Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory
Chapter 356: Time to work twice as hard

Chapter 356: Time to work twice as hard

In truth, the Necropolis—the faction of the undead—has never tried to tempt anyone.

They don’t have life, so they don’t have emotions or desires. They lack vitality, creativity—so the very idea of "temptation" is completely foreign to them.

And yet, every single person who’s ever betrayed their original faction to join the Necropolis, surrendering themselves to the eternal death of undeath... they all did it willingly. On their own. Like moths to a flame—one after another, endlessly.

And maybe that’s exactly why—

In a way,

That might be the most terrifying thing of all.

"So tell me—if it were you, what would you choose?" Thandor suddenly turned to Ethan, his face unreadable.

"Me?"

Ethan blinked, caught off guard. Then he shook his head honestly. "I don’t know... but I wouldn’t abandon them. Power matters, sure—but my people, especially Cicero and Seraphina... they’re like family to me."

"So if it ever came to that, I’d do everything I could to find a way that doesn’t force me to choose. A way to have both."

Thandor went quiet at that, his expression unreadable.

"And what about you two?" he asked after a long pause, turning to Cicero and Seraphina.

"Me?" Seraphina shrugged, totally unfazed. "Wherever the boss goes, I go. Becoming undead? Whatever. Doesn’t scare me."

"For me, the master’s decision comes before everything else," Cicero said, his eyes calm but resolute. "Nothing else really matters."

Thandor’s gaze flickered as he listened, something shifting in his expression—something almost wistful. He murmured, more to himself than anyone else, "Maybe I was never a good subordinate... or maybe it just wasn’t a good master. Who knows..."

Thandor let out a long sigh, then cast one last deep look at Ethan before slowly rising from the lake, water dripping from his robes. His voice was calm, almost casual, as he asked, "Kid... interested in joining the Forest faction?"

Ethan didn’t hesitate. He shook his head with a small smile. "Thanks, but no. I’ve gotten used to being free."

Thandor’s expression didn’t change, but there was a weight behind his next words. "If you turn us down... it won’t be long before you and the Forest faction become enemies. Just like me and my master once did."

Ethan didn’t respond right away.

Enemies, huh?

Well... that’s just how it is.

In a world like Glory Lords X, rising to power means clashing with the major factions. There’s no avoiding it. All he could do now was grow stronger—fast.

Man shapes fate with his own hands.

"I used to think Sylvanwood would always carry my mark," Thandor said quietly, his voice tinged with something like regret. "But now I understand—no one stays forever. Every era has its own champions. Me... Aeloris... we’re history now. The future belongs to you."

He paused, then added, "But let me give you a piece of advice, kid. Don’t get cocky. Don’t expand too fast. Or you’ll just end up repeating our mistakes. Right now, you’re nowhere near strong enough to bargain with the Forest faction."

He gave Ethan one last, lingering look.

Then, without another word, he rose into the air—slowly at first, then faster—until he vanished into the vast, cloud-streaked sky. Gone. Or maybe... finally letting go.

Ethan and Cicero stood there, stunned for a moment, watching the empty sky where Thandor had disappeared. In that fading silhouette, they could almost feel it—something final. A clean break from the past.

"Master... what did he mean by that? He’s really gone?" Seraphina asked, her voice unusually quiet.

"Yeah..." Ethan nodded, his tone thoughtful. "From now on, Sylvanwood belongs to us."

"Do you think they’ll ever make peace?" she asked again, her voice softer this time. Ethan knew exactly who she meant—Thandor and the master he once followed, the one who’d betrayed the Forest and joined the undead Necropolis.

"I don’t know if they’ll ever reconcile," Ethan said. "But I promise you this—we will never end up like that."

He turned, shaking his head, and started walking away. "Come on. Let’s go home."

Seraphina didn’t say anything more. She just smiled and quickly caught up to him.

But Cicero... he stayed behind for a moment longer, staring into the still waters of the lake. Then, slowly, he lifted his gaze to the sky where Thandor had vanished. His eyes burned with quiet resolve.

"Tier 14 Mythic Units, huh?" he murmured to himself. "If I can reach that level on my own... then I’ll never be tempted by the Necropolis. Right? Just because others couldn’t do it doesn’t mean I can’t. I’m Cicero. And I’ll prove it."

He clenched his fists.

"Time to work twice as hard."

...

Just as Ethan stepped out of the heart of Sylvanwood, a familiar chime echoed in his ears.

"Ding!"

"Congratulations, player Valkarion! You have successfully completed the SS+ tier main storyline quest: Conquer Sylvanwood. Now initiating quest completion evaluation... please wait..."

"Ding! Evaluation complete! Quest Completion Rate: 98%. Final Rating: SSS-tier. You have received the following rewards:"

"2 billion gold coins, 50,000 units of each of the six core resources, 300 Tier 13 units (selectable or random), 100 Tier 14 units (selectable or random), one Level 4 Special Resource mine (selectable or random), 30 Creature Dwellings for Tier 11 units (selectable or random), 10 Creature Dwellings for Tier 12 units (selectable or random), and 4 Creature Dwellings for Tier 13 units (selectable or random)!"

"...Holy shit."

Ethan had still been caught up in the emotional weight of Thandor’s words, but the moment he saw the reward list, all that went straight out the window. His eyes widened, and his heart practically leapt out of his chest.

"Creature Dwellings as quest rewards? Damn, that’s huge!"

He muttered to himself, barely able to contain his excitement.

By now, he understood one thing crystal clear:

In Glory Lords X, everything boiled down to two core pillars—regular units and Hero Units.

And where did those come from?

Creature Dwellings.

So these rewards weren’t just generous—they were game-changing. Long-term, strategic goldmines.

Especially those four Tier 13 Creature Dwellings for Legendary Units. That alone had him grinning like a madman. Without hesitation, he already knew what he wanted: Dragon Cliff, the dwelling of the Green Dragon faction.

With this, he’d now own five Dragon Cliffs.

Combine that with Seraphina and Cicero’s racial synergy skills, plus the Green Dragon faction’s racial artifact—Green Dragon’s Might, which reduced recruitment costs and boosted combat power—and the synergy would be insane. A full-on power spike.

"Creature Dwelling rewards—selecting Tier 13 Green Dragon dwelling: Dragon Cliff. Tier 12: Upgrade Unicorn Glade for War Unicorns. Tier 11: Unicorn Glade for standard Unicorns."

Ethan made his choices without a second thought.

Why the Unicorns and War Unicorns?

Simple. He had a soft spot for Elyra, and as a Unicorn-class Hero, she could push the full potential of both units to their limits. That was reason enough.

As for the rest of the rewards—the standard unit batches and the Special Resource mine...

Ethan paused for a moment, then turned to Cicero.

"Hey, Cicero, quick question... do you know anything about Arcane Mithril, Storm Magnetite, or Dragonblood Emerald?"

...

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