The worm attacked with the desperate ferocity of a respected giant that suddenly found itself being hunted. Its mouth opened, revealing a tunnel of rotating teeth that could have pulverized a tank.
The sight was genuinely intimidating. The worm’s maw was large enough to swallow his hydra whole, and the grinding sound of its teeth created a weird mechanical roar that resonated through the stone around them.
The hydra responded with speed, dodging the danger zone and staying to the sides of the creature.
Its jaws, with enormous teeth, wrapped around the worm’s segmented body from multiple positions, using pure strength to tear away large sections.
But Ren wasn’t satisfied with a straightforward battle between beasts swimming through earth that he couldn’t watch completely with his eyes.
With a broad gesture of his arms, he expanded and hardened a large spherical chamber around the three-dimensional fight. The walls, ceiling, and floor solidified with mana until they became harder than bedrock, forming a perfect arena where the worm could no longer "swim" through the earth or escape.
The terrain transformation completely changed the combat dynamics. The worm, accustomed to using its underground movement ability as its primary advantage, suddenly found itself limited to a two-dimensional space where all advantages were on the hydra’s side.
By reshaping the battlefield to eliminate his opponent’s strengths while emphasizing his own beast’s advantages, Ren had turned what might have been a longer interesting fight into an inevitable victory.
The battle became a demonstration of sad and impossible-to-counter superiority.
The hydra’s crystal head began to glow to invoke light blades over its already enormous teeth to more easily destroy the worm’s defensive plates.
The hydra’s teeth, though smaller than the worm’s initially, were now larger and specialized for the work. Also, instead of trying to destroy the defensive plates through pure brute force, they cut the exact separation lines and applied pressure until the plates separated like puzzle pieces.
The worm fought valiantly, or at least struggled hard... but it was still being dismantled piece by piece.
Ren watched from an elevated position he had created for himself, his eyes glowing with cold satisfaction as his beast executed the hunt.
’This is what power feels like,’ he thought. ’This is what I’m really capable of with just one of my beasts when I don’t have to worry about protecting others.’
The observation felt like a revelation. For so long, he had been constrained by the needs and limitations of those around him. Here, alone with his true capabilities unleashed, he could appreciate the full extent of his strength.
The fungus in his mind remained silent.
The battle ended when the hydra finally gained access to the worm’s vital organs. The crystal head penetrated through a particularly weakened joint that instantly paralyzed the creature’s systems.
The Deep Worm became motionless, its vital systems shutting down one by one until only a massive carcass remained.
Ren descended from his perch, genuinely pleased with the energy efficiency of the hunt.
He drew his improved dagger, now with gold density thanks to improvements from Isaac, now a double tamer.
First, he extracted the core, a sphere the size of his fist that pulsed with concentrated earth energy. It wouldn’t be valuable by itself, but it would be useful for egg crafting projects.
The core support tissue extraction required careful precision. Damage to the mana system structure would reduce its effectiveness for future applications, so he took his time to remove it cleanly.
Zhao’s treatment had given him some insight on how to use it for some new projects.
Then he began the meticulous process of extracting the teeth. Each one was the size of a dagger, curved and serrated in ways that made them perfect for penetrating. Carefully, he removed the best specimens, those without cracks or imperfections that could weaken the weapons he planned to create.
The selection process was both art and science. Each tooth had to be evaluated for structural integrity, optimal curvature, and material density. Only the finest would be worth incorporating into his weapon designs.
Finally, he began the process of converting the rest of the worm into useful resources.
Before completely incinerating the carcass, he removed the best defensive plates. They were naturally enchanted with resistance properties and would have decent value in the specialized materials market.
With controlled fire and wind, plus moisture absorption with water control, he dried the flesh until it was reduced to powder, highly concentrated vitality powder. It was a process he had perfected over years.
The technique was different from using a mana and vitality sucker beast to do the job... This required precise elemental control to maintain optimal temperatures and moisture levels throughout the dehydration process. Too much heat would destroy the beneficial compounds; too little would leave the meat vulnerable to decay.
Everything was carefully stored in his wolverine’s dimensional stomach.
His beast’s storage capacity was impressive, the best compared to some alternatives. And although Julius’s Gold 1 Wolverine had ten times more space than a Silver 1 Wolverine, shadow wolverines naturally had double the capacity of earth wolverines.
Ren’s wasn’t a shadow type... it was even better, with double the capacity of a standard shadow wolverine. But due to its relatively low rank, Julius’s still had 2.5 times more available space.
However, when Ren’s wolverine reached the same rank as Julius’s, it would have four times more capacity. It was a significant advantage that would be worth it in the long run.
For now, the available space was more than sufficient for his needs. He continued filling the storage with the best crystals he found while descending deeper, each specimen carefully evaluated and mentally catalogued.
Ren allowed himself a smile while contemplating his growing collection. This expedition alone would provide him with enough resources to fund several weeks of advanced cultivation, and he had barely begun.
There were more things to hunt in these depths, more treasures to claim. And for the first time in months, he felt completely in control of his own time.
The fungus remained concerningly quiet, but Ren decided he could live with its silence or disapproval.
He stored the last crystal and continued his descent toward greater depths, where he hoped to find the Greater Deep Terrors he needed to complete his weapon upgrades.
The hunt was just beginning.