I stared at the notification in shock. Of all the eleven possible abilities the Oculothorax’s Awakened Crystallized Heart could’ve given me, I got something I never even considered. My heart was pounding as I opened the skill menu to check out the new upgrade.

  Sure enough, there it was, faintly glowing: [Shared Vision of Blinking - Lv.2]

  I pulled up the description, and my amazement only grew as I read through the details.

  I stared at the text, my thoughts spinning with all the possibilities. This wasn’t just an upgrade—it was a total game-changer. Shared Vision was already amazing for scouting and keeping tabs on the battlefield, but this? Now I could teleport straight to my slimes. Massive distances covered in seconds, easy escapes from traps, and, best of all, setting up insane ambushes. Sure, I couldn’t use it mid-fight, but before a battle? I’d have the ultimate tactical edge. The things I could do with this were endless.

  Its only downsides were that I couldn’t use it mid-fight and that it came with a pretty steep mana cost.

  

  Lila must’ve caught onto my reaction because she leaned in, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. “What is it? What’d you get?”

  I couldn’t help but grin, barely keeping my excitement in check. “It’s not just Shared Vision anymore,” I said. “It’s Shared Vision of Blinking.”

  “Blinking?” she repeated, tilting her head and squinting like she was trying to figure it out. “Wait… wasn’t that the eye that gave off that yellow glow? The one where the boss closed the gap in front of you in an instant? Does that mean… you can teleport now?”

  I nodded. “Yep. Through my slimes. Wherever they are, I can Blink right to their location. The only catch? Unlike the boss, I can’t use it while in combat.”

  Lila’s jaw dropped, and she let out a low whistle. “That’s insane!”

  "Wait, does it only work for you?" She asked, her tone curious but speculative. "Or is it like the dungeon portal, where as long as you make contact with someone, they get teleported too?"

  That was an intriguing question. I paused, mulling it over. “Good point,” I said, scratching the back of my head. “But honestly, there’s no way to know without testing it.”

  “So, let’s test it,” she said with a grin, clearly enjoying the prospect behind this ability.

  I shook my head. “Not now. The mana cost for the skill is way too high, and I don’t have enough left to try it. Right now, the best course of action is to rest.”

  Lila raised an eyebrow, her excitement dimming slightly. “Rest? Well i guess its been quite the day.”

  “Yeah,” I said with a tired laugh, “ It’s been a long day—no, a brutal day. I’m spent. Physically and mentally.”

  As if to emphasize the point, my body felt heavier with every word. The exhaustion that had been lurking at the edges of my awareness all day was now crashing over me in full force.

  “I’m going to collapse the second I lie down,” I admitted, stifling a yawn.

  Lila chuckled. "Alright, fair enough. Rest it is. But first thing when you wake up, you're testing that skill, got it?"

  

  “First thing,” I promised, already imagining the feel of a soft surface beneath me. “But for now… sleep.”

  With that, we made our way to a secure spot near the chamber’s edge, away from the wreckage and scattered remains of the battle. I settled into the floor, the cool, hard stone beneath me oddly comforting after everything I’d been through.

  The last thing I saw before sleep claimed me was the figures of my slimes, stationed like sentinels around us.

  And then, finally, I let the exhaustion take over.

  At the same time, during Leon’s rest and the quiet buzz surrounding his recent actions in the dungeon, far away in a secret and isolated location, a meeting of Earth’s most influencial figures was underway. The room was dark and sophisticated, designed for discretion. Cut off from the outside world, with no discernible link to any known location. Around a glowing circular table, its surface displaying a holographic image of the solar system, sat heads of state, military leaders, and the brightest scientific minds, their faces tense as they deliberated over a threat that few outside this room even knew existed.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “It started as a blip,” said a sharp-voiced general with silver hair, his uniform pristine and his tone authoritative. “Just one faint signal on the Space Surveillance Radar. Hardly noticeable.”

  “And we brushed it off,” added a woman in a sharp suit, her voice calm but tight. “We assumed it was interference, a glitch. Nothing unusual.”

  “But it wasn’t,” interjected an older man, adjusting his wire-rimmed glasses as they caught the faint glow of the table. His voice carried the weight of someone who had seen too much. “The blip didn’t fade. It persisted. And then…” He tapped the console in front of him. The holographic map shifted, showing a single red dot on the outer edge of the solar system.

  “At first, it was just this,” he continued. “One blip. But within days, another appeared. Then another. And another. Within weeks, the numbers doubled. And now…”

  He tapped again, and the map filled with hundreds of red dots, all spiraling inward from various points beyond the solar system’s borders.

  Murmurs broke out around the table, voices laced with growing concern.

  “We’ve tracked their trajectories,” the older man said, his tone unwavering. “They’re moving in a coordinated pattern, and every vector points to Earth.”

  “Every vector?” a younger figure in a dark jacket asked skeptically. He leaned forward, narrowing his eyes at the map. “Are you suggesting they’re targeting us specifically?”

  “We’re not suggesting anything,” the general snapped, his voice cutting through the room. “We’re stating facts. Their movements are deliberate, and Earth is their destination.”

  The room fell into a heavy silence as the gravity of the situation sank in.

  One of the scientists present, a woman in a white lab coat, cleared her throat. “We’ve attempted to analyze their structure using the limited data from the Space Surveillance Radar. It’s... unlike anything we’ve ever seen.” Her words were careful, but her tone carried an edge of fear.

  “What exactly do you mean?” someone asked, breaking the silence.

  The scientist hesitated before tapping her own console. The holographic map dissolved, replaced by a grainy, black-and-white image. The first recorded visual of the phenomenon.

  At first, it was hard to discern—a dark mass against the void of space. But as the image sharpened, the details became unmistakable.

  Gasps rippled through the room, and several of the gathered figures instinctively leaned back in their seats.

  The creature's skin—or what could be called skin—was dark and mottled, an ever-shifting texture that seemed to writhe as if alive. Patches of what looked like hardened scales protruded from its surface, sharp enough to shred through steel. Tentacle-like appendages extended from its sides, each tipped with claw-like growths that curled and flexed in a menacing rhythm.

  “This…” the scientist whispered, her voice trembling. “This is what we’re dealing with.”

  Silence fell over the room as the weight of her words settled in. The image alone was enough to send chills through even the most hardened among them. This wasn’t just an asteroid that happened to enter the radar’s range. This was a being. An alien. And it was heading straight for Earth.

  “What the hell is that?” the younger man muttered, his skepticism giving way to genuine unease.

  “We don’t know,” the scientist admitted.

  More murmurs rippled through the group, the tension in the room growing thicker.

  “And the numbers?” another voice asked, calm but weighted.

  The scientist gestured back to the projection. “Exponentially increasing. What started as one anomaly has grown into hundreds. If this rate continues, we’ll be dealing with thousands within months.”

  “Thousands?” The word hung in the air like a heavy stone. “

  The older man with glasses adjusted his frame and leaned forward. “Our immediate focus must be on containment and comprehension. This is no longer a curiosity—it’s a threat.”

  The scientist’s voice wavered slightly as she added, “There’s one more thing. We’ve recently compiled a detailed analysis of the trajectories. These objects aren’t just approaching Earth. They’re coming from... every direction.”

  The room froze. Every direction. The meaning was clear: Earth was being surrounded.

  The man seated at the center of the table, occupying the largest and most imposing chair in the room, finally broke his silence. His voice was deep, deliberate, and carried an authority that silenced the murmurs around him instantly.

  “This must be connected to our so-called ‘champion.’”

  The general straightened in his chair, his tone shifting to one of respect. “Champion? Are you referring to this… Leon person?” He frowned, the gears in his mind visibly turning. “Now that I think about it... Wait. Change the display. Show us the system prompt above Leon’s broadcast.”

  The scientist, seated near the edge of the table, nodded and tapped her console. The image of the grotesque, alien creature dissolved, replaced by a live holographic broadcast. It showed Leon, deep in sleep, surrounded by his slimes in the dim setting of the fourth floor. Above the broadcast, a translucent system prompt hovered.

  “Look there,” the general said, pointing at the line. “‘The impending threat has been halted.’ No way…” He paused, the weight of realization dawning on him. “Do you think it’s referring to those creatures—the ones closing in on us?”

  The scientists exchanged glances, their expressions tense but thoughtful. Then, almost in unison, they nodded.

  “It’s only speculation,” one of them began cautiously, “but it’s highly probable that the approaching threat is directly tied to this ‘champion’ and… whatever system governs this situation.”

  The man at the head of the table leaned back in his chair, eyes locked on the holographic display. His face gave nothing away, but his authority was impossible to ignore.

  “How long,” he asked, his voice steady but heavy with implication, “until they reach us?”

  The scientist hesitated for a moment before responding. “...A little less than half a year, sir.”

  The room went silent. No one dared to speak; the sheer magnitude of what they were up against was written all over their faces.

  The dim glow from the hologram lit up their somber expressions Whatever picture they were starting to piece together, it was worse—and far more urgent—than any of them had imagined.

  Lila stood nearby, while my slimes were spread out in a loose formation, moving carefully as they kept an eye on the surroundings.

  I checked my mana, even though I already knew the answer—I was back to full. This time, though, I wasn’t using it to summon more slimes. Nope, today my mana was reserved for something entirely different.

  “So,” I said, breaking the silence as I turned toward Lila, “are you ready to test out my new skill?”

  She tilted her head, a grin spreading across her face as her eyes lit up with curiosity. “Are you kidding? I’ve been dying to see what it can do! I barely slept because I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

  I couldn’t help but smirk, her enthusiasm contagious. “Good, then let’s give it a try.”