Chapter 8: The Toll
505 Words
*Tit-tit-tit.*
The notification on Vane's retinal display was blinking red.
**[ALERT: Weekly Ether Allowance Suspended. Reason: "Behavioral Review" by Guardian (Sector Warden Meyer).]**
Vane sat in the cafeteria, staring at the message. Around him, other students were eating high-grade protein blocks and laughing.
"They're trying to starve me out," Vane thought, his expression unchanged. "Typical."
His Aunt and Uncle wanted him submissive. They wanted him to beg. If he ran out of resources, his symbiotes would start eating him, and he would have no choice but to sign their slave contract.
He checked his reserves. With the Gene-Slug refining his energy, his efficiency had doubled. But he was still running on empty.
He looked up. The bell for the end of the afternoon training session rang.
Hundreds of students were streaming towards the exit gate. Each of them carried a weekly stipend of Primeval Stones—small, glowing crystals of solidified Ether used as currency and fuel.
Vane stood up. He adjusted his gloves.
"If the system won't feed me," he whispered, "I'll feed myself."
...
The Academy Gate was a narrow chokepoint between the training grounds and the dormitory sector.
"Hey, move it!"
A burly student named *Gu Yue Chi Chen* (a different one from the fraudster, a generic lackey) pushed forward. "Who's blocking the—oh, it's Vane. The C-Grade trash."
Vane stood in the middle of the gate, arms crossed. He looked calm, almost bored.
"This road is closed," Vane stated clearly.
"Closed?" Chi Chen laughed, looking back at his friends. "Did you hear that? The trash thinks he's a gatekeeper. Get lost, Vane."
He reached out to shove Vane.
*Snap.*
Vane didn't even uncross his arms. He simply sidestepped, tripped Chi Chen, and slammed his elbow into the boy's solar plexus.
"Gah!" Chi Chen collapsed, gasping for air.
The crowd went silent.
"One Primeval Stone per person," Vane said, his voice level. "Pay the toll, and you can pass."
"You... you're robbing us?" Another student stepped forward, furious. "Do you know who my father is?"
Vane raised his hand. The **Lunite Shard-Tick** in his chest pulsed.
*Zzt!*
A blade of hard blue light extended from his palm, hovering inches from the student's throat.
"I don't care who your father is," Vane said softly. "I care about your wallet."
"He... he can use the Lunite s***h instantly?" Someone whispered. "No incantation? No charge time?"
"That's impossible for a rookie!"
Vane stepped forward. The blue blade hummed.
"I have two symbiotes to feed," he explained, as if discussing the weather. "And I'm very hungry. So... pay up. Or I'll start taking payment in limbs."
Theme was a moment of hesitation. Then, fear took over.
"Here! Take it!" The student threw a glowing stone on the ground and ran.
Vane picked it up. He felt the warm energy inside.
"Next."
That evening, Vane walked back to his dorm with a heavy pouch. He had robbed forty-seven students.
His Aunt and Uncle wanted to cut his funding?
He just found a new source of revenue.
- Writer
