Chapter 33: Tear of Spirit

The moment the door closed behind him, a smile appeared on his face.

"I got it that easily."

He opened his palm.

The tear-shaped crystal appeared in his hand.

He had expected the crystal to be difficult to obtain, but the City Lord had practically handed it to him.

He placed the crystal against his forehead.

Ten minutes later, a notification appeared.

[Spirit +1]

Ethan’s smile widened.

"Just as I thought."

This crystal was a strange treasure.

When placed against the forehead, it would slowly increase a person’s Spirit by a small amount at regular intervals.

No one knew where the crystal came from. It wasn’t made by anyone, nor was it produced by a monster. It had simply been found in certain places, always in the same tear-like shape.

Because of that, people eventually gave it a name.

The Tear of Spirit.

Even in his previous life, treasures capable of directly increasing Spirit were extremely rare.

The City Lord had kept this one in his collection for years without discovering its value.

Ten minutes later, another notification appeared.

Ten minutes later, another notification appeared.

[Spirit +1]

There was only one problem. He couldn’t keep holding the crystal against his forehead every ten minutes. Luckily, there was a way around it.

Ethan pressed the crystal firmly against his forehead and kept pushing until it suddenly began to sink into his skin.

A faint silver light flashed across his forehead before disappearing. A small tear-shaped mark was left between his eyebrows.

He touched the mark and could still feel the crystal inside him. It had fused with him.

From now on, he wouldn’t need to hold it against his forehead anymore.

Ethan calculated how long it would take to reach 1,000.

His current Spirit was 697, so he needed another 303 points to reach 1,000.

The Tear of Spirit would give him one Spirit every ten minutes.

At that rate, he would gain 144 Spirit in a day.

It would take him a little over two days to reach 1,000 Spirit.

Ethan smiled.

"Two days."

Once he reached 1,000 Spirit, he could summon his second legion.

That alone was worth far more than the crystal itself.

Ethan turned and headed down the corridor.

He still had two days before the academy entrance examination, and there were a few things he needed to prepare.

Ethan left the City Lord’s residence.

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Aria waiting nearby. The moment she noticed him, she walked over.

"I’ve been waiting for you for so long. What took you so long?"

Ethan stopped.

"I thought your father locked you in your room."

Aria lifted her head proudly.

"I escaped, of course."

Ethan sighed.

Of course she did.

He had hoped he could finally get rid of her after leaving the residence, but apparently, that wasn’t happening.

"Your father wanted to talk."

"I know. But what did you two talk about for so long?"

"Nothing important."

Aria narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing important?"

"Yes."

Aria didn’t seem convinced.

"So why did he keep you inside for so long?"

"He asked me to represent Blackstone City in the academy entrance examination."

Aria’s expression changed.

"Really?"

Ethan nodded.

"And you agreed?"

"I did."

"That’s good."

She walked beside him for a few steps before suddenly stopping.

"Wait."

Ethan stopped.

"What’s wrong?"

Aria hurried after him, then moved closer.

"What’s that?"

She pointed toward his forehead.

Ethan’s hand immediately went to the mark.

"What?"

"That."

Aria stood on her toes and reached toward his forehead.

"It wasn’t there before."

Her fingers were almost touching the mark when Ethan slapped her hand away.

"Don’t touch it."

Aria pulled her hand back and stared at him.

"Why not?"

"It’s nothing."

"Then why can’t I touch it?"

"Because I said so."

Aria rubbed the back of her hand and gave him an annoyed look.

"You’re weird."

Ethan continued walking.

"You’re too curious."

They had walked for a while when two people stepped into their path..

Ethan recognized the young man behind Leon. He was the same person he’d seen at the dungeon entrance earlier, still carrying the same spear

The young man in front looked about Ethan’s age. He wore simple clothes with a light set of armor over them.

He stopped in front of Ethan.

"So you’re the one who cleared Hell difficulty alone?"

Aria recognized him.

"Leon? What are you doing here?"

"I heard someone cleared the entire dungeon on Hell difficulty. I wanted to see who could actually do it."

"You came all the way here just for that?"

Leon ignored her question and focused on Ethan.

"Level 8?"

Ethan finally answered. "You sound disappointed."

"I expected someone stronger."

"You haven’t seen me fight."

"I don’t need to. You’re a summoner. Your summons did all the work."

"And?"

Leon paused.

"What’s the point of becoming stronger if you never fight with your own hands?" He tapped his fist against his palm. "There’s nothing more satisfying than beating someone with your own strength."

"That’s your preference, not mine."

Aria gave Leon a look. "Not everyone enjoys fighting like you do."

"I know. That’s why I’m interested in him."

Leon looked at Ethan. "If we’re going to compete in the academy entrance examination, I want to know what kind of person I’m competing against."

"So that’s why you followed us?"

"Partly." Leon paused. "My father heard about what happened at the dungeon. He seems quite interested in you."

Aria snorted. "Of course he is. Your father is always looking for talented people."

"And yours isn’t?"

"Don’t compare them."

"Fine. I won’t."

Leon looked at Ethan again. "Just don’t expect me to lose to you because you cleared one dungeon."

Ethan’s expression remained calm.

"I wasn’t expecting you to."

Leon was quiet for a moment.

"Good."

He turned and left with his companion.

Ethan watched them leave before a notification appeared in front of him.

[New Mission]

[Academy Entrance Examination]

Objective: Participate in the academy entrance examination.

Additional Objective: Obtain a high enough ranking to attract the academy’s attention.

Reward: Will be issued after the mission is completed.

Failure: None.

Ethan read through the mission.

The academy entrance examination was already part of his plans, so completing the main objective wouldn’t be a problem.

As for the additional objective...

Ethan smiled slightly.

"That shouldn’t be difficult."