After revealing his identity as a reborn person to Mona, the atmosphere between the two became much more harmonious, and they spoke as if they were old friends who had been separated for a long time.
"Given your past life's experience, why didn't you choose the profession of martial artist?" Mona asked curiously.
" Those with Ability Energy become stronger even faster!" Lancelot replied.
Mona thought for a moment, a look of realization appearing on her flawless face. "I understand, you lack a sense of security, don't you?"
"..." Lancelot didn't speak. Actually, Mona's guess was correct, but that was only part of the reason.
"That's true. You must be terrified of your identity being discovered, which is why you chose to become Ability Energy. The speed at which the Innovation School grows stronger does indeed far surpass that of martial artists. Moreover, you have experience from your past life and are familiar enough with human anatomy, so at least in the first few awakenings, your success rate far exceeded that of ordinary Innovation School Ability Energy." The more Mona thought about it, the more she felt that she had guessed Lancelot's true thoughts. Her red lips curled up slightly, showing considerable pleasure.
"Why did you call me here?" Lancelot didn't want to discuss this topic any further and steered the conversation back to its original point.
"In order to assess your potential, so that I can send you an invitation letter that matches your potential," Mona replied.
Upon hearing this, Lancelot frowned slightly. "An invitation? Isn't that a task assigned by the admissions office of the Transcendent School?"
"Yes, that's right." Mona nodded matter-of-factly, then smiled mysteriously, "I forgot to introduce myself, I'm the Deputy Director of the Admissions Office at the Holy Sword Academy."
"Huh?" Lancelot paused, somewhat confused. "Aren't you the Minister of the Department of the Extraordinary Kahn Province?"
"What? Can't I have multiple side hustles? Who said a person can only have one job?" Mona rolled her eyes and said irritably.
"Alright then." Lancelot shrugged, saying helplessly, "So, Director Mo, which level of invitation are you planning to send me?"
"In your past life, you were a 15th-tier martial artist. In theory, giving you a top-tier invitation would be more than enough. However, this would require me to report your entire situation to the academy. Are you sure you want to make your reincarnated identity public?"
"What do you mean?" Lancelot sat up straight, a strange light appearing in his pupils. He had detected something unusual in Mona's words.
"It doesn't mean anything, I just wanted to find myself a helper. Isn't it better to have more friends in this world?" Mona blinked, her temperament switching smoothly from intellectual to cute, making it hard to figure out her true personality. But one thing was certain: she was a captivating and ever-changing beauty.
Lancelot gave the captivating woman before him a deep look. Mona's meaning was now crystal clear: she could help him conceal his identity as a reborn individual.
This is something others can't do, but as the head of the Department of the Extraordinary of the Kahn Province, Mona definitely has the ability and authority to do so.
The method is quite simple: just fabricate a "master" for Lancelot, or some other fortuitous encounter, or even manipulate the assessment of his Ability Energy potential to justify his extraordinary performance.
Before his strength was still weak, the rebirth of Lancelot was not good news. If he hadn't been in Mona's Sanctuary, he would never have revealed the truth.
If the news that I am a reincarnated person is made public, I will live under absolute surveillance every moment from now on, and the spying of those with ill intentions will surely follow.
Such a small creature, yet possessing Epic memories, is truly a treasure trove of knowledge.
Originally, Lancelot was prepared to bide his time. He wasn't without help; his two clones were his biggest trump cards. But now it seems there's still a chance for things to turn around.
"Do you have enemies?" Lancelot asked tentatively.
A complex look flashed in Mona's clear eyes, and she fell silent.
Lancelot understood and didn't press the matter further, but he felt a slight sense of relief.
Relationships between people have always been based on the exchange of interests; only when there is mutual need can the stability and reliability of the relationship be guaranteed.
He needs Mona's help right now, but she will need his assistance in the future, which is enough to form a relatively stable relationship.
"I can arrange a first-class invitation letter for you, but a special-class invitation letter requires the personal approval of the director of the admissions office, which is not high enough for me. Unless you perform exceptionally well in the second and final examinations, I might be able to help you arrange it."
"That's no problem. I'm confident I can achieve excellent results in the upcoming Joint Entrance Examination," Lancelot said calmly, holding his exquisite teacup.
Seeing this, Mona curled her lip, seemingly disapproving of his arrogant demeanor, and mercilessly retorted, "Heh, don't be so overconfident. This year's Joint Entrance Examination is teeming with geniuses, with no fewer than ten SS-level super geniuses alone. Based on your performance in the preliminary exam, you couldn't defeat any one of these super geniuses."
Lancelot didn't react much to these words; he knew this even without Mona saying it.
He had already used up all his strength fighting Walmart, and that was on a stage where he had the advantage in terrain.
In the wild, Devin would probably be a big problem for him; mid-range attacks have always been Lancelot's Achilles' heel.
However, this disadvantage will soon be overcome.
Ignoring Mona's words, Lancelot put down his teacup and said, "I need a Basic Gene Stabilizer. The preliminary champion's reward is a two-star Legendary equipment; the two should be roughly the same value, right?"
Upon hearing this, Mona suddenly realized where Lancelot's confidence came from.
Gene Stabilizer, an auxiliary device developed by the Northern Spirit Empire, can stabilize the gene chain and greatly reduce the probability of Ability Energy death during the awakening of superpowers.
The method for making this device was already public knowledge in the Northern Spirit Empire, and it can be purchased in the Astral Realm for just a few "Star Wheel".
The Ability Energy are the Transcendent force of the Crimson Alliance, so the Alliance naturally acquired the technology to manufacture Gene Stabilizer.
However, the core component of the Gene Stabilizer requires an extremely rare resource to manufacture.
Moreover, this thing needs to have its core components replaced after being used a few times.
This results in a situation where, although Gene Stabilizer are not difficult to manufacture, their production volume is very low. Coupled with high demand, there is a severe imbalance between supply and demand, which naturally keeps their value high.
Low-Level Gene Stabilizer is equivalent to a two-star Legendary item; it's impossible to buy without connections and privileges.
Although Lancelot was quite confident that he could successfully absorb the Sword-Armored Electric Eel Bloodline Potion, it was not 100% safe. With the help of the Gene Stabilizer, not only would the safety be maximized, but he could even try to undergo a deep awakening to maximize the exploitation of the genetic treasures hidden in the bloodline potion.
"As for Gene Stabilizer, I have several sets here. I'll give you one for free. You should save your championship reward to choose a suitable weapon," Mona said with a smile, appearing extremely generous.
Since we're going to invest, we can't be stingy. Although we'll need to observe Lancelot's character later, Mona can still afford to give him a Basic Gene Stabilizer.
"Oh?" Lancelot was pleasantly surprised to hear Mona's words. He didn't refuse and accepted immediately, smiling as he said, "Then thank you very much, Minister!"
Although free things are often the most expensive, for Lancelot now, owing Mona a favor is actually to his advantage.
Similar to sunk costs, the greater the cost the other party pays to you, the closer the relationship between you.
For Lancelot, who was at a significant disadvantage, this close relationship was exactly what he needed; in a sense, it meant he had gained a powerful backer.
An hour later, Lancelot, carrying a silver metal box, departed in a flying vehicle.
Mona stood by the window, gazing quietly at the azure sky, her eyes deep and distant.
"My foolish sister, you are so kind. You didn't impose any restrictions on him. Aren't you afraid that he will grow up and then deny everything?" A clear, melodious female voice, like pearls falling on a jade plate, but with a hint of madness, suddenly resounded in Mona's mind.
Mona wasn't surprised at all; she was already used to it.
"Do you think a martial artist at the Epic Peak is so easily threatened? These kinds of people would rather die than live in dishonor," Mona said calmly.
"Ha, no intelligent being is unafraid of death, and if we don't take advantage of his weakness now to set up restrictions, we won't have this opportunity again." The female voice rang out again, seemingly mocking Mona.
In the dim light, a slender red figure seemed to flash by in Mona's clear pupils.
"What's the benefit of controlling him? Will it make him stronger? If you're going to invest, be generous. If you're not prepared to lose your capital, don't try to strategize like others. That's petty!"
After saying that, Mona didn't give Hongying a chance to speak and immediately silenced her.
"Hmm, what kind of experience should I arrange for this guy...?"
The four lords along the southern coast of the Dawn Continent frequently clashed with the Dawn Empire. Small-scale conflicts along the border never ceased, and high-intensity wars occurred every seven or eight years. In particular, after the Gendaya Royal Court was severely damaged by a blitzkrieg, the wars became even more frequent and intense.
Clearly, none of the four lords wanted to follow in the footsteps of the Royal Court.
The sky was overcast, and the ground was covered with bunkers. The air-raid shelters, hundreds of meters high, lay like giant beasts, and the deafening explosions and long, deep roars of the beasts echoed in the sky.
A hail of bullets, rivers of blood, ruins, flying debris...
This terrifying scene, enough to make an ordinary person tremble like a leaf, was commonplace for the Gnoll Randall.
"Commander, our scouts have spotted a large Hawkfolk force heading our way, numbering around four hundred." A slender but agile Gnoll ran over, gave a crisp military salute, and reported to Randall.
"Understood!" Randall said without looking up. He was currently studying the battle map. The troops' electronic equipment had all been destroyed by the Dawn Empire using electromagnetic pulses, so they could only use this relatively primitive method to understand the battlefield situation.
"Damn it, what were those human mercenaries thinking? How did the enemy manage to create such a huge gap on our flank?" After analyzing the battlefield situation, Randall slammed his fist on the table and said angrily.
The staff officer beside him sneered, "These outsiders are inherently untrustworthy. If it weren't for the temporary shortage of manpower at the front, the legion commander wouldn't have sent them."
"Sigh, what can we do? We're not the lord's direct troops. Our supply order is too low, and we have to pay for most of our own weapons," another staff officer sighed and complained.
"Alright, stop complaining. Instead of grumbling, why don't you go check out the positions?" Randall waved his hand impatiently.
The two staff officers dared not say anything more.
Just then, the skinny Gnoll from before came running over, panting, and Earth Dao, "Commander... Commander, we're out of anti-aircraft shells."
"What?!" Randall exclaimed in shock. "Didn't we just get a new batch the day before yesterday? How come we've used it all up so quickly?"
The chief of staff beside him quickly reminded him, "Commander, have you forgotten? Last night, a squad of Holy Light Warriors raided our camp and blew up an armory, which happened to contain the remaining anti-aircraft shells."
Randall slapped his forehead, sifting through his jumbled thoughts to retrieve this memory.
"Out of shells? Then use anti-aircraft machine guns! Get the firepower set up first, and make sure these damned, hairy beasts are stopped at the outer defensive line!" Randall roared, his sharp fangs gleaming coldly.
"This... is a bit difficult!" the adjutant hesitated. "The Hawkfolk fly very high, and they are equipped with special bulletproof gear. We have too few electromagnetic weapons; we mostly rely on gunpowder firearms. Even if our anti-aircraft machine guns, loaded with gunpowder bullets, hit the Hawkfolk, it would be difficult to inflict effective damage."
"What can we do? Are we just going to watch these hairy beasts run wild on my head?"
"By the way, Commander, didn't we just purchase a batch of equipment from the Three-Eyed People -Three-Eyed People? According to them, this equipment is much more powerful than ordinary gunpowder weapons, has a longer range, and is more lethal," Vice Commander Gejinsen said, turning to Randall.
"Three-Eyed People? Aren't they good at farming? When did they get into the arms industry?" Randall was a little puzzled, but when the time came, he couldn't care less. He ordered the soldiers to distribute the weapons purchased from the three major clans and deploy them on the outer defensive line of the battlefield to form a dense cross-air defense.
Before long, the Hawkfolk troops attacked from the north, divided into dozens of small squads, arranged in an arrowhead shape, launching a multi-pronged attack simultaneously.
Each Hawkfolk squad is well-equipped with firepower, including bombardiers, machine gunners, snipers, and more...
In a short time, the outer defense line was quickly breached, and ordinary gunpowder anti-aircraft machine guns were no match for these Hawkfolk.
"Haha, these bastards really don't have anti-aircraft guns anymore! Brothers, charge! Military merit and honor are right in front of us!" Jerome, the leader of the Hawkfolk, shouted excitedly.
The Hawkfolk' morale soared, and they prepared for an even fiercer attack.
However, at that moment, a line of Strong Vibration Steel anti-aircraft machine guns equipped with Red Crystal Gunpowder bullets opened fire.
Ta-da-ta-da...
Streaks of orange-red muzzle flash shot out from the dark muzzle, much longer than those of ordinary anti-aircraft machine guns.
Long, spindle-shaped bullets pierced the sky, raining down on the Hawkfolk troops like a storm.
These bullets are faster, more stable, and have greater penetration and lethality, creating a barrage and firepower network that is vastly different from what was used before.
After a volley of fire, 20% of the 400 Hawkfolk were killed. One by one, the Hawkfolk screamed and fell from the sky in a spinning manner. Jerome, who had been laughing just moments before, was dumbfounded when he saw this scene.