Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Sean?” Ethan looked over at him.

”I got a strong single-target attack,” Sean said, unable to hide his excitement. ”A strength-type ability—Power Strike. It lets me hit with double my normal strength. The cost’s a little high, but the damage is nasty. If I stack it with my Berserk, I can put out some crazy burst.”

”Nice.” Ethan grinned. ”Sean finally has an attack worth showing off.”

”Yeah,” Sean said proudly. ”I’m done being the team’s punching bag. I’m a heavy hitter now. I grab someone, they die.”

Ethan chuckled. ”Alright. Any changes to your Innate Abilities?”

”Got a new Piercing Force effect,” Sean said. ”Kind of like how Chris gives his weapon that sharp edge. I can attach it to my weapon—or even my fists. It can break through defenses, especially shields and armor-type defensive skills.”

”Damn,” Big Mike said, half impressed, half annoyed. ”Sean, your whole upgrade is offense. I was hoping you’d get even tankier.”

”Get lost,” Sean shot back. ”You think getting hit doesn’t hurt? These skills are great. Offense is the best defense. With what I’ve got now, fighting two Tiers up shouldn’t be a problem.”

Ethan nodded, fully approving. ”Yeah. Sean can take hits and dish them out now. You’ll probably be able to go toe-to-toe with Tier 32. That’s the kind of upgrade you want.”

He turned. ”Garrick?”

Garrick’s expression turned a little awkward. ”My Stage S skill is… kind of average. A void-type ability—Void Shroud. Once I cast it, the whole area becomes pitch-black. You can’t see anything, and you can’t sense any auras either. Everyone turns blind. Me included.”

Henry raised an eyebrow. ”That sounds a lot like that guy from Goldcrest City—Grayson. His was white fog. Yours is a black curtain.”

”Yeah,” Garrick admitted. ”But it’s Stage S. The effect shouldn’t be comparable to some Stage C skill, right? Garrick—your Void Shroud has extra effects?” Ethan asked, clearly not buying the ”average” label.

”It does.” Garrick sighed. ”Anyone inside Void Shroud can’t fly. And except for void-type abilities, all other elemental damage gets reduced by thirty percent.”

”Holy shit!” Everyone stared at him like he’d just grown a second head. ”And you’re calling that average?”

”What’s the point?” Garrick spread his hands helplessly. ”If I use it, I can’t see either. Everyone’s blind, friend and enemy. You think I can just throw that out whenever I feel like it?”

”If you can’t use it,” Big Mike said bluntly, ”it’s basically a trash skill.”

Garrick’s mouth twitched. ”...Yeah, okay. Fair.”

Ethan laughed. ”It’s not that bad. I should be able to see.”

Garrick froze, then his face brightened. ”Oh—right. Boss can see. If that’s the case… then it’s not useless at all. In certain situations, it’s huge.”

”Mm.” Ethan nodded. ”And your Innate Abilities?”

”Got Stoneform,” Garrick said. ”I can turn my body to stone. My defense shoots up, but my speed drops hard.”

”Huh?” Big Mike’s eyes widened. ”Slower? So you’re basically volunteering to be a punching bag.”

”Pretty much,” Garrick said, deadpan.

”Then what’s it even for?” Big Mike demanded.

”I don’t think it’s that bad.” Garrick scratched his cheek. ”If I use it, aside from the boss and Chris… none of you should be able to break my defense. Well—Sean probably can now.”

”Please,” Big Mike said, contempt written all over his face. ”All that defense means is you can take hits longer. I keep pounding you, you’ll crack sooner or later.”

Garrick chuckled.

”Then once you hit Stage S, let’s test it. I won’t fight back. If you can hurt me before your mental energy runs dry, you win. If you can’t, I win.”

He paused, smile widening.

”Loser does sock duty for a week.”

Big Mike’s face twitched.

”That’s disgusting.”

Garrick’s smile didn’t budge. ”Then don’t lose.”

”You’re the one who said it,” Big Mike snapped, instantly taking the bait. ”Don’t cry when I pound you into the ground.”

”Let’s see if you can.”

”Fine. Deal.”

Ethan just shook his head. He already knew Big Mike was going to eat it.

Garrick was the steady type. If he was confident enough to say that out loud, it meant he had real backing.

And skills with a clear drawback usually hit like a truck, precisely because they broke the balance—there had to be a price.

Which meant Garrick’s Stoneform defense was going to be absurd. With it, he’d probably claw his way back into his old seat as Fallen Star Squad’s number-one tank.

Ignoring their banter, Ethan turned back to Mia. ”What about you, Mia?”

”My Stage S skill is pretty average too,” Mia said. ”It’s a Light-type AoE—Radiant Sword Rain. It summons blades of light that fall from the sky. The area isn’t huge, but the damage is solid. Anything below Stage S should get wiped out. It’s… decent. Nothing crazy.”

Then she added, ”My Innate Abilities gained Absolute Freeze—the same one Isolde used before. It can instantly freeze targets in an area. How long they stay frozen depends on their strength, and it can’t freeze anything more than two Tiers above me.”

”Good.” Ethan nodded. ”Group control. That’s clutch in team fights.”

He shifted his gaze to Emily. ”Emily?”

Emily spoke up, calm and straightforward. ”My Stage S skill is a Void-type ability called Death Ray. It fires a dark-element ray at the target—continuous damage, plus a bunch of negative effects. As long as I don’t break the connection, the ray stays on them until they die.”

Chris immediately latched onto the obvious weakness. ”Can they break free?”

”They can,” Emily admitted. ”If they leave my line of sight, Death Ray disappears.”

”Oh.” Chris made a face. ”Then it’s kind of… average. Doesn’t sound like it can insta-kill, either.”

”Yeah.” Emily thought about it for a second, then nodded. ”I also think it’s just okay. The part I like is that once it hits, they start suffering negative effects—pain, fear, torment. That part’s pretty nice.”

”…”

Chris’s mouth twitched. ”Alright. I take it back.”

Ethan cleared his throat, cutting in before Chris could dig himself deeper. ”It’s a strong skill. Use it right and it’ll be nasty.”

”Oh.” Emily nodded obediently, then continued, ”My Innate Abilities also gained Energy Recovery Aura. When I activate it, it covers a thirty-foot radius around me. As long as you’re inside, you’ll steadily recover mental energy and stamina. It’s not as fast as direct linking or solo recovery, but it’s constant.”

”I—holy crap. A fountain!?” Everyone’s eyes went wide, excitement exploding across the group.

”A mobile fountain!”

”I love that.”

”Emily, you’re literally an angel!” someone blurted, half shouting.

They weren’t exaggerating. For a team, that kind of support was basically a god-tier ability.

”Don’t say it like that…” Emily ducked her head, suddenly shy. ”If it helps everyone, that’s enough.”