Dawn was just painting the sky pale orange when Xalen and Selene stepped out of their apartment and made their way toward the academy.
The siblings both attended the same gene academy—Xalen was in the high school division, while Selene was still in the junior high.
They’d barely crossed the threshold of their building when a string of familiar calls drifted over.
“Hey Xalen, Selene, heading to school already?”
“Up that early? You two grab breakfast yet?”
“How’s Daisy holding up? Any improvement on her condition?”
They’d lived on Maple Street for more than ten years, so they knew practically every neighbor on the block by name. Everyone waved and called out greetings when they spotted the pair, and a few even stopped to ask after their mom’s health. Xalen and Selene responded politely, answering each question one by one.
It didn’t take long, though, for the tone of the comments to sour.
“Xalen, what a shame—who would’ve guessed you’d awaken a lizard gene, of all things?”
“Right! His grades were always top of his class at the academy. Total waste of potential!”
“Selene, you better put the work in, okay? When your awakening rolls around, make sure you get a decent gene.”
“Ha! With a brother who pulled a lizard gene, how good could the sister’s possibly be?”
“Y’all don’t think Daisy got sick from all the stress Xalen put her through, right?”
For every kind neighbor, there was always someone itching to kick people when they were down. Case in point: Aunt Tanny, who’d had a years-long grudge against their mom Daisy. Every word out of her mouth was sharp enough to cut, oozing with petty, passive-aggressive venom.
Selene froze mid-step the second she heard that, glowering daggers at Tanny. “Aunt Tanny, if you don’t have anything nice to say, keep your mouth shut. Even if my brother awakened a lizard gene, his grades have always been way better than everyone else’s. He’s still gonna make something of himself!”
“Ha! A lizard gene? Make something of himself? You kidding me right now?” Tanny planted her hands on her hips, her stocky frame shaking with raucous laughter. The root of her hatred for Daisy was simple: Daisy had caught her husband’s wandering eye years back, and Tanny had been calling her a homewrecker behind closed doors ever since. As far as she was concerned, Xalen and Selene were just the brats of a homewrecker, and she had zero patience for either of them. When she’d heard Xalen had awakened a useless lizard gene, she’d practically thrown a party.
Now, hearing Selene defend him, she didn’t hold back on the mockery.
“Tanny, what the hell are you saying to the kids?”
“Yeah, cut it out. That’s enough.”
A few nearby neighbors had seen enough and stepped in to defuse the tension, but Tanny just shot them all a vicious glare. “Am I wrong?!”
The crowd went quiet immediately. This was an era where every citizen trained to be a Gene Soldier if they could. Even ordinary civilians knew the ins and outs of gene rankings like the back of their hand, and they all knew exactly what a “lizard gene” meant. One by one, they just sighed and looked away.
That was when Selene spoke up again, her voice sharp and unshakable.
“You don’t believe me? Fine—my brother’s about to take his graduation trial. When the results come out, they’re gonna blind all of you!”
She meant every word. Ever since she’d learned Xalen actually had a Tyrant Dragon gene, she’d had absolute faith he was gonna blow every expectation out of the water.
Tanny, of course, had no clue about that. The comment just made her laugh even harder, loud enough to rattle the nearby fence posts.
“Ha! Xalen, you’re actually still showing up for the graduation trial? Give it a rest. I heard those trials have a fatality rate, y’know? Don’t go getting yourself killed just to try and prove a stupid point!”
“Take my free advice—there’s a janitor opening at the mall down the block. You’d be better off locking that down first!”
The neighbors all frowned. That was way out of line. Selene’s face went dark with rage, but Xalen just let out a quiet, amused chuckle.
“Aunt Tanny, you really think that little of me, huh? Alright then. Let’s make a bet.”
“If I pass my graduation trial, you give me 1,000 credits. If I fail, I give you 1,000 credits. Sound fair?”
Huh?!
Tanny blinked, stunned for a second. The other neighbors were just as caught off guard. Only Selene’s eyes lit up instantly—she got it immediately. What was the point of yelling insults back and forth? A bet would hit way harder than any words ever could, and they’d walk away with something actually useful out of it.
“Wait, you wanna bet me? That you’ll pass the graduation trial?” Tanny cackled again, like she’d just heard the funniest joke of her life. “That’s just handing me free money! Forget 1,000 credits—make it 10,000 for all I care. Except… do you even have that kind of cash? Last I checked, Daisy’s hospital bills are already past due, aren’t they?”
Her face was twisted into a sneer of pure mockery. She knew the graduation trial’s passing requirement cold: kill ten Aberrant Creatures. There was no way in hell Xalen could pull that off. That bar was tough even for average Gene Soldiers—only Rare gene holders could barely scrape by. Xalen’s lizard gene wasn’t even a proper Common tier. He didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell.
She definitely wanted to take the bet—free money was free money, after all. She just wasn’t sure Xalen could actually scrape together 10,000 credits to pay up if he lost.
Xalen just smiled faintly. “I don’t have 10k credits right now, no. But I am a Gene Soldier now. You don’t think I can earn that much?”
He was quietly satisfied with how this was playing out. He’d had to put up with Tanny’s garbage for years thanks to her grudge against his mom, but he’d never had a good way to shut her up before. Now she was practically handing him the perfect excuse to put her in her place on a silver platter. He’d intentionally proposed 1,000 credits first, low enough that she’d actually agree to the bet. He’d never expected her to jack the stake up ten times on her own. That was enough to cover his mom’s entire hospital bill for a full month. Beside him, Selene was practically vibrating with excitement, squeezing his hand so tight her knuckles were white.
Tanny’s eyes darted back and forth as she did the math in her head. 10,000 credits sounded like a lot, but it wasn’t unmanageable. An average civilian could save that much in six months of scrimping, and a Gene Soldier could earn it way faster. If Xalen lost, he’d have to find a way to pay up, no excuses.
The neighbors jumped in again before she could answer.
“Tanny, that’s enough. Daisy’s not even here—don’t take it out on her kids.”
“Yeah, this is messed up. Her situation’s already bad enough.”
Tanny didn’t care at all. If anything, she just sneered even colder. “What are you all yapping about? Xalen’s the one who wanted to bet me! Fine! You all can be witnesses, then! If Xalen passes his trial, I’ll pay him 10,000 credits. If he fails, he pays me 10,000. That’s settled!”
She turned back to Xalen, her voice sharp with threat. “You better not back out, kid. If you do, I’ll make sure every last person in this slum knows what a cowardly little scum you are.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Xalen said, the corner of his mouth tugging up in a faint smirk.
With that, he and Selene turned and left Maple Street, heading straight for the academy. Faint murmurs from the neighbors drifted after them, along with Tanny’s dismissive, smug snort.
As soon as they were far enough out of earshot, Selene grabbed Xalen’s arm, bouncing on her heels with excitement. “Bro, when you win, you gotta split some of that with me, right?”
“We’ll see,” Xalen laughed.
He hadn’t even stepped foot in the graduation trial yet, and he was already 10,000 credits richer in all but name. He couldn’t help but feel his mood lift a little.