Storm didn’t seem to care about the stares. He nodded to Grey and made his way to the registration area. As soon as his back was turned to the crowd, a small, carefree smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

  "This guy’s still pretending to be all cool," Cassia muttered, rolling her eyes. Unlike most people, she didn’t seem nervous at all.

  "Cassia, last time 95, and now... 101!" The tester’s voice rang out, and a collective gasp rippled through the room. That was top-tier strength, easily in the top three for the entire grade. She’d broken 100 before the awakening ceremony—her chances of awakening were looking very promising.

  "Teacher, I’m done." Cassia said, giving a quick nod to Grey as she turned to leave. Once they entered the special training class, they wouldn’t be attending regular classes anymore. They were still technically part of their original class, but the focus would shift to one-on-one training, leaving them largely separated from the others.

  Grey smiled, watching her go. Storm and Cassia were his best students, and in the entire grade, they were among the elite.

  After a short wait, Axel’s name was called. His heart started to race. Even though he had the raw stones and the cash from the law enforcement team, those were just a drop in the bucket compared to what he truly needed. He had to get into a war school at all costs, and with a Force below 80, it seemed nearly impossible.

  "Axel, last time you were at 73, and now…"

  The tester paused, staring at the screen in confusion. Axel could see the man’s hesitation, and the growing discomfort in his expression.

  "Wait, let me test again," the tester muttered, eyes narrowing in disbelief. How could someone improve so drastically in just one month?

  Axel stood still, slightly puzzled but ready to go along with it.

  Grey, noticing the pause, walked over. "What’s going on?" he asked, hands clasped behind his back. He had always admired Axel’s attitude. The kid might not have much, but he was incredibly hardworking and had a mature way about him.

  The tester didn’t answer right away, double-checking the numbers. He then looked at Axel, a strange expression on his face.

  "Axel, last test you were 73, this test... 90."

  A shocked silence fell over the room. 90 Force! It wasn’t an extraordinary number compared to Storm or Cassia, but the jump from 73 to 90 in just one month was shocking—an improvement of 17 points. Even geniuses like Storm and Cassia only gained about 6 points in that time.

  The silence was short-lived, and the first to break it was Drayke, who slapped Axel on the back with a loud cheer.

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  "Fucking! Man, you were hiding this whole time!" Drayke said, half-laughing, half-stunned.

  Cassia, who had been walking away, turned around at the sound of the commotion. Her beautiful eyes widened in disbelief. No one knew better than her how hard it was to make such a massive improvement in just a month.

  "Grey, congratulations. Your class has three students over 90 points. Huge potential," the tester said with a smile.

  Grey, however, was looking at Axel with an expression of surprise, not fully processing the numbers yet.

  Everyone already knew that a class with two students over 90 Force was impressive, and three was exceptional. Grey's class had made the cut for the elite.

  The news quickly spread, and within moments, several teachers gathered around to congratulate Grey.

  "90 points already?" Grey said, grinning from ear to ear.

  "Three from your class over 90? Not bad at all! Grey, you really surprised me this time." The dark-skinned director also approached, clapping Grey on the back.

  Though Axel had only just scraped past the 90-point threshold, barely making it into the special training class, the news was still a big deal. Every extra student was a nice surprise.

  "Heh," Grey scratched his head and smiled, a little embarrassed but proud. Seeing Wraith in the distance, he felt more proud.

  The congratulations kept coming, but the most surprised person was Axel himself.

  "So the life crystal is really that powerful?" He knew he’d made some progress, but he’d been hoping just to break 80. After all, Storm and the others had only gained about six points in a month. The life crystal had given him an enormous boost—he couldn’t believe it.

  It was clear now: the life crystal was on a whole different level compared to the regular raw stones. If the life crystal had helped him reach 90, what would the piece of infected No. 2 do? Could it push him further? Suddenly, Axel regretted not taking the crystal more seriously before.

  Before long, the news of Axel’s massive leap—17 points in just a month—spread through the special training class gathering area.

  This was a place reserved for the top students, those with immense potential. Even they were surprised. Axel’s growth rate was something most of them couldn’t even dream of.

  Vale and Ryder stood off to the side, listening as the news reached them, both entering the special training class with 90 points. But now, hearing about Axel’s unexpected rise, their expressions froze in disbelief.

  "Axel, 90 points?" Vale’s voice was sharp, her usual confidence shaken. She was known for her ability to spot talent, and she prided herself on making the right connections. But now, she couldn’t help but feel like she’d missed something huge.

  "I should’ve known," she muttered under her breath. She never wasted time on people with no potential, but clearly, Axel wasn’t one of them.

  Ryder stood there for a while, staring ahead before finally muttering a curse under his breath. "I messed up. I didn’t realize those quality raw stones were so strong. If I’d known, I would’ve bought them all, no matter the price."

  He had originally expected Axel to come crawling to him for a deal, but now, it seemed like Ryder had completely misjudged the situation.

  "Ryder, what’s going on? Do you know this guy?" Someone standing nearby asked, curious.

  “You don’t know him? That’s Axel, the one who’s been making waves around here,” Ryder joked, his voice light. The group around them looked at Axel with newfound interest.

  After all, the story of Axel helping the law enforcement team take down the infected had been all over the news.

  “I didn’t expect this guy to actually have some skills. Didn’t you say his test scores were average before?” one of the onlookers remarked.

  Although the group was surprised, they didn't seem too rattled. After all, 90 points was the minimum threshold to enter the special training class. And with the awakening ceremony just around the corner, no one really expected much from someone with an unremarkable score. His awakening was as tough as a miracle.