The Ascension Age

Sure enough, the rewards were presented once all the Risers had recovered. In the end, their position of 33rd in the mission awarded them 8 pieces of low-grade Stellar Crystals. Of course, it was 2 for each one of them. Compared to the other missions from other Risers though, their reward was quite small. However, the amount of Stellar Energy they acquired from the Stellar Bubbles more than made up for it.

When Aire's group tried to calculate the amount they got, including the energy from the Stellar Bubbles, it was equivalent to 13 pieces! One must understand that the first 10 places got 10 Low-Grade Stellar Crystals. from 11th to 30th, the reward was 9 pieces. 31st to 100th got 8 pieces. From then on, the rewards decreased by one crystal every 100 positions until nothing was awarded. In the end, Aire's group had obtained a total of 21 Stellar Crystals in a single mission!

"This is more than what one could get from first place on other missions!" Altina could not help but say with a smile on her face. She was right. The first ten places in other missions rewarded 15 Low-Grade Stellar Crystals. While them, in the 33rd position, got six more than that!

Aire also nodded in satisfaction as he replied, "No wonder everyone wants to take part in the Stellar Bubble gathering mission. The risks aren't any lower than any other mission, but the rewards are definitely higher as long as you get enough Stellar Bubbles."

Kymei also added, "The good thing is that 13 of these Stellar Crystals are present in the school's mainframe in the form of energy. That being said, we can share that odd number between the four of us."

Stella then talked with Aire in his Mind World, telling him, 'Aire, let's get all of it straight away. With the Energy Blood Flow Assistance, you don't need to be afraid of wasting energy. Also, your body allows you to not worry about hastened progress. Whatever you take, it'll be added without any side effects.'

For Aire, that was obviously very good news. 'Really? Then how much do you think I can progress with these rewards?' Naturally, although it was great, Aire was more concerned about reaching the Stellar Manipulation Level as soon as possible.

Stella pondered over the question for a bit after remembering the Stellar Crystals Altina used back then. Those ones were also low-grade Crystals, after all. 'These Stellar Crystals are pieces of shit compared to the ones we have outside the universe. There's a lot of impurities, and it takes time to eliminate. Well, not that your body would have issues with it. Anyway, I believe it should be about enough for you to reach the Stellar Organs Stage of the Stellar Body Level.'

'That much?!' Aire was truly surprised that 5.25 crystals were enough to do that much.

Stella nodded in response, saying, 'Did you forget? You entered the Stellar Bones Stage in the first few days of school! How long of a time has already passed by then? You have Energy Blood Flow Assistance, and an amazing body. Obviously, your training speed is much faster than others. These crystals will help cover the last amount of Stellar Energy necessary for that.'

Altina noticed that Aire went silent for a moment and decided to ask, "Is everything okay?"

Aire quickly recovered and nodded, saying, "Yes. I was just thinking about the best way to use the crystals. Anyways, I have an idea. There's no need to worry."

Altina and the others nodded when, out of nowhere, Kymei remembered something else, telling Aire, "Oh, right. Aire, you don't need to use your Stellar Crystals on training alone. It's also possible to trade them for other things."

Aire became puzzled as he asked, "Isn't the commercialization of Stellar Crystals prohibited?"

Sera shook her head as she answered that question before Kymei could, saying, "The commercialization for money is indeed prohibited. That's to stop any rich family from forcefully increasing their descendants level. However, there are official channels where you can trade these crystals for things you need in school."

Aire nodded before asking, "So, what can I get in these trades?"

Sera then used her communicator to send a link to Aire. Naturally, Aire opened that link straight away and was able to see what they were talking about. Immediately, he noticed the offers for Stellar Smiths.

-Looking for Refined Cologal Mountain Iron with an SMA of 50% to 60%. 20 kilograms for one low-grade Stellar Crystal.-

"20 kilograms! Do they know how long it would take to refine so much Cologal Mountain Iron?" Aire then took a look at other trade offers and saw that all of them were more or less the same w. The only ones that didn't go like that were the very hard and difficult ones to make. Types of alloys, powder, and other things that even Aire couldn't make at his level.

However, Altina pointed something out, saying, "There's nothing wrong with these prices. Don't forget that after this long mission, we only got a little more than 5 low-grade Stellar Crystals per person. Each mission takes time, so that means Stellar Crystals are hard to come by."

Aire sighed and then looked at the same requests but with higher SMA. After all, he could make items at 70%+ SMA without much problem. Of course, as long as he learned how to produce them first. Sure enough, things became easier.

-Looking for six kilograms of Puril Alloy Power with an SMA of 70% or higher. One Low-Grade Stellar Crystal.-

"Oh, this one seems doable," Aire could not help but say. Of course, that was only for him and his cheat ability that allowed that to happen. For others, it would look quite cheap and not worth it.

However, Aire remembered that he still had to check the offers given by the other teams. Because of how close the mission was, he couldn't take a look at it, so he left it for Due Xomeu, the 17th Branch's supervisor, to organize them for him.

After that, Aire ignored the ones buying things and looked at what he could buy for himself. "Hmm...?"

-Stellar Energy Refraction Room, one hour: One Low-Grade Stellar Crystal.-

Aire had no idea what the offer was talking about. With that, he muttered with curiosity, "What is this Refraction Room?"