Yes, that's right—the mysterious bald-headed enemy who had vanished was taken down by Ethan.
As mentioned earlier, Ethan had assigned Da Dao Zai (Big Blade Boy) to secretly follow him at all times, regardless of where he went. His role was to guarantee Ethan's safety from the shadows.
Ethan had even experimented with something unusual. Using his spatial ability, [Space Shift], he could mark Da Dao Zai as a teleportation point. That made this power far more versatile than before.
After activating his "Vine Entangling" skill to prepare the area, Ethan ordered Da Dao Zai to remain hidden there. Meanwhile, Ethan used [Space Shift] to return to the teleportation point he had previously set inside the City Lord's mansion.
Before leaving, he gave Da Dao Zai one final instruction: If any enemies near the bearded martial artist show signs of weakness (like low health) and it's safe to act, then eliminate them—and signal Ethan afterward.
Ethan had already suspected that if the housekeeper didn't intervene during this battle, then the bearded warrior would likely leave a few opponents alive.
And if no opportunity appeared?
Then Da Dao Zai could simply wait. No risk involved. No harm done.
---
As expected, that's exactly how things unfolded. The bald-headed man was eventually crippled by the bearded martial artist, who then turned his attention to torturing another long-haired enemy. That was Da Dao Zai's moment. He sprang from the shadows and ended the bald man's life in a single strike.
Ethan didn't even need a message from his ally. As soon as he felt the sudden spike in experience points, he teleported directly to the scene, gathered the corpse, retrieved Da Dao Zai, and promptly returned to the first-floor bathroom of the City Lord's mansion.
Now, why would Ethan go through all this trouble just for one more kill?
Simple.
Da Dao Zai had proven he could remain completely undetected by the bearded master, even during an intense fight. That gave Ethan full confidence to leave him behind next time as well—because the man simply couldn't be sensed.
And instead of letting Da Dao Zai fight from the start, Ethan wanted him to stay hidden for sneak attacks, maximizing both efficiency and loot. That way, they could gather more decomposable materials from enemies.
But there was more...
The bearded martial artist had previously mentioned something that caught Ethan's interest: aliens provided a lot of experience points when killed.
If even a third-rank, level 67 professional said this, it was worth investigating. Ethan couldn't pass up such valuable opportunities.
---
And just like that, his gamble paid off.
Even though Ethan didn't deal most of the damage, he still gained enough experience from the kill to reach level 201!
Ding!
> "System Notification: You have met the conditions to unlock an SSS-Level Talent. Would you like to proceed?"
Of course, Ethan chose yes.
> "Congratulations! You've obtained a new SSS-Level Talent: Damage Transfer!"
> Damage Transfer: All damage received will be absorbed by your summoned beasts first. Damage will be calculated using their defense stats. You can set the priority and percentage of damage taken by each summoned creature.
---
Ethan's eyes lit up with excitement. This was a game-changer!
From now on, there was no need to build his own physical toughness. The summoned beasts would absorb hits for him, letting him stay agile and focused on offense.
And with his [Space Shift] ability, he could escape from danger instantly. That alone made this talent a true life-saving skill.
Plus, if damage was redirected through his beasts' defenses, then he didn't need to equip defensive gear anymore. That freed up space for full spiritual attribute boosting gear, maximizing his offense.
With high-tier gear offering percentage-based stat boosts later in the game, it made no sense to waste equipment slots on defense anymore.
---
And now with control over the damage distribution, Ethan carefully assigned roles:
First in line to take damage: Queen Ant, who had the highest constitution.
Second: Anti-Bone Boy, his sturdy backup.
Lastly: Da Dao Zai and the Queen Ant's heirs.
All were set to absorb 90% of damage first before it ever reached Ethan.
When calculated this way, Ethan could survive over 10,000 points of damage without lifting a finger.
---
Next, he turned his attention to the corpse of the bald-headed mutant.
Rather than waste it, Ethan used his Decomposition skill to break it down into useful parts and even fed some remains to his summoned beasts.
The reward?
Another Dark Gold-grade material called: "Crystal Shell of the Dark Gold Tortoise".
---
Ethan glanced at the empty corpse, devoid of thoughts and memories. Then a theory struck him—
Were these mutants using the bodies of wild monsters to evolve?
It reminded him eerily of his own "Infinite Alienation" ability.
Think about it: the shark-mouthed giant, the bald-headed beast—they both had clear signs of being merged with beast traits.
And because they were lower-level mutants, they relied mostly on physical strength, rarely using any actual skills. Their fighting style was simple, brutish, and lacked finesse.
Even the bearded martial artist, a professional combatant, had a more straightforward and minimalistic technique. His style looked refined on the surface but lacked real variation.
---
This clashed with Ethan's expectations of a third-rank fighter. He had imagined such warriors flinging out spectacular abilities in every direction.
Guess reality was different.
Of course, Ethan himself had flashy skills. His vine-summoning ability could create a 100-meter-wide web of roots instantly, and it looked stunning in action.
But maybe there was more to this skill.
What if vines weren't just for binding enemies?
What if Ethan used them to reshape terrain, trap enemies, or create safe escape zones?
Yes! Terrain manipulation could be the key.
That also meant perfect ambush setups for his Zerg-like summoned beasts, who could cling to ceilings and walls like spiders.
Suddenly—
Whoosh!
The sound of the toilet flushing echoed in the room. Ethan had finished his business.
---
As he stepped out, one of the manor's residents, Fairwind, looked at him with concern.
"Ethan, is your stomach acting up again? Want some medicine?"
"No, I'm fine. Just leaving now."
"Wanna team up and level up tomorrow? I'll help you—uh, or you help me fly through it?"
"Maybe next time," Ethan replied with a small grin. "I've got a mission tomorrow."
"Huh? Already? Wait… weren't you just level 19 this morning?"
"Yup."
Fairwind blinked in confusion. "So how the heck did you gain a level just by going to the bathroom?"
---
Ethan smiled but said nothing.
He had no intention of sharing that inside the bathroom, he had decomposed an alien corpse, gained a rare crafting material, leveled up, and unlocked an SSS-tier talent that could redirect damage to summoned beasts.
All in one bathroom break.
Talk about productive multitasking.
---
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