After leaving the area around the main dining hall, Ethan led Chris and the others on another sweep for mutated zombies.

And sure enough, there were more of them today—noticeably more than yesterday.

In just over half an hour, they'd taken down two more mutated zombies.

Ethan consumed both crystal cores. That brought his total to five, counting the three he'd already eaten. But even after all that, the second point on the first star in the constellation map in his mind still hadn't lit up.

Worse, the more cores he consumed, the less effective they became. This last one had barely moved the needle.

Ethan frowned, a tight crease forming between his brows. He had a bad feeling—next time, the core might not do anything at all.

"Still nothing?" Chris asked, puzzled.

"Nope," Ethan said. "I'll try one more and see."

Chris and Henry nodded. They had no objections. If Ethan got stronger, it was a win for all of them.

They resumed the hunt. It didn't take long before they spotted another group—but this time, the numbers were a problem.

Fifty of them.

Chris activated The Art of the Kill again. He burned through his stamina twice in a row, silently taking out over twenty zombies with surgical precision. The rest they had to brute-force their way through.

They won, but not without cost. Everyone took some hits. Thankfully, Henry was there to patch them up quickly.

Ethan dug out the crystal core from the last mutated zombie and, under the expectant gazes of the others, swallowed it.

"Well?" Chris asked, leaning in. "Did it work?"

Ethan shook his head.

"Still no?"

"It's not that it didn't work," Ethan said with a wry smile. "It didn't do anything."

"What?" Chris blinked. "Nothing at all?"

"Barely a flicker."

Chris and Henry both frowned.

Ethan stood there for a moment, thinking. Then something clicked.

"I think I get it now," he said.

"What is it?" Chris asked.

"I'm pretty sure I need a Tier 2 crystal core to light the second point."

"Tier 2?" Chris echoed.

"Yeah. Like the one we saw outside the main dining hall earlier."

Chris nodded slowly. "That makes sense."

"So… we going after it?" Henry asked, already itching for action.

"Let's hold off," Ethan said. "We should check other areas first. That horde outside the dining hall… unless we're desperate, we don't want to mess with that many zombies. That's a death sentence."

"Fair," Henry muttered.

They set off again, combing through the campus.

Over the next stretch of time, they ran into several more Tier 1 zombies. The crystal cores from those went to Chris and Henry, giving both of them a solid boost in strength.

But Tier 2s? Not a single one.

Considering they'd only seen one Tier 2 among thousands of zombies outside the main dining hall, it wasn't surprising. Finding another elsewhere was like hoping lightning would strike twice.

"This isn't working," Chris said finally. "We're just wandering blind. We need a better vantage point—somewhere high. That way we might actually spot one."

Ethan's eyes lit up. "You're right. Let's head to Capstone House."

Capstone House was the academy's signature building—tallest on campus, practically a landmark. Students weren't usually allowed up there.

They made their way over cautiously. When they reached the base of the building, they found the front doors locked tight.

Ethan jammed a metal pipe into the doorframe and gave it a sharp twist. The lock gave with a metallic groan.

"Let's go."

They slipped inside and shut the door behind them.

Capstone House had eighteen floors. There was an elevator, but it was dead—probably fried along with the rest of the campus systems. That meant stairs.

Fortunately, they were all stronger now. Eighteen flights wasn't exactly fun, but it wasn't a problem either.

When they finally reached the rooftop, the view hit them like a breath of fresh air.

The entire campus stretched out below them, every building, every courtyard, every shadowed alleyway laid bare beneath the open sky.

"Damn, how did we not think of this spot sooner?" Ethan muttered, annoyed with himself.

"Hey, better late than never," Chris said with a grin.

Ethan nodded, then activated True Sight and began scanning the campus for zombies.

The rooftop gave them a killer vantage point—but it also meant they were far from the ground. Trying to spot something as small as a pea-sized crystal core inside a zombie's skull from this height? That took a brutal toll on his mental energy.

He'd only been scanning for a few minutes when the dizziness hit him like a wave. He staggered and quickly shut the ability off.

"Shit," Ethan groaned, rubbing his temples. "That drain is insane."

"Well, yeah," Chris said. "We're way up here."

Ethan sat down and rested for over ten minutes before getting back on his feet. He took a deep breath and resumed the search.

It took three more rounds of scanning—each one leaving him more drained than the last—but finally, he spotted one. A Tier 2 zombie, lurking near the base of a dorm building.

"Got one," Ethan said, eyes lighting up. "Let's go take it down."

"Hell yes."

They hustled down the stairs and made their way across campus. Under Ethan's lead, they reached the dorm and spotted the target.

At first glance, the Tier 2 zombie didn't look much different from the others. But something about it felt… off. It moved with a twitchy alertness, like it was more aware than the rest.

"There's eleven total," Ethan said, eyes locked on the Tier 2. "I'll keep that one busy. You two clear the rest and back me up fast."

"Got it."

"Let's go!"

They charged.

The moment they broke cover, the Tier 2 zombie snapped its head toward them and bolted forward with startling speed.

Ethan met it head-on, steel pipe aimed straight for its skull.

Chris and Henry split off, rushing the ten lesser zombies behind it.

Just as Ethan's pipe was about to strike, the zombie jerked its head to the side. The blow still landed, but the dodge caught Ethan off guard.

His stomach dropped.

He'd killed plenty of zombies by now—none of them had ever dodged. They were mindless, predictable. You stabbed, they died.

But this one? It had instincts.

And this was just Tier 2.

What the hell was Tier 3 going to be like?

The pipe struck, but only sank in partway. The zombie thrashed, flinging its head and breaking free. Then it lunged, jaws wide, aiming for Ethan's throat.

Ethan twisted his grip and swung instead, smashing the pipe across its head.

Blood splattered, but the zombie barely flinched.

Ethan glanced at his weapon—now bent at an awkward angle—and let out a dry laugh.

Yeah. Time to retire this thing.

He didn't have long to think. The zombie lunged again.

Ethan dodged sideways, barely avoiding the bite.

It came at him again, faster this time. Way faster than a Tier 1.

His pipe was useless now—too bent to stab, too light to swing with force. All he could do was use it to block.

But the Tier 2's strength was no joke. Every hit sent Ethan stumbling back, struggling to stay on his feet.

He couldn't get a clean shot in. Couldn't even breathe. Within moments, he was bleeding from several shallow cuts, his shirt torn and sticky with blood.

Then, finally—thank god—Chris and Henry finished off the others and rushed in.

With all three of them working together, they managed to stabilize the fight. Barely.

...

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