You are a level 3

"Hello, please proceed to the third underground floor for the ability level test."

The person glanced at her, but didn't react to her face-covering appearance.

"The elevator is over there."

The hall was filled with people dressed in all sorts of strange clothes, representing every season of the year. Some had weapons hanging from or strapped to their bodies, and at least half of them had their faces covered.

Blending in with the crowd, Su Xuan was hardly noticeable.

She entered the elevator and descended.

At the entrance to the third underground floor testing area, a staff member in uniform was questioning everyone who entered.

When it was her turn, the staff member asked seriously, "What level are you testing?"

Su Xuan answered hesitantly, "Level one, I suppose?"

"Go to site ten," the person said expressionlessly. "The testing fee is two hundred star credits. If the result is determined to be level one or above, the full amount will be refunded."

Su Xuan reluctantly paid the fee.

Su Xuan asked, "Your uniform is different from the one upstairs?"

The staff member gave her a look that clearly said, "You don't know anything." "I'm from the Federation Registered Ability Management Bureau. Our branch is located here."

Su Xuan: "So you're not from the Mercenary Association? So—"

"Yes, the ability level title you receive here is the most authoritative assessment, valid throughout the entire Federation star domain."

Usually, they wouldn't set up a branch on Dark Star, but since Dream City had many ability users and the Mercenary Association had decent territory, who would turn down the opportunity to make money?

"Oh."

Su Xuan had now lost a small portion of her funds, but received a queue number: twenty-five.

In site ten, various testing equipment was set up. A few people stood at the door, and when they saw her enter, they all gave her either an assessing or dismissive look.

Su Xuan ignored them.

On the wall of the testing area, there was a screen showing an explanation of ability user rankings.

She began to read carefully.

According to the screen, all ability users shared a set of basic abilities.

These primarily involved physical enhancements, such as strength, speed, sensory abilities, self-healing, toxin and disease resistance, and so on.

In rare cases, there were also abilities related to mental perception and mental resistance.

Su Xuan suddenly understood.

Self-healing is one of the basic abilities of ability users.

So, Han Yu has self-healing abilities, and so do I.

She continued reading about the classification of ability users.

In all the basic abilities mentioned, as long as you have one that meets the standard and complete the test on the designated machine, you can become a level one ability user.

Most people initially only have one or two abilities, or at most three.

For example, some have strength, some have speed, some have enhanced vision and hearing—some have self-healing, just like herself.

The most important thing is that every level one ability user can improve their physical condition through training and gradually acquire all the other basic abilities.

Su Xuan's eyes lit up when she saw this.

She had already had some guesses, but now, at this moment, she finally got the exact answer.

—Although she may currently only have self-healing, as long as she keeps training, she could eventually become a master who can punch through walls with one blow or kick a car away with one foot!

What could be better than that!

Now that she had escaped the plot of the original story and come to Dark Star, as long as she survived and kept pushing forward, there would be endless possibilities.

Su Xuan suppressed her excitement and continued reading.

Level two ability users must develop all basic abilities and enhance them to a certain level. They must pass several tests, and only then can they be classified as level two.

Level three ability users must develop special abilities.

Su Xuan instinctively thought of the people she had encountered at the entrance of the association.

The one with electric currents wrapping around their arm, and the one with flames burning at their side—both were examples of special abilities.

As for how to develop them or what kind of abilities one could develop, there were no detailed explanations here, and it seemed there was no standard answer.

Level four ability users have very strict evaluation conditions, which are based on combat power.

They must apply for an assessment with the association and, under a one-on-one scenario, defeat a designated target without using any weapons.

The target is usually a high-risk mutant beast.

Su Xuan suddenly recalled that in the task information in the association's hall, there were almost no recruitment notices for level four ability users.

It seemed that they were quite rare.

However, what's worth noting is that some people, who were only level one ability users and far from meeting the requirements for level two, had developed special abilities and became level three ability users.

In their promotion process, they skipped level two and went straight from level one to level three.

This meant that the promotion process was not necessarily progressive, and level two was not a required stepping stone to level three? A level one ability user could directly develop a special ability?

"Get out of the way!"

Su Xuan was suddenly shoved aside rudely.

"Don't block my path!"

The shove came without warning, and the person was very strong. She stumbled sideways and slammed into the wall.

"Hmph, trash."

The person who had been standing in front of the screen sneered and gave her a dismissive glance.

His companions walked over and also threw disdainful looks her way.

From the brief contact just now, they could tell that this short, skinny person who was covering their face had poor reflexes and strength, no different from an ordinary person.

In fact, it seemed that even a slightly stronger regular person could easily surpass her.

They glanced around the entire testing area, where various gym-like equipment was set up, and there were statistical machines nearby, clearly aimed at testing physical abilities.

What could such a weak waste of space possibly pass?

"I really don't understand. Every time, some idiots come here to waste their time. They think they're ability users, but the test results show they're nothing."

Someone sneered.

"Hey, you, the one hiding your face!"

The tester who had pushed her earlier shouted loudly, "You're in front of me, right? Let me go first, I'm in a hurry—"

Su Xuan ignored him and just leaned against the wall, lost in thought.

When he didn't get a response, his face darkened. "Hey—"

"Number twenty-five!"

A staff member walked over.

She stood in front of Su Xuan. "You're number twenty-five, right? It's your turn, come for the test."

A loud coughing sound came from the side.

The troublemaker crossed his arms and glared at Su Xuan with a threatening look.

"Mm."

Su Xuan didn't even look at him. "I'm number twenty-five. Let's go."

The man's eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe she was so weak and still refused to give him face. He clenched his teeth so hard they were grinding.

Just as he was about to step forward, another staff member called out "Number twenty-six," so he reluctantly backed off.

"Hello, I'm staff member 199, here to serve you."

Su Xuan listened to her supervisor ask, "What would you like to test?"

"Healing."

Staff member 199 was slightly surprised but didn't say anything. She just led Su Xuan to a testing device.

"Please extend your hand."

Su Xuan extended her hand into the testing area and felt a slight sting in her fingertips, as though she had been pricked by a needle.

"Please don't move, thank you."

Staff member 199 held a tablet, and the screen displayed a magnified image of the wound, with various readings next to it.

The blood and fibrinogen were rapidly clotting.

"Meets the determination standard."

Staff member 199 nodded. "Now you're a level one ability user."

She saved five thousand star coins.

That was the first thought that crossed Su Xuan's mind.

Then she became excited.

—So, she really was an ability user!

As long as she kept training, she could develop those basic abilities and become a well-rounded fighter who could take hits and deal damage!

"Would you like to test any other abilities?"

Staff member 199 asked.

Su Xuan snapped back to her senses. "Hmm? I'm already a level one, and I'm sure I can't be a level two. Why would I need to test anything else?"

"You've paid 200 star coins. In theory, you can test all the machines."

Staff member 199 smiled. "Don't you think you'd be losing out if you didn't try?"

They were passing by a punching power tester.

The screen nearby listed some values and instructions.

For an average adult, the results would range between 79. For regular people who train, the highest they could reach would be around 19, and it was almost impossible to exceed 20.

—This device was special; the higher the number, the harder it became to improve. In theory, increasing from 7 to 8 wasn't difficult, but increasing from 17 to 18 could be hellish.

Of course, that's for ordinary people.

"Bang!"

At that moment, a tester punched the designated area.

The value on the screen kept climbing.

87.5.

The person stood up, unsatisfied, and looked at the staff member next to him. "Can I try again?"

The staff member waved dismissively. "Trying again would still give you level one results. It's over, it's over."

Su Xuan quietly asked staff member 199 next to her, "How much does level two need?"

Staff member 199 glanced at the force tester. "For this? Level two needs to be above 500. And this is just one of the tests for level two—would you like to give it a try?"

Su Xuan stayed silent, waiting for the previous tester to leave. Once they did, she moved up, mimicking his movements, and slammed her fist into the counting area.

The number on the screen jumped up.

6.8.

Su Xuan: "..."

Staff member 199 made a sympathetic face.

"Actually, this is pretty normal. For ordinary people, especially since I guess you're not even an adult yet? That's not bad."

After a few seconds, she comforted her, "The punch you just threw, your posture, and your power weren't your full strength. If you hit at full power, your actual number should be above 7."

Su Xuan: "…"

Well.

It seemed that her only ability was self-healing. The rest of her abilities were probably no different from an ordinary person.

She must be at the bottom of the ability user pyramid.

Su Xuan calmed herself down and thought it through.

However, she still had plenty of time.

It seemed that staff member 199 noticed her confusion. "Take it slow. Many people start with only one ability, but as long as you keep improving your physical fitness, the other basic abilities will gradually emerge."

199 pointed to the testing devices nearby.

"At first, you may only have a 7, but with training, that number will continue to increase. Ordinary people stop improving once they reach 19, but for ability users, there's no upper limit. You could reach 20, 30, 40, 50—and it keeps rising. It just gets slower as the number grows."

"This process takes a lot of time, and it's not easy. That's why many people skip it and go straight to developing special abilities."

In other words, they go from level one directly to level three.

Su Xuan asked, "I saw someone at the door create a ball of fire out of nowhere—he must be a level three ability user, right?"

199 nodded. "Of course. That's an elemental ability, and many people favor this kind of power."

Su Xuan asked, "Does everyone develop just one special ability?"

199 replied, "Not necessarily. Some people can develop two or even more special abilities."

"Hey! You!"

The troublemaker from the entrance stormed over with an imposing presence, radiating an oppressive sense of threat.

"6.8 strength? Ridiculous. I've never seen such a weak ability user. So, your only ability is self-healing?"

The man rolled up his sleeves as he spoke. "Then I guess you must be hard to kill, huh?"

Su Xuan: "???"

She looked at staff member 199. "Aren't you going to do something about this?"

199 looked a bit helpless. "They're subhumans. He—"

Su Xuan understood.

Subhumans were a large category referring to humans and other intelligent species' hybrids, such as half-beastmen, half-merfolk, half-winged people, etc. Most of these hybrids acted quite normal, but in some cases, some subhumans had simple minds, some were bloodthirsty, and some had mental issues.

199 added, "Unless someone dies or the association's property is damaged, no one usually interferes with fights and brawls."

Su Xuan instinctively recalled the chaotic scene at the association entrance.

Clearly, mercenaries were not a law-abiding group.

Moreover, the Federation's laws were basically non-existent on Dark Star.

"Don't mind him."

199 whispered, "Just go."

Before she could finish, the man suddenly lunged forward.

"Weaklings should know their place—"

He moved incredibly fast, covering five or six meters in the blink of an eye, throwing a punch straight at her face.

Su Xuan didn't even have time to pull out a weapon.

She simply raised her hand instinctively, bracing herself for the punch to knock her back, but instead, she used her palm to meet the punch head-on.

"???"

Su Xuan remained standing in place.

She looked down in astonishment at her arm, which was crackling with electric energy.

There were delicate white-blue sparks, crackling and flashing like incense sparks or writhing snakes, constantly flickering and fading.

"You? You????"

The man stared at her in disbelief, his expression completely changing. "You're a level three—"

Su Xuan wasn't sure what was happening.

But she suddenly realized something else.

It might be related to the subhuman's mental issues, or maybe it wasn't connected at all.

These people simply viewed themselves as weak.

They believed that the weak should bow down to the strong, should endure humiliation and oppression, meekly accepting every unreasonable demand.

Otherwise, they would have to pay the price.

"If this is the law you live by, then you should experience it firsthand."

A strong malice suddenly surged inside Su Xuan.

The negative emotions seemed to fuel the power within her.

Electricity surged through her, rushing straight into the man's fist.

The man screamed in agony, stumbling backward several steps, his palm already charred and blackened.

He looked up, his eyes not filled with hatred or anger, but with deep, primal fear, as if he had seen some man-eating monster.

"You—"

A chorus of gasps echoed around them.

"What the hell?!"

"What is that—?!"

The others in the testing area, who had been eagerly watching the scene unfold, hoping to witness the strong beating the weak, were now all frozen in place, their eyes wide in disbelief.

"Three—level three?!"

"Is she a level three ability user—?!"