Chapter 62: Miasma Swamp VII

The toad suddenly opened its mouth.

A massive amount of greenish energy gathered inside its throat, forming a dense sphere surrounded by black corrosive patterns.

The surrounding miasma began flowing toward it, causing the sphere to grow larger with every passing second.

Ben immediately understood that allowing the attack to fully form would be dangerous.

He raised his left hand.

Ruination Dimensions!

The space around the toad distorted violently.

This time, instead of compressing its entire body, Ben concentrated his dimensional control around its head and the sphere of energy gathering inside its mouth.

The creature struggled.

Its body released another wave of corrosive energy, attempting to break free from the spatial pressure.

However, Ben didn’t give it the opportunity.

White Ruination surged through his right arm.

He compressed the energy into a small, concentrated sphere before extending his hand toward the creature.

The next moment, the surrounding space began twisting toward the sphere.

It was as if an invisible force was pulling everything in its vicinity into a single point.

Ben’s eyes narrowed.

’Let’s see how well your defenses hold up against this.’

He released the ability.

White Ruination: Spatial Erosion!

The compressed sphere shot forward.

At the same time, the dimensional pressure around the toad’s head intensified.

The creature’s eyes widened as it sensed the incoming danger.

It desperately released the energy gathered inside its mouth.

BOOM!

A massive wave of corrosive energy erupted from its throat.

However, before the attack could spread, the surrounding space twisted and compressed around it.

The two forces collided.

For a brief moment, the clearing was filled with violent fluctuations of energy.

The corrosive wave began eroding the distorted space, but the White Ruination spreading through it rapidly consumed the energy supporting the attack.

The sphere continued forward.

It broke through the remaining defensive energy surrounding the toad’s head and struck its body.

BOOOOM!

A powerful explosion shook the entire area.

The enormous creature was thrown backward, crashing into several trees before landing heavily in the mud.

Its body twitched as the black patterns across its scales gradually faded.

Ben lowered his hand.

He could feel a noticeable amount of Celestial Energy had been consumed, but the result was satisfactory.

Combining Ruination Dimensions with White Ruination was considerably more effective than using either ability separately.

The spatial distortion restricted the opponent’s movements and weakened its defenses, while White Ruination eroded the energy protecting it.

Although the technique wasn’t particularly efficient in terms of energy consumption, its destructive power was impressive.

Morbius glanced at the fallen creature.

"Not bad. You finally stopped playing around."

Ben ignored his comment and examined the toad.

Its enormous body was still twitching, but the energy fluctuations had weakened considerably.

He didn’t lower his guard.

A moment later, the creature attempted to move its front legs.

Ben raised his hand again.

A thin beam of white energy shot forward.

White Ruination Ray!

The beam pierced through its remaining defensive energy and struck its head.

The toad’s movements finally stopped.

[Target Eliminated.]

Ben waited for a few seconds before approaching.

The surrounding miasma was still unusually dense, but his Leonardo Lament Ring continued weakening the poisonous substances around him.

He examined the creature’s remains.

’Its defensive abilities and vitality were impressive. No wonder it could survive in this environment.’

He had used several powerful attacks to defeat it, and even then, the creature had managed to withstand the first direct hit.

Morbius walked closer.

"Check its body. Creatures living in places like this often have valuable materials."

Ben nodded.

He used Ruination Dimensions to carefully separate the damaged parts of the creature’s body.

A moment later, he discovered a dark green crystal embedded deep inside its chest.

Unlike the ordinary beast cores he had collected earlier, this crystal contained a much denser energy fluctuation.

Several black lines extended across its surface, and a faint layer of corrosive energy surrounded it.

Ben carefully extracted it and examined its properties.

[Corrosive Miasma Core]

[Grade: Silver]

[Properties: Miasma, Corrosion, Poison]

[Quality: High]

Ben raised an eyebrow.

’This should be considerably more valuable than the previous beast cores.’

He stored it in his inventory before continuing to examine the remains.

He collected several pieces of its scales, a few intact bony protrusions, and a portion of its venomous glands.

However, he couldn’t find anything resembling the unusual crystals he had discovered earlier.

Morbius looked at the extracted materials.

"The core is the most valuable part. Its body has naturally accumulated corrosive energy over a long period. You might find someone willing to pay a good price for it."

Ben nodded.

He opened his mission interface.

[Mission: Miasma Swamp Exploration]

[Objective: Collect 10 Miasma Core Fragments]

[Progress: 0/10]

His expression remained unchanged.

’As expected, the beast core doesn’t count.’

He closed the interface.

The Corrosive Miasma Toad had been considerably stronger than the creatures near the entrance, but it hadn’t possessed the material he was looking for.

That meant he would have to continue exploring.

Ben glanced toward the deeper part of the forest.

The concentration of miasma was noticeably higher in that direction, and he could sense several faint energy fluctuations scattered throughout the area.

He also remembered the strange crystals they had discovered earlier.

’There should be more valuable resources deeper inside.’

Morbius followed his gaze.

"Are you planning to continue?"

"Yes. We haven’t found the mission materials yet."

"Then try not to attract every creature in the swamp. I don’t particularly enjoy walking through poisonous mud all day."

Ben glanced at him.

"You could always return to the familiar space."

Morbius snorted.

"And miss the opportunity to watch you struggle? Absolutely not."

Ben shook his head and began moving forward.

The battle had consumed some of his energy, so he decided to recover while exploring the surrounding area.

He didn’t intend to rush deeper without understanding the dangers ahead.

After all, he still had several days left in the Miasma Swamp.

Ben and Morbius continued deeper into the swamp.

As they moved away from the clearing, the concentration of miasma gradually increased. The vegetation also became stranger, with several plants having dark, twisted stems and unusually thick leaves.

Ben occasionally stopped to examine them, but most were ordinary poisonous plants with limited value.

After walking for nearly twenty minutes, he noticed something unusual.

The ground ahead was covered in patches of dark green moss, but unlike the surrounding vegetation, these patches seemed to be absorbing the miasma in the air.

Ben crouched down and examined one of them.

’It’s absorbing miasma directly?’

He carefully touched the moss with a small amount of Celestial Energy.

The moment his energy came into contact with it, the moss trembled.

A faint green glow appeared across its surface.

Ben immediately withdrew his hand.

"Interesting."

Morbius glanced at the moss.

"Don’t touch it carelessly. Some plants in this place absorb poisonous energy and become more dangerous than the creatures living here."

Ben nodded.

He opened the database on his student device and searched for information about similar plants.

A few seconds later, several entries appeared.

[Corrosive Moss]

[Grade: Common]

[Properties: Miasma, Corrosion]

[Description: A poisonous plant that grows in areas with concentrated corrosive miasma. Its extracts can be used to produce low-grade corrosive substances.]

Ben closed the entry.

’Nothing particularly valuable.’

He continued forward.

A little later, his perception detected another energy fluctuation beneath the ground.

This one was considerably weaker than the previous crystals they had discovered.

Ben stopped.

"There’s something underneath."

Morbius glanced toward the ground.

"Another crystal?"

"Probably."

Ben extended his hand.

Ruination Dimensions!

The soil separated gradually, revealing a dark green crystal buried approximately two meters underground.

It was smaller than the previous ones, and its surface contained only a few faint black lines.

Ben carefully lifted it using his dimensional control.

[Unknown Resource Obtained]

[Quantity: 3]

He stored it in his inventory.

"These crystals seem to be scattered throughout the area," Ben said.

Morbius examined the exposed ground.

"They’re probably formed where different types of energy accumulate. The combination of miasma, corrosion, and death energy might have something to do with it."

"Can they be used for cultivation?"

"Possibly. But you should have them properly examined before trying to absorb anything. Their energy is rather unstable."

Ben nodded.

He had no intention of experimenting with an unidentified resource.

After collecting the crystal, they continued exploring.

Several minutes later, Morbius suddenly stopped.

"Wait."

Ben looked at him.

"What is it?"

Morbius turned his head toward the left.

"Something is moving over there."

Ben immediately extended his perception.

At first, he couldn’t detect anything unusual. The dense miasma interfered with his senses, making it difficult to distinguish individual energy signatures.

However, after concentrating, he finally detected several weak fluctuations.

There were multiple creatures moving through the vegetation.

Ben narrowed his eyes.

"How many?"

"At least six. They’re not particularly strong, but they’re approaching us."

Ben examined the direction Morbius had indicated.

A few seconds later, several dark shapes emerged from between the trees.

They resembled large insects, each roughly the size of a human torso. Their bodies were covered in dark green shells, and multiple sharp legs supported their weight.

A pair of long antennae extended from their heads.

[Species: Miasma Crawlers]

[Rank: F-Rank]

[Realm: Silver Realm - First Stage]

[Level: 32]

[Threat Assessment: Moderate]

Ben examined their status.

’Six Silver Realm creatures. They shouldn’t be much trouble.’

The insects suddenly spread their wings.

A strange buzzing sound filled the surrounding area as they rushed toward him.

Ben raised his hand.

Several white projectiles appeared around his body.

White Missile!

The missiles shot forward, striking the approaching insects.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three creatures were immediately blasted out of the air.

The remaining insects quickly changed direction, spreading apart to avoid the incoming attacks.

Ben wasn’t particularly surprised.

He extended his left hand.

Ruination Dimensions!

The space around the three remaining creatures distorted.

Their movements slowed as dimensional pressure restricted their bodies.

A moment later, three thin beams of white energy shot forward.

White Ruination Ray!

The attacks pierced through their shells, and the insects fell to the ground.

[Targets Eliminated.]

Ben lowered his hand.

The entire encounter had lasted less than ten seconds.

Morbius glanced at the fallen creatures.

"At least these ones didn’t waste much of your time."

Ben approached the remains and examined them.

Unlike the Corrosive Miasma Toad, these creatures didn’t appear to possess particularly valuable materials.

However, when he examined their bodies more carefully, he noticed something inside the abdomen of one of them.

A small, dark green fragment was lodged between its internal organs.

Ben used his dimensional control to extract it.

The fragment was roughly the size of his thumb. Its surface was uneven, and several black lines ran through its center.

Unlike the crystals he had collected earlier, this fragment produced a much more concentrated miasma fluctuation.

Ben’s eyes narrowed.

He opened his mission interface.

[Mission: Miasma Swamp Exploration]

[Objective: Collect 10 Miasma Core Fragments]

[Progress: 1/10]

Ben looked at the fragment in his hand.

’So this is what the mission requires.’

Morbius moved closer and examined it.

"That’s probably a Miasma Core Fragment. The creatures here seem to accumulate these things inside their bodies."

Ben stored it in his inventory.

He finally had his first mission fragment.

Although he still needed nine more, finding the first one had given him a better idea of where to look.

He glanced at the remaining Miasma Crawlers.

’If even these weaker creatures can contain fragments, I might be able to collect the required amount without going too deep.’

However, he wasn’t going to make assumptions based on a single discovery.

He carefully examined the other five creatures, but none contained another fragment.

Ben straightened up.

"Let’s continue. We should look for more of these creatures."

Morbius nodded.

The two continued through the swamp, following the faint energy fluctuations detected by Morbius.

Ben had finally found the material required for his mission, and the remaining exploration should be considerably more productive.