Ethan didn't give the Stage D zombie a second to think—his fist came crashing down again.

The zombie had no choice but to shove aside its confusion and meet the blow head-on.

Just like before, it managed to block Ethan's punch, but the next moment, a heavy barbell bar slammed into the back of its skull.

The hit landed hard. Two strikes in, and blood was already leaking from its head.

The strength of a psychic ability scales with the user's own power, and Ethan's Telekinesis packed just as much punch as his fists.

Taking two solid hits like that? No way it wasn't bleeding. If the barbell bar had been sturdier, it wouldn't have stopped at just blood.

Now the zombie was finally starting to panic. It let out a furious roar toward the base of the hill.

The moment it screamed, the zombies attacking Chris and the others below suddenly went berserk. They abandoned their targets and charged straight up the mountain like rabid animals.

"Now you call for backup? Too late," Ethan said with a smirk, launching another round of attacks.

His fists kept hammering the zombie's head, while the barbell bar, guided by Telekinesis, swung down again and again like a relentless club.

Caught between both assaults, the zombie couldn't keep up. Its head injuries worsened fast, and its movements started to slow.

Then Ethan spotted an opening—and drove his fist straight into the zombie's skull.

The blow landed with a sickening crack. Its head split open on impact.

Right after, the barbell bar dropped from above and stabbed deep into the open wound, burying itself in the zombie's brain.

The creature froze, then slowly collapsed to the ground.

"Whew…" Ethan exhaled, finally relaxing. "Man, having a decent weapon really makes a difference. That was way more work than it should've been."

With his strength, taking down a Stage D zombie shouldn't have been this much trouble. But his weapon had let him down at the worst possible time.

Still, thanks to his powers, he managed to finish the job.

Hearing the horde of zombies charging up the hill, Ethan quickly dug the crystal core out of the Stage D zombie's skull, then used Teleportation to blink down to the base of the mountain.

By the time the swarm reached the summit, all they found was their leader's cold, lifeless corpse.

Dozens of zombies howled at the sky, furious and grief-stricken.

Then they lunged at the Stage D zombie's body.

Yeah… turns out it still smelled delicious.

When Ethan reappeared beside Chris and the others, he found all six of them lying motionless on top of zombie corpses.

If he didn't have sharp eyes, he might've missed them entirely.

"Damn," Ethan said, raising a brow. "Now I get why people used to fake dead in ancient battles. You guys are practically fused with the bodies."

"Ethan, you're back," Chris said. "So? Did you kill it?"

The moment they saw him, everyone scrambled to their feet, eyes full of anticipation.

"You weren't worried I might lose?" Ethan asked.

"We were only worried about how badly that zombie was gonna die," Chris replied.

"…"

"Alright, let's move out before those zombies lose it and come charging back down," Ethan said.

"Got it."

The group quickly made their way to a house at the base of the hill.

Once inside, Ethan pulled out the crystal core he'd just taken from the Stage D zombie and handed it to Chris.

"Chris, you go first."

Now that they knew how big the jump was at Stage D, the priority was clear—get everyone to that level as soon as possible.

Besides, once someone hit Stage D, their body would start absorbing mysterious energy on its own every night, speeding up their growth. The sooner they all reached that point, the faster they'd level up.

"Alright." Chris didn't hesitate. He took the crystal core, visibly excited, and sat down cross-legged on the floor. Then he swallowed it whole.

Everyone watched him with anticipation.

There was some envy in their eyes, sure—but no jealousy. They all knew that as long as they stuck with Ethan, their turn would come soon enough.

Stage D advancement took longer than the earlier stages. A full five minutes passed before Chris finally opened his eyes.

"Well? What's your ability?" someone asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

Chris took a moment to feel the changes in his body, then pulled a dagger from his backpack.

A faint black glow shimmered across the blade.

He paused, then grabbed a barbell bar from the side and slashed down with the dagger.

The barbell bar split cleanly in two—no sound, no resistance. The cut was smooth as glass.

"Holy shit!"

"What the hell is that?!"

Everyone stared, stunned. Even Ethan's eyes widened. He immediately activated [True Sight] and focused on Chris.

With his ability active, Ethan finally saw what Chris had awakened.

It was a power that enhanced weapons by sharpening them to an extreme degree.

Didn't sound like much on paper—but after seeing it in action, even Ethan felt a twinge of envy.

If he'd had that ability earlier, he wouldn't have had to work so damn hard to kill that Stage D zombie.

"Chris, what kind of ability is that? That's insane," someone said, eyes practically glowing.

"I'm not totally sure," Chris admitted. "All I know is it makes weapons way sharper."

"Chris, you hit the jackpot. That ability… it's strong," Ethan said.

"Yeah, I can feel it," Chris replied, grinning from ear to ear.

"By the way, what about your original ability? Any changes?" Ethan asked.

"Not sure yet. Let me try it out," Chris said.

Then, right in front of everyone, he vanished.

Ethan instantly activated [True Sight] again and tracked him.

He saw Chris rise to his feet, then blur forward—so fast even Ethan was caught off guard—as he appeared behind Henry.

Thwack!

Chris smacked Henry on the back of the head, then darted away before anyone could react.

"Damn it, Chris! Get your ass out here! I swear I'll beat you to death!" Henry yelled, clutching his head.

"Heh, don't be mad. Just a test," Chris said sheepishly, reappearing.

Ethan blinked, then suddenly realized something. "Wait… Chris, you don't become visible when you attack anymore?"

"Yeah. As long as I don't run out of mental energy or take a heavy hit, I think I can stay invisible indefinitely. And I noticed I'm way faster while cloaked too," Chris explained.

"Holy shit," Sean muttered. "With those two abilities together, you could kill anyone you want. Even someone stronger than you wouldn't see it coming."

"Uh… yeah, pretty much. I mean, aside from Ethan, I could probably take out anyone," Chris said, scratching his head, a little embarrassed.

"…"

"Dude, don't look so damn smug when you say that," Skinny Pete groaned.

"Jesus, are you planning to leave anyone alive?" Big Mike added.

"Impressive," Ethan said sincerely.

He had a feeling Chris's name was going to become a nightmare for a lot of people in the future.

"Alright, let's rest up, eat something, then head back out," Ethan said. "I did a rough count—there's probably around a thousand zombies left. Let's try to wipe them out before nightfall. Then we can sleep in those mansions on the hilltop."

"Hell yeah!"

Everyone nodded, then pulled out their rations and started eating.

Half an hour later, they set off again, heading back up the mountain.

Now that they had another Stage D on the team, their strength had taken a serious leap. The remaining zombies? Nothing to worry about.

…

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