Nuwa heard what Ethan said, but she still couldn't figure out how they would escape the undead surrounding them.

Ethan planted his sword into the ground, putting both hands together underneath it—like a volleyball dig stance.

But there was another reason why this position made sense for what they were about to do.

"I'll give you a boost," said Ethan. Nuwa nodded in response.

After stepping back to get a running start, Nuwa sprinted toward Ethan and stepped onto his joined hands.

Ethan's job now was to throw her out of the undead's circle. He shouted and threw Nuwa as hard as he could, sending her flying far away from the black savanna.

Nuwa's eyes widened in shock. She had thought there were only a few dozen undead, but when she looked down from above, the truth became clear.

There were hundreds of them!

This is insane! Ethan could die!

Nuwa looked forward, and thanks to Ethan's throw, she managed to get out of the sabanna's range.

She landed safely, without a single injury. A red debuff panel appeared before her eyes, showing a notification.

[Debuff Disrupt removed]

The Disrupt debuff disappears when you leave the black savanna?

"ETHAN!" Nuwa shouted.

It was no use. The distance and the magic barrier made it impossible for her voice to reach him.

Ethan pulled his sword from the ground and carefully scanned the area around him.

Undead—monsters that weren't terrifying on their own, but were a real problem in large numbers.

Since he couldn't use his skills, Ethan had no choice but to rely on basic attacks and his soul servants.

He was confident he could still break through the encirclement.

"Maelis, Neryss, Jack!" Ethan commanded.

"I need you to defeat these undead," he added.

The three soul servants nodded and switched from passive to aggressive mode.

That change created a powerful effect on Ethan, their master.

[Maelis Terraheart (Lv.1) || B rank || Passive → Aggressive || 100 MP]

[Neryss Abyssborn (Lv.1) || SR rank || Passive → Aggressive || 1000 MP]

[Jack Spearsun (Lv.1) || A rank || Passive → Aggressive || 250 MP]

Ethan narrowed his eyes as he watched them switch modes.

Each rank consumed a different amount of MP—the higher the rank, the more it required.

And of course, their power was nothing alike. A Rank A servant was leagues stronger than a Rank B, and SR rank was something else entirely.

They were no longer in their chibi forms. The three soul servants glowed brightly in green, red, and blue light.

Ethan was stunned, unsure what was happening.

But as the light faded, he clearly saw that his soul servants now appeared in full human size—no longer cute, tiny figures.

What's going on?

From experience, Ethan had fought side by side with soul servants before, but they always appeared in chibi mode.

He was sure he had never seen their adult forms in real time, even though their profiles showed them as full-sized beings.

With everything that had happened since entering the Tower of Ascension, it wasn't surprising anymore to see them fighting beside him in their true forms.

Without saying a word, the three charged into the horde of undead with brutal precision. Jack summoned a red spear that burned with flames each time he swung it.

Neryss, a mage, didn't use a wand or staff. Instead, she played a seashell flute that released the sound of the ocean, summoning waves of water that crashed into the undead.

Meanwhile, Maelis—the lowest-ranked servant—still made her mark. Her arms were covered in stone as she rushed forward, punching the undead without mercy.

[Duration of Aggressive Mode:]

[00:04:35]

"Only five minutes? That should be enough."

Ethan wasn't interested in killing all the undead. His focus was on escaping.

Without skills and with a time-limited aggressive mode, fighting every single undead would be a death trap.

"Maelis, Neryss, Jack! Clear a path for me!" he ordered.

The three servants nodded and concentrated their attacks on one area, opening a path for Ethan to escape.

Meanwhile, Nuwa stood outside the black savanna, shocked to see fire, water, and earth magic raging inside the undead crowd.

She remembered that Ethan wasn't a mage capable of controlling elemental magic.

It could only mean one thing—he was using the power of his soul servants.

"Is that the power of soul servants?" Nuwa muttered.

Neryss summoned a massive wave that swept away dozens of undead, clearing the path ahead of Ethan.

From afar, Ethan saw Nuwa waving and shouting something he couldn't hear.

Seeing the path open, he sprinted as fast as he could, heading for the edge of the black field.

A system panel appeared before him.

[Aggressive Mode ended!]

[Cooldown for next activation:]

[00:59:54]

[Would you like to enable Auto-Aggressive mode during combat?]

[Y/N]

Ethan chose [No] disabling the automatic function.

That way, his servants wouldn't attack on their own and waste the limited aggressive duration. Managing cooldowns was crucial.

Light shimmered over his servants as they returned to their chibi forms, floating behind Ethan once more.

The rest of the fight went smoothly. Fewer undead remained, and he kept running until he finally reached Nuwa after fifteen minutes.

Once he stepped out of the black savanna, the debuff vanished, and his skills became usable again.

"A-Are you okay?" Nuwa asked.

Ethan nodded. He was exhausted, but unharmed.

"I'm fine. Just tired."

"A short rest will get me back on my feet."

Nuwa agreed and looked ahead. The black runes above the field disappeared, and the undead corpses crumbled into the black grass, merging with the ground.

"This is the first time I've ever seen something like that," said Nuwa.

"The Tower of Ascension's administrator clearly doesn't want this side quest to be easy," Ethan replied.

"Forget the undead—what was that power you used?" Nuwa asked curiously.

"My three Soul Servants. They went into aggressive mode and helped me a lot," Ethan explained.

"Wait, soul servants can do that?"

"I just found out myself. Looks like there are a lot of new features I missed after being away for two years."

Only time would tell. Ethan didn't have the luxury to explore all the new mechanics now.

Their goal was clear—to reach the volcano crater, rescue Jared's daughter, and complete the side quest.

"Did you check the crater earlier?" Ethan asked. Nuwa shook her head.

"No. I was too worried about you."

"Thanks for that. I'm okay now."

With their skills restored, Ethan felt ready again.

Once he caught his breath, he and Nuwa continued up the rocky slope.

The smell of sulfur grew stronger, a sign that they were nearing the crater.

When they finally arrived, both of them froze in awe.

In the middle of the volcano's crater stood a black castle surrounded by glowing lava.

The heat and the eerie sight made their skin crawl.

The only way to reach the castle was through a hanging bridge.

Ethan was certain the daughter was trapped inside, waiting for someone to rescue her.

"What is this? Are we saving Princess Fiona now?" Ethan joked.

"Princess Fiona? From Shrek?!" Nuwa gasped.

"Wait—this feels pretty similar, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, and you're the donkey," Ethan smirked.

"D-Donkey?!" Nuwa shouted in protest.

As they bantered, a scream echoed from within the castle—it was clearly the voice of a player.

"Looks like they're already fighting the Red-Eyed Spider inside," said Ethan.

"Let's go before they take the side quest reward!"

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