Lyria pondered a little, then answered, "I feel I can crush anything from inside the thing I punch or touch with my palm. It's like... I'm forcing explosive power inside whatever I touch... I don't know how to explain it properly." She was still confused about many things, as none of the abilities' mechanisms were as simple as they sounded.
Livy asked curiously from the side, "Then what if you're wearing gauntlets or gloves? Will they also explode?"
Lyria shook her head and answered without hesitation, "I've tried before. It doesn't destroy anything I consider part of me, including simple Mortal clothes."
Eric nodded and didn't ask anything more. They needed time to figure their own abilities—not all abilities were as simple as his Blink.
"Since your ability is to crush everything in front of you, let's call it... Crushing Blow."
Lyria agreed happily.
"My shielding ability—let's just call it Space Shield. So Ly, what's your last ability?" He asked with deep interest. All their abilities were so bizarre and strange, making it all the more exciting to discover their potential.
Lyria scratched her fair cheek awkwardly. "I feel like I can reach any place I want. It's not Teleportation, but more like I can sprint or dash at extreme speed. I still haven't had time to experiment with it yet."
Eric nodded in understanding—an ability Lyria likely received after her Agility stat broke through.
"Then try it. There's still 500 meters from here to the shore—then return. We'll watch from here."
Lyria nodded and put her right foot behind her, gazing toward the end of the beach.
She then suddenly disappeared from Eric and Livy's sight, leaving behind a massive gust of wind.
To Lyria, everything seemed to move at extreme speed, yet nothing seemed missing from her perspective—from the sand on the ground to everything else.
It felt quite weird. She also felt she could change direction without losing balance, and at the same time, she could move her arms easily at this speed.
She didn't count, only felt she'd taken a dozen or so steps to cover half a kilometer, arriving near the shore. She didn't pause, smoothly turning around without issue and dashing back to Eric and Livy.
When she arrived, unlike after running—where one must reduce momentum—she didn't need to, stopping instantly without losing balance.
It was a fantastic ability with multiple incredible aspects.
Eric and Livy were thoroughly shocked, standing agape. They only felt a great burst of wind, almost like a tornado had passed by, and just as they turned to look into the distance, Lyria had already returned!
Eric quickly regained his composure, wanting to shout something vulgar—but he held back.
He had to act cool, not jealous! His true identity as an ancient ancestor, who'd lived through countless eons and witnessed the universe's destruction and rebirth innumerable times, must be protected at all costs!
But Livy wasn't as "calm" as Eric. She immediately jumped and screamed, "What the F—was that?! Did you even reach the end?!"
She hadn't clearly captured Lyria's figure but had noticed a massive gust of wind where Lyria had stopped near the shore—proof she'd passed through. But that didn't mean Livy could accept it!
Lyria smiled, crossing her arms beneath her ample breasts, looking proudly at Livy.
She was amazing—Livy could only be jealous!
Seeing Lyria's haughty attitude, Livy grew vexed.
She loved her "Mudskipper" ability—a passive skill requiring no conscious activation—but Lyria's Agility ability was far more amazing and useful, both for chasing and fleeing. So, she was indeed jealous.
She wanted both her and Lyria's abilities!
Eric noticed from both girls' expressions that another legendary battle was about to begin, so he quickly spoke to protect this bullied island from facing complete destruction.
"Not bad, Ly. How did that feel? Did you have full control, or was it just a straight run?"
Lyria explained how she felt, and after getting permission from Eric, she took a second tour around the island and returned.
Livy and Eric were completely astounded. They wondered if they could ever unlock any ability similar to this in the future, as it was too damn amazing and useful.
Eric nodded and "calmly" spoke like everything was going according to his master plan: "Let's just call your ability 'Whirlwind Sprint.' So, Ly's abilities are: Crushing Blows, Whirlwind Sprint, Hardening, and Absolute Gravity."
"And now it's my turn." After saying this, Eric disappeared in front of both Lyria and Livy.
Lyria and Livy were shocked and started looking around to find Eric but couldn't locate him anywhere. Unlike Blink, it was as if Eric had truly vanished from the world, and for some inexplicable reason, they panicked.
They knew Eric hadn't left them behind, yet somehow this ability made them feel as if he hadn't just disappeared visually but from existence itself.
Eric stare at Lyria and Livy strangely while standing in the exact same spot.
He'd had this feeling ever since awakening this ability—that he could simply "disappear" from the world, and all his movements during that time wouldn't leave any trace behind. But he needed an audience to verify it.
Seeing both Lyria and Livy calling his name while searching everywhere, it seemed this ability truly made others lose all perception of him.
Yet something was slightly strange. Lyria and Livy were trying to mask it, but he noticed they were panicking—weird, since they didn't need to panic over not seeing him for just a few seconds. It wasn't as if they were carrying him while working in their profession rooms.
Eric spoke: "I'm here."
As expected, his voice didn't reach either girl.
He decided to proceed with the next experiment. He walked toward the amber-eyed girl and patted her shoulder from behind.
Lyria knew it could only be Eric, so she didn't immediately unleash a barrage of combos on whoever had touched her.
She turned around and sighed in relief. "Brother Eric, what kind of ability is this? I had this weird feeling you were just an illusion—that you'd never been here since we returned from the deep sea."
Livy quickly approached Eric and began feeling him all over.
"Yes, I felt the same. Brother Eric, please don't use this ability in front of us. It didn't feel good."
Eric watched Livy strangely but didn't stop her. As a man, he didn't mind molestation—as long as it didn't go below the belt.
He fell into deep thought after hearing Lyria and Livy's experiences.
It seemed this ability had a subtle psychological effect as well. If he wasn't focused, perhaps people would forget or ignore him when he disappeared. However, it wasn't that impactful—just a cherry on top.
He then noticed there were no footprints where he'd walked toward Lyria.
He'd suspected he could traverse any walkable surface while using this ability without leaving traces, however, if he interacted with others, the ability would deactivate—just as it had after he patted Lyria's shoulder.
While "disappeared," his surroundings appeared black and white, yet he could still discern colors. A bizarre sensation.
Livy stopped her groping and asked excitedly, "Brother Eric, what will you name this ability? And what's your last ability?"
"Hm... Let's call it 'Disappearance.' As for my next ability..." Eric smirked. "I think I can grasp—or even punch or slap—anything from a distance. Who wants to volunteer?"
"Me!" "Me!" Both Lyria and Livy raised their hands, then glared at each other.
Eric waved them off. "Alright, I'll play with both of you. Ly first."
He Blinked about nine meters away, raised his right arm, and made a grasping motion in the empty air.
Suddenly, Lyria was yanked upward as if an enormous, invisible hand had seized her entire body.
Eric, Livy, and Lyria—still suspended midair—were amazed.
Eric ensured he didn't exert too much force. Instinctively, he knew he could apply strength equivalent to his Strength stat with this ability.
The invisible "hand," or just a palm, felt abnormal. It was not connected to his body—manifested in thin air, as if space itself had compacted into a solid, intangible palm.
It was a "big" palm, expandable up to two meters! He could also conjure it within a dozen meters of himself. Even more remarkably, he didn't even need to physically raise his hand—in fact, most of their abilities operated without moving their real arms.
Overall, it was an extraordinary ability.
He also had a peculiar feeling that he had evolved this ability solely because he wanted to slap people from a distance.
"Ly, tell me honestly how it feels. Can you see the 'hand'?"
Lyria, who was dangling a meter above ground, was flushed with embarrassment and awe. She hadn't even sensed the attack—only when nearly fully grasped did she notice.
"Brother Eric, I can't see anything, but it feels like a huge hand is gripping me entirely... and... it feels like yours..." She blushed furiously.
She inexplicably recognized it as Eric's hand—perhaps due to familiarity—though the palm emitted no warmth.
Livy seethed with envy. She wanted to be "held" like that too!
Eric nodded. He filtered out Lyria's words a little for the relevant data he wanted.
"Ly, first try attacking the 'hand,' then attempt to escape at your full strength."
He loosened his grip, clutching only at her waist.
He felt that this ability was truly mind-blowing. He could seize someone—or something—and hurl them with tremendous force.
Lyria punched the hand, but it didn't budge. It had physical presence yet remained invisible.
Eventually, she wriggled free, as Eric hadn't held her too tightly.
He understood that he wouldn't take any real damage even if someone tried to attack this 'extended hand,' yet he could still perceive whatever he grasped vividly.
All these abilities were truly amazing and unpredictable. They opened up a whole new sensation, which was very different from just the normal five senses.
All this felt weird yet at the same time completely normal to them, just like humans didn't feel weird about having hands and legs. Maybe a fish would feel so if it suddenly grew arms and legs.
Eric repeated the test with Livy, but her "Mudskipper" ability rescued her. In turn, she got depressed and begged him to attempt again, to which he satisfied her dark cravings.
Watching Livy's blissful smile midair, Eric couldn't decide whether to be amused or disturbed. So, he opted for the smart way—he gently smiled and lowered her back onto the ground.
"Brother Eric, what will you name this ability?" Lyria asked brightly.
She felt this was the strongest ability among them all, also the most unpredictable. It could work as a very powerful offense as well as defense.
Eric felt he should be honest when naming his abilities.
"I have this feeling...ahem, never mind. I will call this ability—'Telepathic Slap!'" he declared proudly. He felt 'Telepathic Slam' would also work—maybe in the future, he would change it if he felt like it.
Lyria and Livy giggled, finding the name oddly fitting. He could slap victims without them knowing the culprit.
"So, Brother Eric's abilities are—Telepathic Slap, Disappearance, Blink, and Space Shield," Livy concluded.
Eric agreed.
They then all sat back on their logs for the final discussion on their last remaining month on the Heart-Shaped Island.
"We have less than a month now. Drop everything else, including training. Set abilities aside as well. If you need breaks, you can practice Tier 1 and 2 Spells. Other than that, try reaching the late stage of Rank 1..." Eric paused and then thoughtfully asked, "Do you girls feel anything after this breakthrough? For example, if you can make further progress in stats or if there will be any new training breakthrough?"
Lyria and Livy were stunned—they had completely forgotten about it.
They shut their eyes and frowned deeply. After a while, they shook their heads, then glanced at each other.
"Brother Eric, I don't know how to explain. I feel I have reached the peak of my strength and couldn't progress any further. There is simply nowhere to go. It's a weird feeling, almost similar to how I later felt during the Mortal days."
Livy agreed with Lyria's words. "I also feel that this is the maximum I can go in terms of gaining more stats. I feel, unless I reach the late stage of Rank 1, no new stats could be obtained further."
Eric also felt the same, yet at the same time, a little peculiar too for some unknown reason.
Just as he was about to consult with the silent Riya, she abruptly requested, "Eric, touch both girls. I want to take their readings."
Eric complied and didn't ask anything for now—he would do so after returning.
After Riya took Lyria and Livy's diagnostics, they concluded their remaining discussion.
After that, they activated the two-way Teleportation Array and returned to the Heart-Shaped Island.