Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Were those images trying to tell me something?” Ethan murmured.

Then he shook his head and pushed the thought aside. Even if they were, there was nothing he could do about it now.

He quickly collected himself and activated True Sight, focusing on the countless lights before him.

He had no idea how long that vision had lasted. He needed to hurry.

Fortunately, there were far fewer Stage SSS skill lights than there had been at previous Stages. At his speed, a few minutes would be enough to examine them all.

His gaze swept rapidly across the lights.

Every Stage SSS skill was absurdly powerful, on a completely different level from its Stage SS counterparts. Even abilities with similar effects were several times stronger at Stage SSS.

No wonder Stage SS fighters were nothing before someone at Stage SSS.

Within three minutes, Ethan had examined most of the lights. Several skills nearly made him stop then and there.

He couldn’t help it. The abilities here were incredible.

If only he could take all of them.

Unfortunately, that was nothing more than wishful thinking.

Suddenly, his gaze locked onto one of the lights, and surprise crossed his face. After studying it carefully, he quickly scanned the remaining options.

Once he was certain he hadn’t missed anything, he made his choice.

The light flew toward him and entered the center of his forehead.

Ethan’s consciousness withdrew from the void.

When he opened his eyes, he immediately sensed that something about his body had changed. He couldn’t describe it, but the difference was unmistakable.

”So this is Stage SSS. It really is different.”

He stood and walked over to Dopey, patting him on the shoulder.

”Thanks for keeping watch.”

Ethan returned Dopey to his spatial storage ring, opened the training chamber door, and took a single step.

He appeared in midair outside.

Everyone waiting there jumped in surprise. When the Aurelians saw Ethan standing unsupported in the sky, fervent excitement filled their eyes.

Standing in midair!

The defining mark of a Stage SSS fighter!

They had never imagined they would witness a Stage SSS being in their lifetime, much less see one make his breakthrough within their own settlement.

A chorus of thuds rang out as Solren and the Aurelian elders dropped to one knee.

”Congratulations on reaching Stage SSS, my lord!”

Ethan rolled his eyes.

What was it with the Aurelians and all this kneeling?

”All right, get up. And stop dropping to your knees every time something happens. We don’t do that.”

”Yes, my lord!”

The Aurelians hurried to their feet, though their eyes remained fixed on Ethan with open reverence.

”You can all go now.” Ethan waved them away, unable to stand being stared at any longer.

”Yes, my lord.”

The Aurelians quickly withdrew.

Ethan stepped down from the air and landed on the ground. Sean and the others immediately crowded around him.

”Boss, that’s incredible! Stage SSS!” Their faces were filled with excitement. ”Hahaha! We finally have a Stage SSS fighter!”

”Boss! Did you unlock anything crazy?” Skinny Pete asked eagerly.

”Do you even have to ask?” Big Mike said, wasting no time flattering him. ”Since when has the boss ever gotten a weak skill?”

Ethan smiled. ”This one did surprise me. It’s a time-type ability called Temporal Rewind.”

”Temporal Rewind?” Everyone’s eyes widened. ”You can reverse time and return to the past?”

”Basically, but it isn’t quite that extreme.

”I have to establish a fixed point in time beforehand. If I activate Temporal Rewind, time returns to that point. Everything that happened afterward is erased.”

”!”

Everyone stared at him.

”Boss, does that mean if one of us dies, you can rewind time and bring us back?”

”Yeah. Once Temporal Rewind activates, everything after the fixed point is treated as if it never happened.”

”And you call that ’not extreme’?” Their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

”Now I get why time and spatial abilities are considered the strongest. That’s so fucking broken.”

”Boss, an ability that powerful has to come with a catch, right?” Garrick swallowed hard.

”Yeah, it has limitations.” Ethan nodded.

”I can only rewind a maximum of six hours. After that, the fixed point disappears.

”I need to establish a new point every six hours. And once I use Temporal Rewind, I can’t establish another one for three days.

”So as powerful as the ability is, it has some serious drawbacks. If something happens after my fixed point expires, or during those three days after I use the skill, there’s nothing I can do.

”Still, I’ll do my best to prevent that. From now on, I’ll always establish a fixed point before we go anywhere dangerous.”

Everyone nodded, still visibly shaken by what they had heard.

The skill had plenty of restrictions, but even with all those limitations, it was absurdly powerful.

It didn’t just give Ethan the ability to undo a disastrous decision. It also allowed him to experience future events, then return with full knowledge of what was going to happen.

It was completely unreasonable.

”Hahaha! What do we have to be afraid of now?” Big Mike exclaimed. ”From now on, we can just charge in and wreck everything!”

”You still need to control yourself,” Sean warned. ”The boss can’t use something like that whenever he wants. There’s a three-day lockout after every rewind.”

”Ethan, what about your Innate Abilities?” Henry asked.

”I gained Soulbane Gaze. It’s an offensive ability that directly attacks the soul,” Ethan said with a smile.

”Direct soul damage? That’s badass!”

Everyone sighed in amazement.

The boss was getting more broken by the day.

”Where’s Chris?” Ethan looked around but didn’t see him.

”Chris is still absorbing crystal cores,” Henry explained. ”While you were making your breakthrough, a group of Stage SS Outland Beasts attacked the Aurelians. We killed them and collected their crystal cores. Combined with the ones you left with Chris, they should give him a major power boost.”

Ethan nodded.

He had taken out those Stage SS crystal cores precisely so the others could absorb them whenever they had time.

He had originally expected Chris and Sean to advance together. But if the squad had decided to prioritize Chris, that was fine too. It would give the Fallen Star Squad another top combatant besides Ethan.

Those crystal cores would probably take Chris all the way from Tier 36 to Tier 39.

With Chris’s abilities, he should be able to deal with almost anyone below Stage SSS.

”What’s happening in the Central Region?” Ethan asked. ”Has the war started?”

”Oh, it started all right. They’re going at it hard,” someone said excitedly. ”We heard the Beast Sovereign joined the fighting, and every pinnacle race has entered the war. They’re flattening mountains out there!”

Ethan nodded.

That was exactly what he had expected.

One of the Beast Sovereign’s Stage SSS subordinates had been killed. If it still refused to fight after that, it would be the biggest coward on the continent.

Ethan stroked his chin in thought before making a decision.

”You guys stay here and wait for Chris to finish powering up. I’ll go check out the Central Region.”

”Boss, isn’t that too dangerous?” Sean asked. ”You’ve reached Stage SSS, but the Central Region has dozens of fighters at that level. If they discover you…”

”Relax. I’ve already established a fixed point. If I run into real danger, I’ll use Temporal Rewind.”

”Oh, right. With an ability that broken, what the hell is there to worry about?”

”All right, Boss. Be careful.”

”I will.”

Ethan waved a hand, opening a dimensional rift, then stepped inside.