Just handing out the miracle drug and having the prisoners try it was a little boring, so Dante decided to have them fight it out instead. Annoyingly enough, they all decided to hide and wait, so he had to force them to battle by sharing their location.

The five kills victory condition was fake. From the start, he planned to observe the powers they would gain and take out those who survived the first dose. Well, that’s how things were supposed to go, at least. As he watched the battle, he ended up letting two candidates get killed.

’Well, that wasn’t too bad...’

Dante watched as the naked giant turned into a cloud of smoke and a man emerged from its remains. He appeared to be relatively unscathed, except for a few surface burns that could easily be treated.

’Level 4, huh?’ He thought. ’An only an intermediate?’

Technically speaking, the bastard could be considered an ascended Genome, since his human cells made up a very small percentage while he’s transformed. The argument against that was the giant from being something akin to a giant power suit, one made from flesh.

’That one will go to the Catalysts...’

Though it was an impressive ability, Dante didn’t see himself making use of it. The same went for the Level 3 monkey man. The telekinetic man looked promising, but since he hadn’t shown his full potential, Dante decided that he would be thrown away. Then there was the last guy.

[Interesting.]

That was the word Volcan had used to describe the man’s power. Apparently, it allowed him to halt all motions within a certain range from him, making it appear as if he were stopping time. That made it perfect for infiltration and assassination, and it could be quite deadly in direct combat.

’Then... why is he only a Level 1 Intermediate?’

Pause was a powerful ability, but it doesn’t cause any destruction on its own. Because of that, it’s Threat Level turned out to be quite low. It reminded Dante of John Catalyst’s Suggestion power, which allowed him to control people’s actions with just a few words.

’Maybe we need a different system to categorize abilities...’

Depending on the circumstances, a Level 1 ability could easily defeat a Level 4 or 5, just like how Pause defeated the burning skeleton earlier.

’Well, either way...’

As he considered the pros and cons of the ability, Dante found himself before an important choice: should he give him away, or should he keep him? When he first accepted the task, he thought it would be an easy one, considering his hatred for anything relating to the Genomes. Now that he was seeing the powers they could have and the many ways he could put them to use, he was hesitating to finish the job.

’Too bad most of them die the first time...’

Depending on luck, the miracle drug could turn out to be a one-time use. Most of the pseudo-Genomes die the moment whatever was fueling their transformation runs out, with only the lucky few surviving. Dante was starting to believe the time limit was a fault, and not a feature, as it had been advertised.

[I find it quite curious.] Volcan said. [The time limit is the only thing that differentiates pseudo-Genomes from regular ones, so it is rather strange that one of them could maintain its abilities, while the other loses them after a limited amount of time.]

’Is it really the same?’

[Indeed.]

Since they had no idea how regular Genomes are made, they couldn’t do a proper comparison, but it was clear that a lot more went into it. Dante had always assumed that the time limit was the price paid for making it so the power was usable in seconds, so if they were to find a way to reverse it, they might be able to extend the time limit.

’Alright, let’s go see if Lev got everything ready.’

Sending out a message informing the survivors that the challenge had ended, Dante equipped his armor and teleported to his bony friend’s pocket dimension, Black Hill.

~[ ]~

"Hm? Oh, boss! You’re here!"

Lev’s eyes glowed a ghastly green as he laid eyes on Dante, a wide grin splitting his face. Of course, he was the only one happy to see him, unlike the dozen white-clad lab dwellers gathered behind him.

[Have you finished setting everything up?]

"Yup. We’re mostly done!" Lev spoke for everyone. "Those bots you lent us were a big help. Right, guy!?"

His question was met with silence. With his face hidden behind a large, black visor, Dante had to shift his body to make the others realize he was looking at them.

"We only need to calibrate the power lines and sanitize some machines." One of the lab coats said. "We should be able to begin work in less than 24 hours."

[Take your time and make sure you do everything right.]

Though they didn’t have a lot of it, Dante still didn’t want to rush them. The twelve men and women were scientists who worked in Gaia’s biolabs. They just happened to be among the people he picked up during his trip to Riovanta, so it wasn’t his intention to bring them here. That said, since they were already there, he decided to put them to use. After all, he had been meaning to gather some biologists for some time now.

"I... I have a question."

Stepping forward from the group, an elderly man fixed Dante with a glare. He was undoubtedly as afraid as the others, but he seemed able to gather the courage to speak up.

[Professor Sanches, right?] Dante brought up the man’s profile, checking his credentials. [Ask away.]

The man’s protruding Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke again.

"What... what do you plan on forcing us to make?" He asked. "If it’s a weapon, then I can’t... I will not aid you in its creation..."