Two Months Later

It had been one year and two months since the Capital Games ended.

Life inside the hidden base had mostly stabilized by now. The emergency lockdown was still active in many places across Libria, but compared to before, the atmosphere inside the waterfall hideout felt much more relaxed.

At least on the surface.

"Aww... We didn’t even get prizes for winning the Capital Games."

Rose complained casually while walking through one of the underground pathways.

Beside her walked a slightly older girl wearing a maintenance uniform. The two had become fairly close over the past year.

"Sigh... whatever," Rose continued dramatically. "I’m going this way. Bye."

The moment she finished speaking, Rose immediately tried to run off.

Unfortunately—

The older girl instantly grabbed her wrist.

"Nope."

Rose froze.

"You are not allowed to go near Tyler’s Lab," the girl said flatly. "Did you already forget what happened two months ago?"

Rose looked away innocently.

"...No?"

Two months earlier, Rose had secretly sneaked into Tyler’s Lab while he was asleep.

Again.

This time, she found a strange prototype weapon floating inside the testing area.

Naturally, she touched it.

And naturally—

She ’accidentally’ fired it.

The resulting laser beam drilled straight through several underground layers and nearly caused part of the facility to collapse.

Elder Alan later described the incident as:

"An engineering disaster mixed with terrorism."

Because of that accident, Rose was officially banned from entering Tyler’s Lab without supervision.

Rose rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Seriously, you guys are overreacting."

"You almost destroyed the hideout."

"It was one tiny hole."

"A tiny hole that went through four walls."

Rose coughed awkwardly.

Still, she didn’t attempt using her charm ability.

Even though she could probably make her friend let go instantly, Rose rarely used her powers on people she genuinely considered close to her.

That was one of the few rules she gave herself.

"No way," Rose complained while crossing her arms. "My sister has been visiting the lab way too often lately."

The older girl blinked.

"...That’s your concern?"

"Yes."

Rose nodded seriously.

"If this keeps going, my sister might seduce Tyler away."

The girl stared at her silently for several seconds.

Then she burst into laughter.

"You sound like an old maiden in love, gossiping about her love rival."

Rose immediately began gossiping anyway.

The two girls quickly started whispering random rumors in base, while laughing among themselves.

Eventually, they walked away together down another corridor.

Only after they disappeared—

Several hidden guards slowly emerged from the shadows nearby.

One of them let out a long sigh of relief.

"Good..."

"I was honestly worried we wouldn’t be able to stop her if she really tried barging inside."

Another guard nodded seriously.

"Same here."

The guards stationed around Tyler’s Lab were all carefully selected members of the Embers.

Not because Tyler requested protection—

But because the higher-ups were worried about whatever dangerous things existed inside that laboratory now.

"Well," another guard muttered, "there’s already an important meeting happening inside anyway."

"We just need to make sure nobody interrupts."

Meanwhile—

Inside Tyler’s Lab.

A serious meeting was currently taking place.

After more than a year, people had completely stopped referring to the place as the "Outpost Research Center."

Now everyone simply called it—

Tyler’s Lab.

The entire facility had changed drastically over the past year.

The walls were covered with holographic screens, strange energy cables, and unknown machinery. Half-built weapons floated in magnetic suspension fields while robotic arms moved materials automatically across workstations.

The place no longer looked like an underground Rebel laboratory.

It looked like technology from another era.

Old Lady Veena slowly walked through the lab while observing everything carefully.

Beside her was Alan Runner, who looked both excited and nervous at the same time.

Following them were seven holographic projections connected remotely from other hidden Embers bases across Libria.

Each hologram represented a high-ranking member of the organization.

Normally, gathering so many important figures together— even remotely— would never happen casually.

But Tyler had personally requested this meeting.

Which meant something major was happening.

The group slowly moved deeper into the laboratory while checking holographic data screens and strange weapon prototypes placed around the room.

Some guns looked normal.

Others clearly didn’t.

One rifle floated without physical support.

Another weapon emitted faint blue energy despite not being connected to any visible power source.

Even the experienced researchers among the holographic projections looked stunned.

Alan quietly looked toward Tyler.

"So..." he said carefully.

"What exactly are you planning to show us today?"

Tyler simply stood near the center table calmly.

Then he smiled slightly.

"You’ll see soon."

Tyler walked toward the three giant cloth-covered objects standing at the center of the laboratory.

Everyone inside the room quietly watched him.

Even the holographic projections became silent.

Tyler grabbed the edge of the first cloth and pulled it away.

The object underneath was revealed instantly.

Alan Runner’s eyes widened.

Several holographic elders visibly leaned closer.

Even Old Lady Veena, who had been calmly drinking tea until now, froze mid-sip.

Then—

Clink.

Her teacup slipped from her hand and shattered onto the floor.

Inside the suddenly silent laboratory, the sound felt unusually loud.

Nobody cared.

Because everyone’s attention was locked onto the machine standing before them.

It was an armored exoskeleton suit.

The black metallic frame looked sleek and heavy at the same time. Blue energy lines glowed faintly beneath the armor plating while mechanical joints connected perfectly around the limbs.

The design looked far more refined than anything the Embers had ever produced.

Tyler casually introduced it.

"This is the Exosuit."

He lightly knocked on the armor.

"It enhances physical strength, improves stability, has assisted targeting, movement correction, and jump enhancement."

One holographic elder immediately interrupted.

"Bullet resistance?"

Tyler nodded.

"Bulletproof against standard Capital weapons."

Several people inhaled sharply.

Tyler continued calmly.

"It can also operate using compact batteries powered by tiny amounts of refined Carbonyx crystal."

The room became even quieter.

Exosuits already existed within the Capital military.

Even ordinary Capital soldiers used simplified semi-exoskeleton support systems.

As for full military-grade exosuits—

Those were restricted to elite troops and special forces.

The Embers had spent years trying to replicate them properly.

And failed.

But Tyler...

Actually succeeded.

And from the looks of it—

His version might even be better.

Before anyone fully recovered from the shock, Tyler walked toward the second covered object.

He removed the cloth again.

This time, several floating boards were revealed.

At first glance, they looked similar to hoverboards used in the Capital.

But the moment Alan stepped closer, he immediately realized they were different.

The structure was thicker.

Stronger.

Military-grade.

"These are combat hoverboards," Tyler explained.

Unlike civilian hoverboards used in the Capital mostly for entertainment or transportation, these looked built for actual battlefield use.

One of the boards even carried several heavy metal crates without lowering in height.

Alan immediately crouched beside one and touched its surface carefully.

"How..."

His robotic hand tapped the board several times.

"How is this carrying over two hundred kilograms while remaining this light?"

He frowned deeply.

"And what material is this made from?"

The board didn’t feel like normal alloy at all.

Tyler simply smiled.

"That part will be revealed later."

Alan looked like he wanted to grab Tyler and force the answer out immediately.

Meanwhile, the holographic elders were already discussing rapidly among themselves.

Exosuits.

Combat hoverboards.

Both inventions alone could greatly improve Embers mobility and combat strength.

And yet—

There was still one final covered object remaining.

The largest one.

Everyone slowly looked toward it.

Tyler walked forward calmly and grabbed the giant cloth.

Then he pulled it away completely.

Silence.

Absolute silence filled the room.

Even the holograms froze.

Standing before them was a giant humanoid machine.

A robot.

No—

Calling it a robot somehow felt too simple.

The massive machine stood nearly three times taller than a normal human. Thick armored plating covered its entire body while multiple glowing energy lines pulsed beneath the surface.

Mounted beside its arms were compact laser cannons.

And attached across its back—

Was an enormous mechanical sword.

Old Lady Veena slowly lowered her broken teacup remains.

"...What the hell is that?"

Alan Runner looked completely speechless.

Tyler casually picked up a strange VR headset from nearby equipment and wore it over his eyes.

The next second—

The giant machine powered on.

WHIRRRRRR—

Blue energy surged through the body as the robot’s eyes lit up.

The entire laboratory trembled faintly from the machine activating.

Several holographic elders unconsciously stepped backward despite not physically being present.

Then Tyler slowly raised his hand.

And the giant robot copied the movement perfectly.

Everyone’s mouths almost dropped to the floor.

Tyler rotated his wrist.

The robot rotated its giant mechanical wrist as well.

He clenched his fist.

The robot clenched its massive metal hand instantly.

Alan stared blankly.

"You..."

His voice sounded dry.

"You built a controllable combat mech?"

Tyler smirked and looked at everyone.

"I need only one thing. Make me an Elder of the council."