Gauss’s voice was almost drowned out by the intensifying rumble of the earth.
The stone slab path beneath their feet writhed violently like a living creature, shattering apart.
Something was awakening deep underground.
Gauss acted swiftly; as he spoke, he grabbed Aria.
A tremendous force burst from beneath their feet, propelling them several meters away.
In the distance, Serlandul also reacted quickly, dodging almost immediately.
His position was not at the epicenter of the quake, so evading was relatively easier.
“Boom—”
Right where Aria had just stood, the ground suddenly bulged and exploded!
Mud, stones, and intertwined roots scattered everywhere as a massive, black cylindrical shape broke through the earth, accompanied by a nauseating stench of rotten soil!It was an indescribably huge burrowing worm.
The exposed part of its body alone was at least five to six meters long, with a diameter comparable to a water jar.
Its surface was covered in tough, dark purple chitinous armor that gleamed with a metallic cold light. From the gaps in its shell, viscous dark brown liquid continuously oozed out, dripping to the ground with faint sizzling corrosion sounds.
Its head had no visible eyes, only a terrifying mouthpart filled with layered circular sharp teeth that continuously contracted and expanded. When open, it could easily swallow an adult human.
A foul stench mixing acrid sourness and decay spread from it, making breathing difficult.
“Burrowing Worm!”
Aria gasped sharply, her voice trembling faintly.
It was a subterranean digging monster that had lived underground for a long time.
According to books, their challenge rating was at most level 3, with adult specimens unusually reaching level 4 to 5. There were no records of burrowing worms approaching level 10, though unverified rumors spoke of terrifying individuals triggering earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Setting aside these legends as unlikely, in reality, they had no obvious strengths.
Except for their mouthparts, their entire body was wrapped in a soft inner shell that granted them armor far superior to steel.
Dios moved forward with Zhang Liangyan. Ulfen and the others joined them.
The burrowing worm had slowly retreated before its previous attack, leaving only a deep pit on the surface.
“Looks like the Great Heart awakened it.”
Dios noticed only one fresh pit around, meaning that since the eight of them arrived, it had not surfaced again in the short term.
It was almost impossible for them to be the first to disturb it before the maze opened.
Could it have been Zhang Liangyan’s release of natural energy that caught its attention? Dios wondered silently.
The eight of them cautiously observed the edge of the abandoned herb garden for a while longer.
The burrowing worm did not appear again.
Even though Gauss commanded the clay spider to leap and pester near the previous emergence spot, it failed to lure the worm out again.
“Seems like the book was right—the burrowing worm is relatively docile by nature, not aggressive.” Gauss’s voice regained steadiness.
Of course, if provoked, it would still launch deadly attacks on other creatures.
The burrowing worm lived its entire life deep underground in complete darkness, moving freely through rock and soil.
What was rock, which was incredibly hard to ordinary people, was like "butter" to them when burrowing.
They fed on special soil and minerals, spending most of their life underground, digging, searching for food, long hibernation, breeding offspring, and hatching eggs...
Although knowing its habits eased Gauss’s mind somewhat, the sudden assault still startled him.
“I’ll go take a look. You guys wait here.”
Gauss’s gaze fixed on a certain spot.
He turned to Aria and Serlandul and explained quickly.
Then he cautiously approached the place where the burrowing worm had just broken through the earth.
Information was one thing, but facing these monsters in person required extra caution.
He couldn’t wait until he was injured or even killed before questioning the accuracy of the books.
He judged that the burrowing worm from before was definitely above level 3.
Even if he transformed into Ghost Form, he likely wouldn’t be able to defeat it.
Besides, it was too agile.
No matter how hard he tried to break through its turtle-like shell defense, what then?
It could vanish underground at any moment and escape.
In short, it wasn’t fear—it was simply unnecessary to fight such an opponent.
He took a few steps forward.
The stones and loose soil around him were heaved into a mess. The faint sour and rotten stench still lingered in the air.
Entering the casting range of Mage Hand, he released a cantrip while staying alert, ready to use his legs enhanced by Monstrous Strength to retreat if anything went wrong.
When the burrowing worm broke through earlier, a small amount of thick dark brown liquid oozed from the shell gaps.
When it touched the soil, it emitted white smoke and sizzling corrosive sounds.
But now, several minutes had passed, and the reaction had stopped.
The soil stained by the mucus had solidified into brown clay balls, each about the size of a fist, more than ten in total.
He maneuvered Mage Hand carefully to gather the brown clay balls in front of him.
Then, the White Wand glowed with the light of Identify Spell, gently tapping the clay balls.
[Corrosive Mucus Clay Balls]
Level: Common Magical Item (White Grade)
Description: Gelatinous clay balls formed from the mucus secreted by a ferocious burrowing worm, containing a small amount of toxin and leyline magic.
Can be used as auxiliary materials for alchemy or enchantments.
Can be used as casting materials for poison and earth-element related spells.
...
So, it really was a magical item!
Gauss had guessed this when he saw these small balls from afar, which was why he approached to examine them carefully.
However, under the Identify Spell, the white glow was very faint.
It barely qualified as a magical item.
Generally, the darker the color, the better the quality.
But no matter what, it was a magical item.
Gauss focused his mind slightly.
The glow of the Identify Spell on his White Wand gradually faded.
It was replaced by the wave of clay magic.
Mana surged from the wand’s tip, covering the dozen or so mucus clay balls in front of him.
At first, it was a bit difficult, but after a while, the mana fused with the mucus clay balls, and the dozen fist-sized soils quickly gathered on the ground.
After merging, their volume was roughly the size of a bowling ball.
Gauss inserted a [Goblin Spirit] into them.
However, this goblin spirit was relatively weak.
After all, he only truly mastered clay magic after entering the second floor of the maze, where goblins were far less numerous than the first floor. Therefore, the goblin spirit here only absorbed the residual spirits of a few goblins.
“Let’s give it a try.”
The strength of clay creatures is influenced by many factors, including the quantity of spirits.
Although the goblin’s physical body was weak, it was foreseeable that he would later collect a large amount of goblin spirit. Once injected, the quantity change would lead to quality change, making it one of his stronger clay forms in the future.
The spell continued to activate.
A cluster of dissipating goblin spirit, a ball conducting mana clay, plus the mana of clay magic...
Multiple elements merged, and the clay began to writhe and change shape.
Within several breaths, a strange humanoid creature appeared before Gauss.
“So this is the clay king creature in goblin form?”
Gauss looked at the soft little guy in front of him.
It was very small, about the size of a large rat, barely recognizable as a goblin form—large head, long protruding tusks, sturdy limbs.
After solidifying, it took a few steps on the ground and bumped into Gauss’s calf. The small clay goblin’s legs suddenly gave out, and it plopped down on the ground.
“Why does it look a bit dumb?” Gauss lowered his head to look at the clay goblin, somewhat speechless.
But then he thought again.
He realized he had set the bar too high for this newborn.
First, there was too little clay, insufficient to form its proper size—this was a castrated version.
Second, the magical item used this time was not as good quality as the white clay king obtained from the mud statue.
Though that burrowing worm was definitely stronger than the mud statue, the former was just a secretion mixed with soil, while the latter was a core part of its body. Their importance to the original creature was incomparable, so the difference in value was reasonable.
Finally, the quantity of spirit injected was seriously insufficient.
Gauss reflected for a while.
He had killed too few goblins with clay magic. If he had killed a thousand and injected their spirits all at once, would it be like this?
Gauss felt responsible.
If he injected the spirit of a thousand goblins, even if it remained this mini size, it would be formidable, right?
The small goblin clumsily climbed up from the ground.
The clay spider nearby approached—it was originally an unconscious behavior.
But the small goblin shamelessly climbed on its back.
The clay spider, inexplicably stepped on, was annoyed and shook its body, tossing the small goblin off.
Gauss watched this scene and was speechless.
“Well, maybe goblins really aren’t very smart creatures, and the too little spirit attached just made it dumber.”
He carried the two clay creatures back to Aria’s side.
“Can this be useful?” Aria looked at the small dark brown mini clay goblin. The three had come here specifically for this.
Seeing Gauss with more casting materials, she breathed a sigh of relief.
But goblin form... was so ugly.
She didn’t voice her criticism.
“It’s usable. The clay it produces is the most common magical item, suitable as my casting material.” Gauss nodded. “But the quantity is still too small.”
“No problem. We can lure that burrowing worm out again, as long as I release natural energy.” Aria spoke confidently.
She knew the burrowing worm was attracted by her natural energy earlier.
Since it worked once, it should work again.
“Alright then. Be careful.”
After the three prepared, Aria tapped her oak staff on the ground.
Then, pale green light rapidly seeped downward like a long snake.
This time, with a clear purpose, the natural energy descended faster.
In the blink of an eye, a muffled rumbling came from underground again.
Learning from previous experience, Gauss and the others prepared mentally, reacting faster.
Ulfen carried Aria and swiftly ran away.
“Boom!!!”
Where the three had just stood, the roar suddenly intensified.
Then the ground violently burst open!
The familiar breaking earth tremor sounded like an underground explosion.
The giant worm burst out of the surface again.
But this time, disturbed twice, it was clearly angrier and more ferocious.
Its body surged wildly five to six meters above ground, frequently whipping and striking the earth, causing violent aftershocks.
At the same time, Gauss noticed it obviously found them, frequently turning its head toward Aria, opening and closing its mouthparts, emitting angry howls.
During its wild thrashing, the mucus oozing from its shell gaps increased, dripping like viscous grease and rapidly mixing with the soil.
Gauss felt a surge of joy in his heart.
But not long after, the worm retreated underground again.
However, unlike before, Gauss noticed a crack quickly extending from the ground toward Aria’s location just after it retreated.
It was chasing her!
“Aria, don’t stop! It’s chasing you underground!”
Realizing this, he quickly warned Ulfen and Aria, who had slowed down.
Ulfen immediately broke into a run toward the garden exit.
“Boom boom!”
Moments later, the ground where Aria had paused was broken through again by the burrowing worm.
Gauss seized the opportunity.
The five azure missile orbs had long been prepared in front of his White Wand and instantly shot out.
“Whoosh!!”
The magic missiles tore through the air, emitting piercing shrieks.
They accurately struck the worm’s body.
“Bang!!!”
Magic missile impact fields burst forth.
One, two... five successive impacts hit the same spot.
After the shockwaves dispersed,
The effect was as Gauss expected but still disappointing.
The dark purple shell showed no cracks at all and remained as shiny as new.
“Incredible defense.”
Gauss finally understood why its seemingly clumsy attacks still gave it a high challenge rating.
This “turtle shell” was incredibly hard.
He guessed that even if he entered Ghost Form and cast magic missiles again, the damage wouldn’t improve much.
However, although the magic missiles didn’t penetrate its defense, they made it angrier.
It didn’t know what sense it used, but its struggling mouthpart suddenly turned toward Gauss, roaring deafeningly.
In response, Gauss immediately cast another five consecutive missiles.
This time, without hesitation, he aimed the spell at the mouthpart on its head.
The five missiles arrived.
Unfortunately, it seemed to anticipate this and instantly closed its mouthpart.
“Bang bang bang!”
The missiles slammed fiercely against the closed circular teeth. The force field scattered, but still... no damage!
Just as Gauss thought it would be thoroughly enraged and launch a devastating counterattack,
The burrowing worm howled twice and abruptly shrank back underground, vanishing without a trace.
“Retreating?” Gauss blinked, confused.
He hadn’t even dented its defense, yet the worm voluntarily withdrew after two rounds of attacks?
However, when his gaze landed on the scattered gelatinous clay balls on the ground, a smile involuntarily curved his lips.
He cautiously waited a moment, confirming no counterattack was coming, then used Mage Hand to collect the clay pieces scattered everywhere.
Looking at the small hill of clay balls, Gauss smiled happily.
It worked.
Now, the little guy might evolve into a medium-sized one.