Cain did not enjoy his trial. The white world around him did not ease his concerns. They were too recent. The ‘reward’ room of the trial didn’t feel like much of a reward at the moment. His hands were covered in blood, and he was tired beyond belief. How many days had he been awake now? Three, four? This room was supposed to be safe, but he didn’t feel like he could trust the place anymore.

Well, there wasn’t much point in dawdling. He took off the pair of white latex gloves he had been wearing. They were wet with blood, and It clung to his skin as he tried to pull them off. He dropped them, and they hit the ground like a piece of raw meat. He stared at them for a moment, before taking more off. The trial had given him an interesting wardrobe, but he didn’t want to give anyone any hints about what his trial contained. His parents were overly concerned at the best of times, and his outfit told a story. The lab coat fell from his shoulders.

He pushed his black hair back and tied it into a ponytail like he had when he first entered the trial. And wiped his face with his shirt, before dumping that on the ground too. After that, he examined himself once. All of his injuries had been healed, but his body wasn’t clean. Patches of dried blood that had stained his clothes left marks on his skin. He would need to come with something to tell his parents too. Most people kept their first trial to themselves, but his parents wouldn’t accept that. It would be easier to lie. He would just say it was a battle. That was a common enough scenario. The blue message at the edge of his vision was poking at him, and he sighed.

“Alright, give me my evaluation. My world is Astra 13, update the rank accordingly.”

Evaluation:

Name: Cain Wolfe

Home World: Astra 13

Grade: F

Rank: 212,098

Physical Grade: 1.30

  Strength: 1.3

  Dexterity: 1.3

  Speed: 1.3

Mental Grade: 1.30

  Reflexes: 1.2

  Intuition: 1.5

  Fortitude: 1.2

Gift Grade: F

Gift (F): Cellular Regeneration

Recognitions: None

He rubbed his eyes once. Then he checked the information again. He had done well for himself. Very well. Top 300 thousand would mean a significant boost to his family’s status. Plus, he could actually go to one of the outer ring academies. That alone would be nice. The libraries at those academies were big and extensive. The gift itself was annoying though. He already knew the kind of skill it was but focused on it anyways.

Gift (F): Cellular Regeneration (Upgradable)

  : Enhance the reproduction of certain cells

  Cooldown: None

Upgrade Path: Heal 100 different injuries or conditions

He was right it was a healing skill. The skill itself didn’t bother him, but it would take a lot of studies to use properly. He wasn’t scared of studying. In fact, he spent most of his time doing just that. This however was not his area of expertise. He preferred literature in a more theoretical sense… He liked fantasy and fiction. Reading propaganda and people's outlandish ideas about who or what made the trials. Actual science and medicine were hard. Well, his future would be secured as a healer. He would have plenty of time to read too. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

He stepped through the now-open doorway to return to his world. He was met with the faces of his family. His father and mother both wore large circular glasses. His mother could only be described as mousey. Both because she was short, and she had a scrunched-up face. She had long black hair that she tied into a long tail. His father similarly had black hair, but he was curly and short. Unlike his mother, he had the looks to pass as an actor. The final person in the room rushed up and hugged him. Her glasses struck the side of his head. He pushed her away, readjusting his glasses.

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“Stop Lina, stop. I’m fine Lina.”

“But. You were gone. And then. And then. And…”

She trailed off and cried openly. His mother quickly pulled her into a hug to calm her down. She reprimanded him a little.

“Your sister was just worried about you. Don’t keep us waiting in suspense. How’d you do?”

His sister turned to look at him for this. She was very much an even smaller version of his mother. Tears kept streaking down her face. Cain hesitated though. His results were fine, but no story would be appropriate for his eight-year-old sister.

“I’m ranked 212, 098, and I got a healing gift.”

Both his parents were staring open-mouthed now. His sister was just as surprised, but she was smiling instead. She giggled and cried at the same time, and he couldn’t stop himself from laughing to. Soon the whole house was filled with their laughter.

The rest of the night was done in celebration and food. And phone calls. Many phone calls. The party grew so big that before long the neighbors had joined in too. As the gathering grew larger and larger, he found himself showered with gifts and advice. People shared their own stories, and when night fell and his sister left, he told his parents the truth. He couldn’t lie to them and had explained the trial as best as he could.

When morning came, he woke feeling cold. He had a queen-sized bed, which was typically more than enough for him. That was unless his sister had snuck in to hog the blanket. He left her to sleep and climbed out around her. The bed creaked as he moved around his sister. His room was filled with random stuff too. His neighbors were the generous type. He had to avoid several bags of what looked like candy. His own room wasn’t that clean though. His desk was covered in monitors. He had three for each of his consoles. It was definitely excessive, but he didn’t care. Each company kept its exclusives, and he didn’t like feeling restricted when it came to games.

He considered playing something, but his alarm started. He tried to run to his clock but tripped on one of the many gifts. Crashing in a spectacular manner. A second later the alarm was turned off, and his sister began laughing. He groaned.

Breakfast was a simpler affair. He had some fruits, eggs, and toast. His father was really keen on balancing their diets. Cain enjoyed the food, but he desperately wanted to snack on some of those candies. Well, he would be on his own soon. Sipping some juice, a thought occurred to him. When was he supposed to go?

“Wait, when do I leave for the academy? Don’t we need to do that?”

His father brushed aside his concern.

“I filled out your submission this morning.”

“Don’t you need me for that?”

At eighteen, he felt like he should have some say in the matter. His mother raised an eyebrow and gave him a sharp reply.

“You told us last night that you wanted to register, and you gave us permission to ask for your records. It wasn’t hard to register you after that. You would’ve missed the deadline if not for your father waking up so early.”

She was always good at justifying herself. He narrowed his eyes in a mock glare. Inwardly, he was relieved and grateful. Missing the deadline would’ve been embarrassing. It wasn’t like he was one of the central sector heirs to ignore all propriety. He didn’t respond to her.

“Thanks, dad, but I thought I would have longer.”

“No, I should’ve woken you and made sure. You can cancel it if you want. And I think we are close to the start of the train’s path this time, so registration ended early here.”

His father’s words only added to his relief. He didn’t want to make his father feel like he had made a mistake and reassured him. For all that his mother was sharp, and his father was soft.

“Nah, you did the right thing. But when does the train depart?”

“Tonight, at eleven. So you will start packing as soon as you're done with breakfast. And I swear to god if you try and take a console with you, I will.”

His father cut her off before his mother could say something inappropriate in front of his sister.

“Ok, I think he understands. Let’s just make the most of today, since it will be a few months before we can see you again.”

That was a bit of a sobering thought. His sister was quiet now, and he realized the mistake. His sister had a mouthful of apple but spat it out.

“You're leaving! Why?”

She looked at her parents at first but turned an accusatory gaze onto him. He winced as the tears began and left it to his mother to explain.

“I’m going to go pack.”

He said the words quickly, slipping out of his seat and dashing toward his room. His mother comforted his sister, and he could hear her trying to explain what was happening. Cain went to do as he said, although he did play some games first. He had plenty of time to pack.

His mother came into the room around two hours before they had to leave. He had only just begun to pack, and she knew. She didn’t snap at him but spoke calmly. Yeah, that was definitely worse.

“So, you finally started.”

“In my defense, dad knew.”

His father had come up to check on him and joined him for a little while. That was what Cain liked about his father. He loved video games as much as he did. Not the exhausting VR stuff, but the casual sit-down games were their shared hobby.

“I’m sure he did, but I don’t need or want to change your father. You, on the other hand, I need to prepare for when you start dating. The boys and girls at this academy will all be very pretty and rich.”

“Nope. I’m not talking about this, and I don’t think you should call boys pretty.”

His ears were red as he stared his mother into silence. She was more than a little invested in his romantic relationships, and that was while he had none. She had even gone so far as to orchestrate some chance meetings with the neighbor’s daughters and sons. The last person that would find out about any kind of relationship would be his mother.

They continued to talk as they packed. For all his mother liked to annoy him, she was a better conversationalist that his father. They talked about the academies, as she had some experience with them. Her sister was a teacher at one, and she still talked to Aunt Leslie regularly. He would bet money that he would wind up at her academy. And so, they packed, lightly. The academy provided most things, and it would have several stores to buy things to. His mother even suggested that he did just that since they would provide students with enough to buy whatever they wanted. He didn’t get to pack any of his consoles or games. He was resigned to a temporary reprieve from his games until he noticed his father and sister had come into the room with something else in their hand.

“It’s a going away gift. Something a bit better than candy. Come on Lina, give it to him. You said you wanted to.”

His sister nodded at his father’s words, but she did as tell. She walked over slowly, but she was clearly sulking. When she got close, she shoved the present into his hands. It was a rectangular box, and he instantly thought he knew what it was. But he set aside for the moment. He bent down and hugged his sister.

“I’m going to miss you more than mom and dad. I’ll send you pictures of the academy, and you can send me pictures of home.”

He whispered the words so that his parents wouldn’t hear. Their smiles told him that he failed. His sister started crying again and pressed herself into his shoulder. He couldn’t help it and started to cry too. They talked and cried right up until he had to leave. He felt like a kid crying in front of his parents, but he didn’t care. No point in trying to act like a grown-up now. It was already a corny goodbye.