The obsidian slate behind Kaelen’s eyelids pulsed with sharp crimson script.
[STAGE 3 THRESHOLD WARNING DETECTED] [EXTERNAL RESONANCE TRAP: INQUISITORIAL FREQUENCY HARMONIC] [UNSEALED PARTIAL DRAW DETECTED. HAZARD: 24-HOUR Fallow Disturbance FREEZE + 25% MOMENTUM TAX ON ALL ACTIVE ACCUMULATIONS.] [TRACK 1 (VESSEL): 720h 09m (7,210x)] [TRACK 2 (COMBAT): 971h 10m (9,720x; 7,210x seal held)] [TRACK 3 (COMPREHENSION): 240h 10m (240h SLICE SEALED AT 241x)]
Karst really thought this through, Kaelen thought. He wants me to panic, draw raw Qi to defend my dantian, and trigger a system freeze.
A twenty-four-hour Fallow Disturbance freeze would lock his slate until Saturday noon. Worse, losing a quarter of his accumulated momentum on more than nine hundred hours of combat training was an unacceptable loss.
Every hour I spent napping on that porch was earned with absolute dedication, Kaelen told himself. Nobody steals my resting hours without paying triple in damages.
On the high terrace, Vice-Dean Karst gripped the brass inspection mirror with white-knuckled intensity. The oily yellow liquid on its surface swirled faster, casting a sickening jaundiced glow over the jade platform.
“You have ten seconds, Disciple Vance,” Karst called down, his voice echoing across the silent plaza. “Strike the testing pillar with your full power. The assembly is waiting.”
