The night in the survivor camp was cold.
Wind hissed through torn plastic sheets, making them flutter like ghostly banners. The fire crackled steadily, but most refugees curled into themselves for warmth, afraid to sleep too deeply. Mutated beasts sometimes prowled near camps at night.
But Akash Varma sat cross-legged near the dim fire, eyes closed, breathing steady.
The Basic Meditation method—recently integrated into his mind by the Multiverse Trading System—flowed like an ancient river in his consciousness. Every inhale pulled awareness inward, every exhale dispersed noise and fear.
The world around him dimmed.
Colors faded.
Sounds blurred.
Slowly, a faint inner space unfolded—like a tiny sphere within his mind, shimmering with soft grey mist.
His Spiritual Sea.
Weak. Fragmentary. Barely formed.
But real.
I didn't expect it to open this fast… Akash thought, feeling the faint warmth gathering at the center. This meditation technique is strong. Stronger than anything this world has before Awakening Art appears.
A small achievement.
A tiny step on a cosmic ladder.
But in Swallowed Star, the smallest spark of mental force could change destiny.
Suddenly—
"Ahh!"
A distant scream tore through the camp.
Akash's eyes snapped open. The fire flickered in panic as people stirred from sleep.
A guard rushed past him, shouting: "East wall! Beast attack!"
The camp erupted.
Children cried. Women grabbed spears. The leader barked orders:
"Defensive formation! Shields forward! Don't let them break through!"
Akash stood instantly, grabbing the rusted crowbar he had found earlier.
He wasn't strong enough to fight large beasts yet.
But he wasn't going to hide.
He ran toward the east barricade.
As he approached, he saw it—a mutated dog, about the size of a bull, with black scales and glowing red eyes. Its jaws dripped acidic saliva that hissed as it hit the ground.
A mid-level junior beast, stronger than the wolf Akash had escaped earlier.
It had already killed a guard; the man lay bleeding near the barricade.
"Hold the line!" the leader shouted, spear in hand.
But the beast was fierce—rushing forward, slamming into wooden shields, sending men flying.
Akash scanned the battlefield.
The barricade was collapsing. The guards were barely trained survivors, not Fighters. Their weapons were basic, their coordination weak.
If the beast broke through, the entire camp would be overrun.
Akash tightened his grip on the crowbar.
I can't face it head-on. But I don't need to.
"System," he whispered, "suggest weakest points."
The beast's outline glowed faintly as the system scanned it.
[Weak Points Identified]
Underjaw (thin scale coverage)
Left eye
Back of hind leg (joint gap)
Spine (requires high force)
Akash's eyes sharpened.
Left eye.
He crouched and picked up a broken metal shard from the ground—thin, sharp, palm-sized.
Perfect throwing weapon.
He approached slowly, keeping to the beast's blind spot.
The leader and guards were distracting it well, though they were losing ground.
"Push it! Don't let it jump!" the leader yelled.
But the beast suddenly jerked its head away from the shields and sniffed—catching Akash's scent.
Its massive head turned toward him.
"Damn!"
Akash threw himself behind a rusted car chassis as the beast lunged. It smashed into the vehicle, flipping it over like a toy.
The impact rang in Akash's bones.
Too fast… too strong… but predictable.
He ducked behind another piece of debris. The beast followed, jaws snapping.
"HEY!" someone shouted.
The teenage girl guard from earlier hurled a spear at the beast. It bounced off uselessly, but distracted the monster for a single second.
Enough.
Akash emerged from cover, arm pulled back.
Focus. Aim. Breathe.
He threw the metal shard with everything he had.
The shard whistled through the air—
—and sank directly into the beast's left eye.
The dog howled, staggering backward. Guards surged forward, spears thrusting at its blind side.
Finally, the leader pierced its throat with a desperate lunge.
The beast collapsed.
Dead.
Silence spread across the camp.
Broken breathing. Trembling hands. Relief.
Then the leader turned to Akash, astonished.
"You threw that?"
Akash shrugged calmly. "You needed an opening."
The teenage girl approached, eyes wide. "That… that was insane!"
Some survivors nodded, murmuring among themselves. Respect. Gratitude. Shock.
Akash simply exhaled.
He didn't crave attention. Survival and progress were his goals.
He crouched beside the beast.
"System—extract."
A swirl of dark red essence rose from the corpse and gathered into his palm, forming a warm orb.
[Beast Essence acquired – 1.5 units]
TR +4
A significant gain.
His TR now stood at 9.3.
But he felt something else.
As the beast essence flowed through his hand, a faint tingling spread into his mind—enhancing the spiritual sea slightly.
So extraction benefitted mental growth too.
Interesting.
The leader walked over, patting Akash's shoulder.
"You saved lives. If you leave with tomorrow's convoy, I'll personally recommend you to the base city gate officers."
Akash nodded. "Thank you."
The man's eyes softened. "Rest now. You look exhausted."
Only after returning to the fire did Akash allow tension to drain from his body.
He opened the system again.
TR 9.3… enough for something meaningful.
He browsed the marketplace.
Several mental-related items caught his eye.
[Potential Purchases]
• Mental Spark Catalyst (Early) – 8 TR Temporarily boosts spiritual perception; increases chance of early awakening.
• Beginner Telekinesis Guide – 10 TR Requires minimum Mental Force Awakening.
• Memory Enhancement Serum (Minor) – 6 TR Improves memory recall slightly.
• Light Body Conditioning Manual – 5 TR Basic physical strengthening method from a low-tier world.
His choice was immediate.
"Buy Mental Spark Catalyst."
The item appeared—a small, shimmering vial filled with blue mist.
Akash held it carefully.
When consumed, it would stimulate his spiritual sea, increasing his chances of awakening Mental Force earlier than any human of this era.
Luo Feng wouldn't awaken for many years.
If Akash awakened now…
He could become a pioneer Psychic Master. Maybe join Fighter teams earlier. Maybe reach Dojo of Limits early.
He drank the vial.
It tasted like cold lightning. His vision blurred, then focused sharply. His breathing deepened automatically. His mind began buzzing lightly, like static electricity crackling through his thoughts.
He closed his eyes.
Begin meditation.
The grey mist of his Spiritual Sea churned wildly.
Sparks flickered across it, tiny arcs of light that connected, expanded, then collapsed.
Pain stabbed behind his eyes.
Sweat beaded on his forehead.
His body trembled.
But he did not break concentration.
Calm. Control. Strategy. Flow inward.
The mist swirled faster—
—then—
A click.
Not a physical sound.
A sound inside his consciousness.
A boundary shattering.
The grey mist parted, revealing a tiny point of white light.
A seed.
A spark.
My first Mental Force node…
The spark pulsed once.
Then twice.
Then expanded suddenly, sending a shockwave through his mind.
Akash gasped.
The night around him brightened as if someone turned up the contrast. His senses sharpened—he heard distant beast calls clearly, felt vibrations in the ground from footsteps around the camp.
A small pebble on the ground trembled.
Akash stared at it.
Slight… telekinetic movement? No. Not yet. But close.
The spiritual sea stabilized.
A faint white glow lingered in the center.
[Mental Force Awakening: Early Stage]
Congratulations. You have awakened your Mental Force. You are now eligible for Psychic Master training paths.
Akash opened his eyes slowly.
The fire crackled softly.
The world felt different—sharper, clearer, alive.
Power flowed through him, subtle but unmistakable.
He took a deep breath.
"I did it… before the Dojo of Limits even forms properly."
He had changed his fate.
He looked toward the eastern horizon where Base City Jiang-Nan lay.
Tomorrow, he would enter that city. Begin a new chapter among humanity's rising forces.
A girl approached quietly—the same teenage guard.
"Everyone's asleep," she said softly. "I saw you meditating earlier. You didn't rest?"
Akash smiled faintly. "Meditation is rest."
She hesitated. "Thank you… for helping us. Without you, the beast would've killed all of us."
Akash shook his head. "I just did what needed to be done."
She sat beside him. "What's your name?"
"Akash Varma."
"I'm Lian," she said. "If you go to the base city… maybe we'll meet again."
"Maybe," he replied.
She gave a small smile and returned to her tent.
Akash watched the fire, deep in thought.
Tomorrow, he would join the convoy.
Then—enter Jiang-Nan Base City.
Then—become a Psychic Master before anyone even knew such a thing was possible.
His journey had only begun.