The Fourth Star Era, 3018.
The Blue Crystal Federation, Telan Planet...
"Students, the Federation's college entrance exams are over. Your scores will be announced in five days. You can leave the classroom now and enjoy your vacation."
Inside a classroom, a middle-aged teacher with a slightly receding hairline casually shut off the virtual screen and smiled at the students below.
"Woo!! Goodbye, Teacher Chen!!"
Amid excited cheers, the classroom emptied in less than two minutes.
Teacher Chen shook his head helplessly and looked at the three students who remained, his expression gradually turning serious.
"You three... are you sure you want to apply to Starship Academy?"
In the front row, Feng Xiao looked away from the enormous starport in the sky outside the window and turned to Teacher Chen. He nodded first, his eyes full of resolve.
He had been transported here from the twenty-first century eighteen years ago. He had completely adapted to this world and knew exactly what he wanted.
Even setting aside the fact that he'd been an adventurer who loved exploring in his previous life, no passionate young person from the twenty-first century could sit still after being transported to the vast, mysterious interstellar society.
The universe was so vast. Of course he wanted to see it.
Unfortunately, even in an interstellar society with extremely advanced technology, exploring the universe freely was no easy feat.
Without the ability to protect himself, he'd just be asking for death.
There were many paths to exploring the universe, but he only had one option.
Joining the military was out of the question because of his family circumstances. His family would never agree to him becoming a mercenary, either. And piloting an ordinary battleship into the unknown would be tantamount to suicide.
Only by becoming a mysterious and powerful starship captain in human civilization could he satisfy the adventurous spirit within him and explore the universe's many mysteries.
Starship Academy was the crucial first step.
But before that, he had to awaken his starship captain talent. Otherwise, it would all be pointless.
Teacher Chen said no more. He motioned for Feng Xiao and the other two to follow him, and the four of them quickly left the classroom.
"Starships are the core reason human civilization was able to grow from weakness to strength. They possess all kinds of mysterious and extraordinary powers!
"Only after awakening captain talent can you use a special item provided by Starship Academy to obtain a starship core from the highest dimension and create your own starship.
"The odds of awakening captain talent are less than one in ten million. Telan Planet has a population of over three billion, and last year only a few students managed to awaken."
Teacher Chen explained as he boarded the hovercar with the three students. The other two students' faces instantly paled, and the resolve in their eyes began to waver.
But soon, it returned.
Awakening was expensive, but it was the best way for ordinary people to rise into the privileged class.
Starship captains enjoyed extraordinary status and privileges throughout civilization. Even the ruling classes of various nations treated them with respect.
Any student whose family had some assets would choose to awaken captain talent. Whether they succeeded or not was a matter of luck.
Feng Xiao, however, remained perfectly calm. He already knew the statistics Teacher Chen had mentioned. He also knew that two starship captains were stationed on Telan Planet.
Not that it meant anything in particular. One of them just happened to be his father.
As for his mother...
He'd heard she was also a powerful starship captain, but she had vanished shortly after he was born.
In short, as the son of two starship captains who were far from weak, his odds of awakening captain talent were around eighty percent.
As someone who'd been transported here, he dared say his starting conditions ranked among the best of all transmigrators.
And that wasn't even counting the cheat he'd brought with him!
Feng Xiao glanced at the panel in his mind, growing even more confident.
[Heart of Dawn at your service. Functions: Scan (unlocked upon awakening) Lock (unlocked upon awakening) Analyze (unlocked upon awakening) Other functions are not yet available]
It looked rather rudimentary, but Feng Xiao wouldn't underestimate the mysterious panel that had accompanied him since birth, especially since it was related to starships.
As for where it came from...
Why bother figuring that out? Things would work out when he got there. As long as it was useful, that was enough.
Teacher Chen had been watching the three students' expressions the whole time. Seeing Feng Xiao's calm demeanor, he felt relieved.
Feng Xiao was one of the top students in their class. Not only did he have a mysterious background, but he was also very considerate.
He'd made Teacher Chen's job much easier over the past three years. Naturally, Teacher Chen was pleased to see him so confident now.
"We're here. Get out."
Teacher Chen parked the car in front of a semicircular building a hundred meters tall. They soon arrived at the top floor, where there was a hall lined with devices resembling hibernation pods.
The Awakening Hall.
Only government-authorized states recognized by human civilization—also known as the Star Sea Human Alliance—were equipped with awakening pods. Private ownership was strictly forbidden.
"Several students are undergoing awakening. Please wait. You're the last group today."
The teacher at the reception glanced over. His gaze lingered for a moment on Feng Xiao, whose tousled hair and comfortable features made him easy on the eyes, before he smiled.
Natural good looks were the real deal. It was a good thing he'd resisted the temptation to alter his appearance back then.
Feng Xiao thought, feeling a little smug.
Click!
The alloy doors suddenly opened, and more than a dozen boys and girls walked out of the Awakening Hall, looking dejected and radiating an air of defeat.
The standard look of those who had failed to awaken.
Teacher Chen and the receptionist were clearly used to it. They watched them leave with calm expressions.
"It's okay. Just stay calm."
Feng Xiao could clearly feel the two classmates beside him getting nervous.
He smiled and reassured them, then walked into the Awakening Hall first and lay down inside a pod.
The next moment, everything went black. As Feng Xiao felt the world spin around him, his consciousness entered a space filled with colorful energy clusters.
It worked!
"I can't move. Can I only float around?"
Feng Xiao looked around curiously, a smile creeping onto his face. According to his father, this was a mysterious space where people acquired their personal talents.
The clusters of light he could see were all talents related to him, though they were of different grades. Which talent he obtained was entirely random.
"Good thing it worked. Otherwise, I'd be in trouble."
Feng Xiao finally relaxed. His chances of awakening were high, but success wasn't guaranteed.
He might still be able to obtain a starship without awakening, but it wouldn't be as powerful as a bonded starship.
"I wonder what talent I'll get."
As the clusters of light gathered around him, Feng Xiao began to feel uneasy.
But just as he was about to touch one of the energy clusters, the Heart of Dawn panel in his consciousness suddenly trembled.
Feng Xiao's consciousness returned to his body, and another special panel instantly unfolded in his mind.
[Captain: Feng Xiao Talent: Data Corruption (Select) Starship: None Star Weapon: None Level: None Skills: None Enhancements: None]
Data Corruption?
Captain talent was a crucial part of a starship. He'd never heard of it getting corrupted. Surely he should at least have one talent, right?
Feng Xiao didn't panic. His gaze paused on the words "Select" in pale gold, and he instinctively thought, Select.
The Heart of Dawn panel appeared beside the captain panel, and all its functions were now active.
[Heart of Dawn (Repair: 5%) Scan: No target selected Lock: No anchor point selected Analyze: Selecting talent (Expand) Remaining functions are not yet available.]
Feng Xiao focused on the Analyze option and curiously thought, Expand.
Selecting a talent?
Wasn't it supposed to be random...?
Feng Xiao's eyes flew open, his clear black pupils filled with bewilderment.
[Analyze: Captain Talent (all talents related to you.) Please select your talent-- Legendary Talent ×1 (Expand) Epic Talent ×2 (Expand) ...]
Coming back to his senses, Feng Xiao immediately looked at the Legendary Talent, even though his father had never told him the specific differences between the talent grades.
But Legendary was clearly the highest grade. If he could choose, of course he'd pick the best!
So that was one of the Heart of Dawn's functions?
What a high-level cheat.
What was he supposed to do now that he suddenly didn't feel like working hard anymore?
{PS: This book has nothing to do with any country or politics. It is purely fictional. If anything seems familiar, please let it slide.}
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