Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 508: Worldshard

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

When Ataneya and Ethan reappeared, they were already floating high in the air.

"What the hell...?"

Ethan blinked, trying to get his bearings—then his eyes narrowed.

"Oh, it’s them again?"

Down below, the mountain was still crumbling, and now he could clearly see the culprits: Karlogh and Dark Seraphina.

Those two bastards had tried to bury him and Ataneya alive under the mountain.

"My Lord," Ataneya said, her voice sharp and eager, "let’s go. Let’s kill them."

BOOM!

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE—

A violent surge of power erupted from her body, blanketing the entire sky in a suffocating, chaotic pressure.

This was the raw force of an S-Class Crimson Ultimate Hero—no joke. The sheer intensity of it warped the air around them.

And yet, Ethan could tell—despite the contract, Ataneya’s loyalty was still in its early stages. She wasn’t exactly warm and fuzzy toward him yet. Hell, she didn’t even bother being polite.

She wasn’t going to charge in and fight for him.

She expected him to fight with her.

"Shit, they’re coming at us?!"

Karlogh and Dark Seraphina panicked the moment they saw her. They hadn’t expected Ataneya to show up here—definitely not this fast.

They immediately backed off a few steps, then flared their own powers, trying to brace for a clash.

But they had no idea what they were up against.

Even the ambient energy leaking off Ataneya was enough to crush them.

"You two are nothing but pathetic worms crawling in the filth of the Dark World," Ataneya snarled, her eyes blazing with fury. "And you dare act arrogant in front of me? Today, I’ll tear you apart piece by piece so you finally understand what real power looks like."

As she spoke, the energy around her condensed into a massive orb floating above her palm.

It pulsed with a terrifying mix of elements—shadow, lightning, even fire—all swirling together in a tight, unstable core.

Ethan stared, dumbfounded.

How the hell was she compressing so many conflicting forces into one tiny sphere?

"No—no, this can’t be happening!"

"How are you this strong?!"

Karlogh and Seraphina were already losing it, their voices trembling with fear. But it was too late to run.

The orb wasn’t just packed with elemental destruction—it was laced with spatial magic too. The surrounding space had been locked down tight. There was nowhere to go.

"Ataneya, please! We didn’t mean to go against you!" Karlogh shouted, dropping to his knees. "That guy stole our sacred relic! We had no choice but to act! Please, show mercy!"

Seraphina followed suit, both of them groveling now, begging for their lives.

But Ataneya wasn’t buying it.

She conjured another energy orb, her expression cold and merciless.

She knew exactly what they were after. They hadn’t attacked Ethan out of some noble cause—they’d wanted the Darkheart Orb for themselves. But Ethan got to it first, and that pissed them off.

Now they were just trying to save their own skins.

"I already told you," she said, her voice like ice. "Neither of you is walking away from this."

And with that, she hurled the orb.

BOOM!

The moment it hit, the elemental forces inside detonated, swallowing Karlogh and Seraphina in a blinding explosion of shadow, lightning, and flame.

Their bodies were torn apart in seconds—shredded, vaporized, gone. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Ethan’s eyes went wide.

Holy shit.

He knew from her stats that Ataneya was powerful, but this? This was next-level. She’d just casually tossed out two energy balls and obliterated two King-tier monsters like they were nothing.

When the dust finally settled and the last traces of Karlogh and Seraphina vanished into the wind, Ataneya floated back down, her form shifting again—back to that of a cheerful little girl.

She skipped over to Ethan, grinning.

"My Lord, they’re dead," she said brightly. "But I know they’ve got more underlings hiding in the mountain range nearby. Let’s go wipe them out too!"

Ethan coughed awkwardly.

This girl was seriously all about scorched earth, huh?

Still, it was a little disappointing.

Despite killing two insanely powerful enemies, the system didn’t reward him with anything. No loot, no XP, no bonus.

Apparently, the rules of this dungeon world were different from the outside.

Ethan took a deep breath, steadying himself as he stepped forward, eyes fixed on the jagged mountain range in the distance.

"Alright then," he muttered, voice low but resolute. "Let’s wipe them all out."

Ataneya gave a sharp nod, her expression lighting up with anticipation. Without hesitation, she tore open a rift in space just ahead of them. The swirling portal shimmered with shadow and storm energy.

"Come, My Lord," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him through.

The moment they stepped in, the world around them twisted—and in the blink of an eye, they were standing in the heart of the mountain range.

"We’re here," Ataneya said, her tone already laced with disdain. "See them? A bunch of filthy rats hiding underground. Hmph!"

"My Lord, I’m going in. I’m going to tear them apart!"

Before Ethan could even respond, Ataneya was already moving—her aura flaring as she launched herself into the fray.

The creatures hiding in the mountains were likely Karlogh’s summoned minions. Individually, they were weak, but there were a lot of them. Worse, they were damn good at hiding. Even with Ataneya’s overwhelming power, it took her some effort to root them all out and finish them off.

While she was busy cleaning house, Ethan’s attention was drawn to something else.

A strange glow flickered from a nearby cave—an eerie, pulsating red light that seemed to call to him.

"What the hell is that...?" he muttered, curiosity getting the better of him.

He flew over and landed at the entrance. Inside, the cave walls were lined with blood-red crystals, each one pulsing with a sinister energy.

He stepped closer, eyes narrowing.

Each crystal radiated a bizarre mix of forces—death, divinity, darkness. It was like they were alive, humming with ancient power.

Ethan reached out instinctively and grabbed one.

The moment his fingers touched the crystal, a surge of raw energy blasted into his body.

"Ghh—!"

He staggered back, gasping as the power flooded through him.

Ataneya, sensing the spike in energy, immediately appeared at his side. Her expression was tense as she grabbed his arm and yanked him away from the crystal.

"My Lord! Are you insane?!" she snapped. "Do you have any idea how dangerous those crystals are? Especially the death energy inside them? Even I wouldn’t touch them recklessly—and you just grabbed one like it was candy!"

Ethan was still catching his breath, sweat beading on his forehead. "Yeah... okay. That was intense."

"What the hell are these things?"

Ataneya knelt down and picked up a small shard of the crystal, holding it up to the light.

"This is a Worldshard," she said. "Same kind of power source as the Darkheart Orb you absorbed earlier. These shards are fragments of this world’s core energy."

Ethan nodded slowly, taking the shard from her.

The moment it touched his skin, another wave of energy pulsed into him—less intense than before, but still potent. The shard was small, and the power it held was quickly absorbed into his body.

He closed his eyes, focusing inward.

He could feel it—his connection to this world’s energy had deepened. The chaotic forces that once felt foreign now responded to him more naturally, like they recognized him.

Just as he reached for another shard, a thunderous rumble echoed from outside the cave.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—

A massive shadow loomed at the entrance.

A hulking, beetle-like creature stomped into view, its carapace gleaming with obsidian armor, eyes glowing with malice.

"You filthy outsiders," it growled, voice like grinding stone. "You dare trespass here and try to steal our sacred relics? You must have a death wish. Hand over the shards now—or I’ll devour you both alive."

Ethan blinked. "Okay... didn’t see that coming."

Ataneya, however, was already stepping forward, her expression twisted in irritation.

"Klorvax..." she hissed, her voice dripping with venom.

A blood-red longsword appeared in her hand, its blade pulsing with the same energy as the crystals in the cave.

"You again? You’re seriously starting to piss me off."

"Get lost. I’m not in the mood."

The sword in her hand radiated a terrifying aura—far more refined and potent than the raw crystals around them. It wasn’t just forged from the same material—it was enhanced, infused with multiple elemental forces, and humming with deadly intent.

...