Clang! Clang! Accompanied by the cacophony of gongs and drums, Elysia watched a procession of paper dolls parade through the village. All were clad in red robes, with two dolls striking golden gongs as they marched. Behind them, four others carried an enormous paper sedan chair.
The scene resembled an ancient wedding procession, yet Elysia sensed not a trace of festivity in the air. These ghostly figures clearly had a story to tell, but she had no desire to delve into it. Aloft in mid-air, she slowly raised her small hand. A massive purple bow materialized beside her, and a dazzling arrow began to coalesce, growing brighter and more radiant with each passing moment.
In the pitch-black night sky, it shone like a newly born star.
Elysia's plan was simple: ignore whatever demons or ghosts haunted this village and obliterate the entire place with a single, devastating area-of-effect attack.
Perhaps some creatures might withstand her assault, or possess resilience beyond ordinary means. But none of that mattered.
It didn't matter if a few escaped. Elysia's goal was simple: to rack up points. She'd kill as many as she could, obliterate this area, and then move on to the next spot to repeat the process.
In the next instant, a fully charged purple arrow streaked across the night sky like a meteor, its dazzling light blazing as it plummeted toward the earth.
"..."
At first, Elysia heard nothing. She only saw a massive wave of purple energy erupt from the arrow's impact point, sweeping outward until it engulfed the entire village.
Then, the energy stopped expanding horizontally and instead surged skyward, coalescing into a colossal pillar of light that pierced the heavens.
Finally, the sound arrived—not the usual thunderous explosion, but a deep, sustained hum that resonated through the air.
Notifications flooded her vision:
Evil Spirit 'Ghost Gourd' slain. You have earned 500 Points.
Evil Spirit 'Bridal Paper Doll' slain. You have earned 1,500 Points.
Evil Spirit 'Well Ghost' slain. You have earned 500 Points.
Success...
After taking down about seven or eight of them, Elysia had earned four to five thousand Points in this wave. While it wasn't as much as Scholar's single shot, she figured he might have killed a Boss, which put her mind at ease.
"Alright! Time to find the next spot!" Elysia perched sideways on her staff, gently swinging her legs as she flew away.
Meanwhile, aboard the plane, Scholar was working in his laboratory when a machine nearby suddenly beeped urgently. It was an energy detector, designed to alert him only when a high-risk energy source was nearby.
Scholar tapped the machine a few times, and the image of the colossal pillar of light appeared on the screen.
In truth, the equipment wasn't even necessary. Shi Jun and the others on the plane could see the dazzling pillar directly through the windows. Though it didn't reach thousands of meters high, it was undeniably conspicuous.
Scholar paused his experiment, muttering, "Truly terrifying power... The energy released in that single blast must exceed White Eagle's entire monthly electricity consumption..."
The Stone Army Squad and the three newcomers crowded around the windows, their faces pale with shock as they stared at the devastation outside. Shi Jun, in particular, was stunned. "No way... Did she do this?"
As a veteran who had cleared the Trial Arena three times and was currently on his fourth Trial Mission, Shi Jun possessed formidable combat prowess. He was proficient in hand-to-hand combat and marksmanship, his physical abilities rivaled those of world-class athletes, and he wielded Psychokinesis powerful enough to briefly lift a car.
This made him roughly equivalent to an average Evolver in Elysia's current world, slightly stronger than Lü Heng but weaker than Yu Lin, the Dragon Lady.
Until now, Shi Jun had only faced opponents of similar strength. His understanding of combat revolved around close-quarters brawls, using his Super Ability to restrain opponents before finishing them off with precise pistol shots. He had never witnessed anything like this.
What was that pillar of light? What kind of battle could produce such a shockwave?
What exactly had that pink-haired girl done?!
As Shi Jun puzzled over the first pillar of light, a second one erupted from the ground, followed swiftly by a third and then a fourth, each appearing within five minutes of the last.
From the aircraft, the pillars seemed clustered closely together. But Shi Jun knew he was thousands of meters above the ground; in reality, the distances between them must be immense. How could that pink-haired girl have traversed such vast distances in such a short time?
Shi Jun couldn't fathom it. His limited experience stifled his imagination.
In truth, Elysia had simply flown across the arena. Perched on her staff, she pouted, looking thoroughly disgruntled.
After accumulating ten thousand Points, clearing more areas yielded no further rewards!
Kill notifications still appeared, but the Points awarded were always zero.
Seriously? she thought. This Trial Arena even restricts Points farming? What kind of game doesn't let you grind properly?!
With a flick of her wrist, a brand-new ice cream cone materialized in her hand. She immediately took a vicious bite.
"Mmm~ So cold..."
Elysia had just bought the ice cream, and Firefly sent it to her through the Chat Group. Firefly had tested it beforehand and confirmed that the Chat Group still worked perfectly even across different worlds, meaning Elysia could leave whenever she wanted.
Shu Cat, your cheat is incredibly useful!
However, Elysia didn't plan to leave unless absolutely necessary. After all, the Scholar had accompanied her into this Dimensional Rift, and she couldn't just abandon her here.
"If I can only earn 10,000 Points per Trial Mission, wouldn't it take at least five missions to accumulate enough Points to leave?" Elysia pondered. She remembered reading "Infinite Flow" novels in her previous life where the protagonists routinely earned 20,000 to 30,000 Points per mission. Why was it so different here?
The next moment, a word flashed in her mind: Missions!