Chapter 24: Lab Rat


    Following that, Ster Energy flowed into the capsule, being extracted directly from the school reserves. There was so much of the stuff inside the capsule that Aire felt overwhelmed. After all, such levels of concentration would be impossible on the outside.


    ''Focus, Aire. You need to absorb it!'' Ste hastily said, snapping Aire back to reality.


    Aire then took a deep breath in response and began to absorb it. As mentioned before, only at the Ster Path Stage would one be able to create Ster Paths for better use of Ster Energy. Before that, Ster Energy had to be transported through the cells, which was slower whenpared to the Ster Paths. However, Aire had the Energy Blood Flow Assistance, which increased the speed that it flowed.


    Zule examined everyone from outside as he nced at the disy that showed what was happening. ''The minimum score for Ster Energy Absorption Rate is 100, or you won''t be selected to enter the Ascension Age School. The average score was around 313 ording tost year''s tests.''


    Zule then got closer to Aire''s chamber as he paid close attention to him. ''Each Ster Level and their stages have the same score, so the score won''t improve if you simply enter the next stage and have the ability to absorb more Ster Energy because of that. The Baulmu Alliance has already ounted for the improvement, making sure that the score would only change if you''ve really turned out better or worse after your breakthrough.''


    Zule then noticed how the Ster Energy in the capsule entered Aire''s body at a very high speed. It couldn''t bepared to Altina, who was at the Ster Path Stage and had opened all Ster Paths already. However, it was definitely not something you would easily see in a Ster Riser at the Ster Blood Stage. ''Come on, boy. I''m counting on you to help her. Don''t let me down.''


    *Beep, Beep, Beep...*


    Zule soon heard the disy nearby beep, making him focus his attention onto it. Surprisingly, the first one to obtain their results was Sera, with a score of 423 points. Just as Sera mentioned in the past, they were above average, but they weren''t that impressive. 423 points just proved that conjecture. ''Altina and Kymei shouldn''t be too far away from it.''


    Soon after, that point was automatically added to the school''s ranking lists. The first one was the Team Score, which would be the sum of all four members. The second one was the individual score. Obviously, thetter was for oneself.


    -Sera Lakamine, 432 Points, 1856th position.-


    Considering that there were more than seven hundred thousand students, Sera should be grateful that she appeared there. However, not even a secondter, her position began to decline.


    ''Not surprising. After all, everyone''s still going through their tests, so her position will keep falling in the next three days. If she does as she didst year, Sera should end up at around the 7000th position,'' Zule thought.


    *Beep, Beep, Beep...*


    -Kymei Foliu, 451 Points, 1632nd position.-


    Sure enough, as soon as Kymei''s position appeared, it began to drop as well as more and more students went through their tests.


    *Beep, Beep, Beep...*


    Altina was the next one after Kymei. Zule wasn''t surprised that Aire was thest one to finish. After all, he had never taken this test before, so he would need a few more seconds to adapt before he could absorb Ster Energy efficiently.


    -Altina Larael, 512 Points, 1175th position.-


    Naturally, Altina''s rank began to drop as the other two did. Nevertheless, Zule couldn''t help but show a surprised expression. ''This girl really doesn''t know when to give up. Compared tost year''s result, she was able to improve by more than 50 points. As always, hard work will never betray you.''


    While Zule was thinking of something else, Aire felt reallyfortable at the moment. The Ster Energy running through his body was moving naturally. Without a doubt, that was the result of the Energy Blood Flow Assistance skill from Ste''s system. However, it was then that Ste''s voice echoed in his mind, telling him, ''Aire! We''re super lucky! Go, breakthrough now!''


    Aire was taken aback after hearing that, responding, ''What?! Breakthrough? You mean I should try entering the Ster Bones Stage?''


    He then continued with his words, not thinking it was possible, ''You''re crazy! The capsule will only work for a minute, and I used more than 20 seconds already. If I run out of time, I might suffer a bacsh due to theck of Ster Energy for the breakthrough!''


    Steughed in response, saying, ''Hahaha! Are you looking down on a body modified by the Ascension Age Soul Assistance? Trust me, Aire! No, trust your sister''s face! You will seed for sure!''


    ''Fuck you! I already said not to bring my sister into this!'' However, Aire understood that if he could really enter the Second Stage of the Ster Body Transformation Level, Ster Bones, it would be of tremendous help. After all, he only had a year to reach the Ster Maniption Level.


    ''Alright, I''ll try that now!'' Aire decided to believe in Ste and immediately tried to attempt a breakthrough...or so he wanted to. ''Errr...how exactly do I do it?''


    Ste felt like crying! ''You don''t know?! No, forget it. We don''t have time. Just do what I say.''


    Outside, Altina, Kymei, and Sera had already exited their capsules. After all, they didn''t need more than 15 to 20 seconds to finish their test. Together with Zule, they all looked at Aire as he continued with his test. However...


    "Is it me, or is there way too much Ster Energy entering his body?" Kymei asked, confused as he looked at the disy representing Aire''s capsule.


    "Hahaha! This boy is quite crazy. He''s attempting a breakthrough!" Zule, on the other hand, noticed what Aire was doing straight away.


    "What?! Did he lose his mind?! What if the supply of Ster Energy stops?" Sera and Altina asked at the same time.


    Zule shook his head, replying, "There''s nothing we can do about it. The capsule will only work for one minute for each student. Even I can''t change that. However, I don''t think he would try it if he wasn''t confident." Zule''s eyes shone as he looked at Aire. Somehow, he felt that Aire would definitely seed.


    Suddenly, the amount of Ster Energy being used by the capsule skyrocketed on the disy. Following that, Sera, Kymei, Altina, and Zule felt a burst of Ster Energying from the capsule. After that, the Ster Energy around Aire stabilized just in time for the capsule to stop working after one minute was gone.


    "This..." Altina''s group couldn''t believe what they had witnessed.


    Aire took a step outside and stretched his arms as he said, "Phew... I was afraid for a moment that it wouldn''t work. Fortunately, it went well."


    He couldn''t help butugh after that, continuing, "Hey guys! I''m now at the Ster Bones Stage!"


    Kymei was the first one to recover after hearing that, asking in shock, "What the hell?! Since when did a breakthrough happen this quickly?! That''s impossible!"


    Sera and Altina quickly recovered before nodding vigorously as one of them asked Aire, "Yeah, yeah! How did you do that? Everyone takes an hour at the very least, and those are the really top-ranked geniuses. Not to mention that they use a lot of Ster Resources to do so! Are you even human?!"


    Aire was taken aback as he asked Ste, ''Ste, is what they said true?''


    ''Well, they don''t have the perfect breakthrough method like you do. Consider it a free perk I''m giving you. Hahaha!'' Ste said all of that while feeling very proud of herself.


    However, Aire was already sweating as he asked Zule, "Wh-What if others find about it?"


    Zule yfully smiled in response as he replied, "It seems...we have a newb rat."