The Ascension Age

Sera didn't have superb combat abilities like Altina, superb shooting abilities Kymei, or superb adaptability like Aire. However, if there was one thing she was good at other than designing Stellar Suits, it was tactics! One must remember that the area where the Stellar Bubbles appeared the most wasn't all that big, considering the number of teams. Nevertheless, she was able to predict the best places to finish a battle before other teams could intervene. She was also the one who came up with their formations.

Well, Sera had to change that formation many times after she noticed Aire's ridiculous improvement. Whatever he did for the first time would end up being incredibly terrible. But as he repeated those things, he would reach a degree of accomplishment that far surpassed Sera and Kymei. The only one he couldn't surpass in combat-related aspects was Altina. At the very most, he would match her, and even that was hard to do.

'In any case, that's beneficial for us. The more used he becomes to this situation, the easier my work will turn out. It's a lot better when I don't need to think about someone who needs protection in our formation,' Sera thought as Aire ran in front of her. 'Well, to be honest, the one in need of protection has now become me. Hahaha!'

"Altina, Aire, Kymei, we've heard battles going on in those three directions. However, I've already selected the direction that would be ideal for us. Considering our speed and the time lost in the last fight, our best route is through the east side, making an arc through the northeast about 230 meters from here to catch the winner of the fight there."

Altina and the others nodded in response as Sera soon shouted, "Let's go!"

Somewhere else, two Riser students were running away. One of them seemed to have an injured leg while the other gasped for air. "Fuck! Fuiedio and Renan got defeated. Even though we survived, we lost half of our members. On top of that, I even broke my leg! How come two more teams have joined the fray without caring for anything else? Haven't they ever thought they could lose everything?"

"Stop complaining and keep running," the other guy said as he helped his friend move. "It shouldn't take long before others arrive where we battled. In any case, the reason why those other two teams joined the battle was probably because they noticed each other's presence. Neither side wanted to give up the fat sheep, so out came that shitty situation. Be happy that we still won in the end. All we need to do is hide for now since we've gotten quite the reward."

Out of nowhere, a voice came from behind one of the trees they passed by. "Too bad you won't get to cherish your rewards."

"What?!" Both Risers were taken aback and immediately tried to step away. Unfortunately, it was too late for them. Silver light pierced through the tree, shooting broken wood pieces all over the two. As they tried to protect themselves, three shadows appeared from behind, already expecting them to jump in that direction.

Naturally, the one who broke the tree with brute force was Altina. As for Sera, Kymei, and Aire, they were the ones who prepared to intercept that team once they tried to move away from Altina's ambush.

*Arrrgh!*

In just a few seconds, their bracelets shone with silver light as the gel enveloped their bodies. From that moment onward, their team was out of the competition.

Sera didn't waste time and used her own bracelet to transfer those guys' Stellar Bubbles to her own. However, she didn't take everything. Aire, Kymei, and Altina also took their share, transferring the Stellar Energy. After all, it would be a terrible idea to have all the Stellar Energy concentrated on a single member of their team.

"Wow! Look at the number! It seems like this team got quite in a brawl back there. Our Stellar Bubble Counter instantly jumped from 7 to 21!" Kymei couldn't help but say those words, visibly excited.

However, Sera immediately reprimanded him, saying, "Shut up! Although I calculated that they would try to escape through this route, I might not have been the only one that has done so. Let's leave this place, quickly!"

Aire and the others nodded in response and immediately began to run using the route set by Sera. Unfortunately, Sera was right. She was very good with tactics, but she wasn't the only one who excelled in it.

For a moment, Aire and Altina felt like something was off. However, there was nothing in their surroundings, which prompted them to look in other directions. May it be coincidence or not, Altina looked up at the tree branches while Aire looked down into the swamp. In the very next second, they saw someone attack Sera and Kymei from these two directions. 

They didn't have time to warn them, so they immediately moved out as their arms shone with Stellar Energy once again.

*Clang! Clang!*

"What?!" The ambushers were taken aback to see someone move against them. They made sure to hide their presence before attacking, so how did Altina and Aire notice that they were there? In the end, the impact against Aire and Altina's Stellar Suit Arms forced those two back.

Of course, the danger wasn't gone yet. "Careful, two people are missing!"

Altina then grabbed Sera by the waist as she used the enemy's attack to jump away. Of course, Altina was a prodigy in battle, so she knew that she definitely couldn't retreat to the opposite side of their exchange. Instead, she focused her Stellar Energy on her right leg, kicking the root of the three and forced her retreat path slightly to the left.

*Vuf!*

Sure enough, Altina was right. In the very next moment, she felt a sharp gust of wind by her side as a sword missed her back.

In Aire's case, he hadn't experienced a two-step ambush yet, so he obviously had a worse time handling it than Altina. He was successful in dodging the enemy's attack, but Kymei wasn't so lucky.

*Crack!*

Altina, Aire, and Sera could only hear the sound of Kymei's shoulder bone cracking as he was sent into the swamp. Even though it wasn't an attack capable of crippling his body or taking his life, Kymei was placed in a bad spot.

Well, it was also the same reason that prevented the defensive bracelet from activating and covering him in the same gel, which would have disqualified Kymei. Only if the Riser was about to receive a fatal attack or one that would cripple them would the bracelet activate. That way, all the participants would always aim for the kill, trying to force the bracelets to stop them. What saved Kymei from that fate was obviously Aire's reaction time, dodging an attack that was aimed at him instead of Kymei.

"Kymei!" Altina shouted as she released Sera and tried to help Kymei.

"Did I say you could leave?" Too bad for her, though. Her opponent was also in the Stellar Manipulation Level, so he immediately jumped in her way, trying to stop Altina. At the same time, he shouted at his group members, "It's Crazy Bitch Altina! Finish the others quickly while I hold her down."

"Out of my way!" Altina tried to break through as her arm shone with silver light. Obviously, she equipped her Stellar Suit Arm. However, the guy's arms and chest also shone in the same way as  different colored Stellar Suit Arms and a Chestpiece appeared.

*Bang!*

In that instant, Altina narrowed her eyes. Her opponent...also had a Stellar Suit! Not only that, his set was a lot more complete than hers!