NOVEL NEXT Chapter 114: She Killed It?!
"Brother?!!"
"King?!!"
The words burst from Vancouver and David in perfect, stunned unison.
"You're a Princess?!!!" they yelled, the question hanging in the charged air between them.
"Forget that!" Star's voice was a sharp command, cutting through their surprise.
"I need to save them! Those four Giants are heading towards the two!" Her words galvanized her and her soldiers. Without a moment's hesitation, they summoned their weapons and vanished into the dense undergrowth, a blur of motion and grim determination.
"....?!"
Vancouver and David stared at each other, a kaleidoscope of emotions—confusion, disbelief, and a growing sense of dread—flickering across their faces.
"Something doesn't add up," David said, his eyes still fixed on the spot where Star and her group had disappeared.
"What is it?" Vancouver asked, his mind reeling.
"If those two are the dots on the screen, how come one of them is red, just like the Giants?" David held up the tablet, the screen showing the two close dots. "And given their position, the one with the red dot is..."
"...The little girl," Vancouver finished, his voice a disbelieving whisper.
"Yes... Come on, I think we need to see for ourselves." David turned and sprinted into the forest, following Star's path.
'Not again,' Vancouver grumbled inwardly, but his feet were already moving, a strange mix of annoyance and curiosity propelling him forward.
____
[Back To Sunny.]
"So Ellen, apart from the name, do you know anything else about that ring?" Sunny asked, his voice low and contemplative.
Ellen fell silent for a few moments, her brow furrowed in concentration. She shook her head:
"I can't explain it... It's like I can see it, but I can't get to it. I feel like something or someone is pulling me away from it."
"Really?" Sunny's surprise was evident. Ellen simply nodded, her gaze fixed on the ground. She hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"I had a dream."
"What was it about?" Sunny's curiosity was piqued.
"I don't know... It's the same as with the ring. I can't quite grasp it, but this time it was different... I... I was a baby, and I was held by a lady."
Sunny's eyebrow raised in silent question.
"I can't remember the lady's face, or whatever she was saying... But I remembered the wooden house."
"Maybe she's your Mom," Sunny offered, his gaze fixed on the path ahead.
"Maybe," Ellen repeated in a low voice, her eyes still on the forest floor.
'So many strange things have been happening to Ellen since she entered this planet... Is she connected to the planet in some way? Or maybe the fruit?' Sunny thought, glancing at Ellen over his shoulder.
'Or... am I missing more information?' He sighed, looking up at the sky. 'Thank goodness I have the system. At least I can think without her hearing my thoughts.'
BAM!!
The deafening sound shattered the quiet, and both Sunny and Ellen's expressions instantly turned serious.
BAM! BAM!
"Those are footsteps," Ellen whispered, her body tensing.
"Ellen, do you have your armor with you?" Sunny asked, his gaze fixed on the trees directly ahead of them.
"Em... Yes," Ellen stammered, her voice shaky.
"Use it."
She nodded, pulling out a silver armor chip from her storage. She placed it on her chest, and in the next moment, it expanded, enveloping her entire body, leaving no part exposed, not even her eyes.
Ellen's weapon was something Sunny didn't expect. Even he had been dumbfounded when she picked it. It was a bow, a fully-starred Grand-class bow, almost as tall as she was.
'I don't even know if she can use that thing,' he thought.
'It's almost as tall as her... Anyway, she picked it, so there must be a reason for that---' Sunny froze, his eyes widening in sudden realization. He quickly brought up his system screen and navigated to Ellen's profile.
{Bloodline advantages: Endless flow of celestial energy; Replenishes Celestial energy usage in seconds. Once an attack hits the target, the target suffers a backlash, which deals half of her attack strength continuously for five minutes. When transformed; Immune to all magical and elemental attacks; physical damage taken will be reduced by half. Once in her peak state, all her attacks ignore all defense. God-eyes; sees things no mortal can see.}
'Oh my...' Sunny's mind reeled.
'Just imagine she shoots more than ten arrows at once. If they strike, continuous damage. If she gets to her peak, any single arrow will ignore all defense. Isn't that a mega cheat?'
BAM!!
The ground trembled, and the two took a step back as a massive hand gripped a tree fifty meters away. A three-meter-tall Giant emerged, clearly a youngster, his massive body a testament to his raw power.
"Leave it to me!" Sunny said, summoning his sword. He quickly brought up the system screen, his eyes scanning the Giant's stats.
{Name: ???.}
{Race: Giant.}
{Bloodline: None.}
{Rank: ???.}
{Strength: 30,000.}
{Agility: 20,000.}
{Stamina: 30,000.}
{Defense: 30,000.}
{Attack: 30,000.}
{Celestial energy: 0.}
{Magic resistance: 30,000.}
{Extra skill: Immunity to skills and elemental attacks.}
{Weaknesses: Master's rank is too low.}
'My attack is only ten thousand, but if I use a powerful skill--' He paused, the thought dying in his mind.
'Bummer... These bastards are immune to skills and elemental attacks... Okay, then, I'll have to fight you head-on! I'm not sure if I'll win, but I must...' He gripped his sword tighter.
'I won't stop until you die---'
WHOOSH!
Sunny froze as an arrow, a silver streak of light, flew past his ear and struck the Giant squarely in the head.
"Huh? That won't even do a single damage, her attack is only three hundred---"
Sunny's eyes widened in utter shock as the Giant stumbled for a few seconds before collapsing to the ground, dead.
"...?!!!"
He stood still, his mouth agape, eyes wide, and sword still in hand.
'Did... Did she? How? Is that their weakness? Shooting arrows at the skull?'
He looked over at Ellen, who was lowering her bow. The eyes he saw weren't the innocent eyes of a child, but the cold, hardened gaze of a veteran who had fought countless battles and walked out alive.
".....?!"
"I...! I did it?" Ellen asked, her voice filled with confusion.
'Was that all an illusion?' Sunny thought, staring at Ellen, who was back to her normal, cute, and adorable self.
'Was I seeing things?' he asked himself.
"Dad... Look."
Ellen's word brought him from his shock, and Sunny turned to the dead Giant, seeing a red circular orb flying out from it.
'What is that?'
He walked towards the orb, and the system's voice sounded in his mind:
{Evolution Stone: Can only be used by anyone with a god-rank bloodline... Can massively increase someone's celestial energy and also help them evolve to a stronger physique.}
{Master doesn't have a God-rank bloodline, but Master has the ten ancient bloodlines... One bloodline is weak against a god-rank bloodline, but when fused, Master will have a bloodline that is more powerful than a god-rank bloodline... And this evolution Stone will help with it.}
'How is that?'
{To others, this stone can triple all their stats and Celestial energy, but to Master, it increases the success rate of fusing all Bloodlines into one powerful bloodline.}
'Is that even possible? Fusing all my ten bloodlines into one... Is that insane?'
{Master can't use the Evolution Stone at the moment, because Master hasn't unlocked all bloodlines...}
{Note: The first two bloodlines were successfully merged because they're the first and second. So fusing the rest will be difficult.}
{I suggest Master should have as much of these stones as he can.}
"You've got to be kidding me!!" Sunny exclaimed, the full weight of the information crashing down on him.