Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 69: Yeah… that’s pretty underwhelming

SS-Rank Quest! ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Quest Objective: Conquer Sylvanwood and become its ruler. No time limit!

The quest description was ridiculously simple—Conquer Sylvanwood.

Not even a time restriction.

In theory, that meant he had all the time he needed to build up his strength.

And yet, even with that advantage, Ethan didn’t dare take this quest lightly.

Why?

Simple.

It was an SS-rank quest.

In Glory Lords X, the highest known difficulty for any quest was SSS-rank.

Rumor had it that even the easiest SSS-rank quests involved slaying gods.

Actual gods.

So for this quest to be just one step below that... yeah, it was going to be brutal.

"Looks like I underestimated Sylvanwood," Ethan muttered to himself.

Thud!

"I pledge my everything to you, my lord!"

At that moment, Elynn dropped to one knee, her voice unwavering.

"Now that we’ve taken out Blackmire Castle, our biggest threat, it’s time for Emerald Castle to expand again," Ethan said, his eyes gleaming with determination. "Elynn, same as last time—rest up, then push further into the outer regions. Gather intel, map out the terrain, and once we have a clearer picture, we’ll plan our next move together. If you run into anything you can’t handle, go to Cicero and Seraphina. I’ll make sure they back you up completely."

"Understood," Elynn nodded without hesitation. "I’ll complete the mission as quickly as possible!"

"Alright, that’s it for now. See you all tomorrow."

Ethan gave them a casual wave before logging off to rest.

The whole Blackmire Castle ordeal had kept him on edge for days. Now that it was finally over, he could afford to relax—at least for a little while.

As for his sudden "disappearance" from the game, Seraphina, Elynn, and the others barely reacted.

By now, they were used to it.

Over the years, as Glory Lords X grew in popularity, they had come to understand something shocking—

There existed a special group of people who could move between their world and the world of Glory Lords X.

The moment Ethan logged off, Seraphina’s usual cold and composed demeanor returned. She turned to Elynn and said, "Elynn, get ready. We’re heading to Verdant Ravine."

"Verdant Ravine?"

Elynn blinked in surprise. "Wait... Seraphina, we?"

"Just because our lord didn’t mention it doesn’t mean we should sit around doing nothing," Seraphina said calmly. "Emerald Castle’s finances are tight right now. You know as well as I do that Verdant Ravine is rich in gold deposits—especially that Major Gold Mine. If we take control of it, we’ll ease a huge amount of financial pressure."

"And more importantly, we’ll be helping our lord."

Her tone was indifferent, but her intent was crystal clear—everything revolved around Ethan. She was willing to clear any obstacles in his path, no matter how difficult.

"B-But, Seraphina... that Major Gold Mine is guarded by over a hundred Tier-10 Thunderbirds! Are you sure about this?"

Elynn hesitated.

When numbers reached a certain threshold, quantity became its own kind of quality.

A hundred Tier-10 Thunderbirds were enough to make anyone think twice.

Even Ethan had subconsciously avoided considering it as an option.

Elynn herself had serious reservations. Otherwise, given Emerald Castle’s financial struggles, the Major Gold Mine should have been their first target—no debate.

"Don’t underestimate me. And don’t underestimate Crimson Ultimate either," Seraphina said coolly, her expression unreadable. "Besides, I know my own strength. I’m only bringing you along to clean up afterward."

Elynn shuddered slightly, a complicated look flashing in her eyes.

She understood.

Seraphina might have phrased it as "cleaning up," but in reality, this was her way of acknowledging and respecting Elynn’s abilities.

Whoosh—

Elynn took a deep breath, then nodded firmly. "Understood. In that case, Seraphina, let’s head out immediately!"

She paused for a moment before adding, "Seraphina, I’ll leave my Tier-11 Unicorn, Tier-12 Wyvern Monarch, and Tier-12 Cyclops King under your command."

Like Elynn, Seraphina was a unit hero, meaning she could lead troops. And with her insane stats after reaching adulthood, any unit under her command would become a walking nightmare for their enemies.

With that kind of power boost, even a hundred Tier-10 Thunderbirds... might not be that big of a deal after all.

"No need," Seraphina refused outright.

She had absolute confidence in her own strength.

First, if she couldn’t even handle a measly hundred Tier-10 Thunderbirds, then she might as well throw away her titles of Crimson Ultimate and Green Dragon Deity. That would be embarrassing.

Second, she had only recently gained this overwhelming power. She wasn’t entirely familiar with it yet. Even she wasn’t sure of her true limits.

This battle would serve as a perfect mirror—a way to test herself and see just how far she had come.

...

The Next Day

After logging off, Ethan had enjoyed a long, well-deserved sleep.

When he logged back in, he was immediately greeted with a piece of news so shocking it left him completely speechless.

"W-Wait... WHAT?! You guys took down the Major Gold Mine in Verdant Ravine... YESTERDAY?!"

The Major Gold Mine was the second-largest source of gold income in Glory Lords X, second only to the Colossal Gold Mine.

Every seven days, a Major Gold Mine produced 100,000 gold coins.

That meant over the course of a year, it could generate more than 5 million gold!

To be honest, Ethan had wanted to claim it for a long time, but the hundred-plus Tier-10 Thunderbirds guarding it had been too much of a deterrent.

For the sake of caution, his original plan was to wait until Cicero reached adulthood and then launch an attack with both him and Seraphina—two dragons working together.

But now?

Overnight, Seraphina and the others had pulled off the impossible.

With this Major Gold Mine secured, Emerald Castle’s financial struggles would be significantly eased!

Ethan couldn’t help but feel excited, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Amazing!"

"Seraphina, Cicero, Elynn—thank you for this incredible surprise!"

"It’s our duty," Elynn, Seraphina, and Cicero responded in unison, their faces lighting up with satisfaction at Ethan’s praise.

"By the way, did you discover anything else after taking the Major Gold Mine?" Ethan asked, his curiosity piqued.

Verdant Ravine was a long, rectangular canyon, and the Major Gold Mine was located in the deeper half—but not at the very end.

In other words, before this, they had never fully explored the entire ravine.

And when it came to uncharted territory, Ethan was always interested.

Who knew what might be hidden there?

A massive stockpile of resources?

A cluster of powerful Creature Dwellings?

Anything was possible.

"My lord, we actually did make some discoveries deeper in Verdant Ravine," Elynn said, nodding seriously.

Her expression turned slightly tense as she continued, "Further inside, we found two Medium Gold Mines, five Small Gold Mines, and a lumber resource point. Aside from that, there were several low-tier Creature Dwellings for units below Tier-7, two Cliff Storm Nests for recruiting Tier-10 Thunderbirds, and three Blood Ogre Forts for recruiting Tier-8 Battle Ogres. And..."

She hesitated.

"And what?" Ethan pressed.

Elynn’s eyes flickered as she slowly said, "And... we found an entrance to the Underground World."

"The Underground World?!"

Ethan froze for a moment—then his eyes widened in shock.

"Wait... you mean a Dungeon?!"

The Dungeon faction was one of the most powerful forces in Glory Lords X.

Among all the major planar factions, the Dungeon’s overall strength was easily in the top three.

The only reason they weren’t more dominant was because of their constant internal conflicts and their lack of interest in the surface world—they simply weren’t comfortable living above ground.

But if not for those factors?

The Dungeon faction would be an even bigger threat to the surface world than Inferno or the Necropolis!

The Dungeon was massive, spanning dozens—possibly even nearly a hundred—layers deep.

Even more terrifying was the fact that each individual layer was as large as a powerful surface kingdom—some were even the size of two or three combined!

Because of this, no one took the Dungeon faction lightly.

Even if people didn’t talk about it often, the mere mention of Dungeon was enough to make anyone uneasy—if not outright fearful.

"That’s right, my lord. What we found was indeed an entrance to the Dungeon faction’s Underground World..."

Elynn’s eyes flickered as she spoke. "But the entrance is currently blocked from the inside. Judging by its condition, it looks like it hasn’t been touched in years."

"A sealed Dungeon entrance?"

Ethan blinked, then let out a small sigh of relief. "Well... that’s something, at least."

The Dungeon faction—its forces, heroes, and even its creatures—had little interest in the surface world.

Under normal circumstances, they shouldn’t have the bad luck of running into an invasion from below.

But even as he said that, Ethan paused, deep in thought.

"That said... we can’t afford to take any chances."

"My lord, I suggest stationing a dedicated force there to keep watch. If anything unusual happens, we’ll be able to react immediately."

Elynn’s tone was serious.

"Good idea." Ethan nodded. "I’ll leave that to you. Anything else?"

"Nothing else in Verdant Ravine," Elynn replied. "But last night, Seraphina and I also finished a full sweep of Suffocating Swamp Forest. Unfortunately, the results weren’t great."

She hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"In terms of resources, the only things we found were a few small crystal deposits and some minor sulfur veins. Nothing significant."

"As for Creature Dwellings, there were plenty of low-tier recruitment points for units below Tier-7. The only noteworthy ones were two Tier-8 Energy Elemental dwellings... and a single Tier-9 Gorgon recruitment site."

"That’s it?"

Ethan frowned slightly, shaking his head. "Yeah... that’s pretty underwhelming."