Cicero’s whole body jolted at the mention of it, his eyes lighting up with a rare spark.
"Master, do you know where I can find Storm Magnetite?"
Ethan blinked, caught off guard by the sudden intensity. Then he chuckled.
"Oh? You need that stuff?"
If Cicero actually needed it, then that solved everything—no more second-guessing, no more hesitation.
"Yeah..." Cicero nodded, his eyes gleaming. "I’m planning to use the power of storms as a catalyst. The magnetic energy inside Storm Magnetite could help me evolve."
"Evolve?!" Ethan stiffened, a shiver running down his spine. "Wait—you mean you’ve figured out how to evolve?"
"I’m still in the early stages," Cicero replied, shaking his head. His gaze was sharp, thoughtful.
"If we’re talking optimal evolution paths, then sure, Gold Dragon would be the textbook choice... but I’m not really into it. The Gold Dragon lineage is powerful, yeah, but their elemental affinity is kind of bland. Personally, I’m more drawn to the legendary Storm Dragons."
"Storm Dragons?" Ethan echoed.
Cicero nodded again, his voice low with reverence.
"Storm Dragons are an incredibly rare class of Mythic Units. They live at the edge of oceans or deep in the heart of deserts—solitary warriors, born to command hurricanes and tempests. Their combat power is insane, and their speed rivals that of phoenixes."
"Compared to the Gold Dragons, Storm Dragons are a bit... extreme. Maybe that’s why they’re not as dominant. But for me? I think if I can really pull off the evolution, Storm Dragon would suit me way better than Gold Dragon ever could."
In Ethan’s original world—the game he knew—Green Dragons could only evolve into Gold Dragons. That was the one and only path.
But here, in this parallel world of Glory Lords X, things were different.
Here, every person, every hero, every powerhouse had their own personality, their own backstory, their own strengths and quirks. And because of that, evolution paths weren’t fixed—they branched out in all kinds of wild, unpredictable directions.
That’s how those rare hidden units came into existence.
Ethan didn’t really know what a Storm Dragon was, not exactly. But hearing Cicero talk about it with that kind of conviction? That was enough.
He made up his mind on the spot.
"For the Special Resource collection reward, I’m choosing Level 4 Special Resource—Storm Magnetite!"
"Player Valkarion has selected a designated Special Resource collection point: Storm Magnetite Vein... Confirmed. Please check your inventory."
As soon as the selection was locked in, Ethan turned to Cicero with a grin.
"Go for it. Do what you think is right. No matter what, I’ve got your back."
"I understand, Master," Cicero said with a smile.
"Alright, let’s head back." Ethan gave a nod, then turned and flew toward Emerald Castle.
It wasn’t long before the towering walls of Emerald Castle came into view. But that wasn’t all—standing just outside the gates was something massive.
A colossal Ancient War Tree.
Then his pupils contracted, and a surge of excitement shot through him.
The energy radiating from Oakenmaw now—it was on a whole different level. There was no way this was the same unit from before, back when he was just an Ace Unit.
Which could only mean one thing.
Oakenmaw had evolved.
He was now a Hero Unit.
The moment the thought hit him, Ethan shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
"Oakenmaw! You did it?!"
The towering tree-creature turned toward him, its deep, rumbling voice filled with pride.
"Honored Lord, I have lived up to your expectations. I have successfully evolved into a Crimson Ultimate Hero!"
As he spoke, Oakenmaw dropped to one knee—well, as close to kneeling as a massive war tree could manage—and bowed respectfully to Ethan. Read complete version only at novel⦿fire.net
Ethan’s heart pounded with excitement. He couldn’t wait another second—he immediately pulled up Oakenmaw’s updated status panel.
Race: Ancient War Tree
Tier: Crimson Ultimate Hero
Hero Class: Ancient War Tree Ravager, Ancient War Tree Druid
Spell Power: 89 (123)
Physical Damage: 285–377
Magic Damage: 153–207
Entangling Roots Lv.1 – Anchors to the ground and lashes out with a massive tangle of roots, dealing heavy AoE damage. Damage persists over time. (Max Level: 3)
Boulderfall Lv.1 – Channels immense Earth Magic to summon a colossal enchanted boulder that crashes down on enemies, dealing devastating damage. (Max Level: 3)
Verdant Listening Lv.1 – Can hear sounds from extremely long distances through the earth and trees. (Max Level: 3)
Spirit of the Verdant Earth – Ignores Wisdom restrictions when learning Tier 1–3 Sylvan and Earth Magic. Increases damage of Sylvan and Earth Magic by 30%, reduces mana cost by 5%. Stackable.
Guardian Form – Roots in place, becoming a stationary guardian. In this form: +10% to physical and magic damage, HP, defense, and magic defense. +10% attack range. +50% HP regen, +100% mana regen. Stackable.
(Note: Can only be used once per month. Max duration: 1 day. After use, enters a fatigue period of 1–7 days depending on duration.)
King of the Treants – Boosts all Treant-type units under Tier 13: +33% base attack and defense, +50% HP. Can be upgraded. Max boost: +50%.
Treant Affinity – Reduces recruitment cost of all Treant-type units under Tier 13 by 30%.
Crimson Ultimate Hero – Grade C (23%)
After taking a good look at Oakenmaw’s new stat panel, Ethan stood there in stunned silence for a long moment. Then, with a weird expression on his face, he finally muttered,
"Damn... what a monster of a defensive-type Crimson Ultimate Hero."
It was obvious the moment he saw Oakenmaw’s talent skills—this guy was the textbook definition of a tank Hero Unit. And that Guardian Form talent? Ethan couldn’t help but feel it was downright broken.
Sure, the current buffs were "only" 10% across the board...
But the thing was—Oakenmaw was only level 15!
In other words, once he leveled up, once he hit his second awakening... hell, even his third awakening—those talents would evolve, and the numbers would skyrocket.
And in the world of Glory Lords X, there was one golden rule everyone knew:
Massive percentage-based buffs = late-game god-tier skills.
Which meant the further into the game they got, the stronger Oakenmaw’s base stats became, and the more absurd his Guardian Form would be.
Just imagine it—everyone’s a Crimson Ultimate Hero, everyone’s around the same level... and then Oakenmaw activates Guardian Form and instantly gets a 30% to 50% power spike across the board.
Even other Crimson Ultimate Heroes would be sweating bullets.
And that wasn’t even the end of it. That Verdant Listening talent? That was a strategic goldmine.
If Oakenmaw could constantly eavesdrop on sounds from miles away through the earth and trees, that was basically like laying down a massive surveillance net across their entire territory. Every whisper, every movement—nothing would go unnoticed.
It was like having a living, breathing early warning system.
And that kind of intel advantage? Absolutely game-changing.