Life Stolen

After viewing all of the Old Arix's memories, Arix placed her hand over her chest, her eyes coldly determined. "I will make them pay for what they've done!"

Taking a deep breath, she set the envelope aside on the bed. Right now, she wasn't in a position to confront a planet ruler.

Her immediate priority was to completely clear the lingering black fog from the poison that remained in her mind. If left unchecked, Arix herself might soon meet the same fate as the Old Arix.

Closing her eyes, Arix began to meditate. Her consciousness smoothly entered her psychic world. The moment her awareness entered, the psychic world, like an overinflated balloon, suddenly burst.

Arix felt a clear change. Her psychic world had transformed from a narrow, rushing river into a vast and calm sea, endless and serene.

Arix didn't realize how unbelievably expansive her psychic world had become. She only faintly sensed that her psychic power seemed to have upgraded, and the level was not low.

Even in the memories of the Old Arix, she had never had such an immense psychic world. 

Originally, the Old Arix's psychic power was shocking enough to astound the entire Alliance. However, due to her own lack of awareness in this area, her prodigious abilities remained unrecognized.

Arix was unaware of how astonishing her talent had now become. At this moment, looking at the black fog generated by the poison in her psychic world, she felt an instinctive, intense aversion.

The psychic power in her psychic world, as if sensing her emotions, attacked the black fog in a frenzy.

The erosive nature of the black fog was strong, turning countless psychic powers dark.

More psychic powers surged forward, relentlessly expelling the black fog.

After a full hour, Arix finally expelled the last trace of black fog from her body. Watching the fog dissipate in the air, she finally relaxed. She then had the chance to examine the psychic powers in her psychic world more closely.

With the black fog gone, her mental realm became incredibly calm. The occasional ripples that stirred up would flash a faint, icy blue glint, looking from afar like glowing stars, profoundly stunning.

After some investigation, Arix concluded that she seemed to have acquired some kind of superpower.

She didn't fully understand the function of these psychic powers yet. However, just the glimpse of psychic power she had witnessed was enough to thrill her to the core.

After exiting her psychic world, it took Arix a while to calm down. She looked out the window again and noticed that the mechas and insectoid monsters from earlier had vanished without a trace.

Arix took a deep breath of relief. She picked up the recommendation letter for the Hecaris Military Academy from the bed.

After experiencing the changes in her psychic world, Arix was filled with curiosity and excitement about this unfamiliar interstellar era. This recommendation letter would be her key to unlocking the door to this new world.

Early the next morning, Arix left 900,000 astracredits from the 1 million ransom money for Sister Gwen. To avoid causing trouble by staying too long, she decided to leave early.

Gwen refused to accept the money. "You're leaving us to explore the outside world, where you'll have many expenses. Keep it. If I need it, I'll ask you for it."

Arix urged, "Think of it as for the kids. It can buy them new clothes, and cover their medical expenses if they get sick."

After a pause, Gwen agreed to take the money. With that settled, Arix said goodbye to everyone at the orphanage and left.

She made a special trip to thank Zenis, the veteran, and then she headed to the spaceship terminal.

She booked a ticket for a noon flight.

On the spaceship, Arix watched as the dreary Planet Waste faded from view. She turned her attention away and started looking up the five military academies on her opticomputer.

The Alliance was known as the Alliance of the Stars. It had five military academies in total, the first being the Koros Military Academy on Planet Koros. The lowest rank for a tutor at this academy was a Star-Class mecha warrior, and their president was a Supergiant-Class mecha pilot. 

Given that there were only a handful of Supergiant-Class mecha pilots in the entire Alliance, the president was practically a living legend. This was probably why the Koros Military Academy was considered a holy place for countless mecha pilots, with 70% of the Alliance's mecha pilots choosing to study there every year.

The Snorri Military Academy on Planet Snorri was somewhat complicated. Firstly, its tuition fees were ten times those of other military academies, attracting mainly wealthy heirs and socialites, along with some government officials' children.

Success at this school didn't necessarily require talent but definitely demanded wealth or power.

The Snorri Military Academy was most renowned for its annual participation in the mecha league among the five military academies. They consistently used highly expensive mechas to secure an advantage in the competitions, which always aroused envy among the other academies.

The most laid-back was The Ceres Military Academy on Ceres, which primarily focused on biology and chemistry, especially drug development.

The academy involved extensive work with alien flora and fauna, keeping students and faculty busy with tasks like feeding mice to weeping flowers or milking cows with a hundred teats.

Students from The Ceres Military Academy were often called "interstellar farmers," a moniker they embraced rather than resented.

Underestimating The Ceres Military Academy proved to be a grave mistake. On one occasion, a student from The Mulado Military Academy insulted The Ceres students online as "mecha duds."

This led to all Alliance chemists ceasing potion supplies to the offender's family until they disowned him.

The Mulado Military Academy on Planet Mulado was notable for its exclusivity, mainly recruiting for its Psychic Ware program.

The program's demands were high, with most students unable to produce a single Psychic Ware in six months.

Those who managed to produce one in three months were considered genius.

Psychic Ware was crucial for enhancing a mecha pilot's psychic power level, which was essential for operating mechas of corresponding power levels.

However, the high cost of Psychic Ware often deterred many who wanted to join.

Finally, The Hecaris Military Academy on Planet Hecaris, focusing on mecha manufacturing, was known for its inclusiveness.

Its first president was a civilian mecha manufacturer, leading to a more open recruitment policy. Even students from Planet Waste had equal opportunities to compete for admission. 

However, The Hecaris Military Academy had the most stringent entrance exam of all academies due to its limited resources and the vast number of applicants—up to 50,000—with only the top 1,000 being admitted.

After reviewing the information on the five major academies, Arix took a particular interest in The Hecaris Military Academy, feeling it was a bit of a long shot.

After all, a recommendation letter didn't guarantee direct admission; it merely provided her with an opportunity to be assessed. Whether or not Arix could secure admission would depend on her own abilities.

At that time, both Arix's physical and psychic strengths were at Moon Class. According to the data, at least half of the candidates applying to The Hecaris each year had physical strength talents at Star Class or above.

Initially, Arix felt a bit anxious, but then she realized something: she had already died once, so trying wouldn't cause her any loss since she had nothing left to lose.

A smirk of confidence flashed across Arix's lips. She whispered to herself, "Then, I'll just give it my all. The Hecaris Academy, your Queen is coming!"