Syl

Chapter 180: Eating Rocks

When I finally reached the tempered worm, I wasted no time diving into a presumably delightful meal. I had tried to dig in like any of my previous meals, but even with my [Acid Slime], I had some issues with the worm. If anything, it seemed sturdier than when I was fighting it.

Adapting to the situation, I shrunk my worm form down in size and ate at the fleshy interior to get around the conundrum.

<Profile [Worm] updated.>

While I perused the profile, I let the rest of my [Sub-Cores] and [Dissection] continue the work.

<[Tempered Reinforcement]

Increases a monster’s physical defense in proportion to its heat level. Affecting most, if not all, forms of natural armor it may have.

The base defensive boost and the maximum heat bonus scale with trait level.

This trait also greatly boosts resistance to all forms of heat, but it comes at the cost of equal vulnerability to cold.>

’Very interesting... I guess I left it a bit too long in the magma, so it’s all gone hard. But if cold lowers the defense, then I’ll just add [Cryo Slime] in with [Acid Slime] for the harvesting.’

Before I gave the full go-ahead to all my [Sub-Cores], I personally tested the theory with the directed guidance of [Dissection]. The difference was outstanding, and I was back to my familiar harvesting capabilities in almost no time.

’That’s good. Otherwise, I might have needed to drag this sucker out of the magma lake.’

Letting the gang get back to work with the newfound knowledge, I was about to continue perusing the profile. But an unexpected notification interrupted me.

<[Obsidianite] has been sampled. [Metal Slime] updated.>

’What!? I ate basically the other entire worm and didn’t get anything, and now you update? What the hell is obsidianite?’

[Metal Slime] held no answers for me, and so I was forced to scour through the monster’s profile for the answer. That answer was also frustratingly inadequate; the best I could put together was that this unknown metal was formed during the monster’s evolution.

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’It’s like the rocky obsidian evolved into a metal... Maybe the dwarves will know?’

I tried using [Metal Slime] to form some myself, but it was impossible at my current trait level, like both mithril and adamantine. Possibly even worse, it was hard to tell the difference in my slime falling apart.

The evolved worm’s only remaining trait was [Volcanic Stomach], which let it rapidly convert rock into magma that it could spew out. It was pretty cool, although [Tempered Reinforcement] was the true prize and ripe for mimicry. As far as I could tell, nothing stopped me from borrowing the trait and heating myself up with [Blaze Slime]. No need for a magma bath.

’[Volcanic Stomach] is probably how it’s supposed to heat itself up if there’s no other source nearby.’

As for the traits both worms had, [Mineral Sense] seemed useful, and perhaps I could combine it with [Electro-Magnetic Sense] and [Tremor Sense] in some combination.

Both worms had a trait called [Obsidian Scales], which seemed to be an alternate version of [Earthen Carapace], with the caveat that it also required Fire affinity. I did try using both at the same time, but they seemed mutually exclusive. The deciding factor was that [Earthen Carapace] was incompatible with [Tempered Reinforcement].

They also had [Rock Connoisseur], an unranked trait that allowed them to eat rocks and raw minerals for food. The trait mentioned rarer minerals as more nutritious and delicious. I thought it might be a good way to exploitatively generate slime mass, so I tried mimicking it and eating some rocks.

Firstly, the amount of slime it generated was so infinitesimal that I could only assume Gramps, or someone else, had perhaps had some foresight to prevent me from doing something like this. Secondly, despite the trait claiming the rock and minerals were delicious, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

’What a scam. I can’t believe I toggled [Olfactory Sense] on for this disappointment.’

Eating and harvesting the second worm entirely took far longer than expected. I was beginning to worry that Thern might get worried about my absence if I didn’t return home in time for supper.

’Not that I think I could eat another bite after that meal.’ I chuckled to myself.

And, of course, I simply had to try out the new form. Massive quantities of slime were withdrawn, and I found my wormy body swelling to its newer proportions. Even if I had experienced fighting these obsidianite scales firsthand, I could instantly recognize their value now that my body was wrapped in them.

’And to think it will be even stronger when I can handle obsidianite myself via [Metal Slime]. Although I swear, I can feel [Chimeric Mimicry] already somehow using a small portion of it.’

And now that I had a full understanding of the worm in sight, I could tell that those glowing channels along its outer body were actually linked to its stomach. A very convenient design and considerably more pleasant than the idea I had where it barfed over itself.

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The trip back to the hole I made was rather fun as I got to experience traveling like a giant worm down the magma river. Although I was feeling more like a leviathan or sea serpent than a burrowing worm.

I had hoped I might have encountered something to test out the new form against, but sadly, that didn’t happen. Perhaps they were all scared away from the racket of the two rampaging worms, as even most of the critters had seemingly fled.

Not wanting to immediately end my time trying out the new body, I started compressing and shrinking the form to a more manageable size when I reached my destination.

’Time to try out burrowing with a mouth full of rotating teeth!’

I double-checked that [Olfactory Sense] was disabled and then began tunneling upwards back into the ant nest. The trip back up was brief, and the worm’s natural burrowing significantly outdid my "just melt it" strategy.

Since I had a stomach full of rock and earth, I felt obligated to at least give [Volcanic Stomach] a quick chance. All things considered, vomiting up the molten rock wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, thanks to the worm’s body literally designed to accommodate such a feature.

Of course, I simply had to try some slime shenanigans as well. I formed tendrils connected to my worm stomach and collected the magma. Armed with some new ammunition, I used [Slime Shot] to try various projectile methods.

’It’s a shame I don’t think this is too useful... Trying it out is entertaining, but my slime is far better if I want to burn or melt an enemy. And that’s without needing to eat rock first, waiting for the stomach to convert it, and only then spitting it out. How sad is that? I can spit magma, and I could probably say it’s a neat trick.’

I shrugged it off. The body alone was worth its weight in gold for me. I dug myself an expedited exit out of the ant nest and even caught a few drone stragglers wandering around aimlessly. A chomp or a few tail whacks was far more than the simple ant drones could survive. The fact that the teeth ripped apart the ants like wet paper was a little startling.

I triple-checked that the coast was clear before returning to my elven persona. I wasn’t sure how long this adventure had taken, and I really hoped I hadn’t caused Thern or his family to worry about me.

"I need to buy one of those time tools..." I sighed. "Unless only Keld sells them? Maybe they are imported? I’ll ask Darmod when I get home."

I was heading back to the dwarven tunnel that led to this fungal cavern. I had my eyes out for kobolds just in case, but I doubted I’d be that lucky.

At the same time, I made sure to keep using [Essence Sight]. I had checked, and it was already appearing as the [??? LV 0] trait, so I knew I was very close! [Prodigy] was working overtime with [Untapped Potential].

’Speaking of traits, I wonder what the dwarves have... Something like [Alcohol Connoisseur]?’ I couldn’t help but giggle.

I reached the tunnel without any fuss, and now, in the relatively safe confines of familiar ground, I sped up my pace in returning. Deep in the tunnel, I finally received my notification.

<Trait [??? LV 0] has become [Essence Sight LV 1].>

"Great!" I cheered. "Saved a trait point right there."

I immediately pulled up my profile and attempted a trait fusion. Excitement was bubbling; I hadn’t done this successfully in what felt like ages. Would it finally work this time?

<Would you like to Fuse: [Mana Conception LV 6], [Life Sight LV 5], [Essence Sight LV 1]?

Becomes Trait: [Soul Sight LV 6].

This will cost 1 Trait Point.>

’Nope! I’m gonna get some free levels in [Essence Sight] first.’ I rejected the prompt.

’Hopefully, I can also get [Mineral Sense] for free... What would that combination be? I want to doubt it’s [Soul Sense], but maybe Gramp’s felt uninspired with the names again.’

To my surprise, I met a squad of dwarven guards on patrol in the tunnel. They were more surprised to see me, but a flash of my guild tag to confirm my identity was all that I needed to do. They became jovial once they realized I was an adventurer, and one even offered me a flask as a reward for "a hard day of adventuring."

I thanked him and accepted it, even going as far as to chug some of it on the spot, much to the delight of the dwarves.

"Are ya sure you aren’t a dwarf trapped in an elf body?" One of the guards joked, causing quite a joyous ruckus from the group, which I joined in on.

I waved goodbye and continued my journey, wishing them a safe return. The guards at the gate were similarly happy to see my return and curious about what quest I had been on.

When I mentioned that I had taken out an ant princess, quite a few guards offered to take me to a tavern to celebrate with multiple rounds of drinks. It felt nice to be appreciated for the job.

I politely turned them down and told them I had a friend waiting for my return, which they accepted without too much fuss. If they had pressed the issue, I might have given in to the social pressure.

If I hadn’t been concerned about potentially causing Thern and his family some worry, I would have returned to the guild to report my completed quests. So I beelined towards his home, my [Mapping] skill actually being helpful this time thanks to retracing familiar ground. I still had no idea how the dwarves navigated this city unless they all had it.

Knocking on the door, I waited patiently for a response.

’Wait. Shit. What if they’re sleeping? How do the dwarves tell how late it is without a sun?’

My momentary panic was put at ease when Darmod opened the door. He gave a big grin, seeing me safe and sound.

"Syl! Glad you made it back in one piece," Darmod said cheerfully.

"Yup. It was a rather fun experience; hopefully, defeating an ant princess is good enough to prove my worth," I answered.

Darmod gave an impressed whistle as he led me into the house.

"Definitely. Those ants are a real menace," Darmod answered. "I think any dwarf in the world would buy you a drink if you told him you killed a princess or queen."

Thern was seated at the table with a few mugs of ale on the table. There was no sign of Thessa.

"Ah, you’re back!" Thern chuckled. "I was worried you’d be gone for months again."

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I should have returned from the floating island sooner," I apologized again.

"Bah. Don’t listen to Thern; I bet he’d be gone for a year if he was on a floating island," Darmod chuckled.

"Did you manage to drag your mom from the forge?" I asked curiously, noting Thessa’s absence.

"Aye. Kicking and screaming," Thern shook his head. "And she bloody passed out as soon as her head touched the pillow."

"That’s good. I wanted to ask her about a metal I found, but it can wait till tomorrow," I explained.

"Oh? I’m not a smith, but being married to one, maybe I can help?" Darmod offered.

"Sure. It’s not a big deal, but I found some obsidianite." I answered nonchalantly.

Thern was busy taking a drink while I was talking to Darmod, and when I finished speaking, he immediately spat out a spray of ale. While Thern was coughing and spluttering, Darmod appeared frozen in a state of shock.