Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory

Ethan shook his head, helpless, and condensed another white energy sphere in his palm.

"I honestly don’t know what this place is."

His gaze swept over the holes scattered across the plain.

"It feels like a nest."

"But right now, I can’t tell what species it belongs to."

The moment the words left his mouth, Ethan caught the change in his companions’ eyes—battle intent flaring fast.

Especially the ones who’d just survived a major fight and had been restored by Feylora. Their gazes were already roaming, actively hunting for targets that hadn’t even shown themselves yet.

Ethan immediately raised his voice.

"No fighting."

Everyone looked at him.

"Until we figure out what’s going on here, nobody makes the first move."

They were peaceful people.

At least... for now.

Idra, standing in the back, suddenly looked up past Ethan’s shoulder.

Her body shifted in a blur—scales spreading across skin—until a massive dragon filled the space behind him.

Dragon breath gathered in her mouth.

"Dad!"

Idra snapped her jaws open.

"Behind you!"

Ethan froze for half a beat.

Behind him—what?

A glob of viscous liquid fell from above and landed squarely on the top of his head.

Cold slime oozed through his hair, dragging slow as it flowed.

Ethan’s whole body went rigid.

Oh, come on.

Why tell him now?

He spun and hurled the energy sphere behind him, using the recoil from the throw to spring sideways at the same time.

The white energy skimmed low over the ground.

Idra’s breath followed an instant later, sweeping across the space above where Ethan had just been standing.

Ethan hit the dirt, rolled once, and came up beside the others.

Only then did he finally see the attacker clearly.

A creature that looked like a dinosaur stood next to one of the openings.

It was tall, built on thick, powerful hind legs, while its foreclaws were so short they were almost pathetic. Rows of sharp, backward-curving spines ran from its back all the way down its tail, and the sides of its head were plated in jagged bone.

It opened its mouth. Slime dripped steadily between its teeth.

At least one thing was certain.

It wasn’t purely mechanical.

But—

Ethan’s eyes flicked from the spines to the tunnels around them, those holes lined with a grotesque blend of steel and flesh.

Maybe it was still too early to draw conclusions.

The dinosaur watched its prey slip away. Its tiny foreclaws swiped uselessly through empty air a few times, then it lifted one claw and pointed straight at the group.

The gesture almost looked... polite.

For a split second, the thought formed—maybe it’s not hostile—

And then every nearby hole erupted with the metallic buzz of wings.

Bzzzz—

A massive swarm of mechanical insects burst from underground.

They looked like wasps. Their bodies were made of tiny overlapping metal plates, and their abdomens glowed with different colored points of energy. There were so many that once they rose, they blotted out the sky over their immediate area.

The swarm rotated midair.

Every needle-like mouthpart and stinger lined up at once—aimed straight at them.

Ethan silently revised his judgment.

Bugs again.

Machines again.

And they’d developed pretty damn well.

Phoenix Queen Ignara spread her wings and flew above the group.

Flames surged outward from her body, then poured down from above, condensing into a scarlet shield that wrapped around everyone inside.

The mechanical swarm didn’t rush in.

They stopped just outside the fire barrier, circling—layer after layer—until they’d formed a tightening ring. The innermost insects flew so close their wings nearly scraped the shield, while on the outside, more and more poured out of the holes.

In no time, the barrier was surrounded three layers thick... then five... then more.

Metal wings filled their entire view.

The dinosaur lifted its head and let out an ear-splitting, drawn-out scream.

The soundwave swept across the plain.

Slime around the nearby holes splattered outward, and the insect swarm snapped into a new formation in perfect response to the call.

The spines on the dinosaur’s back began to retract.

One sharp structure after another sank into its skin, replaced by metal armor sliding up from within its body.

The plating sealed along its spine, limbs, and belly.

Finally, a mask slid down from the top of its head, covering most of its face.

It opened its mouth.

And what came out was crisp, unmistakable human speech.

"Are you here to deliver food?"

Under the mechanical mask, its eyes gleamed faintly.

"The Ironhive Kingdom warmly welcomes your arrival!"

The dinosaur lifted its tiny foreclaw and traced slow shapes in the air.

Lines of text appeared with each motion, then dissolved into the same message—pushed directly into everyone’s minds.

The swarm hovered, ready to strike.

Inside the shield, Ethan’s team had already braced to counterattack.

All it would take was one opening hit, and the fight would explode for real.

But that wasn’t what Vexara truly wanted to see.

The food in front of her looked fresh. Delicious.

If she didn’t host them properly—fatten them up first, then eat them slowly—

Killing them now would be a waste.

The dinosaur withdrew part of its armor, and her tone softened into something almost friendly.

"Hello."

"My name is Vexara. I’m the queen of the Ironhive Kingdom."

She licked the slime at the corner of her mouth.

"I’m just... really hungry. So I came out to take a look."

Ethan rubbed the top of his head.

That glob of slime had pasted his hair into one solid clump.

With viscosity like that, there was no way he believed Vexara had simply wandered out for a casual stroll.

Still—since she was willing to talk, Ethan didn’t call her bluff right away.

He slowly extended one hand.

Palm up. A universal show of goodwill.

But inside his hand, a fairly large white energy sphere was already tucked and ready.

"Hello."

"I’m Ethan."

He gestured back toward his companions.

"They’re traveling with me."

"We were flying overhead when a spatial wormhole opened in front of us. After that, we ended up here."

Vexara watched him speak with such seriousness and extended one small claw as well—still wrapped in steel armor.

The young man had a decent attitude.

Which meant he was probably this group’s king.

And beneath her short foreclaw, a burrowing cannon had already finished charging.

Its barrel was hidden in the shadow on the ground, energy compressing steadily through its internal structure.

"Hello."

Their hands drew closer.

Everyone inside the shield went taut.

No one knew what would happen the moment they made contact.

And there were still countless mechanical insects hanging all around them.

Vexara’s friendliness was only skin-deep. The tricks she had prepared went far beyond a single burrowing cannon.

At last, their hands clasped.

The energy sphere in Ethan’s palm moved first.

It didn’t explode. It didn’t flare with blinding light.

It slipped silently along the contact point, flowing into Vexara’s body through her small armored claw like a parasite made of pure force.

Vexara was still wondering why Ethan wasn’t letting go.

The next instant, a glaring warning flashed across her vision.

The sensors inside her armor screamed danger in unison.

This kid tricked her—

The burrowing cannon beneath their feet fired immediately.

The shell punched through the soil and shot upward, blasting up from under Ethan’s arm—straight for his body.

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