Erin’s eyes widened in shock as she processed Leon’s revelation. She couldn’t believe that he had broken all those valuable High tier crystals for… gaining an ability?

‘How was that even possible?! The only way to gain abilities is through ability books, right?’ Erin thought to herself.

“Hey don’t look at me. I only did it because Mako told me to do so. He said I would gain the fire ability if I break enough of them.” Leon said almost immediately shifting the blame over to Mako.

Erin’s initial reaction was a mix of disbelief and frustration, but she quickly composed herself and turned toward Mako for an explanation. She had come to understand at this point that Mako wasn’t foolish and that everything that he did had a reason behind it, and before she jumped to conclusions herself, she wanted to hear it from Mako, plus she was also curious at this point about how breaking 40 crystals would grant someone an ability.

“Mako, how did you know breaking those crystals would give him the fire ability?” Erin asked Mako, seeking clarification.

Mako sighed as he knew he couldn’t hide it anymore, he had to open up about his energy manipulation ability.

“I know all of you want to know how I am able to know things, and it is time I come clean,” Mako said.

All four of them were once again anxious as to what secret Mako was going to reveal to them and they listened closely as Mako narrated the events of how he resonated his fire and lightning abilities whilst fighting the advanced tier beast; however, he fabricated a few parts just so his system wouldn’t be involved in his story, which would otherwise make him more suspicious.

After he explained to them how he gained the energy manipulation ability, he told them that he didn’t want to tell them just yet as he still hadn’t figured out what this ability actually did himself, and he didn’t want the others to panic or worry.

He explained that ever since he had unlocked this new ability, he had been able to see the world from a different perspective as if he had a completely different kind of vision. He went on and basically explained to them the workings of his new Energy Sensing skill and that he could observe, sense, and interact with energies around him.

“So that’s how you made that green laser beam come out of your hands,” Iris said as she began to understand Mako’s new ability and relayed it back to the critical moment when he was fighting the giant Puffclaw by emitting a green laser.

“Yes, exactly! Somehow, I am able to pull all the nearby energy particles toward me and condense them in my hands and then release them in the form of a beam of energy at will.” Mako said explaining his laser beam attack further.

Mako then went on to explain to them that he had been experimenting with his new vision a lot and he noticed the crystals that they were collecting from the beasts had aura stored inside of them, and when he broke one back at the second cave, he could see the energy flow out of the broken crystal and inside his body and stay there permanently even though it was a very minimal in amount.

“Since I really didn’t have much knowledge of what I was doing, I didn’t know if this method had a side effect or not, which was why I kept it hidden from you guys. Before I left the shelter to face Mikhail in our duel, I broke and absorbed all of my share of the crystals which wasn’t enough to grant me an ability, but with each crystal I broke, I could visualize my energy pool getting larger too.” Mako explained.

“Breaking crystals increases your energy pool too?” Bill asked in confusion as he couldn’t believe that it was so easy to gain more energy.

“Yeah… With the crystals I had in my share, I was able to double my previous energy pool.” Mako replied.

“Woah…!” All four of them explained as Mako told them of this achievement.

“Back when Leon was still afraid to face the fourth wave because he still wasn’t at full power, I thought that why not give it a shot and let him break as many crystals as he wants to let him gain more energy, and that was exactly what happened.”

“He broke those crystals one by one and I could see the red fiery aura increase inside him slowly and as he broke his 40th crystal, the fiery aura that was dispersed all over his body, suddenly starting condensing and liquifying into a small ball of aura next to his other auras.” ｎ𝚘𝚟ｌ.ｃｏ𝚖

“By this time, he had also gained a lot of energy, so I stopped him there and instructed him on how to use the basics of the fire ability, and within a couple of seconds, he produced fire from his fingertips.”

“Leon and I were both pretty shocked after he had successfully used the fire ability, proving my hypothesis correct; however, we really didn’t even have time to react as there was no time left until the 4th wave and now Leon was strong enough to back up Erin.”

“As we moved out of the shelter, I began sensing several beasts with ice auras headed toward Erin. It was just a mere coincidence that the beast had an ability that was directly countered by Leon’s newly learned fire ability, and I instructed him that his fire would be key in the battle before he ran off to save Erin.” Mako said as he finished narrating the sequence of events that took place while Erin was unloading her anger on a poor tree.

Everyone sat there in silence as they absorbed all the information that Mako had just given them. Everything made sense now, how he was able to sense things, how he could shoot laser beams, how he knew the strengths and weaknesses of beasts just by looking at the, etc.

“Look I understand your reasoning, but you shouldn’t have kept us in the dark and should have at least said something,” Erin said, still a little annoyed that Mako had kept this from everyone.

“I know, it was just that I wasn’t too sure of it myself, and I didn’t want to give you guys false hope or anything which was why I opted to first figure it out completely and then tell you guys, I am sorry,” Mako said as he bowed down a little and apologized.

Erin softened her expression, realizing that Mako had acted out of a desire to protect and contribute to the group. “Apology accepted, Mako. Just remember that we’re a team, and it’s important to make decisions together. Next time, let’s discuss our options before taking such risks.”

Mako nodded gratefully, appreciating Erin’s understanding. “I promise, I won’t do something like this again without at least telling you guys about it first.”

Iris interjected, diffusing the tension. “Alright, let’s consider this a learning experience for all of us. From now on, we’ll make sure to have open discussions before making any major decisions, especially regarding valuable resources like those crystals.”

The group nodded in agreement, the air gradually clearing of any lingering frustration. Mako sighed internally as was finally in the clear. It was hard to make up a story that wouldn’t make him more suspicious, but luckily the system came in clutch by granting him a skill that was basically the Analyze skill, but he could see energies instead of reading descriptions, giving him the perfect

The conversation shifted to strategizing for the final wave, focusing on utilizing their abilities, coordinating their attacks, and maximizing their chances of success.

As the night progressed and they finished their MREs, their anticipation and determination grew. They were resolved to face the challenges ahead and prove themselves worthy of the special class.

The sunrise came sooner than they realized and the group went to work collecting materials and hunting for food for their feast. Leon and Bill had spotted a couple of goats gazing in the mountain, and they hunted one of them while Erin and Iris fished dozens of fishes from the lake using their water ability.

Mako had asked Bill to use his Earth ability as precisely as possible to create a makeshift grill that was good enough to cook all this meat. He desperately wanted there to be some vegetables, aromatics, and spices which would really level up this feast, but unfortunately, they had none except for some salt that they had left over from the time they spent on the beach.

Nonetheless, Mako started grilling all of the meat, cooking them to perfection and it didn’t take long for the first batch to be finished cooking which was quickly devoured by all four of them, who were now anxiously waiting for the next batch to be finished.

With their bellies satiated and their spirits uplifted, the group prepared themselves mentally and physically for the impending battle. They gathered their gear, checked their weapons, and exchanged encouraging words. Their focus was unwavering as they harnessed their determination and readied themselves to confront the final wave head-on.