Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 262: Elyra?

[???]

Level: 57

Race: Leviathan

Tier: Crimson Ultimate Hero!

Hero Class: Leviathan Sea Sage!

Tier: 13-Tier!

Attack: ?

...

Knowledge: ?

HP: 42,000 (Massive bonus HP when in deep sea!)

Damage: ?

Magic Damage: ...

Hero Skills: Armorer, Offense...

Hero Talents: ?

...

Overall Evaluation: D-Rank Crimson Ultimate Hero.

A lot of the stats on the info panel were hidden, just showing up as question marks. Most likely, the real numbers would only reveal themselves once the fight actually started.

But that was to be expected. This was a Crimson Ultimate Hero, after all. If you could just casually pull up their full stats like it was no big deal, that would seriously cheapen the title—one of the most prestigious in the entire game.

In fact, in the world of Glory Lords X, even Legendary (orange-tier) heroes could hide a ton of their data if they wanted to. So when it came to info panels, you had to take them with a grain of salt. Use them as a reference, sure—but if you blindly trusted them, you were basically asking to get wrecked. Or worse—killed.

"Yeah... it really is a Crimson Ultimate Hero," Ethan muttered, eyes narrowing as a flicker of tension passed through them. He’d seen firsthand just how terrifying Crimson Ultimate Heroes could be—Seraphina, Cicero... they were walking proof.

So even though he’d mentally prepared himself for this...

Now that he was actually facing one, the pressure hit him like a truck.

This was the first time he was going head-to-head with a Crimson Ultimate Hero in a real fight.

A legit, no-doubt-about-it Crimson Ultimate Hero...

And not just any one—this guy was already Level 57 and had undergone a second awakening.

With the forces Ethan had at his disposal right now...

Could he even win?

"Master, it’s definitely a Crimson Ultimate Hero. And if I’m not mistaken, that guy’s a Leviathan Sea Sage," Kyros said as he walked up beside Ethan, his eyes gleaming.

"Leviathan Sea Sage? What’s that?" Ethan asked.

"It’s one of the most well-known mage classes among the Leviathan race," Kyros explained. "They can control the ocean itself. Their area-of-effect magic is insanely strong—on par with our own Kirin clan."

"Great..." Ethan groaned, rubbing his temples. If this guy specialized in AoE attacks, then swarming him with numbers was basically useless.

Figures. This was an SS-rank hidden chain quest. Of course it was gonna be brutal...

"What about the rest of their army? How many regular units are we dealing with?" Ethan asked.

"I couldn’t get an exact count," Kyros replied quickly, "but I’d estimate there are over 300 Tier-13 Leviathans. And as for the Tier-14 Deep Sea Leviathans... they’ve definitely hit triple digits."

Ethan’s headache got worse. He stared blankly for a second, then let out a long sigh.

Over 300 Tier-13 Leviathans...

And more than 100 Tier-14 Deep Sea Leviathans?

That was insane. Just the number of high-tier units alone was enough to make anyone’s blood run cold.

Even the elite forces of naval powerhouses like the Crimsonstar Kingdom or the Storm Kingdom didn’t field that many top-tier units. In fact, this army might even outclass them.

After all, Tier-13 Legendary Units were hard enough to come by. Tier-14 Mythic Units? Those were practically unicorns. And now, all of these Legendary and Mythic Units were under the command of a Crimson Ultimate Hero.

That changed everything.

Everyone knew that regular units under a hero’s command were a whole different beast. A hero’s power could be channeled into their troops, boosting their combat effectiveness exponentially.

It wasn’t uncommon for a hero-led army to punch way above its weight—taking on enemies twice or even three times their size.

And there was a world of difference between troops led by a purple-tier Epic Hero, an orange-tier Legendary Hero, or a Crimson Ultimate Hero.

The gap was massive.

Here’s a simple example to put things in perspective:

Take the same number of regular units. Now imagine them being led by three different heroes—one a Level 55 Epic Hero (purple-tier), one a Level 55 Legendary Hero (orange-tier), and one a Level 55 Crimson Ultimate Hero.

The difference in combat power? It’s like falling off a cliff.

Units under the command of a Level 55 Crimson Ultimate Hero can completely dominate—hell, even crush—the exact same number of units led by a Level 55 Legendary Hero.

And if they’re up against units led by a Level 55 Epic Hero?

Okay, maybe "one-shotting" them is a bit of an exaggeration...

But a total, overwhelming beatdown from start to finish? Yeah, that’s not even up for debate.

Which means, even though on paper it looks like there are only a few hundred of those Tier-13 Legendary Leviathans and Tier-14 Mythic Deep Sea Leviathans...

In Ethan’s eyes, this wasn’t just a few hundred high-tier units.

This was a force more terrifying than an army of thousands of Legendary and Mythic Units.

"...This is gonna be a problem," Ethan muttered, rubbing his forehead as the pressure started to mount. Then he turned toward Auremax, almost instinctively. "Auremax, you got any ideas?"

Auremax’s expression was grim. His brows furrowed slightly, and his eyes flickered with unease.

"To be honest, my lord... this is bad," he said, voice low. "We’re talking about a Crimson Ultimate Hero here—and one who’s already undergone a second awakening. This isn’t something we can just brute-force our way through. If we go in head-on... our chances of winning are slim. "

"Then what do we do?"

Auremax’s expression was grim, his eyes flickering with tension. "The only strategy I can think of right now... is a war of attrition. We drag it out. Wear them down, little by little."

He paused, then added with a heavy tone, "If we can take out a few of their regular units at a time—chip away at them bit by bit—the pressure on us will ease over time. But make no mistake, this won’t be easy. Even if we rely on ambushes and hit-and-run tactics, our losses won’t be small. In fact, at the start, we’ll probably have to trade many of our own for just a few of theirs. We’ll be throwing bodies at them."

Ethan froze for a second at that.

Then let out a dry, bitter laugh.

Yeah... that probably was the only viable option right now. Against this whole nest of Leviathans, Deep Sea Leviathans, and that Crimson Ultimate Hero leading them, the only real advantage Ethan had was time—and the ability to revive.

If he could just whittle down the number of regular units under that Leviathan hero’s command...

Once the Legendary and Mythic unit advantage was gone, no matter how powerful that Crimson Ultimate Hero was, he’d eventually fall under the weight of a full-on siege.

After all, this Leviathan hero had just hit Level 57 and completed their second awakening. Sure, that was impressive—but it wasn’t god-tier. Not yet. Definitely not invincible.

Thinking that, Ethan shook his head and muttered, "Alright... slow and steady, then. We’ve got time."

He wanted to finish this SS-rank hidden chain quest as fast as possible—he was dying to see what kind of insane reward was waiting at the end—but wanting something didn’t make it happen. Reality was a lot harsher.

Still, the quest didn’t have a time limit. So screw it—he’d play it safe. Take his time. Grind it out.

He’d wait for Seraphina, Cicero, and the others to arrive.

And sure enough, two or three days later, Seraphina, Cicero, and the rest of his elite heroes finally made it to Ethan’s position.

"ROOOAAAR!"

"Master!" Seraphina was the first to react when she saw him. With a thunderous flap of her wings, she dove straight down and landed beside Ethan, nuzzling her massive head against him affectionately.

"Seraphina... long time no see." Ethan grinned, wrapping his arms around her thick, scaled neck like he was hugging a giant cat. He gave her a few firm strokes, but then paused, blinking in surprise. "Wait—hold up. You’re already Level 41?!"

He quickly pulled up her status window, and sure enough—

[Seraphina Drahmoulis]

Gender: Female

Level: 41

Race: Green Dragon

Tier: Crimson Ultimate Hero

Hero Class: Green Dragon Deity

Attack: 256 (311)

Defense: 243 (289)

Spell Power: 80 (108)

Knowledge: 66 (91)

HP: 48,000

Damage: 588–665

Hero Skills:

Armorer (Level 4)

Offense (Level 4)

Resistance (Level 4)

...

Hero Talent:

Venomous Dragon Breath (Level 2) – Her Green Dragon breath now deals venom damage. Wide area coverage, extremely high damage output!

Special Ability:

Sacred Realm – Within this domain, Seraphina gains unlimited HP regeneration, can teleport freely, and move without restriction. Enemies inside the domain suffer a 10% reduction to attack, defense, and HP, and take 30% less damage from Tier 4 magic.

(Current Domain Level: 1)

Overall Evaluation: C-Rank Crimson Ultimate Hero!

"Hooooly..." Ethan sucked in a sharp breath the moment Seraphina’s insane stats popped up in front of him. His eyes widened, and a wave of shock rippled through him like a jolt of electricity.

Nearly 700 base damage.

What the hell kind of number was that?

That was almost on par with Thalric—the Naga Swordmaster from Crimsonstar Kingdom, their top-tier ace! And Thalric was already Level 71, a fully matured orange-tier Legendary Hero. If Seraphina could just level up a few more times...

Then her combat power might actually rival his.

A Level 40-something Crimson Ultimate Hero... going toe-to-toe with a Level 70+ Legendary?

That was insane.

"Crimson Ultimate Heroes have this much potential? That’s just ridiculous..." Ethan was still reeling from the realization, but he couldn’t stop the grin spreading across his face. The stronger Seraphina was, the better their odds in the upcoming battle.

And right now, he needed every edge he could get.

"Master, it’s not just me," Seraphina said, clearly pleased by his reaction, but quickly pointing to someone else. "Take a look at Elyra."

Ethan blinked. "Elyra?"

Wait a second—don’t tell me...

He turned toward Elyra, and the moment his eyes landed on her, his pupils shrank.

Her level was now 55.

Which meant—she’d undergone her second awakening.

"Elyra... you awakened?!" Ethan asked, stunned, his voice rising with excitement.

Elyra nodded, her expression a mix of nervousness and pride, like a student waiting for their teacher’s approval. "Yes, Master. I didn’t want to disappoint you. I finally completed my second awakening a few days ago."

"Excellent!"

"That’s amazing!"

"Elyra, you’ve done an incredible job!" Ethan strode over to her, his face lit up with pure joy. He looked like he was about to burst with pride.

This was his first hero to reach second awakening. That alone was a huge milestone—not just in terms of raw power, but symbolically too. It meant his forces were evolving, stepping into a whole new tier of strength.

No wonder he was so fired up.

And Elyra wasn’t just any hero—she was a mage. A second-awakened mage.

That meant her AoE capabilities were about to go through the roof.

Which, in a massive naval battle like the one they were about to face, could be the deciding factor between victory and annihilation.

Especially considering Elyra’s magic specialties: Light Magic and Thunder Magic.

And Thunder Magic? That was practically a hard counter to 99% of sea-based creatures.

It was like how Karnak and the other Metal Golems were terrified of Fire Magic—same principle.

Elyra was about to become their secret weapon.

...