The Federation Core Evaluation began at dawn.
A massive ring of floating platforms hovered above the central field of Vanguard Institute. Thousands of students gathered on the outer terraces while drones recorded every movement for the Federation archives.
Above the field, the scoreboard ignited.
CORE EVALUATION — PHASE ONE
Kali stood among the lowest-ranked group.
No uniform.
No sponsor emblem.
No visible backing.
Yet the attention found him anyway.
The three vials of Grade-B serum rested heavy in his pocket, their presence like a second heartbeat. He had used one already. The other two were waiting.
Zhao Jie appeared on the opposite platform, surrounded by elites.
Their eyes met.
Neither of them looked away.
The evaluation horn sounded.
The arena dissolved.
Phase One: Survival Field
The world around Kali shattered into a hostile wasteland — jagged black terrain, crimson storms, and ruptured gravity zones tearing through the sky.
This wasn't simulation.
This was a controlled pocket battlefield.
Objective: Survive and collect ten core marks.
The moment the field stabilized, the killing began.
Students scattered. Explosions thundered. Energy beams carved through rock and flesh.
Kali moved.
He stayed low, using shattered terrain as cover, his senses stretching wide. He felt enemies before he saw them, their energy signatures pulsing against his perception.
A Rank 5 student lunged from behind a broken ridge.
Kali countered without slowing.
One strike.
The opponent fell.
Core mark: acquired.
By the fifth mark, Kali's breathing had deepened. The fracture inside his core throbbed, hungry. The energy field strained against his body.
By the seventh, blood coated his forearm.
By the ninth, he was running on will.
The tenth came with a price.
A three-man squad intercepted him near a collapsed gravity rift.
They attacked together.
Kali took the first hit across the ribs. Pain exploded through his chest. He used the momentum, rolled, and slammed his elbow into the second attacker's throat. The third caught him in the shoulder.
Kali roared.
His core surged.
The fracture flared.
For an instant, his energy spiked beyond Rank 6.
The final opponent went down.
Kali staggered, chest heaving, blood dripping onto the broken ground.
Core Marks: 10 — Qualified
The battlefield dissolved.
Aftermath
Kali reappeared on the platform, knees shaking.
Medics moved in, but he waved them off.
Across the field, Zhao Jie watched him with open intensity.
The scoreboard updated:
Kali — Phase One: Qualified
The crowd erupted.
For the first time, Kali felt the weight of the world pressing back.
And the evaluation had only just begun.