His movements were still a bit unrefined, lacking the fluid lethality he possessed with the iron rod.
But as the battle stretched on, he gradually found his rhythm. He learned to better utilize the short spear’s length to maintain distance from the monsters.
Bai Xuan wasn’t aiming to resolve the fights as quickly as possible.
Instead, he intentionally used these low-tier Shadow Rats to familiarize himself with spear techniques and polish his attack cadence.
After clearing several waves of Shadow Rats, the passage began to slope downward.
Regular marks of manual excavation became more frequent, and the dust in the air thinned slightly.
Bai Xuan knew he had entered the second level of the dungeon: the Abandoned Workshop District.
This area consisted of massive, empty brick rooms.
Only rusted gears, toppled furnaces, and shattered pottery scattered across the floor remained, every corner exuding the decay and desolation of the former workshops.
Occasionally, he spotted a few adventurer teams carefully scavenging through the ruins, hoping to find leftover supplies or useful materials.
Their conversations were hushed, kept low for fear of alerting the monsters.
Compared to the first floor, the number of monsters here was significantly lower, but a more troublesome nuisance had appeared.
【Multi-Headed Snake】
Their levels were similar to the Shadow Rats, mostly Lv. 1 to Lv. 2, with the occasional Lv. 3.
They were arm-sized, earthy-yellow snakes with two or three heads. They were incredibly agile and highly aggressive.
They often coiled within the crevices of the brickwork, lunging out violently the moment they were disturbed.
With multiple heads attacking simultaneously from different angles, their bites were difficult to defend against.
This was Bai Xuan’s first time facing a multi-headed monster, and he initially suffered for it.
He instinctively stabbed at one of the heads, but the other two struck at the same time, snapping at his wrist and ankle with startling speed.
Bai Xuan quickly pulled back his hand while using the spear shaft to parry the head lunging at his ankle.
He fixed his gaze on the junction where the heads met. As the small snake lunged again, his short spear thrust out, striking first and piercing through it to end the fight cleanly.
When several snakes lunged at once, he took the initiative to retreat.
Using the short spear to knock them aside one by one, he looked for the right openings to pick them off individually.
Before long, his arms began to feel sore and swollen.
Restraining his strength to get used to the spear’s style was somewhat uncomfortable for him.
However, his efforts paid off. He gradually gained a deeper understanding of the spear’s basic usage, and his movements became increasingly proficient.
More importantly, his control over his strength became more precise.
He began to understand that a short spear wasn’t meant for wide, sweeping swings; it was an extended, sharp arm.
It tested the user’s ability for precision control.
Bai Xuan stopped lingering and passed through the silent workshop area, continuing down the passage toward the fourth floor: the Crystal Silver Mine Tunnels.
The deeper he went, the more humid the passage became. Sparse, dim flecks of crystal silver ore began to appear on the rock walls, like frozen starlight shimmering weakly in the gloom.
Traces of artificial construction grew faint and eventually vanished, replaced by the distinct features of natural caverns with rough, steep walls.
The presence of other adventurers also dwindled until, finally, Bai Xuan was the only one left. No other tracks could be seen in the cavernous passage.
Finally, he reached his destination.
The fourth floor: Crystal Silver Mine Tunnels.
The air here was bone-chillingly cold and permeated with the faint scent of mineral dust.
The tunnels were silent, save for the sound of Bai Xuan’s own footsteps and the faint scraping of ore echoing from unknown depths.
Bai Xuan immediately stopped and held his breath, focusing his senses on every movement around him, refusing to let even the slightest abnormal sound escape his notice.
He tightened his grip on the spear, his gaze warily scanning the dark, branching tunnels ahead.
The map he had purchased clearly indicated that Black-Armored Crawlers were active in this mining area.
They were stealthy, capable of bursting out from any side path at any moment to launch a surprise attack.
Bai Xuan slowly backed up until he stood against an indentation in the rock wall.
The tunnel ahead was relatively narrow, which would limit the number of crawlers that could lunge at him at once.
Sure enough, before long, several basin-sized Black-Armored Crawlers appeared in his field of vision.
There were both Lv. 2 and Lv. 3 individuals.
Their shells were thick and hard, and their six legs made a persistent, jarring clicking sound as they scurried over the gravel floor.
They quickly spotted Bai Xuan, their dark compound eyes swiveling toward him instantly.
Their mandibles clicked rhythmically in a threatening manner, and transparent mucus seeped from their mouthparts, leaving faint wet trails on the ground.
“I’ll deal with these few first,” Bai Xuan whispered to himself, tightening his grip on the short spear once more.
Before his voice even faded, he took a proactive step forward, lowering his center of gravity. He locked his gaze onto the leading Lv. 3 Black-Armored Crawler and charged straight at it.
The short spear thrust out like a venomous snake, aiming for the weak joint where the front limb met the body. It was a direct hit.
Pfft—
The spear tip broke through the joint’s hard shell and pierced the soft tissue inside. The distinct sensation of the strike traveled up the shaft and into his palm.
The crawler let out a sharp hiss, its movements freezing as its front limb lost all strength.
Bai Xuan’s eyes narrowed. He snapped his wrist, using the leverage of the embedded spear tip combined with a burst of his own strength to violently pry the spear upward!
The heavy insect body was forcibly pried off the ground, flipping onto its side and exposing its soft, segmented underbelly.
Bai Xuan didn’t hesitate for a second. He flipped his wrist and the spear stabbed down like lightning, firmly impaling the crawler’s belly and skewering its internal organs.
The insect twitched violently a few times before falling completely still, dark green fluid dripping slowly from the spear tip.
The entire sequence was clean and efficient, yet Bai Xuan’s brow furrowed slightly.
That prying move had been much more mentally taxing than he had anticipated. It required not only timing and the right angle, but also precise control of his strength.
Doing it this way avoided tearing the shell, which would have ruined its value as a material. It was far more troublesome than simply killing the monster.
Before he could catch his breath, the second and third Black-Armored Crawlers closed in.
One of them suddenly reared its head and opened its mouthparts, spitting a stream of pale yellow acid like an arrow!
Bai Xuan twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the projectile.
The acid grazed the rock wall, letting out a sizzling sound as it corroded the stone.
White smoke instantly rose from the wall, leaving behind a small, blackened pit.
The other crawler took the opportunity to charge him from the side. He immediately held the spear shaft horizontally in front of him to block.
Thud!
The violent impact made Bai Xuan’s frame shudder.
He quickly stabilized himself and repeated his tactic. Finding openings in the crawlers' attacks, he precisely stabbed the joints, pried them over, and delivered fatal stabs to the bellies, successfully resolving two more.
In order to obtain intact materials, his killing efficiency was noticeably slower than expected.
At that moment, several more insects appeared around him from nowhere.
From the shadows deep within the tunnels, even more dense sounds echoed.
The pheromones released by the killed crawlers, or perhaps the sounds of the struggle, had drawn their kin.
Bai Xuan’s heart sank. This wasn't good; he couldn't afford to let this drag on.
If he lingered, the swarm would only grow, and he would eventually be overwhelmed. He had to speed up his kills.
He quickened his pace, but the hurried movements began to reveal openings.
A Lv. 2 Black-Armored Crawler seized the chance to charge low from the side, aiming straight for his calf.
At that moment, he was dealing with acid being spat from the front. By the time he noticed the flanker, he was a beat too slow, forced to hurriedly swing the butt of the spear around.
Crack!
The strike was rushed, but the force behind it was exceptionally heavy.
The dull impact rang loudly in the narrow tunnel, making the surrounding gravel tremble.
The crawler’s thick back shell was actually caved in by the blow. Several intersecting cracks spiderwebbed across the surface, and dark green fluid oozed out, staining the gravel beneath it.
The insect didn't die immediately, but lay paralyzed on the ground.
Its legs twitched feebly as it let out a shrill, pained hiss, its life force slowly fading.
Bai Xuan glanced down at the short spear in his hand and felt an immediate pang of regret.
The hardwood section at the butt of the spear, which had delivered the heavy blow, was splintered and peeled back, revealing the dark iron core within. Bits of shell were even embedded in the wood grain.
“My brand-new spear...”
Misfortune never comes alone. More Black-Armored Crawlers swarmed out from various tunnel openings.
There were no fewer than seven or eight of them, large and small, instantly forming a loose encirclement around the alcove where he stood.
Acid spat from all directions, forcing him to constantly reposition, while the insects' charges were relentless.
While a single crawler didn't pose a great threat, the sheer number multiplied the danger, leaving him with much less room for error.
A momentary lapse in focus allowed a splash of acid to graze his arm and calf, sending a sharp, burning sting through him.
“It’s about time I try the new skill.”
After parrying a crawler’s charge, Bai Xuan took the chance to retreat rapidly, briefly opening up some distance from the swarm.
His left hand quickly brushed over the acid burns. As his fingertips touched the wounds, the pain became even more distinct.
“Holy Light Catalyst.”
Warm golden light instantly emerged from his palm, covering his injuries. The wounds healed rapidly.
“Pain Empowerment!”
The moment it was cast, the pain from the wounds seemed to be instantly extracted and converted. A surge of burning power exploded within him, rushing through his entire body!
His muscles bulged, the exhaustion in his body was instantly dispelled, and his reaction speed seemed to jump significantly. His five senses became even sharper.
The sensation of this buff was much more pronounced than when he had tested it on himself back at the inn.
It seemed the intensity and quality of the pain truly influenced the skill’s conversion effect. He just wasn't sure what the upper limit was.
With no time to savor the changes, Bai Xuan pushed off the ground and charged back into the swarm.
With his enhanced perception, controlling the force to pry the crawlers over became much simpler.
He no longer needed to expend massive mental effort on strength control. Instead, he struck the edges of the shells with even greater force, forcibly prying the insects up.
Once the soft belly was exposed, it was met with a fatal thrust.
His speed, strength, and precision were all comprehensively improved during the brief burst of Pain Empowerment.
The short spear became a swift black line in his hands, precisely picking off every crawler.
One by one, the Black-Armored Crawlers were flipped and impaled. As they fell dead, he adapted to this high-intensity combat rhythm faster and faster.
Soon, the battle was completely over, and the mine tunnels returned to a dead silence.
Only the sound of Bai Xuan’s heavy breathing remained, echoing faintly against the rock walls before fading away.
He caught his breath and looked down at the outer robe he had just changed into this morning.
It was already riddled with several scorched holes from the acid, and a button on his cuff had been torn off by a crawler’s shell.
Bai Xuan lightly tugged at the damaged fabric, silently calculating in his mind: at this rate, just frequently replacing clothes would be a significant expense.
“I should wear two layers from now on. A form-fitting leather armor inside and loose robes on the outside.”
“I can take off the robe before a fight and put it in the Space Ring. That way, I can at least save money on clothes.”
After resting for a moment and feeling his spent energy mostly recovered, Bai Xuan stood up and began methodically collecting his spoils.
He took a pre-prepared burlap sack from his backpack.
Approaching a crawler’s corpse, he carefully inserted the tip of his spear into the junction at the edge of the shell and pried with a bit of force.
Accompanied by the sound of the hard shell tearing, the entire back shell was slowly peeled away.
The inner side of the shell still had some dark soft tissue attached to it. It felt heavy in his hand, still holding some lingering warmth.
With only seven or eight back shells packed, the sack was already bulging.
Just then, his gaze inadvertently landed on the crawler not far away—the one with the shattered shell that was still clinging to life.
The crawler lay paralyzed on the ground, its internal organs slowly pulsing beneath the cracked shell.
A few legs twitched occasionally, its breathing so weak it seemed it would expire at any second.
A somewhat strange thought suddenly popped into Bai Xuan’s head.
He stood up, walked over, and knelt down again. He hovered his hand over the crawler’s damaged shell and softly chanted, “Holy Light Catalyst.”
Soft golden light instantly lit up in his palm, slowly enveloping the shattered area of the shell.
The broken crawler jerked violently, letting out a sharp, pained hiss.
Evidently, this healing was worse for it than a quick death.
Bai Xuan couldn't help but think that this healing skill could probably be used for interrogation. There were likely very few perverts like Banner; if once didn't work, he could just do it twice.
But then, Bai Xuan’s attention returned to the cracks in the shell.
As the golden light flowed, the edges of those spiderweb-like cracks seemed to be drawn together by invisible threads, rapidly closing and mending.
Although it couldn't be completely restored to its original state and the lines of the cracks were still visible, the integrity of the shell had indeed been repaired significantly.
“It actually works?” A flash of unexpected joy crossed Bai Xuan’s mind.
If that was the case, did he need to worry so much about keeping the shells intact during combat in the future?
Even if he accidentally broke one, he could repair it afterward with Holy Light Catalyst. Combat efficiency would undoubtedly be much higher this way.
Rate on N.U.
