Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 809: When the Noise Stopped

Ethan’s chest tightened. He immediately pulled up the system interface.

Scan.

Data streamed across the screen in real time.

Then—something new popped up.

A stat he hadn’t seen before:

Mental Force.

A type of power that didn’t rely on the body. Didn’t rely on energy forms.

Invisible.

But capable of directly affecting reality.

"So that’s it..."

Ethan finally understood why Calrakk’s power system had always felt so chaotic.

These blood-red gems didn’t grant a single, unified power.

They—

Amplified whatever latent potential the user was closest to awakening.

At that moment, the rest of the Emerald Castle team, who had followed him into the hall, began to take notice of the gems too.

One person touched a gem—and their physical strength surged.

Another triggered a wave of elemental energy.

Someone else awakened a strange ability the system couldn’t even categorize yet.

Ethan’s gaze returned to the blood-red gems embedded in the walls and floor.

They sat there quietly, like they’d been part of this place for countless ages.

Then something clicked.

He reached out again and grabbed another gem.

BZZZZT—

The moment his fingers made contact, his entire body ignited with power.

Scalding energy surged through his flesh, roaring like a broken dam. It flooded his meridians like molten lava, spreading fast—so hot it burned with every breath.

But this time—

Ethan didn’t lose control.

He could feel it clearly: this power wasn’t being created from nothing.

It was his own strength—amplified. Brutally, directly, and without restraint.

"I see..."

He slowly let go of the gem.

These blood-red stones didn’t "grant" power.

They simply—

Amplified whatever was already inside you. Without limits.

That explained everything.

Auri had always been a true Fairy God.

Her spiritual essence was purer than any conventional force.

The gem hadn’t given her a new ability—it had awakened the one she was always meant to have.

As for himself...

Ethan looked down at his hand.

That faint trace of mental energy inside him—barely noticeable before—was clearly a residue from his long-term fusion and resonance with Auri.

And now—

That trace had been magnified.

While he was still processing it all, footsteps echoed from the hall entrance.

Several Emerald Castle soldiers entered, dragging a struggling creature behind them.

Its appearance made everyone instinctively recoil.

A lion’s head. A leopard’s body. And a dog’s tail.

Black, granular mist leaked constantly from its form—like its energy hadn’t fully stabilized.

"Commander," the lead soldier reported quietly.

"Most of Calrakk’s forces have surrendered."

"The ones still resisting... they’re all like this. Monsters. Not locals."

"This one’s the worst. It’s already killed several of our men."

Ethan turned slightly, eyes narrowing.

He studied the creature for a moment.

Then stepped forward and placed a hand directly on its lion-like head.

"You’re not native to Calrakk," he said, voice calm but absolute.

"Talk. Where are you from?"

"Or—"

"I’ll erase you right here."

The creature didn’t answer with words.

It screamed.

A shriek so sharp it felt like it tore through bone.

It wasn’t just sound—it carried a soul-piercing force that detonated through the hall.

The air twisted violently.

Several nearby soldiers collapsed, clutching their heads, faces pale as death. Their consciousness nearly shredded on the spot.

But Ethan—

Didn’t even flinch.

His mind, amplified by the gem, had already ascended to a completely different level.

That shriek? To him, it was just noise.

"So you’ve been modified to the point you can’t even speak," he said coldly.

Then—

He punched.

BANG!

No flourish. No wasted motion.

The lion’s head exploded on impact, reduced to a spray of blood and bone.

The scream cut off instantly.

Silence returned to the hall.

Ethan turned, ready to leave.

But then—

CLINK.

Something hard rolled out from the creature’s collapsing corpse, bouncing across the floor with a sharp, metallic ring.

Everyone froze.

It was a blood-red gem.

But not quite the same.

At its center, embedded deep within the crimson shell, was—

A golden core, no larger than a bean.

Ethan’s eyes locked onto it.

It lay there quietly, the red crystal encasing that tiny golden core like a sealed eye.

And from deep within him, something stirred.

Not greed.

Something else.

Like a power recognizing him—responding to his presence.

Without hesitation, Ethan stepped forward and picked it up.

The moment his fingers touched the gem—

BZZZT!

A surge of wild, pure energy blasted into his body without warning.

The blood-red shell disintegrated in his palm, vanishing like it had never existed.

The golden core broke free, transformed into a thin stream of light—

And shot straight into his forehead.

Heat. Pain. A tearing sensation—all hit at once.

When the chaos settled—

A faint golden mark had appeared on his forehead.

A vertical slit.

Like an eye.

Still closed.

"Commander!"

The Emerald Castle soldiers around him paled, rushing forward in alarm.

But before they could get close, an invisible barrier flared to life, cutting them off.

The energy wasn’t hostile.

But it allowed no interference.

Auri and Idra bolted forward at the same time.

"Father, are you okay?!"

Without hesitation, both unleashed their full power, ready to tear the barrier apart.

But just as they were about to strike—

BZZZT.

All the strange phenomena vanished.

The barrier receded like a tide, gone in an instant.

Ethan stood still, eyes slowly opening.

He took a deep breath, and a look of near-satisfaction crossed his face.

"...So that’s how it is."

He let out a quiet laugh.

"These gems aren’t just raw energy sources."

"They’re full-spectrum enhancers."

He raised his hand and curled it into a fist.

Strength. Perception. Mental force—

All of it had been pushed to a new tier.

"This is a good thing."

The moment he said it, a chill swept through the room.

Because Ethan’s tone was far too calm.

He lifted his head, gaze sweeping across the royal capital.

"Orders," he said.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried to every corner of the hall.

"Search the entire Castle."

"Find every last blood-red gem."

"And—"

His eyes shifted to the strange, mutated prisoners being held nearby.

"Round up every one of these ’non-native lifeforms’ in the city."

"Kill them."

"Crack their skulls open."

The moment the command dropped, silence fell like a blade.

No one spoke.

No one questioned it.

Because just then, Ethan paused again.

He turned back to the corpse of the creature he’d killed.

Without hesitation, he reached down and tore the body open with one hand.

Flesh and bone split apart.

And there, buried deep in the chest cavity—

Another blood-red gem, glowing faintly with golden light, was exposed to the air.

He didn’t need to say a word.

The proof was right there.

...