Although grinding proficiency was very important, Caelus didn't waste the entire corpse of the Doomsday Beast.
Dan Heng had explained that the Doomsday Beast was an anti-celestial bioweapon of the Antimatter Legion, which meant its body had to be incredibly dense!
Caelus chose to keep the beast's four limbs, a pair of dragon wings, and the antimatter core, stuffing them all into his inventory.
With the [Steve] buff, which converted the total mass of all items in his inventory into physical strength, it was a given that he should fill his bag with the highest-quality, heaviest items he could find. At least until he could freely obtain other resources, these remains of the Doomsday Beast were an excellent substitute.
What surprised Caelus was that when he picked up the beast's two arms, they were actually recognized as weapons. Their damage rating was even slightly higher than his baseball bat!
The thought of wielding arms taller than himself as weapons was a bit unsettling, but you couldn't argue with high stats!
After stuffing the limbs, wings, and core into his inventory, Caelus reached out and grabbed the Doomsday Beast's torso. With one hand, he lifted it with ease.
Clearly, the mass of the materials he had packed away was far greater than he had anticipated!
While holding up the torso, Caelus turned his head and asked Dan Heng, "Dan Heng, how much does this Doomsday Beast weigh?"
Dan Heng, looking at Caelus effortlessly holding up the massive remains with one hand, was already feeling a bit numb.
"I'm not sure, but it has to be at least several dozen tons."
"Really? That's pretty good."
Caelus satisfyingly put the torso back down. By this logic, he was at least on par with Spider-Man now. In this sci-fi setting, even Spider-Man should be able to put up a decent fight, right?
After setting the torso down, Caelus continued to grind his proficiency. Dan Heng and March 7th could only stand to the side, watching with stunned disbelief as Caelus dismantled the massive corpse punch by punch.
---o---
While Caelus was hard at work grinding proficiency, Himeko returned with a group of people.
"Caelus, I brought people to help you dismantle the Doomsday Beast's body. You can take a break now."
Himeko called out as she approached, not noticing anything out of the ordinary about the scene at first.
Dan Heng walked over, shot Himeko a meaningful look, and then pointed towards Caelus. "Himeko, do you notice anything wrong here?"
Himeko paused, then looked carefully in Caelus's direction before it finally dawned on her.
"Where is the Doomsday Beast's body?"
"Caelus dismantled it... with his bare hands."
Himeko: ?
Had her auditory system malfunctioned? Were those words even supposed to be arranged in that order? She hadn't noticed him being a follower of any particular Path when she observed him earlier...
"Oh? He dismantled the Doomsday Beast's body bare-handed? Is that the little Stellaron brat you were talking about, Himeko?"
A short girl standing next to Himeko suddenly spoke up, sizing up the busy Caelus with great interest.
Himeko nodded.
"Mm. Herta, can you see anything?"
"Of course~~ not." Herta shrugged. "My real body isn't here. The systems installed on this puppet are limited. I can't find out anything without proper instruments. Let's take him back to the master control zone first."
"Alright."
Himeko had no objections. She had come back with the intention of calling Caelus back anyway. She had simply run into Herta on the way, and after explaining the situation, Herta's curiosity had been piqued enough for her to tag along.
"Caelus, are you done yet?" Himeko called out.
Caelus had just finished breaking down the last of the remains to max out his proficiency. Hearing his name, he turned around. Seeing a crowd of people watching him from behind, he was a little surprised.
"I'm done. But Ms. Himeko, why did you bring so many people?"
Himeko explained with a smile, "I originally intended to have these researchers help you dismantle the corpse, but it seems you didn't need any help at all."
"It was just a little trick of mine. Nothing to be impressed by."
After chatting with Himeko, Caelus finally noticed the girl standing beside her.
[Genius Society #83 · Herta (Puppet)]
Genius Society? Sounded pretty impressive.
At least in a sci-fi setting like this, Caelus didn't think an organization called the 'Genius Society' was just for show.
Seeing Caelus's attention on Herta, Himeko took the opportunity to introduce her.
"This is the true master of the Herta Space Station, Lady Herta."
Caelus gave her a polite nod. "Hello."
"You're polite enough, little guy. Come on, let's go back and I'll run a full body scan on you. I can't believe those Stellaron Hunters had such a method. It took me a ton of effort just to seal a Stellaron with an entire space station, and they just stuffed it directly into your body."
Herta turned and started walking back the way they came, talking as if to herself.
Himeko gave Caelus a slightly apologetic explanation.
"Once Herta gets curious about something, she tends to disregard everything else. Please don't mind her."
Caelus nodded. It was a minor thing. Besides, Herta's attitude fit his 'stereotype' of a genius perfectly.
---o---
Once they returned to the Master Control Zone, Herta immediately had someone hook Caelus up to various instruments. Caelus was very cooperative, as he was also curious about his current physical condition.
An hour later, the examination was finally over. Herta walked out of the research lab holding a report, and Caelus followed her out.
Himeko and the others, who had been waiting outside, immediately gathered around.
"Herta, are there any results? How is Caelus's condition?"
Herta squinted at the report in her hands. Hearing Himeko's question, she answered casually.
"He's very healthy. No excess internal heat, no kidney deficiency, good diet, regular sleep schedule. The only thing is his stomach was rumbling nonstop during the examination."
Caelus, standing off to the side, shrugged helplessly. He couldn't help it. The big fight with the Doomsday Beast had nearly bottomed out his hunger bar.
Herta's answer left Himeko and the others stunned. March 7th scratched her head in confusion and mumbled, "That's... it?"
"What more do you want me to say?"
Herta rolled her eyes at March 7th and casually tossed the report to Himeko. Himeko quickly caught it and opened it up. Dan Heng and March 7th crowded around to look as well. On the six-page report, aside from the few things Herta had just mentioned which had clear answers, the results for all other tests were marked with only two words: [UNKNOWN]!
"His muscle density is unreadable, X-rays can't penetrate his skin, and I couldn't even detect the Stellaron inside his body."
Herta turned her head to look at Caelus beside her, her eyes burning with intense curiosity.
"If you all hadn't sworn up and down that the Stellaron was inside him, I'd suspect you were lying to me. Little Stellaron brat, are you really 'human'?"