Up until now, every piece of gear that dropped in Ethereal had been a standalone item. There had never been anything that formed an actual set, nothing that could be pieced together into something greater.

In most games, Set Gear was the final destination, the pinnacle of progression, so players had always assumed Ethereal would eventually introduce sets of its own.

And now, it finally had.

Leo posted the item link in the team chat, and everyone, even Kiara who usually tried to look unfazed, went quiet with envy for a beat.

But Ethan's next words sent the mood surging straight past envy and into outright excitement.

"Technically the set works for every class," he said, "but its bonus effects are perfect for a Tank. Today, we're going to help Leo finish it. As for the others, I know the drop locations for nine more sets…"

Nine?

The meaning was obvious. If things went well, every single person in their party could walk away with a set of their own.

"Once we clear the Fortress Wars and take the Northern Frontier Region," Ethan added with an easy smile, "I'll see to it that all of you get a set."

Casual words or not, they lit something fierce in every teammate.

Taking the entire Northern Frontier…

A full Divine-tier set for everyone…

Ethan had a reputation for delivering on every promise he made. None of them doubted he would do the same this time.

They didn't know that aside from the Soul-Devouring Set, whose details remained blurry even to him, Ethan already understood the locations and methods for obtaining the other ten sets the community had started calling "Divine-tier." These weren't ordinary sets, not by any measure. Their bonuses were absurdly strong, and even a single unpaired piece would outshine most normal endgame equipment. As for their quality, that was something that could always be upgraded with enough resources.

With their goal laid out so clearly, everyone's focus sharpened, pushing their damage higher with each pull.

Leo was just as fired up, urging the others to hit harder again and again. For once, he didn't have to worry about ripping threat or losing it. As a Shield Tank, he had constantly feared that Lyla's healing would pull monsters straight off him. But now, running a Brewmaster specialization, his damage had spiked, and he was throwing out fast strikes, stacking debuffs, and keeping everything glued to him with ease.

His Rage bar had been replaced with an Energy system similar to a Rogue's, and every skill he used drew from it. He no longer stressed over saving Rage for defensive abilities like Block. As a Brewmaster, his job was simple: keep attacking. Damage he took would slip into his Stagger pool, and a quick use of Purifying Brew could clear half of it instantly. The rest, naturally, was for the healers to mop up.

"Ethan, the experience here is insane!" he shouted over the chaos.

A monster crashed to the ground, and a soft flash of white light curled around Lyla's body.

She had hit level fifty.

Ethan, already level sixty-three, barely felt the trickle of experience. The monsters were level sixty-five, and the bonus for killing lower-level mobs barely registered for him. But for Lyla and the others, all hovering at forty-nine, killing a level sixty-five creature was a massive reward. Even after splitting the experience ten ways, each monster still gave them around seven percent.

Lyla had been close to leveling already, so after two kills she hit fifty with ease, instantly becoming the highest level in the group aside from Ethan.

"I have to say, Sis Lyla," Evelyn called over the party chat, "you must have saved up a mountain of experience by skipping every guild event." Evelyn was currently the lowest level among them at forty-seven, and took the jab with good humor.

Victor sat at forty-eight, and Kiara was only a sliver away from forty-nine. Everyone else was already forty-nine, their bars so full that if any of them died now, they would drop an entire level on the spot.

It was the usual side effect of diving into difficult guild dungeons day after day. Death was part of the routine, and so was losing experience. In exchange, their gear was excellent. Dungeon drops were almost always stronger than anything found in the open world.

The healers' lower levels had their own explanation. Healing classes were notoriously slow when leveling alone. Druids had it a little easier thanks to a few offensive skills in Panther Form, but Priests struggled through almost every solo quest. Most of the time they needed someone to drag them through grinding spots, and that assistance came with experience penalties that only slowed them further.

Lyla only laughed at Evelyn's teasing.

"You all should really try to get a higher-tier Prophecy Ability," she said. "The experience bonus is massive. My Advanced Prophecy Ability gives me an extra thirty percent from quests and kills."

Ethan paused mid-swing.

"You have an Advanced Prophecy Ability?"

That caught him completely off guard. In his memory, the drop conditions for Advanced Abilities shouldn't have been unlocked yet. Normally, players would only have access to Intermediate Abilities at this point. The fact that Lyla had already snagged an Advanced one made even him wonder how absurd her luck had to be.

"I do! Surprised? Maybe a little jealous?" she said, unable to resist gloating.

"It's impressive," Ethan admitted. "Advanced Abilities are incredibly rare right now, and they're worth a fortune. But jealous? Not really. My Abilities are Divine-tier."

He said it lightly, but the smirk on his face made it clear he was showing off.

"Divine-tier Abilities?"

The channel went dead silent.

Up until now, none of them had known Ethan possessed anything beyond the Teleport Ability he had demonstrated before.

"Yes," Ethan continued, not hiding a hint of pride. "Focus, Prophecy, Growth, Teleport, Fatal Strike, and Immortality—all Divine-tier."

Their stunned expressions filled him with a satisfying warmth. For a moment, the feeling of it almost rivaled the loot itself.

"You have got to be kidding me," Williams muttered, sounding more distressed than angry. "There are only eleven Abilities in the whole game, and you somehow have six of them… and every single one is Divine-tier? How are the rest of us supposed to compete? I don't even have a Beginner-tier Ability!"

He looked one step away from tossing his greatsword into a ditch and calling it quits.

"Relax," Markham said with a half-hearted groan. "It's not like anyone else is pulling that off. Only a freak like the Boss could manage it."

"Who told you there are eleven?" Ethan said, eyes glinting. "There are twelve Divine-tier Abilities."

That got their attention instantly.

"Twelve?" Evelyn echoed.

"Yes. There are eleven regular Abilitys, but twelve Divine-tier ones. The eleven standard Abilities can all be found somewhere in the game. If a player manages to collect all eleven—and all of them are Divine-tier—then the twelfth unlocks automatically. Gather all twelve Divine-tier Abilities, and you reach what the system calls Divinity."

The twelfth Ability was literally named Divinity (Divine). Its attributes… no one knows. Not even in Ethan's previous life did a player ever manage to unlock it."

A quiet longing settled in Ethan's eyes as he said it.

In his past life, anyone who obtained even a single Divine-tier Ability became a legend overnight. Those players were scarce, so rare they might as well have been mythical creatures. Ethan had only known the methods for a few, and Teleport was one of them. Every person who possessed a Divine-tier Ability had earned an uncontested position among the top hundred players in the world.

But Divine-tier Abilities came with a brutal condition. They couldn't be activated the moment they were picked up, nor could they be stored in a guild vault. They had to stay in a player's personal inventory. If the player holding the scroll died, the scroll would drop. And worst of all, stepping into a safe zone caused the scroll to drop instantly.

The only way to claim it permanently was to survive a twelve-hour manhunt.

Rules like that were designed to make sure Divine-tier Abilities never ended up in the hands of the weak.

And the weak… simply died.

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