My Ultimate OP System: Summoning All Dragons, Gods, Heroes & Villains-Chapter 77: Progress At Early Hours

While the bounty had just begun elsewhere in the city, there was some activity underway within the courtyard of House Stark.

Bettie had a hard time sleeping for long as the unfamiliar surroundings kept pulling her from rest, and eventually she gave up trying.

She slid out of the plush bed and stared around the guest room. It still felt so surreal being here.

She glanced down at herself, now changed into the nightwear Valerie had provided. The long cream-colored robe hung elegantly from her shoulders,

She walked barefoot across the room toward the window, drawn by some restless curiosity. When she pulled the curtain aside and peered out, her window offered a clear view of the backside of the manor and large expanse of land.

Her eyes widened slightly when she noticed that right there in the yard below, was Ethan. He was doing pushups; sets and sets of them.

She narrowed her eyes, leaning closer to the glass and whispering to herself, "Why is he not sleeping?"

It was strange. Who did pushups at this ungodly hour? She watched him for a moment longer, genuinely puzzled by the sight.

Then he stopped. He rose to his feet, rolled his shoulders once, and extended his right hand forward as sword of brilliant white light materialized in his grip.

Bettie was genuinely surprised again.

Ethan shifted into a stance, one foot forward, the other planted behind him and began swinging the sword through a series of fluid movements.

She tilted her head in confusion. "That’s... strange."

Was it a magic spell that created swords? She’d never heard of such a thing, but then again, there were many spells she hadn’t encountered yet.

Why was he swinging it through different stances like that? He wasn’t a saber. She knew that much. So why was he out there in the dead of night, training with a blade?

"Anything but his magic lessons," she muttered amusingly, shaking her head.

She stepped back from the window, letting the curtain fall back into a close.

——

Meanwhile, Ethan had just finished his training regimen for the night. He exhaled slowly, feeling the burn in his muscles as Ragnarok dissolved into motes of white light.

His eyes still glowed amber with those peculiar reptilian slits .

Ethan had kept his dragon side active throughout the entire session, forcing his body to adapt and grow even while he trained.

He stood there for a moment, catching his breath, then decided to check the notification screens that had been stacking up in the corner of his vision.

The first one appeared.

[You have completed self-imposed objectives:

- Sword practice training: +2,000 XP

- Completing 50 pushups: +2,000 XP

- Maintaining dragon transformation throughout training: +1,500 XP]

[Bonus Reward for discipline and consistency: +2,000 XP]

[Total Experience Points: 64,450]

Ethan gave a satisfied nod, then another screen materialized.

[Ragnarok Bond Progress: 4% Complete]

"Hm, Improved with only learning stances. Not bad."

Another notification followed.

[Dragon Physiology - Hatchling Stage: 65% Complete]

Ethan grinned. "Not bad at all."

A new set of messages he hadn’t anticipated followed suit.

[The First Meridian has been opened.]

[The limiter on the interconnecting pathway between all four limbs has been lifted.]

[You will now experience a buff to your base strength and speed.]

[Based on your Warrior class talent level (C), you can potentially open two more meridians.]

Ethan’s eyes widened in genuine surprise. "I did not see that one coming."

He stared at the screen for a moment, inwardly processing the information. This couldn’t have been random, especially as the system never granted anything without reason.

So had his training been what triggered the opening of the first meridian?

His mind briefly drifted back to the conversation between that happened in Mr Marvin’s study where the Arcorys Family Head had mentioned that Percival had opened his fourth meridian.

And the system had just said he could potentially only open up to three meridians in total due to his C-level talent in the Warrior class.

"Means I’d be able to open a fourth at B-level," Ethan muttered thoughtfully. "And even more beyond that, because this system grants way more."

His thoughts then reminded him of the Cannon Fist technique; the devastating impact of it.

This made him genuinely wondered how useful a technique like that would be in his own hands.

"That level of power was fascinating. Perhaps I’ll ask him to show me sometime."

Ethan muttered to himself, with a smile forming at the thought. Then he pushed the idea aside and moved on to his next course of action.

With a mental command, Jenner’s grimoire materialized in his right hand. But right then, he heard footsteps from some distance behind him.

He turned quickly toward the sound, and the amber glow in his eyes immediately faded back to their normal appearance.

It was Bettie approaching across the courtyard. Although, she was still a few meters away.

Ethan’s expression shifted to one of confusion. "Why aren’t you in bed? Is there a matter?"

Bettie shook her head as she drew closer, with her arms wrapped around herself. "Nothing. I just... couldn’t sleep."

"Oh," Ethan said simply, then said nothing more.

There was a brief pause between them for a moment. Then Bettie quickly followed up with words coming out in a bit of a rush.

"I don’t mean to intrude," she began, glancing away briefly before meeting his eyes again. "But as your tutor, I can’t help wondering why you’re spending this time of night swinging swords and building muscle instead of focusing on your spellcasting."

Ethan smiled, a hint of amusement in his expression. "You were watching."

She nodded, gesturing vaguely upward. "Yeah. The window up there sees into this place."

She paused, then said earnestly, "Since you’re up and I’m up... then I might as well begin the lessons we never got to do yesterday evening."

Ethan smiled just a bit. "Well, you’re right on time."

He gestured with the book in his hand, raising it slightly so she could see it better. "We can start here."

Bettie’s eyes shifted to the grimoire curiosly. "What is that?"

"It’s a grimoire," Ethan said simply, then extended it toward her.

She took it carefully, holding it with both hands as though it were something fragile and precious.

Slowly, she opened the cover and began flipping through the pages, her eyes widening with each turn.

Her fingers traced over the diagrams and symbols inscribed on its pages. The geometric patterns were impossibly complex in a way that she could barely begin to comprehend.

"These are—" she began, her voice trailing off in wonder.

Ethan tilted his head slightly. "Good, right?"

She looked up at him, shaking her head slowly. "I mean... I don’t understand most of the spells here."

Ethan chuckled softly. "Oh yeah."

Bettie smiled as well before adding more thoughtfully, "But I can tell when I see a work of mastery. Whoever made this grimoire took their time drafting these spells. This is... incredible."

Ethan nodded. "So maybe we start with the easy ones?"

Bettie looked back down at the book, then up at him again with a genuine smile. "Sure."

She turned a few more pages carefully, scanning for something they could begin with.

And with that, they both began spell learning, which continued all through the night.

——

The earliest hours of morning had just arrived, and the first light of dawn shone over the horizon.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

The violent pounding on the door broke the quiet of the modest house.

An older-looking man in his late thirties stirred from where he’d been sitting with his wife and child, and looked up sharply in irritation.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

"For fuck’s sake..." he muttered, pushing himself up.

He walked toward the door and yanked it open. "Who’s banging my door that way?!" he yelled.

Then his eyes widened.

Standing on his doorstep, looking utterly haggard and worn out, was his younger brother.

Joe.

He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of dark trousers that were smudged with dirt.

"Joe...?" Gabriel said slowly, his voice dropping from anger to confusion.

"What are you doing here?"

But Joe didn’t answer. Instead, he took a step forward and shoved past his older brother, forcing his way into the house.

"Joe, wait—" Gabriel began, but his brother was already through the doorway.

——

A/N:

Sorry this came late, coming with the bonuses now