Chapter 59: Miasma Swamp IV

The five Poisonous Marsh Serpents moved almost simultaneously.

Two approached from the front, while the remaining three spread out to attack Ben from different directions.

Their movements were surprisingly coordinated.

Ben watched them carefully.

’They seem to have some level of group hunting instinct.’

The first serpent suddenly accelerated.

Its body stretched forward like a green arrow, and its jaws opened wide as it attempted to bite Ben’s shoulder.

Ben moved slightly to the side.

The serpent passed him, but before it could turn around, a white blade appeared in his hand.

White Ruination Sword!

He swung it downward.

A white arc flashed through the air, cutting through the serpent’s body.

Its movement stopped almost immediately as White Ruination spread through its body, destroying its internal energy.

[You have defeated a Silver Realm First Stage Poisonous Marsh Serpent.]

Ben turned his attention toward the remaining four.

Two of them opened their mouths and released another volley of poisonous projectiles.

He raised his hand.

The surrounding space distorted, and the projectiles were pulled toward a single point before being compressed into nothing.

However, the other two serpents used that opportunity to approach him from behind.

Ben sensed their movements and turned around.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

’Too slow.’

Mist Walker!

His figure suddenly blurred.

The two serpents passed through his previous position, only to find that they had attacked an afterimage.

Ben reappeared several meters away.

At the same time, several white streaks shot toward the remaining creatures.

White Missile!

The projectiles struck the ground around the serpents, creating several explosions.

The creatures quickly scattered, but Ben had already prepared his next attack.

He raised both hands.

The space surrounding the two closest serpents began twisting.

Ruination Dimensions!

Their bodies were pulled in opposite directions as the dimensional pressure increased.

The serpents struggled violently, releasing large amounts of poisonous energy in an attempt to break free.

However, Ben wasn’t trying to hold them for long.

A thin layer of White Ruination spread across the distorted space.

The dimensional pressure and White Ruination worked together, rapidly eroding their defenses.

Within seconds, both serpents stopped moving.

[You have defeated a Silver Realm First Stage Poisonous Marsh Serpent.]

[You have defeated a Silver Realm First Stage Poisonous Marsh Serpent.]

The remaining two creatures seemed to recognize the danger.

Instead of attacking immediately, they retreated toward the surrounding vegetation.

Ben didn’t intend to let them escape.

He extended his right hand.

A white beam shot forward.

White Ruination Ray!

The beam crossed the clearing and struck the first serpent directly.

Its body disintegrated before it could reach the trees.

The final serpent attempted to burrow into the ground.

However, Ben had already locked onto its position.

The space beneath it suddenly compressed.

The creature was forced back onto the surface, where another White Ruination Ray ended its life.

[You have defeated a Silver Realm First Stage Poisonous Marsh Serpent.]

[You have defeated a Silver Realm First Stage Poisonous Marsh Serpent.]

Ben lowered his hand.

The entire fight had lasted less than a minute.

He examined the surroundings before approaching the corpses.

’Their coordination was decent, but their individual strength wasn’t particularly impressive.’

He had used several abilities during the fight, allowing him to test their effectiveness against multiple opponents.

Mist Walker had been especially useful for avoiding their coordinated attacks.

His Ruination Dimensions were also effective at restricting their movements, although maintaining control over several Silver Realm creatures required more energy.

Morbius approached him.

"Not bad."

Ben glanced at him.

"Only not bad?"

"You took care of five creatures without getting injured. That’s acceptable for someone at your cultivation level."

Ben shook his head.

He wasn’t expecting praise from Morbius anyway.

He examined the serpent corpses.

Unlike the Miasma Crocodile, these creatures were considerably smaller. Their bodies contained concentrated poisonous energy, and each one had a small crystal inside its head.

Ben extracted the crystals and stored them.

[Item Obtained: Poisonous Marsh Serpent Core]

[Quality: Silver Grade]

[Properties: Poison, Miasma]

[Quantity: 5]

He then checked the mission requirements on his information device.

[Mission: Miasma Swamp Exploration]

[Objective: Collect 10 Miasma Core Fragments]

[Progress: 0/10]

Ben frowned slightly.

’These beast cores don’t count?’

He examined the mission description again.

It specifically mentioned Miasma Core Fragments rather than ordinary beast cores.

Perhaps they were obtained from a different type of creature or could only be found in certain locations.

He would need to investigate further.

"Morbius, have you heard of Miasma Core Fragments?"

The black dog thought for a moment.

"Not particularly. But considering the name, they’re probably fragments of a concentrated miasma core. You might find them inside stronger creatures or in places where miasma has accumulated for a long time."

Ben nodded.

That made sense.

He opened the map again.

The nearby region had several recorded resource locations, but there was no specific marker for Miasma Core Fragments.

’I’ll keep exploring.’

Before leaving, Ben collected the remaining useful materials from the serpent corpses.

Some of their scales could be used to create poison-resistant equipment, while their venom glands were valuable ingredients for alchemy.

He stored everything separately.

After finishing, he looked toward the forest.

The greenish fumes were becoming thicker in that direction.

Ben could also sense several faint energy fluctuations coming from deeper within the vegetation.

"Should we continue?" Morbius asked.

Ben nodded.

"Let’s explore a little further. I want to see whether there are any other useful resources nearby."

The two continued moving.

However, they hadn’t walked far when Ben noticed something unusual.

The ground beneath the trees had become darker, and several patches of vegetation appeared completely lifeless.

Unlike the surrounding plants, these had blackened leaves and withered branches.

Ben crouched down and examined one of them.

’What’s this?’

He extended a small amount of energy toward the plant.

The moment his energy touched it, a faint corrosive fluctuation spread across its surface.

Ben immediately withdrew his hand.

Morbius looked at the plant.

"Don’t touch that carelessly."

Ben turned toward him.

"Do you know what it is?"

"Not exactly. But this isn’t ordinary miasma."

Morbius sniffed the air.

"There is something else mixed into it. Something more corrosive."

Ben examined the area again.

Several similar plants were scattered nearby, and the surrounding soil had turned almost black.

He opened the academy database and searched for recorded environmental hazards.

A moment later, a notification appeared.

[Possible Environmental Hazard Detected]

[Corrosive Miasma Zone]

[Warning: Prolonged exposure may damage physical structures and energy channels.]

Ben looked at the warning.

’So this is a different type of miasma.’

He glanced at the Leonardo Lament Ring.

The protective barrier was still active, but he couldn’t determine how well it would resist this particular substance.

Morbius noticed his expression.

"Don’t assume your ring can handle everything. This is exactly what I warned you about."

"I know."

Ben stood up.

He didn’t intend to walk directly into an unfamiliar hazard without understanding it first.

Instead, he examined the area from a safe distance.

A few meters ahead, he noticed something partially buried beneath the blackened soil.

It looked like a dark green crystal, but unlike the Miasma Crystals he had collected earlier, its surface was covered in black lines.

Ben’s eyes narrowed.

’Could that be what I’m looking for?’

He opened his information device and attempted to identify it.

However, the database returned no matching information.

Ben looked at Morbius.

"Can you sense what that thing is?"

Morbius stared at the crystal for a moment.

"There’s a concentrated energy fluctuation inside it. But I can’t tell what it is without examining it more closely."

Ben nodded.

He had finally found something that wasn’t listed in the academy database.

And considering the surrounding environment, it might be worth investigating.

He began thinking about how to retrieve it without exposing himself to the corrosive miasma.

’Let’s see what this thing is.’