Chapter 95: Goldie

Once they separated, Ethan returned to his room and closed the door behind him.

There was something he had been meaning to check.

He took out the Golden Ant Egg and placed it on the table.

The egg had remained quiet since he obtained it. Although it had shown signs of life before, it still needed more energy before it could develop further.

Ethan examined the egg for a few more seconds before opening his inventory.

He had several resources left from the Thornheart Secret Realm, like the Thornheart Flower.

It contained a large amount of life energy, which made it suitable for nourishing living things. Since the Golden Ant Egg still needed energy to develop, Ethan thought it was worth trying.

He took out the flower and placed it beside the egg.

Ethan waited, but nothing happened at first.

He was about to pick the flower back up when the egg started glowing. The flower followed, and he soon noticed that it’s energy was leaving the petals and moving into the egg.

Soon after, the flower slowly dried up. Its petals curled, and its stem became thinner. The egg kept taking in the energy until there was barely anything left of the flower.

"Wait... You’re not going to leave anything behind?"

Ethan had only wanted to give the egg some energy. He didn’t expect it to absorb the entire flower.

A few minutes later, the last of the flower’s energy entered the egg. The dried petals and stem fell apart, turning into dust on the table.

"Damn. You really ate the whole thing."

Ethan looked at the egg. It was now glowing much brighter than before, and the shell had started to crack.

He leaned back as more cracks appeared, spreading from one side of the egg to the other.

"What’s happening now?"

He watched as the cracks grew wider. Then, with a small cracking sound, part of the shell broke off.

The rest soon followed, and the egg finally opened.

Then a palm-sized golden ant crawled out of the broken shell. Its entire body was golden, including its two mandibles.

The little ant didn’t seem interested in him. Instead, it turned around and started biting the broken pieces of its shell.

Ethan watched with interest as it used its mandibles to crush the shell before eating it.

"You’re even eating your own shell?"

The ant continued without paying him any attention. It kept crushing the pieces and swallowing them until there was almost nothing left.

Ethan couldn’t help but laugh. "You really don’t want to waste anything, do you?"

After finishing its meal, the little ant turned around and crawled towards him. Its antennae moved as it explored his hand.

Ethan let it climb onto his palm before focusing on it.

[Golden Ant]

[Level: 11]

[Bloodline: Rare]

[Innate Traits:]

[Golden Strength]: Possesses strength far beyond its size, allowing it to carry objects many times heavier than itself.

[Golden Exoskeleton]: Has a hard golden shell that provides strong protection against physical attacks.

[Keen Senses]: Its antennae can detect scents, food, and traces left by other creatures, allowing it to locate nearby resources and follow trails.

[Powerful Mandibles]: Its strong mandibles can crush hard materials and become stronger as it grows.

Ethan went through the information carefully.

Just as he remembered, the Golden Ant had a Rare Bloodline. Beast bloodlines determined how far they could naturally grow, with each rank having its own level range.

Common Bloodlines could reach Level 20, Uncommon Bloodlines could reach Level 40, Rare Bloodlines could reach Level 60, Epic Bloodlines could reach Level 80, and Legendary Bloodlines could reach Level 99.

This was different from humans, whose level limits weren’t decided by their bloodlines. For beasts, their bloodline played a major role in how far they could grow.

A Rare Bloodline meant the Golden Ant could reach Level 60 without needing to improve its bloodline.

Ethan looked at the small ant on his hand. Its level was still low, but starting at the Second Order was already a good sign.

It seemed the energy from the Thornheart Flower and its shell had helped it reach Level 11 right after birth.

"You’re quite friendly, aren’t you?"

The little ant moved its antennae and continued crawling around his hand.

Ethan watched it for a while before deciding to give it a name.

"Since you’re golden, I’ll call you Goldie."

Goldie raised its antennae and stopped moving for a moment. Ethan smiled when he noticed its reaction. It seemed to understand the name.

"Looks like you don’t mind it."

He carefully moved Goldie onto his shoulder.

"Stay there. We’re going out soon."

Goldie seemed comfortable in its new spot and didn’t try to move away. Ethan finished checking his belongings, then left his room with only a few minutes remaining before the agreed meeting time.

By the time he reached the academy’s main gate, the others were already waiting.

Gareth was the first to notice the small golden ant on his shoulder.

"What’s that on your shoulder?"

Ethan turned his head slightly. "A Golden Ant. It just hatched from an egg I had."

"An ant?" Lydia asked as she moved closer to get a better look.

"Yeah. Its name is Goldie."

She looked at the little creature for a moment. "It’s quite small."

"Don’t let its size fool you," Ethan replied. "It has a Rare Bloodline."

That caught their attention.

"Rare?" Kael looked at the ant again. "I didn’t expect an ant to have a bloodline like that."

"Can it fight?" Gareth asked.

"It should be able to. I haven’t tested its abilities yet."

Victor glanced at Goldie before looking away.

"You’re bringing an ant to Ironhaven?"

Ethan wasn’t bothered by his comment. "I brought it with me. I’ll decide how to use it when the time comes."

Victor didn’t say anything else, and Adrian remained quiet as well.

Ethan looked around at the others.

"Is everyone ready?"

Gareth nodded. "I’m ready."

The others gave their responses, and once everyone was ready, they headed towards the academy’s departure platform.

An Academy Skyship was already waiting for them when they arrived. Before they boarded, Mr. Roland handed Ethan a folded document.

"Keep this safe. It contains the details of your assignment, along with a letter for the local authorities in Ironhaven. You’ll need to present it when you arrive."

Ethan accepted the document and put it away.

"Understood, sir."

Mr. Roland gave the rest of the team a brief reminder to work together before allowing them to leave.

The seven students then boarded the skyship and found their seats. Once everyone had settled down, the skyship slowly lifted off the platform and began its journey towards Ironhaven.

The Academy Skyship continued flying towards Ironhaven.

The first day passed without any problems. The students spent most of their time resting or talking among themselves. Ethan also used some of the time to get familiar with Goldie, who had settled comfortably on his shoulder.

By the following day, they were approaching a large imperial skyship station. Several other skyships could be seen around it. Some were docked at the station, while others were waiting to depart.

Imperial regulations required all skyships passing through major stations to dock for routine checks. However, the Academy Skyship was usually exempt from such requirements because of its official status and the academy’s arrangements with the empire.

As their vessel was about to pass the station, a communication request came through.

"Attention, Academy Skyship. This is Westwatch Skyship Station. We apologize for the interruption, but an important security matter has come up.

We understand that your vessel may have special clearance, but we kindly request that you dock at the station and allow our inspection team to carry out a check. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding."

The message ended, and the person operating the skyship acknowledged the request.

Inside the passenger area, the students had also heard the announcement.

"What’s going on?" Gareth asked.

Kael looked towards the windows. "There seem to be quite a few skyships gathered there."

"Maybe something happened at the station," Lydia said.

Victor leaned back in his seat. "I hope this doesn’t delay us for too long. We still have to reach Ironhaven."

Ethan didn’t say anything immediately. The station’s request had been polite, but asking even the order academy vessel to dock for an inspection meant the situation was probably serious.

A few moments later, another message came through.

"Thank you for your cooperation. We are currently investigating an assassination attempt involving an important figure within the empire. We have reason to believe the person responsible may have escaped aboard one of the skyships in the area.

For this reason, all vessels passing through this station are being inspected. We kindly ask that your passengers remain inside until the inspection team arrives. We apologize once again for the delay and thank you for your patience."

The students exchanged looks.

"An assassination?" Gareth repeated.

"Who was the target?" Adrian asked.

The communication officer didn’t provide any further details. The message ended shortly after, leaving the students with more questions than answers.

Ethan looked towards the station outside.

An assassination attempt serious enough to require the inspection of every skyship passing through the area wasn’t something they could simply ignore.

It seemed their journey to Ironhaven would take a little longer than expected.