Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 853: Something Answered

The next moment—

BOOM!!!

The explosion detonated right in the stone giant's chest.

The blood-red gem pulsed violently, its energy flow thrown into chaos.

The massive body staggered backward, forced to retreat several steps as the mountain beneath its feet cracked and crumbled.

"This… this can't be!"

The stone giant roared, its voice trembling for the first time.

"How can a bug like you unleash that kind of power?!"

Ethan didn't answer.

He simply raised his hand.

Energy surged and stretched in front of him, forming into a massive light-forged longbow.

The bowstring drew taut.

Vmmm—

A piercing sound split the air.

An energy arrow tore through the sky and slammed straight into the giant's shoulder.

Before it could react—

A second arrow. Then a third.

Shoulder. Torso. Joints.

Each shot landed with pinpoint precision.

Panic finally set in.

The stone giant turned to flee, trying to burrow back into the mountain.

But it was too slow.

"…"

Feylora stood frozen, watching the scene unfold.

She could clearly sense it—the giant still held an enormous reserve of energy inside its body.

But the problem was—

Its energy control was crude. Sloppy.

And in that moment, Feylora understood.

"So that's it…"

She murmured under her breath.

This thing was just like her.

A storage-type entity.

Its body, made of a unique metallic structure native to this world, could hold energy far beyond what its tier would normally allow.

Which meant—

Its Tier looked high, and its pressure was overwhelming.

But its actual combat efficiency? Nowhere near Ethan's.

In a real high-tier fight, it was nothing more than—

A giant container. Brimming with power, but incapable of using it precisely.

The final energy arrow sank into its core.

The stone giant's aura collapsed completely.

Ethan didn't give it a chance to recover.

In a flash, he appeared behind it.

His fist came down.

THUD—!

A torrent of force surged into the giant's body like a flood, tearing it apart from the inside.

Cracks spread.

RUMBLE—

The massive body crashed to the ground, lifeless.

Ethan landed slowly, steadying his breath.

He reached out and sliced a chunk of core stone from the remains.

The metal structure was intricate and stable.

But more importantly—

Its energy conductivity was nearly flawless.

"Exactly what we've been missing."

Without hesitation, Ethan unleashed spatial energy, compressing and sealing the entire stone giant's body for transport.

Then, he and Feylora continued deeper into the strange world.

Before long—

They discovered several intact mineral veins.

Just as Ethan was preparing to call in a team for large-scale extraction—

Vmmm.

A tremor, far heavier than before, rumbled up from deep underground.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE—

Ethan's body tensed instantly.

The vibration was too heavy—his instincts screamed that something else, something powerful, had just been awakened.

He didn't move recklessly.

Instead, he hovered midair, holding his breath, waiting in silence.

But as the seconds ticked by—

The tremors slowly faded.

And nothing else appeared.

"..."

Ethan frowned.

He pulled up his system interface and initiated a full environmental scan.

A second later—

His eyes narrowed sharply.

[Anomalous high-concentration energy detected]

[Source: Deep subterranean layer]

[Purity rating: Exceeds current Emerald Castle golden energy fluid]

That line of data made his breath hitch.

It didn't feel dangerous.

It felt like… something buried deep below was actively responding to his presence.

"If we bring this back…" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Ethan's gaze burned hotter by the second.

"Emerald Castle might undergo a complete transformation."

He didn't hesitate.

Power surged from his body, and the ground beneath him exploded downward—blasting open a massive, bottomless pit.

Ethan dove in.

Feylora didn't know what he was after, but she didn't hesitate either. She followed close behind.

They descended fast.

The deeper they went, the heavier the air became.

Even breathing felt like it was being wrapped in pressure.

Until—

Their vision was swallowed by a blinding sea of gold.

It stretched endlessly in every direction, a glowing ocean of liquid light.

The fluid moved slowly, its glow soft but suffocating.

The energy it radiated was so dense, it felt almost unreal.

Just standing there—

Ethan could feel the energy inside his body begin to churn and boil on its own.

"…"

His throat tightened.

Step by step, he approached the golden liquid and dipped his hand into it.

Vmmm—

Vmmm—

Vmmm—

Energy surged up through his palm, flooding his limbs like a tidal wave.

No impurities.

No rejection.

Just pure, overwhelming power.

"This…" Feylora's voice trembled with disbelief. "Master, this energy… it's on a whole other level. It's stronger than the golden fluid we have at Emerald Castle!"

She immediately pulled out a spatial storage vial and began collecting it with extreme care.

But Ethan didn't move to help.

His attention had shifted—to the surrounding rock walls.

They weren't ordinary stone.

Under the golden glow, a pitch-black mineral shimmered faintly, like night itself embedded in the earth.

Ethan stepped closer and touched it.

Cold. Stable. Incredibly sealed.

"Similar to the blood-red ore…" he muttered, analyzing it. "But its energy containment is clearly superior."

This material—

It was practically made for Powered Combat Armor.

For a moment, a wild thought flashed through Ethan's mind.

What if—

What if he could take this entire world with him?

He took a deep breath and released his power fully, trying to resonate with the space itself.

And then—

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE—

The surrounding walls began to shake.

Not collapsing—

But moving.

Something inside them was stirring.

The next second—

The rock split open.

A massive, grotesque insectoid creature crawled out from the stone, its body twisted and deformed.

Its carapace gleamed with a metallic sheen, and its mandibles were still crusted with half-digested mineral fragments.

The energy pulsing from its body was chaotic—but powerful.

Clearly—

This thing had been feeding on the ore here for a long time.

"..."

A low, rasping voice echoed through the cavern.

"Who are you?"

"Don't you know—"

"This is my territory?"

Ethan's brow furrowed slightly.

Not just because of the creature's grotesque appearance—

But because of something else.

The way it spoke.

That same tone of entitlement.

The same arrogant claim of ownership over this entire space—just like the stone giant earlier.

That casual assumption that everything here belonged to it.

"Looks like…"

Ethan's gaze turned cold.

"You're not the real master of this place."

He didn't waste another word.

With a single step, he rose into the air, power surging from his body like a tidal wave, flooding the space and locking the creature in place.

Only then did its full form come into view.

It was a bizarre, twisted thing.

Its body was long and warped, like a centipede blown up to monstrous proportions—but without the segmented limbs.

Its outline had a faint rodent-like shape, but its size dwarfed even a full-sized battle tank.

And most importantly—

Its energy level was also at early-stage Tier 30.

Just standing there—

The pressure it gave off was enough to make the space around it ripple and strain.