Kael did not dream that night.
Or rather, if he did, he didn't remember it.
Which in itself was unusual.
Ever since reincarnating, his mind had been unusually active during sleep—memories, visions, fragments of thought blending together. But this time, there was nothing. No ocean. No silhouettes. No echoes.
Just darkness.
When he opened his eyes, he felt… heavier.
Not physically.
Mentally.
As if something inside him had settled into place.
The Hollow pulsed faintly in his chest, steady and calm.
Too calm.
Kael sat up slowly on his bed, staring at his hands. The thinness was gone now. His fingers were still slender, but there was actual muscle beneath the skin. His breathing was deeper, more stable. Even his heartbeat felt stronger.
His body was no longer "recovering."
It was growing.
And that bothered him more than it should have.
Growth without cost is never natural.
He stood up and stretched, feeling the subtle tension in his muscles. It was the kind of sensation athletes from his previous life would kill for—no stiffness, no pain, just potential.
And he hadn't even trained properly yet.
"Troublesome," he muttered.
The academy grounds were livelier than usual that morning.
A group of second-years were gathered near the central platform, and several instructors stood nearby, observing. Whispers spread quickly through the student body.
"Is it a ranking test?"
"No, I heard it's a trial for external missions."
"Already? We're still first-years…"
Kael listened quietly as he walked past.
External missions meant exposure.
Real combat.
Real danger.
But more importantly…
Real energy.
Not ambient.
Not passive.
Living, active aura under stress.
The Hollow reacted instantly to the thought.
A low, eager pulse.
Kael frowned.
So you're interested in that too.
He kept walking.
During afternoon training, Instructor Mareth announced it.
"Starting next week, selected students will participate in supervised external field exercises."
The training hall erupted in noise.
Excitement. Anxiety. Pride.
Mareth raised a hand, silencing them.
"This is not a reward. It is an evaluation. Those who perform well will be placed on accelerated paths. Those who fail may be removed from the academy."
Silence.
Cold.
Brutal.
Honest.
Kael felt several gazes turn toward him.
Not openly.
But enough.
Leon stood near the front, arms crossed, smiling faintly.
Kael looked away.
So the system is speeding up.
Which meant his timeline was compressing.
One week had become days.
Observation would turn into scrutiny.
Scrutiny into testing.
And testing into exposure.
Unless…
He controlled the variables.
That evening, Kael returned to the inner halls again.
But this time, he didn't sit to meditate.
He stood.
And for the first time since discovering the Hollow, he spoke aloud.
"Show me the limits."
The Hollow responded immediately.
Not with hunger.
With structure.
Information flooded his perception—not in words, but in patterns. Flows. Pathways. Thresholds.
Kael closed his eyes and focused.
He imagined the Hollow not as a void, but as a core.
A nucleus.
Something with layers.
And slowly… he felt it.
A boundary.
A conceptual wall between what the Hollow could passively absorb and what it could actively extract.
Until now, all his growth had come from passive interaction.
Ambient energy.
Residual resonance.
Minimal interference.
What he'd done to Renn had been an accident.
A reflex.
But now…
He understood the mechanism.
He could choose.
Active extraction required intent.
Not physical.
Mental.
A targeting process.
A lock.
Kael's breathing slowed.
"Let's test… the smallest possible output."
The Hollow pulsed.
Kael felt a thin thread of awareness extend outward, searching for nearby sources.
There were students training nearby.
Instructors.
Dozens of aura signatures.
He rejected them all.
Too risky.
Instead, he focused on something weaker.
The training constructs.
Artificial targets powered by low-grade energy cores.
He locked onto one.
And gently… pulled.
The sensation was subtle.
Like drawing mist through a needle.
The Hollow absorbed the energy.
Kael felt it.
Not as power.
But as data.
Structure.
Density.
Compatibility.
The construct flickered slightly, then stabilized.
No one noticed.
Kael exhaled slowly.
So active extraction could be done without harming living beings.
But the efficiency was low.
Too low to matter.
Unless…
The target had complex energy.
Living systems.
Cultivators.
That was where the Hollow truly shined.
Kael clenched his fist.
And that's the line.
Passive growth was acceptable.
Active extraction from artificial sources was tolerable.
But from people?
That was something else.
Not morally.
Strategically.
People noticed when they were weakened.
People talked.
Patterns formed.
And patterns got traced.
Which meant death.
Two days later, Kael was summoned.
Not by Mareth.
By someone higher.
Instructor Selene.
Her office was located in the upper administrative wing—somewhere first-years rarely went.
Kael stood calmly as she studied him.
"You're progressing at an unusual rate," she said. "But your profile doesn't match your performance."
Kael tilted his head slightly.
"In what way?"
Selene tapped a crystal on her desk.
"It shows stable mental state, low emotional fluctuation, and extremely efficient energy utilization. That's not normal for someone with your background."
Kael said nothing.
Silence stretched.
Then Selene leaned back.
"Tell me something, Kael. Do you believe power should have limits?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
He considered it.
Then spoke.
"Everything has limits. The question is whether they're internal or external."
Selene smiled faintly.
"A dangerous answer."
"An honest one."
She studied him again.
Longer this time.
Finally, she waved her hand.
"You're selected for the first external exercise."
Kael felt the Hollow pulse sharply.
Interest.
Excitement.
Anticipation.
Selene continued.
"Group assignment. Low-risk zone. Monster suppression near the western border."
Kael nodded.
"Understood."
As he turned to leave, Selene added one last thing.
"Be careful, Kael. The academy isn't designed to protect anomalies."
Kael paused at the door.
"Neither is the world."
He left.
That night, Kael didn't meditate.
He sat on his bed, staring at the floor.
External missions meant real danger.
But also real opportunity.
For growth.
For testing.
For feeding the Hollow in ways he hadn't dared before.
And that was the problem.
The Hollow was no longer just a tool.
It was becoming a temptation.
A solution to every obstacle.
A shortcut past every limitation.
Kael closed his eyes.
If he crossed that line…
If he started actively hunting energy…
Then the academy wouldn't be his training ground anymore.
It would be his farm.
And that was a future even he wasn't sure he wanted.
Not yet.
But the path was there.
Clear.
Simple.
And waiting for him to take the first step.