Chapter 22: Pre-Dawn Grind

It was nearly dinner by the time we finished clearing the rubble and covering the caved-in section of the roof with a temporary tarp and qi-latched paneling from the emergency patch kits. Mystic floated overhead, her mist gently cooling the air as the final rays of sunlight filtered through the fractured dome wall.

The place still looked like a cracked egg—but it held warmth now. Purpose. I already had sketches in mind for what this land could become once I pulled in a licensed builder or two to help with the redesign. Multiple rooms. A magical beast-friendly greenhouse. Maybe even a rooftop wind terrace for Maxius to launch from.

For now, though… food.

I pulled off my gloves and activated the Oni AI space bracelet around my wrist, flicking through the compact UI until my storage panel opened. One thought, and my dinner kit blinked into reality beside a set of beast-safe metal bowls and a portable burner plate.

Chopped wild grain, two eggs, diced redroot, and some dried meat. Functional—not fancy.

I set the pan to heat and turned toward my beasts. "Food time. Come get your rations."

Maxius landed with an almost lazy flap, wings furling tight against his frame as he gave me a long-suffering look.

"Is this another culinary experiment?"

"It's called survival."

"I'll take that as a yes."

Lufei trotted in from the back, her hooves light on the stone, her coat dusted in flecks of pale soil. She gave a quiet snort and sat down beside her bowl without complaint.

I pulled out the mixed beast feed crates I'd picked up from the Federation's campus depot and started dividing portions. For Maxius: snake jerky, crisp storm beetle husks, and two drops of qi mineral oil. For Lufei: sweetroot curls, quartz-leaf chips, and a small scoop of kelp-flavored grain.

Before I passed the bowls over, I slipped something extra in—tiny herbal capsules, pressed and sealed from plants I'd gathered during past Wild Line excursions. Inspired by vet-grade boosters from Earth. No chemicals, no shortcuts. Just nature, tweaked with precision.

Immune boosters. Joint support. Qi stabilizers.

I rubbed one between my fingers before mixing it in. "You better appreciate this. I used to make these for dogs twice your size and half your attitude."

Mystic let out a soft cloud-puff from above, her humor rolling gently through the bond. Her own food—specially ground sky-essence grain and trace energy crystals—rested in a large jade-lined bowl near her tail. She didn't eat much, but when she did, it was like watching a storm drink lightning.

I handed out the bowls with a grunt. "Eat up. Tomorrow's gonna hurt."

Maxius blinked. "Training schedule?"

"Dawn runs. Formation drills. Terrain mapping. We're flying over the south ravine and starting manual trail logs for magical beast migration routes."

He sighed and popped a piece of jerky in his mouth. "Why do I get the sense you consider rest a weakness?"

"It is," I said, stirring my own dinner over the burner. "We've got a lot to prove. This land. This dome. My licenses. Everything we've been given—it isn't luck. It's momentum. And I'm not wasting it."

Lufei ate silently, but her gaze met mine with quiet understanding. She felt it too—that edge of something just beginning. Not safety. Not comfort. But opportunity.

The stars blinked into place overhead through the shattered dome lattice, cool air filtering in with the scent of distant rain and scorched leaves.

I sat down beside them, cross-legged with my food, and we ate in the half-ruined room that would one day become our base.

Home was a wreck.

But it was ours.

And that was enough for now.

⸻

The cold bite of pre-dawn air crept in through the cracked roof, but I was already moving. Before the clock hit 0400, I was up—stripped down to training gear, body warming into the first weight circuit I'd custom-built for this land and my current beast roster.

Maxius stretched his wings in the open yard, shadow gliding through early fog as he mirrored my posture. Lufei was already alert, her breath steady, pacing in low circles to get her qi flowing.

We drove through core drills, interval sprints, and advanced qi regulation routines. Every rep mattered—not just for strength, but to make sure we could survive whatever the Federation threw at us next.

By 0630, we were soaked in sweat and dust. I ran a solar-heated rinse station behind the dome for days like this. Maxius preened his feathers in perfect order while Lufei gave herself a full-body shake, droplets scattering like green sparks across the stone path.

At 0715, fully dressed and refreshed, I checked the time on my Oni9x and stepped outside.

Mystic was already airborne, her mist curling through the sky in slow, steady arcs. I sent her a mental ping. She responded instantly—drifting toward the aerial docking tower near the academy's sky loop terminal, a swirl of white qi anchoring her presence.

Maxius kept pace behind me. I called Lufei to my side. Together, we walked the stone path to the academy—one step at a time, one objective at a time.

We reached homeroom ten minutes early, sliding into our seats just as the hallway buzz began to rise.

⸻

I pulled up my desk interface and opened the updated schedule. After classes today, we'd be hitting a local wild zone—scouting habitats, identifying potential sparring targets, and pushing Mystic's next developmental trial.

Size manipulation.

I'd found archived Federation manuals referencing Leviathan-class beasts capable of regulated qi-based size shifts. Mystic fit the profile. Her last growth spurt had torn out a support beam. If I didn't help her master containment protocols, she'd crush our roof again.

I noted it into the field module:

"Mystic – Size Adjustment Trial, Beginner Tier. Leviathan Growth Control Protocol. Requires high-focus qi stability and anchor point resistance mapping."

Maxius glanced at my interface and muttered, "She's going to hate that."

"She hates anything that doesn't involve flying into thunderstorms," I replied.

Lufei exhaled a warm hum from beneath the desk. Her antlers glowed faintly as she tucked close to my legs.

Schedule locked. Wild zone confirmed.

Now we just had to make it through today's classes without setting off another inter-division rivalry.