Ethan Cole - The Unlimited System

I want you to read what I have written so far for Chapter 98. Just read and understand. No need for feedback:

The room was still, touched by the warm orange light of evening. Ethan sat on a woven mat near the window, the wooden floor beneath him smooth and cool.

The air carried the scent of old parchment, brewed herbs, and the faintest trace of rain from earlier that day.

He was still at Hera's home. One of the spare rooms she'd offered him without question.

Alden was here, too, he said he would be staying in the next room. He really made this place like his home.

He had insisted on being part of everything Ethan was going to face, determined to learn and help in whatever way he could. His loyalty, though sudden, felt sincere.

Besides, it was Alden's idea for Ethan to change into clothes more fitting for the Village of Cahaya. A simple dark tunic, loose at the sleeves, with matching trousers and a modest sash tied at the waist.

Everything about the outfit blended in. But even so, Ethan couldn't hide completely.

He was still too striking.

His reflection in the window caught his eye again. The fading evening light traced the edges of his face, and for a brief moment, he barely recognized himself.

His eyes looked sharper, more focused than before. There was a depth to them that hadn't been there weeks ago.

His posture, once relaxed and casual, now held a quiet tension. Even when he wasn't trying to, he looked like someone others would notice.

Ethan didn't need to guess why.

All five of his main attributes had reached 300 after forming the Ascendant Core. It wasn't just power coursing through his veins.

It was refinement. He had undergone an evolution.

"Well, when the stats were at fifty or sixty, people started staring," he muttered. "At this rate, I could probably pass for a celebrity."

He gave a faint smile, but it didn't last long. A more serious thought rose in his mind.

'How strong am I now… really?'

He hadn't tested his strength properly yet. No battles. No sparring. No real gauge for comparison.

But according to the codex, an Ascendant with this kind of core, the Golden Core, would be on par with a Lower Three-Star Ascendant.

That sounded impressive. On paper, at least.

"Should be worth something," he whispered to himself, but doubt still lingered.

Numbers and rankings meant little until they were tested in reality. Besides, he didn't know how strong the people of this world were.

'If everyone is much stronger than I am, I can't count on the Golden Core alone,' he thought. 'I need to make use of every skill that was given by the system.'

Ethan leaned back slightly, exhaling through his nose as the tension pooled behind his eyes. He had hoped to begin forming his elemental affinity right away, but the method eluded him.

It was something both Mark and Maya had mentioned. Once he formed the Ascendant Core, he was supposed to reach out to at least one of the Four Basic Elements.

They promised to teach him how.

But Mark was gone now, captured by the LaRues. And Maya hadn't been in the right state of mind since. She was still stressed, still trying to hold herself together.

And before he could even ask one of the Five Ghosts of Nemesis again, the trial had dragged him here.
He glanced out the window, his eyes tracing the rooftops of Cahaya in the dying light.

'So now what?' he thought. 'Wait until I return?'

He bit his lip, then shook his head.

No. There was too much at stake. He couldn't afford to mess up this opportunity. If there was even a chance that forming the Dragon Core would allow him to wield all four elements… he had to be patient.

He'd wait. Just a bit longer. For the greater good.

Wielding all of the elements would give him an advantage in any battle or situation. Imagine being able to alternate between elements during a battle, that would be too good.

"Even though I know the mission, I still can't get my priorities straight," Ethan muttered.

Besides, the trial had rules. And one of them was time.

"Two days," he whispered.

That was the time limit given when the mission began. Ethan didn't know whether time here passed the same as it did in his world.

Maybe it followed the rules of Earth. Maybe it didn't.

As of now, there was no record on Earth. The only things he had read were novels that hinted at different realms flowing with different clocks.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

One day here might be an hour there. If that were true… maybe he could afford more.

But he couldn't count on maybes.

He opened the Status Panel again and glanced at the mission tab.

"The missions are split into parts, huh?"

He believed the goal of the first trial was to collect 100 Dragon Soul Fragments while helping the people of this world starting with this Cahaya Village.

"So far…" he muttered, counting the fragments earned.

This next mission of gathering intel from the Elder's sealed vault was worth 45. A big one.

"If I succeed, I'll have half of what I need. Which means… one or two more missions, maybe three if they're small."

"Or it will be a big mission if there is one more left."

He wondered what kind of mission that would be?

He stood up. "I need to complete everything quickly. I still have a lot of things to do back on Earth."

He needed to move. No more waiting.

The moment he slid open the door, Alden was already waiting outside in the hallway, arms folded across his chest.

Hera sat in the chair in the living room, eyes watching Ethan closely.

Alden stepped forward first. "You ready to move?"

Ethan nodded. "Let's go. Show me the way."

But before they could take a step, Hera flinched.
She pressed a hand to her temple, her breath catching in her throat. Her face contorted in pain.

Ethan moved instantly, but Alden reached her first.

"Hera? What's wrong?" Alden asked. His tone was tinged with concern.

She raised a trembling hand, signaling them to stay back. Her voice was quiet but steady. "I'm fine… just a vision. It's passing."

Her eyes locked onto Ethan's.

"They're growing cautious. You've been noticed."

Ethan blinked. "What do you mean?"

"One of the Elder's Protectors. Vareth. He's sensed something. Maybe not who you are… but he knows there's someone different in Cahaya."

"You can know that?" Ethan asked. He was surprised.

"One of my abilities," Hera said with a smile before adding, "There are a lot more mysteries in this world, Ethan."

Alden stiffened. "Wait. You mean they think he's the one?"

"I don't know," Hera admitted. "But they'll be watching. Every outsider. Every step."

A beat of silence followed.

"Would they act on it?" Alden asked. "Would they… kill someone just in case? Like, kill Ethan?"

Hera didn't answer immediately. She took a moment.

"Unlikely," Ethan answered before she could. "If they make a mistake and accuse the wrong person, and that person turns out to be from another Empire…"

He met Alden's eyes.

"It would mean war."

Alden slowly nodded. "So we have some time. But we can't be careless."

"Exactly," Ethan said. "From now on, I will move quietly. I avoid attention."

"What do you mean by that?" Alden asked, one brow raised. "And how do you plan to do that?"

Ethan gave a faint smile. "Don't worry. I've got my ways."

The night air was cool against Alden's skin as he walked down one of Cahaya's main stone-paved paths.

Lanterns lined the way, their flames flickering gently behind colored glass, casting soft ripples of light along the ground.

People still moved about—shopkeepers closing up stalls, children being called home, a few elders lingering outside to enjoy the breeze.

Alden walked as normally as he could.

But his shoulders betrayed the tension he felt.

He glanced to his left.

Then over his shoulder.

Then up at the rooftops.

'Did he lose me?'

He wasn't sure. And that made it worse. The idea of Ethan not being able to follow, or worse, being seen, wrapped around his thoughts like a tightening rope.

He tried to shake it off and remind himself.

"Ethan wasn't some ordinary person. He had said he had his ways," he muttered.

Still, it wasn't easy to keep his heart steady.

Meanwhile, Ethan moved through the village like a passing breeze.

His figure remained unseen, his steps silent even on rooftop tiles and creaking planks.

Whenever they passed through the more crowded and well-lit commercial areas, he moved high, leaping from one roof to another with perfect timing, using shadows and overhangs to keep himself hidden.

And when the path led them through quieter residential districts, Ethan melted into the surroundings.

A dark figure beside a well. A silhouette behind a tree. A presence hidden in plain sight.

'Spending those points on Stealth to Master tier… best decision I've made so far,' he thought, keeping his breath slow and his focus sharp.

He didn't feel strained. On the contrary, the skill seemed to almost respond on instinct now as his body adjusted automatically to the wind, shadows, sounds, and the distance between steps.

It was no longer just movement. It was art.

'So far, no one's noticed me. Good.'

Below, Alden reached the end of the street and paused at a fork in the path. He shifted his weight and glanced around again.

Nothing.

No sign of Ethan. No footsteps. No signal.

'He's not behind me. What if—?'

Just as that panic began to rise again, a faint tapping sound echoed from above. So soft it was almost drowned out by the creak of a shutter nearby.

It was purposely done by Ethan. To notify Alden.

Alden looked up but saw only a rooftop lantern swaying gently.

He exhaled, forcing himself to act natural.

'He's still with me.'

And so Alden turned left and kept walking, doing his best to maintain his pace.

He didn't know where Ethan was exactly.

But Ethan was there.

Watching. Following.

Invisible to the world.

And only if they knew that the simple action would cost them later on.

That was because not all shadows belonged to Ethan.

Under the shade of a narrow archway, just above a quiet water canal, four figures gathered in silence.

Their dark cloaks blended into the deep shadows of the alley, and their tunics bore no insignias. Their boots were soft-soled, perfect for moving without sound.

They didn't look like soldiers. But they were trained.

Their presence tonight wasn't random.

Alden's movements were being tracked. And for the past hour, they had kept a consistent distance, staying just far enough to avoid being noticed by ordinary eyes.

But something wasn't right.

"Weird. He's alone," muttered one of them, a woman with short hair and sharp eyes.

She walked slowly, moving together with the others. "Did any of you see the outsider?"

"No," another answered, a broad-shouldered man crouched low near the water's edge. "Not a glimpse. I thought they would move together."

"Maybe he didn't come along," said the third, a younger one with a nervous tone. "Maybe Alden left him back at the witch's place."

"That doesn't make sense," said the fourth.

He was taller than the others, with a voice that carried quiet authority. "Our informant said the outsider was with Alden earlier today. You think Alden would just leave him behind after that?"

The woman narrowed her eyes, watching Alden from a distance as he paused near a turning.

"Doesn't sit right," she said. "Look at how he's walking. He's trying to act normal, but his head keeps twitching. He's checking too often. He's nervous."

The broad-shouldered one nodded. "Yeah. He knows something. Or someone's behind him."

"Silence, everyone," The younger one said as he glanced upward. "What was that tapping sound just now?"

They all looked at him.

"You heard what?" asked the tall one.

"It was soft," he replied, his eyes scanning the rooftops. "Two short taps. Like signal knocks."

The woman straightened. "You think that was the outsider?"

"Could be. If he's smart, he'd move from higher ground."

The tall man exhaled slowly. "Then we're not watching just one anymore."

The broad man tensed. "Orders were to keep eyes on Alden. Nothing more."

"Orders were to gather information," the tall one replied. "If that outsider is really the one Vareth suspects… we need to know more."

The woman stepped away from the wall. "Then we split. Two keep tailing Alden. The other two, rooftops. Follow the shadows. That outsider is here. Somewhere."

The younger one hesitated. "What if he notices us?"

The tall man's eyes were cold. "Then we'll know if he's really the one we're looking for."

None of them said it aloud.

But they were starting to realize that Ethan wasn't someone to take lightly.