Rumble—
It sounded like an earthquake as the ground beneath everyone's feet shook violently.
Then, amidst the tremors, terrifying cracks split across the ground.
Seeing this,
Billy screamed, "It's an earthquake! Anby, Nicole, Nekomata, help me! I'm going to fall into a crack!"
Nicole quickly hoisted Billy up and tossed him aside. "Quiet down, you won't die."
Nekomata cried out, "No, that's not it! There's a thick Ether presence... and the pressure is intense! This isn't an earthquake!"
Anby's gaze hardened. "Something's wrong. Everyone, be careful."
Sensing the situation was bad,
they quickly retreated from the plaza in front of the Abandoned Skyscraper.
However,
Mr. Mole not only refused to leave but ran to the center of the square.
"Hahaha, you're right! There's no way an earthquake could happen in the Hollow! Did you forget? I told you before—the Resistance had two unformed Ethereals! The one you just killed was only one of them. The other one is underground, and now the catalyzation is complete. What stands before you is a fully formed Notoriety Ethereal you can't possibly defeat!"
"Come now, taste true fear!"
Mr. Mole sprawled in the middle of the plaza, right at the epicenter of the tremors.
He stretched out his arms, embracing the earth, and kissed the ground with his sharp mole snout, welcoming the arrival of the fully formed Notoriety Ethereal.
The next second,
just as Mr. Mole had said,
with a deafening boom, a massive monster's hand burst from the ground.
Then another hand reached up.
With a sudden, powerful thrust,
the two hands tore through the earth, and a colossal Notoriety Ethereal crawled out.
Mr. Mole was still shouting, "Go, hurry, I command you, kill them..."
Just as he was rambling on,
the Notoriety Ethereal's massive hand came crashing down, grabbing Mr. Mole in its grasp.
Mr. Mole panicked instantly. "Stop! Don't touch me! I'm your master! They're the enemies—kill them!"
Before he could finish,
the Ethereal gave a slight squeeze—
and crushed Mr. Mole like a bug.
Witnessing this,
even Nicole and Nekomata trembled.
It was far too brutal.
Soldier 11's expression turned grim. "Fall back. This enemy is even more dangerous."
She knew the rebels had two unformed Notoriety Ethereals.
When she and Sam Li found the catalyst on the fifth floor of the Abandoned Skyscraper, she had assumed both were being nurtured there and quickly worked with him to destroy it.
She never imagined the rebels had separated them—
one catalyzed on the fifth floor, the other hidden underground.
Now,
Soldier 11 had just survived a grueling battle and was utterly drained.
Facing a fully formed Notoriety Ethereal,
she knew her chances of winning were slim.
If she retreated now, she might escape.
But as a Defense Force soldier, abandoning her comrades would be betrayal.
She would never allow herself to betray them.
Glancing at Anby behind her,
Soldier 11 adjusted her headset and took a deep breath, steeling herself.
She silently recited the Heart of Fire technique.
Shouting, "Ignition!"
she gripped her burning blade and charged straight toward the Notoriety Ethereal.
...
As Soldier 11 fought with unwavering resolve against the fully formed Notoriety Ethereal,
several kilometers away...
After Sam Li and Belle destroyed the Ether collection device,
the surge of Ether energy attracted even more Ethereals.
Hundreds of them swarmed in endlessly,
surrounding the small street layer after layer.
In Belle's eyes, these Ethereals were terrifying monsters.
But to Sam Li, they were nothing more than walking system points.
He wielded his spear, weaving through the hordes like a swimming dragon.
Wherever he passed, the Ethereals shattered into crystal fragments and vanished from the world.
The system's voice kept chiming in his mind:
[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have killed a low-level Ethereal. Reward: 10 system points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have killed a low-level Ethereal. Reward: 10 system points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have killed an intermediate Ethereal. Reward: 100 system points.]
...
[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have killed 1,000 Ethereals. Reward: +0.2 to play progress.]
[Ding! Congratulations, host. Your marksmanship skill has improved. Reward: +0.1 to play progress.]
With the newly gained rewards added to his previous progress,
his overall play progress finally reached 20%.
Before Sam Li could even call out to the system,
its voice rang out again:
[Ding! Congratulations, host. Your current play progress has reached 20%. New ability unlocked: Rock Ridge.]
[Rock Ridge]: Commands the Geo elements on the earth to gather and form a rock ridge, causing AoE Geo damage...
At the same time,
his character panel updated:
Host: Sam Li
System: Strongest Roleplaying System
System Points: 51,300
Current World: New Eridu
Current Role: Geo Archon - Morax (Zhongli)
Current Progress: 20%
Abilities: Spearmanship - Rock Rain, Jade Shield, Rock Ridge
Weapon: Vortex Vanquisher
Items: Teyvat Omelette x1
Store: Seven Statues of the Seven, Jade Chamber, Bathysmal Vishap (Bangboo), Serenitea Pot...
Seeing the changes,
Sam Li could clearly feel that his strength had increased,
and his control over Geo elements had become sharper.
More importantly,
he had finally unlocked the Rock Ridge ability—
able to command Geo elements directly to form structures or change shapes during battle.
Next time he faced an enemy,
he would handle Geo even more skillfully, with more versatile and powerful attacks.
Very soon,
Sam Li refocused and finished off the remaining Ethereals.
Suddenly,
he sensed something and turned toward the Abandoned Skyscraper.
Belle asked doubtfully, "Sam Li, what's wrong?"
Sam Li said slowly, "Soldier 11 and Nicole are in trouble. We need to get back quickly."
Hearing this,
Belle was shocked.
They were so far from the Abandoned Skyscraper, and she hadn't received any alerts from Fairy.
How had Sam Li sensed it?
Could it be a mistake?
Just as she hesitated,
the next moment, a message from Fairy popped up:
[Master, there is a severe Ether anomaly at the Abandoned Skyscraper. It is likely the aftermath of the birth of an Notoriety Ethereal. Please proceed with caution—]
After receiving the message,
Belle didn't question it any longer.
"Sam Li, I'll lead the way. Let's go!"
...