Before they mutated, demons were humans. Most of them could not withstand the earth ending virus back then, causing their genes to become damaged. But they could not die. Therefore, they were called demons. Some of the demons were aliens who were changed after they entered Blue Star. They belonged under the category "mutated demons" and were stronger than the demons.

Even though Collic was strong, Stuart, Sofia, and the others were gifted. Even before they had the 'fundamental practices of energy absorption,' they had relied on their talents and the flesh of magical beasts to achieve a cell activation level of 50% and above. Now that they'd gotten their hands on the 'fundamental practices of energy absorption', they would be able to improve by leaps and bounds. It would not be impossible for them to achieve a cell activation level of 100% within a month. By working together, there was a chance that they might be able to kill the demon Collic.

But of course, the premise was that everyone on the team had to be equally skilled. It was also because of this that working with Steve had never crossed the other nine soldiers' minds. The nine of them were talking among themselves, but none of them went up to Steve to initiate a conversation. Steve had predicted this would happen, as compared to the others, his level of cell activation was a few times weaker, making him the weakest among them. Teaming up with him would be akin to accepting a handicap, so the others decided to outcast him. But Steve did know that with his skills, the chances of killing the demon Collic on his own were near zero. So unless Steve wanted to give up on this mission, he had to be thick skinned and go up to them, even if the others were ignoring him.

"Andrew, Aaron… how about we team up together?" Steve walked up to them and asked with a smile. But Andrew and Aaron were in the fourth and fifth place respectively, so they ignored and avoided him as if Steve had not spoken to them.

"Sofia, why don't we team up and work together?" Stuart asked as he walked towards Sofia. The others could not help but glance at them, as both of them were the strongest out of all ten present. Sofia remained silent for a while, then said with a smile, "I can work with you, but if we team up, we'll need to discuss how we should split the rewards after the job is done."

"Haha, not a problem!" Stuart laughed heartily. A hint of l.u.s.t flashed across his eyes when he looked at Sofia. Sofia's skills were on par with his as they usually competed for first place. But more importantly, Sofia was exquisitely beautiful! As their genes evolved, humans grew taller than what had been average height, and it now it was normal for a woman to be as tall as a model. But Sofia's beauty did not stop there. Her long shapely legs were straight and toned, without a trace of flab, and they were so slim that she could easily grip a piece of paper between her knees when she closed her legs. Stuart's experienced and sensitive eyes could tell that Sofia was still a virgin.

On top of that, as she had been training vigilantly over the past few years, her slim waist was toned and had no trace of fat at all. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were so full and supple that they were impossible to hold one with just one hand— enticing others to squeeze them. Her oval shaped face was dainty and perfect, with golden irises as alluring as gems. Her skin was whiter than snow, smooth and silky. Stuart had coveted Sofia's beauty for a long time but had not found an opening until now. Sofia did not know the plans Stuart had for her. She had only agreed because she felt it would be easier for the two of them to work together.

"Hehe, would Stuart be so kind as to let me join you guys?" Aaron said as he walked up to them with a smile.

"Working together as a team benefits everyone, how about I join you guys too?" Svart, who was in third place, sidled up to them and said. Anyone with brains could see that Stuart and Sofia's team had the best chance of killing the demon Collic, and by joining them, they might have been able to get a piece of the pie.

"There's no need. Both of us working together is more than enough to kill the demon Collic. You should arrange among yourselves." Stuart rejected them without hesitation.

Other than not wanting to share the rewards with them, the more important factor for Stuart was that he did not wish to be interrupted while trying to woo Sofia. The others had no choice but to leave them alone, and a few even cursed under their breaths.

Soon, the ten of them had split into four groups: one group had four people, another had three, Stuart and Sofia formed another team, and only Steve was left by himself in the end. The others had already given up on Steve, as there was no way he could kill the demon Collic by himself. The other nine of them left quickly after forming their groups, leaving Steve alone. Steve was in no rush to leave and instead, he walked towards instructor Leikas and asked, "Instructor, can I let other people join in for this mission?"

"Chief instructor Wendy has instructed that no external forces outside of the military can be used," Leikas replied immediately.

Steve remained silent as he considered the key word in that sentence, then said, "If I can't get support from external forces outside of the military, then would it be alright if I worked with other people in the military?"

Leikas looked at Steve and said, after a moment, "You're a smart one, son. The Chief Instructor allows the lot of you to choose three other external helpers, but they must be among the recruits from this batch. If with the three external helpers you were to accomplish the mission, you would be able to decide how you want to split the benefits amongst yourselves." The last sentence was ambiguous. If the ten of them were to kill the demon Collic together, then the rewards would be distributed according to their contributions. However, that was not the case for external helpers—only the ten of them could decide the allocation of the reward. That was to say it meant that the external helpers could walk away with nothing even after helping.

"Why did you not mention that we can recruit external helpers before?" Steve asked.

"Because none of you asked," Leikas replied. Steve's face darkened as he realized that the instructors in the military were all untrustworthy. Chief Instructor Wendy was unreasonable, and Leikas deliberately left out details. Yet, this was a good thing for Steve. Currently, only he knew that they were able to recruit three other external helpers. In other words, This meant that the right to recruit all three external helpers available to the group was left to him. As for who to recruit, he needed to consider carefully.

Due to the fact that they were now commissioned soldiers, the accommodations they received when they went back to their dorm had been upgraded tremendously. They now had a room all to themselves and a set of training equipment. The soundproofing of the room was excellent as well, and the floors and walls had been strengthened to withstand anything. Steve went to his new dorm room and took out the "Fundamental Practices of Energy Absorption" impatiently. Although it was the most basic practice of energy absorption, it was the best practice for building a strong base for people before they became evolved beings.

"The 'Fundamental Practices of Energy Absorption' can increase the energy absorption of the one practicing it five to tenfold. Actual results may vary for each individual…"

Steve got the information from the crystal and saw that the "Fundamental Practices of Energy Absorption had a total of 12 sets of moves. However, a familiar voice sounded right then.

"Information retrieved successfully, forming of information base complete… 'the fundamental practices of energy absorption' can be improved in a total of 15 places…"