Ethan paused for a long moment before finally selecting Option B.
After weighing all three choices for his Queen Ant's evolution, this felt like the best move. Sure, Option A offered impressive recovery abilities, but if your defenses aren't strong enough to survive an attack, what's the point of healing? An enemy could land a fatal blow before you even get the chance to regenerate.
Besides, Ethan already had a holy relic called Blue Heart, which provided powerful healing. Doubling down on recovery felt unnecessary.
As for Option C, which focused on the Queen Ant's reproductive powers, it definitely matched his long-term goals. But right now, survival mattered more. The Queen Ant was a critical part of his strategy, and keeping her alive came first.
"Dual resistance," Ethan thought, referring to physical and magical defense boosts. "That's the key."
If the Queen Ant could endure more hits, then the damage-transfer talent he just acquired would be even more effective. He couldn't risk her dropping to critical health too early—if she did, the next in line to take damage would be Da Dao Zai or Anti-Bone Boy, and neither of them could tank for long.
Besides, boosting the Queen Ant's defense would also strengthen her offspring, who would inherit her sturdy nature. Combined with the swarm tactic from 'Gathering Sand into a Tower,' it would make for a terrifying army.
And so, Ethan confirmed his choice.
---
> "Alienation Successful:
Your Gold-ranked Wasteland Ant Queen has evolved into Dark Gold-ranked Crystal Wall Ant Queen."
> Attributes Increased:
Strength: +700
Constitution: +22,600
Agility: +360
Spirit: +280
> New Skill Acquired – Bloodthirsty Bite (Blue):
A relentless attack skill that temporarily increases damage with continued use.
> New Passive Skill – Crystal Wall Carapace (Purple):
The Queen's body is now covered in a crystal-like shell, granting +1200 physical resistance and +900 magic resistance.
---
Ethan smiled. Even though Bloodthirsty Bite wasn't a powerful skill by itself, it gave the Queen and her heirs a much-needed offensive option. Previously, the Queen was all defense and support—now she could bite back.
As for Crystal Wall Carapace, it was a massive upgrade. The resistance it provided worked like damage thresholds—any incoming attack below those numbers would no longer inflict harm.
What's more, her children would inherit 30% of that resistance—meaning each of them would get 400 physical and 300 magic resistance.
That made them virtually immune to low-tier wild monsters, especially those around level 20. This upgrade meant Ethan's Zerg army was reaching elite levels, and he wasn't even close to being done.
With the group's synergy of swarm attacks and defense, Ethan now had a proper battlefield force.
---
He glanced at the Queen Ant's new data:
> Summoned Beast: Dark Gold Rank Crystal Wall Ant Queen
Level: Mature Stage – Lifespan Remaining: 72 years
Strength: 1058 (+1058)
Constitution: 25,212 (+25,212)
Agility: 476 (+476)
Spirit: 366 (+366)
Skills:
Bloodthirsty Bite (Blue)
Nurturing (Blue)
Gathering Sand into a Tower (Green)
Dedication (Purple)
Crystal Wall Carapace (Purple)
Overall Combat Power: 1085 Stars
---
"Finally, she's broken the thousand-star mark," Ethan whispered.
Only Platinum-ranked summoned beasts typically reached that level of combat power. And yet, here he was, with a newly-upgraded Dark Gold Queen Ant surpassing expectations.
With over 25,000 constitution and dual resistances, Ethan figured only a handful of high-level players could ever one-shot her—and not many would get the chance.
He finally relaxed, breathing out in relief.
There was one slight regret. The "Crystal Shell Tortoise Shell" he'd gotten earlier from the bald alien seemed to be of even higher quality than the Lizard Tail materials he used. If he'd had 36 of those tortoise shells, Ethan believed the Queen's constitution could've hit 40,000, and her resistances would've skyrocketed.
Still, no complaints. He had one other rare item in hand—a Giant Shark's Tooth. But he wasn't sure if he should give it to Da Dao Zai or Anti-Bone Boy.
One copy wouldn't make a big difference, so for now, he held onto it.
---
As he walked out of the private reception room, Ethan found the shopping guide still waiting politely outside.
To his surprise, there was someone else standing beside her. A familiar face.
A tall, sturdy young man with rough hands covered in calluses—a sign of constant hard work—but whose face looked much younger than his body.
"Charles?" Ethan blinked in recognition.
It was indeed Charles, the same young man who had once chosen a lifestyle profession over combat, making a decision many thought was foolish back then.
The shopping guide quickly explained, "Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Ethan. This is Charles, son of the owner of Darunhua's Ravenshade City headquarters."
---
"Ethan? Is it really you?!" Charles exclaimed.
Ethan gave a small nod. "Yeah, I remember you."
Charles's eyes lit up.
Ethan hadn't known Charles was a rich second-generation heir. He always kept such a low profile, never flashing his background. In fact, Charles had just come to this Darunhua branch today to conduct an inspection and evaluate how the local employees were handling VIPs.
He never expected to witness a 100-million-credit transaction being finalized—and even more surprising, the buyer was Ethan!
Charles had watched Ethan's performance in that city square livestream earlier in the morning, and had immediately ordered staff to treat him with top priority.
---
Even though Charles's family mostly specialized in support professions, they had deep roots in Ravenshade and frequent access to powerful figures in the area.
From the way Ethan moved, fought, and handled himself, Charles could see a rising star in the making. So he suggested to his family that Ethan be upgraded to Diamond VIP without hesitation.
Today, he had come personally to inspect not only the store but also the people—to make sure none of them accidentally disrespected someone as valuable as Ethan.
And to think he stumbled right into Ethan himself… and a massive transaction that likely made up Darunhua's monthly sales record!
While that amount might not mean much to Charles's powerful family, it was still a big deal at the store level.
Even more shocking was how recently Ethan had undergone his class change—just a week ago!
For a beginner to be able to spend this much, and more importantly, use the materials properly, was unheard of.
---
"I know I made a strange career choice," Charles said, scratching the back of his head, "but you probably thought it was dumb at the time."
Ethan didn't repeat the principal's words about "choosing what suits you best."
Instead, he looked Charles in the eyes and asked a question.
"Let me ask you something—is it possible to upgrade a piece of equipment from Gold-tier to Dark Gold-tier, without changing its core features?"
Charles's eyes widened in surprise.
"Wait… what? You want to... enhance equipment beyond its grade while keeping its traits intact?"
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