The Ascension Age

Another Stellar Bubble appeared from the swamp's surface before Sera moved and captured it with the net. The Stellar Energy inside quickly moved into her bracelet before it was stored for later use. At the same time, Kymei checked the actual ranking, which could be seen in everyone's communicators. 

"Hey, with that bubble, we went up one position," Kymei said with a smile. "We're now 43rd."

Altina didn't seem to be worried about that. "Stop looking at the rank and pay attention to the surroundings. There are less than six hours to go before the end of the mission." Naturally, Altina was ready for when the other teams began to move.

Nevertheless, Aire found it strange as he could not help but say, "Altina, as far as I know, you wouldn't be here, waiting for others to come. I thought you would be the first one to suggest that we should attack."

Altina's mouth twitched in response, replying, "What? You think I'm some sort of crazed battle maniac or something?"

Sera, Kymei, and Aire nodded in agreement to her words without even thinking twice. Naturally, Altina felt like giving these guys a beating. 

"Fuck all of you! I very well know the difference in strength between the top teams and us. We are all more or less equal, so waiting in a terrain that we dominate is obviously the best choice," Altina said as if stating a fact. "I haven't forgotten the main objective. Get as many Stellar Energy Bubbles as possible or the equivalent from other participants. I don't want to move before other teams do so."

Sera couldn't help but comment, "However, you won't stay here forever, right? After all, our initial standings depend on our final position in the ranking."

Altina nodded, responding, "Of course. However, it's the same for all the other teams in the swamp. If they want a much higher position in the school's overall ranking, they would need to move as well. In the end, this is a test of patience. We'll have to see who'll move out first."

Altina was right. Everyone who possessed their own territory in the Stellar Bubbles' Main Area didn't want to move away from their comfort zone yet. At the very least, they didn't want to be the first ones. Everyone wanted to fish in troubled waters.

Unfortunately, Vaxo wasn't willing to wait for that to happen. "Is the system ready?" he asked as he looked at one of the subordinates in the airship's command room. 

"Yes, teacher Vaxo. We can start at any time," the subordinate immediately nodded as he replied. 

Vaxo playfully smiled in response, soon saying, "Alright, start! Let's see how they deal with it."

Back on the ground, the defensive bracelets on the members of Aire's group shone with silver light as a voice soon resounded from it, telling them, "The mission will only last for six more hours. From now on, every team will lose 50% of all the Stellar Energy inside their bracelets every thirty minutes. To prevent it from happening, each team will have to defeat at least one member of an enemy team and capture their Stellar Energy Reserves. Time starts now."

The entire region went silent after that message played out. However, it only lasted for a few seconds. Soon after, the sound of battles began to echo everywhere in the Main Area and the areas close to it. Several teams that had previously left immediately pounced right inside. Sure enough, they were waiting for the top teams to battle it out to try and take them out by surprise. Now, however, such a thing was out of the question. 

Those weren't the only ones, though. All the teams that were initially hidden far away, not planning to rejoin the fray, had to change their plans on the spot. Without any other choice, they all made their way to the Main Area as well.

Back at Aire's group, all their faces were grim. Let alone the top teams. They would now have to deal with many smaller teams at once.

"Sera, can you find a safe route with the least number of groups?" Altina asked in a hurry as she heard the sound of approaching enemies.

Sera shook her head as she hastily replied, "The sudden change has made everything too random. We'll have to battle for a while while I analyze the battlefield."

Soon, Aire saw several shadows approaching from Sera's back as he hastily shouted, "There they come!"

Altina didn't lose her cool as she jumped forward. At the same time, Sera controlled the team's formation, commanding, "Altina and Aire will form the front. I'll try to prevent anyone from getting close to Kymei while he gives long-range support. Everyone, staying in one spot is the worst option for us. We'll advance as we attack. We can't stop!"

Altina and Aire nodded as they replied in unison, "On it!" The two then immediately started to fight the team that had just arrived while Kymei gave long-range support. Sera wasn't nearly as good as Kymei with Stellar Guns, but she still had one, so she just shot while keeping an eye on the surroundings to prevent Kymei from being ambushed.

*Bang! Crack!*

The first team that arrived wasn't complete, with only three members. With Aire and Altina's strength plus their Stellar Suit Arms, they quickly dispatched two of them while the last one was injured by Kymei's predictive shot. The guy understood that their team had found a tough bone to chew, so he immediately turned around and ran away to look for an easier target.

Altina and Aire didn't waste time and absorbed the Stellar Energy Bubbles from the two defeated opponents. However, they didn't wait for them to finish before Sera ordered their team to keep moving. Sera was the tactical brain in their team, so Aire and Altina didn't dare to go against her words.

Sure enough, three more teams appeared right where they were just a few seconds later, initiating a free-for-all battle. Even with Aire and Altina's strength, being swallowed by such a brawl wouldn't be a good thing.

"We've defeated two, so we will keep running. We now have 53 minutes before 50% of our teams' total Stellar Energy is lost," Sera told them.

However, Altina suddenly smiled before looking back at her, suggesting, "Now that I think about it, with so many easy fat sheep heading to the main area, do we really need to hide?"

Sera pondered over the suggestion for a bit before saying, "I understand that this is a chance to accumulate a lot of Stellar Energy. However, if we get tired before the six hours are up, we'll end up in a tight spot."

Kymei laughed in response, saying, "Hahaha! You're forgetting something very important. We can use the Stellar Energy we got to recover ourselves. Sure, it'll reduce the equivalent number of Stellar Energy Bubbles, but we can obtain a lot more from the other teams. I say we go all out!"

Altina immediately agreed with Kymei, responding with a grin, "Well said, Kymei! We did that to let Aire recover on the first day, so we can do it for ourselves as well."

Aire, of course, preferred to not do so. "Ahem...isn't it too risky? What if we bump into really strong teams?"

Altina's eyes lit up when she heard that, replying, "Simple, we beat them up too. Hahaha!"

Kymei and Sera shrugged their shoulders as they had already expected such an answer. Sure enough, Altina was a battle maniac through and through.