Chapter 36: The Abyssal Worm

The next day.

The first thing Qin Yuan did upon waking was to check the status of the Nightmare Slime. It remained in a deep slumber. Qin Yuan began to contemplate his subsequent plans. The crucial purification powder had yet to be collected, leaving the Holy Pattern Fruit sitting idly in his backpack, unable to be purified on the floating island. He still needed to have the Nightmare Slime absorb nightmares tonight.

"By that calculation, I don't have much to do during the day... I suppose I’ll just have to level up."

As for his schedule, Qin Yuan planned to head to the area of the Abyssal Pustules. The abyssal creatures in the non-core regions were no longer sufficient to meet his leveling needs.

After having breakfast with Feather, Qin Yuan arrived at the floating island. Breathing in the fresh air, he found himself becoming increasingly familiar with the place as his visits grew more frequent. In truth, he held a special affection for this island. Although it was currently beset by problems and contaminated by abyssal creatures, once he managed to excise all those Abyssal Pustules, this vast area would essentially become his private territory.

It was said that this region was rich in mineral deposits. Once he had finished his planning, beyond commissioning the slimes to mine the magic crystals, he could search for other resources. According to the Grimoire of Whispers, the pool of Magic Spring water could also be completely relocated here with some effort. Speaking of which, Qin Yuan remembered that he had nearly depleted his remaining supply of Magic Spring water and would need to make another trip in a few days to restock. After all, leaving it in the forest made it very inconvenient to retrieve. Furthermore, such a large space could not be allowed to go to waste; he would have to look into other ways to utilize it.

Soon, he reached the edge of the contaminated area—the region where the Abyssal Pustules were located. Standing at the boundary, he faced two distinct worlds: one lush with vegetation and full of life, and the other a twisted, barren land. The earth itself was a dark, bruised red, the trees withered and covered in red swellings that looked uncomfortably like the egg clusters of golden apple snails. The sight alone was enough to make one feel nauseated.

Upon reaching the edge, Qin Yuan first sent Feather into the sky to scout the general situation. The owl quickly returned with information. In the center of the area, a massive pustule grew from the ground, trembling slowly; it was clearly the Abyssal Pustule mentioned by the Grimoire of Whispers. In other parts, various abyssal creatures were scattered about. For instance, it spotted a worm-like creature and a type of spider-monster different from the standard Abyssal Spiders.

The Grimoire of Whispers immediately explained, "Based on its report, these should be Abyssal Worms and Abyssal Broodmothers—abyssal creatures of a higher rank than the Abyssal Spiders. However, they require a more stable abyssal environment. If you can use the purification potion to destroy the pustule, they will gradually die as they fail to adapt to the external environment. I once read in a book that Abyssal Pustules possess rudimentary intelligence and can, to a certain extent, command these creatures. The situation here will not be as disorganized as it was outside. Do not rush to go deep inside; if the situation turns sour, use your teleportation crystal to escape immediately."

Qin Yuan nodded, taking the Grimoire's warning to heart. He took a deep breath and stepped inside.

The moment he entered, he was hit by an oppressive feeling. It felt as if a stone were pressing against his chest, causing him to frown instinctively. Sensing his emotional shift, the Grimoire of Whispers explained, "The abyssal environment instinctively makes people feel uncomfortable. This is only the most basic level, so it’s not a major issue, and symptoms will lessen once you adapt. In more heavily contaminated abyssal regions, one must consume specific potions before entering, or risk infection."

Qin Yuan tried to regulate his mindset, forcing himself to relax. After all, casting spells required total focus; otherwise, he risked failure. At least during his usual practice sessions, such mishaps occurred occasionally.

Without the purification powder, his main goal was not to clear the Abyssal Pustule, so he chose not to venture deep into the center. Instead, he wandered the periphery, looking for high-level abyssal creatures that were isolated.

Soon, Feather had news. About three hundred meters to the southeast, there was a worm-like abyssal creature. Upon receiving the alert, Qin Yuan immediately hurried to the scene.

He soon spotted the monster from a distance. It was a massive worm, three meters long and as thick as a barrel. Its dark red body was covered in tumor-like pustules. It did not seem to notice the approaching human, continuing to wriggle in a specific direction.

The Eye of Revelation provided text information:
[Abyssal Worm (LV 6): A low-level abyssal creature that can only adapt to shallow abyssal environments or higher. It has immense vitality and can spit out a large number of smaller worms.]

"What a disgusting monster..." Qin Yuan muttered to himself.

As a magic missile took shape, it whistled through the air, darting toward the worm. The target was the monster's flank. Having practiced together many times, they were perfectly in sync; Feather immediately followed the missile with a wind blade. This allowed them to apply a vulnerability status while dealing damage simultaneously.

The Abyssal Worm seemed somewhat dim-witted; only when the spell's energy drew near did it turn its head, belatedly noticing a purple magic ball rapidly expanding in its vision. With a muffled "boom," the magic missile struck, triggering a small explosion. Feather’s wind blade followed, cutting a bloody line. Then, a fireball spell blooming with roaring flames followed suit. With another detonation, it struck true.

Dust billowed, obscuring the view. It was clear the monster had not been killed. Qin Yuan watched the scene without blinking. Sure enough, a moment later, a glob of mucus-covered projectile erupted from the dusty mist, aimed directly at him.

"That accurate?"

The thought flashed through his mind. Just as he prepared to blink away, he heard a sharp warning from the Grimoire of Whispers. This caused him to stop the spell he was preparing and quickly switch to another.

"Lesser Fireball!"

A scorching fireball met the projectile, colliding in mid-air with a blast. Faced with resistance, the projectile fell uselessly to the ground, scattering everywhere. Qin Yuan finally saw clearly what it was: the glob was actually composed of a bunch of small Abyssal Worms. Most were now charred black, lying motionless on the ground. However, in the center, one Abyssal Worm had managed to escape the flames.

The moment it hit the ground, it lunged with great speed, leaping toward him. The worm was fast, tracing a graceful arc through the air. In a flash, Feather’s precise wind blade anticipated its trajectory and sliced it in two.

Watching the dead worms on the ground, Qin Yuan felt his scalp tingle. Had he chosen to blink away, it would not have been just one worm leaping at him, but over a dozen. His Blink skill would have been on cooldown, leaving him unable to cast it again. He likely could have only intercepted a few. If those disgusting, tumor-covered creatures had latched onto his body... even without knowing the exact consequences, it certainly wouldn't have been good. The mere thought made him feel nauseated.

Turning his gaze back to the main Abyssal Worm, the smoke had cleared. The series of attacks had not caused severe damage, only rupturing a few pustules and leaking disgusting fluid. However, that projectile attack had taken a toll; the Abyssal Worm now appeared visibly weakened. It even turned its bloated, sluggish body and began to wriggle quickly toward the Abyssal Pustule, seemingly trying to flee.

The creature’s movement speed was not fast—even at full tilt, it was only about as fast as an average adult man running. Qin Yuan would not let such an opportunity slip. The boost to his physical stats from leveling up allowed him to easily keep pace. He began to pelt it with fireballs—every time the cooldown ended, he launched another Lesser Fireball. After four consecutive hits, the monster finally let out a mournful cry and collapsed.

[Alert: You have killed an Abyssal Worm (LV 6)...]

The system prompt finally allowed Qin Yuan to exhale. He checked his experience bar. As expected, high-level creatures were different; this single monster provided about 12% of his experience. It would have taken him half a day of grinding yesterday to achieve the same. After all, as his level increased, the pacing of leveling had begun to slow. It was almost impossible to level up in a few kills like before, unless the monsters were of an exceptionally high level.

Seeing that it had dropped no items, Qin Yuan prepared to scout the surrounding area. Suddenly, a dense patter of footsteps echoed from all directions. He paused, turned his head, and saw a terrifying sight.

Nearly a dozen Abyssal Spiders, much larger in size and with pitch-black front legs, were rapidly closing in on him from every direction.

System prompts rang out in rapid succession:
[Alert: You have encountered an Abyssal Broodmother (LV 6).]
[Alert: You have encountered an Abyssal Broodmother (LV 7).]
[Alert: You have encountered an Abyssal Broodmother (LV 6).]
[Alert: You have encountered an Abyssal Spider...]