Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 250: It was a jackpot

[Valkarion]

Race: Human-Elf-Dragon Hybrid (Reincarnatable)

Class: Vanguard Knight, Dragonblood Warrior

Title: Count of the Light Alliance (Hero)

Tier: Orange Legendary Hero

Level: 35 (Max level: 80. Second Awakening unlocks at level 55, allowing progression to level 80. Each level grants 2 attribute points, which can be distributed among the four core stats.)

Attack: ...

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Hero Talents:

Lv.1 Green Dragon Lord – Commands a personal Tier-13 Green Dragon. Increases damage by 5%. +3 to both attack and defense stats.

Lv.1 Draconic Might – Possesses strength and endurance on par with true dragons...

Lv.1 Controlled Rampage – One of the most powerful berserker-type talents in the world of Glory Lords X...

Lv.1 Diamond Aegis – A top-tier defensive skill. Base defense increased by 20%, up to a max of 200 points. Can be activated manually. When activated: +30% physical damage reduction, +50% magic damage reduction, immune to fire-based magic. Duration: 3 minutes. Cooldown: 30 minutes.

Diamond Starcrush Strike – A devastating single-target attack infused with the power of the stars—strong enough to shatter celestial bodies and pierce the earth. Doubles damage output, with a +30% chance to land a critical hit. Cooldown: 10 minutes.

Note: Critical hits deal 300% damage!

Overall Evaluation: S-Rank Orange Legendary Hero

"Damn..."

"So badass..."

Ethan stared at the two new talent skills that had just appeared in his character sheet, his eyes lighting up as he sucked in a sharp breath.

Diamond Aegis? Say no more—

That thing was practically the perfect active defense skill.

Aside from being ineffective against fire-based magic, it had no real weaknesses. None.

And the best part? Diamond Aegis could be upgraded.

Just imagine the potential. The sheer value of that skill was off the charts.

Then there was Diamond Starcrush Strike—

A skill that doubled your damage right out of the gate. And if luck was on your side? A 300% critical hit that could obliterate anything in its path. It was brutal. Ridiculous. The kind of move that could turn the tide of battle in an instant.

It was the kind of explosive, high-impact talent that could break a stalemate—or even flip a hopeless fight on its head.

Just like when Thalrun had wrecked the Infernal Lord Malphas.

That had only taken one punch.

One.

And it had completely shattered the balance of power, sending Malphas straight into the abyss, never to recover.

The only downside?

Despite gaining two insane new talents, Ethan hadn’t quite hit the SSS-Rank Orange Legendary Hero tier. He was still "just" S-Rank.

And his level had dropped from 45 to 35.

"Eh, the level drop’s not a big deal," Ethan muttered to himself. "Same thing happened last time I upgraded my hero tier. And now that I’m S-Rank Orange Legendary... SSS can’t be that far off, right?"

He chuckled, brushing off the minor disappointment.

His face lit up again with that unmistakable "I just scored big" grin.

Because now, he could say it loud and proud to anyone, anywhere—

"I’m Ethan. An S-Rank Orange Legendary Hero."

Just like the Crimsonstar Kingdom’s top-tier hero—Naga Swordmaster Thalric.

S-Rank Orange Legendary Heroes were a big deal. No matter where you went, they commanded respect.

As for the level drop...

Totally normal.

Every time Ethan’s hero tier got upgraded, this kind of thing happened. It was just that this time, the drop was a bit steeper—ten full levels.

But honestly? Not a big deal.

He could grind those levels back in no time.

Hell, if it meant getting a tier upgrade every time, he’d be happy to lose levels every day!

Because once your hero tier goes up, levels are just numbers. They’ll come back.

Right then, a Gold Golem hero approached Ethan. The towering figure bowed respectfully before speaking in a deep, metallic voice.

"Honored Lord, we are willing to honor Lord Thalrun’s final wish and enter into a contract with you. And... thank you—for saving our lives."

Ding!

Congratulations, player Valkarion. Bronze Golem Karnak, Gold Golem Arbachel, Gold Golem Halston... have expressed their willingness to sign a mercenary contract with you. Do you accept?

"Accept!" Ethan said without hesitation.

Ding!

Congratulations, player Valkarion. You have successfully signed a mercenary contract with Bronze Golem Karnak, Gold Golem Arbachel, Gold Golem Halston... Contract fee: 1 million gold per year. Please select contract duration.

"Ten years!" Ethan replied instantly.

In the world of Glory Lords X, mercenary contracts were the "money talks" kind of deal—straightforward, transactional, and with the least restrictions on the contracted party. But that also made them the most expensive type of contract.

Not that Karnak and the others dared to actually ask Ethan for money.

If they had, one million gold a year wouldn’t even come close to cutting it.

That million gold? It wasn’t for them—it was paid to the world’s governing system.

See, in Glory Lords X, all resources—gold included—were physical manifestations of the world’s laws. So every transaction, every coin spent, was essentially a flow of energy through the world’s system.

It kept the world running smoothly, like a well-oiled machine.

Think of it like paying taxes. You don’t get out of it.

Once Ethan confirmed the contract duration, the agreement officially kicked in.

And with that, he finally gained access to detailed contract data—full profiles on Bronze Golem Karnak, Gold Golem Arbachel, and the others, including their exact numbers and capabilities...

By going through the contract data, Ethan was finally able to get a clear picture of the Hero Units and regular troop numbers under his command.

There were eight Hero Units in total:

One Tier-11 Bronze Golem Hero

Two Tier-10 Gold Golem Heroes

Five Tier-7 Iron Golem Heroes

As for the regular troops, the numbers were in the triple digits:

180 Tier-6 Iron Golems

100 Tier-10 Gold Golems

75 Tier-11 Bronze Golems

8 Tier-12 Diamond Golems

"So many high-tier units?"

Even though Ethan had mentally prepared himself, seeing the actual numbers still caught him off guard.

Just the Royal Unit–level troops alone—those Tier-11 Bronze Golems and Tier-12 Diamond Golems—were nearly a hundred strong. That was a serious force to be reckoned with.

And that wasn’t even counting the Hero Units.

Bronze Golem Karnak: Level 56, a fully Second-Awakened Orange Legendary Hero. No exaggeration—he was hands down the strongest Hero Unit Ethan had right now.

Then there were the two Gold Golem Heroes, Arbachel and Halston. One was level 58, the other a whopping level 60. Both were fully Second-Awakened Purple Epic Heroes—real powerhouses.

In terms of hero tier, Second-Awakened Purple Epics might not quite match up to Orange Legendary Heroes, but they were still no joke.

Honestly, their combat strength was easily on par with top-tier heroes like Auremax and Balthazar—maybe even stronger.

Which meant these two Gold Golem Heroes could absolutely be considered Mythic Ace Unit–level fighters.

"Damn... this haul’s insane," Ethan muttered, barely able to contain his excitement.

First, he’d scored a pile of Metal Golem Foundry blueprints. Then came the Crimson Ultimate Hero’s Primordial Force and Heart of Diamond.

And now? A full-blown steel army, backed by multiple high-tier Hero Units with terrifying combat power.

This wasn’t just a win—it was a jackpot.

...