Ancient City Arville (5)
Calix's gamble had paid off.
Thanks to diving straight into the monster's throat, he'd barely escaped becoming a well-mined chunk of meat caught between thousands of teeth.
Rumble—
A deafening noise echoed as dirt and rocks poured in endlessly. It seemed the beast was moving swiftly underground.
Calix hauled himself up and uttered the incantation.
"Light."
A magical orb floated above his head, shining brightly and illuminating the surroundings.
Groooaaan—
Like a moving walkway at a subway transfer station, the rocks and dirt slowly flowed backward.
Stay still, and he'd be dumped through the monster's asshole into some unknown depths underground.
Scanning urgently, he spotted a flat rock wedged in the intestinal folds, unmoving.
Calix scooped up Laila, who'd fallen with him, and hurried toward it.
Laila was about three centimeters taller than him, with a body honed to rock-hard muscle.
Climbing against the moving walkway while carrying her wasn't easy.
"Ngh! Aigoo, this is killing me."
He all but tossed her onto the rock, then flopped down beside her.
"Whew, at least no digestive system is a blessing."
The Earth Worm's staple diet was dirt and sand itself. Unlike other massive carnivorous monsters, it lacked a stomach that secreted digestive juices.
Just a long, simple straight intestine—no worry of melting away like in strong acid.
Calix flipped her over and checked the necklace around her neck first.
Type: Necklace
Material: Bronze
Effect: Preserves the twin worm's mummy from rotting.
"Just as I thought."
It matched the artifact status window he'd glimpsed when they fell in.
Calix had decided to drop in here with Laila after spotting this artifact—a lightning bolt of inspiration.
Ancient Shaman's Rosario.
The ancients' favored method for building massive underground structures: implanting one of a twin worm pair into the body.
Sync the ritual, then command the other to dig through the earth.
The implanted one halted growth, while the other absorbed the shaman's mana and grew rapidly—the former issuing commands, the latter executing them.
The implanted "mother body" was passed to the next heir upon the shaman's death.
And the tool used for that was this rosario.
Calix could piece together the story.
"Tsk tsk, looks like the dimwit heir lost the mana breathing method. Or croaked before passing it on properly."
Laila, inheriting this centuries-old rosario, had learned the mana breathing method—and awakened the mummified mother body inside.
All without imagining how massively the Earth Worm had grown over those ages.
A few more questions arose, but he tabled them. Better to wake her and ask directly.
Calix cupped her cheeks with both hands.
"Laila. Can you hear me? We need to extract the twin worm mother body from you. Snap out of it!"
No response. He shook her face, then felt a faint rustle by her ear.
His palm had flakes of dried blood stuck to it.
Now shining the light orb close, he saw blood trickling from every orifice—eyes, nose, mouth.
"Tsk tsk, barely dipping a toe into Class 4 and you get greedy trying to control an Ancient Earth Worm. Miracle you didn't die."
At least she was breathing on her own—small mercy.
He pulled a potion from his inventory and trickled it into her ears and mouth.
Color slowly returned to her pale face.
But no signs of waking, no matter how long he waited.
Let's think. Overreaching soul-sync with a far superior spirit leading to disaster—happened a few times in the game. What was the victim's state then?
Now Calix grasped her condition precisely.
She'd retreated deep into her subconscious to avoid being devoured by the Ancient Earth Worm's overwhelming soul.
Escaping wouldn't be hard. She could control it somewhat—lure it near the surface and exit via the rear.
Calix gripped her shoulders.
"Laila! Listen up. We're inside an Ancient Earth Worm's gut. I'm fine, but your body's starving without nutrients—it won't last. Let's test if we can escape. Can you maneuver it near the surface?"
Grrrumble!
A short rumble echoed from afar. Soon, the dormant intestinal walls stirred actively.
A thin trickle of blood leaked from Laila's nose.
"At least you'll survive without issue. But this payoff doesn't match jumping into a monster's maw with our lives on the line."
A smile curled Calix's lips.
One memory from before entering.
Ancient City Arville.
A high-difficulty ruin nearby that no one dared challenge.
It held the S-grade mana breathing method he craved—and something Laila desperately needed now.
Calix lifted her and whispered in her ear.
"Good girl. But plans change. Listen: Dead center of Trem Great Canyon, deep underground, there's a massive cavern. Normally, you need teleport coordinates or navigating the complex ruins. But we have the Ancient Earth Worm. As its synced master, you'll sense it instinctively. Remember: massive underground cavern."
Silence stretched, suffocating.
As Calix pondered failure—
A massive roar shook the air, dirt and rocks surging rapidly.
Groooaaaan—
BOOM!
Rumble—
The intestinal walls thrashed with the worm's movements. Dirt flowed like a river; even their flat rock gave way.
Like clinging to a plank in a storm-tossed sea.
Calix hugged her tight, binding her with his cloak. Her long legs dragged awkwardly, but no choice.
"Tch, what a sight."
Muttering, he drew his sword and plunged it deep into the intestinal wall, leaving only the hilt out.
The gut twitched in agony, oozing thick green fluid.
Maximum level rises proportional to damage dealt with bladed weapons.
The damage was trivial against the monster's HP, so the gauge barely budged. Calix clicked his tongue and gripped the hilt tight.
Soon, a massive ochre wave crashed in earnest. He ducked low, curling up to minimize resistance.
"Hup!"
He even donned his stuffy iron helmet, but endless rocks battered him until his mind went blank.
Then a huge boulder smashed his head, and consciousness faded.
How much time passed? A faint fragrance roused him. Calix waited for his blurry vision to clear.
Finally alert, he looked around: a riot of colorful flowers bloomed in what should be underground.
"We... made it?"
Squinting at the brightness, he looked up. Countless light-enchanted crystal orbs studded the ceiling.
"Peel those off, and I'd be rich... damn."
Regrettable, but the ceiling was impossibly high—even at ten times his height.
Calix approached the fallen Laila. A thorough check: no major wounds, thankfully.
Relieved, he stood and surveyed.
A heap of dark soil piled nearby—likely the Ancient Earth Worm's droppings.
Droppings, but just dirt. Earth Worms were basically giant earthworms, save their voracious appetite.
"No smell either... Train one right, and farming's a goldmine."
The soft, moist soil looked fertile even to his untrained eye.
"Eh, later for that. Time to claim the ruins' rewards."
Muttering, he turned. Far off gleamed a golden door—massive, visible from afar.
Ancient City Arville was beyond his current level—a hellish ruin where even his whole domain's might had under 1% success odds.
His original plan eyed it 5-10 years out, at earliest.
Yet Laila's worm got them here effortlessly from its gut.
Even in-game, such an efficient exploit succeeded only a handful of times.
He'd vaguely imagined it might work, but actual success stunned even him.
"Still, I didn't wanna risk my neck. Can't we just grow slow and steady, you troublemaker?"
Grumbling, he hoisted the fist-sized Laila onto his back.
"Aigoo, good thing no one's watching."
Drip—
Blood from her forced control pooled in her mouth, spilling warmly onto his shoulder from the jostle.
Calix's pace quickened.
With Laila on his back, he reached the golden door.
Intricate patterns covered it; one corner held a puzzle aligning eight symbols.
Solve it? Scour the upper ruins for every clue.
A measure against exploits like his.
Wrong answer usually triggered lethal traps.
But he didn't spare it a glance.
Other dungeons, he'd crack it—but not here.
"Lucky. This seal door's a trap."
The facility's purpose: imprison whatever lay beyond that golden door.
Ancients built a vast underground city before it, guarded for generations.
The designer rigged traps post-extinction to prevent the demon's revival.
"Or not a trap—a gateway, maybe."
If you cleared this far, you're strong enough: open it, slay the demon.
"Sorry, but unpaid charity ain't my hobby. Get it?"
Lacking skill or will to follow intent, Calix shrugged and climbed the stairs beside the golden door.