Chapter 4: A Muck Worm
Adam’s POV
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As I delved deeper into the cavern, the joy of my newly crafted spear almost made me forget my gnawing hunger. Twirling the spear in my hands like a child with a favorite toy, I reveled in the fun of it and sought to familiarize myself with its weight.
Nove's voice interjected a note of caution, "I'd recommend keeping your guard up. The monsters are used to the darkness, you are not."
Undeterred, I maintained my jubilant mood, responding confidently, "You can always hear anything moving in this kind of cave." My twirling ceased, and I shifted my focus to silent movement. However, even my attempts to tread softly couldn't escape the echoes in the stone corridors.
“Yes, but you can only hear them; they can hear and see you,” Nove cautioned. Each step I took seemed to reverberate through the cavernous space, reminding me that, in this echoing cave, silence was a luxury I couldn't afford.
Driven by my growling stomach and the urgency of finding sustenance, I knew I had to move fast. Heading further down into the cave seemed risky, especially since I wasn't exactly Hercules with this spear—I'd tire out after a few swings. But what choice did I have? Going back up wasn't an option, and waiting around for a rescue party felt like a one-way ticket to starvation. So, with a mix of desperation and determination, I braced myself for whatever lay ahead.
As I trudged deeper into the darkness, Nove piped up with more info about Alchemy. She could sense I was a bit lost on the topic, so she broke it down for me: making potions, crafting core nodes, refining materials—the works. She threw around terms like "equivalent exchange," but honestly, my brain was too hangry to process all the details.
Despite my rumbling stomach, I pressed on, soaking in whatever knowledge I could about this strange world. Survival instincts kicked in as I ventured further into the unknown.
A few minutes passed, and the silence of the cave was broken by the subtle sounds of movement up ahead. My instincts kicked in, prompting me to crouch down quietly. Nove, respecting the need for focus, kept silent as well. In the distance, I spotted a hefty, white-ish creature clinging to the cave wall—a massive mound of flesh, roughly the size of a 14-year-old child.
“That's a muck worm,” Nove chimed in. “They're large, passive creatures but shoot out webs of stickiness to trap their prey before devouring them with their pointy teeth. They've got an HP value of 20 points. I'd suggest a sneak thrust attack followed by finding cover for a chance to finish it off.” Nove's advice was there, but honestly, I was more inclined to stick to my own familiar strategies when dealing with the concept of killing, though she wasn’t wrong.
As my gaze fixed upon the muck worm, a small green bar accompanied by numbers materialized above it, displaying the digits 20/20. My gaming instincts kicked in immediately, recognizing it as a health bar.
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Is this Nove's doing? Now she’s literally making everything feel like a game. This is flippin' awesome! I thought to myself, thrilled by the unexpected gamification of my surroundings.
The muck worm continued its slow slither up the wall, seemingly oblivious to my presence. Drawing upon my underworld mob experience, I knew the art of making absolutely no noise. However, in this closed, echoey space, even the slightest footstep reverberated. I quietly removed my shoes to eliminate any potential sound and began to approach the worm, spear at the ready.
Holding my breath through my nose, I blended into the shadows, uncertain of the worm's eyesight. The rough ground beneath my soft feet caused discomfort, but I pressed forward, determined to remain undetected.
Close enough to strike, the worm had climbed a considerable distance up the wall, but that didn't concern me. In a swift move, I leaped up and thrust the short spear into the middle of its body. The tactile sensation of tearing flesh reached my hand, accompanied by a splatter of blood on my face—an unsettlingly familiar experience.
With the spear embedded in its body, I swung the worm down to the ground, eliciting a -12 to appear, and I observed the health bar drop to 8/20. The creature wriggled in agony, but I seized the opportunity to charge forward for the finishing blow.
Another -16, and the worm ceased its movements, succumbing to its injuries.
I let out a groan and took a breather after dealing with that critter. Man, this body is weaker than I thought. Even a little action leaves me panting. Note to self, work on building some muscles or stamina after you get out of this cave.
Wiping the blood off my face, I sighed and reluctantly put my shoes back on. The ground was doing a number on my feet.
"Hey, Nove, can we really chow down on this thing?" I asked, eyeing the now lifeless blob on the ground.
"After processing it, yes. I'll take care of that," she replied. I went over to the worm, and with Nove's help, poof, it disappeared into thin air. Left behind a pool of blood, though, as a gruesome reminder that it was once alive.
Sitting down on the hard ground, I started cleaning the blood off the spear tip using my dirty clothes. Funny how even in this new world, some things never change – like cleaning your weapon after a kill. Well, looks like I'm still in the business of taking lives, no matter where I am.
After a brief wait, Nove instructed me to open my hand. Lo and behold, a piece of cooked worm meat appeared, warm but not scalding.
"While not a gourmet delight, worm meat can be a lifesaver in emergencies. Also, we can make use of its webbing for adhesives, a core material in many things, even if it's just of common quality," Nove explained.
I shrugged. As long as it's edible.
I'm not too picky about food. Back in my mob days, eating standards were, let's say, flexible. Raw frogs were a delicacy when you were on the run for days.
I took a bite, and the meat was surprisingly tender. Though lacking in flavor and carrying a faint stench, it did manage to fill my belly somewhat. I continued eating until I felt satisfied, thinking that I now had a good amount of food. However, it turned out that more than half of the monster was inedible and served as crafting materials. I was left with just a bit of actual food.
"Now then, how do we get out of this cave?" I pondered. While my gaming instincts urged me to explore deeper for some cool materials, I decided against it. This body was far from combat-ready, and I'd rather not face more monsters and risk my life unnecessarily.
"Ugh, if only I had more strength or higher Metalweaving mastery," I grumbled.
"If you'd like that, why not create some more strength-based core nodes for yourself or feed materials to your other nexus core?" Nove suggested.
I raised an eyebrow. "I know you told me about all that before, but explain it to me clearly."
And so, Nove started explaining the intricacies, and this time, I could actually absorb the information without feeling like I was on the brink of death from starvation.