Here was the summary what Ethan learned from them: A person went to the awakening center, which was somewhat similar to the martial core awakening and talent awakening process.
But here, this process happened at the age of 15, whereas the martial core awakening usually occurred at 18.
Moreover, these people didn’t cultivate. Or more precisely, they simply couldn’t. Ethan didn’t feel even an ounce of cosmic energy in the air. They killed monsters from the dungeons, and by doing so, they gained experience and leveled up.
Level 1–10: E rank
Level 11–20: D rank
Level 21–30: C rank
Level 31–40: B rank
Level 41–50: A rank
Level 51–60: S rank
Level 61–70: SS rank
Level 71–80: SSS rank
Level 81–90: X rank
Level 91–100: Transcended rank
This was the known information, but these people had never even heard of anyone above S rank.
Ethan started to understand the power comparison. The monster he referred to as King rank was actually B rank, so Emperor should be A. Planetary would be S, Star would be SS, Black Hole should be SSS, Galactic sould be X, and Galactic Overlord should correspond to Transcended.
As for whether there were any beings above that, any true Universal or Supreme beings, that was a question for later. But this game-like world seemed quite interesting to him.
There were also different levels of dungeons.
Based on his assessment, Ethan guessed he should currently have the strength of a peak SS rank. A Star Realm warrior usually had the strength equivalent to ten Earths, excluding geniuses. That was just a general theoretical comparison. There were many factors that could increase strength, so this model was only for rough measurement.
Right now, his clone had the strength of thirty thousand Earths.
He wasn’t entirely sure about the exact power scaling until he saw one of the higher-level entities with his own eyes.
While they were still talking, the girl who had run away earlier finally returned. She wore the same arrogant expression on her face.
"Good job. You’ve done your part. Now help me collect the materials."
The four teammates had nasty looks on their faces. She had run away the moment she saw them dying, and now she was back giving orders?
Besides, they hadn’t even killed the beast. That young man did. How could they dare to touch the materials in front of him?
So, they didn’t respond to her orders.
When the girl saw this, she became angry and shouted, "I don’t have time. Why aren’t you responding?"
Then she suddenly looked at Ethan. She hadn’t seen what happened earlier, since she ran away too quickly.
She asked, "Who are you?"
Ethan said calmly, "I killed this monster."
The girl’s eyes widened. This man looked so young. How could he possibly kill such a powerful beast? And judging by the expressions of the other four, he was probably telling the truth.
Then she said, "Then pack me the materials. I’ll give you 1000 AC."
(AC – Aetherion Coin)
This price wasn’t exactly low. She had hired the entire team for 5000 AC, so offering 1000 AC to the man who delivered the final blow seemed, in her mind, more than generous.
Ethan looked at the girl seriously for the first time. She looked about 17 or 18 years old. She was beautiful and dressed in noble clothing. Most likely, she belonged to a powerful family.
They probably spoiled her rotten and forgot to teach her the most basic principles of how the world worked.
Ethan wasn’t the kind of person who would teach a lesson to a rich young mistress just for this petty behavior and end up inviting endless trouble in a new world.
So he said calmly, "I’m not interested in your money."
Then he vanished from the place. He had already located the direction of the nearest human city. There was no need to linger anymore.
Bella covered her mouth with her hands. Another ability. Who was this man, really?
The girl named Sophia stood frozen. She had never been rejected before.
She turned to the team and ordered them to collect the materials.But Finn said coldly, "We contracted to kill the beast, not collect its materials. You should do the job yourself."
Sophia’s eyes widened again. Did this low-class scum just dare to reject her order?
She said coldly, "Do you know who I am? I can kill your entire family."
Finn’s expression turned icy. "Do you know what we can do to you right now? You said you would participate in the battle. That’s why we allowed four members in the team. But you ran away the moment it got serious. If the Hunter Association learns about this, I’d love to see which family you belong to."
Sophia’s face turned dark. She had indeed violated the contract. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Just you wait," and went to collect the materials herself.
She belonged to an S rank family. Her grandfather was a level 57 powerhouse. This time, she and her cousins had come out for training. Whoever performed the best would be selected as the next heir of the family.
So, she planned to hire people to fight and collect materials. Later, she would show the results and forge a record where her name appeared in the battle team. That way, she’d look like the strongest and secure the heir position.
But on her very first outing, she encountered these lowlifes who dared to disobey her. She would make sure they faced consequences.
Willium came to Bella and said softly, "Bella, let’s take a break from battling for a while."
Willium and Bella were secret lovers. But no one knew that.
Bella nodded. She still had lingering fear from her near-death experience. Then she subconsciously glanced toward the city. Maybe her savior had gone there.
Fire City.
Ethan arrived at the Hunter Association to sell some of the monster materials he had collected on the way.
There were 56 A rank monster materials.
He sold them for 1.2 million AC. Not bad at all.
Ethan asked the receptionist, "I want to become a Hunter. What’s the procedure?"
The receptionist’s eyes widened in shock. A man who could bring 56 A rank monster materials was saying he wasn’t a Hunter ?
Ethan had already copied the genetic code of Aetherion’s people. So the system wouldn’t reject him. The only problem was that he was 18 years old. Would the Aetherion system still allow him to awaken?
Ethan said, "I was in a coma for four years. So I didn’t have the chance to awaken. These materials were given by my elders. Now tell me, is there any way to awaken at this age?"
The receptionist had some suspicion, but the reason he gave was acceptable. Moreover, Ethan was just too damn handsome. It was hard to resist his charm.
"There is a way," she said. "But it’s very difficult."
Ethan’s eyes lit up. "Tell me about it."
"The Path of Ascension. There is the Ascension Tower. It has 99 levels. If you can climb up to level 10, you can awaken, and age doesn’t matter. The higher you climb, the greater your talent will be. Some awakened ones also challenge the tower to evolve their talent to a higher grade. But 99.9 percent fail. Only a few ever succeed."
"I’ll try," Ethan said without a second thought.
He was interested in this power system. As a clone, he could live independently if he wanted. But then he would no longer receive the attribute-doubling buff. Still, Ethan was considering the possibility of becoming an entirely separate being.
That would make him far more useful. Maybe he could grow strong enough to stand on equal footing with his main body.
But he also knew that without the attribute-doubling effect, he might never fully match the original.
Even so, Ethan was determined.
He wanted to create a clone as powerful as his main body.
Let’s see what happens.