The morning sunbeams broke through the windows of the modest dormitory room, illuminating dust particles that danced in the air. For Kael Varen, this was no ordinary morning. It was the first morning of his new life. The sensation of waking up on a slightly firm mattress, smelling the scent of pine wood from outside the window, and feeling the limited energy of his youth—it all felt so real and precious. He took a deep breath, feeling his lungs fill with the fresh air of Kota Bintang, a luxury he had not experienced for hundreds of years.
Almost all students of Akademi Bintang Selatan lived in the provided dormitories. These facilities made it easier for them to focus on studying and training, regardless of their family status. Of course, there were a few exceptions. Figures like Eira Velyn, with her hidden status, held the privilege of returning to her own residence every day.
Kael sat on the edge of his bed, his mind drifting to yesterday's events. The announcement of the test in two months still echoed in his ears. In his previous life, that test was the first turning point in a life full of failure. He remembered clearly the shame and disappointment when his name was not called in the list of passing students. He had failed to reach the Peak Bronze rank. Meanwhile, his three best friends—Eron, Nero, and Zein—had managed to pass, albeit with scores just barely at the threshold.
The result was a painful separation. He had to remain in the junior class for the next three years, repeating the same lessons with new, younger faces, while his friends moved forward to the senior class. In the senior class, the academy provided better cultivation resources: energy pills, specialized training rooms, and access to more powerful techniques. Moreover, if one managed to enter the Genius Class, the resources obtained would be many times more abundant. Although the class separation did not ruin their friendship, Kael always felt left behind, becoming a burden who could only watch his friends' backs from a distance. This time, he vowed, that destiny would not repeat itself.
Akademi Bintang Selatan, as the only martial arts educational institution in Kota Bintang, held its own grand history. According to records kept in the academy library, the institution was founded a thousand years ago by the ancestors of the Velyn family—the same lineage as the current mayor. Legend mentioned that the founder was an unparalleled hero whose strength nearly touched the threshold of the Legend rank before finally vanishing without a trace.
It was he who was believed to have built Kota Bintang from scratch and bequeathed the duty of protecting the city to his descendants. Although to the current generation the tales of the Legend rank sounded like bedtime stories, the great name of Velyn and the academy itself were living proof of the grand legacy they left behind.
"I must become stronger," Kael muttered to himself. "Not just for me, but for them as well."
He had to improve his talent and strength, and he would also help his friends. He would not let them die foolish deaths again. Then, there was Eira. Remembering her made Kael's heart feel warm yet complicated. He also wanted to protect her, to change the girl's tragic fate. But how? In Eira's eyes right now, he was just a stranger, perhaps even a weirdo who smiled for no reason while being punished. Approaching her suddenly would only arouse suspicion. Kael had to move carefully.
Fortunately, today was an academy holiday. This was a golden opportunity. His plan was already mapped out in his head. He would go to the Hutan Senyap that surrounded the city. In his long past life, after finding the Soulcore, he hadn't just trained desperately. To survive and search for resources, he had also studied many other things, including Alchemy and deep knowledge of thousands of types of spiritual plants. His knowledge in this field might only be at the Master level in higher realms, but in a remote place like Kota Bintang, that knowledge was equivalent to that of a god. This information gap would be his greatest weapon.
However, before hunting for treasures in the forest, there was one place he had to visit. The place he had missed most during his hundreds of years of lonely wandering.
Home.
He wanted to go home to the northern part of Kota Bintang, to the Varen family residence. The journey was quite a distance from the academy. He wanted to see his father, mother, and the one he missed most, his little sister who should still be six years old. Thinking of his mother's smile, his father's warm embrace, and his sister's cheerful laughter, Kael's eyes involuntarily felt hot. A single tear rolled down his cheek before he could wipe it away.
"Oi! Daydreaming and crying so early in the morning!"
A familiar voice shattered his reverie. Kael turned and saw Eron, Nero, and Zein walking toward him from the end of the dormitory corridor.
Eron slung an arm around Kael's neck in his typical rough fashion. "What's wrong, friend? Did you just get rejected by Miss Velina?" he joked, which was immediately met with laughter from Zein.
Nero only stared at him with a questioning look, calmer as usual.
Kael chuckled softly while wiping the remaining tears from the corner of his eyes. "Haha, it's not that. I just... suddenly missed my parents," he answered honestly. "I plan to go home today. After that, I might go to the forest behind the academy to find a way to increase my strength."
Abruptly, their laughter stopped. "Increasing strength in the forest?" Zein asked, frowning. "How? The Hutan Senyap is dangerous, Kael. I heard there are many wild spiritual beasts there. Junior students are forbidden from entering without supervision."
Kael looked at his three best friends seriously. "Do you trust me?"
The question made them fall silent for a moment. They saw a look in Kael's eyes that was different from usual. There was a strange confidence and calmness there.
Eron was the first to answer. He exhaled, releasing his grip and patting Kael's shoulder. "Okay, okay, you've been very weird since yesterday. But you are our brother. Of course we trust you." Nero and Zein nodded in agreement.
Kael's heart felt warm. This trust was what he valued most. "Good," he said with a smile. "Then, after I meet my parents, I will call for you. We will begin to change our fates."
"Sounds exciting! Make sure you bring back some good food!" Eron exclaimed, immediately returning to his usual self.
After parting with his friends, Kael began his journey home. He walked along the busy streets of Kota Bintang, every corner evoking memories. He passed the bakery where Eron had once stolen bread and ended up being punished, passed the park where the four of them often played as children. Everything felt so familiar, yet it also felt like a dream.
After nearly an hour of walking, the scenery began to change. Grand buildings were replaced by humbler houses. This was the northern district, where the Varen family residence was located. The Varen family was just a small noble family whose name had nearly sunk into obscurity. With only about fifteen households in total, they were staggering on the brink of bankruptcy. The current head of the Varen family, Kael's uncle, was merely a Mid-Gold rank master.
Kael finally arrived in front of a simple but clean house. His heart pounded hard. It felt as if he hadn't stood here for hundreds of years. With trembling hands, he raised his hand to knock.
However, before his knuckles could touch the wooden door, it opened from the inside.
A middle-aged woman with a gentle smile and a few fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes appeared. "Eh?"
Time seemed to stop for Kael. His mother, Selena Varen. A face he could only see in his dreams. Unable to hold back, tears once again flowed profusely down his cheeks.
"Mother... I'm home," he said with a choked voice. "I... I missed you so much."
Selena was shocked to see her son suddenly crying. "Kael? What is it, son? Why are you crying?" she asked worriedly, pulling Kael into her embrace. She felt her son was acting very strangely today, but a mother's warm hug trumped all confusion. "I missed you too. Why have you come home so suddenly? Isn't it still the study period?"
"I just wanted to see you all. Mother, Father, and Elara," Kael answered, his voice muffled against his mother's shoulder.
"Big brother!"
An adorable, high-pitched voice echoed from inside the house. A six-year-old little girl with hair tied in two pigtails ran out and immediately hugged Kael's leg. "Big brother Kael is home!"
Kael laughed through his tears, lifting his little sister, Elara, into his arms and kissing her chubby cheek. After a few moments of reunion, he asked, "Where is Father, Mother?"
His mother smiled a bit sadly. "Your father is in the fields, as usual. The harvest a while ago wasn't very good."
Kael's heart ached. Yes, he remembered now. To cover the family's needs, his father, Darius Varen, a man who should have been able to train in peace, was forced to work in the fields every day.
"Let me go find Father," Kael said while setting Elara down. "Mother and Elara, just prepare some good food, okay. We'll eat together later."
"Alright, be careful on the way," his mother replied with a smile.
Kael walked toward the small plot of rice field behind their settlement. From a distance, he could see the sturdy back of a man who was bending over, pulling out weeds. That man, his father, Darius Varen.
Darius seemed to sense someone's presence. He straightened his body and turned around. Seeing Kael, his tired face immediately shone brightly. "Kael! My son! Why are you here?"
His father smiled proudly. In his eyes, Kael was his hope. The fact that Kael could pass the selection and enter the most prestigious academy in the city was already his greatest pride. Kael broke into a light run and immediately hugged his father, heedless of the mud clinging to his clothes.
"I missed you, Father," Kael said briefly.
Darius laughed, patting his son's back, although he also felt strange about his son's sudden clingy behavior. "What's gotten into you? You make it look like I haven't seen you for years."
That is exactly the truth, Father, Kael thought to himself.
After convincing his father to go home and rest, Kael was about to step out from the field embankment. However, as his gaze swept the surroundings one last time, a faint shimmer near the ditch caught his eye. It wasn't the reflection of light from the water, but something softer and more organic.
Curious, he stepped toward a large, damp rock, his eyes narrowing. Behind it, a very thin root trailed. Under the sunlight, the root appeared unremarkable. However, if one looked closely, there was a very subtle—almost invisible—light glowing from within it.
To a layman, or even to an experienced farmer, this sight would be easily ignored. That dim and strange light actually made it look like a root that was beginning to rot, a piece of organic trash that would soon break down back into the soil.
But not to Kael Varen.
His eyes, which held the knowledge of hundreds of years, widened instantly. His heart, which had been pounding with emotion earlier, now raced for a completely different reason: shock. He recognized it. He recognized that subtle light and the texture of that thin root very well.
Kael swallowed hard, trying to calm his wildly beating heart. He hadn't expected to find 'that thing' here. Not in ancient ruins or a beast's lair, but in his nearly bankrupt family's rice field.
The irony was so great that it felt like a joke of fate. This discovery would not only change his plans; it would completely overhaul everything he had thought of for the next two months. This stroke of luck... was truly beyond expectation.