The unexpected occurred: simply by passing through this Star Gate, the awakening rate among the students showed a steep upward curve on the charts.
When Lei Ting saw the statistical tables on the display in the Logistics Department, he initially thought another one of their... "miraculous" researchers had fallen asleep while inputting parameters, and that every strand of hair hitting the sensor had been calculated as a confirmed entry.
But as he voiced this critique, the Head of Logistics offered a solemn rebuttal: "No, none of our researchers have hair that thick."
*Fine,* Lei Ting thought. Sooner or later, he would receive an emergency mission to rescue this man from a researcher trying to murder their own department head.
"In truth, it’s more of a psychological evolution—or perhaps a 'mental elevation'? Regardless, it is closely linked to the advancement of super-powers," the Head of Logistics said as they walked toward the training grounds. "By the way, there are currently five verifiable levels of espers in the galaxy: the Awakening Stage, the Development Stage, the Expansion Stage, the Evolution Stage, and the Stability Stage. Most people stop evolving after the Awakening Stage. Among recorded galactic espers, there are fewer than ten in the Stability Stage.
"You are a rare talent—a 'Double S.' Someone like you, who entered the Development Stage so shortly after passing the Awakening Stage, is one in ten thousand even among B-rank espers and above."
"What about Ivanheller?" Lei Ting asked suddenly. "What was his level?"
The Head of Logistics didn't wonder why he was suddenly asking about a man who had been missing for ten years. He simply answered, "During his last test ten years ago, he had just entered the Evolution Stage. At that time, his total combat power on the galactic stage... he was a solid top five, contending for top three."
*At least top five, possibly top three...*
In his mind, Lei Ting pulled up the list of famous historical espers he had memorized when he couldn't sleep. He estimated the approximate combat power of such a level and was momentarily stunned. "He could destroy a star?"
"In his prime, yes, and it wouldn't have been a massive burden," the Head of Logistics said lightheartedly. "That’s why he was able to win ten years of peace for the Federation."
Lei Ting froze at those words. During his sleepless nights, he had actually consulted 'Pacific' to learn about Ivanheller’s life. According to all the verifiable data he could find from that AI, the star system where 'Starstream' had vanished was currently a complete ruin.
In the intermittent searches over the last decade, the Federation had only found half of a broken blade belonging to him amidst the scattered space debris of those celestial ruins. When a patrol ship recovered the blade four years ago, it was still shimmering with a light like a flowing galaxy.
Now it seemed there could only be one explanation: a battle of extreme brutality had occurred during that mission, involving combat techniques that Lei Ting currently could not comprehend. Otherwise, he couldn't imagine why planets—which would take months to reach even if steered toward each other for a collision—would be shattered so cleanly... or why that blade would still glow with an unextinguishable light.
But regardless, this had nothing to do with him. For now, at least, he was a student—just a student.
Lei Ting lowered his head. Without using his powers, he used his hand to straighten the arm guards beneath his sleeves.
Over the past month, the metal he 'carried' with him had undergone a daily cycle of 'equipping, fractalizing, and shaping,' gradually transforming into his personal light armor. He had optimized its specific structure bit by bit.
Now, he could make it transform into a highly scientific sub-exoskeleton structure within two seconds; he just couldn't perfectly maintain it while sleeping yet.
His next step was to add hand and foot armor to the structure and further reinforce the spinal plating. For that, he might have to go to 'Far-Light Fine Materials' to buy more supplies...
Lei Ting’s brow furrowed deeply.
Whenever he thought of the name 'Eunan Valen,' or that face, or that tall, upright figure, or anything else related to that person, he felt a headache coming on.
*What a headache!!*
"Alright! Come on!" the Head of Logistics shouted to him from ahead. "Don't dawdle! There are three types of standard mecha; you have to test each one today!"
Lei Ting instantly reined in his wandering thoughts and looked up.
He saw three mecha—large, medium, and small. The last one was the most basic Federal standard esper mecha.
It featured a high-tech mechanical shell in matte black, a form-fitting design, and a full-face visor with a stylish 'X' shaped unidirectional goggle...
For an esper mecha pilot, the other two types—heavy or multi-person mecha—required docking only after donning the light infantry esper mecha. Through this, a single person could exert operational capabilities exceeding an entire squad.
The youth’s expression turned serious. He straightened his back and strode toward the machine.
He knew it was the key to unlocking his future.
***
One year later. Orion Human Federation territory, Galactic Complex. Federal First Military Academy, aboard the *Sun*, Logistics Department Special Training Ground.
"Hahahahaha! Get down here!!"
*Clang!*
A steel gauntlet’s thumb-webbing slammed against a throat, shifting into a flat-palm thrust a split second before impact. The enemy lost their center of gravity and went flying backward through the air.
An electric whip lashed out with a crackling burst. With a *thud*, the esper mecha floating in mid-air retreated diagonally, turning its back and raising an arm. A solid, powerful elbow strike sent the person approaching from behind flying. The other hand caught and wound the whip around its arm with lightning speed. Not only did the mechanical armor remain unmoved by the electricity—which was strong enough to punch through a wall—but the pilot also leaped and yanked violently, uprooting the heavy mecha that had deployed the whip right off the ground. He swung it in a half-circle like a meteor hammer—
"Stop, stop, stop!!" the Head of Logistics yelled. "You'll kill someone if you smash that down!!"
*Hum—*
Threads of golden light mist quietly emerged. Amidst that brilliant golden radiance, which was far more condensed than it had been a year ago, the massive training ground suddenly ground to a halt.
The whip curving through the air, the heavy mecha nearly slammed into the floor, the dozen or so esper mecha either flying backward or attempting to charge again, the bullets and shrapnel projectiles slicing through the air, and even the defense barrier generators installed all around the training ground... everything froze, save for the stray electricity and the churning air currents.
In the next second, all these metal objects, their momentum forcibly neutralized, dropped. It wasn't a clattering crash, but a soft, gentle landing, as if a model were being placed back on a table by an invisible hand.
Within the arena, only the figure who had just been fighting one-against-seventeen remained hovering in the air. He crossed his arms and tilted his head toward the observation room window by the main door.
"Come down," the Head of Logistics called, poking his head out from a side door and waving. "We have something to discuss with you."
Obeying the order, Lei Ting retracted the golden light from his eyes. He dived down and landed with a heavy *thud* not far from the door. As he walked toward the observation room, he issued a command to his mecha to retract and fold.
Every single-soldier esper mecha with a certified user could be folded into two forms: one was a palm-sized controller, and the other was an instant-deployment device attached to the pilot's back and limb joints. Because of this, the uniforms of esper mecha pilots had to be relatively form-fitting, with no loose designs allowed.
Currently, Lei Ting had his mecha folded and attached to his body. Against his crisp uniform, it looked like a somewhat fashionable set of mechanical structural ornaments.
Halfway there, Lei Ting reached out to help up a pilot who was also folding his mecha. The man gave a bitter smile and stood up with Lei Ting’s help. "I appreciate you not actually smashing me down. Though that sudden stop felt like being hit by a truck..."
"My apologies." Lei Ting didn't argue that an esper being hit by a truck was no big deal; instead, he offered a sincere apology.
This actually caught the other man off guard. He scratched his head, caught between laughter and tears. "No, no need. We all know you were holding back."
Saying this, he sighed from the bottom of his heart. "You really... in just this much time, I can't even see your limit anymore.
"You will make all the espers of our generation pale in comparison. I'm sure of it."
"I'll take that as a blessing," Lei Ting said, giving the man a friendly pat before entering the observation room.
The observation room wasn't particularly high or spacious, but it contained several rows of consoles and a massive central monitoring machine. It was said that this machine's database was directly linked to 'Pacific,' specifically the part that remained unhackable to this day.
The daily routine for the Information Engineering Department was to spar with 'Pacific.' This super AI even specifically allocated a portion of its computing power to maintain an independent simulation system. Like the legendary 'Information Engineering Special Elective Course System,' it could be rewritten by technical means, but it would reset once every twenty-four hours.
As for the specific difficulty of the attack...
In Sandro’s words, he suspected the name 'Pacific' came from the fact that the AI persecuted Information Engineering students every day, refusing to "release even a drop of water" (give them any slack).
But based on what Lei Ting had seen lately, he had reason to believe 'Pacific' was already releasing an entire ocean's worth of slack for those tech geeks.
...Well, his metaphors were still a bit classical.
He couldn't help it; he couldn't change it. Nor did he want to.
"What's the matter?" The youth entered the room and casually pulled over a chair to sit. His posture was as upright as ever.
"Two things. Let's talk about the first one first." The Head of Logistics solemnly swiped a light screen into the air. "Your first-year internship mission."
At the mention of this topic, Lei Ting clasped his hands, his gaze calm as he waited for the next words.
"Though I personally don't want to expose a 'Double S' in their growth phase to the public, it's impossible. These are our rules."
As the Head of Logistics spoke, he displayed a mission list. He swiped from top to bottom, and various names flashed by for a good while. "See your mission?"
Lei Ting: "..."
Lei Ting: "?"
...*It would be a miracle if I could see anything at that speed!!*
Lei Ting’s eyes went dead, and his fist tightened slightly.
