Or find a way to strip him of his trainee status...
If it had been a recommended spot, the Carter family could have spent some money and pressured the higher-ups at Third High to revoke it.
But Ethan had earned his spot fair and square through every match.
Damn it!
Could it be that Ethan had anticipated this step, which was why he'd given up his recommended spot beforehand?
Kane grew angrier by the second.
When he turned and saw Lillian looking dreamy and lovesick, his anger flared even hotter.
"Why? Are you hoping to rekindle your old flame with Ethan?"
Lillian was jolted by Kane's icy tone, quickly snapping out of her reverie.
She put on a wronged expression, her eyes brimming with tears as she said,
"Kane, how could you say that? My heart belongs only to you! I hate him more than anything—why would I want to get back with him? I just... I just think he's become so terrifying, I'm worried he'll keep coming after us..."
As she spoke, she secretly watched Kane's reaction.
Seeing that his expression was still grim, but the suspicion in his eyes had lessened slightly, she added fuel to the fire,
"How can you even call it cheating? He gave it to me willingly! Besides, how could a measly priest be this strong? I think there's something fishy going on. Maybe that priest class medal wasn't ordinary at all—it was actually a powerful hidden medal!"
The more Lillian talked, the more convinced she became of this possibility!
Ethan must have stolen her chance!
Otherwise, why would he trade a rare class for a lowly priest class?
Earlier, Lillian had thought Ethan was out of his mind.
But judging by his performance these past few days, he was anything but foolish—he was clearly calculating and scheming!
Moreover, right after he got her priest medal, he'd dumped her without a second thought.
He'd obviously tricked her out of her good fortune and then kicked her to the curb!
Never mind that she'd been the one to dump him first.
But when a goddess dumps a lapdog, the lapdog should come crawling back even more devoutly!
If a lapdog runs away after being dumped, how is the goddess supposed to keep milking him for gifts?
If he runs out of money, he should just go jump in a river!
Running off after one little rejection—he was clearly a schemer who'd gotten what he wanted!
The more Lillian thought about it, the angrier she got, venom filling her eyes.
That bastard Ethan!
All those years he'd acted like her loyal lapdog, just to steal her destiny!
This man was terrifying!
Kane had no idea that Lillian's convoluted logic had cast her as the victim in her own mind.
But her words were like a spark, instantly igniting the chaotic thoughts in Kane's head!
"Changing class medals..."
Kane muttered to himself, his eyes suddenly blazing with realization.
"That's it! Unauthorized swapping of class medals is illegal!"
In the early days of the profession system, many nobles and powerful families had seized class medals from talented commoners.
This had led to countless promising individuals meeting tragic ends, fueling intense social unrest.
At first, the law stated that anyone reported for medal theft would be severely punished.
But this only resulted in even more deaths of talented commoners.
There were even absurd cases where victims who had their medals stolen were punished alongside the thieves.
The country later enacted the Occupational Rights Protection Act, which strictly stipulated:
Any form of trading, seizing, or fraudulently exchanging class medals is a serious criminal offense.
Once verified, anyone whose class medal was not awakened through their own merit will face permanent restrictions on their career advancement path.
Both the perpetrator and the victim would be treated equally—anyone involved in an illegal medal transfer would face the highest difficulty in all future career promotions!
This approach had quickly stabilized the situation.
Over time, however, medal trading markets had gradually emerged, and this law had been largely forgotten.
But that didn't mean it had been repealed!
As long as someone brought it to light, the punishment would still be enforced to the letter.
A vicious plan instantly took shape in his mind.
A twisted smile spread across Kane's face, his earlier dejection and anger vanishing without a trace, replaced by a sick excitement.
"B-but Kane," Lillian said, sounding frightened.
"If this gets out, I'll be punished too!"
The Occupational Rights Protection Act didn't care whether it was "voluntary" or not—both parties involved in an illegal medal transfer would be held accountable.
"Hmph!"
Kane sneered, his gaze cold and venomous.
"Don't worry. I'll use the Carter family's influence to fix things and protect you."
His smile grew even more sinister.
"Once we prove he traded his class medal, he'll not only lose his spot in the Seven Schools Training Camp—his entire career as a professional will be crippled!"
"Then he'll be nothing but a useless piece of trash! Let's see how he dares to act arrogant then!"
Lillian's heart raced with fear, but at the thought of Ethan's current glory and his disdainful attitude toward her, jealousy and venom surged once more.
If this really could bring Ethan crashing down... maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing after all?
After all, the Carter family was powerful—they should be able to protect her.
"Kane... can you really keep me safe?" she asked timidly, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
"Of course!"
Kane said confidently, as if he could already see Ethan's miserable fate.
"The Carter family has plenty of pull in Lincheng! When the time comes, you just need to insist that you traded medals with Ethan. Leave the rest to me!"
"Let's go! Find my father!"
Kane grabbed Lillian's hand and strode toward the school gate.
"We need to move on this immediately! We have to nail this down before they leave for the training camp!"
Meanwhile, Ethan had already returned home.
He had no idea that a conspiracy was quietly brewing against him.
At this moment, he was still savoring the joy of acquiring new talents.
The stat boosts from Conceptual Armament, the crowd control effects of Myriad Forest Domain, plus the sustained damage and burst potential of Blazing Hellfire Rage...
With three S-rank talents at his disposal, his strength had reached a terrifying level.
Status Panel
Name: Ethan
Level: 3 (45%)
Class: Priest
Talents: Grace (SSS), Arrow Enhancement (E), Fixed Damage Reduction (E), Spell Cost Reduction (E), Damage Mitigation (B), Extreme Hand Speed (B), Wind's Protection (A), Blazing Hellfire Rage (S), Conceptual Armament (S), Myriad Forest Domain (S)
Skills: Lesser Heal lv10 (MAX), Mass Heal lv1
Strength: 1124
Constitution: 918
Agility: 612 (+5)
Spirit: 291
Free Attribute Points: 0 (Gain 5 free attribute points per level-up.)
Attribute Bonuses: HP +10, MP +10, Spell Power +2, Attack Power +1, Speed +1, Defense +0
HP: 9180/9180 (Constitution × HP Bonus)
MP: 2910 (Spirit × MP Bonus)
Spell Power: 582 (Spirit × Spell Power Bonus)
Attack Power: 1124 (Strength × Attack Power Bonus)
Speed: 617 × 1.6 = 987.2 (Agility × Speed Bonus)
Defense: 0 (Constitution × Defense Bonus)
Equipment: Boots of Swiftness
Through the day's matches, Ethan had also maxed out his Lesser Heal skill.
Lesser Heal lv10: Heal target with the power of holy light, restoring (130 + 200% Spell Power) HP. Cost: 0.1 MP.
His Mass Heal skill remained at level 1—not because he didn't use it often, but because upgrading Mass Heal was far more difficult.
It required not only skill proficiency, but also a massive consumption of blue crystals to level up.
Most skills in this world worked like this.
The more powerful the skill, the harder it was to upgrade.
Only basic beginner skills could be leveled up through proficiency alone.
Ethan's gaze drifted to his stats.
Except for his relatively low Spirit, his other attributes were unmatched by anyone below level 10!
And these were just his base stats.
If he activated Conceptual Armament, all these stats would double!
At the thought, Ethan focused his mind.
A suit of silvery-white light armor instantly covered his body.
His stats doubled across the board!
And the mana cost was only 1 MP per second!
At his current mana level, he could sustain this for over forty minutes without any mana regeneration!
The only minor disappointment for Ethan was that the doubled stats applied only to his base attributes, not including bonuses from equipment.
His Agility increased to 1224, not 1234.
But this minor flaw did nothing to diminish the power of Conceptual Armament.
If Blazing Hellfire Rage and Myriad Forest Domain won through mechanics, Conceptual Armament dominated through sheer raw stats!
Ethan focused his mind again, and the silvery armor transformed into a black ring.
The Conceptual Armament talent could take the form of any equipment and still be effective.
A ring provided the exact same stat boosts as a full suit of armor—only the armor offered a small additional defense bonus.
But a full suit of light armor was too conspicuous and easy to identify, which didn't align with his needs.
Early the next morning, Ethan arrived at South City Gate right on time.
Amy and Ella were already waiting there, both dressed in practical, easy-to-move-in outfits.
"Let's go," Amy said concisely, taking the lead and heading out of the city.
Black Iron Mountain was located south of Lincheng—a stretch of rolling hills named for their dark, iron-rich rock.
It was rich in mineral resources, and also home to a moderately dangerous concentration of monsters.
Most of the monsters here had thick hides and formidable defenses, making them nearly impervious to attacks from ordinary professionals of the same level.
The military had set up an outpost here to monitor monster movements and train new recruits.
The three chatted as they walked.
The closer they got to Black Iron Mountain, the more pronounced the energy fluctuations in the air became.
An intangible sense of pressure began to settle over them.
"Something's off," Ethan frowned slightly.
"The energy fluctuations here are much more active than in the city, and there's a feeling of... being constrained."
Amy looked at him in surprise.
"You can sense changes in energy?"
Ethan nodded slightly.
After acquiring the Myriad Forest Domain and Blazing Hellfire Rage talents, his energy perception had become extremely acute, allowing him to clearly detect the subtle flow of energy in the air—especially fire and wood elemental energy.
Ella looked around curiously.
"Constrained? Could the military base have set up a large-scale barrier nearby?"
"I'm not sure," Ethan glanced around.
"But the elemental energy in the air is being guided and concentrated by something... it seems this Seven Schools Training Camp won't be as simple as it appears."
"I think I know," Amy said, a hint of excitement in her voice.
"If I'm not mistaken, a new dungeon must have appeared in Black Iron Mountain!"
"A new dungeon?"
Ella exclaimed in surprise.
"And they're letting us use it for training? That's incredibly generous!"
"Huh? What's the big deal about a new dungeon?"
Ethan asked, confused by their excited reactions.
Ella looked at him in astonishment.
"Wait, are you loaded or something? Isn't a new dungeon enough to get you excited?"
Her words sounded rather odd coming from her mouth, leaving Ethan momentarily at a loss for words.
"Clearing a dungeon for the first time grants special first-clear rewards," Amy explained, her cool eyes also shining with interest.
"These rewards are extremely generous. For example, the rewards from the beginner dungeon we did earlier would have been more than ten times as abundant, with quality two to three tiers higher if we'd been the first to clear it."
"That's right!" Ella chimed in.
"The best equipment we got from the beginner dungeon was only Fine quality. But for a first clear, Fine would be just the starting point—you'd get at least one Epic or even Legendary quality item!"
"Furthermore, new dungeons are filled with untapped resources—they're practically treasure troves."