It was dinner time by the time we finished clearing rubble and covering the caved-in section of the roof with a temporary tarp and qi-latched paneling from the patch kits. Mystic floated just overhead, 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 ideas sketched out for what this land could become once I got a builder or two to help with the dome's redesign. Multiple rooms. A magical beast-friendly greenhouse. Maybe 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 AI interface until my storage panel opened. One thought, and my dinner supplies blinked into reality beside a set of beast-safe metal bowls and a portable burner plate.
Chopped wild grain, two eggs, some diced redroot, and dried meat. Functional, not fancy.
I set my pan to heat and turned to the beasts. "Food time. Come get your rations."
Maxius landed with an almost lazy flap, wings furling tight to his body as he gave me a curious look.
"Is this another culinary experiment?"
"It's called survival."
"I'll take that as a yes."
Lufei trotted around from the back where she'd been inspecting root beds, her coat dusted in flecks of pale soil. She snorted softly and sat beside her bowl without complaint.
I took out the mixed beast feed crates I'd picked up from the Federation supply store and started dividing portions. For Maxius: snake jerky, crispy storm beetle husks, and two drops of qi mineral oil. For Lufei: sweetroot curls, some quartz-leaf chips, and a small mix of kelp-flavored grain.
But before I handed them their portions, I slipped something else in tiny herbal capsules, pressed and sealed from plants I'd collected during past Wild Line excursions. Inspired by vet-grade boosters from Earth. No chemicals, no shortcuts. Just nature tweaked with intention.
Immune boosters. Joint support. Qi stabilizers.
I rubbed the capsules between my fingers before mixing them in, murmuring, "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, a low, amused exhale. Her own meal 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 bowls with a small grunt. "Eat up. Tomorrow's going to hurt."
Maxius blinked. "Training schedule?"
"Dawn runs, formation drills, terrain mapping. We'll fly over the south ravine and then start mapping magical beast trails manually."
He sighed and popped a piece of jerky in his mouth. "Why do I get the feeling 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 house. My licenses. Everything we've been given this isn't luck. It's momentum. And I don't plan to waste it."
Lufei ate silently, but her eyes met mine with quiet understanding. She felt it too the edge of something just beginning. Not safety. Not comfort. But opportunity.
The stars blinked above the cracked dome roof, cool air filtering in with the scent of distant rain and leaf burn.
I sat down beside them, cross-legged with my food, and we ate in the half-ruined room that would one day become our new 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 dome, but I was already moving. Before the clock hit 4:00 AM, I was up, stripped down to training gear, and pushing through the weight and body conditioning routines I'd built for myself and my magical beasts.
Maxius stretched his wings wide in the open yard outside the dome, muscles rippling under midnight-black feathers as he mirrored my warm-ups. Lufei was already alert, pacing in low, focused circles to get her qi flowing.
We drove through strength drills, endurance sprints, and qi-focused breathing routines. Every rep was intentional not just to build strength, but to make sure we could survive whatever came next.
By 6:30, we were all drenched in sweat and dust. We showered quickly thanks to the solar-heated water unit I'd set up behind the dome. Maxius preened his feathers in perfect order while Lufei gave herself a full-body shake, droplets scattering across the stone path like emerald sparks.
At 7:15, fully dressed and refreshed, I double-checked the time on my Oni9x phone and stepped outside.
Mystic was already airborne, mist trailing behind her like a living cloudscape. I sent a mental ping. She responded instantly, drifting toward the aerial docking zone near the academy's main tower, a swirl of white qi mist anchoring her presence in the sky.
Maxius kept pace behind me as I called Lufei to my side. Together, the three of us walked the stone path toward the academy entrance one step at a time, one goal at a time.
We reached the homeroom ten minutes before the bell, slipping in just as the hallway chatter began to rise.
⸻
I took my seat, pulled up my desk interface, and began adjusting the afternoon training schedule. After today's classes, we'd be heading into a nearby wild zone—scouting magical beast habitats, identifying strong sparring partners for development, and focusing Mystic's next learning phase.
Size manipulation.
I'd found a few archived Federation notes on Leviathan-class magical beasts capable of regulated size shifting through advanced qi control. Mystic fit the profile. Her irregular growth spurts had already wrecked one corner of the house. If I didn't help her get it under control, she'd outgrow our roof again.
I jotted it into the training module:
"Size Adjustment: Beginner Phase. Qi Control Training. Leviathan Protocol."
Maxius peeked at my interface and muttered, "She's going to hate this."
"She hates everything that doesn't involve flying into thunderstorms," I replied dryly.
Lufei let out a low hum from under the desk, her antlers faintly glowing as she tucked in close beside me.
Plans set. Wild zone locked in.
Now we just had to get through today's classes without starting a war.