Popo looked at my gem, currently nestled in a pink bow on my chest. "You're Level 19 now, aren't you Star Morganite?"

  I nodded. "Yeah. We all are. Well, Alfie's level 20 now. We all got a massive boost after... you know. The Railyard."

  Momo nodded. "Do you not find it peculiar? Your sudden accelerated growth? And the 'Points' you have been accruing?"

  I glanced at the girls. We'd all seen it.

  After the recent... event... we'd all gotten a notification. A huge, flashy pop-up that had made our phones buzz like crazy.

  ─ CONGRATULATIONS! ─

  You have successfully participated in the Neutralization of a Tier-2 Sub-Anomaly.

  Adjusting for level...

  Reward: 475 Points.

  4 Ability Points Awarded!

  "Points," I said, the word feeling foreign and clumsy on my tongue. "Yeah. We got a bunch of 'em. Um. They're like... magical arcade tickets right? Can I trade them in for a stuffed bear?"

  Valentina snorted, but Linda was already shaking her head, smiling at me.

  Yeah, yeah. I knew what they were.

  We could use them to directly trade in for items or cash in a pinch. But they were so valuable that trading for local currencies was practically a waste.

  "The Level is just a number," Momo explained, her small, serious tone cutting through my sarcasm. "A representation of your relative strength compared to other Awakened beings. But the real change... the real power... comes from what you do with the Points you earn."

  She hopped onto the table, her tiny paws making soft, patting sounds on the wood. "The Astra transformation's base function is to augment your physical form. But its true potential lies in what's known as your 'Aura'."

  "The Aura?" Alfie asked, leaning forward. "Like... a superhero's glowy power-up thing?"

  "In a manner of speaking," Pomo confirmed. "The Aura is the external manifestation of your hope-fueled power. It's the energy field that surrounds you in your transformed state. It's what allows you to manifest your abilities, to channel your will into tangible effects. By default, your Aura is raw. Uncontrolled. It's a diffuse field of protective energy that waxes and wanes with the emotions around you. But its strength is tied to both your physical and spiritual energies, and Mother has been nudging boons towards Astras since we found Big Sis."

  Momo nodded. "Astras are not the only Class that can manifest a battle aura, but the way your class does is unique. Normally, for most Awakened, a skill is a pre-packaged tool. Firebolt is a firebolt. A shield is a shield. You learn it, you use it. End of story. But for an Astra, a skill is more like a lens. It allows you to focus your Aura. To refine it. To take that raw, diffuse energy and shape it into something specific. All Astras have a course charted for them, which manifests in their specializations."

  She looked at Alfie. "Star Topaz, your barriers are a good example. Your soul takes your protective instincts to an extreme. Your core ability is a defensive shield, but it's a blanket defense. By purchasing skills like [Structural Reinforcement], you would not just be learning a new trick. You'd be learning how to focus your Aura to become better at one specific thing. Turning a general shield into a specialized, hyper-efficient one."

  Alfie's eyes went wide. "So... so I could make my barriers... not just bigger and denser, but more versatile? Like what I did my first few?"

  "Precisely," Momo said. "You could make them lighter. More agile. You could even learn to reflect projectiles, or absorb energy and redirect it. The possibilities are... vast. But they all start with the same foundation: your Aura. Your soul."

  She then turned to Valentina. "And you, Star Ruby. Your natural physical prowess is amplified far beyond even your friends. Instead of just 'hitting hard,' you could learn to channel that force into your heart, your feet, even your weapon. Jumping multiple times in the air or augmenting your stamina to be able to fight for days isn't out of the question."

  Val's smirk was gone, replaced by a look of intense concentration. "So I could... do what she does eventually?" she asked, her voice a low, intense whisper. "Like... what she did to Jules? Breaking the sound barrier without breaking it? How about fading into shadows and junk?"

  "Not quite," Momo said, a flicker of something unreadable in her eyes. "Your options are unique to you and you will need to figure out how to make them your own. But I think you will be pleasantly surprised."

  She coughed. "The point is, the Wounds we found are a terrible sign of things to come. You need to get strong. Fast. The Association has left you on your own. They still see you as 'side shows.' We are pushing your seniors to advocate for you politically and hopefully get the ear of a bureaucrat, but few would want to believe the scale of the potential danger the world faces."

  Momo paused, letting that sink in.

  "You are the last line of defense. The world's secret weapon. And your training starts now. I want you to go through your point allocation, all of you. Show me what skills you can unlock. Show me what you are capable of. And I will help you realize your true potential."

  "So, what's the plan, boss?" Alfie asked, her voice a little shaky.

  Popo landed on the table between us. "The plan is to get strong. I... do understand some of you may have reservations about Cool Big Sis. But... she is strong. And she's an Astra. She is your peer. The senior of seniors here."

  "Cool Big Sis... oh my god, you mean Reimi?" I asked, my brow furrowed. "But she's... you know. Reimi. She's not exactly a team player."

  "She is prickly and has obviously dealt with a lot," Momo corrected, her tone firm. "But she is an Astra. At her core. And she is... experienced. And she is the reason you are all here today. And... also the reason you are all Level 19 now with a massive surplus of Points. If she hadn't destroyed the Wound's core and stabilized it with her own energy, you would have been overrun. And you would have died."

  She looked at me, her gaze softening slightly. "The Wound was a Tier-3 event that would have spilled over to your little suburb and potentially the city over the river. The Sentinels would have taken hours to mobilize a team strong enough to even attempt to combat such a breach. By then, it would have been too late. You all would have been dead. Your families, likely as well."

  I felt a cold knot of dread form in my stomach. I'd known it was bad. I'd known we were in over our heads.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  "I understand, Momo. Popo," Linda said, her voice firm, decisive.

  She looked at us, her gaze sweeping over each of our faces. "I think this is the wakeup call we needed. We've been treating this like a game. A hobby."

  Linda sighed.

  "I've... had a very bad feeling since Reimi saved us from those monsters. Like it was the start of something very, very bad I didn't understand yet." Linda admitted quietly. "So, yeah. Whatever happens from here, I'm going to have to be in. We just have to face the facts here."

  Alfie's face went pale.

  "Okay, no. Stop. Time out," she said, her voice a little too high, a little too tight. She held up her hands in a 'T' shape, the universal sign for 'hold the phone.' "Everyone, just... breathe. Can we all just take a second and... and breathe?"

  She looked around the room, her eyes wide and pleading. Her usual cheerful exterior was cracking, and underneath, I could see the frayed nerves of a girl who was in way, way over her head.

  "I... I can't," she said, her voice trembling. "I can't do this. I can't sit here and talk about the end of the world and... and being the last line of defense and... our families dying and..."

  She looked at me, her eyes big and swimming with tears.

  "We're just kids! We're supposed to be worrying about homecoming, and senior year! Not... not reality-eating cosmic monsters!" she wailed, her voice cracking. "And... and you're all just... you're all so calm! How are you all so calm?!"

  She was a bubble of panic. I could feel it. I knew she was about to pop.

  "I'm not calm," I said, my own voice a little shaky. "I'm freaking out. On the inside. I'm freaking out so, so much about this."

  The blurry, faceless monsters with claws were still fresh in my mind. I was genuinely surprised I hadn't had any nightmares about them yet.

  "Me too," Valentina admitted, her usual bravado gone. She had been uncharacteristically quiet, but I noticed now that she was gripping the arms of her chair so tightly her knuckles were white.

  "Me three," Linda added, pushing her glasses up her nose.

  Popo zipped over to Alfie and landed on her shoulder, patting her cheek gently. "It's okay to be scared," he said, his voice a soft, comforting murmur. "We're all scared."

  Momo hopped onto the table in front of her, her expression softening. "We're not asking you to stop being scared, Topaz," she said, her voice a gentle, reassuring murmur. "We're asking you to use it."

  She looked at Alfie, her gaze intense. "Your fear is a part of you. It's a part of what makes you human. And it's a part of what makes you strong. It's what fuels your hope. It's what fuels your power."

  Alfie looked at Momo, her tears still streaming down her cheeks. "But... but how? How do I... use it?"

  "By not letting it control you," Momo said. "By acknowledging it. By accepting it. And by choosing to fight anyway."

  She looked at us, her gaze sweeping over each of our faces.

  "That's what being an Astra is all about," she said. "It's not about being fearless. It's about being brave. There is a very fine difference between the two, dear."

  Alfie took a deep, shuddering breath, her chest heaving. She looked at Momo, her eyes wide and full of tears. She looked at me, at Val, at Linda.

  And then, she nodded.

  "Okay," she said, her voice a little shaky, but firm. "Okay. Um. I hope it wasn't unclear, but I'm... I'm in too." She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, a small, determined smile playing on her lips. "But I'm still gonna freak out. A lot."

  "That's my girl," I said, standing up and walking over to give her a tight squeeze. "And... I'm in too." I wasn't sure when I had made the decision, but I knew it was the right one. The only one.

  "Well, hell," Valentina said, a slow, wicked grin spreading across her face. "If you guys are all jumping off this bridge, I guess I might as well come along for the ride. Sounds like it's gonna be a blast."

  Linda just nodded, her expression serious. "I never had any doubt," she said.

  Momo let out a small, relieved sigh. "Good," she said. "That's... good."

  She looked at Popo, a silent, knowing look passing between them.

  "Alright," Linda said, her voice all business again.

  She turned her Sapphire Lens towards the center of the table, projecting a larger, more detailed hologram display. "If we're going to take this seriously, then we need a plan. A training regimen is one thing, but practical experience is another. We need to build our Points reserves, and we need to do it quickly."

  Linda swiped through a few screens, her movements precise and efficient. "I'll put us in queue for some Association sanctioned bounties, of course. The pay is garbage for D-Ranks, but they're structured, they're documented, and it's the 'proper' way to do things. But they're also going to take forever to get approved, especially for a team of 'unproven' Class-D Astras. But... there's a more... public-facing alternative."

  She selected a Goblin Portal, Weehawkin Underpass - $300 - filling out our contact information in a heartbeat.

  Then, the hologram shifted, resolving into a crude-looking website. It had a black background with neon-green text, a chaotic mess of forum threads and pinned posts.

  "This is the 'Herald's Board'," Linda explained. "It's basically a local classifieds site for the Awakened who don't play well with others. Freelancers. Solo hunters. People who are either too new, too shady, or too independent to join a guild. The bounties are mostly low-level stuff. Pest control. Minor dungeon clean-ups. Retrieval missions for lost artifacts in low-threat Zones. The pay is below what the Association's sanctioned jobs would pay for the same work, and there's no insurance or backup if things go south. But a point from a goblin is still a point from a goblin."

  She zoomed in on a list of active bounties in our area.

  Feral Dire Rat Pack, Kearny Marshes - $150

  Slime Harvest, Secaucus Meadows - $75 per pound

  Ogre Sighting, Liberty State Park - UNCLAIMED - Reward Negotiable

  "An Ogre in a state park?" I scoffed. "Sounds like a Tuesday."

  "It's a C-Rank threat, Morganite," Linda said, her tone serious. "It would be a significant challenge for us. But it's also a good opportunity. A successful kill would net us a huge amount of Points and experience for our level."

  I stared at the glowing list of jobs. Pest control. Retrieval missions. It was so... mundane. So un-glamorous. A world away from reality-warping dungeons and soul-eating Miasma.

  But that was the point, wasn't it?

  This wasn't about being a hero. This was about getting stronger. About survival at the end.

  "Okay," I said, my voice a low, determined grumble. "So we pick one. We gear up. We go goblin-hunting. We get a little more combat XP under our belts. It's not exactly 'saving the world,' but it's a start."

  Linda nodded, her fingers already flying across the holographic interface. "We'd have to go to a local broker to verify our identities and pick up the mission. But in the meantime, I'm cross-referencing the targets with known threat databases and satellite imagery. The rat infestation in the marshes seems like our best bet for a starter mission. The terrain is predictable, and their patterns are well-documented. I'm calculating a high probability of success with minimal casualties."

  She was so cool. So capable. She was already thinking three steps ahead, planning our every move like a general on the battlefield.

  I looked at my friends. Alfie was still a little pale, but there was a spark of resolve in her eyes. Val tried to play it cool, but I could see her jaw tighten with anticipation. She was a fighter. This was her element.

  Linda was the brains. Alfie was the shield. I was... the heart? Or the girl who trips a lot and makes bad jokes under pressure.

  We were a mess. But we were our mess.

  "Okay," I said, cracking my knuckles. "So we gank some magic rats. I can get behind that. It's practically a rite of passage for us fantasy-types. When do we—?"

  My words died in my throat.

  On the holographic display, a small, red notification blinked next to the rat bounty. Then, with a soft whoosh, the entire listing vanished. It was gone.

  "What the...?" Val leaned forward, her brow furrowed. "Did it just... delete?"

  "Hmm," Linda murmured, her fingers flying across her Lens's interface. "Odd. The bounty has been marked as 'Claimed.' Let me see the user tag."

  Another line of neon-green text appeared. CLAIMED BY: USER 3346.

  "3346? Who's that?" Alfie asked, her head tilted.

  "Someone who isn't registered with a handle yet. A guest account. Strange," Linda said, her expression a mixture of curiosity and professional annoyance. "No matter. The Ogre in Liberty State Park is still available. That's a much bigger payout, anyway. Let's just—"

  WHOOSH.

  The Ogre bounty vanished.

  CLAIMED BY: USER 3346

  "What the heckity?" I breathed, my heart starting to pound in my chest.

  This wasn't right. Bounties, especially Class C ones, didn't get claimed this fast. My parents had told me about them before.

  It usually took days, sometimes weeks, for a freelancer to take the contract and complete the mission.

  The three of us stared, mesmerized, as the list on Linda's hologram began to... shrink.

  Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket, the vibration a sudden, jarring shock against my leg. I fumbled for it, my fingers clumsy, my heart still thumping a frantic, panicked rhythm against my ribs.

  It was a text from my dad.

  Dad: Hey! I dropped our new friend off at Shiv's. Said she needed to work off some steam and wanted to look for some odd jobs. Something about paying rent.

  I read the words. I read them again.

  And the world clicked into place with a sickening, dreadful certainty.

  Dropped her off at Shiv's.

  I sighed.

  Shiv's.

  I knew that name.

  "REIMI!!!" I half-yelled in exasperation. "SAVE SOME FOR US!"

  Gosh Darnit...