Ethan didn't waste a second. He crouched beside the twitching corpse and plunged his fingers into the shattered skull, digging out the crystal core nestled inside the Tier 5 zombie's brain. It came free with a wet squelch, gleaming red and pulsing faintly in his palm.

"Back to the stairwell!" he called out, already turning.

The others didn't hesitate. They fell back fast, retreating through the gore-slicked hallway and into the narrow stairwell they'd used as their fallback point.

Chris and Sean, who'd taken the least damage, instinctively took up positions at the entrance, holding off the few stragglers still lurching after them. The rest of the group collapsed against the walls or slumped to the floor, breathing hard, blood soaking through torn clothes.

They'd gone all in to buy Ethan the time he needed. And it showed—every one of them was cut up, bruised, or worse.

Henry didn't waste time. He dropped to his knees and started healing, hands glowing faintly as he moved from one teammate to the next.

Ethan's shoulder was a mess—the axe had bitten deep, all the way to the scapula. Without Henry, he'd be out of commission for weeks. But Henry was Tier 4 now, and his healing was no joke.

Within minutes, Ethan, Big Mike, and Skinny Pete were patched up enough to move without wincing. Big Mike and Pete took over the stairwell defense, letting Chris and Sean finally sit down while Henry worked on their wounds.

By the time everyone was patched up, Henry looked like he'd been hit by a truck—sweat pouring down his face, hands trembling from the effort.

The stairwell was now completely blocked by a pile of corpses. No more zombies were getting through. Big Mike and Skinny Pete returned and dropped to the floor with exhausted groans.

"Ethan," Chris said, eyes gleaming with curiosity, "let me see that Tier 5 core. What's it look like?"

The others perked up, all of them watching Ethan with eager anticipation.

He chuckled and held it up.

It was the same deep red as a Tier 4 core, but noticeably larger—about the size of a shooter marble. It pulsed faintly in the dim light, like it was alive.

The energy radiating from it was intense. Everyone could feel it.

"Damn," Sean breathed. "Just looking at it makes me feel like it could punch a hole through a tank."

"Ethan, eat it already," Chris said, practically bouncing. "You're gonna be the first Tier 5 in the whole damn city. I bet even the military doesn't have one yet."

Ethan shrugged. "Maybe. But the military's got a lot of advantages we don't. Resources, tech, manpower."

"Yeah, but with how tough that Tier 5 was? Regular rifles probably can't even scratch it. Unless they've got heavy machine guns or anti-materiel rifles, I doubt they've taken one down. Even if they have, it's probably just one or two."

"Fair point," Ethan said with a grin.

He gave the core a quick wipe on his shirt, then tossed it into his mouth and swallowed.

The effect was immediate.

A tidal wave of energy surged through his body, slamming into him like a freight train. In his mind's eye, the constellation chart lit up—the final point of the first star flaring to life.

Then came the second wave—deeper, heavier, more primal. His muscles tightened, bones creaked, and his entire body felt like it was being reforged from the inside out.

It took a while—longer than any core he'd absorbed before—but eventually, the energy settled. He exhaled slowly, eyes opening.

"Well?" Chris asked, leaning forward. "How much stronger are you?"

Ethan flexed his fingers, testing the new strength humming through his limbs. "Not bad. Tier 5 Awakened strength should be around four thousand pounds. With the extra boost I've been getting from stargazing and absorbing that mysterious energy, I'm sitting at about forty-eight hundred."

"Forty-eight hundred?!" Big Mike whistled. "Man, I'm not even at twenty-six hundred yet. You could probably crush me like a soda can."

Chris grinned. "So, did that finish lighting up your first star?"

Ethan shook his head. "Not quite. All five points are lit, but the center's still dark."

He paused, then added, "But I've got a feeling. Once that center lights up—once a star is fully complete—something big's gonna change. Maybe even our abilities."

The others stared at him, wide-eyed.

"You serious?" Sean asked.

"It's just a hunch," Ethan said. "But yeah. Feels like something's waiting on the other side of that."

Sean's eyes lit up. "Man, if hitting Tier 6 means we get powers too, I'm all in. I've been jealous of you guys since day one."

The others laughed, but there was a spark of hope in the air now—tired, bloodied, but burning bright.

"That next phase… calling it Tier 6 doesn't really fit," Ethan said, still catching his breath. "I've been thinking about the constellation chart in our heads. It's identical to that weird star formation we see every night—looks like the Big Dipper, but with two extra stars added."

He pointed to his temple. "The star I've activated is Alkaid, the tip of the Dipper's handle. Then there's Mizar, second in the handle, and Alioth, the third. They all connect at Megrez. The bowl's lower right is Phecda, lower left is Merak, and the brightest one is Dubhe. The two extra stars? No names yet. Just… there."

Sean gave a low whistle. "Damn, Ethan. Didn't know you were into astronomy."

Chris scratched his head. "Okay, but… how are we supposed to name the levels? Alkaid, Mizar—those names are cool and all, but I'm not gonna remember which is which."

Ethan nodded. "Fair. We don't have to name the stages after the stars themselves."

"So what do we call them?" Sean asked.

Ethan thought for a moment, then held up a hand, fingers ticking off as he spoke. "Simple. From now on, every time someone lights up all six nodes of a star, they move into a new major stage. We'll name those stages something easier to remember."

Chris perked up. "Like what?"

"First full star? Stage D," Ethan said. "Second star, Stage C. Then B, A, S, SS, and SSS. Tier 1 through Tier 6 still refer to the six nodes within a single star, but once you complete a star, you step into a new Stage."

"Hot damn," Sean muttered. "That actually makes sense."

Ethan's tone turned serious. "Right now, firearms give us an edge. But that won't last. The higher we go, the less useful guns become. If we can't find a way to grow stronger on our own, we're screwed. Zombies are getting tougher, smarter. Eventually, they'll be using weapons too. That advantage we've been leaning on? It's already slipping."

He glanced at the bloodstained floor. "That Tier 5 we just fought—if I hadn't been absorbing that mysterious energy every night while stargazing, I wouldn't have stood a chance."

Sean looked thoughtful. "So… you think stargazing counts as training?"

"Sort of," Ethan said. "But we're missing something. When zombies 'train' under the stars, the mysterious energy around them is way denser than what we get. That's why they can power up so fast overnight, and we barely move the needle."

"Maybe there's a trick to it," Sean said. "Some kind of method we haven't figured out yet."

"I mean…" Henry chimed in, "should we try breathing techniques or meditation or something? Like Jedi focus stuff?"

Chris snorted. "Yeah, Henry. Next thing you know, you'll be waving your hand like, 'These are not the zombies you're looking for.'"

"..."

Ethan rolled his eyes, but his voice stayed firm. "Alright, enough. Jokes later. Right now, we need to focus on getting stronger. Rest up, then we head back out. We're clearing this batch today."

He glanced at the others. "I counted at least a dozen Tier 4s in that horde. If we take them all down, at least two of you should hit peak Tier 4."

"Hell yeah," Chris said, already reaching into his pack for water.

The others followed suit, pulling out food and drinks, scarfing down calories like soldiers before a second battle.

After a half-hour break, they cleared some of the corpses blocking the stairwell and charged back into the open.

Sure, fighting in the stairwell was safer—but it was slow. And with Ethan now at Tier 5, hiding behind walls felt like a joke.

He led the charge, barbell bar in hand, plowing through the horde like a wrecking ball. Without the Tier 5's coordination, the zombies were scattered and sluggish. Easy pickings.

Every swing of Ethan's barbell bar sent heads flying, skulls bursting like overripe fruit. Nothing could stand in his way.

Chris and the others followed close behind, handling the flanking zombies with ease. Compared to earlier, it was almost relaxing.

Two hours later, the last of the two-thousand-plus zombies lay in pieces across the street.

Then came the less glamorous part—digging out the crystal cores.

"Ethan," Chris groaned, elbow-deep in a corpse, "when are we gonna recruit more people? We're wasting so many cores like this."

"Seriously," Big Mike added. "We should at least bring in some women. I'm sick of being surrounded by dudes all day."

Ethan shot him a look. "You looking for teammates or a girlfriend? Most women don't have the physical baseline to keep up. Unless we find someone like Henry's crush."

Big Mike perked up. "Wait—Henry's got a crush?"

Chris grinned. "Yeah, that Amazon-looking woman. Vivian."

"Oh right! You guys mentioned her before." Big Mike turned to Henry. "What are you waiting for, man? If we had a few more like her, we wouldn't have gotten so banged up earlier."

"..."

Henry just stared at them, deadpan. This again?

The others laughed, the tension finally easing.

...

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