.
"Relax! Look." I pointed toward the doorway, where the last few recruits were slipping out. "We're heading to the dorms."
Thea blinked, her scowl softening into groggy confusion.
"Oh… right."
She pushed herself to her feet, wobbling slightly before regaining her balance.
Together, we shuffled toward the doorway, falling into step with the last of the recruits as we followed the instructor's broad back through the winding halls.
My thoughts buzzed with fragments of what Thea had said earlier about consolidation, about energy, about tomorrow's endurance training.
The path ahead felt impossibly steep, but… at least I wasn't walking it alone.
We all walked through the twisting corridors and up several flights of stairs. I was really glad I'd started cultivating. Otherwise, this climb would have been exhausting.
After a long stretch of silence, boredom started gnawing at me. I glanced over at Thea, who looked equally bored, and decided to break the silence.
"So…why don't you have your system yet?" I asked casually.
"The same reason as you, Late Bloomer," she said with a chuckle. "Well, not exactly. I'm still only seventeen. Next week, I should finally be able to see it. How about you? Any special reason?"
My palms started sweating a little. "Haha, no… just an actual late bloomer, I guess. I scream out status every day just to check."
She smirked at that, but before the conversation could continue, we stepped outside.
And I froze.
"Holy…just, wow."
Under the moonlit sky, countless stars stretched across the heavens. Tiny specks of light glittered against a velvet-black canvas, more than I'd ever seen in my entire life.
Back home, light pollution choked the stars into near-oblivion. Sure, I'd seen photos of galaxies and breathtaking nightscapes, but seeing it with my own eyes?
It was… something else entirely.
"You okay?" Thea asked, her voice pulling me back to the moment. She tilted her head slightly, clearly puzzled by my wide-eyed stare.
"Better. This is amazing!" I said, maybe a little too loudly, earning a few curious glances from the recruits ahead of us.
"What is?" she asked, genuinely confused.
"The stars! So many of them. I mean, really! There are just… so many. I never knew. I mean, I've seen stars before, but not like this. Not like this."
Thea laughed lightly, her gray eyes softening slightly. "What, are you crazy? They're just stars."
I paused, realizing something. If you saw a sky like this every night, it wouldn't be anything special. To her, this was just… normal.
But to me? It felt like a miracle.
We kept walking, the night air cool against my face, until we reached two large tents set up near the edge of a forested area.
I turned around, expecting to see some grand castle looming behind us. Instead, I was greeted by a squat, cubic stone-brick structure. It wasn't glamorous, but at least it was… functional.
Guess most of the structure is underground. Explains the maze of hallways and torches.
Speaking of torches… I remembered all the ones flickering in the gym earlier. That can't be good for anyone's lungs, right?
"Alright," the instructor's deep voice boomed, pulling me back to the present. "Girls, you get the tent closer to the building." He pointed sharply to the two tents in a clearing a few dozen meters away. "Boys, take the other. Go in, stay out here, but don't wander around. Anything else is fine."
With that, the hulking man turned and walked away, his massive silhouette fading into the shadows.
The other recruits shuffled toward their assigned tents without hesitation, a few yawning, others muttering quietly to themselves.
I turned to Thea. "So, I guess… I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yep," she said with a small stretch. "I'm getting pretty tired. Besides, tomorrow's training is going to be rough. We should get some sleep."
I nodded. "Yeah… sleep sounds good."
We exchanged a brief smile before heading toward our respective tents.
As I ducked into the tent, I glanced back once, catching sight of Thea disappearing into hers.
The tent was pretty simple. Barebones, really. No furniture other than the ten or so bunk beds crammed inside. Honestly, it felt unnecessary considering there were only around eight boys and four girls in total.
I expected trouble, maybe a repeat of the gym bullies or some awkward stares. But to my surprise, everyone just ignored me. They went about their business. Chatting quietly, yawning, or settling into the thin sheets and straw mats that passed for beds here.
Maybe they really just wanted a mood boost earlier in the ring and I was the unfortunate casualty.
With a shrug, I chose the bottom bed near the back corner of the tent and lay down.
The thin sheet felt rough against my skin, and the straw mat underneath wasn't doing my spine any favors. I stared up at the wooden slats above me and thought about what I'd left behind.
Honestly? Not much.
Sure, I'd miss my foster brothers and sisters. They were good people. But I was already on my way out because of my age. My life had been… fine. No major complaints.
But, man, I was really starting to miss a proper comforter and a mattress that didn't feel like someone had crammed hay into a sack and called it a day.
Time passed slowly, and eventually, the tent filled with the sound of deep, resounding snores.
Loud and invasive. They rattled in my skull like someone revving up a chainsaw next to my ear.
"I'm going to lose my mind," I muttered out loud.
With a huff, I threw off the thin sheet, grabbed it in frustration, and slipped out from the bottom bunk. I shuffled past the rows of sleeping recruits, careful to step quietly.
Freedom.
The night greeted me with open arms. The stars above were still impossibly bright, and the crisp breeze brushed against my face.
The world felt quieter out here.
I walked a short distance away from the tent until the chorus of snores was finally drowned out by the stillness of the night.
Once I was far enough, I sat down on the cold ground, pulling the sheet over my shoulders like a makeshift cloak.
The stars twinkled above, countless and brilliant.
They really are something else.
For a moment, I silently thanked whatever forces were listening that it wasn't winter, or if it was, that it wasn't a cold one.
The ground was hard, the sheet was thin, and tomorrow promised exhaustion and endless training, but at least, for now, under this infinite blanket of stars, I felt… at peace.
The sharp blare of a horn yanked me out of sleep so violently that I nearly threw the thin sheet over my head in protest.
"Everyone, get up! Move it! You have two minutes!"