Wood chips splashed in muddy water.
Kay stared at the crushed star-shaped carving on the ground. Said nothing. He'd spent three nights on it.
"Look at that. A slum rat playing carpenter."
Karl's boot ground the splinters deeper into the mud. His two lackeys snickered.
Kay's fingers twitched. Then relaxed.
"Apply to the Federal Star Military Academy?" Karl bent down, voice dropping low. "A waste like you can't even afford the registration fee."
He straightened, brushed imaginary dust off his hands, and walked away laughing.
Kay looked up.
In the distance, the Federal Core Star cut through the haze. Bright as a lie.
He turned and headed home.
The wooden door creaked open.
Kane sat on his army cot, coughing. Not a normal cough. The kind that clawed up from deep in his lungs.
"Father."
Kay poured a cup of water and handed it over.
Kane took it, drank, and killed the cough. He studied Kay for a moment. "Picked on again?"
Kay didn't answer.
Kane didn't press. He reached under his pillow and pulled out a small ceramic bottle. Set it on the edge of the cot.
The liquid inside was pale blue, glowing faintly in the dim light.
"Take it."
Kay didn't move.
"Low-grade cultivation serum," Kane said. "Brought it back from my service. Kept it for five years."
Kay's throat tightened. "You should—"
"My wounds won't heal." Kane cut him off. "But you still have a chance."
Kay stared at the bottle.
He knew what it was worth. On the slum black market, a bottle of low-grade serum could feed a family for three months. His father had been retired for five years. When the old injuries flared up and kept him awake all night, he'd never touched it.
"Father—"
"Enough." Kane shoved the bottle into his palm. "Drink."
Kay gripped the bottle. Cold seeped through his fingers, but the liquid inside pulsed with faint warmth.
He pulled the cork and downed it in one gulp.
The moment it hit his throat, fire exploded.
Heat surged from his stomach, racing along his veins toward his limbs. Muscles jumped. Bones cracked. His heart pounded like it wanted to tear out of his chest.
Kay clenched his teeth. Didn't make a sound.
Seconds later, the heat faded.
He looked down at the battered military energy bracelet on his wrist. The only thing Kane had brought back from retirement. Now it was his.
The screen flickered. A number appeared.
Battle Energy: 0.18
Kay stared.
It had been 0.12 before he drank.
A gain of 0.06.
The Federal Star Military Academy's admission line was 1.0. He wasn't even close.
Kane watched him. "How much?"
"0.18."
Kane was silent for a moment. Then he nodded. "It's a start."
Kay raised his head. Through the cracked window, he saw the Core Star still shining.
0.18.
Pathetic.
But at least now, he had a path forward.
Kane coughed again. Hard this time. His whole body folded forward.
Kay grabbed him. "Father, your wounds—"
"I'm fine." Kane waved him off, sinking back onto the cot. He closed his eyes. "Go train. Don't waste time on me."
Kay opened his mouth. Nothing came out.
He turned and walked out, pulling the door shut behind him.
Outside, the slum night was dark and foul. The Core Star still glowed in the distance.
Kay clenched his fists.
0.18.
He would get into the academy. He would get his father out of here.
And he would show Karl—
Who the real waste was.