After leaving the Containment Unit, Nick looked towards the entrance leading to the last level.
'Should I?' he thought.
It wasn't a given for Nick to immediately enter the next level.
After all, he had just lost 80% of his Zephyx, and if things turned out really bad, he might be biting off more than he could chew.
It was important to remember that the highest points in every category were always extremely difficult to achieve.
Getting ten points in any physical test was already nearly impossible.
Working with any level five Specter was almost impossible or just plain idiotic.
So, what about this one?
There were only so many times that Nick could use his ability in a fight.
What if the next Specter managed to survive the first attack, learn to deal with any follow-up attack, and cut off his retreat?
He might very well die.
It was important to remember that as soon as somebody knew how Nick's ability worked, Nick would lose the majority of his strength.
Nick's way of battling was all or nothing.
Immediately winning against and killing a Specter or Extractor did not mean that it was easy or riskless.
It was like flipping a coin.
'And for what?' Nick thought. 'For 30 more points? I already have 70 points in this category. What's the difference between 70 points and 100 points? Sure, 30 points may be a lot for others, but I already have 335 points. That's not even 10% of my total. I'm not even sure if there is anything that I can use these points for.'
'If there were some kind of incentive to fight the last Specter, I might take the risk.'
'But there isn't.'
'What's the point of risking my life for no reward?'
In the end, Nick shook his head and decided against going to level seven.
In a small and unimportant way, Nick felt a bit disappointed that he didn't even try to achieve victory, but he knew that making correct and intelligent decisions was more important than following idiotic desires.
So, that was it.
335 points.
That was Nick's total.
Nick left the hallway for the battle points and walked back to the main room.
Not much time had passed since Nick told the others that he was going to get his battle points, but the other three had already gathered there.
Nick approached them, and they looked with interest at him.
"How did it go?" the red-haired man asked.
"Good enough," Nick answered. "I'm done with getting all of my points."
The group nodded.
"Let's start the exchange," the serious girl with black hair said. "Since this is his first exchange, let's introduce ourselves."
"I'll start," she said, holding her hand to her chest. "My name is Cynthia Mason, and I'm an Early Expert. My promotion to level two will happen in one year."
With level two, Cynthia referred to the second stage the trainees would go to on their way to becoming Agents.
"Finally, I get to know your name," the red-haired guy commented.
Cynthia threw a side-eye at the guy but didn't answer.
"I'm Mendor Orlen," the red-haired guy said, pointing at himself with his right hand. "I'm also an Early Expert, and I will advance to the second level within the year."
It wasn't surprising that two of them were already close to advancing.
After all, it needed time to become outstanding in the trainee camp.
Almost no trainee was outstanding as soon as they arrived.
The truly outstanding ones would only stand out after a year or more of being here.
"My name is Steve Werkling," the small green-haired man said with a serious expression. "I'm an Early Expert, and I will advance in a couple of months."
The other two nodded at him before looking at Nick.
"My name is Nick Dusk, and I'm an Early Expert. I just arrived," Nick said.
When the other three heard that Nick was an Early Expert, they were a bit surprised.
Usually, people were immediately brought over after they consumed the Elixir, which meant that everyone was an Initial Expert.
"Did you accept the trade of the level five discipline, Specter?" Steve asked with furrowed brows.
"I didn't," Nick answered.
Silence.
Naturally, the three of them were interested in how Nick managed to do that, but they knew that it wasn't appropriate to ask about his background just yet.
"Let's talk about our academic points," Cynthia said. "Please, only name the categories in which you reached at least 90% for the first test and 30% for the second test."
The other three nodded.
"I'll start," Cynthia said. "I mainly focus on fields related to math. My biology scores are always above 90% for the first level, and I recently reached 60% on the second level. I have always aced level one in mathematics and am close to reaching 90% on the second level. I might also reach 30% in the third level before I advance."
The others nodded. That was already very impressive.
However, Cynthia wasn't done.
"I always complete the first level of physics, and I am above 60% in the second level."
"Lastly, I also do okay in Zephology, but I am only at about 40% for the second level."
"That's it for me," Cynthia said.
Nick was already interested since he barely knew anything about biology and Zephology. Additionally, he needed to learn the different formulas for physics and mathematics.
Cynthia would definitely be Nick's main source of knowledge here.
"My turn," Mendor said as he leaned back with a smile. "I'm at over 30% in the second level of history, and I'm at nearly 90% in the second level of psychology."
The psychology score interested Nick.
Then, Mendor smirked arrogantly. "And I'm at 60% in economics."
After saying that, he held three fingers forward.
"On the third level!"
The others nodded, impressed.
That was a lot!
However, Nick was more interested in the second level of economics since he already aced the third level.
Then, it was Steve's turn. "Warfare, 60% on level two," he said slowly. "Leadership, 60% of level two. Spectology, 30% of level two."
The others nodded.
Steve's scores were good but definitely the weakest out of everyone.
However, he probably still had the greatest number of total points due to his Battle-Strength.
Finally, everyone turned to Nick.
"I only completed my tests once. So, I can just give you those scores," he said.
The others nodded.
"Biology, 15, 0, 0."
That was expected. Not many people knew about biology.
"Economics, 91, 45, 98."
The entire atmosphere froze.
"Wait, what?" Mendor asked with a shake of his head. "Just to be sure, you said you got 98 points in the third level of economics?"
Nick nodded.
"Are you sure?" Cynthia asked.
"It was the third level of economics."
"Okay, okay," Mendor said. "Then, explain to me this…"
Mendor asked a difficult question from the third level of economics that he was sure he had answered correctly, and Nick answered.
When Mendor heard the answer, he blinked a couple of times in surprise.
The other two looked at him. "And? How's his answer?" Cynthia asked.
Mendor scratched the back of his head. "Just a minute ago, I would have said that it was incorrect, but after he explained it, I'm not so sure anymore."
"I might have been the incorrect one."
The other two looked at Nick with burning eyes.
That was extremely impressive.
They weren't sure if anyone had ever gotten over 90% in any third level.
"I'll continue," Nick said.
The other three nodded.
"Psychology, 68, 42, 48," Nick said.
Once again, the three others were shocked.
What was this?!
How did Nick have more points in the third level than the second?!
That made no sense!
"Math, 0, 0, 0," Nick continued.
That was also quite surprising.
"Physics, 74, 0, 0."
"History, 28, 62, 21."
Once more, they were surprised.
"Wait, that actually makes sense," Mendor said. "You know a lot about the past but not a lot about the present, right?"
"It used to be like that," Nick said. "Don't forget that I accepted the trade of the level four discipline Specter and chose history."
"Oh, right," Mendor said. "So, it should now be 100, 62, 21, right?"
"Probably," Nick said. "I'll continue."
"Spectology, 96, 84, 98."
Shocked silence.
That score was unreal.
"Zephology, 52, 0, 0."
"Warfare, 93, 96, 24."
"Leadership, 100, 80, 64."
Silence.
Stunned silence.
"You have 140 academic points?" Cynthia asked silently.
Nick nodded.
"How?" she asked.
She didn't care anymore whether or not it was appropriate to ask Nick.
She wanted to know.
"I was a Chief Zephyx Extractor for around 15 years," Nick answered. "I know a lot about leading people, how they think, how money works, and how Specters work."
"I've never truly had any kind of official education. Almost all of my knowledge comes from experience, which is why my scores for the third levels are often higher than my scores for the second levels."
Once again, everyone was stunned.
15 years of experience as a CZE.
Cynthia, Mendor, and Steve had all worked for the strongest Manufacturers in their cities, and the CZEs they worked under were always far beyond their levels.
CZEs seemed to know everything, and they always seemed to make the right decisions.
They viewed Nick with different eyes.
Nick was a goldmine of knowledge!