Ben looked between the two exits, and after some thought, he decided to go northeast. The route tilted downward, leading him deeper. He didn't really know where he was, but just like how he came to this world, Ben always preferred going deeper. The reason was simple—based on his experience, the deeper he went, the better the materials he would find.
After walking some distance, Ben frowned. He had finally reached a dead end. Looking back toward where his base was located, he mumbled, "A few kilometers... That hellworm's size is no joke." He then glanced around, eyes scanning the scattered body parts of the worm.
So far, he had gathered everything on this road, leaving only one side untouched. A realization hit him—this leftover could attract other beasts, stacking even more danger on top of the ones he already had. "Another Problem!" Ben cursed and walked toward the west tunnel.
Taking out his pickaxe, he started digging.
[Ding! You obtained 1x Grimslate!]
[Ding! You obtained 1x Grimslate!]
[Ding! You obtained 1x Grimslate!]
[Ding! You obtained 1x White Gemstone!]
Use: Crafting material, enchantment
A luminous gem found in icy caverns, deep within ancient ruins, or near areas of high energy. Highly sought after for its ability to amplify light and holy-based enchantments.
Tooltip: "A fragment of frozen light."
Ben's eyes lit up the moment he saw the notification. Without even checking the rest, he quickened his pace.
[Ding! You obtained 1x Grimslate!]
[Ding! You obtained 1x White Gemstone!]
Unlike the red gemstone, where he couldn't fully explore the area thanks to Elvira, now he could. And he planned to fully exploit it. If he had enough gemstones, fighting the Ant King and the hellworm would be way easier.
The drop rate kept increasing. At first, he would get one every 50 blocks, then every 20. Now he was getting five white gemstones every ten blocks. This could only mean one thing—Ben was near a white gemstone mine.
His mind raced, already forming plans. He needed to make a track between this area and the base. A whole mining operation. With the mana problem solved, he could create hundreds—no, thousands of Krell to speed up progress. Unfortunately, as the saying goes—don't count your eggs before they hatch.
[Ding! You obtained 1x White Gemstone!]
[Ding! You obtained 1x Grimslate!]
But what lay beyond that block wasn't another one to mine. It was heat. Sizzling. Scorching. Blazing heat. 'Near areas of high energy.' The description echoed in Ben's mind. He thought it meant mana. Turns out, mana existed in a form he never expected.
A hot, searing liquid gushed out of the hole. Cracks spread through the Grimslate rock, running wild like veins of fire. Before Ben could even react, the one-block hole expanded—in seconds, it had become a massive pit.
[Your Krell Soldier has perished!]
Everything happened too fast. Ben barely managed to escape. And that was only thanks to the Krell soldier's quick reflexes. It yanked him back, then threw him away—using its own body to block the molten flood. "The hell!? White molten lava!?" It was thick, sizzling, white-hot liquid. The surface shimmered, pulsing with magical energy—beautiful and deadly.
Ben didn't know what it was. But he knew one thing for sure— It was dangerous. The same lethal level as the hellworm's digestive liquid.
Consuming biomass, Ben's legs twisted and cracked, reshaping in real time. His muscles tensed as his knees bent backward, his bones shifting with a sickening pop. His feet stretched, elongating into sharp, curved claws, while his calves grew thicker and denser, forming a segmented exoskeleton like that of a predatory insect.
With a single flex, the stored tension snapped, and Ben vanished in a blur. His new legs launched him forward with monstrous acceleration.
This form was one of the methods he had thought of to fight better. While mining stone had bored him to death, his mind had been busy—always thinking of ways to improve, to fight, to survive. These legs were one of his ideas. They allowed him to accelerate like a rocket in a single direction. Using them in a real fight was difficult—but for escaping? It was like they were made for it.
But despite his speed, the liquid didn't let up.Looking back, Ben could see the white lava surging toward him like a tsunami. 'This can't go on…' Right now, he had two choices—build a dam to hold back the lava or keep running. 'Grimslate rock can withstand the heat… the only reason it failed was the pressure.'
Ben hurled multiple Grimslate blocks ahead, using them as footholds to jump higher. Up in the air, he glanced down, trying to calculate the best way to stop the lava. In his head, he ran the numbers—three blocks thick to hold back the liquid, then the height… at least 50 blocks tall. 'Okay, forget it.' Ben muttered the moment he realized just how much material he'd need to block it off.
If the lava had leaked through a crack, he might've been able to seal it. But now? If he wanted to dam the flow, he'd have to cover all 750 blocks of the tunnel's width. He only had one choice left—escape! Ben took out another block, his foot slamming into it mid-air, using it as a foothold to shoot forward like a bullet.
A few minutes later, he finally reached the base—but the white lava still showed no signs of stopping. If anything… The volume had grown. Ben jumped out, landing on his temporary base. At this moment, he felt relieved that he had built the ground floor higher in the tunnel—otherwise, everything would have been submerged by now. His gaze dropped downward, watching the torrent of white lava rushing southeast, consuming everything in its path.
"My beloved, is this the water source you wanted?" Elvira asked with bewildered expression as she landed beside Ben. She was busy with experiment when she suddenly feel a strong mana coming toward her, when she come out Ben were already there on the base.