Rock stops for a moment, interrupted by the scream he's just heard. He doesn't know why, but the scream evokes something familiar deep inside him.
As Rock tries to figure out where this feeling comes from. Life begins to stir within the cave as the echo of the scream continues to reverberate and spread along its path, frightening some and awakening others.
--
Because of this cry, the animals become agitated. A few brown mice and small animals take refuge in their lairs, out of sight, while the larger creatures pass in front of their dens.
These creatures make their way along, accompanied by their fellow creatures. As they advance, different groups join them, swelling their ranks into a horde that sweeps all before them, shaking the earth as they go.
--
Rock feels the faintest tremors and detects that many spiders are approaching. These spiders are on the alert, as they begin to gather together to weave new webs, filling in the way and carefully hiding the entrance to their lairs by embedding small stones in their webs.
Observing this reaction, Rock decides to venture into the other tunnel, which unlike the spider tunnels shows no reaction or activity to the tremor.
The first thing you notice in this tunnel is the abundance of crystals. There are black, white and red ones, and as he moves along, the size of the crystals only increases.
He approaches a crystal when he feels a strong attraction to it.
As he approached a crystal, he felt a strong attraction to it, reminding him in some way of the small silver stone resembling "Shiny". He placed his hand on the white crystal and, with a jerk, pulled it away from the wall.
Rock's gaze lingered on the crystal in his palm. He concentrated for a moment before integrating it into his body. As energy flows gathered around this new element.
A noise was heard, and with a crack a circular white head emerged from the earth at the Crystal's previous location. The creature opened its mouth full of silver-colored cros and rushed at Rock.
In one leap, with its mouth wide open, it landed on Rock's chest. Its teeth latched onto Rock, creating sparks on contact with the stone. Without really doing any damage.
----
This creature with its round, elongated body and sharp teeth is a crystal worm, better known as a miner's worm. This is because these creatures usually settle in mineral-rich areas and devour them to reproduce and give birth very quickly, causing the disappearance of precious resources.
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The worm sinks its multiple fangs into Rock's body.
To protect himself, he quickly closed his arms around his target, trapping him in a powerful embrace that blocked his movements. He watched his grip study him with his mana, discovering his body and its weaknesses as well as its power.
The worm struggled, but Rock's embrace prevented any movement.
The worm's body has a very elongated, snake-like shape, enabling it to squeeze into small, narrow places with ease.
Having completed his observation, he throws the worm to the ground, wounding it.
The wounded worm opens its mouth and wriggles to the ground, quickly digging a hole to escape. The worm sinks nimbly into the ground, burrowing its way into the cave's basement.
Seeing the worm flee, threatening him despite his condition. Rock continued on his way, advancing among the colorful gleams of the various crystals. As he moved forward, he noticed a very subtle vibration that had been following him for some time. He noticed that if he didn't move forward, "the thing" stopped, and as soon as he continued walking, "the thing" followed him.
Not knowing what to do, he headed straight for the last place he'd detected it. He walked a few meters when the vibration resurfaced, heading in his direction at high speed.
KKrr
KKrraccc
The ground cracked and a wounded worm emerged, leaping stealthily at Rock's back.
Rock turns and grabs the worm, crushing it with little force. Before dying, the worm screams under the pressure exerted by Rock.
The worm's attack has failed, because since it emerged from the ground it has been able to be detected thanks to the mana emitted by the worm.
---
Seeing a flicker in the remains of the Crystal Worm. Rock observes carefully and removes the flickering object.
It's the creature's teeth he's holding in his hand, most of them intact despite the state of its owner's body.
He places the sharp teeth at the end of his arm, in his fist.
In the cave, he finds many brightly-colored crystals.
They come in different shapes: prismatic, cubic and rectangular. He manages to absorb every crystal he finds in the cave.
The result is a single color that reflects in the dark with different hues, giving it a particular hue in the dark.
As he moves further into the cave, he notices a large number of holes in the walls, which seem to become more numerous as he advances.
These holes are carved into the rock; they are circular in shape and appear to contain the remains of half-eaten corpses.
In the center of the cave, a huge pillar protruding from the ground supports a silver orb. Suspended in the air, it emits a soft glow that dimly illuminates the area.
Around the pillar supporting the orb, numerous exotic plants grow, bathed in this glow. Some plants are wrapped around the orb.
As you approach the orb, numerous worms arrive. Some emerge from the earth, others from holes in the cave. These worms are 2 to 3 times larger than the previous worm. Their skins seem duller and more resistant.