Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 45: That was definitely good news

"You... How is this even possible?!"

Even his own 9-Tier Genie wasn’t necessarily strong enough to suppress LoS_Stormrider’s 9-Tier Roc...

Which meant—Ethan’s hero level was actually higher than LoS_Ironfist’s?!

Boom!

In that instant, LoS_Ironfist felt as if a massive hammer had come crashing down from the heavens, shattering everything he had ever believed in.

His entire worldview—obliterated.

Everything he thought he knew—gone.

"Where the hell did this little monster come from?" LoS_Ironfist muttered through gritted teeth, a flicker of regret flashing through his mind.

Had he... made a mistake?

"I’ll remember what happened today. Next time we meet, I’ll make sure to settle the score."

A calm voice rang out, sending a chill down both LoS_Stormrider and LoS_Ironfist’s spines. Their pupils shrank, their hearts pounded, and their faces twisted in shock.

"Valkarion, wait—!"

LoS_Ironfist reached out, trying to stop him—but it was already too late.

Whoosh!

Before his words had even fully landed, Ethan was already seated atop his Genie, soaring out of the tavern and into the sky with effortless grace.

As a 9-Tier flying unit, the Genie’s speed was terrifying—far surpassing that of an 8-Tier Pegasus Knight.

Even if a 9-Tier Roc could keep up, it wouldn’t matter anymore.

Unless they were absolutely certain they could stop Ethan...

But the truth was clear—neither LoS_Stormrider nor LoS_Ironfist had that kind of confidence.

And so, instinctively, they both chose not to give chase.

Yet by the time they snapped out of their daze and realized just how badly they had screwed up—it was already too late.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

They rushed out of the tavern at full speed, only to see Ethan disappearing into the sky, vanishing into the drifting clouds.

LoS_Ironfist’s face froze. His expression shifted from pale to dark, from dark to ashen, from ashen to ghostly white...

In the end, all that remained was regret and unease.

He muttered under his breath, "Is it still possible to catch up?"

"We could try," LoS_Stormrider replied, though his tone was more like he was questioning himself. "But even if we do... can we actually stop him?"

Could he really stop Ethan?

Silence.

A suffocating silence.

Then, as if by some unspoken agreement, the two of them slowly lifted their heads, gazing up at the sky.

Their expressions were complicated—filled with regret.

Only now did they finally realize just how badly they had miscalculated today.

But regret was useless.

There was no undoing what had been done.

Meanwhile, Ethan sat comfortably on his Genie’s shoulder, soaring leisurely through the sky.

"Legion of Shadows..." He flicked his fingers absentmindedly, his expression a mix of contemplation and resignation.

Life was unpredictable—he had certainly learned that today.

One moment, they were all friendly business partners, getting along just fine. The next? A complete fallout, faces turned cold in an instant.

But if you had to ask—who was in the wrong?

Well, he wasn’t.

And honestly, neither were LoS_Ironfist and the others.

Because there was no clear right or wrong in this situation—it was just how things played out.

Fate, maybe.

"Well, in that case... guess this is goodbye."

Shaking his head, Ethan methodically deleted LoS_Ironfist, Doombringer, and the others from his friends list.

When he got to LoS_Starlily and LoS_Blackblade, though, he hesitated for a moment before deciding to keep them. His conflict was with Legion of Shadows as a whole, but as for those two... he’d deal with that later.

"Now, where to next? Head straight back? Or find another buyer for this Genie and gather enough funds for the Unicorn recruitment fee...?"

Beep. Beep beep beep...

Just as Ethan was considering his next move, the system suddenly alerted him—someone was trying to contact him from outside the game.

"Who’s looking for me?" He blinked, a thought flashing through his mind. His eyes lit up, and he immediately logged out.

Sure enough—

The moment he returned to reality, he was met with Emily’s wide, sparkling eyes staring straight at him, practically drilling holes into his face.

Her gaze was round and unblinking, like she was looking at some kind of rare specimen.

"You good?" Ethan waved a hand in front of her face, unimpressed.

"Bro! I heard you actually got together with Isabella?! Is that for real?!"

Emily practically bounced up, latching onto Ethan’s arm with an expression of pure curiosity. "Come on, tell me! How did you manage to stand out from all her admirers and win her over? That’s Isabella we’re talking about! A total goddess! Even I’d drool over her—"

Smack!

Before she could finish, Emily yelped, clutching her forehead with teary eyes. She looked up at Ethan, utterly betrayed. "That hurt!"

"Oh, so you can feel pain? Can you act normal for once?" Ethan remained unmoved, his expression wise and knowing. "And drop the act—I barely even touched you."

"Ugh! You’re such a hopeless straight guy! You’re gonna die alone!" Emily huffed, instantly switching to a look of pure disdain.

"Hmm?" Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly, a faint aura of menace radiating from him.

"N-No, no, I meant—wow, Ethan, you’ve gotten even more handsome since the last time I saw you!" Emily immediately switched gears, flashing a flattering smile as she shamelessly buttered him up.

"You..."

Ethan rolled his eyes but decided to let it slide. Instead, he asked, "So, how have things been? Everything going smoothly?"

"Of course! Do you even know who you’re talking to?" Emily puffed out her chest proudly.

"Try answering like a normal person." Ethan sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Hehe..." Emily chuckled before finally getting to the point. "So, apparently, Vice Dean Caldwell personally led a group of our academy’s students on a small-scale D+ ranked war mission! It’s supposed to last over six months—not too difficult, but the rewards are huge. If you’re lucky and contribute enough, you might even get a 5-Tier or 6-Tier unit as a reward!"

"That’s actually pretty solid..." Ethan nodded, then suddenly frowned. "Wait—why did you say apparently?"

"Because I bailed halfway through!" Emily declared proudly, hands on her hips.

"...What?" Ethan stared at her, completely dumbfounded.

"I said—I bailed halfway through!" Emily repeated, then excitedly leaned in. "Bro, do you remember that hero I told you about last time?"

"The one who can upgrade a Tier 5 Griffin into a Tier 6 Royal Griffin? The Strategic Hero? Of course, I remember! Wait a second..." Ethan suddenly froze, staring at Emily in shock. "You didn’t... actually manage to recruit him, did you?"

"Bingo!"

"That’s right!"

Emily bounced around Ethan proudly, looking absolutely smug. "Come on, admit it, I’m amazing, right? Ever since you mentioned him last time, I’ve been chasing him around for over two weeks, talking until my mouth went dry, putting in a ridiculous amount of effort—and finally, I got him! And that’s not even the best part..."

A mysterious, excited look flashed across Emily’s face as she leaned in toward Ethan. "Guess what his system evaluation score is?"

"Blue-tier Rare Hero?"

"Be more specific!"

"C-rank? B-rank? No way... A-rank?!"

"None of those! It’s S-rank! S-rank!!" Emily cut him off, practically bursting with excitement.

"S-rank?"

Now it was Ethan’s turn to be stunned.

An S-rank blue-tier Rare Hero?

Just for having the ability to upgrade a Tier 5 Griffin into a Tier 6 Royal Griffin? That didn’t seem that impressive...

"Yep! An S-rank blue-tier Rare Hero! A Griffin Knight—no, a Griffin Knight training master!"

"You have no idea, bro. Even I was shocked after recruiting him! Turns out we totally underestimated him before. He’s got another identity—he’s actually a member of the Blazing Griffin Knights under the Griffin Legion of the Unicorn Duchy’s Tenth Army!" Emily was getting more and more excited, talking a mile a minute.

"I’d never even heard of the Blazing Griffin Knights before, but after looking into them these past few days, I realized I hit the jackpot! They’re seriously powerful!"

"The Blazing Griffins they ride? Tier 7 units! And the Blazing Griffin Knights themselves? Tier 8! Plus, they’re special, hidden units—super rare and insanely strong!"

"So basically, his real ability is that he can train an elite Tier 8 unit called the Blazing Griffin Knight?" Ethan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Exactly!"

Emily nodded enthusiastically and continued, "And on top of that, he’s got incredible leadership skills! Any Griffin, Royal Griffin, Blazing Griffin, or Blazing Griffin Knight under his command gets a straight-up 20% damage boost!"

"That’s insane!" Ethan gave her a thumbs-up, then asked, "What’s the cost? And how long does the training take?"

"No gold required, but I have to provide the Griffins, Royal Griffins, or Blazing Griffins myself. The training time depends on the unit type."

"The fastest takes about two days per unit, while the longest could be around ten to fifteen days. I handed over one of my Tier 6 Griffins for training, and it looks like it’ll take five or six days."

"No gold needed?"

Ethan blinked in surprise, then shook his head with a laugh. "You really lucked out this time—this is a huge win for you!"

In the world of Glory Lords X, strategic talents related to unit upgrades generally fall into two categories:

1. Paying Gold to Save Time

This is the type Elynn has.

As long as she has enough gold and resources, she can train over 700 Tier 8 Silver Pegasus Knights in a year.

2. Using Time Instead of Gold

This is the type of hero Emily just recruited.

No gold required, but the training process takes much longer.

At best, this method is only about one-fourth as efficient as the first.

As for which one is better...

Well, it depends on the situation.

But if it were up to Ethan, he’d definitely go with the first option. He has plenty of gold and resources, and even if he ever ran low, he could easily get more.

For him, maximum efficiency at any cost is the way to go.

For regular players, though, the second option is often better—it’s less of a financial burden and allows for steady, long-term growth.

"Of course!"

Emily nodded quickly, then leaned in with a mysterious grin. "Actually, when I was recruiting Aeliana—that’s the hero’s name—I had a competitor!"

"A competitor?" Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Yep!" Emily’s face lit up mischievously. "And you’ll never guess who it was!"

"Who?" Ethan asked.

"Selene Lily, Vice Commander of the Scarlet Legion’s Sixth Army—also known as the Lily Goddess!"

Emily practically jumped with excitement, chattering nonstop. "Bro, isn’t that crazy? Selene is one of the three goddess-tier figures of the Scarlet Legion! She’s even considered a potential successor to the Scarlet Queen! Whether it’s her strength, looks, or figure—she’s absolute top-tier!"

"If you beg me, maybe I’ll just accidentally introduce you to her!"

"Between you and me, I think Selene is even prettier than Isabella! I swear!" Emily’s expression practically screamed bribe me, and I’ll make it happen.

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Did she invite you to join the Scarlet Legion?"

The Scarlet Legion was one of the top ten guilds, and most of its members were women. If Emily actually got in, it would be nothing but beneficial for her.

That was definitely good news.