***

The next day.

Mount Mordor.

Nuwa woke up and saw Ethan sleeping beside her. He wasn't using a sleeping bag, only relying on the warmth of the campfire that had burned through the night.

She sat up, still inside her sleeping bag. As the sun rose and Ethan kept sleeping, Nuwa noticed the fire had gone out—only a few glowing embers remained.

Last night, she had slept deeply without waking up once.

She had no idea Ethan had fought and taken weapons from other players. Ethan had no intention of telling her either.

It was better that she didn't know; otherwise, she would just argue or try to stop him.

Ethan woke up about ten minutes after Nuwa. It wasn't the cold or noise that woke him—it was the sunlight shining too brightly on his face.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Nuwa cooking breakfast using the heat from the remaining embers.

She placed a small iron pan above the fire pit and toasted two pieces of bread on it.

"When did you wake up?" Ethan asked.

"About ten minutes ago. I woke up because I was hungry."

"You ate a lot of meat last night and you're still hungry?" Ethan asked.

"I don't know, but I really am hungry, I'm not lying."

Ethan shrugged, deciding not to argue about it. When the bread finished toasting, the two of them started eating.

"So, where are we going now?" Nuwa asked.

While chewing his bread, Ethan opened his side quest panel. It was still active, which meant no one had completed it yet.

"Looks like we still have plenty of time to reach the top," Ethan said.

"The scream we heard yesterday… I wonder where it came from?" Nuwa asked.

"No idea. We haven't met any other players so far, right?"

Nuwa nodded. Ethan purposely lied so she wouldn't question him too much.

"In that case, maybe they're at the mountain's peak, searching for where Daughter Jared was taken," Ethan said.

"Will she be okay? I mean, she was kidnapped by a Red-Eyed Spider Monster. That name alone sounds terrifying."

Ethan shook his head. He wasn't sure what condition the girl was in, but he didn't worry too much.

After all, the side quest was created by the system, and so were the monsters.

The creature holding the girl wasn't meant to kill her—it was just a quest boss meant to start an event. It was all part of the system's design for the players.

"We don't have to worry too much about her. She's not a player, just an NPC with some level of intelligence."

"Either way, she's part of the system. The monsters are too. Two system-based entities don't fight each other for no reason," Ethan explained.

"I don't really get it," Nuwa said, sighing.

"It's fine if you don't. Just listen to my orders and don't argue," Ethan said firmly.

Nuwa cleared her throat and nodded. Whatever happened, she planned to listen to him.

Her suspicion toward Ethan was slowly fading as time passed, though not completely gone.

Still, she saw him as a reliable man—someone she could trust.

She didn't know what the future held for the two of them, but for now, Ethan was good for her and for the Sword Liberation guild team.

After breakfast, the two left the forest and returned to the cliffside trail. Ethan led the way while Nuwa watched their rear.

They walked carefully, watching their steps. When the cliff path ended and they entered another part of the mountain forest, something came rolling down from above—a group of medium-sized pangolin monsters charging straight toward them.

There weren't many, but enough to surprise them. Ethan dodged sideways, while Nuwa jumped up to a tree branch.

"What are those?" Nuwa shouted.

"Pangolins. Don't let them hit you—their scales are sharp and poisonous," Ethan warned.

"Got it," Nuwa replied.

Ethan slashed and dodged as the monsters rolled past, while Nuwa used her agility to attack from above. Together, they held their ground.

"I'll stop their rolling. When I do, use your strongest attack," Ethan said firmly.

"Understood, Ethan."

She leaped down from the branch and landed on the ground. The monsters noticed her right away.

They curled into tight balls and rolled downhill with incredible speed.

Ethan reacted fast, driving his sword into the ground and activating his warrior shield.

Good thing Hissy's my pet. That gives me poison immunity.

The rolling pangolins slammed into his shield and stopped moving. Ethan turned to Nuwa and shouted for her to strike.

SLASH!

With her ultimate skill, Nuwa cut through them, killing them cleanly, though not instantly.

Ethan smiled a little, pulling his sword free. He saw cuts on his arms and shoulders from blocking their charge.

"Wait—you're hurt!" Nuwa said, startled.

"It's fine. It's nothing serious," Ethan replied.

The poison on his skin faded quickly, neutralized by Hissy's buff. Still, Ethan didn't have any regeneration skills yet.

He drank an HP Potion Lv.1 to recover some of his health, though his total HP was much higher than Nuwa's.

"This is much better," he said.

"Let's keep moving," Ethan added, and Nuwa nodded.

After defeating the pangolins, they climbed further up until they reached a black savanna near the mountain peak.

Nuwa's eyes widened. She had seen savannas before, but never one with black grass—something impossible on Earth.

The wind howled from the peak, carrying dust and tiny particles through the air. Ethan raised his hand, sensing a flicker of energy coming from the mountaintop.

"So where's the spider monster keeping the girl?" Nuwa asked.

Ethan pointed toward the crater of the mountain. Nuwa's eyes widened in shock—it seemed impossible that the monster's lair would be there.

But Ethan felt certain the girl was trapped inside, whatever her state was.

They had no choice but to go and see for themselves.

Ethan and Nuwa began crossing the black savanna. The soft, slippery grass bent under their boots. But as they walked, something strange happened.

Several magic circles appeared on the ground around them. Ethan and Nuwa froze. The runes glowed black, etched with strange symbols.

I remember Ashley telling me about magic using black runes.

The entire savanna lit up with a purple glow. A red system panel appeared before them, and both of them stared in disbelief.

"Debuff: Disrupt?"

"What's that?" Nuwa asked.

Ethan looked at his panel—three of his skills were locked. He immediately understood what "disrupt" meant.

"It's a debuff that seals your skills," Ethan explained.

"Skills?" Nuwa looked at her own panel.

Sure enough, her abilities were locked too. They couldn't use any skills—only basic attacks.

Then, as if things couldn't get worse, black humanoid monsters began rising from the ground all around them. Ethan narrowed his eyes—he recognized them.

"Undead!"

"Undead?" Nuwa asked.

"Monsters made from the souls of the dead," Ethan said.

"Are they strong? We can't use our skills right now," Nuwa said anxiously.

Ethan didn't reply right away. He looked around the vast savanna—there was nowhere to run. They were already surrounded.

"Damn it."

"What should we do, Ethan?" Nuwa asked.

"I can still defeat them—I have my three soul servants," Ethan replied.

He turned to her, his eyes calm despite the danger, "I'll get you out of this savanna."

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