The team returned to the Guild Hall, successful and exhausted. Ms. Chen was waiting, her expression reserved but satisfied.
"The Obsidian warrant is temporarily suspended," she confirmed. "Your clean elimination of the Thermal Viper D-H bought you protection. Now, let's talk about your next evolution, Rank 3."
Kenji presented the remnants of the thermal scraps he had collected. He had absorbed nearly 5,000 units of residual thermal energy during the Regulation mission.
"I have the energy," Kenji stated, feeling the warmth of the collected heat humming in his core. "But I don't have the blueprint for the skill. The System needs an Epic Scrap of thermal or kinetic nature to open the second permanent skill slot."
Ms. Chen nodded. "You have the Absolute Defense Scrap, but you need another Primary Scrap to act as the catalyst for the second skill. The System's requirements are always thematic."
She directed him to a secure database. "There is an inactive Rank B D-H on the far west continent, the Icarus Crater. It was the site of an ancient experiment involving flight and kinetic lift magic. The creatures there are called Aura Harpies, specializing in swift, buoyant kinetic fields."
"Kinetic lift… buoyant scrap," Kenji murmured, his mind racing. "A power designed for extreme speed and evasion. If I can forge that, I can move as fast as Rio, but with more control."
Ms. Chen opened the next System prompt on Kenji's interface:
[OBJECTIVE 4: FORGE THE SECOND PERMANENT SKILL]
Requirement: Acquire one Epic Scrap (Kinetic Lift/Buoyancy) from the Icarus Crater and defeat a Rank B Boss (The Harpy Matriarch) with the assistance of a Rank 5 Lancer.
REWARD: Permanent Skill: [Scrap Velocity] & Rank Up to Rank 4 (Adept).
"A Rank 5 Lancer," Elara observed. "Someone who specializes in high-speed, frontal assault."
"That would be Zola," Kenji realized. Zola Mabaso, the Geomancer, was primarily defense, but her powerful earth-spikes were the definition of a heavy frontal assault if she chose to use them.
Zola, who had been listening to the conversation from the side, finally stepped forward, her skepticism gone, replaced by grudging respect. "I usually stick to defense, Tanaka. But you used my knowledge to dismantle the Bastion. You think smarter than your Rank. I'm in. I'll be your Lancer."
Kenji looked at his team: Elara (Support/Tactician), Mateo (Scout/Disruptor), Bjorn (Tank/Anchor), Priya (Healer/Buffer), and now Zola (Lancer/Defense). He was still only Rank 3, but he had a Rank 6, a Rank 5, and two Rank 4s following his orders. The weakest man in the city had assembled the most potent B-team.
"Ms. Chen," Kenji announced, his voice firm. "Prepare the transit gate. We're going to the Icarus Crater. I need to forge [Scrap Velocity]."
The chapter ends with the team, now officially sanctioned (if tenuously), stepping onto the transit platform, ready to embark on their first truly global adventure. The fate of their temporary protection rests entirely on the success of this Rank B mission.