Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 32: Baron

"Hey there..." Ethan’s eyes lit up as he heard LoS_Blackblade’s introduction, and he greeted them with a smile. "You guys are from Legion of Shadows? Perfect! I’m completely lost in this godforsaken place. I’m trying to get to Silver Horn City—mind showing me the way?"

"Silver Horn City?"

LoS_Blackblade was momentarily stunned but quickly nodded. "Yeah, no problem... Silver Horn City is directly south of Sunfire Basin. If we move carefully, we should get there in two or three days."

"Two or three days? That long?" Ethan frowned.

It had already taken him two days to get here, so the return trip would take just as long. If heading to Silver Horn City meant another six or seven days round trip, he wasn’t sure he had that kind of time to spare.

But his reaction made LoS_Blackblade and the others tense up.

"Valkarion, we’re on the outskirts of Sylvanwood right now. This place is crawling with high-tier wild units—it’s dangerous! If we want to get out safely, we have to be extremely cautious..."

The one speaking was LoS_Starlily, the only woman in the five-person squad. She was a strikingly beautiful and mature young woman, and her voice carried a note of concern. She was worried Ethan might insist on forcing their way through.

Ethan had an 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knight, so he had nothing to fear—but they weren’t so lucky. Given how dangerous the outskirts of Sylvanwood were, charging through recklessly would be nothing short of suicide.

"Relax, I’m not going to force you into anything. I’m just in a bit of a hurry..." Ethan reassured them before asking, "What about flying out?"

"Flying?"

LoS_Starlily furrowed her brows, hesitating. "It’s not impossible... but the southern skies are patrolled by 3-Tier Stone Gargoyles, 4-Tier Obsidian Gargoyles, and even 5-Tier Serpent Flies! The best flying unit our squad has is a 5-Tier Griffin. If we don’t take a detour, I’m afraid—"

"Then it’s settled!"

Ethan raised his hand, summoning two more 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights. LoS_Blackblade and the others stared in stunned silence as he gestured toward the majestic creatures.

"You guys can ride my 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights—problem solved, right?"

LoS_Blackblade and his team were speechless for a long moment before finally snapping out of their shock.

"N-No... I mean, yeah! Of course, that works! Valkarion, you’re insane! You actually have three 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights?!"

"Seriously! Are you some kind of top-tier player from Legion of Shadows?"

Ethan just smiled at their astonishment and didn’t bother answering.

Realizing they might have overstepped, LoS_Blackblade and the others quickly laughed awkwardly and changed the subject.

"With these 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights, we can fly straight there. That’ll cut down our travel time significantly... I’d say we’ll reach Silver Horn City in half a day at most!"

"Then let’s get moving."

Moments later, the three 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights spread their wings and soared into the sky, heading straight south toward Silver Horn City, one of the grand count cities.

Half a Day Later

A massive, towering city came into view before Ethan’s eyes.

This was Silver Horn City, one of the twenty-eight count cities of the Unicorn Duchy!

It was also the main headquarters of the Legion of Shadows guild in the game.

"Holy shit! My eyes must be playing tricks on me... Look at that! 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights!"

"Damn... Three 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights?! That’s insane!"

"That’s a real powerhouse right there! Wait... hold on, isn’t that LoS_Blackblade’s squad? Where the hell did they get 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights? I thought their best unit was a 6-Tier Iron Golem?"

"One of them isn’t from their squad... Must be some high-ranking player from Legion of Shadows! Damn, I’m so jealous! 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights... I wonder if I’ll ever get my hands on one in this lifetime?"

"You? Pfft, dream on. Maybe in your next life... or the one after that!"

...

As countless envious and admiring gazes followed them, and a swarm of excited, eager young women practically surrounded them like moths to a flame, Ethan and his group descended on their three 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights, landing right in front of Silver Horn City’s grand gates.

"Damn... that’s a lot of people."

Ethan tried to keep a calm facade, but inside, he was absolutely panicking.

Holy shit, this was way too much attention!

It felt like he was some kind of celebrity, basking in the spotlight while the whole world watched.

If he had even slightly weaker nerves, he probably would’ve embarrassed himself on the spot.

Time to bail!

Without wasting another second, Ethan swiftly dismissed his three 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights, grabbed LoS_Blackblade and the others, and squeezed into the city as fast as he could.

A While Later – A Quiet Corner in Silver Horn City

Ethan wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, still shaken.

"Man, those people were way too ’enthusiastic’..." he muttered, still catching his breath.

LoS_Blackblade and the others exchanged glances.

LoS_Starlily suddenly giggled, covering her mouth. "Well, what do you expect? You’re ridiculously strong! The game might not show exact ages, but you can still get a rough idea... I’d guess you’re under twenty-five, and yet you already have 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights—top-tier Elite Units! Your future is limitless!"

She smirked and continued, "People aren’t stupid. It’s not about who’s smarter, it’s about who’s smart enough to seize an opportunity. Of course, they all want to get to know you, build a connection, and maybe ride your coattails to success."

Then, as if struck by a sudden idea, LoS_Starlily paused for a moment before turning to Ethan with a playful, almost sultry look.

"So, Valkarion... why not consider me?" she said, her voice dripping with amusement. "I might not be as young as some of those girls, but I’m definitely not worse than them, right? And if you really prefer the cute and innocent type... I can totally fake a sweet, girly voice too."

She suddenly switched to an unnervingly accurate loli voice.

"Big bro~ do you like my cute little voice~?"

Ethan’s face instantly darkened.

He was completely speechless.

The others froze for a second—then burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"PFFFT—HAHAHAHAHA!"

LoS_Blackblade and the rest of the squad doubled over, roaring with laughter at Ethan’s expense.

They suddenly realized that Ethan was unexpectedly a bit shy—

which didn’t quite match his status as a top-tier gaming legend...

But on second thought, maybe LoS_Starlily was right. Valkarion might actually be younger than they had assumed.

"So young, yet already commanding 8-Tier units... That’s seriously impressive."

LoS_Blackblade sighed in admiration before turning to Ethan. "I’ll just call you Valkarion, if that’s alright. What brings you to Silver Horn City? Maybe we can help. This city is Legion of Shadows’ turf—we know most places like the back of our hand."

At first, he had suspected Ethan might be some hidden ace from their guild, but now he was ruling that out.

Ethan clearly wasn’t familiar with Silver Horn City.

That alone was enough to prove he wasn’t one of them.

"Where’s the tavern in Silver Horn City? I want to... Wait, actually, let’s go to the Lord’s Keep first."

Ethan suddenly remembered—his Light Alliance reputation had reached 23,000. That meant he could claim the title of Baron in any major city within the Light Alliance factions (Castle, Forest, Tower).

He wasn’t sure exactly what benefits came with the title,

but based on past gaming experience, having noble status always came with serious perks.

And this wasn’t just a noble title for a single kingdom or faction—

It was for the entire Light Alliance!

A Baron of the entire Light Alliance!

That was on a whole different level!

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

"Lord’s Keep?"

But the moment Ethan mentioned it, LoS_Blackblade and the others visibly tensed.

"What’s wrong?" Ethan asked.

"Valkarion, you might not know this, but regular players can’t even get close to the Lord’s Keep... It’s said that only players with noble titles—actual kingdom nobles—are allowed near it. Anyone else gets killed on sight!" LoS_Blackblade quickly explained.

"Oh?" Ethan nodded. "Then just tell me where it is—I’ll go myself."

"You..."

LoS_Blackblade and the others stared at Ethan in shock. "Wait, wait, wait—you’re saying you actually have a noble title?"

They knew how rare that was!

In their entire Legion of Shadows guild, fewer than ten people had noble status. And every single one of them was a true powerhouse—nearly half were S-rank players on the Monarch Leaderboard. That alone spoke volumes.

In fact, having a noble title was arguably even more valuable than Ethan’s three 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights...

"Not yet. But I will once I get there." Ethan chuckled, not bothering to hide it.

"Hiss—"

LoS_Blackblade and the others sucked in a sharp breath, exchanging looks before breaking into wry smiles.

This was just unfair.

A kingdom noble in the game world?!

If word got out, even the top ten guilds would go crazy over this...

"I’ll take you there," LoS_Blackblade said with a wry smile after a brief hesitation. "I can’t get too close to the Lord’s Keep, but I’ll stop a little ways off. That should be fine."

"Alright." Ethan nodded.

Before long, the two of them arrived at the main road leading to the Lord’s Keep in Silver Horn City.

"Halt! Civilians are forbidden from approaching the Lord’s Keep!"

A squad of well-equipped Tier-2 Legion Guards blocked their path, gripping their weapons as they glared at them coldly.

LoS_Blackblade shuddered slightly and leaned in to whisper, "Valkarion, I’ll take my leave... If anything comes up, message me. I’ll be there in a flash."

"Got it."

Ethan nodded, then turned to the intimidating Tier-2 Legion Guard Captain and said calmly, "I’m here to claim my Baron title."

As he spoke, he displayed his Light Alliance reputation.

The moment the guards saw it, their expressions shifted dramatically. The captain stiffened, his face paling as his entire demeanor changed in an instant.

"Clang!"

The Tier-2 Legion Guard Captain immediately saluted Ethan with the formal warrior’s gesture, then swiftly sheathed his weapon and stepped aside, gesturing respectfully.

"My deepest apologies for the offense, Lord Valkarion! Please, follow me inside!"

...

Not long after, Ethan was personally received by Aldric Hawke, the ruler of Silver Horn City and a Count of the Unicorn Duchy.

And right then and there, he was officially awarded the Honorary Medal of Baron for the Light Alliance faction!

"Congratulations! Player ’Valkarion’ has become a Baron of the Light Alliance!"

"As the third player in the world to attain the rank of Baron in the Light Alliance, you are eligible for a special reward. Choose one of the following:

Troops (Two Tier-8 units)

Resources (200,000 gold, plus five units of each of the six major resources)

Treasure (A Level-1 strategic artifact)"

"Congratulations! Player ’Valkarion’ has become a Baron of the Light Alliance!"

Ethan raised an eyebrow and made his decision without hesitation.

"Troops!"

He had been worried that selling just his Tier-8 Silver Pegasus Knights might seem too underwhelming—or worse, that they wouldn’t fetch a good price.

But now, this reward was like a pillow delivered right when he needed a nap.

Problem solved.

"Player ’Valkarion’ has chosen the troop reward. Would you like to select a specific unit, or receive a random one?"

"Let me think..."

Since he was planning to sell them, he needed the strongest possible unit!

Ethan quickly ran through his memories of Tier-8 units from his past life.

Crusader, Silver Pegasus Knight, Arch Mage, Vampire Lord, Horned Demon, Medusa Queen, Ogre Mage, Greater Basilisk, Energy Elemental...

If he remembered correctly, the strongest among them was the Vampire Lord—

But that was an undead unit, which wouldn’t be ideal.

The Horned Demon was a hellspawn, so that was out too.

As for the rest... they were all more or less on the same level.

"I’ll take the Tier-8 Crusader."

Ethan didn’t feel like overthinking it.

Crusaders were a bit slow, but they were tanky and packed a punch—should fetch a decent price.

Now, there was just one more thing to do.

His eyes gleamed as he turned toward the tavern in Silver Horn City.

Time to pay it a visit.

...