Chapter 83: The Fountain of Youth

That evening, Steven and Clara Atherton called Ethan over to the new house they had just purchased nearby. The opulent furnishings felt sterile and impersonal, a stark contrast to the warm, chaotic joy of the earlier family dinner.

"Ethan, come in, have a seat," Clara said with a warm smile, but her eyes held a serious light that told him this was no casual chat.

He sat on a plush sofa, the silence stretching as he looked between the two of them, a knot of confusion tightening in his stomach.

Steven finally broke the quiet, his voice low and serious. "Ethan, Lily told us a bit more about your ability… that it's not just multiple forms, but that you seem to gain a new one with each major rank advancement."

Hearing this, Ethan knew there was no point in hiding the basic premise. They were family, powerful family. He met his uncle's gaze and admitted, "That's right."

Clara nodded, her expression one of profound understanding. "The reason we said what we did at the restaurant was not because we distrust the others. It's because our perspectives, our positions in the world, are different now. Something this monumental could be mentioned casually, and the consequences could be disastrous. We didn't dare let them know the potential truth of your power."

"I understand," Ethan said. "That's why I haven't told my own parents the full details. It's safer for them not to know."

Steven nodded, his approval clear. Then, his tone hardened. "Then, regarding the Evolution Cult… can you tell us everything? In detail?"

Ethan knew this was the real reason he was here. He also knew that these two were influential figures who could help him. They were his family. Telling them everything was not a risk, but a strategic advantage. And so, he began to recount the entire harrowing experience.

An hour later, the story was finished.

CRACK!

Steven slammed his fist on the expensive tea table. The reinforced glass shattered, and the entire table splintered into a spiderweb of cracks. "They are absolute beasts!" he roared, his voice shaking with a fury that seemed to fill the room. "If it weren't for your own resilience, Ethan, you might have been killed by those bastards!"

"They deserve to die a thousand deaths," Clara hissed, her heart burning with a cold, protective rage. "Steven, when we go back, we're setting up a bounty. We'll find their contacts in the capital, and we will kill them. One by one."

"I have the same intention," Steven growled. "No one will be able to refuse the price we'll put on their heads."

A sense of security Ethan hadn't felt in a long time washed over him. He decided to change the subject before their rage consumed the room. "By the way, Uncle, Aunt Clara… I know you do big business in Pinnacle City, but how big is it? How did you make your fortune so quickly?"

The two looked at each other, and the suffocating tension in the room eased slightly. Clara managed a reminiscent smile. "It was our good luck, Ethan. We encountered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"An opportunity?"

"That's right," Steven began, his voice taking on a distant, storyteller's tone. "The military transport plane we were on had a terrible accident. We were halfway to the capital when we ran into a massive flock of migrating Vicious Beasts." He shook his head. "They shouldn't have been migrating then, but in this world, accidents happen. The psionicist guards fought back, but the sky is not humanity's home ground. The lead beast in the flock was an A-rank. The plane's shields shattered after three hits. Of the three transport planes in the convoy, only ours was shot down."

"An A-rank!" Ethan gasped. "That's equivalent to a Rank Six master! How did you survive?"

Clara gave a grim laugh. "Barely. Of everyone on that plane, only the two of us made it out alive. The others were killed in the crash, eaten by the beasts during the fall, or torn apart by land-based monsters after they survived the impact."

Steven continued the tale. "We were fleeing, desperate and on the verge of death, when we found a 'blessed land' by complete chance."

Ethan knew of the legends. Since the Aura Resurgence, many strange new places had appeared on the expanded Earth. Some were pockets of extreme danger, with spatial distortions that could teleport you miles away in a single step. But some of these distortions were fixed, acting as natural barriers protecting what lay within. These were the blessed lands—places rich with pure Aura or home to priceless natural treasures.

"You actually found a blessed land?" Ethan was stunned. "What was inside?"

"A hidden spring," Clara said, her smile widening. "We later learned it was called the Fountain of Youth. A single sip of its water can extend one's lifespan by five years, and it contains a huge amount of pure psionic power. It even cleanses the body and improves one's affinity for Aura."

"The spring was the size of a large washbasin," Steven added. "We drank our fill. Not only did we regain our youth, but our innate talent levels were forcibly upgraded from Ordinary all the way to Superior-rank. After years of diligent training with our new potential, we've now reached Rank Four." He paused. "And at the very bottom of the spring, we found a Condensing Water Bead. It's the source, what continuously transforms ambient Aura into the Fountain of Youth. Clara, being a water-element psionicist, was able to refine it. Now, if she focuses for a month, she can condense a single drop of a highly concentrated version of the spring water—a single drop that is equivalent to a full liter from the original source."

Ethan listened, his expression completely blank, his eyes dull. He was already dumbfounded. A wave of comedic self-pity washed over him.

This isn't right, he thought. I'm supposed to be the main character here, right? So how is it that they stumble upon a heaven-defying opportunity like that after being ordinary for so long? What was my great fortune? I risked my life in the wilderness with Marcus and Seraphina and we got one Astra Vine. Then I get captured by the Evolution Cult, tormented for three days, and what's my grand prize? I get promoted from Rank One, Level Ten to Rank Two, Level Three, and get a 'free' Blitzwolfer form that nearly drove me insane. What kind of protagonist luck is that?!