When I got home, it was already late. The neighborhood lights glowed with that warm tone that always reminded me of sunsets back on Earth. I opened the door and found my mother in the kitchen and my father looking over some holographic documents at the table.
Both of them looked up as soon as they saw me.
"How did it go?" Mom asked, setting her utensils aside.
Dad turned off his floating screen and stood up.
I took a deep breath. Better to say it right away.
"My spiritual race… it's slimes," I admitted.
There was a strange silence. Not an awkward one… more like the kind that said, "we expected it, but it still hurts to hear it."
Mom was the first to react. Her smile stayed in place, but I could see the small shadow of disappointment in her eyes.
"Oh… sweetheart," she whispered. "Well… it's not bad."
Dad scratched the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact.
"Slimes can… uh… grow, I guess," he said, trying to sound optimistic.
I knew that tone. The same one they used when trying to cheer me up as a kid after I failed at something.
I couldn't blame them. Here, awakening races meant everything, and they knew from experience what it meant to start with a weak spiritual world.
My mother had awakened a world full of fragile plants and tiny creatures that couldn't evolve; she abandoned its development early on.
My father's spiritual world had rocky terrain with dwarven miners, but no rare minerals, so he could never expand it. Now he worked at a tech company, doing what he could.
For them, a bad start meant a difficult life.
I simply nodded, not thinking too much about it.
"Don't worry. It's not that bad. I can work with it," I said to calm them.
Mom walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Our spiritual worlds weren't good either," she admitted with a sad smile. "But you… you're different, Jian. Maybe you can achieve what we couldn't."
Dad, always more pragmatic, spoke after:
"If you see that you can't progress much… I can help you get into the company where I work. It's not the best job, but it's stable. And you won't be alone."
I nodded in thanks. I knew he said it because he wanted the best for me, not because he doubted me.
Then Mom pulled out a small metal box and opened it. Inside was a holographic credit card.
"This was our savings," she said gently. "It's not much, but it should be enough for you to buy a good spiritual energy absorption training manual."
I froze for a moment. I knew how hard it was for them to save.
"Mom… you didn't have to…"
"Of course we did," she said firmly. "The awakening only happens once in a lifetime. If we don't invest in you now, then when?"
I took the card carefully, as if it were fragile.
"Thank you… really."
"But don't buy it yet," Dad warned, raising a finger. "First enter your world tomorrow. Get to know it. Check if there are any rare resources. Then decide what kind of manual you need."
He was right. If I bought one without knowing the characteristics of my world, I could waste both money and time.
"Tomorrow, after class, I'll make my first entry," I said.
Mom hugged me. Dad placed a hand on my head, messing up my hair.
"It doesn't matter if your world is small or if your slimes don't scare anyone," he said with a half-laugh. "What matters is what you do with what you have."
If only they knew…
If they knew about the system.
If they knew about the power that had awakened inside me.
But that was a secret I planned to keep.
I simply smiled and went up to my room.
Tomorrow I would enter my spiritual world for the first time.
Tomorrow I would meet my slimes face-to-face.
And tomorrow… would be the true beginning of my path.