Chapter 52: So You Were the One...?

With Ethan’s increased Agility, the half-kilometer distance passed quickly.

Less than a minute later, he reached the location of the Thornheart Flower.

His wings slowly flapped behind him, keeping him suspended above the flower.

He looked down at the Thornheart Flower.

A thick dark-green stem rose from the ground, covered in small thorns. Several large petals were tightly wrapped around its center, with faint green veins running across them.

"It hasn’t bloomed yet." The faint green light inside the petals slowly became brighter. "It should blossom in a few minutes."

Three minutes later, Ethan was still hovering above the flower when he heard footsteps coming from behind him.

He wasn’t surprised. He had been expecting them.

Ethan turned around to see the newcomers.

Garrick, Kael, and Liana walked out from between the trees.

The three of them stopped when they saw Ethan hovering above the Thornheart Flower.

None of them had expected to find someone already here.

Kael’s eyes quickly moved over Ethan before stopping on the large pair of wings behind his back. Wind constantly swirled around the feathers.

"A Variant Agility Essence?"

Liana studied the wings for a moment.

"It should be from a Stormwing Eagle."

Garrick’s expression changed.

He knew exactly what that meant.

The Stormwing Eagle was one of the three Third Order beasts in this area. And he just happened to have seen it flying in the opposite direction earlier.

His eyes widened as he looked at Ethan.

"You killed the Level 24 Stormwing Eagle?"

There was clear shock in his voice.

Ethan nodded.

"Yeah."

Garrick stared at him.

A young man around Kael’s age had killed a Level 24 Third Order beast.

That alone was surprising.

But the Stormwing Eagle was an aerial beast, and its speed made it even harder to kill.

Garrick’s expression darkened.

"So you were the one who took the Variant Spirit Essence Orb?"

Ethan smiled and revealed the third eye on his forehead.

Garrick’s looked at the third eye. "So you were the one hiding nearby? You took it while I was fighting the toad?"

"Pretty much." Ethan nodded.

Garrick’s hand tightened into a fist.

"You..."

"Uncle Garrick."

Kael stepped forward, stopping him before he could say anything else.

"There’s no need to get angry."

Garrick took a breath and lowered his hand.

Kael turned toward Ethan with a friendly smile.

"May I ask, dear friend, how did you get into the Thornheart Secret Realm?"

"The same way you did."

Liana shook her head.

"That shouldn’t be possible. The tokens used to enter this Secret Realm are tightly controlled by the Verdant Alchemy Hall. If someone else had received one, I would have heard about it."

Ethan wasn’t bothered by her words.

"The token I had didn’t come from the Verdant Alchemy Hall."

Kael’s smile faded slightly.

"I see."

His eyes moved toward the Thornheart Flower.

"Then I suppose we came here for the same reason."

Ethan nodded.

"Then let me give you some advice. You won’t be able to get the Thornheart Flower."

Garrick immediately stepped forward.

"And who do you think you are?"

His voice was filled with irritation.

"The only reason you managed to kill the Stormwing Eagle was probably because of that Spirit Variant Essence you stole. All we have to do is wait a few more minutes for its effects to wear off, and you’ll lose your advantage."

"Once that happens, what exactly are you going to do?"

Ethan nodded.

"You’re right. Without them, I’m probably no match for you."

A smile appeared on his face.

"So why don’t I just finish you off before they wear off?"

Garrick’s expression turned cold as he stepped forward. "You think you can kill me? Then come and try."

Ethan didn’t move.

Kael raised a hand. "Uncle Garrick, please calm down. He clearly isn’t afraid of you. And the flower hasn’t bloomed yet. There’s no reason for us to fight before then."

But just then, Liana shouted.

"The petals are starting to open!"

Everyone turned toward the flower.

The faint green light inside it had become much brighter, and the tightly closed petals slowly began to move.

Ethan smiled.

"Looks like we won’t have to wait much longer."

A few seconds later, the petals fully opened.

The Thornheart Flower finally bloomed.

A strong wave of Wood elemental energy spread through the area.

Ethan immediately flew down and reached toward the flower.

"Wait!"

Liana stepped forward.

"Don’t touch it!"

Ethan ignored her and carefully reached for the stem.

"You’ll damage it if you don’t know how to extract it!"

Liana had seen the Thornheart Flower several times and knew exactly how delicate it was after blooming. If someone handled it carelessly, they could easily damage the flower and ruin its medicinal value.

But Ethan already knew how to extract it.

His fingers moved to the base of the stem and gently twisted.

The Thornheart Flower came free without damaging a single petal.

Liana froze.

Ethan held the flower in his hand.

"What’s the problem?"

Liana’s eyes widened.

"You... actually got it without damaging it."

She looked at the flower in Ethan’s hand, clearly surprised.

Ethan simply looked at her.

"Why wouldn’t I?"

Liana didn’t know what to say.

She had expected him to ruin the flower, yet he had extracted it perfectly.

Kael’s expression changed.

"Wait."

Ethan looked at him.

Kael took a step forward.

"That flower belongs to the Verdant Alchemy Hall. I’m sure you understand what that means."

Ethan said nothing.

Kael smiled. "I am Kael, the Young Guild Leader of the Silvercrest Guild. I’m sure you’ve heard of us."

"I’m willing to compensate you for it. Just hand it over."

Ethan ignored Kael and stored the Thornheart Flower in his inventory.

Kael’s smile disappeared.

He had offered compensation, yet Ethan hadn’t even bothered to respond.

Before Kael could say anything, the wings behind Ethan suddenly disappeared.

Kael’s expression eased.

"I guess your advantage is gone now."

Garrick sneered.

"You little brat. Let’s see how sharp your mouth is without those buffs."

Ethan let out a quiet laugh.

"That’s too bad. My time is up. I won’t be able to play with you."

"What?"

Before they could react, Ethan’s body suddenly disappeared.

Kael, Liana, and Garrick stood there, staring at the spot where Ethan had been.