"City?"

"It seems like I've heard Jason say something about a city before," Cersei replied.

Curious, she opened her inventory panel and pulled up a map.

On it, she could clearly see routes, red dots, and exploration history.

Ethan squinted, noticing that one of the red dots was located far to the south according to the compass.

That meant he only needed to go south through the forest to reach that red dot.

On Cersei's map, it was labeled as a city-like area.

"I think it's located there," Cersei said.

"Are you sure? You're not trying to trap us, are you?" Nuwa asked.

Cersei shook her head. For her, setting a trap or being hostile toward Ethan wouldn't do her or her guild members any good.

Everything she said seemed honest—she explained that the red dot was sent by one of her separated teammates who was currently there.

Even so, Ethan couldn't completely trust her.

If that red dot turns out to be their guild's base, it could put me and Nuwa in danger.

"You don't need to worry about that, Nuwa. If it really is a trap, I can kill them easily," Ethan said.

"I'm just worried, that's all."

Ethan nodded in agreement. He asked for the map from Cersei in exchange for returning the priest's staff.

Cersei agreed; if Ethan needed the map more than she needed the staff, she was more than happy to hand it over.

The exchange was made. Ethan got the event map, and once it synced with him, two layers of data overlapped—his previous exploration records and those of Cersei's guild team.

The deal was fair: Ethan gained the map, and Cersei got her priest's staff back.

[DING!]

[You've received coordinate information from a guild teammate]

While Ethan was still checking the map, a new system panel popped up explaining the coordinate data.

The map in front of him began syncing with the new information.

[Map synchronization successful]

The display confirmed everything. There were three green dots far to the east, opposite from where Ethan and Nuwa were.

Nuwa's face lit up with excitement. The green dots marked the positions of their missing teammates.

"That's Lara!" she exclaimed.

"Are you sure these green dots are the locations of our friends?" Ethan asked Cersei.

Cersei nodded. The green markers indicated the separated team members.

They could only see each other's locations if all of them had a map—and now Ethan finally had one thanks to the trade.

"That's great. We don't have to search blindly anymore," Ethan said.

"Are we still going to the city?" Nuwa asked.

Ethan nodded. The city was where they could find most of what they needed.

Seeing how much they still had to prepare, he decided they had to go there to restock their supplies.

If I can reach the city and find a supply shop, maybe I can buy Rare weapons without taking them from other players.

But the price must be insane—especially since I need a hundred of them. That's crazy.

"I don't know what you're planning next, but I wish you the best," said Cersei.

Ethan said nothing. After their exchange, Cersei took her leave and went back to her group's lodging.

Nuwa stayed behind with Ethan, closing and locking the door so no one else could bother them.

"We'll head out tomorrow morning. Get some rest, Nuwa."

The woman nodded. It had been a long day for both of them, even though she had gotten enough sleep the night before.

They each went to separate rooms. Ethan entered his own, though his mind wasn't on rest—it was on something more important.

It was about Seraphelis.

"You can come out now, Sera," Ethan murmured.

Slowly, his sword began to glow gold. The light scattered into small magic particles that gathered again, forming the shape of a beautiful woman.

In just seconds, Seraphelis stood before him.

"So, what do you think? Impressed by my power?" Sera asked.

"Yeah. When you merged with my sword, my base power increased a lot."

"Of course. I'm a goddess—there's nothing I can't do," Sera said proudly. Ethan just squinted at her.

There was a reason he wanted her to separate from the blade. He was curious about what "soul fragment" meant.

"In my system panel, it says you're a soul fragment. What does that mean?" Ethan asked.

Sera lowered her head slightly, understanding his question.

"Someone with the highest authority split me into two. My first fragment stayed in the Tower, while the second fragment—me—is here in this world," Seraphelis explained.

"Do you know who that person is?"

"He calls himself the Administrator."

"He's the one who controls the Tower and everything in it," Sera said.

Administrator? Could he be the human behind the game? A game master?

Ethan listened carefully. The Administrator sounded like someone he needed to be wary of, but for now, his focus was on winning the event and restoring Sera's full soul fragment to the Tower.

"What happens if both fragments are combined?" Ethan asked.

"My power would reach its peak," Sera answered.

If just half of her power is already this strong… what would it be like at full power?

There were too many unknowns, but for now, Ethan was glad to have Sera.

If he could use her strength properly, he might be able to dominate everything in this game.

"Besides merging with weapons, what else can you do?" Ethan asked.

"My greatest potential can be used if I become a soul servant," Sera replied.

Soul Servant, huh? That sounded like a good idea—especially with her light element that could synergize well with others, including fire.

But how was he supposed to turn her into one?

"That's an interesting idea, but how can you become a soul servant?" Ethan asked, confused.

Sera smiled, snapping her fingers as if to say it was nothing.

Then she pressed her palms together and started chanting. Golden smoke filled the room, hiding her from Ethan's view.

Moments later, the smoke cleared—and what Ethan saw left him speechless.

"Chibi?" he muttered in shock.

Yes—Seraphelis had turned herself into a chibi form, the same size as Ethan's other three soul servants.

Whether she could actually function as one, though, he wasn't sure.

Ethan lifted his hand, reaching out toward her tiny one. The moment their hands touched, the soul servant panel appeared before him.

[Congratulations, you've obtained a soul servant]

[Name: Seraphelis (SSSR)]

[Level: 500]

[Deploy Soul Servant?]

[Y/N]

SSSR? That's insane! And her level too… what the hell?

Driven by curiosity, Ethan deployed Seraphelis as his new soul servant, replacing Maelis—his lowest-ranked one.

[Congratulations, you've deployed a soul servant]

[ATK: 25,248 || DEF: 24,785]

Unbelievable. I didn't expect the boost to be that high. The power of a goddess truly was on another level.

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