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However… if this was truly the case, why did he return to the call of the Browns?

This was what Astrid was betting on.

Alexander walked to Astrid's side and took his place. He seemed neither pleased nor disappointed by what had just happened. His baseline remained the same and his alertness didn't fade in the slightest.

Lucius stepped forward next. "Isabella."

A woman with her hair done up in a high bun and who had particularly large, brown eyes stepped forward. Her eyes made her look far more youthful than she was, when in reality she should have been in her forties.

She was a renowned surgeon and had become a Laureate in Medicine for her work in advancing the field of surgical enhancements, specifically in the field of athletic performance. She had managed to take a foundation of CRISPR treatments for blood-borne diseases like sickle cell anemia and turn them toward not just fixing ailments, but creating superhumans as well.

Of course, it wasn't so exaggerated, and most of her methods were banned in official competition, but she had opened up much discussion in philosophy fields for what should be allowed in terms of "innovation" and what shouldn't be.

"Nathan."

Lucius spoke up right afterward, almost as though he was scared someone else would speak up before him.

Nathan Brown was the only other billionaire in the group aside from the three of them. However, he was extraordinarily unique because he wasn't the majority owner in any one of his businesses. Instead, he was known as an eccentric that liked to create and then abandon projects, keeping a small sliver of their profits.

But even so, having entered his fifties, he had successfully formed three companies with billion-dollar evaluations and almost four dozen others that were into the nine figures.

All of his success was supposedly based off of his self-created AI, one that he modified based on the business and research of the market.

He was a business genius few could compare to.

Like that, it was Astrid's choice once more, and she was wholly surprised… because her number two was still there.

On her list, Alexander was first, Nathan was third, and Isabella was fourth.

As for her second, it was…

"Elena."

Elena Brown was the second and final Laureate of the batch, a brilliant geneticist. It could be said that, at least in part, Isabella wouldn't even exist without Elena.

She was the oldest of them all, approaching her sixties. She would have been the last person any one of them expected to enter the Trial, but she had and she had come out stronger on the other side. In fact, she had managed to become a Level 5 and was an FFF+ level threat on top of that.

Astrid almost felt that it was unbelievable she wasn't chosen, but when she thought about it, she understood.

This woman was maybe more dangerous than even Alexander. Any sixty-year-old willing to take such a risk was on another level entirely, she wasn't much more than ten or so years younger than Sylas' own grandfather.

In addition, she was a geneticist. Given that Genes built the foundation of this world, who was to say whether she could capitalize on this and surpass them all?

The mental fortitude needed to do what she had done made the risk factor associated with her that much higher.

This was where the difference in philosophies between herself and her brothers shone through.

However, even so, Astrid took her without hesitation. As she said, it was the job of a leader to wield these double-edged swords. If she couldn't make them shine through, what was the point?

Lucius and Malachi both reacted with sharp gazes, but neither said a word.

"Sophia."

Malachi made his pick, and though it wasn't nearly as awe-inspiring as the first four, it was a solid pick nonetheless.

Sophia Brown was an environmental scientist focused on renewable resources. There was a small chance that she could leverage this as they moved from an era of fossil fuels to Aether, but this was only a secondary reason for Malachi.

More importantly than this, Sophia was an Olympian. In fact, she was a silver medalist in the 5K. Compared to others, her foundational Genes should be exceptional, and she had a lot of room to grow.

Aside from these first four, most of the coming choices would be based on these more physical evaluations as well.

Finally, it was Lucius' turn once again.

For the first time, an immediate choice wasn't made. Lucius stood there for a long while, looking them all in the eyes one by one. Some looked away beneath his pressure, others continued to meet his gaze, and then there were some that didn't look at him at all.

Sylas fell into this last category, his breathing even. He seemed focused on keeping his breathing normal, taking a breath every one to two seconds.

"Sylas."

The echo of his name caused Sylas to look up and meet Lucius' gaze for the first time. He nodded faintly then walked toward the man, taking up a spot beside Nathan.

The billionaire gave him a smile and Sylas nodded in acknowledgment. Nathan seemed to have a perpetual twinkle in his eyes, as though he was always searching for the next thing to tinker with.

The rest of the draft went by swiftly. Unsurprisingly, the further along they went, the less impressive they became. But overall, the standard didn't fall too far. Just by virtue of being able to make it here, these people were decently well-off without a doubt.

Soon, everyone was allocated.

"Come with me," Lucius spoke to his nine choices, taking them out of the room and toward his personal living quarters.

The main Grimblade family lived in the core of the compound, and Lucius had one of the many sectioned-off courtyards within. He gathered everyone at his large, 20-person dining table and called his chefs in to prepare a large meal.