Chapter 58: Miasma Swamp III

The Miasma Crocodile stared at Ben for a few seconds before suddenly opening its mouth.

A thick stream of green fumes burst from its throat and spread toward him.

Ben didn’t move.

The Leonardo Lament Ring immediately reacted. Its protective barrier shimmered faintly as the poisonous fumes came into contact with it.

[Environmental Contamination Detected]

[Leonardo Lament Ring: Lament’s Barrier Active]

[Poisonous Miasma: Resistance Applied]

Ben examined the notification.

’The ring is working as expected.’

Although the miasma was considerably more concentrated than the fumes in the surrounding forest, the barrier prevented it from reaching his body.

The Miasma Crocodile seemed to realize that its attack had no effect.

It lowered its body and suddenly charged toward him.

Its enormous jaws opened, revealing several rows of sharp teeth.

Ben raised his hand.

A white flash appeared in front of him.

White Missile!

Several white projectiles shot toward the approaching creature.

The crocodile reacted quickly, twisting its body and using its thick scales to withstand the attack.

Several explosions erupted across its back.

However, the damage was relatively minor.

’Its physical defense is quite good.’

Before the creature could recover, Ben raised his other hand.

A faint distortion appeared around the crocodile.

Ruination Dimensions!

The space surrounding its body suddenly compressed.

The crocodile let out a growl as its movement became restricted. Its enormous body struggled against the invisible pressure.

Ben clenched his fist.

The surrounding space twisted further, forcing the creature’s body toward the ground.

However, the crocodile suddenly released another wave of poisonous miasma.

The concentrated fumes spread around its body, and several dark green energy patterns appeared across its scales.

A moment later, the spatial pressure weakened.

The creature had managed to disrupt Ben’s control over the surrounding space through a sudden burst of energy.

’Not bad.’

Ben wasn’t particularly surprised.

The crocodile was also in the Silver Realm. Although his Ruination Dimensions gave him considerable control over space, it wasn’t enough to completely suppress every opponent at the same level.

The creature took advantage of the brief opening and charged again.

This time, Ben didn’t retreat.

A dark flame appeared around his right hand.

White Ruination!

The flame quickly transformed into a concentrated blade of energy.

Ben swung his hand.

A white slash crossed the distance between them and struck the crocodile directly.

Its defensive energy began to break apart as the White Ruination spread across its scales.

The creature tried to release another burst of miasma, but its energy was rapidly being eroded.

A moment later, its enormous body collapsed.

Ben watched it carefully until its movements stopped.

[You have defeated a Silver Realm First Stage Miasma Crocodile.]

[Experience Acquired.]

Ben approached the corpse.

The poisonous growths on its back were still releasing green fumes, but the Leonardo Lament Ring continued protecting him.

He examined the creature’s body.

’There should be a beast core somewhere inside.’

He extended his hand, and a thin strand of White Ruination emerged from his fingers. It carefully cut through the crocodile’s body without damaging the internal organs.

A dark green crystal appeared inside its chest.

[Item Obtained: Miasma Beast Core]

[Quality: Silver Grade]

[Properties: Poison, Miasma]

Ben picked it up and examined it.

The energy contained inside the core was relatively concentrated. It wasn’t particularly useful for his current cultivation, but it could be sold or exchanged for academy credits.

He stored it in his inventory.

"That was your first opponent?"

Morbius looked at the dead crocodile.

"Yes."

"Hmph. Its strength was average. You could have finished it much faster."

Ben glanced at him.

"I wanted to test how much damage my attacks could deal against its defenses."

"Then you should have used a stronger attack."

"There’s no need to waste energy on every opponent."

Morbius didn’t argue.

Ben looked at the creature’s remains again.

"Can you tell whether its poison has any special properties?"

Morbius approached the corpse and sniffed the air.

"It’s ordinary miasma poison. Its main purpose is to weaken living creatures and damage their internal energy. The concentration isn’t particularly high."

"Can it be useful?"

"Of course. Its core contains some of that energy. You could use it in alchemy or sell it to someone who specializes in poison-related techniques."

Ben nodded.

He had already collected one Miasma Beast Core, although his mission required Miasma Core Fragments.

He would need to find out whether the fragments could be obtained from other creatures or specific locations.

While thinking about it, Ben opened his information device and checked the surrounding map.

A few resource markers appeared nearby.

One of them indicated a small concentration of Miasma Crystals approximately two hundred meters to the east.

’Let’s check that first.’

He closed the map.

"Let’s go east. There should be some Miasma Crystals nearby."

Morbius followed him without complaint.

As they moved deeper into the forest, the vegetation gradually became denser. The trees were taller, and their roots extended across the ground like enormous twisted branches.

The greenish fumes were also becoming thicker.

Ben could feel the Leonardo Lament Ring constantly absorbing and weakening the harmful substances around him.

’The ring is doing quite a bit of work.’

He wondered how long its defensive effect could remain active under these conditions.

However, he didn’t want to test its limits unnecessarily.

After walking for several minutes, they reached a small clearing.

Several dark green crystals protruded from the ground between the roots of a large tree.

Their surfaces were covered in strange patterns, and faint green energy circulated inside them.

[Miasma Crystal]

[Type: Environmental Resource]

[Properties: Miasma, Poison]

[Quality: Silver Grade]

Ben approached the crystals and examined them.

’These should be useful for alchemy.’

He carefully collected several crystals and stored them in his inventory.

Just as he finished, Morbius suddenly raised his head.

"Something is approaching."

Ben immediately stopped.

He turned toward the surrounding vegetation.

At first, he couldn’t see anything unusual.

Then he noticed several small movements between the trees.

A faint hissing sound followed.

One, two, three...

Several long creatures emerged from the vegetation.

They resembled snakes, but their bodies were covered in dark green scales, and their heads possessed several small horn-like protrusions.

Their tongues flickered as they stared at Ben.

[Species: Poisonous Marsh Serpent]

[Realm: Silver Realm - First Stage]

[Threat Assessment: Moderate]

Ben examined the group.

There were five of them.

Unlike the Miasma Crocodile, these creatures were considerably smaller and more agile. Their bodies moved smoothly across the ground, making almost no sound.

’Five Silver Realm creatures.’

Ben’s expression remained calm.

He had already encountered one opponent, and this time, he would have the opportunity to test his abilities against multiple enemies.

The five serpents suddenly raised their heads.

Their mouths opened simultaneously.

A series of green poisonous projectiles shot toward him.

Ben raised his hand.

Ruination Dimensions!

The space in front of him twisted, forming a distorted barrier.

The poisonous projectiles entered the distorted space and were compressed before they could reach him.

At the same time, Ben’s other hand began gathering White Ruination.

"Morbius, don’t interfere unless necessary."

The black dog glanced at him.

"Fine. Try not to embarrass yourself."

Ben ignored the comment.

The five serpents had already begun spreading out, attempting to surround him.

He focused his attention on them.

’Let’s see how they handle this.’