Back in the tunnel, Ben opened his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. The flood of information had finally settled, leaving his mind clearer but still burdened by unanswered questions.
Elvira hovered nearby, her gaze filled with worry. "What's going on, my beloved? You're scaring me. I've never seen you , not even when we were in danger."
Ben ran a hand through his hair, his voice laced with frustration. "I don't have all the answers yet, but I've got a few things I know for sure. First, travelers are sent here with a purpose. What that purpose is, I don't know. Second, the stronger we get, the more we'll learn. At some point, it'll all become clear to us."
Elvira's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. "No wonder travelers rarely settle in one place… and now that I think about it, I've never seen more than three travelers working together. Does that mean… travelers gain something by defeating each other?"
Ben nodded. "I'm not clear on the exact benefit, but I know for sure we can take their artifacts."
Elvira frowned, her voice skeptical. "You're certain? I've never heard of this before."
"They're hiding it. No question about that. And it doesn't stop there." Ben's tone darkened, his expression growing serious. "We also have enemies—beings that will hunt us down once we reach a certain level."
Elvira's face turned grave. "Enemies?" She had a sinking feeling that Ben has already reached that threshold.
"Not much to go on, but they're strong. Extremely strong. Do you have any idea what faction could fit that description? Something strong, and mysterious."
Elvira's brows furrowed as she considered his words. 'Strong and mysterious…' Her mind raced through the factions she knew, discarding those that were too public or lacked the strength to pose a threat to travelers. After a moment, she said, "The only ones that come to mind are the Magus. Other than them, there are powerful clans, but they're all well-known and not exactly 'mysterious.'"
"Magus, huh?" Ben murmured. He didn't press further, noticing the uncertainty in her expression. Clearly, even Elvira didn't know much about the Magus. For him it's better to not know rather than speculate based on uncertain information.
Elvira's tone softened. "So, what's your plan now?"
"First, we finish clearing this area and turn it into our second base. I've already ordered the Krell scouts to maintain the first one."
"You mean Airi and Aqua?"
"Who else? Anyway, I had planned to find an ant princess to farm biomass, but with all the remains of the worm here, we've got more than enough to build an army."
Elvira's eyes lit up with excitement. "You're going to create a new type, aren't you? We need proper workers. Give them four arms and four legs."
Ben raised an eyebrow. "Four arms, I get. But why four legs?"
"It'll increase their speed. Don't you see how massive this tunnel is? You'll need them to gather all the worm's remains into one spot." Elvira spread her mana, using it as a detection tool. "This area is at least a thousand blocks wide and tall. As for the length…" She hesitated, then added, "Gods know how long the worm was before it shrank into that… thing."
She paused, then tilted her head, her expression curious. "By the way, can you explain to me how salt managed to destroy that worm? I still can't wrap my head around it. How could such a creature be defeated by something like that…"
Ben chuckled softly. "It's complicated, but basically, salt made the worm's body shrivel and weaken. That's why its skin cracked. Honestly, though, I feel like the creator of that thing built in the weakness on purpose. Otherwise, I can't imagine what kind of calamity it'd be if it went out of control. We barely survived one—who knows how many more of those things might exist."
Ben raised his newly upgraded pickaxe, its rainbow-like sheen gleaming in the dim light.
The pickaxe struck the Grimslate block, shattering it with a single hit. A grin spread across Ben's face. This was power. Elvira stayed by his side this time, watching intently as he worked. Ben caught her staring and raised an eyebrow. "Why're you looking at me like that?"
"I don't have anything else to do," Elvira admitted with a small shrug. "And watching your artifact work… it's fascinating."
Ben smirked, seeing through her curiosity. "You're trying to figure out how it works, aren't you?"
Elvira didn't deny it, her eyes glinting with excitement. "I am, but I haven't figured anything out yet. At first glance, it just looks like a normal item. Even when I channel mana into it, I only get faint traces of energy from the Empyrean Crystal—and it keeps dissipating. It's strange. This reminds me of before when…"
Her words trailed off, and Ben's gaze darkened slightly. "You mean when you tore my arm off."
Elvira's cheeks puffed into a pout, her frustration evident. "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry? Can you let it go already?"
Ben's voice was calm, but there was a faint edge to it. "I don't know how Aetherians handle things, but as a human, we don't exactly forget when someone tears off our arm."
Elvira crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "But you're not human anymore, are you?"
That comment hit Ben harder than he expected. He froze for a moment, then let out a long sigh. "Fair enough," he muttered, deciding it wasn't worth pressing the matter further. He shifted the conversation instead. "I saw what you were working on earlier. Do you have any other magic that might help us? Something defensive would be good. We can't rely on barriers like those big clans you talked about, but having some protection would make me feel a lot better."
Elvira tapped her chin, giving him a thoughtful look. "What kind of defense are you thinking about?"