Eating them could increase a stone giant's strength and even trigger mutations in rare cases.
Larry also learned about the diamond elves themselves.
They didn't have individual names, only ranks, diamond elves at the bottom, diamond guards in the middle, and the diamond elf king at the top.
These elves had special abilities: they emitted light and could turn ordinary soil and rocks into these powerful gems.
They usually didn't need to eat, surviving off the land's essence, and their only way to grow their tribe was through rare births.
The diamond elves' intelligence varied: the basic elves had childlike IQs, the guards were nearly adult-level, and the elf king had superior intelligence and strength, making him the tribe's most powerful member.
The presence of the diamond elf king gave the whole tribe incredible combat power.
Lowering his head slightly, Larry murmured thoughtfully, then raised an eyebrow.
"Diamond... Elf?"
Thanks to his Illustration ability, he now understood that the gems Ging was devouring weren't ordinary diamonds, they were these special ores that could boost the strength of stone giants.
'But was Ging trying to force himself to get stronger too late?'
'In such a short amount of time, how much could he realistically improve just by eating these gems?'
Along with the information about the gems, the diamond elves brought something else that gave Larry new insights and helped him solve a long-standing mystery, how Diancie came to be.
At first, he had assumed that since there were so many ores in this place, Diancie must have originated from the rare ores found here.
That assumption was partly right.
Diancie's birth was indeed linked to the ores, but more specifically to these gems.
Now, Larry finally understood the true reason behind Diancie's existence.
But this realization sparked another question: these gems were created by a race called the diamond elves.
'Could it be that diamond elves lived here?'
Looking at the huge pile of gems scattered like a small hill, Larry thought it was very likely that diamond elves were around.
While he pondered this, Ging continued to devour the gems with impressive speed.
Although the gems were harder than the crushed rocks they had seen earlier, in Ging's hands they were almost as soft as nothing.
Without much effort, he could leave clear finger marks on them.
To eat quickly, chewing fast wasn't enough, Ging's hands moved incredibly fast, grabbing one gem after another and popping
He shoved them into his mouth.
His hand movements were so rapid that they left no afterimage.
At first glance, it almost looked like his hands weren't moving at all, but in reality, he was constantly snatching up gems one by one.
Ging's expression was tense, a far cry from the calm and composed demeanor he had when he first met Larry and the others.
He had to admit, the opponent he was facing now was truly tough.
Using just his first two trump cards wasn't enough to turn the tide.
He needed to unleash his third and final trump card.
The first two trump cards referred to the strange knives embedded in his body, with the Hundred Slashing Knife being the most important among them.
Along with this was his spatial ability, the space inside his body used to store the knives, but more importantly, it granted him teleportation.
So, his teleportation and the Hundred Slashing Knife were his go-to moves that he could use anytime under normal circumstances.
However, the last trump card was different.
By consuming a large amount of gems in a short time, Ging could rapidly build up aura inside his body.
Only a small portion of this aura could be converted into physical strength; most of it was short-lived and had to be used quickly, or it would harm him instead.
This made the method low in cost-effectiveness since much of the aura went to waste.
But on the battlefield, this trump card was a game-changer.
The gem-fueled aura surge could temporarily boost his strength dramatically, overwhelming the enemy at a crucial moment.
It also accelerated his healing.
His injury on the right side of his waist had mostly recovered in just that short burst.
This was his ultimate weapon.
Meanwhile, Tyranitar casually brushed aside rubble and stepped out from behind the collapsed rock wall.
Standing tall and imposing like a towering iron pillar, its scarlet eyes pierced through the dust, fixed on Shijin ahead.
After releasing some of its anger earlier, Tyranitar seemed calmer now.
Strangely, instead of launching another attack like before, it remained still, silently staring at Shijin.
Occasionally, it exhaled two columns of white smoke, and its kingly aura grew even stronger.
This was all according to Larry's orders.
Tyranitar was to hold back and wait patiently until Ging finished consuming the gems before resuming the fight.
Why did he do this?
The answer was simple: since it was an easy win, why not take the chance to gain more experience?
The battlefield had fallen into an odd silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, except for the loud sound of Shijin chewing.
Larry surveyed the messy field and occasionally glanced toward another hole in the corner of the cave, his expression thoughtful.
Tyranitar kept his eyes fixed on Shijin, expanding his aura into a yellowish-brown "en" around himself.
This way, if Shijin suddenly used his teleportation ability, Tyranitar could react faster and counterattack.
Next time, he vowed to crush that guy!
The others behind Larry noticed the strange atmosphere; everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts but said little, letting Larry continue to steer the situation.
No one was attacking.
Meanwhile, Shijin, despite eating voraciously, sensed the aura fluctuations around him and noticed Tyranitar standing still nearby.
Although puzzled, Shijin seized the moment to keep eating without pause.
After a few breaths, he shoved a larger gem into his mouth, which transformed into pure aura flowing through his body.
His wild, almost frenzied expression shifted into a smile as he clenched his fists and bent slightly forward.
Then, his original aura wavered momentarily before erupting into a massive, terrifying force that filled the entire arena at lightning speed.
The pressure made the ground, rock walls, and even the ceiling tremble.
This was an SS-level aura!
"Hehehehahahaha..." Shijin burst into maniacal laughter, feeling the power surging endlessly within him.
"They're all dead!"
Shijin's slightly hunched posture slowly straightened with a series of cracking sounds.
His aura stood tall, growing stronger and stronger until it reached its peak.
His appearance transformed dramatically, the golden hue was gone, replaced by a diamond-like substance that quickly coated his body.
The surface shimmered brightly, uneven but transparent like a prism, reflecting the surrounding environment clearly.
Clearly, Shijin has surpassed the category of golden giants and reached a whole new level.
Known as the Shijin Diamond Giant, his strength is classified as SS-transient.
As the leader and strongest member of the stone giant race, Shijin usually boosts his power by consuming gems.