Since the glutton lost too much flesh and is dying, I had to wait for it to feed and regain its strength. It took a long time, especially because it was so small and limited.
"You look better."
-Much...
It went from being a very ugly slime to being a normal slime. It didn't eat things like bones or vital organs, so it barely grew in size. It's unfortunate to see a creature with this potential be so small.
"Now listen to me, I came to this place to make money, and you're going to help me with that."
-?
"Do you know of any place where creatures gather? A cave, a spring, anything but that forest."
I nodded toward the forest, trying not to look directly at it. You never know when a creature might come out from between the trees and end up cutting you in half.
"There."
The little glutton stretched out a part of itself, forming a small, grotesque finger. It pointed toward a distant mountain.
"That's a bit far... What does it matter, I don't have to come back empty-handed."
I picked up the little creature from the ground, put it on my shoulder, and started walking.
<<>>
For the first time, I felt the difference between my previous body and the body I have now. So far, I've been walking for what I'd say is about three hours, and I don't feel that tired. Usually, I would have wanted to take a break after walking for so long, but this time I have no problem continuing to walk even further.
Shortly after, I reached the mountain. Standing in front of it, I can tell it's a big mountain.
"Do you mean the surroundings of this place? Or is there a cave around here?"
-Food... Souls...
Contrary to what I expected, Gluttony began to move from side to side like jelly before taking a bite out of my neck.
"This guy stopped having such a developed brain, huh?"
I lifted the small purple mass from my shoulder and put it in a pocket of my clothes, tying it up so it wouldn't escape.
"Now I'm alone again..."
I searched the surroundings for a long time, until I discovered a tunnel leading directly into the mountain that was covered with moss.
I don't have the same confidence as before, so I'd better do this. I made a small flame appear in my hand and threw it into the tunnel as I moved to the side.
Several clicks came from the cave before everything lit up and a strong burst of flame shot out.
"That should have cleared out the trash."
Without further ado, I entered the tunnel, lighting my way with a flame floating in front of me. I descended for so long that I could feel the lack of air here. I exited the tunnel and was greeted by a large cave illuminated by several huge mana crystals embedded in the ceiling and a large lake.
"I didn't expect a cave this size. The mountain had a large number of creatures and trees on top of it, so how did it not collapse?
Can the mana crystals keep the walls steady so that this place doesn't collapse? Are they altering the gravity in this place?
"There was little air in the tunnel, but here I can breathe normally. Can mana crystals create air? No, maybe there are several openings around here. Anyway, will I be able to take all those crystals with me?"
Mana crystals increase in price depending on their size and purity. These mana crystals are not small and shine brightly, so their purity may be higher than I think.
As I was thinking of a way to take one of those crystals with me, the walls began to shake and one of them fell into several pieces.
Looking in the direction of the fallen wall, a huge worm began to appear, its teeth spinning at high speed in its circular mouth.
"Hey, we're not in a desert for you to show up. Tell me, do you also produce 'the spice'?
I took the wand out of my pocket, pointing it at the creature. If everything goes according to plan, it should be easy to drown this guy with a decent amount of water.
Before I could attack, a small woman came out of the worm's mouth. She stood in front of me, petting the creature before turning her gaze to me.
"Who are you? This mine is occupied."
Ah, they're miners... I should have known as soon as I saw the worm.
Miners in this world are extremely different from what they were on Earth. They are divided into two main groups, one leading the way and the others following behind.
The first group controls one of these worms, which specialize in finding minerals, as they are their main food source. The leader makes an exchange agreement with the creature, willing to give up a portion of the minerals in exchange for keeping the rest.
"I found this mine first, it's mine."
My words did not seem to please the woman, as she took a hammer out of the worm's mouth and pointed it at me.
"From what I can see, you're an adventurer. If you don't want any trouble, leave."
Does he think I'll just walk away with a gold mine right in front of me? There's a good chance there are precious minerals mixed in with mana crystals, driving their prices up to exorbitant levels. There's no way they can get me out of here just like that.
"How about you try and make me?"
I drew my sword, pointing its blade at the woman.
"You adventurers are too greedy, especially when you're as young and handsome as you are. This will take away your ego."
Did she just flatter me?
Before I could react, the worm shot towards me, moving at a speed that didn't match its size.
It's too big to dodge!
I created several walls in front of me, each with spikes pointing toward the worm. If the creature is hard on the outside, I can only kill it from the inside.
All the walls were pushed back by the worm before it swallowed me whole.
I created platforms of wind under my feet, dodging the teeth below. I thrust my sword into an opening between the creature's teeth, holding on tight as I covered my body with a sphere of water.
"I hope you don't die from this, it will be worse for me if that happens."
I cooled the water as much as possible, causing the bubble to explode. I repeated this several times until the worm began to writhe and spat me out.
I crashed into a tree and then fell to the ground.
"This guy is fast. It didn't take long, and we're already on the surface."
I looked toward the worm, watching it writhe and knock down several trees. From the opening in the ground, the woman came running out with her hammer.
"Stay still, or the worm will pay for it!"
I created several tiny ice spheres with spikes surrounding them. I threw them at the worm, exploding and weakening its scales, while creating a cold mist above it.
"Wait!"
I stopped my attack, heeding the woman's request.
"Don't kill it, things will be worse for you if that guy dies."
She's right about that. Feeding and training a worm of this size will cost them as much as they can get from a good vein of minerals.
"I'll leave you the mine, just let me take a crystal."
"Those things are huge, how do you plan to take that thing with you?"
I dismissed her concerns with a few waves of my hand.
"I'll find a way."
My answer seemed to anger the woman even more, but she remained still in the same place.
"I'll buy the crystal from you."
"Are you crazy? You won't give me even a third of what the guild can give me."
The woman growled when she heard me, then moved aside and cleared the way to the cave.
"I expected that."
I walked toward the entrance and threw myself downhill. I kept my eyes fixed on the woman, who was getting smaller by the second.
"I almost died there. I ran out of mana after creating all those ice spells."
[Mana: 0/400]
"I'll absorb the mana from one of the crystals and pull out another with fire and wind magic."
Upon completing my descent, I absorbed the mana from a random crystal, then pulled out the smallest one I could find. The smallest one I could find was twice as tall and thick as my body. Furthermore, it was embedded in the ceiling.
"I hope it doesn't break."
With the utmost caution, I began to break the area around the crystal until it slid and fell in front of me.
"Now I just have to carry it..."
<<<>>>
"I'm tired..."
I fell face down on the ground, trying to catch my breath.
I had been walking with the crystal for a long time, dragging it along the ground.
Although it was huge, it wasn't as heavy as I had initially thought. I was even able to use less Qi than I had expected. Of course, that didn't eliminate the effort.
I looked at my arms, which were marked with blue and some purple veins. I had been taking intermittent breaks, but I had been using Qi constantly for a long time, and these were the consequences.
"I'm not even halfway there..."
I used a rock on the path to guide me. This rock was closer to the mountain than to where I wanted to go.
As I rested facing the ground, several footsteps began to be heard through the trees. From among them emerged a red-furred bear with crystals embedded in its chest.
"I was wondering why no one had attacked me. They were waiting for the ideal moment, eh?"