Chapter 246: Deeper into the mountain

The Black Rock Basilisk dragged its long, heavy body around the outer perimeter of the cave, slowly slithering forward while remaining on high alert.

I, on the other hand, had something far more important to do, so I began taking off my clothes. When I finished, I carefully placed everything away from the edge of the lake.

Then I stepped in. The moment my feet touched the scorching sunlight, a warm sensation enveloped my skin. The molten scorching sunlight quickly covered my ankles. Finally, my head disappeared beneath the boiling substance.

Small bubbles formed around me because of my movements. When they burst, they released violent currents of hot, steaming air whose temperature probably exceeded several hundred degrees.

But I felt no pain. In fact... my body seemed happy. And the longer I remained there, the more clearly I could feel the reaction of my cells.

[Concentration of absorbed Light Elementium: increasing.]

[Light Body activity: high.]

[Assimilation efficiency: high.]

My Light-element energy was indeed increasing, but something was wrong.

The last time I had found a suitable region to strengthen my Light Body, I could actually feel my level rising. This time, however, I did not feel the same sensation.

I slowly climbed out of the lake.

The scorching sunlight streamed down my body as I stood at the edge of the lake.

— Biochip. Perform a complete analysis of this situation.

— Determine exactly what is hindering the progress of the Light Body.

The next instant, countless pieces of information appeared before my eyes.

[Analyzing...]

[Comparing energy composition...]

[Analyzing Elementium origin...]

[Comparing energy structure with previous records...]

[Analyzing geological connection...]

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[Conclusion: The most likely cause of the low evolution efficiency of the Light Body is the absence of a direct connection between this lake of scorching sunlight and the core of the Light Mountain of Crystal Peak.]

[The analyzed lake constitutes a small residual region.]

[After most of the scorching sunlight returned underground during the resting period, a limited amount remained isolated within this cavity.]

[No direct connection to the mountain’s energy core.]

I immediately understood. That lake was not directly connected to the mountain’s core.

If I truly wanted to advance my Light Body again, I needed to go deeper. Much deeper.

Only then would this journey truly be worthwhile. Still, that did not mean the lake had been useless. Far from it. I knelt at the edge and sent a small amount of mana into the scorching sunlight.

My perception spread out. I penetrated the hot, viscous substance and sensed several solid objects. There were things buried underneath.

The glowing wall of the cave began to appear.

I took out the Brighter Light Staff and transferred it to my left hand. With my right hand, I began gathering a small amount of violent Light-element energy.

Then I struck.

My hand pierced through the wall. The sensation was similar to punching through an extremely hot and resistant mass.

I grabbed something and pulled. When my hand emerged, a stone roughly the size of a chicken egg was clutched in my palm.

I injected Light-element energy.

The outer layer of the rock slowly began to melt, like wax exposed to an intense flame, and a dazzling yellow glow emerged.

My eyes lit up, because it was a Light Crystal.

Judging by its coloration, it was a mid-grade Light Crystal. Even so, its value was not low. A crystal of this level could be sold for approximately one thousand two hundred magic crystals at a mage shop.

The acolytes who explored the depths of the mountain only needed to hand over five similar Light Crystals to fulfill the required resource quota.

Anything beyond that could be considered a personal reward.

— At least I didn’t come all the way here empty-handed.

I quickly stored the crystal away, then returned to the shore, picked up my clothes, and quickly got dressed. Afterward, I stored the Brighter Light Staff as well.

The Black Rock Basilisk approached.

I leaped onto its body.

— Let’s go.

The creature began slithering forward.

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One hour later...

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The cave George had left behind was empty.

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POV: Acolyte Hory

A vague figure emerged from within the waves of scorching heat near the edge of the lake of burning sunlight.

The magical runes covering my exposed neck glowed faintly.

I was Hory, one of the two Pseudo-Mages who had entered the Light Mountain of Crystal Peak.

As soon as I arrived at that cave, I sensed that something was wrong.

My perception silently spread out, but I sensed nothing. However, burned fragments of scorching sunlight rocks were scattered across the ground. Volcanic ash from the Light Goblins remained near the shore. And there were tracks on the ground.

Tracks left by some large, crawling creature.

Someone had been here. And it had not been long ago.

My expression grew even darker.

I had always preferred to act alone. As a Pseudo-Mage, I had no interest in traveling alongside ordinary acolytes. In fact, I felt a certain disdain at having to share resources with newcomers. My invisibility ability also allowed me to avoid most problems.

Light-element creatures simply could not detect my presence in most situations. Because of that, I had managed to cross a large portion of the mountain without needing to fight.

But someone had arrived here before me. And they had killed the creatures.

How could someone have been faster than me?

Could it be the other Pseudo-Mage?

I did not like that feeling. I did not want to follow someone else, much less arrive later and pick up the scraps they had left behind.

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POV: George Gill — MC

I was sitting atop the enormous body of the Black Rock Basilisk. It moved forward like a bulldozer. Whenever we encountered a tunnel large enough, we simply slithered through it.

When the tunnel was too small... The Basilisk did not slow down. It charged forward, and the rocks exploded.

Light-element creatures in our path? The Basilisk simply crushed them. I did not even bother getting off to collect the Light Stones or broken cores that fell from the creatures.

After all, all it took was a single command, and the Basilisk would swallow everything. I could sort through the materials later.

Besides, whenever we encountered a region with a high concentration of Light Elementium, there was usually a lake of scorching sunlight nearby.

I only needed to send my mana through the hot substance. Then I would find the buried crystals. Occasionally, I would also find other magical gemstones or unusual metallic ores.

It was then that I noticed another creature.

A Light Wraith. It was one of the most numerous natural creatures in that underground world.

They normally took the form of a humanoid flame more than a meter tall.

They had no eyes, no ears, and certainly no internal organs. Their bodies were simply concentrations of hot, steaming Light Elementium.

They also could not remain too far away from a lake of scorching sunlight.

I looked at the creature, and the Basilisk charged forward.

BOOM!

Its enormous body crushed the Light Wraith. The creature simply dispersed.

For an existence without a physical body, facing a creature made of solid, extremely heavy rock was a terrible choice.

After traveling for some time, I encountered another species, almost the size of Raticati’s body. But instead of ordinary rats, they were Light Rats. And just like the large rats on the surface, they liked to hide in the darkness and wait for the right moment to attack.

But those underground rats were much more dangerous. They possessed rough skin, thick muscles, excellent resistance to the Light element, and could also spit flames from their mouths.

They normally remained hidden near the shores of lakes of scorching sunlight. And they attacked whenever another Light-element creature approached.

Their favorite food was Light Crystals with a high elemental concentration and the conscious cores found inside the bodies of other creatures.

Before entering that underground world, I had already studied their basic characteristics.

I intended to remain there until the end of the mission. I did not want to waste time going back and forth.

Therefore, there were two things I needed to deal with.

Water and food.

Water was not a problem. I carried a water pouch on my storage belt. Besides, I could still collect Water-element energy and condense it. My main affinity was with the Light element, and that environment made it extremely difficult to manifest Water Elementals, but I still had enough methods to solve the problem.

Food was different. The food I had with me would only last about a week. Even if I brought much more, preserving food in that extreme environment would be difficult. And unlike the Light-element creatures... I could not simply consume light as food.

Therefore, I needed to find a source of food, and that led me to the Light Rats. They were practically the only flesh-and-blood creatures in that environment that could serve as food.

Not that they looked appetizing.

If it were not for the Light-element energy contained within their bodies, I would never choose to torture my stomach with something like that.

But survival required certain compromises, so I grabbed one and observed it for a few seconds.

— You will be dinner.

The creature seemed rather unhappy with that decision, but after killing it with ease, I continued forward.

The real problem began when I encountered creatures like Magmakins and Light Guardians.

These were completely different opponents. Magmakins and Light Solar Hounds shared the same basic origin.

But there was one fundamental difference. One took on a humanoid form, while the other had the appearance of a dog.

Against a Light Solar Hound, the Black Rock Basilisk possessed an overwhelming advantage. But against a Magmakin... things were different.

The Magmakin was a humanoid creature with intermediate intelligence. Its outer layer was composed of scorching sunlight rocks of different sizes. That layer functioned as an extremely durable natural armor.

Ordinary offensive spells would have great difficulty penetrating it. Moreover, Magmakins were intelligent. They did not fight like Light Solar Hounds.

They defended their territories intelligently. Especially the lakes of scorching sunlight that they considered their homes.

When an intruder appeared, the Magmakin would remain at a distance. Then it would begin casting spells.

And when I encountered one of these creatures attacking from afar... I had no choice.

— Basilisk, time to swim!

The Basilisk charged directly into the lake of light. I needed to turn the battle into close-quarters combat.

Although both the Basilisk and the Magmakin were Level 3 creatures, my snake possessed a considerable physical advantage.

It was larger and stronger. Thus, whenever we entered direct combat, a brutal battle would begin inside the lake of scorching sunlight.

In the end... the Basilisk usually won.

But there was a price.

The Black Rock Basilisk was essentially an Earth-element Golem.

Fighting a creature of the same level inside its own territory meant plunging its body directly into an extremely hostile environment. The scorching sunlight corroded its structure. Therefore, after every Magmakin it defeated, the Basilisk’s originally robust body would end up visibly thinner.

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1861 Words

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