Incompatible

The next day, Ken learned from Krisa that all contact with the outside world was banned, and the only person who had authority was Egas.

He messaged Egas to meet and the alpha didn't have any time until tomorrow evening.

Meanwhile, his afternoon schedule was revised as Krisa handed him a whole sack of beast crystals to consume. It was supposed to last him until 4 Stars.

As Ken sat on the bed, he opened the sack; the light reflected on him from the faces of the colorful crystals. The hues were not only in the basic elemental colors, but rather it variated across the color spectrum.

All were octahedron-shaped, but some had chipped corners here and there. Seemed to be more fragile than expected contrary to the ferocity of the beasts.

Grabbing one, it was cool to the touch. Like the method taught by Krisa, Ken held it in his hand and channeled the energy from the crystal to his own body.

Initially, he just felt warm, but as time passed, even the blood in his body appeared to be boiling. Quickly flinging the beast crystal across the room, the burning sensation continued growing stronger.

Ken curled up in pain. Before he lost consciousness, he saw a blurry figure rush in the room.

When the beta woke up again, he was in a recovery pod. The doctor noticed he was awake and reset the pod.

He asked the beta, "How are you feeling right now?"

"Sore..."

The doctor raised Ken's arm and squeezed, and the latter yelled in pain. His skin was still sensitive as if it was excessively rubbed.

Ken peeped at the doctor's tag - Wesley Fayn. Then he caught sight of Dr. Fayn's face. This was an alpha who was a walking perfected sculpture.

Unlike the other alphas with tanned skin and bulkier physique, Dr. Fayn was tall and fit in all the right areas. Calm eyes as deep as the abyss; mouth pursed into a gentle smile, as dignified as an aristocrat.

For all the alphas Ken had met so far, Egas was by far the most handsome but leaned towards a sensual existence. For Dr. Fayn, to taint him would be a crime. Untouchable.

Ken's gaze was too blatant. Dr. Fayn continued to smile but joked, "Though I have a fiancé, I don't mind a date with you."

Turning away, Ken scratched his face in awkwardness. He asked, "Where am I?"

"This is the Health Center. I had never seen a case like yours before. Your body rejects the energy from beast crystals." The implication of that was Ken lost one method to become stronger.

The beta also understood it was a bad sign. Beast crystals were a cost-effective way to grow and strengthen oneself. His ability was valuable, yes, but only if he could continue to grow. If he remained at 3 Stars, the ability was as good as useless.

"How did I get here?" Ken asked.

"Your ID-watch sensed your vitals were irregular and sent an SOS to our system." Dr. Fayn then took off his lab coat and said, "You can rest here or you can look for Krisa to heal the pain faster. I'll be heading out. My contact information is added to your ID-watch. If you are still feeling any discomfort, send me a message."

Before he left, he pulled the thick curtain to give the beta some privacy.

Not feeling the need to lie any longer, Ken got up from the pod and picked up the set of clothes next to him to get dressed. As he bent over to wear his boxer briefs, he heard the curtain being drawn back.

Stunned and still in the same position with his head dropped over, he saw three pairs of legs. All were familiar...

Instantly pulling his boxer briefs up, he turned and saw it was Krisa, Mia, and Egas. Krisa covered her face in an attempt to stifle her laughter. Mia whistled and stated, "Why, the palest butt I'd ever seen on a beta." Then nudged Egas, "Right?"

Egas remained expressionless - he was still stuck on the scene of the beta being bent over. It was not Egas's first time seeing him naked, but this time was a new angle.

He watched as the beta flushed red in the face, then slowly emanating to his shoulders and body. The alpha was also holding in a laugh from how shy Ken was; he didn't want the poor cutie to be more embarrassed then he was already.

Ken grabbed the shirt and quickly pulled it over his head and arms and down his torso. As he panicked, he was having a hard time pulling up the pants, then realized it was the wrong size.

Krisa, who wanted to burst out laughing since a while ago, noticed the chance and immediately said, "I'll go grab you a new pair." Then departed like the wind. Her laugh echoed across the hallway back into the room.

Mia sweated from Krisa's insensibility and chased after her.

Egas coughed and said, "Last time, you asked about the messages. I can help you send it now."

At his words, the beta visibly brightened up, tossing out the earlier embarrassment while walking closer to the alpha. Egas used his shadow ability and a small hand appeared at the right moment, tripping the beta.

Ken fell forward and Egas was already prepared to catch him. The alpha rounded an arm to the clueless beta's back and grasped his waist to support him while pulling him into his embrace.

Quickly placing his other hand on the beta's shoulder, he helped him straighten up and withdrew both his hands. Everything happened in an instant as if it was all an accident.

The alpha, after having a taste, apologized, "Sorry about that." But he was not sorry.

The beta, as naive as ever, comforted, "It's ok. It was an accident." Whenever he was with Egas, a magnet for awkward situations always appeared.

The alpha patted his head as if he's a kid. Of course, he was probably the youngest on the spaceship. Next year, there should be one or two to join, and then he could retire from being the baby.