Rowan stared a bit. “Actually, yeah. They were all spaced evenly, forming some kind of pattern. They did not look natural either.”

His mom asked: “Do you know something about them, Carol?”

The Instructor shook her head. “I’m not sure. There was a rumor a few years ago where some of the survivors from the 2nd generation expansion mission talked about hill mounds on fire preventing them from securing key areas. I’ll try to gather some info about it.”

She looked at him seriously. “It's a miracle you're still alive, Rowan. You did well to survive but you were also incredibly lucky. So just take some well deserved rest and recover. Getting your arms and legs cut would definitely leave a mental scar.”

He didn't mention that he had no time to rest since he would still be joining the upcoming expedition and to learn about his new healing ability. That could wait until he finished his dinner tonight. So, Rowan just nodded. 

“Well, my Little Star's first step to his recovery would be to enjoy all the delicacies I prepared! It's ready now!”

Rowan smiled and went to help bring all the foods to the table. After that, they all enjoyed the delicious dishes his mom prepared and felt satisfied. How much he missed this taste! He felt like his body and mind was completely rejuvenated. 

A few moments later, he went near the Instructor, who was sipping fruit juice and said in a low voice: “Instructor, can I talk to you alone for a bit?”

She looked at him curiously and nodded. They went out to the front porch and he looked back, and asked “Umm. Can you please use a dome of silence, Instructor?”

She raised an eyebrow and took out a small cubic device and activated it, enveloping them in a small translucent dome. 

After that, she asked in a curious tone : “What's all this about Rowan?”

He looked towards the sky, which was completely empty of stars, with nothing but the city Barrier in sight. 

“About the upcoming expedition. I still have to join it. My initial assimilation is not complete. I didn't want mom to know about it too soon. I wanna spend some more time with her without making her worry. What's worse is I have some kind of a ticking time bomb inside me. If I don't venture out into the Beyond soon, it will explode. Please don't tell that to mom though. The bomb thing.”

The Instructor stared at him with wide eyes and slowly opened her mouth. “What?”

It was quite funny, seeing the Instructor like that. He just replied “Yeah. I'm on a timer right now. Don't worry though. As long as I complete the assimilation, I'll be fine.” He looked at her and continued: “Oh and if it's not too much trouble, please continue to train me. I'll need to readjust to my new strength.”

She shook her head slowly and replied “No. It's no trouble. We'll continue your training tomorrow until you're admitted to the Academy.”

She sighed. “Alright. I won't tell the senior about it.” With that, she deactivated the dome and started heading inside. 

He followed her and exclaimed: “Oh and I got a new ability! And guess what? It's a healing type!”

She stopped in her tracks and looked back at him. “Really? That's…amazing. Have you tried it?”

He shook his head and replied: “No. I was about to ask you to help me with it. It's a new one so I'm not really sure how to activate it.”

They continued walking and reached the guest room, the lights turning on as they entered. Sitting on the sofa, she turned towards him and continued. “Since it's your second ability, it would require Sparks to activate it. Try to feel it circulating through your body. Breathe steadily.”

At that moment, both Talia and his mom entered the guest room. His mom looked at them and chuckled softly. “Ever the diligent master and student. And did I hear about a healing ability, Little Star?”

‘Wow. Mom's hearing is sharp. Well she is a Blessed (Master) afterall.’ He replied “Yeah. I got a healing ability”

She hummed thoughtfully. “If it's a healing ability, it most likely requires you to be in direct contact with the injured and activate it near the concerned area. Wait. What is the Backlash?”

Rowan looked away and said in a low voice: “The pain of the injured will be transferred to me…”

All three of them looked at him in concern. Instructor Carol spoke first. “That… would be a problem if you have to heal multiple serious injuries.”

‘Exactly.’ Rowan thought. ‘That's why I need to increase my pain endurance.’

His mom sighed. “Well, that's the reality of our abilities, especially potent ones. There is always a price. For now, learn how to control it.”

With that, she summoned a small dagger, materializing after a few seconds and made a small cut on her left index finger. 

“Try healing it Little Star”

Rowan went and stood in front of his mom and took a deep breath. He raised both his hands and placed it near the injured finger. Closing his eyes, he tried to feel his Sparks and channel it towards his hands, imagining healing where it touched. 

After a few seconds, tiny ghostly blue flames jumped from his hands towards his mom's injured finger. It immediately started mending the torn flesh and after a few heartbeats, it was completely healed. Not even a blemish was left behind, the skin perfectly smooth. 

Right at that moment, he felt a sting on his left index finger. The pain should've been negligible but it still felt like it was not from a small cut. ‘Huh. So the pain I receive is indeed amplified. Darn it.’

He looked up and saw his mom and the others staring at the healed finger, blinking a couple of times. His mom spoke up first in an amazed tone. “This… is incredible. Not only did it not leave a single scar behind, which is unusual, but I felt… relaxed when those flames came into contact. The slight sting from the cut completely disappeared too!”

She turned her head towards him, smiling and ruffled his hair. “Amazing! This ability would definitely be sought after. Though you must be careful with it because of the Backlash. The mind has a limit to how much pain it can endure.”

Rowan nodded “I understand, mom. I'll be careful.”

After that, Instructor Carol reassured that she would write the report in a way that wouldn't cause him and his family any trouble from the Great Families and the government and left. 

A few weeks passed. He spent those days training with his new ability and spending more quality time with his mom. Eventually though, he told her about his plan to join the expedition and the reason, without the exploding part. She wasn't happy at first, understandably but she herself was a Blessed and knew about the necessity of completing their first assimilation. So, she reluctantly agreed and told him she would try to find suitable artifacts for his journey. 

The thing is, if it was possible to bring any kind of artifact to their first expedition then life would have been so much easier. But that wasn't the case. High rank artifacts are rejected. Even the lowest rank artifacts were sometimes rejected by the Gate. It was kinda random. 

So, the people who had to challenge their first Beyond assimilation had to rely on their own strength, cunning and their teammates. 

For the teammates' part, the day came when he had to join the Central Blessed Academy. He had to spend around a month there and try to get to know his fellow Challengers. 

He packed up everything necessary and headed out, where his mom was waiting for him near her armored military issue car. She gave him a worried look but still smiled. “Ready?”

He nodded. “Ready.”

With that, they drove off towards the place where he would try to make his first real friends. Hopefully…