Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory
Chapter 399: The evolution began

Chapter 399: The evolution began

As for the Ebonite Colossus Kaiin’s offensive talent... well, let’s just say it left a lot to be desired.

It only had one skill—Seismic Crush.

And even that one was kind of weird.

"So it stacks power over multiple hits? Like building up a buff?"

"In other words, the skill only reaches its full potential after ten consecutive attacks. That’s when it finally unleashes its maximum damage. But isn’t that kinda... underwhelming?"

Even though it was a Tier 13 Legendary Unit, a Metal Golem was still a Metal Golem—slow as hell.

Which meant charging up that attack was going to be a serious pain.

Ten hits? Do you know how long that takes?

Unless you’re in some massive battle—like the one against that dungeon army earlier—there’s almost no way you’d get the chance to pull that off.

Thinking about it now...

Ethan figured Kaiin was probably better suited for base defense. A tank. A wall. A frontline defender.

Honestly, all of its talents seemed tailor-made for that role.

But just as he was mulling that over—something unexpected happened.

VMMM!

A surge of powerful magical energy suddenly flared up around Ethan, wrapping him in a glowing aura. At the same time, a rapid series of system notifications rang out in his ears.

Ding!

"Congratulations, player Valkarion and Hero Unit Ebonite Colossus Kaiin have successfully formed a Soulbind Contract. New talent acquired: Magic Infusion!"

"Multiple forces are now flowing through your body, triggering a strange and powerful transformation. These immense energies are beginning to merge and evolve!"

Ding!

"Congratulations, player Valkarion. As the magical and bloodline powers within you begin to fuse and evolve, your Hero Tier has advanced! You are now touching the threshold of a Crimson Ultimate Hero..."

"Would you like to begin evolution?!"

"Evolution?!"

"And not just any evolution..."

Ethan froze.

He’d thought this was just a standard talent reward—nothing too crazy. But this? This was next-level.

"I’m actually evolving? Does that mean I’m about to become a Crimson Ultimate Hero?!"

He was already an SSS-rank Legendary Hero—the top of the orange tier.

And his evolution progress? It was sitting at 99.99%.

He’d thought he’d need to finish that Gem Dragon questline to finally push past the last barrier.

But now? Out of nowhere, this bombshell drops right in his lap.

"A Crimson Ultimate Hero... I’ve been waiting for this moment," Ethan murmured, a brilliant smile spreading across his face.

Sure, with his current status, he didn’t really need to fight on the front lines anymore. As a full-fledged Lord, he had more than enough Hero Units to do the dirty work for him. But still—power was power. And having that strength himself? That was the foundation of everything.

Getting stronger was always a win.

"Begin evolution."

Ethan nodded, then turned to Cicero and Eldrin. "I’m starting the evolution process. Step back a bit—and keep watch around me, just in case."

"Evolution?" Cicero blinked, then his eyes lit up with excitement. "Yes, my Lord! Don’t worry—no one will get close. I’ll make sure nothing interrupts your evolution."

He knew exactly what this meant. If Ethan evolved now, he’d officially step into the realm of Crimson Ultimate Heroes—wielders of Sacred Realm power.

If Ethan could join their ranks... Cicero couldn’t be happier.

Because to him, Ethan wasn’t just important.

He was everything.

And so, the evolution began.

But for Ethan?

He barely felt a thing.

Time seemed to blur, and before he even realized it...

The evolution was already complete.

"Whew..."

As the evolution ended and Ethan fully came to, the first thing he noticed was the overwhelming surge of power coursing through his body. It was insane—he felt stronger than he’d ever been, even at his absolute peak. No—this was on a whole other level. Several times stronger. Maybe even dozens.

"So this is the power of a Crimson Ultimate Hero? Damn, that’s ridiculous..." he muttered, still trying to wrap his head around it.

Without thinking, he pulled up his status panel.

[Valkarion]

Race: Human-Elf-Dragon Hybrid

Class: Vanguard Knight, Dragonblood Warrior, Gold Dragonblood Warrior, Colossus Warlord

Title: Marquis of the Light Alliance (Unclaimed) (Hero)

Tier: Crimson Ultimate Hero

Level: 55

Attack: ...

...

Hero Talents:

Lv.2 Green Dragon Lord (Linked to his personal Tier 13 Green Dragon...)

Lv.2 Draconic Might (Grants strength and physique on par with true dragons...)

Lv.2 Controlled Rampage (One of the top-tier berserker talents in Glory Lords X...)

Lv.2 Diamond Aegis (An incredibly powerful defensive talent...)

Diamond Starcrush Strike (Harnesses the power of the stars...)

Gold Dragon Bloodline (One of the highest-tier dragon bloodlines in Glory Lords X...)

Magic Infusion (Absorbs ambient magic from the air and earth to enhance abilities...)

Lv.2 Sacred Realm (As a powerful Lord, your Sacred Realm encompasses multiple elemental laws. In diverse natural environments, both you and your Hero Units receive massive boosts!)

(Within this Sacred Realm, you gain adaptive powers like unlimited teleportation, natural amplification, rapid regeneration, magic immunity, bloodline suppression, and more...)

...

Overall Rating: Crimson Ultimate Hero – Grade D (75%)

Ethan stared at the panel for a long moment, completely silent.

Then finally, he couldn’t help himself.

"Holy shit."

This evolution to Crimson Ultimate Hero hadn’t just bumped him up a notch—it had catapulted him straight from being a mid-tier fighter in Emerald Castle to one of the absolute top dogs. Easily top three. Maybe even top two.

Right now, the only ones who could still stand above him were Cicero and Seraphina. Even Kyros—who used to be a serious contender—would probably get steamrolled by him at this point.

At least until Kyros completed his second awakening.

Then maybe they’d be on equal footing again.

But the way things were going, with Ethan’s Hero Units growing stronger by the day and his own power scaling alongside them, his stats and talents were only going to keep climbing.

And the further into the late game they got, the wider that gap would become. Eventually, even other Crimson Ultimate Heroes—especially the weaker ones—would struggle just to keep up with him.

Thinking about it like that...

Yeah, being a player lord was kind of broken. Like, absurdly overpowered. Borderline unfair.

But then again, that’s kind of the point.

Power was essential for a lord—but it wasn’t everything.

As a lord, strength was expected. It gave you confidence, presence, and sometimes even charisma. It was the foundation of your authority.

But in a place like Emerald Castle, raw power wasn’t something you used often. Most of the time, you weren’t supposed to be on the battlefield at all.

In fact, if a lord had to personally charge into battle, sword swinging and blood flying...

That was actually a huge insult to the Hero Units under their command.

...