In front of the three men, two glowing interfaces suddenly appeared in the air. One of them displayed Ethan's backpack, which was so full of items that it looked like a treasure vault. Everything inside was neatly arranged—first rows of crystal cores of different levels, then hundreds of skill books, and finally various magical props.
And this wasn't even everything. A large portion had already been moved to his "beast-monitoring space," which acted like a giant storage dimension only he could access.
One of the men stared at the incredible inventory and burst out laughing.
"Damn, Ethan… did you rob the entire City Lord's Mansion?"
The City Lord of Ravenshade City coughed awkwardly and replied, "You're overestimating my mansion. His inventory is worth more than my entire net worth."
Another man scratched his head and whistled. "With this amount of loot, I could buy enough private cars to change one every day until the day I die. No joke!"
Someone else pointed excitedly at a few skill books. "Ethan, are you here to show off? Come on, give me two of these books. They're perfect for my kid."
Another chimed in, "Hey! Isn't this the class-exclusive skill I've been searching for? Ethan, set a price! And this healing item too—great, now I don't have to hire a nanny."
"What do you mean YOUR exclusive skill?" the first man snapped. "I think it looks perfect for me!"
Before the argument grew louder, the bearded master growled, "Will you two shut up? Ethan only opened this interface so I can look for the Blood of the Evil God. Move aside!"
The janitor laughed. "Relax, Old Kiden, you look for your evil blood, we look for our stuff. We all trust Ethan completely, right, old Fairwind?"
Fairwind nodded immediately. "Of course. I was the first one who said that I believe in Ethan!"
While the three continued bantering, Ethan calmly sorted through the items in his backpack. He first picked out five Primary Skill Strengthening Stones. Without hesitation, he used two stones on his green-tier skill, Sandstone Vortex.
A warm glow surrounded the skill icon.
The skill upgraded to: Desert Collapse (Purple).
Desert Collapse (Purple): Forces the terrain into a desert, burying enemies. Range and damage depend on spiritual power.
Just from the description—"force" and "bury"—Ethan knew this skill would be insanely powerful.
Next, he turned his attention to something even more valuable: an Intermediate Skill Strengthening Stone, obtained from the last boss chest. This special stone allowed a purple-tier skill to evolve all the way to gold-tier.
Without hesitation, Ethan used it on Thorn Imprisonment (Purple).
A brilliant golden light burst out.
The skill evolved into: Advent of the Tree Realm (Golden).
Advent of the Tree Realm (Golden): Summons endless thorn-covered ancient trees (permanent). Strangles enemies. Range and damage depend on spiritual power.
Endless thorn trees.
ENDLESS.
Ethan raised an eyebrow as he imagined what that might look like. The area around them had once been filled with ancient trees, but after the battle, almost everything had been burned down.
Maybe he could try the skill…
Maybe even help "redecorate" the place?
The three men watched him silently. They were curious—especially because they saw that one of the stones he used was worth two to three billion. Ethan had used it casually, without blinking once.
What kind of skill would be worth such luxury?
Then Ethan took out the platinum-level staff he received after clearing the secret realm. The red gem on top glowed intensely.
A wave of magic swept outward.
Suddenly—a massive thorn-covered ancient tree burst from the ground.
The burned, empty land instantly transformed. The tree was nothing like the old lush forest. This one was eerie, covered in barbs and spikes, twisting and growing according to Ethan's will.
The three men watched in awe as the tree rapidly grew to tens of meters high, its trunk thick and incredibly sturdy.
The City Lord of Ravenshade couldn't resist testing its strength. He pulled out his diamond-level giant axe, lifted it high, and swung it down with nearly 30% of his full power.
DING!!
The axe struck the trunk, but instead of cutting through, it got embedded in the wood. The tree didn't even shake.
"What…? This hard?" The city lord's eyes widened.
To cut it down with a single blow, he would have to use all his strength—and that was without using skills. The janitor and the bearded master stared too. The tree was powerful, but so far, nothing shocking.
"City Lord," Ethan said casually, "how do you feel about the tree now?"
The City Lord misunderstood. He thought Ethan was asking how strong the tree was. Feeling embarrassed about not being able to chop it down, he muttered, "It's good. Very hard."
The moment he finished speaking—
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Dozens—no, hundreds—of thorn trees erupted from the earth at once.
The ground shook.
The janitor and the bearded master's expressions changed dramatically as the world beneath them shifted.
The City Lord of Ravenshade reacted immediately. He stomped the ground and leaped into the air, landing on a higher branch. The other two scrambled up trees as well.
From above, the City Lord looked down and felt his soul leave his body.
Within a few breaths, the entire burned area was swallowed by endless thorn trees.
Not a single patch of ground remained visible.
He felt a sharp pain in his chest.
This land used to be lush, beautiful, and perfect for urban landscaping.
Now?
It looked like the entrance to a haunted forest.
The luxurious City Lord's Mansion…
The magnificent estate he once dreamed of retiring in…
Had turned into the world's largest horror-themed attraction.
"Who can live in this place now?" he whispered in despair.
With Ethan's power, he had just annihilated the land value of the entire region.
The best land in Ravenshade City had become worthless overnight.
The City Lord nearly vomited blood.
After finally catching his breath, he asked weakly, "Ethan… how long does this skill last?"
Ethan held up one finger.
"A quarter of an hour?" The City Lord sighed in relief. "Good. You nearly killed me."
But Ethan shook his head.
"That's not it."
"An hour?"
"Longer."
"A week?"
"Nope."
"A year?!"
Ethan smiled innocently.
"The skill is permanent. You said earlier that it looked good. I thought you liked it."
"WHAT?!?!"
The City Lord's scream echoed across the thorn forest.
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