The third year at the Academy didn't begin in a dusty classroom or a high-gravity forge.
Instead, it began with a boarding pass.
To celebrate the transition into the senior tier of the primary block, the school organized a grand excursion to TOI-1452 b.
The transition from the rigid, obsidian halls of the Academy to the liquid paradise of the Orion Arm was a series of node jumps, calculated through the tapestry of space.
To transport a class of primary students 99 light-years, the Academy utilized a high-speed cargo and passenger ship.
It was larger than a normal battleship, powered by a dual-core engine and bolstered by Loom Phase cultivators.
However, the true "speed" came from the faculty.
On the bridge, a Weave Phase Dean stood at the primary conduits, stitching their energy loom into the ship's warp-drive ports to stabilize the folding of space.
In the engine room, a Weave Phase pilot acted as a biological stabilizer.
His violet energy loom lattice held the ship's atoms together as they bypassed the traditional light-speed barriers of the Local Bubble.
They made three tactical stops: first near the shimmering binary of Alpha Centauri to recalibrate gravity sensors.
Then, a silent glide past the red ember of Gliese 687.
Finally, they made a breathtaking slingshot around the northern stars of Draco.
To the students looking out the reinforced viewports, the stars didn't twinkle; they became long, iridescent ribbons of light that mirrored their own cultivation paths.
The Shores of Draco
As the Academy's shuttle touched down on one of the floating resort platforms of TOI-1452 b, the students were greeted by an endless horizon of turquoise water.
Under the dim, romantic glow of the red dwarf sun, the planet's global ocean stayed a constant, perfect warmth.
The schedule was a rare reprieve: no textbooks, no gravity drills.
Instead, there were injections to make their bodies stronger and swimming sessions to control internal body heat levels.
Plus, due to the rapid growth of the body required to contain ribbon energy, their bodies were growing faster than a normal human.
In Kaelen's past life on Earth, students at the age of 12 looked like children, but here, they almost looked like adults.
The main event of the excursion was the Beach Ribbon Ball.
Everyone swapped their heavy school uniforms for high-tech swimwear designed to handle the planet's 1.1g gravity.
The girls wore sleek, shimmering suits that highlighted their developing athletic frames, adding a touch of spice to the usually rigid atmosphere.
Kaelen stood on the white synthetic sand, feeling a bit self-conscious.
His body was still substantial—a heavy, "chubby" vault of assimilated metal.
The swim-briefs revealed the faint, glowing crimson lines of his Level 30 threads pulsing beneath his skin like living, metallic tattoos.
The Game of Waves
The game was a chaotic blend of volleyball and combat training.
Two teams faced off in waist-deep water, using their Ribbons to propel a heavy, energy-sensitive ball over a high-tension net.
Kaelen found himself on a team with Mina.
As the most popular girl in the grade, she moved through the water like a mermaid, her light-blue threads dancing around her as she spiked the ball with effortless grace.
The game reached a fever pitch.
The ball came screaming toward their side, supercharged with kinetic energy from the opposing team's captain.
"I've got it!" Mina cried out.
She leaped into the air, her lithe body arching as she used her Ribbons to boost her jump.
She connected with the ball, sending a perfect pass toward the backline.
However, the momentum of the high-energy collision, combined with the slippery surface of the submerged sand, threw her off balance.
A Heartbeat out of Sync
Mina tumbled backward.
Kaelen, instinctively moving to support his teammate, stepped forward to catch her.
She landed directly against him, her back pressed to his chest as they both splashed into the warm, salt-free water.
Because of Kaelen's immense mass and the Slot 13 Armor Field subtly reinforcing his density, he didn't fall.
He remained a solid anchor in the surf.
For a long moment, Mina was draped over his arms, her wet hair brushing against his neck.
Kaelen's heart hammered against his ribs—not from the exertion of the game, but from the sudden, electrifying proximity to her.
He could feel the warmth of her skin and the faint thrum of her own Silver Ribbons reacting to the physical touch.
Mina looked up, her face flushed from the game and the sudden closeness.
"Oh! Sorry, Kaelen," she giggled, though she didn't move away immediately.
"You're... you're really strong. Like a rock."
Kaelen's face turned as red as the dwarf star hanging in the Draco sky.
He had faced unending hunger, forged liquid metal, and carried a fragment of a Void Whale in his head.
Yet, he had no "Secondary Computing" logic to handle a beautiful girl falling into his arms.
[HEART RATE: 140 BPM. ADRENALINE SPIKE DETECTED,] Redveil whispered mischievously in the back of his mind.
[WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO ACTIVATE THE COOLING CIRCUIT, OR ARE WE ENJOYING THE SUDDEN INCREASE IN SYSTEM TEMPERATURE?]
"Be quiet, Redveil," Kaelen thought frantically, helping Mina back to her feet.
As the game resumed, the lingering warmth stayed with him.
The "Chubby Veyron" was starting to realize that being a "Large solid mountain" had its perks.
Especially when the most beautiful girl in school needed something steady to hold onto.