Gem Bugs

These Cave Fishmen had given Xiao Yang all sorts of random things.

There were cave fish that produced slippery mucus when eaten, bone spears, fishman scales, and even a Skill Scroll for Stab, along with some gems.

Xiao Yang had maxed out his Stab skill, and its effect had changed to Stab (+5): Make a piercing attack that ignores 7 points of defense. The upgrade logic was simple and straightforward, but the only thing Xiao Yang wanted from this white skill was an armor-piercing attack, so it met his expectations. After all, not every white skill was as brutally straightforward and powerful as Heavy Strike, while still managing to surprise him.

What puzzled him was why these Cave Fishmen, who were practically turning into giant loaches, dropped fishman scales and gems.

Xiao Yang stared in confusion at the smooth red gem in his hand, nearly the size of a pigeon's egg.

Ruby

Quality: Fine

Description: This is a ruby. It has many uses: crafting equipment, serving as a mage's material, setting in jewelry, or collecting. To some extent, these shiny things are the true hard currency of the myriad realms.

But Xiao Yang's confusion was soon resolved. As he waded through the damp mud and continued exploring, he discovered that the bottom of this Underground Crevasse was much broader than he had imagined.

After leaving the pool, he wandered through the dim underground. Now and then, he came across a lone Skeleton Warrior, but more often he encountered a kind of monster he had never seen before—and a vast fortune guarded by those creatures.

During his exploration, Xiao Yang stepped on a round stone that dug into his foot. He looked down, and to his astonishment, discovered that it was a gem.

Raw Emerald

Quality: Superior

"A Blue Quality raw gemstone? Ah!" Xiao Yang picked up the Raw Emerald.

"It was really that easy to get?" he exclaimed.

He tossed it into his Personal Backpack and easily acquired a precious Blue Quality material. Then he fell into thought and looked up. A glowing fissure in the cliff face had appeared before him, not far away.

The Raw Emerald had probably rolled out of that fissure. Peering into its depths, Xiao Yang spotted a large number of glowing crystal pillars.

In silence, his gaze grew sharper and more dangerous.

What a coincidence! Xiao Yang was a hardcore map-completionist. He loved exploring!

Maybe being an Aerial Acrobat wasn't so bad after all. This underground area was truly rich—no, it really made him want to explore!

Xiao Yang strode toward the fissure at the base of the cliff and plunged inside. At any rate, he loved mining!

Xiao Yang figured he was about to get rich.

But before long, the Xiao Yang who had just been striding forward was fleeing back in a panic. From the fissure behind him, several multicolored beams suddenly shot out and slammed into his rear, making him cry out. They took more than a hundred points of health from him and sent him sprinting for his life. He launched himself out of the fissure and didn't escape the danger until he was hiding behind a massive boulder.

Where the hell had he ended up? Why were there so many laser turrets stationed in the mine?

This was all that rang through Xiao Yang's mind as he tried to calm down.

Just as Xiao Yang escaped with his life, seven or eight basketball-sized bugs with brilliant, crystalline shells crawled out of the mine behind him, each a different color.

They were the ones who had nearly sent Xiao Yang to meet his ancestors with their coordinated barrage.

Something was wrong. Very wrong! With Xiao Yang's current defense, the low-level monsters he'd encountered so far—most of them only level eleven or twelve—shouldn't have been able to hurt him. Even the level-twenty Skeleton Knight could only deal limited damage.

What were these bugs, anyway? Could they all be regional bosses above level twenty?

Xiao Yang peered out from behind the boulder and cast Probe Skill on them.

Gem Bug

Special Creature

Traits: Energy-Rich, Energy Convergence, Energy Burst, Energy Link.

Description: This is a very special creature. It lives in areas rich in energy. It has no clear rank classification and is also extremely valuable.

Xiao Yang had a rough idea why these multicolored bugs had such high attack power. With all four energy traits, each one was a walking concentration of high-density energy, and they could even link together. Of course their attacks were powerful.

The linked energy burst from the seven or eight Gem Bugs had nearly scraped a layer of skin off Xiao Yang. These little things were genuinely dangerous.

He withdrew his gaze and crouched behind the boulder, deep in thought. The Gem Bugs were difficult to deal with, but Xiao Yang didn't plan to let them go. They represented a truly enormous fortune.

He had to give it a shot. Otherwise, he'd never be able to accept it!

Xiao Yang made up his mind. After that, he paced around outside the mine for a long time, unable to find a good opportunity to strike. He sneaked into the mine several more times to investigate, but the result was always the same: the Gem Bugs' laser blasts sent him fleeing in a panic.

After several rounds of this, he really did discover a blind spot—a breakthrough. Xiao Yang realized that the Gem Bugs didn't attack very often. No, more accurately, their energy reserves had a limit.

After being blasted several times, Xiao Yang noticed that the shells of a few Gem Bugs chasing him had dimmed. After that, those dimmed bugs no longer joined in the group's linked attacks.

After thinking it over, Xiao Yang summoned his minion. Outside the brightly lit Gemstone Mine, he gave an order to the Normal Skeleton before him.

"You! Charge in there!"

At Xiao Yang's command, the Normal Skeleton rattled its Bone Physique and charged into the mine, only to be blown apart by the Gem Bugs. Of course, Xiao Yang, the one responsible for the Normal Skeleton's miserable fate, was unmoved. He only wondered why the Wraith Helm's Skeleton Summon had a restriction and could only be used once a day.

Xiao Yang's guess had been right. The Gem Bugs' linked energy burst was clearly weaker than before, and another bug's shell dimmed.

But he had no more cannon fodder. From here on, Xiao Yang would have to take the energy blasts himself.

There was nothing inherently wrong with that. His recovery speed was definitely faster than the Gem Bugs' recharging speed, and they couldn't kill him in one hit.

But, well, it wasn't as if there were no downsides. Being hit by such powerful energy beams hurt—and it hurt a lot.

Before long, another pained scream echoed through the bottom of the Underground Crevasse.

Of course, it wasn't as if he got nothing out of all this.

Congratulations, player! Your Elemental Resistance has increased!