CHAPTER 49: CRUSHING A YOUNG MASTER AGAIN

Ethan then walked out of the Grand Hall alongside Rose, Zara, Cedric, and Leila. The after noon air smelled faintly of the sea, mingled with the sterile tang of alloy and ozone from the security fields.

Alexander inclined his head, his craggy features serious but warm.

"You should see the city first," he told Ethan. "After you return...come find me."

Ethan nodded calmly. "Okay."

They moved down the steps where a matte-black grav car waited in standby mode, its gullwing doors rising in quiet unison.

Leila scrambled eagerly into the back seat, claiming the window beside Zara. Rose followed, sitting with one hand on Zara’s shoulder to steady her.

Ethan climbed into the front passenger seat, and Cedric took the driver’s controls, his tall frame adjusting the seat with a practiced gesture.

The car lifted from the ground in a soft surge of antigrav thrust and slipped onto the avenue, gliding between mirrored towers.

This was a flying car uncommon in normal base cities.

Cedric’s mood brightened as he drove, and he glanced sidelong at Ethan.

"Our Super City One has another name—Aurora City," he said proudly. "This was humanity’s very first super city, built when the Alliance unified the territories. You’ll see things here that you won’t find anywhere else."

As they spoke, a huge dome-shaped building came into view, its roof a lattice of holo-displays shimmering with active feeds.

"That’s the central library," Cedric explained. "Any information you can’t access from the base city, you’ll find here. Martial research, historical archives, restricted AI datasets. If you get time, you should explore it."

They passed next through a district filled with impossibly tall skyscrapers. Many of the buildings vanished into the low clouds overhead, their lighting arrays blinking like stars.

Hovercars drifted between them in precise formations. Ethan watched it all in silence, the scale of the place stirring something restless in his heart.

Thirty minutes later, Cedric slowed the vehicle beside a massive glass-fronted complex where blue-uniformed guards patrolled the entry ramps.

"This is the Scientific Research Headquarter," Cedric said. "They’re the ones who designed most of our high-grade armors and energy weapons."

Ethan absorbed every detail—the discreet armored gun ports, the scanning pylons, the transparent skywalks.

As they continued, Cedric pointed out each landmark, his voice switching between excitement and gravity.

"That tower with the green light spire is the Martial Registration Center. Over there—the smaller structure with the curved roof—that’s the medical genetic clinic."

Ethan’s eyes drifted upward again, following a convoy of grav trucks. And then he froze.

At an intersection ahead stood something that made his pulse jump—a massive humanoid machine twenty meters tall, its armored plates painted blue and red.

It looked exactly like something out of a film from his childhood.

"That...that’s Optimus Prime," he blurted. "What the hell?"

Cedric laughed, clearly delighted by the reaction. "Close. That’s actually a Nova Sentinel—one of humanity’s newest breakthroughs in military robotics.

It takes three operators to pilot one, and even an unawakened person can control it. A Nova Sentinel can battle king-level monsters toe to toe."

Ethan felt a surge of genuine respect. "Incredible."

Cedric’s expression sobered. "Right now, we only have about fifty Emperor-level warriors on the planet. But the monsters? Hundreds—maybe thousands.

The day they move in unison...the Alliance knows we can’t hold. That’s why we started building the Sentinels. We’re racing extinction itself."

Ethan glanced sideways, studying Cedric anew. For all his bright, earnest demeanor, Cedric’s voice was steady and grim.

He might look carefree, Ethan thought, but he’s still a Hunt.

In the back seat, Zara was wide-eyed.

"Look, Sister Rose!" she gasped. "It’s like a giant hero!"

Rose was leaning forward too, her face lit by the towering machine’s glow. Even Leila looked uncharacteristically serious.

A few minutes later, Cedric parked the car before a six-story tower clad in silver panels. A simple sign over the doorway read:

Cedric turned in his seat, eyes shining. "This," he said with quiet reverence, "is humanity’s most precious treasure. The President brought it back from a super realm."

Ethan nodded slowly, recognizing the word. "I know what a realm is."

"Good." Cedric gestured at the structure. "Each floor is its own dimension.

The first floor is for warriors, the second for masters, the third for grandmasters, and so on. No one knows what lies on the sixth floor.

Every level has five sub-challenges, each more difficult than the last. For every level you clear, you receive resources that can increase your base strength."

He looked straight at Ethan. "You know the progression, right? A normal Level 9 Warrior has about ten tons of force. When he breaks through to Master, it multiplies by five—fifty tons.

But if you clear all five levels of the first floor, you’ll gain an extra ten tons base. That means when you advance, you’d have a hundred tons instead of fifty. Even if you can’t clear all five levela,clearing each level would give you reasources accordingly. Maybe that won’t be much like level 5,but an increase in base strength is still better than nothing.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. "And it works the same way for every realm?"

Cedric nodded gravely. "Yes. This tower is the only reason humanity hasn’t been completely overtaken by monster evolution.

We’re desperately trying to close the gap."

A silence fell. Then Cedric smiled again, trying to shake off the heaviness. "You’re a Level 9 Warrior, right? You should try it. Even clearing two levels would make your foundation rock-solid."

Ethan nearly laughed aloud. If only you knew, he thought, my foundation is probably the strongest on the planet. He was about to explain that he wasn’t a Warrior at all when a mocking voice interrupted.

"Well, well...if it isn’t the famous Hunt family’s failure."

They turned. A tall young man was leaning against the steps of the tower, arms folded, flanked by half a dozen followers.

His hair was styled in sharp platinum spikes, his tailored combat uniform crested with the Morningstar insignia.

Cedric’s jaw tightened. "Cristan," he said coldly.

Cristan smiled, baring perfect teeth. "I heard you were skulking around the city, Cedric. I almost didn’t recognize you—you’ve gotten even more pathetic. Twenty-two years old and still stuck at Level Six warrior?"

His entourage burst into laughter.

Rose frowned, her voice low. "Who is that?"

Leila’s expression was black. "Cristan Morningstar. A well known prodigy in the Morningstar family. A 22 years old Master Level One warrior. His family...has bad blood with ours."

Ethan also heard this. "So that’s how it is."

Ethan turned his gaze to Cedric and asked loudly. "Who is this insect, exactly? Sounds like a cricket buzzing.What a waste. My mood is totally ruined."

Cedric’s eyes went wide. Did he really just say that out loud?

Leila clapped both hands over her mouth. Even Rose looked like she was trying not to laugh.

Cristan’s face darkened by the second. "You dare?" he hissed. "Cedric—your dog has no leash, he dares to talk to me like that? Have you already forgotten the lession I tought you?"

Cedric lifted his chin. "He’s not a servant. He—"

But Ethan raised a hand, stopping him. He stepped forward, his white coat catching the breeze.

His expression was cool and disdainful.

"Child," Ethan said calmly, "have you forgotten your father? I was only away for a few days, and now you pretend not to recognize me? You wanted candy last time and I refused. That’s why you don’t want to recognise me anymore?

Is this how you repay your dear papa? Come here, I’ll give you a head pat." Ethan said in a hurt expression.

The silence that followed was absolute. No one imagined someone could talk to a Morningstar like this.

Then—

"Pffft...HAHAHAHA!" Leila doubled over, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Rose pressed her hand to her mouth, trembling with suppressed laughter.

Cedric’s control broke, and he collapsed onto a bench, clutching his sides.

Cristan turned purple. "YOU BASTARD!" he shrieked. "I’ll kill you!"

He lunged forward in a blur of motion.

"Cristan, STOP!" Cedric shouted, surging to his feet. "If you touch him—"

But Cristan ignored him, fist cocked back to smash Ethan’s mouth.

Ethan didn’t flinch. His hand rose slowly, almost lazily. Cristan smirked, thinking he was too slow.

Until Ethan’s finger met his knuckles.

A deep BOOM cracked the air.

A brittle Kacha! followed.

Cristan screamed, his whole body spasming. He crumpled to the steps, clutching his shattered fist. Blood seeped between his fingers.

No one moved.

Cristan’s lackeys moved toward Cristan immediately.

One of Cristan’s lackeys found his voice. "You—you’ll pay for this. Young Master Caseous will avenge—"

Ethan’s eyes turned cold as a winter sea.

The boy swallowed his words. He grabbed Cristan under the arms and stumbled away, leaving a dark trail on the marble.

Cedric finally found his voice. "Aren’t you...just a Warrior? How did you..."

Ethan turned, his expression almost pitying. "When," he asked quietly, "did I ever say that?"

Cedric stared at him in mute horror. He felt his heart was stabbed badly. Lungs,kidneys all were churning. He wanted to vomit blood more than anything now.

Leila’s mouth hung open.

In the back seat, Zara whispered, starry-eyed:

"Big Brother...you’re amazing."

Ethan smiled faintly, his gaze drifting toward the horizon.

Let them come, he thought. It’s time the world learned who I am.