The trip back to the Ash District was much quieter than the journey there.
Kyle leaned against the window of the magnetic shuttle, watching the towering buildings gradually give way to older neighborhoods.
His thoughts drifted back to the registration.
"I'm officially a cultivator now..."
Even after saying it in his mind, it still didn't feel real.
His phone suddenly vibrated.
Ding!
He unlocked it.
A notification flashed across the screen.
Welcome to the Sector 8 Cultivators Portal.
Identity Status: Registered Cultivator
Cultivator Identity Badge: Processing
Estimated Collection Time: Tomorrow
Kyle tapped the notification.
A blue interface expanded across his screen.
Unlike the Spatial Interface that only he could see, this one was an official application created by the Sector Government.
Several icons appeared.
Academies.
Cultivator Laws.
Sector Map.
Monster Encyclopedia.
Rankings.
Cultivation Resources.
News.
Kyle's eyes immediately settled on one icon.
Academies.
He tapped it.
A new page appeared.
Sector Eight's Eight Great Academies
1. Dawn Awakener Academy
The highest-ranked academy in Sector Eight.
Known for producing countless elite cultivators and military commanders.
Outstanding talents receive automatic admission.
Remaining applicants must pass an extremely competitive entrance examination.
Kyle swallowed.
"So that's why Master wanted me to enter..."
He continued reading.
2. Celestial Vanguard Academy
Famous for combat techniques and battlefield command.
3. Azure Sky Academy
Specialized in aerial combat and Wind Element cultivation.
4. Iron Bastion Academy
The strongest academy for Body Cultivators.
5. Crimson Phoenix Academy
Renowned for Fire and offensive elemental cultivation.
6. Verdant Sage Academy
Experts in healing, support, and Nature cultivation.
Kyle immediately remembered Alice Norman.
"She'd probably fit there perfectly..."
He kept scrolling.
7. Storm Crown Academy
An academy famous for Lightning and speed-based combat.
Kyle couldn't help but think of Brandon Vale.
"That idiot would probably love that place."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
The final academy appeared.
8. Eclipse Horizon Academy
A mysterious academy focusing on reconnaissance, assassination, and stealth operations.
Kyle stared for several seconds.
Every academy had its own strengths.
But only one occupied his mind.
Dawn Awakener Academy.
He quietly closed the page.
"I'll get in."
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Only determination.
The shuttle eventually stopped.
Kyle stepped off and began walking toward the Ash District.
Along the way...
His stomach growled.
Loudly.
Kyle looked down.
"...Already?"
He had eaten before leaving.
Now he felt hungrier than ever.
He sighed.
"I hope I still have enough credits..."
He decided to ignore it for the moment.
Instead, he opened another section.
Cultivator Laws.
The first rule immediately caught his attention.
Article One
Cultivators are forbidden from intentionally harming non-cultivators without lawful justification.
Kyle silently read the next few articles.
Unauthorized use of cultivation techniques within civilian zones.
Property destruction.
Illegal monster trafficking.
Black-market cultivation resources.
Punishments ranged from heavy fines...
To life imprisonment...
Even execution.
Kyle slowly locked his phone.
"...Sounds nice."
After a brief pause, he let out a bitter laugh.
"If everyone actually obeyed them."
His smile disappeared.
The image of the Void Serpents flashed through his mind.
The frightened mother.
The crying little girl.
The terrified residents.
If the laws truly protected everyone...
People like them wouldn't exist.
Kyle slipped the phone back into his pocket.
"Maybe the laws aren't weak..."
"...Maybe the people enforcing them are."
The thought lingered in his mind as he continued walking through the streets.
A few minutes later...
His stomach growled again.
This time...
Even louder.
Several pedestrians turned to look at him.
Kyle scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"...Okay."
"I get it."
"I'll feed you."
He turned toward the nearest restaurant.
Little did he know...
His wallet was about to suffer more than his breakthrough ever made him suffer.
The aroma of grilled meat drifted out of the small restaurant.
Kyle swallowed unconsciously.
His stomach growled again, almost as if urging him forward.
"...Fine."
He pushed the glass door open.
A waitress approached him with a warm smile.
"Welcome! Table for one?"
Kyle nodded.
She handed him a digital menu.
The moment Kyle looked at the prices, he nearly choked.
A large plate of fried rice with roasted meat...
20 Credits.
His eyebrows twitched.
"Back in the Ash District... this would cost five."
The difference was painful.
Still, hunger won.
"I'll have one."
The waitress smiled.
"It'll be ready shortly."
A few minutes later, a steaming plate was placed before him.
Kyle picked up his spoon.
Five minutes later...
The plate was spotless.
The waitress happened to walk past.
Kyle raised his hand awkwardly.
"Um... another one, please."
She blinked but nodded.
"No problem."
The second plate arrived.
It disappeared even faster than the first.
Kyle stared at the empty plate.
His stomach...
Was still growling.
"...One more."
The waitress looked at him.
Then at the two empty plates.
Then back at him.
"...Another?"
Kyle forced a smile.
"Yes."
By the time the third plate vanished, the waitress wasn't the only one staring anymore.
Even a man at the next table had stopped eating.
He whispered to his friend,
"Is he feeding himself... or a monster?"
His friend shrugged.
"I don't know, but I'm glad I'm not paying."
Kyle pretended not to hear them.
Only after the third meal did the burning hunger finally subside.
He leaned back in his chair and sighed in satisfaction.
"...Now I'm full."
The waitress returned with the bill.
"That'll be sixty credits."
Kyle's smile froze.
"...Sixty?"
He looked at the bill.
Then at his phone.
His remaining balance flashed onto the screen.
Credits Remaining: 5
He let out a long sigh as he completed the payment.
"I'm really not cut out for this. I haven't even become strong yet, and I'm already eating like some broke beast."
As he stepped back onto the street, he couldn't help but mutter,
"If every breakthrough triples my appetite..."
"...I'm going to go bankrupt before I become strong."
The thought made him laugh to himself.
After walking for several minutes, he remembered the portal again.
"Oh."
"I haven't checked the map."
He opened the application while strolling home.
The screen displayed an enormous holographic map.
At first glance, almost everything was covered in red.
Kyle frowned.
"What..."
He zoomed out.
His pupils contracted.
The blue oceans dominated the planet.
Only a handful of maritime routes remained under human control.
The portal estimated that humanity controlled barely five percent of the world's waterways.
He switched to the land map.
Green represented secured human territory.
Red represented monster-controlled territory.
Black...
Black represented Forbidden Zones.
Areas so dangerous that even elite cultivators entered only under special authorization—or never returned at all.
Kyle quietly read the statistics displayed below.
Monster-Controlled Land: 54%
Human-Controlled Land: 46%
"...So humanity really is losing..."
He had always known monsters were dangerous.
But seeing the world laid out before him made the truth impossible to ignore.
Entire mountain ranges...
Forests...
Ancient cities...
Had been swallowed by monsters.
He scrolled further.
A list of the strongest monster territories appeared.
Each one was marked with an estimated threat level.
Kyle slowly exhaled.
"No wonder everyone wants to become stronger..."
It wasn't just about fame.
Or wealth.
It was survival.
His finger tapped another tab.
Rankings.
The page displayed Sector Eight's strongest cultivators, influential organizations, and the Great Families.
At the very top was the name of Sector 8's president.
President of Sector 8: Mark Valerian (Peak Rank 9)
Kyle's eyes lingered on the name for a moment.
The name alone carried a weight that made him straighten slightly.
If that's the man standing at the peak... then I have to become that strong too.
Each represented people standing at heights he couldn't yet imagine.
One day...
He would climb high enough to stand among them.
But not today.
Today...
He was just a newly registered cultivator with sixty fewer credits than he had this morning.
Kyle chuckled to himself.
"I should probably worry about tomorrow before dreaming about the top."
Smiling faintly, he slipped his phone into his pocket and continued toward the Ash District, unaware that tomorrow would bring the first official step toward the Dawn Awakener Academy.