Chapter 32: Ethan vs Rost sterling

As dinner drew to a close, bedtime approached. Lumian immediately grabbed his mother’s hand and asked, "Mom, can I sleep in your room tonight?"

He was still deeply unsettled by Ethan, knowing all too well that Ethan was a walking anomaly who posed a terrifying threat. It had only been a month since he had transmigrated into this world, and he had worked so hard to warm his cold-hearted mother’s heart using his inner thoughts.

Since his mind-broadcasting system allowed him to communicate with her thoughts and earn her absolute trust, he felt safest right by her side.

Rose stroked her son’s hair affectionately and replied, "Of course, you can sleep with me."

Seeing this, Ethan asked with innocent hesitation,

"Aunt Rose, would it be alright if Arthur and I slept in your room too? To be honest... ever since Father passed away, both of us have been feeling really scared."

Rose looked over at the two orphaned boys. Naturally, the sudden death of their father made their fear completely understandable. She nodded softly, "Very well, you may join us."

Then, turning her gaze to Seraphina, she added, "Seraphina, why don’t you sleep in my room tonight as well? We can all stay together."

Lumian’s face fell instantly. He had wanted to stay far away from Ethan, and now he was going to end up sleeping in the exact same room as him! He stammered, "Mom... I’m not used to sleeping with so many people. Never mind, I’ll just sleep in my own room."

Arthur chimed in as well, "And Mother—I mean, Aunt Rose, I got really tired on the journey today.

Do you happen to have a sound-proof room available? If so, I’d prefer to sleep alone there."

Rose smiled and nodded, "Of course, our manor has rooms like that. Don’t worry at all, I’ll have guards stationed right outside." Hearing this, Arthur let out a huge sigh of relief, feeling much more relaxed.

Seraphina glanced at Arthur, a slight blush dusting her cheeks, and murmured, "I think I’d rather sleep in my own room for tonight, too."

That left only Ethan. Ethan flashed a calm, innocent smile and said, "Then I would love to sleep in Aunt Rose’s room tonight."

Rose smiled warmly and replied, "Why not, come along."

With that, dinner officially concluded. Arthur bid everyone a good night and headed off toward his secure, sound-proofed room, while Ethan accompanied Rose toward her luxurious master bedroom.

The master suite was remarkably vast, featuring a massive, plush canopied bed at its center and exquisite artworks adorning the walls.

The moment the two of them stepped inside and the heavy doors clicked shut behind them, Ethan didn’t waste a single second. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out a heavy black box from his spatial inventory.

As soon as the lid popped open, an ancient, glowing disc shot out into the air, spinning rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, waves of dense energy surged from the disc, sweeping across the entire room to erect a powerful isolation formation.

Rose instantly caught onto the sudden disturbance, her eyes widening in sharp alarm.

Before she could react or cast a defensive spell, a blinding flash of white light swallowed her vision.

The next second, she wasn’t standing in her luxurious bedroom anymore. Instead, she found herself trapped in an unfamiliar realm completely enveloped by an endless, suffocating darkness!

The suffocating, inky blackness lasted only for a few moments. Then, in a blinding flash of spatial distortion, the view abruptly shifted into a breathtaking, serene forest landscape.

Standing near the edge of the clearing, Rose found herself just a few paces away from a rustic, picturesque wooden house.

Standing right in front of the cabin door, calmly waiting for her, was Ethan. A quiet, chilling smile played on his lips as he looked straight at her.

"Aunt Rose," Ethan said smoothly, his voice echoing softly through the quiet woods. "I bought this artifact specially for you. It’s capable of trapping anyone up to Rank 5 completely inside its domain."

Rose froze, her eyes going wide with shock. You... how do you even possess an artifact like this? Just who on earth are you?!

She instinctively reached out with her senses, trying to read his aura. What she felt hit her like a physical blow: it was terrifyingly dense and oppressive, easily matching the raw pressure of a Rank-4 Mage.

Yet, the moment she looked at his actual mana core and magic power level, it stubbornly registered as a mere Rank-1 Mage.

How is that even possible? her mind raced in disbelief. How can someone’s spiritual aura and their active mana level be completely mismatched like this?

Despite the sheer absurdity of it, one chilling realization crystallized in her mind. Lowering her gaze, she pointed a finger directly at the boy before her, her voice laced with venomous certainty.

"You’re not Ethan!"

A swirling crimson magic circle instantly manifested around her hand, burning with intense thermal heat. From its center, a volatile, swirling sphere of pure molten lava erupted into existence.

"Magma Burst!" Rose shouted the name of her spell, thrusting her hand forward.

The blazing sphere of magma surged violently through the air toward Ethan. Seeing the incoming attack, Ethan merely chuckled. With a flick of his wrist, he traced a swift circle in the air with his finger, instantly forming an identical magic barrier in front of himself.

A secondary magma spell mirrored her attack, blasting outward and violently colliding mid-air with Rose’s sphere in a thunderous explosion of heat and flying sparks.

Rose’s breath hitched, utter disbelief painting her face. He copied my exact spell down to the last detail?! But she quickly composed herself, a fierce, arrogant grin spreading across her features.

"Even if you’re a fire mage too, you’re only at Rank 1! Do you really think you can defeat me?"

With a sudden surge of mana, a massive, intricate magic circle materialized directly behind Rose, glowing with an intense, radiant crimson light.

The scale of it was breathtaking—rising from the center of the geometric patterns was a gigantic, ethereal Red Lotus. Within a heartbeat, its massive petals caught ablaze, erupting into a roaring inferno of spiritual flames before shooting forward like a storm of meteors straight toward Ethan.

"Crimson Lotus Prison!"

Ethan’s eyes widened slightly as he recognized the spell. It was an ancient, high-grade trap technique designed to completely ensnare and incinerate an opponent. Not only would a direct hit from those fiery petals trigger a cataclysmic explosion, but the lingering soul-fire was notoriously difficult to extinguish.

Difficult, but not impossible for me, Ethan thought coldly.

He immediately began inhaling the surrounding ambient mana at a terrifying, frantic speed. Within seconds, a dense, swirling vortex of deep blue mana gathered aggressively around his body.

His golden hair whipped violently in the turbulent wind, and his striking blue eyes remained locked with absolute precision on his target.

Abruptly, the concentrated blue mana around him surged and twisted, taking the terrifying shape of a majestic, multi-toning blue dragon. This was a brand-new ability unlocked by his newly acquired Stone-Fishes Body—the legendary Blue Dragon Summoning.

The colossal dragon, boasting four powerful limbs and a pair of massive spectral wings, radiated an oppressive, primal might. With a deafening roar, it lunged forward, crashing directly into the storm of oncoming lotus petals.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The impacts echoed like rolling thunder. Yet, the spiritual dragon didn’t even flinch. It plowed forward through the inferno with unstoppable momentum.

However, as each blazing petal smashed against its ethereal scales, the dragon’s mana-constructed body began to rapidly dissipate, particle by particle. By the time it shattered the final fiery petal, the dragon completely vanished into thin air.

Ethan staggered slightly, chest heaving as he gasped for breath. Even with his sturdy stone-fishes physique, executing a spell of that magnitude placed an immense, crushing load on his mana reserves.

I honestly thought that attack would finish him off, or at least leave him severely battered, Rose thought, her expression hardening in shock as she watched him weather the storm. To think he handled a spell of that level... But I can still win.

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