Chapter 74: Chapter 74: The Pirate Den

The corridors of the Absolute Infinity were wide enough to fit a small army through side by side. Normally they were lit with warm ambient light, the walls displaying projected images of nebulae and star fields—aesthetic choices made by whoever designed the interior. Right now, the emergency strips had overridden everything. Red light, sharp shadows, every sound slightly too loud.

Other candidates were already moving. Doors opening along the corridor, people emerging in combat suits, some still pulling on gloves or checking weapons. A boy with a staff of compressed earth jogged past them without a glance, heading the same direction. A girl with frost trailing from her fingertips fell into step a few paces behind.

Runar kept his pace steady. Not slow enough to seem casual, not fast enough to draw attention. Celestia matched him exactly, her movement silent and controlled beside him. Heaven Piercer stayed compressed at her side, just another forearm-length rod to anyone who didn’t know what it was.

They turned the first corner and the flow of people thickened. Twenty candidates, then thirty, then more, all converging on the same point. The corridor opened up into a wider junction, and from there the path to the shuttle bay port was obvious—a pair of massive doors at the far end, already open, with red light pouring through.

The shuttle bay port was enormous.

A chamber the size of a small stadium, ceiling vaulting up thirty meters above them, the floor a polished dark metal that reflected the emergency lighting in long streaks. Rows of shuttle pods lined the far wall—sleek, compact craft designed to deploy people quickly into open space. Each one had a bay door that stood open, waiting.

Candidates were already gathering in clusters across the floor. Some stood in pairs or small groups, talking quietly. Others were alone, checking equipment, flexing hands, running through pre-combat routines Runar recognized from training. Everyone was in combat gear. Everyone looked ready.

He scanned the crowd with his spiritual sense. Hundred candidates visible already, probably more still arriving. The energy signatures were dense—all of them at Satellite Orbit realm, some pushing higher. A few carried weapons that radiated significant power. One kid near the back wall had a bow strung with what looked like compressed lightning.

Celestia’s eyes moved across the assembled candidates with quiet assessment. “A lot of them,” she murmured.

“Expected. We’re not the only ones from our cluster.”

They moved to an open spot along the left wall, close enough to the shuttle pods to board quickly if needed but with clear lines of sight to the main floor. Old habit from training—always know your exits, always know what’s around you.

Runar leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Celestia stood beside him, Heaven Piercer held loosely at her side. The compressed spear looked almost like a walking stick in her hand. Almost.

More candidates filed in. Marcus Sunfire arrived near the front, already radiating that competitive energy he carried everywhere, his combat suit a deep orange-red that matched his fire affinity. Khan Storm came through a few minutes later, tall and sharp-featured, scanning the room like he was looking for someone specific to insult. Lyra Moon slipped in quietly near the back, barely visible until you looked for her.

The crowd stabilized. About 300 candidates total, arranged in loose formations across the floor.

A door opened at the front of the bay—not the main entrance the candidates had come through, but a smaller side entrance near the shuttle pod wall. A single figure stepped out.

Captain. Female. Late thirties by appearance, though cultivators at that level could look decades younger than their actual age. She wore a standard Federation military uniform, dark navy with silver trim, no insignia Runar immediately recognized as rank markers. Her energy signature told him everything he needed to know.

Neutron Star realm. Dense, heavy, the kind of spiritual pressure that made the air feel thick just standing near it. Runar felt it settle over the bay like a weight pressing down on everything. Around him, several candidates shifted uncomfortably. A few of the weaker ones took an involuntary step back.

The captain walked to the center of the floor and stopped. She didn’t raise her voice. Didn’t need to. The spiritual pressure she carried made sure everyone was paying attention.

“Listen up. My name is Captain Vael. I’ll be running this assessment.”

The bay went quiet.

Captain Vael clasped her hands behind her back and let her gaze move across the crowd. Measuring. The kind of look that said she’d seen ten thousand candidates like you and already knew which ones would break.

“Here’s the situation. The Absolute Infinity is currently passing through the Kaelen Solar System.” She paused to let that land. A few candidates exchanged glances. Runar didn’t react—he didn’t know the significance of the name, but the captain’s tone made it clear it mattered.

“The Kaelen System is a known gathering point for pirate groups. Thousands of them. Multiple factions, multiple territories, all packed into one solar system.” She let that number sit in the air for a moment. “We are passing directly through it.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. 300 candidates, most of them teenagers or barely into their twenties, suddenly very aware that they were on a ship flying into a pirate nest.

Captain Vael raised one hand. The murmurs died.

“The ship’s outer hull has been disguised. Merchant vessel configuration. To any pirate scanner, we look like a standard cargo hauler that wandered in without realizing where it ended up.” A slight pause. “We did that on purpose.”

The meaning settled over the bay like a second layer of pressure. This wasn’t an accident. They’d flown here deliberately. Into thousands of pirates.

“Your mission is to eliminate pirates. That’s it. Kill them, rack up points, and prove you belong at Prime Origin Academy.”

She began pacing slowly as she talked, her boots making sharp sounds against the metal floor.

“All of you are Satellite Orbit realm cultivators. That is a fact. But you are also Prime Origin candidates, which means you are expected to perform well above your cultivation realm in actual combat. Specifically, you should be operating at Solar Flare realm combat power or higher. That is the baseline. Below that and you aren’t earning your place.”

Runar kept his expression neutral. Solar Flare combat power from Satellite Orbit cultivators. That was two full realm tiers above their cultivation base. For most people, a stretch. For him and Celestia, laughably easy to hit.

Beside him, Celestia didn’t react either. She was watching Captain Vael with that quiet, focused attention she got when she was cataloguing information.

“Now, the enemies.” Captain Vael stopped pacing and faced the crowd directly. “These pirates are normal cultivators. Not geniuses. Their combat power rarely exceeds their cultivation realm—sometimes slightly above, occasionally slightly below. You will be fighting against Planetary Core, Stellar Ignition, Solar Flare cultivators. And a few Star Fusion.”

She held up one finger. “Planetary Core pirates. The weakest you’ll encounter. Two points each.”

A second finger. “Stellar Ignition. Two hundred points each.”

A third finger. “Solar Flare. Twenty thousand points each.”

She held up her fourth finger and left it there.

“Star Fusion. Two million points each.” Captain Vael’s expression didn’t change, but something in the way she held that finger steady made the number feel heavier than it was. “Star Fusion cultivators at the pirate level have mastered their Laws to one hundred percent. Some of them have started touching Rules. Do not fight them.”

She lowered her hand.

“Nobody is expected to beat a Star Fusion pirate. If you see one, disengage and move to a different target. That is not cowardice. That is intelligence.”

The bay was dead silent. 300 candidates, all listening.

Captain Vael let the silence hold for a beat, then continued.

“Points determine your class placement when you arrive at the academy. Higher points, better class, better resources, better instructors. You need a minimum of one hundred thousand points to qualify for the top tier. If you don’t hit that threshold here, you’ll have other assessments to make up the difference. But here is where most people establish themselves.”

Runar did the math quickly. One hundred thousand points. Solar Flare pirates at twenty thousand each meant killing five of them. Stellar Ignition at two hundred each meant five hundred kills.

Either way, doable.

Celestia glanced at him sideways. She’d already done the same calculation—he could tell from the slight relaxation around her eyes. They were on the same page.

Captain Vael surveyed the crowd one final time. Her gaze lingered on a few candidates—the ones who looked scared, the ones who looked overconfident, the ones who looked ready. She took in each of them with the same flat, professional attention.

“That’s all.”

She said it simply. No dramatic pause, no rallying speech. Just two words.

“The pirates are already attacking the ship. Your assessment starts now.”

The floor beneath 300 pairs of feet lit up.

Formation arrays Runar hadn’t even noticed—embedded in the metal, invisible until activated—flared to life with sharp white light. The patterns spread outward from where each candidate stood, geometric lines racing across the floor and connecting, forming a massive teleportation grid that covered the entire bay.

Runar felt the spatial distortion a fraction of a second before it hit. Celestia tensed beside him. Around them, some candidates looked down at the light beneath their feet. Others looked up at Captain Vael, who had already stepped back outside the formation’s range.

The last thing he registered was the bay—the red emergency lights, the shuttle pods, 300 candidates spread across the floor, each one standing in their own pocket of geometric light.

Then reality folded.

And they were gone.

— End of Chapter 74 —

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