I was too overwhelmed to say anything, so I just went back to the room with the others.
Denis was the first to break and burst into laughter.
"And you said it was a bad idea!" he chided Kay. "You gotta use your brain!"
Kay shook his head.
"Unbelievable…"
"Well then, assistant supervisor?" Denis snickered, grabbing my half-finished cup of tea. "Are you gonna abandon us for your career now? Run after everyone who spits in the wrong direction?"
"Yeah, starting with you lot."
"Hey, if you dock us points, I’ll spit in your tea!"
"Then don’t break the rules," I said.
"That’s it," Denis put on a mock sorrowful face. "Power has corrupted him. He’s turned into a prick. Just like Bao."
At the mention of Bao, we all fell silent for a moment, reflecting on how strange life had turned out.
A notification snapped me out of my thoughts.
Incoming message from: S. Liang
Subject: Toolkit
Content: I couldn’t add you to the chat. Install Chatter for coordination and discussion of situations in the block, as well as the Alert. It triggers on a sharp spike in adrenaline in any two cadets at the same location within the block (no names, just coordinates). Stay aware—sometimes there are false alarms.
And remember! The more penalties you hand out, the fewer points I get!
Attachments: Disciplinary Guide, Chatter, Alert.
I grabbed my tablet, opened the guide, and skimmed through the section titles.
Assistant Supervisor Responsibilities:
- Maintain order in the block and report violations.
- Recommend penalties according to the disciplinary violation scale.
- Call the supervisor in case of serious conflicts.
Violation Scale:
- Minor violations: 1 point (fights without serious injuries, public conflicts, loud conversations at night).
- Moderate violations: 2–5 points (fights with moderate injuries but no severe consequences, repeated conflicts, deliberate damage to cadets’ private property).
- Serious violations: 6+ points (severe injuries, deliberate damage to school property).
When to call the supervisor:
- If the conflict threatens the life or cultivation of cadets.
- If the situation cannot be resolved independently.
Of course, that wasn’t all—there was an entire section full of conflict examples. And yes, the guidelines did recommend penalizing the victim along with the perpetrator, though the balance shifted in the latter’s direction as the severity of the violation increased.
I didn’t get the chance to read much before Kate called.
I accepted the call and tossed the tablet onto my bed.
"Listening," I said, immediately drawing Denis’s attention. I figured Kay on the top bunk was also paying close attention.
"So, you’re the system’s new lapdog now?" Kate teased. "How’d that happen? Did you break Tariq a little more than planned, or did you end up confessing your love to him instead?"
"Six ribs, two dislocations, and, I think, eight teeth," I reported.
Kate went silent for a moment.
"Bloody hell! Now I’m even more confused. Your career is skyrocketing. Assistant supervisors actually get decent pay. Though it’s a bloody nightmare of a job. Imagine someone runs up to you, like, ‘Oh no, I got hit!’ What are you gonna do?"
"I don’t think it works like that. I got an alert. The idea is that I should respond before a fight breaks out or immediately after."
"Right, except bullies aren’t idiots either."
"So what am I supposed to do? I doubt I can refuse. Looks like I’m stuck with it."
"Then let’s just hope you don’t run into someone exactly like yourself."
"That’d be great. But with my luck? Someone’s bound to stir shit up in a day or two."
"I love your optimism!" Kate giggled. "Try to push it to two days, though, because tomorrow you’ve got Flow Chambers, and today you still owe a shift in the garden," she reminded me.
It was already close to noon, but if I hurried, I’d still have time, so I decided to put it to good use.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
I headed to the Armour Hall, installing Chatter and Alert on the way.
I still couldn’t get used to the fact that apps were being installed directly into my brain.
The Alert had no separate interface — it just integrated into the map. Chatter, on the other hand, had its own window. As soon as I set it up, I received an invite from Liang Shi to a six-person group chat — him and his five lackeys. Six, counting me.
I typed as I stepped into the metro carrige.
Sullivan: "Hey everyone."
Three different greetings popped up immediately. Sun Hao and Lin Jiao didn’t respond. Neither did Liang Shi.
Dubois: "Ready for work?"
Sullivan: "No. But what choice do I have?"
Dubois: "Your shift is from 14:30 to 17:00. During this time, you must remain in the block at all times."
They wanted me to spend the most productive hours of the day stuck in the block? Yeah, right.
Sullivan: "Nice try. Did the whole Tariq situation not make it clear that I’m not the kind of guy you can walk all over? Or do you just think I’m stupid?"
No response for quite a while.
I figured my new colleagues might just leave it hanging, hoping to pin the blame on me later, but after about seven minutes—according to the timestamps—Dubois finally answered.
Dubois: "This was Bao Feng’s shift. You took his position—you take his shift."
Sullivan: "Seven minutes, and that’s the best you could come up with?"
I could have kept mocking them, but I didn’t feel like picking more fights. I had enough conflicts and enemies already. I needed to negotiate…
Wait!
The most productive hours of the day!
That meant hardly anyone would be in the block at that time. No one around to cause trouble.
But I couldn’t just agree—that would ruin my reputation.
Sullivan: "If you want to dump the worst hours on me, offer something in return," I suggested.
The reply was instant.
Dubois: "What do you want?"
What did I want? Hell if I knew. What could I even ask for? Tea? I already had that. What other resources were needed for cultivation? The only one I knew about was essence.
Sullivan: "What do we get paid?"
Liang: "Four points per day."
Oh, so that sneaky bastard was watching and enjoying this.
And he specifically said per day… That wasn’t an accident.
Sullivan: "Per day, not per shift?"
Liang: "Shifts are your own invention. I don’t care how you organize yourselves."
I was sure Dubois was cursing him out after that message.
I pulled up the school store’s page. This time, I didn’t need to inspect the product in person, so I could manage without a physical visit.
Fist Essence was available in the store, sold for both points and units. But, of course, there was a catch. Essence came in different grades, from M1 to M3, with prices varying accordingly.
Dubois: "So? What do you want?"
I called Kate.
"I’m a bit busy," she answered, slightly out of breath, with rhythmic impacts sounding in the background.
"What’s the difference between the essence grades? They’re trying to stick me with the worst shift—14:30 to 17:00. I’m negotiating."
"You need M1," Kate replied. "It allows you to grow your root up to 50 or so. And don’t forget to negotiate at least a month of leave for yourself. You might need it."
“Does it last long? The essence.”
"For years."
I thanked Kate, checked the price of M1 Fist Essence—5 points or 500 units, basically a day’s work—and typed in the chat.
Sullivan: "Four M1 Fist Essences from each of you and a month of leave (30 days)."
Sullivan: "I’ll take them as needed, with prior agreement, and with the obligation to cover my shift and yours on another day."
Kowalski: "+"
Hao: "Bit much, don’t you think?"
Lin: "Greedy bastard."
Dubois: "ok"
Omar: "+"
Hao: "This is a scam!"
I started typing "365*" but stopped and checked online how many days a year had on this Earth. Turned out it was the same, despite the different continents and extra moons.
Sullivan: "365*4=1460"
Sullivan: "4*5=20"
Sullivan: "Is it really that much? Besides, essence can be bought for units."
Lin: "+"
Lin: "Overreacted."
Hao didn’t reply for a long time. Dubois even messaged him separately to push for a "+".
Once that was settled, I confirmed I’d start as soon as I got paid.
And then Liang, the bastard, wrote that I had scammed them like fools. For a moment, I was actually afraid my new colleagues would come to their senses.
At the Armour Hall, I ran into an unexpected issue. First-years were still going through their fittings, and a massive queue stretched to every single platform. One platform was apparently out of order, and only two were set aside for regular duty—equipping cadets who already had their armour.
I got in the long line behind a third-year cadet and had to explain that, no, I wasn’t in the wrong queue, and yes, I already had my armour.
It took some time, and just as that cadet stepped forward to suit up and I was about to be next, when someone called me.
Novak.
"Listening, sir."
"Sullivan," his voice was calm but brooked no argument. "We need to talk. I expect you at my place in thirty minutes, if you are free."
A chill ran down my spine.
"I’m at the Armour Hall—I can be there sooner."
"Good. I’ll be waiting. Call when you reach the station."
I cursed under my breath and, instead of stepping onto the now-free platform, left the queue and headed down into the metro. In the train, I sat staring at my own reflection in the darkened glass, feeling a slow, creeping unease settle in my chest.
Vaclav Novak.
Last time, he had openly admitted he was ready to kill me. And while that meeting had ultimately worked out in my favour, I had no idea what to expect this time.
Kate was one thing. She trolled me, mocked me, but she wasn’t a threat. She was blunt and she was predictable.
Her master, though?
A true predator. Just being near him made my hair stand on end. And then there was that truth tea he’d given me last time…
Like it or not, I was wary of Novak. I took a deep breath and let it out quietly.
Calm down. It’s just a conversation.
This time, no one questioned where I was going, though I still got plenty of sideways glances. I stepped onto the platform and immediately spotted him.
My hair stood on end again.
Novak was waiting for me.
What the hell had happened?
That was the first thing I asked when I reached him, nerves overriding my self-control.
Novak raised a white eyebrow.
"You called me out so suddenly, and now you’re waiting here yourself…" I explained.
"My students are all busy, and you don’t have clearance to enter the building," he explained.
The tension in my chest eased slightly.
"Let’s go," he said and led the way to the lift.
We reached his apartment in complete silence.
And once again, everything was the same—the same table, the same open space, the same breathtaking view from the panoramic window. Except this time, despite the sunlight, a piece of Earth was blocking the horizon beyond the school.
I froze, staring at the sight.
"Sullivan," Novak called my name.
"Huh?" I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the blue-green planet wrapped in white clouds.
"First time I’ve seen a reaction like that," he remarked.
"We don’t have bases on our Moon. People only go there on rare occasions."
"Must be an interesting place…"
We fell into a brief silence, but he quickly got bored and moved to business.
"Congratulations on your progress. Shall we sit?"
"As you say," I obeyed, taking the same chair as last time.
Novak, however, sat across from me instead of in his usual spot with a better view of the window.
"Relax, I’m not going to eat you. Tea?"
"I’ll pass, sir," I said.
"Proper tea. I’m not interrogating you!" he waved a hand in irritation.
"Maybe we should just get straight to the point?" I suggested.
"No, tea is exactly what you need," he disagreed, getting up and disappearing into the next room.
What I need is for him to stop messing with my nerves! What the hell did I need that tea for?