Skill Locked! Godol... What?

"Wait, I got it wrong again!"

"Maybe I should hold off on upgrading my skills for now, after all..."

Ryan's gaze fell on the scripts scattered across the coffee table.

Beneath the pile of papers, a page peeked out, revealing half of a design for a hero's costume.

"The Best Actor System clearly has an equipment slot, but after all these years, I still haven't found a single item the system recognizes as official equipment."

He muttered under his breath, furrowing his brow.

"Making movies isn't just about earning acting experience. It's also a chance to explore how to obtain equipment."

Ryan stared intently at the design. "I deliberately designed a costume with effects similar to the Iron Spider Suit. I didn't give it absolute defense in its specs, just to be safe."

"What if this damn system requires me to exchange experience for it?"

"If it does, then the lower the specs, the better—not the higher."

Besides that, he had designed several other pieces of equipment based on the story. Some had specs pushed through the roof, while others had only a few insignificant details added.

He was casting a wide net and testing things from every angle.

That led Ryan to another thought: if the suit really could be added to the system's equipment slot, then there'd be no need to max out his Steel Body.

The defense he'd gained at level four had already proven its worth during his brief thirty-second fight with Stormfront. Given his current physical strength, he could survive most fights in The Boys and still come out of them in good shape.

Granted, he'd repeatedly thrown Stormfront off her game before and during the fight, deliberately dragging her strength down to a very low level.

But he still had the Dad Pager.

And Homelander had been won over by his act—er, by his love. They were father and son, after all.

So if he was going to upgrade a skill, shouldn't he focus on the others first?

Ryan looked over all his level-one skills again.

Heat Vision, Super Strength, Super Stamina, Super Vision, Super Hearing, Super Smell, Flight, Self-Healing, Minor Bio-electric Field.

"Berserk can boost Heat Vision's power, so that can wait too."

[Minor Bio-electric Field • Level 1] (Locked)

Experience: 1/50,000

Skill Effect: Begins to unify all superpowers and bring them into harmony, preventing conflicts between abilities of different levels; the field extends to the surface of the skin, allowing the clothes he wears to benefit from Steel Body's defense.

Locked: Cannot break through to the next level; **intervention** required.

It was the only one of Ryan's current skills that he couldn't unlock and upgrade any further.

"All of Superman's abilities are rooted in the Bio-Field, but the powers I inherited from Homelander... Sigh. It's a long story."

Ryan sighed. The two couldn't be compared at all.

After all, Superman could keep getting stronger by basking in the sun, while his and Homelander's powers had their limits set by their genes.

Fortunately, he could still break through those limits. But what was with those two "**"s?

"So it's still related to equipment?"

He made a quick guess, then set Minor Bio-electric Field aside for now.

Ryan rearranged the order in which he planned to upgrade his skills.

"Super Stamina" could extend how long he could maintain Steel Body's strongest defense, and it could also keep him going during high-speed flight and Self-Healing. So he moved it up two places in priority.

"Level three should be enough for now."

"Next is Flight. That'll matter if I can't beat someone and need to..."

Knock, knock—

Someone suddenly knocked on the door.

Ryan's train of thought was interrupted, and a flicker of irritation crossed his face. Then he realized it had to be Ashley.

Ashley would only abandon the frantic cleanup after Stormfront's sudden death to come see him if it had something to do with the favor he'd asked after returning.

"Come in."

"Ryan, I don't know what happened."

Ashley came in as soon as he gave permission, her expression grave. She quickly explained, "But I've searched the whole company, and no one knows where Mitchell went."

"Even Gecko, the guy who lives next door to her and usually gets along pretty well with her, says he doesn't know."

That was right. He'd asked Ashley to find Raven.

After she'd done something so important for Ryan, he obviously had to do something for Mitchell in return.

But given his age, he couldn't repay her in person (mainly because she wasn't his type).

So Ryan had already made up his mind. He was going to give Mitchell an important supporting role in his movie. Everyone here wanted to become a star, didn't they?

"She's missing?"

A look of surprise flashed across Ryan's face.

Ashley nodded solemnly. "The surveillance footage shows Mitchell leaving the company on her own. I authorized a citywide search, but... we can't find her."

"I see. Then I'll try calling her."

Ryan took out his phone.

He could have called her directly instead of troubling Ashley, but casting an important supporting role in a movie wasn't something he could decide all by himself.

At Vought International—or at least at this stage—even his father, Homelander, couldn't make all the decisions.

And this was an enormous prize that had drawn the attention of powerful people and factions on every side. Ryan would have to work through Ashley, who was in charge of the matter, and fight for it.

Raven answered the call almost immediately.

The tension in Ryan's face vanished at once.

If she'd picked up, then nothing unexpected had happened.

"Ryan, I was so scared."

Raven's voice trembled through the phone. She sounded as if she were still so shaken that she couldn't control herself.

Ryan tried to reassure her. "I'm sorry, Mitchell. I—"

"Listen to me, Ryan!"

She cut him off before he could finish.

"I really wanted to help you. We're friends!"

Raven spoke rapidly, her voice breaking into a sob. "But you know what my powers are like. I can't control them."

"Every night, as soon as I close my eyes, my psychic link keeps sending me Cameron and Russell's spiritual impressions. They're telling me to run, to get as far away as possible."

"I can't stay here anymore, Ryan!"

Ryan's brow furrowed, but his voice remained gentle. "All right, I understand. Oh, right—I forgot to tell you something."

"What?"

"I found you a new job, an important supporting role in my movie. You—"

"Wow! Really... I mean, I'm sorry, Ryan. I really want the role, but I've already made up my mind. I can't face those terrifying things anymore."

"Sorry, Ryan. That's all—"

"Wait!"

Ryan suddenly raised his voice and spoke faster, his tone sharp with command. "Mitchell, tell me where you are."

"I'm near Godot... I—I'm near Godot Heights. I'm looking for a new Raven."

As soon as she finished that last sentence, the call abruptly ended.

The room fell silent. It was so quiet that Ashley felt as if she were standing in front of Homelander again.