“Beep… beep… beep…”
The rhythmic beeping of the medical equipment accompanied the flickering indicator lights in the hospital room. The data displayed on the monitor moved steadily, showing the patient’s stable condition.
A wave of soreness washed over Valk from all directions, rousing him from his sleep. He opened his eyes, gazing at the pale blue ceiling above him. Attempting to sit up, he was met with sharp pain in his abdomen and waist, forcing him to abandon the effort.
“Stay still for now. Don’t try to exert yourself.” A slightly youthful voice came from nearby. Valk turned his head to see the source.
A young-looking male physician stood beside him, meticulously observing the data on the medical instruments. In his hands, he held an electronic clipboard, jotting down key information.
After finishing his observations and notes, the doctor put away the clipboard and moved closer to Valk to ask a question.
“You’re in the hospital wing of Edess Academy. How are you feeling?” He gestured to the silvery sage-colored badge on his white coat.
[Partridge Francati, Light Feather Sequence 6, Senior Specialist in Advanced Recovery]
As one of the top doctors at Edess Academy, Partridge had conducted countless health evaluations on students, but even among them, Valk’s exceptional physical resilience stood out as rare.
“Everything hurts, especially my abdomen and waist,” Valk admitted honestly.
“Well, of course. It’s not every day I see a gutsy kid like you take a direct stab from a lightsaber and live to tell the tale,” Partridge replied, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“Here’s a tip: if you ever come across a weapon like a lightsaber again, stay far away. Better yet, deal with it from a distance.”
“So does that mean there’s no way to handle a lightsaber in close combat?” Valk asked, puzzled.
“Of course, there are ways—several, in fact—but they’re not advisable.”
“The most common approach is wearing high-strength armor. But keep in mind, you’d need armor at least two tiers above the lightsaber’s level to effectively withstand the strongest strikes.”
“For example, a Gold-Grade lightsaber wielded by some agency members would require a Crystal-Grade military mech to completely negate its damage.”
“Most people can’t achieve that. In reality, it’s more practical to rely on dodging or countering with similar techniques.”
“At the end of the day, the one holding the lightsaber is human, and humans have flaws. Their moves, speed, and angles all have openings.”
“Additionally, lightsabers are quite crude as weapons. They consume an enormous amount of energy. Even a Sequence 5 transcendent using a pulse-type lightsaber can only fight for a few minutes before their energy runs out. That means their focus on maintaining the lightsaber drains resources from other areas, leaving them vulnerable. If you can exploit their weaknesses or compensate with other advantages, you can easily take them down.”
“Finally, there’s direct counterplay. If your opponent’s using a lightsaber, there’s no reason you can’t use one too. If you’re better at it, you can certainly crush them.”
“These are the three common strategies: the best is using superior armor to defend, the middling strategy is using skill to target their weaknesses, and the least favorable is engaging in a head-to-head duel with lightsabers to determine life and death.”
“I understand now. Thank you, doctor,” Valk said, seeming to genuinely absorb the advice.
Seeing that he still had the mental focus to learn at this moment, Partridge shook his head, unsure whether to praise Valk or marvel at his composure.
“For now, just focus on recovering. No need to rush your studies. By the way, what would you like for lunch today? I can order something for you.”
“Lunch? Isn’t that normally the doctor’s decision?” Valk asked, surprised. He had been hospitalized multiple times before, and every time, it was the doctor who dictated what he could or couldn’t eat.
“That’s what lazy doctors do. They just want to avoid extra trouble, so they assign fixed meals to patients.”
“But here, I believe eating something you enjoy and maintaining a good mood contributes more to recovery. As long as it’s not something overly indulgent, I think it’s fine.”
“In that case, I’ll have a honey-glazed chicken thigh combo,” Valk decided.
“Oh, that’s quite common. Honey and meat are mild and nutritious—perfect for recovery. You seem pretty experienced in this,” the doctor remarked, quickly placing an order through his personal terminal and setting it aside.
“While we wait for your lunch to arrive, could you tell me what happened? Although I’m here as your doctor, I’m also a teacher at the academy, and I’d like to understand the specifics of the incident.”
“This is what happened…” Valk began recounting the events of that day, his mind pulling up long-buried memories.
…
Ten Years Ago, Northern 9th District, Outside the Black Thallium Suburbs.
The biting cold wind roused him from his slumber. Snowflakes drifted down from the perpetually gray skies.
Throwing off the old, tattered blanket covering him, Valk looked around. He was in an abandoned junkyard. Struggling to his feet, he glanced at his frostbitten, swollen-red hands, feeling a mix of helplessness and sorrow.
“Abandoned again…”
This wasn’t the first time. Valk had never known his father. His mother had raised him briefly during his early years but abandoned him, deeming him a burden, to run off with another man.
Who had taken him in after that? Probably his grandfather—a frail old man who fed him meager scraps and managed to keep him alive.
But even his grandfather lived a difficult life and couldn’t always provide enough food. Hunger was a constant companion.
Valk followed the elderly man, huddling in a small shack on the outskirts of town. The old man made a living scavenging trash and cared for him for a few years. Eventually, his body succumbed to age, and as he grew weaker, he entrusted Valk to a nephew before passing away in that small shack.
After the old man’s death, the nephew—a man in his forties—and his family grew increasingly intolerant of the wild-looking child in their home. On a winter’s night, they drugged Valk with sleeping pills and abandoned him miles away in the wilderness.
Having long since sensed their dislike, Valk wasn’t surprised. His only thought was what he could scavenge to eat that day.
Wrapping the old blanket around himself, he wandered the outskirts, searching through snow-covered debris for anything useful. Gradually, he collected various scraps, draping them over his body. Though heavier, they offered some protection from the cold.
After aimlessly walking along the desolate road for hours, he came across a lone red kiosk standing in the wilderness. Inside were a functional network terminal and communication equipment.
He tried to enter the kiosk but was denied access.
[Identity verification failed. No resident identity chip detected. Please enter your Federation Resident Code for authentication.]
[Input error. Data format invalid. Please try again.]
[Input error. Data format invalid. Please try again.]
[Input error. Data format invalid. Please try again.]
After numerous futile attempts, he gave up and walked away, occasionally glancing back at the intact kiosk in the wilderness.
Years later, Valk learned that if he had passed the identity verification, he could have entered the kiosk to escape the cold, access emergency rations of starch and protein, and even call an autonomous hovercar to take him to a human settlement.
But none of that was available to him then. All he could do was continue wandering the wasteland.
After an indeterminate amount of walking, he finally came upon a small human settlement. The town, home to about fifty families, had small shops and a supermarket.
As he approached, he was quickly detected by the town’s surveillance system and driven away by autonomous units.
These T6 autonomous units, though lacking law enforcement authority and unable to harm humans, emitted loud alarm sounds to alert the townspeople. This often forced Valk to flee in panic.
For two days, he scouted the town, eventually finding a blind spot in the surveillance network. Under the cover of night, he sneaked in and scavenged some food.
He survived. Eating the half-rotten food brought him immense joy, a feeling he still remembered vividly.
Valk managed to hide in the town for two days before the residents discovered him. Fortunately, they merely drove him out instead of reporting him to the authorities—likely out of a desire to avoid the hassle.
After being expelled, he resumed his aimless wandering. This pattern of wandering and scavenging continued until one day, he finally collapsed in the wilderness. His body grew colder, and his thoughts slowly faded into silence.