Chapter 1096: A Ring That Could Change Everything

The crystal core in Ethan’s hand was pitch black—pure, inky darkness. He had no idea what tier it was. Even with [True Sight], he couldn’t see through it.

He tried probing it with his mental energy, but the moment his energy touched the core, it was swallowed whole—completely devoured.

"Whatever tier this is, it’s gotta be high. We definitely hit the jackpot," Chris said, visibly excited.

"Yeah, I think so too," Ethan nodded. "But if it’s too high-tier, we can’t use it anyway. Let’s just hang onto it for now. Sooner or later, we’ll run into a zombie with one of these, and then we’ll know."

He closed the box and stored it back in the spatial ring, then pulled out the two books he’d found inside.

The covers were made of some strange, durable material. Everyone leaned in, curious.

Ethan opened one—and his face immediately fell.

The text inside was completely unfamiliar. Not a single word made sense.

The others had the same reaction. Just looking at the script gave them a headache.

"This looks like some kind of ancient language," Mia said, frowning.

"You know anything about it?" Ethan asked, perking up.

"Not really," she admitted. "But the library might have a reference or translation guide."

"Oh, right. Good idea. Once we’re out of here, we’ll check. I’ve got a feeling these books are important."

Ethan returned the books to the storage ring.

"Alright, let’s head out. Looks like we’ve cleared this place."

"Wait, Captain," Big Mike said, eyes gleaming. "You sure there aren’t any more storage rings lying around? Maybe you missed one?"

The others looked at Ethan with the same hopeful expression. Clearly, everyone wanted one.

Ethan shook his head. "I already scanned the entire space with [True Sight]. There’s nothing left."

"Damn..." The group sighed in disappointment, their gazes lingering on the ring in Ethan’s hand with envy.

"Don’t get too jealous," Ethan said with a grin. "It’s basically just a mobile warehouse. From now on, all your gear’s going in here. I’m just the storage guy."

"Huh... when you put it that way..." The others chuckled, the tension easing.

"Alright, pile up the weapons. I’ll store them."

"On it." Everyone gathered the weapons they’d found and laid them out on the ground.

Ethan waved his hand, and in an instant, the entire pile vanished into the ring.

Big Mike stared, eyes full of longing. "Man... I wanna be the warehouse guy too."

"Don’t worry," Ethan said, clapping him on the shoulder. "I’ve got a feeling this isn’t the only Void Realm out there. We’ll probably find more crazy stuff like this down the line."

"Yeah, I think so too." The others nodded, eyes shining with anticipation.

"Ethan, what do you think we should call places like this?" Sean asked. "Secret realms? I mean, there’s definitely treasure inside."

Ethan thought for a moment. "They feel... kind of unreal. Like they exist outside normal space. I think ’Void Realm’ fits better."

"Void Realm... yeah, that sounds badass."

"Totally. From now on, we’re not just hunting zombies—we’re hunting Void Realms. One good find and we’re set for life."

"Hell yeah." The group was fired up again, already dreaming of their next big score.

But Ethan’s expression turned a little more serious.

Is there really nothing alive in these Void Realms? he wondered. And if there is... how strong would it be?

He didn’t voice the thought. No point in worrying them over something they couldn’t control.

"Let’s go. It’s probably getting dark outside."

"Yeah." The group made their way to the base of the exit portal.

Garrick stepped forward, placed both hands on the ground, and a mound of earth began to rise beneath them—growing until it reached over fifty feet high.

Once it stopped, they climbed up to the top.

"Ethan, you go first," Chris said suddenly.

"Why me?"

"Did you forget the portal’s floating over a cliff? You’ve got [Teleportation]. We don’t. If we go through first, we’re gonna drop straight off the edge. Even with our Tier 7 bodies, that fall would hurt like hell."

"...Right. Totally forgot about that."

"I’ll head out first and bring back a few big trees. Once I’ve got them in place, you guys come out one at a time, five minutes apart."

"Sounds good."

Ethan dove straight through the portal. The moment he dropped out of the Void Realm, he activated [Teleportation] mid-fall and reappeared safely at the edge of the cliff.

Without wasting time, he chopped down a few large trees and laid them across the cliffside like makeshift bridges.

A few minutes later, the rest of the team began emerging from the Void Realm one by one. As they fell, they grabbed onto the tree trunks, using them to climb down safely.

"Let’s head back. Once it gets dark, the mountain’s gonna be dangerous," Ethan said.

"Yeah."

The group quickly made their way down the slope.

This time, with the jaguar in tow, they didn’t run into any mutant beasts. The journey back was smooth, and before long, they returned to the compound.

When the people inside saw the squad return—now accompanied by a massive, mutated jaguar—they stared in awe.

Goldie, the Bengal tiger already living in the compound, immediately came bounding over the moment it spotted the newcomer.

The tiger and the jaguar squared off, eyes locked, tension thick in the air. It looked like a fight could break out at any second.

Thankfully, Skinny Pete stepped in fast, calming both beasts with steady commands and soothing energy.

Even so, the two mutant beasts clearly didn’t like each other. One stalked off to the east side of the compound, the other to the west.

The team could only sigh. As long as they didn’t start tearing into each other, it was fine. If two Tier 8 mutant beasts went at it inside the compound, the place they’d worked so hard to build would be rubble in minutes.

Back inside their home, the squad finally got a chance to breathe. Not long after, Miles arrived, having heard the news.

When everyone started talking over each other, trying to explain what had happened, even Miles—usually calm and unreadable—looked visibly stunned. Clearly, the Void Realm discovery had shaken him.

Ethan then brought out all the weapons they’d collected and laid them out for the team to choose from.

Turns out, the Fallen Star Squad had developed a taste for long weapons.

Aside from Mia, who picked a longsword, the rest all went for spears or staves. Chris grabbed an extra dagger on top of his main weapon.

As for Ethan, he naturally went for the poleaxe—the massive one from the storage ring.

The moment he lifted it, his arm dipped slightly under the weight.

"Damn, this thing’s heavy," he muttered.

But he was more than satisfied. The weapon looked like it could deal serious damage. With this in hand, even a Tier 9 zombie might not be so scary.

Once everyone had picked their gear, Ethan set aside a few spares and handed the rest to Miles.

The compound needed more capable fighters. They couldn’t rely on just the squad for everything.

That night, after dinner, everyone turned in early. A full day of climbing and digging had left them wiped out.

Only Ethan and Miles remained in the living room.

"Captain," Miles said quietly, "I’m not sure the appearance of the Void Realm is entirely a good thing."

Ethan looked over. "Why do you say that?"

"Based on what you described, it’s possible there are living beings inside these realms. Maybe not in the one you entered, but that doesn’t mean others are empty. If something from inside ever crosses over to Earth... it could be worse than the zombie outbreak."

Ethan nodded slowly. "Yeah. I’ve thought about that too. But it’s not something we can control. Right now, our only option is to get stronger. The more power we have, the better chance we’ll have of surviving whatever comes next."

He clapped Miles on the shoulder. "We haven’t even dealt with the zombies yet. Let’s not borrow trouble worrying about the Void Realm."

"Fair enough."

"Oh, right—tomorrow, see if there’s anyone in the compound who knows ancient languages. If not, send someone to the Redmont City library to look for reference materials."

"Ancient languages? I know some," Miles said casually.

Ethan blinked. "You do?!"

"Yeah... I used to study them back in school. Spent a lot of time in the library digging into that stuff," Miles said, a little sheepishly.

"Holy shit! Why didn’t you say so earlier? Forget sleep—get to work. We’ve got books to translate."

Ethan immediately pulled the two books out of the storage ring and handed them over.