Chapter 413: The Hidden Name in the Flame
The thought alone made Ethan seethe. That old man—had he been enjoying his misery all this time?
He snapped, "Damn it! Was it fun, playing weak this whole time, only to reveal your true strength now?"
Uncle Jed took a slow swig from his wineskin, his gaze sliding lazily to Ethan before returning to his drink. He didn’t bother answering. Julian, sensing the tension thick in the air, hurried to mediate.
"These past few years... Uncle Jed’s been fighting off every last Deathstalker Scorpion in the entire Southwest Domain. All for the sake of a life-preserving elixir—so you could stay alive. You were unconscious for three years. No food, no water. How else do you think you survived?"
Ethan froze. His anger evaporated, replaced by quiet confusion. "That weird stuff Crystal fed me...?"
"That’s because he added three ten-thousand-year-old Crimson Moon Flowers from the Extreme North Ice Fields," Julian said. "They’re known to cleanse the body and mask unpleasant odors with the world’s richest natural fragrance. Mixed with ground horn of a Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros and meat from various high-grade demon beasts, it became a nutrient-rich brew."
Julian paused, watching Ethan closely.
"And to get that... Uncle Jed wiped out an entire tribe of Moon-Gazing Rhinos. Alone. After that, on his way back from the Extreme North, he got poisoned by Plague Ice. If Ormund hadn’t been waiting outside the Ice Fields to fly him home—and if Father, Old Hank, and Old Quinn hadn’t worked together to purge the poison—you might never have seen him again."
Ethan stared at Jed, stunned. But the old man just waved dismissively.
"Why bring all that up? The brat’s ungrateful! If I hadn’t been weakened, that poison wouldn’t have touched me."
Ethan swallowed hard. He hadn’t known. Uncle Jed had traversed the most dangerous terrain on the continent, delved deep into the Extreme North Ice Fields—marked "Extremely Dangerous" on the system map—and risked his life for him. And apparently, Jed’s power had already been damaged before that.
Regis once said Jed had sealed his strength. But even after unsealing, his power barely increased by a few levels. Looking back now, the aura Jed unleashed three years ago on the city wall felt childish in comparison.