Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory

Ethan was about to ask a question, but the gnoll stole the conversation first.

"Have you seen my useless little brother?"

His rough voice echoed down the corridor.

"A spineless crocodile. A dumb gator that does nothing but run around biting things."

Halfway through, the gnoll started laughing at his own joke.

He casually tossed his weapon aside.

Metal clanged against stone—ding-ding-ding—rattling on far too long.

Ethan didn’t answer right away.

A white energy sphere had already formed in his palm, but he didn’t fire. The dog-headed monster talked like a thug, yet his posture was almost too frank—so open it made Ethan hesitate. For a second, Ethan couldn’t tell if this thing was genuinely friendly or just playing with them.

In the end, Ethan let the attack fade.

"We came in from outside. We just wanted to get out of the heat for a bit. We’ll be leaving soon."

He watched the gnoll’s reaction closely.

"As for the crocodile you mentioned, we probably don’t know. I’m not sure—"

Before he could finish, the gnoll threw his head back and roared with laughter.

He bent down, picked up the weapon, slung it over his shoulder, and started walking toward Ethan at an unhurried pace.

"We love outsiders here!"

He kept coming.

"Especially when you bring this many people."

The excitement on his face grew more obvious by the step.

"Then of course we welcome you even more!"

Step.

Another step.

He kept closing the distance.

Spit flicked from the corners of his mouth as he talked. That rough-furred dog face shoved itself right up into Ethan’s space—stopping so close Ethan could practically feel his breath at the tip of his nose.

Ethan calmly put both hands behind his back.

His expression stayed politely pleasant.

Only the palm hidden behind him was different—white lightning was gathering there, bit by bit. Tiny arcs compressed into a tight sphere, all of it controlled within a tiny radius, nothing leaking forward.

"Really?" Ethan looked straight at the dog face inches from him. "This place really welcomes outsiders that much?"

The gnoll grinned, showing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

Next moment, Ethan’s hidden hand thrust forward.

The white orb slid along the side of his body and traveled the shortest possible line—slamming straight into the gnoll’s head.

Bang!

Lightning detonated inside the dog skull.

White light flashed out through the gnoll’s eyes, mouth, and ears. Arcs crawled through its fur. The impact drove it back several steps, its heavy feet cracking the stone tiles underfoot.

Ethan bared his teeth, forcing the energy inward, compressing it harder.

But the collapse he expected never came.

The gnoll only staggered back to the corridor’s center—then planted his feet and steadied himself.

He lifted that strange weapon high, then smashed it down.

Boom!

The weapon’s base shattered the stone tile. Cracks split outward to both sides. The lingering white arcs on the gnoll’s face jumped twice... and were dispersed by the power inside his body.

The gnoll lifted his head.

There was no anger. No immediate counterattack.

Instead, his eyes held a strange, almost intoxicated fascination. He opened his mouth and drew in a huge breath, like he was savoring the weight of Ethan’s strike.

"Kid—nice power!"

The praise sounded completely sincere.

"But it’s still not quite there!"

He yanked his weapon out of the floor and rested it on his shoulder again.

Only then did he seem to remember basic manners. He raised a claw and thumped his chest.

"Forgot to introduce myself."

He flashed a smile—brighter than before, and a hell of a lot more dangerous.

"My name is Rhazek Goldfang."

Rhazek Goldfang spread his arms wide, the odd weapon wobbling lightly on his shoulder with the motion.

"And this—"

His booming voice rolled deeper into the pyramid.

"—is my country. The Golden Kingdom!"

Ethan tilted his head back, staring up at Rhazek Goldfang.

The gnoll had been only a little taller than a normal man a second ago—now, right in front of all of them, his body kept growing.

His shoulders broadened. Thick arms dropped to his waist. The weird weapon scaled up with him, each piece of metal grinding as it expanded.

The corridor was already narrow.

Rhazek’s body quickly pressed into both stone walls, his head rising toward the ceiling. Every step he took made the stone under his feet cave in, fine cracks crawling along the floor toward Ethan.

Ethan had no choice but to keep backing up.

Not because Rhazek’s size scared him—because he needed distance from that dog face that kept getting closer. Hot breath washed over him. Between those sharp teeth, there were still charred traces from Ethan’s white lightning.

Behind him, Ataneya clicked her tongue.

The corridor kept her from fully spreading all twenty-four tails.

She flicked the tail tips impatiently, then finally snaked a single fox tail up and out over the crowd.

The soft fur tightened midair, turning taut as a cable. The tail looped over Rhazek’s shoulder, then wrapped around his waist from the other side. Ataneya braced her feet, twisted her hips, and yanked—forcing that massive body up off the stone.

Rhazek didn’t even get the chance to look down.

He was already airborne.

The fox tail swung him up and down inside the corridor.

The first upward whip scraped Rhazek’s back against the wall, tearing loose chunks of stone.

The second downward swing slammed his weird weapon into the floor, shaking the corridor so hard sand trickled from the sides.

Ataneya didn’t stop.

She whipped him up again. When Rhazek’s body neared the corridor’s ceiling, the tail suddenly cinched tight and smashed him straight into the stone above.

Boom!

The rock caved inward.

A crack spread across the ceiling with Rhazek at its center. Rubble and dust poured down. Ataneya immediately released him. The huge gnoll dropped out of the crater, his feet and weapon hitting the floor one after the other.

The corridor shook again.

Rhazek crouched in the broken stone, head lowered. After a moment, he stood slowly.

Still no anger.

If anything, the fire in his beast eyes burned hotter. He stared at Ataneya like he couldn’t look away, then swept that gaze across every person behind her, chest heaving with heavy breaths.

And his body kept getting bigger.

His shoulders crushed the walls. His thick back nearly kissed the ceiling. Rhazek raised a claw, patted his chest with clear satisfaction, then glanced down and tugged his little shorts back into place after they’d been jolted crooked.

Only after that did he lift his head again, staring at them with a dreamy, hungry look.

"You’re just... perfect..."

Halfway through the sentence, he seemed to realize his tone was off. He hurriedly made a fist, brought it to his mouth, and coughed hard twice.

"Ahem! Ahem!"

Then he put on that warm, hospitable grin again.

"You’ve traveled a long way. You must be tired, right? How about you go inside and try our local snake wine?"

Rhazek stuck out a thick claw finger, introducing it with bright excitement.

"That stuff is strong—and it’ll get you so drunk you’ll forget the world! One cup fights fatigue, two cups and you’ll never get tired again, three cups and you’ll live forever—AOOO!"

The last sound turned into a pure canine howl.

Rhazek dropped to all fours, and his massive body shrank fast. In just a few breaths, he went from a corridor-filling beast into a normal-sized dog, sprawled on the stone and howling up at the ceiling.

When the howl ended, he rolled slightly to the side and extended one front paw toward the deeper corridor—an exaggerated invitation.

Then Rhazek rose again, swelling back into his original gnoll form. He hoisted the weapon onto his shoulder and started walking at the very front by himself, like an overly enthusiastic tour guide, leading them deeper into the pyramid.