Chapter 62: The Growth Path Begins

"Good. I’m glad you’re willing to listen." Roland took another sip of his drink. "If you do well, it makes my job look good too."

Ethan looked at him. "Is that why you’re helping me?"

"Of course." Roland laughed. "You’re one of the students I was assigned to look after. If you become stronger and perform well, I can take some of the credit."

He shook his head with a grin. "Don’t worry. I gave the same advice to the others too. You’re not getting special treatment."

"That’s good."

"Actually, there’s something else you should know about." Roland picked up his drink. "The Academy will be opening a Secret Realm for the students in two weeks."

Ethan looked at him. "A Secret Realm?"

"That’s right. Every year, the Academy opens one for the students. Both new students and students from previous years can enter, but everyone has to form a team before entering. Once the Secret Realm opens, all the teams will compete for the rewards inside."

His expression didn’t change, but he already knew about it.

The Order Academy controlled a large number of Secret Realms, and the one opened to new students each year was especially valuable.

In his previous life, he had entered this same Secret Realm.

He remembered finding several Tears of Spirit inside. That alone was enough to attract plenty of talented students. Many of them would spend the coming days looking for strong teammates.

"What kind of rewards?"

"Academy Points, rare materials, and a few other things you won’t normally find in the marketplace."

Roland noticed his interest. "You should start looking for teammates soon. Two weeks might sound like a long time, but the better students will probably start forming their teams soon."

"I see."

"You don’t have to rush into choosing anyone, though. Just make sure you find people you can actually work with."

Ethan nodded. "I’ll keep that in mind."

He picked up another piece of meat and ate it. Since every piece permanently increased his attributes, Ethan had no intention of leaving anything behind.

Roland noticed and chuckled.

"You can finish the rest. I can’t eat all of it anyway."

Ethan didn’t hesitate.

"Thanks."

They finished the rest of the food while talking about a few other things. By the time they were done, it was already getting dark.

Ethan stood up. "Thanks for the advice."

"Don’t mention it. And don’t forget about the Secret Realm. Two weeks will pass quickly."

"I won’t."

Ethan left the cafeteria and headed back toward his room.

The upcoming Secret Realm was worth keeping in mind. It would open in two weeks, and Ethan already knew there were plenty of valuable things inside.

Ethan soon reached his room and closed the door behind him.

He put the Solar Ore aside.

Before starting the Growth Path, there was something else he needed to do.

He wasn’t sure what would happen once the Growth Path was activated. It was better to have all his Mana available in case the process required it. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Ethan sat down and began recovering his Mana naturally.

It didn’t take long for his Mana Pool to return to its maximum.

[Mana Pool: 500/500]

He then transferred the Mana into the Mana Reservoir and waited for his personal Mana to recover again.

After some time, both were full.

[Mana Pool: 500/500]

[Mana Reservoir: 500/500]

Ethan looked at the two values.

Everything was ready.

Ethan picked up the Solar Ore and turned it over in his hand.

"How am I supposed to use this?"

The Solar Ore was just a material. Ethan knew it was needed for the Growth Path, but he had no idea how he was supposed to use it.

He couldn’t exactly hand it to the Solar Elementals while they were inside his Legion Space.

Then Ethan remembered the first requirement.

He currently had 500 Solar Elementals.

The Growth Path required 1,000 Legion Members.

"I still need another 500."

Ethan put the Solar Ore aside and used Legion Formation.

The summoning formation appeared within the Legion Space.

One Solar Elemental after another emerged from it.

Soon, another 500 Solar Elementals had joined the legion.

[Solar Elemental Legion Members: 1,000/1,000]

The first requirement was complete.

Ethan picked up the Solar Ore again.

As soon as he held it in his hand, a notification appeared.

[Growth Path requirement detected.]

[1,000 Legion Members: Complete]

[Solar Ore: Detected]

[All Growth Path requirements have been fulfilled.]

[Thw Growth Path will start now]

The Solar Ore suddenly disappeared from his hand.

[Solar Ore has been consumed.]

[Growth Path activation has begun.]

Before Ethan could react, his vision suddenly shifted, and the next moment, he was looking down at the Legion Space from above.

"All 1,000 Solar Elementals stood in Ethan’s Legion Space."

Their dark stone bodies began to change.

The cracks covering their bodies became brighter, and the flames above their heads grew larger.

The change spread through the entire legion.

Ethan watched for a while.

After some time, a notification appeared.

[Growth Path will be completed in 1 hour.]

Ethan looked at the notification.

"One hour?"

He didn’t need to stay here and watch.

Ethan left the Legion Space.

Back in his room, he sat on the edge of his bed.

His eyes felt heavy.

He had been busy since morning, and after everything he had done today, he was more tired than he realized.

"I’ll check it tomorrow."

Ethan lay down on his bed and closed his eyes.

He had planned to think about the Secret Realm and decide who he could form a team with, but his body was already exhausted from everything he had done that day.

Within minutes, he fell asleep.

The next morning, sunlight slipped through the window and fell across the room.

Ethan was still asleep when someone knocked on the door.

Knock. Knock.

He opened his eyes and slowly sat up.

Another knock came from outside.

"Hey, you awake?"

Ethan rubbed his eyes and got out of bed.

He walked over to the door and opened it.