"Thank you, Instructor Kieran."

  Kieran watched Axel walk away with a complicated look on his face. From the school's perspective, he really shouldn’t have said what he did today.

  If Axel took the Force-Recovery Pills, there was a real chance he could hit a Force level of over 100 by test day!

  That’s exactly what Principal Mason would want to see. If word got out that Kieran had trained a student from a Force level of 90 to 100 in just ten days, it would look amazing on his resume.

  But even so, Kieran had still left the decision in Axel’s hands. It was up to him to decide how to move forward.

  ....

  "This is a bit tricky." Axel’s body ached with exhaustion, and he clutched the Force-Recovery Pills tightly in his arms, thinking someone would try and take them from him.

  But then, as he looked down at his worn-out clothes, Axel couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. He probably looked too poor to even be worth robbing.

  He thought back to Kieran’s words. With only a small piece of green crystal left, things were looking tight. If he couldn’t bleed in the next few days, he wouldn’t be able to keep his sister fed.

  "Where the hell can I find more green crystals?" Axel muttered to himself. Not every body yielded a green crystal—his Force had to be at a certain level first.

  And as his Force grew, the conditions for producing green crystals became even more stringent. If it was that easy, Axel would just head to the hospital or cemetery and collect what he needed.

  With that thought, he left the city walls and made his way into Slum Area C. Today, the streets seemed quieter than usual, but Axel was too caught up in his own worries to really notice.

  .....

  "Brother, you’re home."

  Axel barely heard the soft voice until he was greeted by his little sister, Annabelle. She came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of shredded potatoes and fried meat, wearing an apron that looked a bit too big for her.

  The table was already set with three side dishes—though it was clear only Axel would be eating.

  But despite the food, Axel couldn’t focus. He ate absent-mindedly, pushing the food around in his bowl without really tasting it.

  Annabelle, sitting across from him, noticed something was off. Her dark eyes flickered with concern, but she said nothing. Instead, she hurried off to the house and started rummaging around.

  A moment later, she came out wearing a faded floral skirt. The skirt was old and worn, but Annabelle’s beauty still shone through. As she spun around, her eyes squinted into crescents, a wide grin on her face.

  "Brother, look! Look at the new skirt I found today. Isn’t it beautiful?"

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  For a moment, Axel just stared at her, stunned. He had never realized how beautiful she had grown. In his memory, she was still the little girl with a runny nose, clutching a tattered teddy bear, trailing behind him as they begged for scraps.

  For three years, she hadn’t gotten a single new thing. Everything she had, she’d found in the garbage bins in the richer parts of the city.

  Axel’s heart sank. His sister was still hungry, but she was trying to make him happy. He suddenly couldn’t taste the food anymore, no matter how much he chewed.

  He forced a smile, but it felt like his heart was being ripped out.

  "It’s fine. Even if my Force is a little lower, it doesn’t matter," Axel thought. He didn’t want to tell Annabelle the truth. She would never be able to handle it.

  With a heavy heart, he stood up and walked to the kitchen, already planning to cut himself open again and bleed to keep his sister from starving.

  Axel heard footsteps approaching from outside, a steady thumping that sounded like a large group of people moving down the street.

  When he’d come back earlier, the roads were nearly empty. Where had all these people suddenly come from?

  Wait...

  Axel’s mind clicked, and he leaned closer to the kitchen window to look outside.

  Most of the people walking by were wearing black leather jackets, carrying various knives, batons, and other weapons. They swaggered down the street, shouting crude jokes and lewd comments.

  "Is this a gang meet-up?" Axel thought, narrowing his eyes.

  Where there’s light, there’s always darkness. Especially in the wasteland era, many places outside government control have birthed large and small gangs.

  Axel had heard that the two largest gangs in Dune—Crimson Vipers and Ironfang Syndicate—had leaders who were all awakened.

  Gambling, illegal fighting rings, and smuggling operations were always run by people like them.

  Usually, these gangs kept the peace. But when a gang recruits someone powerful, or if their members grow stronger, the balance tips, and things can get ugly.

  Of course, they wouldn’t dare stir up trouble inside the city walls. The outskirts, however, were a different story.

  “No wonder the streets are so empty today,” Axel muttered to himself.

  People often glamorize gangs, but Axel knew better. They were violent, ruthless, living life on the edge. Guys like Wolfe weren’t scared of them, but small vendors, people like Annabelle—they were vulnerable.

  The likelihood of a gang fight wasn’t high, but Axel grabbed a black denim jacket, changed clothes, and slipped a rusty hatchet into his belt.

  "Annabelle, I’m going out for a bit. Stay inside and don’t leave the house. I’ll be back soon."

  Annabelle nodded quietly, though as Axel left, there was a trace of worry in her eyes. She knew that her brother was going out for adventure again.

  Axel followed them from the shadows, keeping his distance. After a while, he blended in with the main group unnoticed.

  Turns out, he had been overthinking it. The gang had sent over 200 people, and his presence didn’t draw a second glance.

  He stayed with them for ten minutes, listening to their conversations, and felt a bit disappointed. The gunfight he had imagined wasn’t coming.

  The gang was called Crimson Vipers, and the group they were meeting up with, the Ironfang Syndicate, were the two biggest players in Dune.

  Every once in a while, the leaders of these two gangs would sit down and discuss their turf, dividing up their businesses. If the talks broke down, they’d settle it in the ring—one-on-one, life or death.

  Tonight was no different. Each gang would send one fighter to the ring, and they had to be members.

  Only new gangs fought tooth and nail like that. The old forces, like these two, didn’t need to risk it. A real fight could hurt everyone, and in the end, it was the small fry who benefited from the chaos.

  The only thing that caught Axel’s attention was the Crimson Vipers’ confidence. They were sure they’d win tonight because the person fighting was none other than the son of the gang’s leader.

  Tyler.

  The name rang a bell. “It can’t be… What a coincidence.” Axel thought, recalling a memory from his time at school. A student had raped a girl after a failed confession, and it had caused a huge scandal. The police got involved, but Axel didn’t know the final outcome.

  All he remembered was the bastard swearing that not a single hair on his head would be harmed—and then he just disappeared from the news.

  Axel had always assumed the guy ended up in prison, but now hearing that name again here?