Chapter 11: Shadowed Cavern | Monsters Are Coming
Emperor's Mound Village.
A flash of scarlet light shimmered, and Qi Sheng appeared before the subterranean crystal Primordial Containment Wall.
Staring at the Bonefire soul imprisoned in the fourth containment cell, relevant data automatically surfaced in his mind:
[Deathly Flames]:
Primordial Ability Effect: Consumes mental strength to release deathly flames controlled by consciousness. Inflicts continuous burning damage on targets (specific damage scales with user's mental strength).
Sacrificial Power Yield: 10/hour.
—
Raising his right hand, a plume of black fire ignited in Qi Sheng's palm.
After containing Bonefire, the fourth fragment of the Emperor's Sign's lost power had been reclaimed. His strength increased accordingly, and he gained control over the Deathly Flames ability.
Another piece of good news, players had just discovered a lost domain node.
If that domain could be reclaimed, the territory of Emperor's Mound Village would expand, and he would gain a new domain ability.
At that moment, the Guide's latest feedback flashed in Qi Sheng's mind:
[Notice: Received sacrifice item 'Valleygrass.' Total Sacrificial Power gained: 155.7. 30% yield extracted. 109 Sacrificial Power paid to Challenger.]
"Not bad."
As he finished speaking, scarlet flames spread from his brow to engulf his entire body.
Switching into Emperor's Sign form, his gaze penetrated spatial boundaries, locking onto the players exploring the cavern.
—
Shadowed Cavern.
Beyond the narrow cave mouth lay a world apart.
The deeper they went, the larger the space became, with multiple branching tunnels ahead.
While exploring, the Kindergarten group players stumbled upon a rock wall embedded with glowing violet crystals.
As they focused their attention, a feedback analysis from the Guide surfaced in their minds.
[Name: Enerstone]
Spiritual Ore Level: 1
Description: A low-tier spiritual ore rich in pure energy. Usable in sacrifices, weapon-crafting, and vehicle construction.
Black Ball: Hahaha, jackpot! More spiritual resources!
Cute Baby: Time to work, mining season begins.
Drunken Milk: But how do we mine it?
—
Just as they were about to get started, they hit a snag.
The rock wall was incredibly tough. Extracting the Enerstone wasn't easy, and they didn't have any tools.
[The function panel's shop tab has mining equipment. You can purchase tools using Sacrificial Power.]
Heeding the Guide's suggestion, the players opened their function panels, typed 'mining equipment' in the shop's search bar, and were presented with three options:
[Pickaxe (Durability: 100)], [Crystal Pickaxe (Durability: 2000)], and [Gravity Pickaxe (Unlimited)]
The prices were 1 Sacrificial Power, 100 Sacrificial Power, and 1,000 Sacrificial Power respectively.
On their journey, they'd slain plenty of Cursed Soldiers, but each one only yielded 3-6 Sacrificial Power, nowhere near enough for the mid- or high-tier pickaxes. So, they all settled for the cheapest 1-point pickaxe.
After purchase, a matte-black pickaxe appeared in their inventory slots.
But just as they were about to start mining, Iron Hammer pulled out a very different pickaxe from his own inventory.
This pickaxe was entirely crystalline blue. When drawn, it resembled a fallen star, faint blue light sparkling in the dim cavern, its surface etched with flowing, gemlike lines.
The pickaxe head was shaped like a razor-sharp eagle beak. When Iron Hammer swung it, it left a trail of glowing light.
It didn't take long for the others to realize, he had used his 109 Sacrificial Power from the Valleygrass sacrifice to buy the second-tier Crystal Pickaxe. In unison, they all raised their middle fingers at him.
Iron Hammer said. "Same rules as always. I might have the fancy pickaxe, but we'll tally the mined crystals and split them. I won't hog the loot."
Reluctantly mollified, the rest nodded in agreement.
Then everyone set to work on the crystal wall. Before long, they started to notice something wasn't quite right.
Black Ball: "Damn, this pickaxe is vibrating my whole arm. My hand's about to fall off! The feedback is way too real."
Marble: "Stop whining. At least we've got loot. This is the early-game grind phase, gathering resources now is key to our future development."
Drunken Milk: "You guys are dumb. Human form has no stat buffs. Just switch to your monster form, it's way easier."
As he spoke, Drunken Milk transformed into his Black-Scaled Serpent form and bit down on the pickaxe, violently smashing his head against the rock wall.
After several loud clang clang clang impacts, he suddenly stopped, slowly turned to his wide-eyed teammates, and spat out the pickaxe with a pitiful expression.
"I feel dizzy… I think I'm gonna puke."
Everyone burst into laughter, mocking Drunken Milk's brilliant idea.
But when their eyes turned to Iron Hammer, the laughter stopped.
His Crystal Pickaxe carved through the wall like tofu, slicing easily into the rock. In just a few swings, he had already pried out two chunks of Enerstone at his feet.
Seeing the others freeze, Iron Hammer paused, turned back to them with a shy smile, and said.
"Your hands hurt? Feels fine to me."
Their response was a unanimous display of middle fingers.
With that little episode over, they resumed mining. During the process, some members tested sacrificing Enerstone and discovered each piece yielded between 5-15 Sacrificial Power.
Compared to killing Cursed Soldiers, mining Enerstone, though it didn't provide Life Evolution Points (EXP), was clearly better for Sacrificial Power farming.
Just as they were hammering away at full speed, a deep rumble echoed from the darkness.
Everyone immediately froze and looked toward the sound.
"Marble, activate perception."
"Got it!"
Marble, who had chosen the Owl-Headed Fiend form, activated the Dirge ability.
The skill, branded into his mind like a reflex, required no proficiency. Using it was as easy as breathing.
Opening his mouth, Marble let out a resonant cry, emitting sound waves that rippled outward.
Within a radius of several dozen meters, the surroundings were visualized in his mind as pulses. It was then that he saw the figure lurking in the dark.
It looked like a snail-like creature, its surface covered in white armor. Its tentacles glowed with faint blue light at the tips, like drifting ghostfire from the deep sea.
[Iron Shell Bug]
Hunt Level: 8
Description: A low-level monster living underground. Possesses a hard shell and highly flexible tentacles. Feeds on spiritual ores beneath the earth.
—
Marble shared the data to the group chat. Everyone immediately let out a sigh of relief.
The unexpected noise in the dark had startled them, but seeing it was just a Level-8 creature, they relaxed. Turning back, they began switching into monster form, preparing to take it out and resume mining.
"Something's wrong. More Iron Shell Bugs incoming!"
In Marble's perception, more and more Iron Shell Bugs appeared in view.
Just then, the swarm parted to either side.
From the shadows, a two-meter-tall black figure emerged into the torchlight.
Its silhouette was humanoid, with sculpted muscle lines and gray-blue skin. Both arms were covered in fine scales, and between its fingers extended razor-sharp claw blades.
[Burrower Race]
Hunt Level: 19
Description: A subterranean race adept at controlling underground creatures in combat. Possesses Level 2 intelligence. Currently under the influence of an unknown power and has lost independent thought.
—
The Burrower raised its head and met the players' gaze, its pupils suddenly contracted into slits.
Instantly, the Iron Shell Bugs reared up, tentacles flailing wildly, then launched their attacks at the players.
"Let's do this!"
At the same moment, the Kindergarten group members transformed into their monster forms and charged at the Burrower without hesitation.
Because in the player dictionary, the word cowardice simply doesn't exist.