Everyone packed up the crystal cores and handed them to Ethan.
Right now, only Ethan could actually make use of Tier 16 cores. The rest of them still had a long way to go.
Ethan didn't bother being polite about it. He used the two Tier 16 crystal cores on the spot, and set the Tier 17 one aside for later.
"One more and I'll hit the peak of Tier 16." Ethan clenched his fist, excitement buzzing under his skin.
Back when he'd cleared the Celestial Stairway trial, his strength had already pushed past mid–Tier 16. He'd only needed three more crystal cores to reach Tier 16 peak. Now he'd used two.
Just one left.
And once he reached Tier 16 peak, he could pop that Tier 17 core and jump straight into Tier 17.
Ethan's mouth curled into a grin when he thought about the hundreds of red-skinned monsters still out there.
This run… might actually push him all the way into Stage B (Tier 18).
Even he couldn't quite believe how fast his Tier was climbing.
