Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 168: Diplomacy

"S+ Special Mission — Destruction of the Behemoth Lair. Mission rewards have been calculated! You’ve earned the following:"

"30 million gold coins. 500 units of each of the six major resources. Choose either five Legendary Units of Tier 13, or one Mythic Unit of Tier 14..."

"Hooooly—"

"Mythic Unit?!"

Ethan’s eyes went wide as he sucked in a sharp breath, completely stunned.

It wasn’t that he’d never seen power on that level before—hell, Seraphina, Cicero, even Elyra, Lilith, and Eldorin all had strength that could rival Tier 14 Mythic Units.

But those were hero units. Not regular troops.

And that made all the difference.

This was a Tier 14 Mythic Unit—an actual, standard unit. Not a hero. Not a one-off. A real, reproducible troop type. And up until now, he hadn’t had a single one.

Getting even one of these? That was a game-changer.

Because it meant breaking the zero barrier. Going from nothing to something. And that first step? That was always the hardest.

Once you’ve got one, the rest gets easier. The path opens up. Wider. Smoother. Faster.

Just thinking about it had Ethan so hyped he didn’t even bother checking the rest of the rewards.

He just nodded and said, "I’ll take the Tier 14 Gold Dragon!"

Ding!

"Player Valkarion has selected the Tier 14 Mythic Unit: Gold Dragon... Confirming selection... Reward granted!"

"Congratulations, Player Valkarion! You’ve obtained the Tier 14 Mythic Unit: Gold Dragon. The unit will be delivered to your castle — Emerald Castle — within the next 12 hours. Please keep an eye out!"

Ding!

"Congratulations, Player Valkarion! You are the first player in the world of Glory Lords X to recruit a Tier 14 Mythic Unit! You’ve earned: 200,000 Light Alliance Reputation, 20 million gold coins, and 500 units each of wood, ore, crystal, mercury, gems, and sulfur."

"Special Bonus: Random Talent Skill Draw."

Ding! Random Talent Skill Draw in progress... Please wait... Draw complete!

"Congratulations, Player Valkarion! You’ve received the talent skill: Draconic Might. Please check your inventory!"

Draconic Might

(Possess the strength and physique of a dragon. +100 Attack, +100 Defense, +10,000 HP. Immune to all Tier 3 and below magic. Tier 3 magic damage reduced by 30%. This skill is upgradable. Current Level: 1. Max Level: 3.) freeweɓnøvel.com

...

"Holy—"

The sudden windfall hit Ethan like a truck. His pupils shrank, and he froze on the spot, completely floored.

It took him a solid few seconds to snap out of it.

"This Draconic Might skill is insane!"

"Am I turning into a final boss or what?!"

A hundred points to both attack and defense, ten thousand extra HP, and magic immunity on top of that? That was basically like equipping a Tier 4 Strategic Artifact!

In an instant, he’d gone from powerful to monstrous—tough as hell, built like a tank, and strong enough to crush anything in his path.

"With all that, my stats must’ve changed too, right?" Ethan muttered to himself, already pulling up his hero status panel in a rush.

And the moment the new screen loaded—

He froze.

Completely.

His eyes went wide, jaw slack, breath caught in his throat. His heart started pounding like a war drum, thudding so hard it felt like it might burst out of his chest.

[Valkarion]

Race: Human-Elf-Dragon Hybrid (Rebirth Available)

Class: Vanguard Knight, Dragonblood Warrior

Title: Count of the Light Alliance (Hero)

Tier: Orange Legendary Hero

Level: 44 (Max Level: 80. Second Awakening unlocks at Level 55. After awakening, max level increases to 80. Each level grants 2 attribute points. Points can be distributed among the four core stats.)

Attack: 66 (241)

Defense: 55 (188)

Spell Power: 11 (33)

Knowledge: 28 (55)

HP: 9,000 (18,000)

Hero Skills: Luck’s Favor, Offense...

Hero Talents:

Level 1 Green Dragon Lord (Boosts damage of owned Tier 13 Green Dragon by 5%. +3 to Attack and Defense)

Level 1 Draconic Might (Possesses strength and physique comparable to dragons...)

Overall Rating: C-Rank Orange Legendary Hero

His race had changed—now listed as Human-Elf-Dragon Hybrid.

His class had changed too—he’d gained a new one: Dragonblood Warrior.

But the biggest shock?

His hero tier had jumped to Orange Legendary.

That wasn’t just a stat boost. That was a full-blown evolution.

A transformation.

A rebirth.

From this moment on, even if Ethan were betrayed by every ally, abandoned by every friend—left completely alone in the world of Glory Lords X—he could still rise again. Still claw his way back to the top. Still become a force to be reckoned with.

That’s what it meant to be an Orange Legendary Hero.

That was the kind of power that didn’t need an army to back it up.

That was the kind of power that was the army.

"Damn..." Ethan whispered, eyes still locked on the screen. "With this kind of strength... could I actually go toe-to-toe with a Tier 14 Mythic Unit now?"

He didn’t have an answer yet.

But he was already scrolling down, eyes flicking toward the rest of the mission rewards, heart still hammering in his chest.

"S+ Special Mission — Destruction of the Behemoth Lair. Mission rewards have been calculated! You’ve received the following rewards."

"30 million gold coins... and the hero skill, Diplomacy!"

Wait... Diplomacy?!

No way—seriously?!

Ethan’s whole body jolted. His face changed instantly, eyes wide with disbelief and excitement. He immediately pulled up his hero skill panel, heart pounding like a drum.

And there it was—clear as day, a name that made his pulse spike:

Diplomacy (Level 1)

Diplomacy (Level 1): Increases the chance of neutral units joining your army in the wild. Reduces surrender costs and lowers the level requirement for visiting the Sage’s Library.

5% chance for wild units to join your army. Surrender costs reduced by 10%.

At Level 1, you can recruit up to Tier 12 Royal Units.

Recruitment chance for Tier 11 and Tier 12 units is one-third of the normal rate.

This skill is currently Level 1. Max level: 5.

"Hooo—"

"It... it’s really Diplomacy..."

Ethan sucked in a sharp breath, his whole body trembling. His face flushed red with excitement as he muttered under his breath, almost in disbelief.

Diplomacy. Do you even understand what that means?

If you asked any player from his previous world—the world of Glory Lords X—they’d all give you the same answer without hesitation:

Broken.

Overpowered.

God-tier.

No exaggeration—Diplomacy was hands-down the most busted, most overpowered hero skill in the entire game. And not just "one of the best"—it was the best. Period.

In any match, once a hero got their hands on Diplomacy, it was basically game over. You might as well throw in the towel.

It was that ridiculous.

A straight-up game-breaking skill.

At least, that’s how it worked in the Glory Lords X of his original world...

And now, in this new world that mirrored Glory Lords X, even if Diplomacy wasn’t quite as broken, it had to be close. It had to be.

Just thinking about it made Ethan’s face flush even deeper. He could barely contain the excitement bubbling up inside him.

"Mythic Units... my hero tier just jumped to Legendary... and now I’ve got Diplomacy too?!"

"This is insane. I’ve hit the jackpot!"

While everyone else was out there bleeding, losing troops, suffering casualties left and right, Ethan had come out of this mission not only unscathed—but with a massive profit.

It was almost unfair.

"Still... Diplomacy’s full power won’t show just yet," he muttered, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Right now, it only lets me recruit up to Tier 12 Royal Units in the wild. That’s... kinda underwhelming for where I’m at."

He shook his head, lips curling into a smirk.

"Looks like I’ll have to level it up before I can really tell if Diplomacy in this version of Glory Lords X is just as broken as it was in my old world..."

In this world, hero skills in Glory Lords X had five levels:

Level 1 – Beginner

Level 2 – Intermediate

Level 3 – Advanced

Level 4 – Grandmaster

Level 5 – Mythic

But up to now, he still hadn’t figured out exactly how hero skills leveled up. All of his current skills—Offense, Luck’s Favor, Diplomacy—were still stuck at Level 1, Beginner.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a deep rumble echoed in his ears, and the light around him dimmed, as if something massive had just blocked out the sun.

Ethan looked up—and there he was.

The Chieftain of the Behemoth clan, Balthazar, had arrived.

"Lord of Emerald Castle," Balthazar’s voice rumbled like thunder, his massive frame looming over Ethan. "Thank you for your aid. You saved my people. I am in your debt."

"No need for thanks—we’re friends, aren’t we?" Ethan replied with a small smile, shaking his head. Then he glanced around at the battlefield, his expression darkening. "But... it looks like you took some heavy losses, Chieftain Balthazar. I’m sorry."

From what Ethan knew, the Behemoth clan had started with just over fifty high-tier units—13-Tier Behemoths and 14-Tier Ancient Behemoths combined.

Now?

They’d lost nearly two-thirds of their forces.

At this point, including Balthazar himself, the entire Behemoth clan had only fifteen 13-Tier Legendary Behemoths and three 14-Tier Mythic Ancient Behemoths left.

That wasn’t just a heavy loss—it was catastrophic.

But Balthazar simply shook his head and gave a grim smile. "It’s alright. We’ve avenged our fallen. The Behemoth clan does not fear death. To die taking the enemy with us—that is our honor."

Ethan froze for a second, caught off guard by the words. His gaze softened.

In the eyes of many players—and even the native inhabitants of Glory Lords X—the Beastkin were often dismissed as little more than brutes. Mindless muscle. Savage and uncivilized.

But in this moment, Ethan saw something else in Balthazar.

Purity.

A kind of raw, unshakable conviction. A willingness to face death head-on, without hesitation. A loyalty that ran bone-deep.

It was terrifying—and deeply admirable.

If he could, Ethan thought, he’d love to have an army like that. Pure-hearted, fearless, and devastatingly powerful.

An unstoppable force to conquer the world with.

But for now, that dream would have to wait.

Because he was starting to realize something—Diplomacy showing up as a reward might not have been random at all. Maybe it had appeared because the Behemoth clan had already begun to see him as their rightful leader.

Maybe... Diplomacy was the key.

The key to recruiting wild units.

The key to gaining the loyalty of Legendary and Mythic-tier creatures.

And if that was true...

Then he needed to push this advantage—hard.

Time to rack up some serious goodwill.

"Chieftain Balthazar," Ethan said, stepping forward with a sincere look. "Next time you run into trouble, don’t hesitate to call on us. If it’s within our power, Emerald Castle will always have your back."

Balthazar’s eyes flickered with a trace of guilt, but he nodded firmly. "Lord of Emerald Castle, your generosity humbles me. From this day forward, you are a friend of the Behemoth clan. Even in the face of death, we will stand with Emerald Castle. We do not break our oaths. To die beside a friend is our greatest honor."

"No, no..." Ethan chuckled, shaking his head. "Chieftain Balthazar, I can promise you this—there won’t be a day like that. Death will fall on our enemies, not on us."

Balthazar blinked, then let out a deep, rumbling laugh.

A moment later, he turned to Ethan and said, "Lord of Emerald Castle, come with me. I have a gift I’d like to give you."

"A gift?" Ethan blinked, surprised. He didn’t ask what it was, but his heart was already racing. After all, anything gifted by the Chieftain of the Behemoths was bound to be something extraordinary.

Before long, Balthazar led Ethan deep into the Behemoth territory.

And the moment they stepped inside—

Ethan’s eyes widened. His whole body tensed. His pupils shrank, and his breath caught in his throat.

"This... this is..."

"A Creature Dwelling for Legendary Units—Behemoth Lair?!"