Towards Evening...

The Clustervayne Guild filed back into the lounge. They had just finished clearing a B-ranked breach, and though it had gone smoothly enough, the exhaustion was evident on their faces.

Bettie dropped into one of the chairs letting out a breath. It was her first official mission as a guild member.

Ethan’s focus was briefly on the system interface that had appeared before him. The 7,000xp reward notification for the breach closure hovered in his vision, and he read through it quickly before dismissing it with a mental command.

He turned to face the group, with a thoughtful expression as he looked over each of them in turn.

The question that had been sitting in the back of his mind for days now resurfaced, and he decided it was as good a time as any to bring it up.

"We’ve all been doing well with the breaches," he began. "Really well, actually. But I want to ask something."

The room went quiet to hear his question.

"Do you think we’re ready to try an S-rank breach?"

There was a pause.

Hayley, sitting on the armrest of a couch, shrugged. "I don’t mind," she said simply.

Wilson remained in thoughts. Aliyah glanced at Ethan with an uncertain expression and didn’t say anything either.

Bettie was considering it, and was unsure either.

Percival, predictably, grinned. "Yeah, we can do it."

Wilson let out a breath, almost like a scoff, and shook his head.

"Percival," he began, on a note of disbelief, "you should be the most worried person here. You and Aliyah."

Aliyah’s brow furrowed slightly, but before she could respond, Wilson glanced at her. "No offense," he added quickly.

Percival’s grin faded. "The difference between me and you," he said, pointing at Wilson, "is that I actually like to challenge myself. You? You’ve got the talent, but you still cower."

Wilson’s eyes narrowed. "I don’t cower. I have caution. There’s a difference."

"Have you actually heard stories about S-ranked breaches? Because nothing we’ve faced so far even compares. My sister Maya went into one with her former guild, and they lost half their strike team just to clear it. Half."

Percival shook his head. "Dumbo," he muttered. "Are you forgetting we have Ethan? Our cheating guild master with a whole collection of powerful legendary summons?"

Ethan couldn’t help but smile in amusement. To be fair, Percival wasn’t wrong. He really was a cheat.

Wilson sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "It’s not that simple. Look at it from the angle of numbers. Without an overwhelmingly strong advantage, Ethan’s summons are still small in number compared to the multiple monsters inside the breach that could each match an S-tier threat."

He paused, letting the understanding of that statement sync with their thoughts.

"We need to walk in with a preset plan."

Bettie finally spoke up, although her voice sounded low. "He’s right. I don’t have as much experience with breaches as you guys do, but yeah, anything that could fight on equal footing with an S-tier is no joke."

Percival bore a stubborn expression. "But how do you guys intend to come up with a preset plan when we don’t even know what kind of monsters we’ll be facing? What if it’s a world-end breach? We just need to be more prepared, that’s all."

Then he turned to Ethan. "Actually, why are you even asking us about our readiness? Did you already make an application for an S-rank breach?"

Ethan shook his head. "No," he said. "But it’s been on my mind. I asked mostly out of curiosity. S-rank breaches aren’t even that common, sometimes there’s only one in a month, and depending on the situation, guilds might even team up to clear it."

He paused, letting his gaze sweep over them again.

"But you’re all right," he continued, gesturing first toward Percival. "About being more prepared." Then he gestured toward Wilson. "And about having a preset plan."

He exhaled slowly, looking thoughtful. "I’ll see how I can come up with something. Some kind of strategy we can rely on."

Then he looked around at them again.

"And as for being more prepared..." He smiled. "I think it’s time we paid a visit to Valdyr’s."

——

A while later...

Their cars came to a halt outside a towering structure. The building had large glass windows displaying various weapons behind enchanted barriers, each one gleaming under carefully positioned light that made them look almost ethereal.

Above the entrance, bold letters were carved into a steel archway:

VALDYR ARMAMENTS – CRAFTERS & PURVEYORS OF SUPERIOR WEAPONRY

"Fancy," Bettie muttered, staring along the structure with awe as they entered.

Hayley glanced at her with a smile. "They only deal with the elite, love," she said. "If you’re not here for something serious, they won’t even let you past the front desk."

Percival had a grin on his face. "Well, we’re definitely here for something serious."

They stepped inside.

The interior was vast, with rows of display cases lining the walls on both sides.

Swords of every design were suspended in midair behind enchanted glass. Spears with peculiar engravings rested on stands.

Bows, gauntlets, shields, daggers, and even some artifacts Ethan didn’t immediately recognize were arranged as like artifacts in a museum.

Everything here was High-grade at minimum.

A well-dressed attendant in a black suit, approached them immediately. "Welcome to Valdyr Armaments," he said, in a smooth and professional. "How may we assist you today?"

Ethan then said. "We’re preparing for a breach, so we need strong weapons and equipments."

The attendant’s expression didn’t change, but his tone took on a sharper edge of interest. "I see. Then you’ve come to the right place."

He gestured toward the back of the establishment with one hand. "Please, follow me."

They were led through the main showroom and into a private consultation room.

Another attendant entered shortly after, carrying a thick catalog bound in leather. She set it on the table and opened it carefully, revealing page after page of available items, each one accompanied by detailed descriptions and illustrations.

The team spread out, and began browsing through the selections at their own pace.

Ethan’s focus, however, was divided. His attention kept drifting toward the others, particularly Percival and Aliyah. An S-rank breach zone was no joke.

If their equipment wasn’t up to standard, they’d be at a severe disadvantage, so he needed to make sure they walked out of here properly prepared.

——

At some point, Bettie and one of the attendants returned back to the main showroom.

She wanted to get a look of some of the items herself and not just go with their catalog.

She moved slowly, letting her gaze linger on each piece before moving to the next. Then she found something that caught her eye.

It was spherical-like object. Its core was a perfect orb of cosmic purple with what looked like swirling nebulae trapped within its translucent surface.

Silver and gold bands wrapped around it, with spear-like protrusions arcing outward in elegant curves, forming a complex orbital frame that held the sphere in place.

The label beneath it read:

Lunar Echo Resonator – SR Grade

Resonators were, in many ways, a caster’s method of cheating the system. And unlike wands or staffs, which were simply tools held in one’s hand, Resonators functioned more like extensions of oneself, floating freely around their user in orbit.

The last time Bettie had seen one was during the camping exercise with the Mallory High students, over a month ago; back when they were still in their final year at Belsorth Academy.

Bettie leaned in closer, her breath fogging the glass slightly as she read the description.

Properties:

• Faster cast speed

• Stores one Tier 6 spell and three Tier 5 spells (must be stored ahead of time)

• Moderate mana capacity enhancement

Her eyes widened slightly. "I want this one"