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He approached him and spoke relatively loudly: "Are you messing with me, Student?"

Ron turned around and sighed. Then, he pointed forward at the battle and explained: "I'm not. It's just that I can't do this"

Albert wondered for a moment what the kid meant. The other students were simply sparring. How could he not be able to do it? He asked him what he meant and Ron told him: "They can literally explode the ground with their movements. I can't do this. If I tried to fight, I would die"

Albert looked at him with disbelief. What did he mean he would die? This was the standard of a student of the university. It was only the fifth level of bio-augmentation… Then, he had a realization and tried to confirm his guess: "Have you not taken the fifth level bio-augmentation operation yet?"

Ron nodded. In fact, he hadn't received a single bio-augmentation operation. Obviously, he knew what this was. It was common knowledge for the residents of cities with even a bit of self-respect. In this era in which augmented were heroes, the process behind their evolution was well-known. Out of reach but well-known.

It was something that existed in two steps. The first step consisted of the bio-augmentation. It was a process to buff up the might of the physical body of a human. Using genetics and DNA from alien species, it provided ingenious boosts. There were ten known levels that people could reach as long as they had the money and the status required. A random man wasn't allowed to be operated beyond the fifth level. Only those from the military, top corporations and politics had the rights for higher bio-augments. That being said, it was a requirement to have reached the fifth level to enroll in these two divisions of the university. And Ron hadn't received a single one. Since he never intended to fight, he never felt the need to do so. Not like he would have had the money for it. These things were expensive…

The second step lied in the mechanical augments. They were exoskeletons worn over the body, extensions of the body. Depending on the prices, one could get himself some incredible machineries… Then again, he had no such things.

So, after being questioned by the teacher, he answered honestly: "I have not"

The teacher nodded thoughtfully. If the student was a level under the others, it was understandable that he didn't want to spar with them. He would be broken by them. The difference in might between levels was no joke. It was labelled in levels for a reason and that was because their powers were different from one level to the other.

Then again, it was easy to get the kid to spar if this was the problem. He said: "Alright, don't worry, I'll tell them to limit themselves to the fourth level. Then, you can spar without worries"

Ron didn't expect the teacher to say that and hurriedly clarified the situation: "No, no, Sir, this isn't what I meant. I haven't received a single augment

The teacher looked at him as if a fool. He couldn't believe his ears and those words. Was this student trying to be funny? No way would the enrollment department let someone with no augments join. It was impossible. It was suicidal as well. He chuckled coldly and stated: "This kind of joke isn't funny, student"

Ron sighed and spread his hands as if giving up. Then, he stated once again: "It's the truth"

The teacher began to waver. It was impossible but what if…what if this was real? If he forced a kid with no augments to fight…It was possible that he would indeed die from a spar here. He made the student wait and used his wrist-com to make a call.

Moments later, he looked at Ron with a grave expression and a deep frown. Turned out that this student had neither bio nor mech augments. Why was he here? He didn't have the clearance level to be made aware. What was he to do? Whatever he could was what he was told. And that was a big problem since there was nothing to be done there.

Albert never encountered such a problematic situation before and, being honest, didn't know what to do. To him, the bio-augments weren't even a requirement but the basics of basics. He spoke to Ron: "I confirmed it. Sorry about this, student"

Ron waved it away: "It's fine. I understand"

Albert looked at the battle. Celine was facing two students and still winning by a landslide. She had been like that since the first semester, fighting alone and staying strong at the top. Yet, he only felt sadness from it. Wars were fought in groups and a single individual wouldn't be able to do much. He wanted to teach her how to cooperate with others… This was probably one of the few things he could teach her. Her fighting capabilities were already impressive, not far from his own. She might even be stronger at the same level of augments.

He gazed at the student sitting on the grass and said: "You need to go get the augments"

Ron admitted that the teacher was right. He needed them. If he was going to be sent on a battlefield filled with monsters with this kind of might, he would need some power of his own. Otherwise, he would really be torn to shreds right away. He nodded and asked: "How much would it cost?"

The teacher pondered for a moment before he said: "To get to the fifth level, it should be between fifteen and twenty million spatial coins these days. It's cheaper than back in the days"

Ron's face went extremely pale.