"I've already leveled up to 14! What about you, Seraphina? Uh... only level 4?!"
Ethan glanced at Seraphina's status panel and was instantly dumbfounded.
"Alright, looks like getting you to level 15—your adult stage—is gonna take a while..." Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novel✦fire.net
He grumbled a little but quickly brushed the thought aside. Actually, now that he thought about it, reaching level 4 in less than half an hour was pretty fast!
Gotta learn to be content with what you have!
Besides, hitting level 14 had earned him a solid 26 attribute points. After a brief moment of consideration, Ethan decided to split them evenly, adding 13 points each to his attack and defense stats.
At that moment, his stats became:
Meanwhile, Seraphina's updated stats were:
After reaching level 4, Seraphina's health had skyrocketed to a terrifying 7500 HP!
Just looking at that number made Ethan's scalp tingle.
"Alright, let's keep grinding..." Ethan recalled Seraphina, climbed onto her back, and was just about to continue leveling up when he suddenly received an urgent message from Elynn.
Ethan paused for a moment before turning to Seraphina. "Change of plans—we're heading back!"
With a deep growl, Seraphina flapped her massive wings and soared into the sky, heading straight for Emerald Castle.
At the same time, Elynn stood at the gates of Emerald Castle, her brow furrowed, a few minor injuries visible on her body. She muttered under her breath, frustration evident in her voice.
"I didn't expect the guardian of that crystal mine to be a Tier 7 unit... Ogres. I can handle those brutes one-on-one, but there were nine of them! Even if I fought to the death, I'm not sure I could take them all down... Ugh, this is a headache. What should I do?"
Just as she was deep in thought, a massive shadow suddenly plummeted from the sky, creating a powerful gust of wind as it landed beside her. The sheer force of the landing nearly knocked her and her Silver Pegasus off their feet.
Elynn's expression changed instantly. She instinctively leaped onto her Silver Pegasus, readying herself for battle as she shouted in alarm.
But the moment she got a clear look at the creature before her, her face turned pale, and her entire body began to tremble.
"G-G-G-G-Green Dragon?!"
As a hero of the Rampart faction, an Elite Unit of Tier 8, how could Elynn not recognize a Tier 13 Legendary Unit—the Green Dragon?
"I'm doomed... Emerald Castle actually attracted a Green Dragon... Wait, no!"
For a split second, despair washed over her, but then—she suddenly sensed something familiar from the dragon.
A presence that felt like... an ally?
Elynn stood frozen, staring in disbelief at the massive Green Dragon before her.
"No way... it's on our side?"
A Tier 13 Legendary Unit, a Green Dragon... was an ally?!
Was she dreaming? Had she not woken up properly this morning?!
Meanwhile, Ethan swung himself off Seraphina's back, looking at Elynn with a puzzled expression.
"Elynn, what's up? You needed me for something?"
Elynn, still in shock from watching Ethan dismount a Green Dragon, could only stare, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. She stammered, her voice trembling:
"M-M-M-My Lord... d-don't tell me this mighty Green Dragon... is also one of your units?"
Ethan blinked, then chuckled. "You mean Seraphina? Oh, right, I forgot to introduce you. This is Seraphina. She's not a unit—she's a hero! You two should get to kno—"
Before he could even finish his sentence, Elynn practically shrieked, cutting him off mid-sentence.
Her face was a mix of shock and disbelief as she gasped, "A-A-A-A HERO?! My Lord, please forgive my rudeness, but... did you just say that this mighty Green Dragon is a Green Dragon hero?! Oh, by the great Mother of Nature, by Sylanna, the Dragon of Earth—am I dreaming?! A Green Dragon hero?!"
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "What, are Green Dragon heroes that rare?"
"Of course!" Elynn's voice shot up at least eight octaves, her expression dead serious. "As far as I know, even in the great AvLee, there are only three known Green Dragon heroes!"
Now it was Ethan's turn to be stunned.
Of course, he knew about AvLee—the main empire of the Rampart faction!
While AvLee's overall power wasn't quite on the level of the once-glorious Holy Griffon Empire, it was still leagues ahead of any individual duchy. Even the strongest duchy formed after the Holy Griffon Empire's collapse—the Griffonhold Duchy—was nothing compared to AvLee.
And yet, Elynn was saying that even a powerhouse like AvLee only had three Green Dragon heroes?
That's how rare they were?!
Ethan's eyes narrowed slightly, but his lips curled into a bright, knowing smile.
"Well, either way, you're all on the same side now."
He patted Seraphina's side and grinned. "Seraphina, this is my first hero, Elynn. Say hi. Be nice."
Seraphina lifted her head slightly and let out a couple of deep, rumbling growls. That was about as friendly a greeting as anyone was going to get from her.
Seraphina might have been casual about it, but Elynn certainly wasn't.
The moment Seraphina acknowledged her, Elynn's face lit up with pure awe. She took a deep breath, then immediately performed a flawless elven knight's salute toward Seraphina.
"It is an honor to meet you, Lady Seraphina. I am Silver Pegasus Knight Elynn. I am truly delighted to make your acquaintance—"
Before she could even finish, Seraphina let out another low growl, as if to say, "Alright, that's enough."
Clearly, the battle-hardened Seraphina had zero patience for all this formal nonsense.
But even so, Elynn was still dizzy with excitement.
She turned to Ethan, her eyes practically sparkling with admiration. "My Lord, you are truly incredible! To have tamed a mighty Green Dragon hero... At this rate, it won't be long before the entire world knows the name of Emerald Castle!"
As a hero herself, Elynn genuinely felt honored, thrilled, and proud to serve under such a powerful lord.