"What about your Innate Abilities?" Ethan asked.

Skinny Pete’s power set was the "weird" kind—every breakthrough came with some new surprise—so Ethan was genuinely curious what he’d picked up this time.

Skinny Pete let out a long sigh. "Yeah... my Innate Abilities evolved, and I got another ability that has nothing to do with combat."

"What is it?"

"Memory Wipe." Skinny Pete looked resigned. "I can erase someone’s memories and turn them into a blank sheet."

"—!!!"

"Holy shit!" Big Mike’s eyes went huge. "How does your power get more disgusting every time you level up?"

Everyone else wore the same expression—half creeped out, half impressed.

Memory erasure was vicious. The kind of ability that made you want to stand three steps farther away from him, just in case.

"It has restrictions, right?" Ethan asked, keeping it practical.

"Yeah." Skinny Pete shrugged. "I can only wipe people whose Tier is lower than mine. Anyone stronger than me—or even around my level—doesn’t work."

"That’s still insane," Ethan said bluntly. "Not very useful in a straight-up fight, but... yeah. Nasty."

Right now it looked situational, but Ethan wasn’t about to underestimate something like that. The day it became useful, it would be really useful.

Ethan’s gaze shifted to Mia.

"Mia. Yours?"

Mia grinned, clearly pleased with herself. "Hehe. I think my luck was pretty good too. When I hit Stage A, I rolled a spatial-type ability."

"Spatial-type?!"

Everyone’s heartbeat jumped.

Spatial abilities were the kind of thing people dreamed about and basically never got.

Up until now, aside from Ethan—who could choose his skills—only Miles had a spatial-type ability, and his was an alternate-space one.

And now Mia had pulled one too?

That was ridiculous luck.

"What is it?" several people asked at once, eyes locked on her.

"Spatial Banishment," Mia said. "I can exile someone into a void space."

A collective chill went through the table.

"That’s broken."

"If you can’t win, just banish them."

"It’s not that simple," Mia said, shaking her head. "If the target’s Tier is lower than mine, then yeah—once they’re banished, they basically have no chance of coming back."

"But if they’re too strong, they can brute-force their way out by tearing the space open. The stability of that void space depends on my own strength."

"Damn," someone muttered. "Would’ve been nice if it worked on everyone."

"Keep dreaming." Ethan laughed. "Abilities boost your combat power, but they’re still tied to your own strength. If you’re too weak, the strongest ability in the world won’t save you."

He lifted his glass a little, smirking. "If there really were an ability that ignored Tier completely, I’d have been invincible a long time ago."

"...Fair," Big Mike admitted.

Ethan nodded toward Mia. "Your Spatial Banishment sounds a lot like my Nullspace Domain. I’m guessing you can probably banish someone two or three Tiers above you without much trouble. Even if they can break out, it’ll take time."

"In a real fight, if we run into someone we can’t handle, you banish them first. We clean up everyone else, then deal with them after."

"Got it." Mia nodded.

"Good." Ethan tapped the table lightly. "And your Innate Abilities?"

"I got Frostbite Spike," Mia said. "I can pierce it into their body and freeze their blood, making them lose mobility."

Ethan’s eyes lit up. "Oh—that’s a solid one."

"Yeah." Mia smiled, satisfied. "I like both of them."

"Emily?" Everyone turned to her.

"When I hit Stage A, I got a wind-type ability," Emily said. "Cyclone Blade. It’s a really strong cutting skill."

"Cyclone Blade?" Ethan blinked, surprised. "That’s the Winged Clan’s signature move. It’s basically the strongest single-target damage skill for wind-type abilities, isn’t it?"

Emily nodded quickly. "Yeah. Same as theirs—I can release a huge Wind Cutter."

"Nice." Ethan’s eyes narrowed with interest. "And your Innate Abilities?"

"I got Warding Armor. I can cast it on teammates. After it’s applied, it blocks part of the damage you take and reduces your incoming damage."

"Huh?" Chris frowned. "Isn’t that the same as Henry’s Divine Shield?"

"It’s different," Ethan said, cutting in before Emily could get crowded. "Henry’s Divine Shield can completely block damage. As long as the shield holds, you don’t get hurt at all—but once incoming damage exceeds its limit, it shatters."

"Emily’s Warding Armor doesn’t make you immune. It reduces the damage you take, but it’s a lot harder to break. And the two can stack—no conflict."

"Oh?" Big Mike’s eyes lit up. "That actually sounds awesome. How much damage reduction are we talking?"

"You can test it," Ethan said with a grin. "Have Emily put Warding Armor on you, then let Sean punch you once. See what happens."

"Uh..." Big Mike’s shoulders hunched. "Let’s... not. I’ll find out naturally later."

Sean’s strength was way too nasty now. If he slipped and didn’t hold back, Big Mike might not get back up.

"Alright." Ethan lifted his glass. "Now we all know what everyone’s working with. Later, we’ll do more coordination drills. There’ll be plenty of fights in the future."

"Yeah." Everyone nodded, mood settling into that satisfied, hungry calm that came after a breakthrough.

Ethan’s gaze slid to Miles. "Miles—anything happen lately?"

"Nothing major." Miles spoke evenly. "The big compounds are all developing steadily. Everyone’s trying to buy time and raise strength."

"There were a few cases where zombies started massing in large numbers, but Atlas City detected them early. They’ve already been dealt with."

Ethan nodded. "What about the Winged Clan? Any sightings?"

"No." Miles shook his head. "After your battle last time, it’s like they vanished. They probably retreated back to the Rus Federation."

"Maybe," Ethan said. "Or maybe they scattered somewhere else."

He set his glass down, thinking it through. "Either way, without Aeralon—and with that roc hunting them—they can’t make waves anymore."

"If I had to guess, they’ll lie low for a while. When the Void Realm passage opens again, they’ll either run back to their own world... or try to find reinforcements."

Miles’ expression tightened. "Captain... how long do you think until the Void Realm passage opens again?"

"No idea." Ethan shook his head, then turned toward Skinny Pete. "Pete. Your Premonition?"

Skinny Pete hesitated, then said, "Not long. I’d say... within the next few months."

Ethan nodded, then asked, "How long has it been since the last time the Crimson Star appeared?"

"Two months," someone answered.

"Two months..." Ethan’s voice went quiet. "Based on my guess, the Crimson Star shows up once a year. When it appears again, that’s probably when the Void Realm passage opens."

He exhaled slowly. "But I trust Skinny Pete’s Premonition. If he’s saying a few months, then it won’t be far off."

Ethan looked back at Miles. "How’s the compound’s overall strength coming along?"

"Right now, aside from you guys and the Fallen Star Guard, the Fallen Star Corps has one hundred thousand members," Miles said. "All of them are Tier 20. They can deploy anytime."

Ethan’s eyebrows shot up. "Didn’t you say you were building a fifty-thousand-man Fallen Star Corps?"

"A hundred thousand happened naturally," Miles said, tone matter-of-fact. "Last time you brought back over a million Tier 19 crystal cores. Keeping them stockpiled would’ve been a waste, so I expanded the corps."

"Fallen Star City’s loyalty is high. Almost everyone wants in. Recruitment was fast—I didn’t have to spend much time on it."

Ethan nodded, eyes sharpening with a new, solid weight settling in his chest.

"Yeah." His voice carried quiet satisfaction. "One hundred thousand Tier 20 Enhanced... that’s real power."