Chris and the others spent a full half hour harvesting crystal cores—everything they’d killed themselves, plus the Flamebirds Ethan had dropped while kiting.

They were still tallying the haul when the sky suddenly darkened again.

A dense mass of red birds was coming back this way.

Everyone snapped to their feet, weapons out, eyes locked on the incoming flock.

Sean frowned. "Chris... you think Ethan pulled it off, and this is them bringing the Flamebirds back?"

"Maybe," Chris said, not relaxing at all. "But don’t get sloppy. Cautious is still the right call."

"Yeah."

As the Flamebirds got closer, the tension finally eased.

Because on the lead birds, they spotted Ethan and the others.

"So it worked," Mia said, relief bleeding into excitement.

Skinny Pete whooped. "Ha! When the captain moves, how could he fail?"

The flock swept in and landed, red wings folding as thousands of talons clicked against stone. Ethan, Henry, and Skinny Pete jumped down from a Flamebird’s back.

"Captain, you’re insane," Big Mike said immediately, laying it on thick.

But his eyes were basically glowing as he stared at the birds.

From now on, travel was going to be pure style. The thought alone made him giddy.

The others weren’t any better—everyone was scanning the flock like kids picking out bikes.

So many of them. No more two people squeezing onto one mount. Everyone could have their own... and still have extras.

Ethan walked up to Chris. "You finish harvesting the cores?"

"Yeah. All done." Chris pointed off to the side. "From what we killed here plus what you dropped on the way, it’s a little over three thousand. They’re piled right there."

"Good." Ethan swept the crystal cores into his storage ring.

As for the bodies, he left them for the Flamebirds to handle.

They didn’t hesitate.

Apparently eating their own dead didn’t bother them at all—probably just how things worked in a world this starved.

Ethan looked around again, that same oppressive dark-red landscape stretching forever. Mountains were bare rock. No green anywhere. Not even moss.

He couldn’t even guess what the food chain looked like here.

"Rest up," Ethan said. "Then everyone tell the group what skill you got at Stage B. We need to know what tools we’ve got."

"Alright."

They gathered in a loose circle. Ethan pulled out some food, and they ate while they talked—finally able to breathe.

Chris went first. "Mine’s a buff. Short duration, but it’s nasty—doubles my strength instantly. Only lasts ten seconds, though."

He tapped his chest. "And my ability evolution boosts my damage by fifty percent while I’m invisible. Stack those together and my burst is going to be disgusting."

"Damn," Sean said. "Chris is gonna be our answer for high-tier monsters."

"Seriously," Skinny Pete added. "Boss-killer energy."

Chris laughed. "Yeah, yeah. That’s probably all I’m good for. In a swarm fight, you guys smoke me."

"Then leave the swarm fights to us," Mia said, waving it off.

Ethan nodded toward Henry. "Henry?"

Henry scratched his cheek. "You already saw my new skill—light-type AoE, Rain of Light. Damage is solid."

Then he grinned. "And my healing ability evolved too. I can regenerate severed limbs now. So if you idiots lose an arm or a leg, don’t panic. I can grow you a new one."

Big Mike’s face lit up like Christmas. "Holy—Henry, I love you. Then I can just go wild!"

"Yeah, go wild," Henry said dryly. "I can regrow arms and legs. I can’t regrow your brain. If your head gets chopped off, I’ll help by collecting the body."

"...Okay," Big Mike said, immediately deflating. "Never mind."

"Sounds like Calvin’s busted arm might actually be fixable now." Ethan chuckled.

"Later, I’ll ask Miles how he’s been behaving. If he’s finally kicked that bleeding-heart habit, we’ll heal him. If he’s still the same... then we leave it. Let that arm remind him."

"Yeah," Henry agreed.

Ethan turned to Sean with a smile. "Sean’s upgrade is interesting. Tell everyone."

Sean nodded. "Alright."

"My Stage B skill is what I just used—energy solidification. It gives me ranged attacks."

He lifted a hand, thinking through the words. "And my ability evolution added something else: a metal-type ability that lets me condense metal elements into objects. I can shape it into different forms."

Everyone stared at him.

"...What does that even mean?" Big Mike asked.

Chris snapped his fingers. "Simple. Sean’s a walking equipment crafter now. He can forge weapons and armor."

"Seriously?!" a few of them blurted at once.

Sean sighed and nodded, looking more resigned than proud. "Yeah."

Honestly, he sounded disappointed. It didn’t directly make him better in a fight. It basically meant he was turning into the squad’s blacksmith.

Mia leaned forward, curious. "How strong are the weapons you can make?"

"Depends on my strength," Sean said. "I’m Stage B right now, so anything I make should be fine for killing Stage B enemies. But if someone’s way above me... it probably won’t hold up."

"That’s still huge," Henry said. "When our gear starts falling behind, we’re relying on you."

Sean nodded once. "No problem." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Ethan tapped the ground lightly. "Also—when we get back, make a batch of good weapons and store them in the Fallen Star City armory. Let the Fallen Star Guard exchange merit for them."

"Got it," Sean said.

Ethan turned. "Skinny Pete. You’re up."

Skinny Pete’s face crumpled like he’d swallowed a lemon. "I’m screwed..."

"Both my skills aren’t combat skills."

"Stop whining and say it," Chris said.

Skinny Pete held up two fingers. "My Stage B skill is... sensory. It lets me sense things ahead of time."

The group went still.

"...Sense what?" Big Mike asked slowly.

"Like—if something big is about to happen, I should be able to feel it beforehand."

"...What?" Mia said.

Sean frowned. "That’s kinda... mystical."

"Yeah," Skinny Pete admitted. "I also think it sounds mystical, but that’s what it is."

Ethan nodded, expression turning serious. "Don’t underestimate that. That kind of ability is special. It’s probably going to be crazy useful."

Big Mike smirked. "Congrats. You’re a fortune teller now. Bet you’ll be accurate as hell."

Skinny Pete shot him a look. "Shut up."

Ethan lifted a brow. "And your ability evolution?"

Skinny Pete hesitated, then said it quickly like ripping off a bandage. "It’s... also weird. I can peek at what someone’s thinking."

Everyone’s heads snapped toward him.

"...Excuse me?" Chris said.

"You’re kidding," Henry said, suddenly tense.

Skinny Pete raised both hands. "Hold on—there’s a limit. It only works on people weaker than me."

A beat.

"And you’re sure it’s only people below your tier?" Sean pressed, eyes narrowed.

"Yeah," Skinny Pete said. "Anyone stronger than me, or even the same tier, I can’t read them."

A collective exhale went around the circle.

"Thank god," Mia muttered.

Big Mike pointed at Skinny Pete like he was accusing him of a crime. "Nope. New rule: I’m never letting you pass me in tier."

Nobody laughed, because everyone was thinking the same thing.

If Skinny Pete ever got ahead of them, being around him would feel like standing naked in public.

It was terrifying.

Honestly, it made Ethan’s True Sight feel tame.

Ethan gave Skinny Pete a long look, impressed despite himself. Neither of Pete’s upgrades directly boosted his damage, but both of them were the kind of "strategic" abilities that could decide an entire war.

Ethan nodded once. Yeah. This kid’s going to matter later.

He looked at Big Mike. "Alright, Big Mike. Your turn."

Big Mike straightened like he’d been waiting for the spotlight. "Heh. This time I’m back."

Back at Stage C, the two skills he’d gotten had depressed him for days. This one finally felt like a win.

"My new Stage B skill is Toxic Rain—you all saw it. Nasty, right? Huge area, full coverage."

He spread his hands, selling it hard. "Damage is a little low, sure. It’s not amazing for enemies stronger than me, or even around my level. But against weaker targets? It’s disgusting."

His grin sharpened. "Like... those Yamato guys."

"Next time we go after those Yamato bastards, I drop a few Toxic Rains and we’re basically wiping a whole city."

Nobody argued.

As far as large-scale AoE went, Toxic Rain was the biggest range they’d seen so far.

Big Mike’s old Rain of Flames and Garrick’s Meteor Storm covered, what—around three to four thousand square feet? One cast might kill a few hundred, maybe.

But Toxic Rain was on another level, pushing well over a hundred thousand square feet. One cast poisoning ten or twenty thousand wasn’t hard to imagine.

A few casts...

Yeah. "City wipe" wasn’t just talk.