The Ascension Age

Suddenly, Stella's voice appeared in Aire's mind as she said, "Aire, you didn't tell me you could do that?"

Aire didn't seem to care, though.

"Obviously. It's a secret, after all. Then again, you'd eventually find out anyway. Alright, go back and unlock the ability. We can talk later."

Stella seemed somewhat unwilling, but she knew that they had a lot of time, so she disappeared once again.

Kymei, seeing that both of them went silent, decided to talk first. However, just as he was about to open his mouth, the door behind them opened. Another one of their roommates had just arrived.

Nevertheless, Aire received another shock straight away as he shouted, "Al-Altina?!"

"Aire?!"

Kymei then remembered something, eventually shouting in realization, "Wait! Aire, Aire, Aire... Ah! Aire, could it be that you were Crazy Bitch Altina's victim?"

Altina, who was surprised to see Aire in her room, immediately forgot about it as she looked at Kymei and asked, "Little Mei, did you say something?"

Stellar Energy began to gather into Altina's body as she approached Kymei. Her fingers started to make cracking sounds soon after, making it sound quite scary. Unsurprisingly, Kymei's expression went pale like he had seen death coming his way.

"Wait, wait, wait! You know I didn't mean that, right? I'm talking about the news, the news! I'm not the one who said that! Trust me!"

Altina still had a dark expression but eventually decided to leave it be. They were roommates, after all.

"Hmph! I better not hear it from your mouth again."

Kymei sighed in relief when he saw Altina forgiving him. Even one beat him to death, he wouldn't dare offend this girl. She was just too tyrannical!

Aire, who looked at that scene, couldn't help but ask, "Err... I might sound rude, but can someone explain to me what's happening? Altina, why is everyone calling you Crazy Bitch?"

Altina glared at Aire, which gave him a chill, but she just sighed in the end. She understood that Aire didn't have bad intentions when he asked that.

"Well, it's a pretty long story. I joine-"

*Beep! Beep! Beep!*

Suddenly, an alarm set off from Kymei's communicator, which made him and Altina's expressions change yet again. "Shit! The opening ceremony! You two, we can talk along the way. Aire, that bed over there is available. The pieces of furniture around it are yours to use. The staff already brought your luggage here a few days ago while you were in the clinic. Change quickly, and let's leave."

Aire nodded, knowing that they didn't have much time. He hastily went to the bathroom and changed into the school's uniform, which he received before coming to Star City. Altina did the same thing right after. That's why she came back to the dormitory instead of heading to the ceremony area.

Sure enough, both sides began to ask questions as they took the Student Transport Apparatus.

Aire then told her that this was the room he received when he went to the Administration Office. Not long after, Altina's expression became worse as she said through gritted teeth.

"Zule, you just wait!"

Aire wasn't an idiot, so he understood what that meant.

"So it was that doctor who arranged it?"

Altina nodded as she replied, "Who else would it be? That guy has quite some connections, so he definitely arranged for it. I can already guess what he's thinking. 'It will be fun.' I wonder how that idiot has this much power."

Aire then repeated his question, asking, "What about the Crazy Bitch thing? We did talk before, and you even stayed back in the clinic to take care of me when you noticed it wasn't my fault. However, all the non-official websites in the school network seem to be doing their best to frame you. Did you offend someone you shouldn't?"

Altina bitterly smiled in response as she thought about when she joined the school a year ago. She was at the same age as Aire, 16 years old. However, due to her talent, she was accepted one year before Aire did. At that time, Altina caught a lot of attention because of her numbers.

Everything was fine until that point. Altina had high talent, but it wasn't like she was the best in the school. There were many like her and quite a few above. That being said, the attention put on her was shared with a few others as well.

However, that was where the problem resided. The Stars Path School was anything but equal. Although it had been a few thousand years since Stellar Energy appeared, Stellar Energy Resources were still limited. If one wanted to obtain better treatment, they had to prove themselves.

Well, that's what Altina did...in a very brutal way. In other circumstances, Altina was pretty much like any other girl. She liked cute clothes, makeup, gossip, and so on. Altina was as girly as she could be. Even now, she looked amazing even though the uniform was the same for everyone. However, when it came to competitions, it was as if she was a whole other person.

The Universe is big, and danger is everywhere. The concept of peace seemed to be around, but that couldn't be further away from the truth. There was no lack of intelligent races who wanted to expand their own territories. Nothing stopped other powers from coming out and attacking the Baulmu Alliance to take their resources as well. That being said, Stellar Risers were expected to be warriors! Naturally, the Ascension Age School added combat to its curriculum, which was considered one of the most important characteristics.

Altina...far exceeded her peers in this aspect. During combat tests to determine who would receive more resources, she even beat a few Risers at the Stellar Manipulation Level! That was crazy!

Aire already understood the rest from there. The higher your Stellar Level, the more resources one needed. For Altina to beat down people above her level meant she was taking away their resources as well.

Altina then explained how she ended up offending quite a few influential students with strong backgrounds. The Ascension Age School had the best resources on the planet for new Stellar Risers. Then again, one couldn't buy it with money since it was deeply regulated by the Baulmu Alliance. What the Alliance needed were talents, not rich princes and princesses.

Those people couldn't do anything against Altina directly, but they could still attack her indirectly. And that was how the Crazy Bitch Altina name came to be.

Aire looked at Altina and couldn't help but sigh as he asked, "Can't you do anything about it?"

"If I could, I would have done so already." Altina shrugged her shoulders. "Just so you know, I'm not rich. Naturally, I don't have their influence. As for the school, they see it as a way to prepare you for the future, so they don't intervene as long as it doesn't get physical. Of course, if we're talking about combat tests, then it'll definitely get physical. However, the teachers will be watching it from every possible corner, so no one would try to get revenge during a test. After all, the punishment for breaking the rules is something that none of those idiots are willing to pay."

"What's the punishment?"

Kymei, who came with them, answered that question as he replied, "Your Stellar Energy Resources will be completely cut off for an entire year at least. Depending on how serious it is, being banished from the school is also possible. No money can save you from it."

"No wonder no one tries to break the rules." Aire instantly understood. "One year without resources for those people might be worse than death. It's better to get less after being defeated by Altina than not getting anything at all."

Altina nodded as she responded, "Well, I'm already used to it. Besides, it won't reduce the number of resources I get, so that's fine. They might be laughing right now, but I'll be laughing at the end. Hahaha!"

Eventually, the transport began to slow down until it completely stopped.

"Alright, we're here. Let's go."