Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory
Chapter 369: Proto-Overlord

Chapter 369: Proto-Overlord

Seeing Seraphina take off like that, Ethan couldn’t help but shake his head with a wry smile. Then, curiosity got the better of him. He turned to Auremax and Cicero.

"By the way... Auremax, Cicero—why do you think the Divine Colosseum didn’t work on Cicero?"

"It’s probably because His Highness Cicero has already reached the racial limit," Auremax replied, his eyes glinting thoughtfully.

"The Divine Colosseum is a Mythic-tier special structure. At its core, it’s a condensed manifestation of divine power and magical energy—power that once belonged to a High Deity-level being. Over time, that power leaked out, spread, and eventually crystallized into what the Colosseum is now."

"So, since His Highness Cicero has already hit the ceiling of his racial potential—and even has the potential to ascend to a High Deity-level existence himself—it makes sense that the Colosseum wouldn’t affect him. It’s just not built for someone at his level anymore."

"High Deity-level?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "You mean... something even stronger than a Greater Deity? Like, beyond Lesser, Intermediate, and Greater Deity tiers?"

He was familiar with the general breakdown: after a Crimson Ultimate Hero’s second awakening, levels 55 to 70 were considered Lesser Deity-tier, 70 to 80 was Intermediate Deity, and 80 to 95 was Greater Deity.

But that was based on Hero Units modeled after 13-Tier Legendary Units.

If you were talking about Hero Units based on 14-Tier Legendary Units... well, that was a whole different ballgame.

But...

If his guess was right—

If High Deity really was a tier above Greater Deity, the next divine rank after it... then that would mean a High Deity-level being was essentially the equivalent of a Hero Unit born from a 13-Tier Legendary Unit who had undergone a third awakening, right?

Which would also put them roughly on par with the Overlord-class powerhouses from the major factions, wouldn’t it?

"Yes..." Auremax nodded slowly.

"Master, High Deity is indeed the divine rank that comes after Greater Deity. As for how it compares to the Overlords of the major factions... well, to put it simply, their lower limits are about the same. But their upper limits..."

"The Overlords of the major factions? Their ceiling is way, way higher than that of a High Deity."

"Their ceiling?" Ethan blinked, eyes narrowing with interest. "Explain."

"Of course," Auremax nodded again. "Generally speaking, a Crimson Ultimate Hero born from a 13-Tier Legendary Unit—after completing their third awakening—can almost always ascend to the rank of High Deity. That’s pretty much the standard progression. Now, if we’re talking about Crimson Ultimate Heroes born from 14-Tier Mythic Units, they can reach that stage much earlier, and with far more potential."

"But for those of us from 13-Tier Legendary Units, High Deity is basically the cap. That’s our ceiling. We can’t go any higher than that under normal circumstances."

"I see..." Ethan nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "What about Overlords, then? Does that mean once Seraphina or Cicero completes their third awakening, they’ll become Overlord-class powerhouses?"

"Yes... and no," Auremax replied, shaking his head.

"Yes and no? What’s that supposed to mean?" Ethan asked, puzzled.

"Master," Cicero cut in, "only Hero Units born from 14-Tier Mythic Units truly qualify as Overlord-class beings."

"As for us—those of us born from 13-Tier Legendary Units—even after a third awakening, at best we’re considered Overlord candidates. Or you could call us Proto-Overlords."

"Proto-Overlord?" Ethan’s eyes widened in surprise. "Why even have a term like that?"

"It’s because even among the major factions, there’s a hierarchy of strength," Cicero explained, his gaze sharp with insight. "Take the truly powerful factions, for example—Castle, Tower, Necropolis, Inferno... In those circles, there’s no such thing as a 13-Tier Legendary Unit Hero becoming a full-fledged Overlord after three awakenings."

"To them, becoming an Overlord requires one thing—being born from a 14-Tier Mythic Unit. Period."

"As for 13-Tier Legendary Unit Heroes? No matter how powerful they get, at best they’re just considered high-tier Kings. Strong, sure—but nowhere near the level of a true Overlord."

"In fact, those top-tier factions have the strictest, most ’official’ definition of what an Overlord is."

"But if you look at the weaker factions, it’s a different story."

"Like the Tidesworn, Fortress, and some of the even smaller factions—they’ll often go ahead and call a three-times-awakened 13-Tier Hero an Overlord outright."

"Obviously, in those cases, the Overlord title doesn’t carry the same weight. It’s more about appearances than actual power."

"Now, not all factions are that delusional," Cicero added with a smirk. "Some are more... honest. Like Stronghold, Forest, and Conflux. They also acknowledge their strongest 13-Tier Heroes as Overlords—but they make the distinction. They call them Proto-Overlords. It’s a separate class entirely, and even in terms of status and authority, there’s a clear gap between them and the real deal."

Ethan nodded slowly, the pieces falling into place. "Ah... I get it now. Makes perfect sense."

It really was simple when you thought about it.

The truly powerful factions had the resources and legacy to back it up. They had plenty of 14-Tier Mythic Unit Heroes in their ranks. That was their baseline. They didn’t need to inflate titles or pretend.

But the weaker factions? They didn’t have that luxury.

Compared to the heavyweights, they were already at a disadvantage. If they didn’t at least act like they were stronger than they were, they’d just get steamrolled. So they puffed up their ranks, slapped the Overlord label on whoever came close, and hoped no one looked too closely.

"Alright, then what about the ceiling?" Ethan asked, eyes narrowing with curiosity. "If a 13-Tier Hero caps out at High Deity... what about a 14-Tier Mythic Unit Hero? What’s their limit? Is there a divine rank above High Deity?"

"There is," Cicero said with a nod. "The divine hierarchy goes like this: above Greater Deity is High Deity. Above High Deity is Supreme Deity. Then comes Eternal Deity. And at the very top—Primordial Deity."

"Master, the great Dragon Gods themselves? They hold the rank of Primordial Deity."

"As for 14-Tier Mythic Unit Heroes... it’s said that once they complete their third awakening, they can ascend to the rank of Supreme Deity. That’s their ceiling—or at least, the beginning of it."

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