Charles didn't expect Ethan to completely ignore the fact that he wasn't a combat-type professional.
He was genuinely surprised. In his experience, most high-level combat professionals—especially the more accomplished ones—looked down on lifestyle professionals like him.
Charles came from a wealthy family with long-standing connections. They had rubbed shoulders with powerful combat professionals, the kinds of people others called legends or monsters.
But that constant exposure had taught Charles one harsh truth: lifestyle professionals were often at the bottom of the respect chain.
Why?
Because combat professionals risked their lives every day, fighting dangerous wild monsters and exploring deadly zones. Their job came with a constant risk of death. In comparison, life-class professionals lived in relative peace. They gained experience through crafting, cooking, forging, and other production-based skills.
They didn't need to battle monsters.
They didn't need to bleed.
As a result, many combat professionals—especially those who'd been seriously injured—often held grudges or contempt toward those who never had to risk their lives.
It created a silent hierarchy.
Lifestyle professionals weren't treated as equals.
They weren't outright disrespected, but they were often underestimated or disregarded.
---
And the fact remained—life-class professions still needed raw materials to grow.
Since they couldn't gather these materials themselves from dungeons, they had to rely on combatants to supply them.
In truth, many lifestyle professionals were more like craftsmen working behind the scenes, quietly supporting the warriors out front. In society, they stood just above ordinary civilians—not warriors, but not weaklings either.
And to be honest, if Charles hadn't come from a powerful family, he probably would have chosen to become a combatant like everyone else.
So, when Ethan didn't judge him, Charles was taken aback.
Even more—Ethan had just asked him a question about equipment synthesis, a specialty of Charles's profession.
That moment closed the gap between them almost instantly. Charles felt a sudden warmth toward Ethan. Someone with such overwhelming strength, and yet... humble enough to treat a lifestyle professional with respect.
---
As for Ethan, he had a very specific reason for asking that question.
He had a gold-level necklace, one that carried a rare red-level skill—a skill so powerful it could reshape fights. But due to the limitations of the equipment's grade, only 10% of the skill's full potential could be used.
What a waste, he thought.
If he could somehow upgrade this necklace to dark gold rank without losing the skill, it would be a game changer.
So he asked Charles for advice.
---
Charles thought for a bit, then explained:
> "There are several ways to upgrade equipment. The main ones are synthesis, strengthening, forging, and enchanting.
If you want to retain the original attributes, I'd recommend either synthesis or strengthening.
With synthesis, if you use two identical pieces of equipment, there's a high chance the original traits will stay.
With enhancement, you'll need to find materials with matching traits, but there's a chance new features could appear."
---
Ethan fell into deep thought.
I don't need any new traits. I just want to upgrade the necklace while keeping the replication ability intact.
That meant synthesis was the only viable option.
The problem?
To use synthesis, he'd need two of the same necklace, which meant he'd have to farm the "Myriad Realms Misty Cave" again and again until he found another one.
Luckily, his combat power had skyrocketed recently. Farming wouldn't take long now. If it meant getting a dark gold version of the replication necklace, he'd gladly make a few extra trips.
---
"Charles," Ethan asked, "can you handle synthesis?"
Charles smiled but answered honestly, "I can, but I can only synthesize silver-tier equipment at the moment. The success rate isn't that great either. However, thanks to my talent, I can ensure that even if synthesis fails, one of the items survives."
Ethan nodded approvingly. That was good enough for him.
Synthesis was already considered an outrageous skill—being able to merge equipment for stronger versions. Expecting a 100% success rate would be unrealistic.
The fact that Charles's talent guaranteed no full loss on failure met Ethan's expectations completely.
The only drawback?
Charles was still a bit under-leveled.
---
Seeing Ethan's thoughtful expression, Charles continued explaining:
> "To be completely honest, my synthesis talent is high-quality, even S-rank. But it's still a bit... slow to develop.
For silver-tier gear, the cost-to-benefit ratio is questionable. Synthesizing two silvers into one gold isn't always worth it.
In most cases, it's more cost-effective to just craft gold gear directly.
And... just between us, I have six older brothers and seven older sisters, not counting the younger siblings.
That's why I kept my family background quiet during school. There's nothing special about being the boss's son when there are 14 other siblings competing for attention."
---
Ethan scratched his head.
Lifestyle professionals sure are complicated...
Then again, it made sense. They didn't fight monsters, so they didn't need constant gear upgrades. Once they reached a bottleneck, they had a lot of downtime.
But it also gave them room to train their skills and provide value to the kingdom in peaceful ways.
Suddenly, Ethan understood why the total population of Blue Star kept increasing, even after being invaded by the Myriad Realms. Because lifestyle professionals stayed alive.
They weren't fighting—they were thriving.
---
"If I gave you 10 million credits," Ethan asked suddenly, "could you use that to increase your proficiency?"
Charles's eyes went wide.
"W-What?!"
He hesitated. On one hand, he really wanted the help. On the other, he was terrified he couldn't pay it back.
Sensing his discomfort, Ethan reassured him.
"You know equipment starts getting unique traits at the gold level, right? I have one of those. The replication ability is rare and valuable. I want to upgrade it while keeping that function. That's why I need someone like you."
---
That one explanation was all it took for Charles's eyes to light up.
Of course! When you were dealing with high-grade, rare-ability gear, the value wasn't just the materials—it was the features.
Charles had always failed to see the point of synthesis before. He'd worked mostly with bronze and silver equipment, where the upgrades barely mattered. It felt like a waste of time.
But now, with something like Ethan's necklace, the situation was completely different.
If he could successfully synthesize that necklace into a dark gold piece while keeping its traits, it would be worth ten times the cost.
---
This was it.
His chance.
His chance to prove his value to his family, to break free of being just another "extra son," and to become a respected professional in his own right.
---
"Is 10 million enough?" Ethan asked. "If you succeed, you can consider this your commission fee."
"Enough! Definitely enough!" Charles shouted, standing upright. "That's more than enough for me to level up my synthesis skills!"
Without another word, Ethan transferred the money, left his contact info, and prepared to leave.
Charles clenched his fists.
This was more than kindness—this was fate.
If I succeed this time… Ethan, I'll owe you everything.
---
He turned to the shopping guide beside him. "Old Liu, right? Get me a forging room immediately. And also—bring me every duplicate silver-tier item in storage. I'm training tonight."
---
Back at home, Ethan ran into someone unexpected.
The principal of Ravenshade No. 3 High School, and his grandmother, had just returned from an urgent trip.
Big things were about to happen.
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