CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 49: STRANGE STRUCTURE

Pointing his hand at the nearest monster, a Bronze 3, the stone block newly formed beside Lian flew with power and precision toward the golem.

But a moment before it could reach it, a sudden stone wall rose from the ground, blocking the stone block and saving the golem from destruction.

"Interesting, you’re not weak," Lian said, staring at the golems’ red eyes. "Now let’s play for real!"

After a while...

"Terra Fortis, Terra Petra"

A massive stone spike emerged from the ground, striking between the rocky legs of the golem.

Fortunately, these monsters had no concept of pain, or they would have screamed endlessly after taking a stone spike to the rear.

Despite their rocky structure, the golems were not overly difficult opponents to face. They were tough and durable, but after numerous hits, their bodies crumbled piece by piece.

"Terra Fortis, Terra Petra"

Another spike struck directly at the same golem’s head, severing it cleanly.

"Sigh—" a sigh escaped Lian’s lips as he surveyed the devastation around him.

Craters, fissures, and golem fragments littered the rocky terrain. The landscape in this area had transformed. It was hard to even walk without slipping into a ravine, a chaotic aftermath of his battle.

"And with you, we are done, finally." He inhaled deeply while crushing the Bronze 4 golem’s head under his foot.

Lian had taken about half an hour to destroy the group of ten golems. The toughest was the leader, a Bronze 4. It had taken a solid ten minutes just to deal enough damage before the final blow.

They were incredibly hard to kill. Overall, they were not particularly strong, but they would definitely outclass the worms from before.

Lian had collected one Bronze 4 Mana Core, two Bronze 3s, four Bronze 2s, and three Bronze 1s.

"Good, now I just need to absorb these cores!"

Moving to a quieter area, away from the recently destroyed zone, Lian sat and began absorbing the Bronze 4 core he had just collected.

Though he had won, Lian did not feel powerful in any way. It had taken an absurd amount of time to kill the Bronze 4 monster, something he could not tolerate.

[Mana Core: Bronze 2]

[Would you like to absorb it?]

After Lian’s affirmative response, the core in his hands began to dissolve, becoming pure mana and entering his body.

The initial sensation was pleasant, but Lian knew the worst was coming.

Indeed—

A slight gasp left his lips as an unprecedented pressure threatened to crush him.

"What the hell is happening!?"

He had expected a burning sensation, not this crushing feeling he was experiencing now.

With nothing else to do but grit his teeth, Lian began actively resisting this ordeal. Time passed slowly, and Lian’s back, in a lotus position, was bending more and more.

"I can not hold on anymore, damn system—" he cursed. His arms struggled to keep him upright as his face touched the ground. Every breath tasted of dust and dirt, but Lian did not care about that.

His only thought was that whatever was happening would end quickly.

After several minutes of suffering, which felt like endless hours to Lian, the pressure on his shoulders weakened, as if it had never been there.

"Damn it, does the system want me dead or not?!"

Lian lay on the ground, sweat dripping from his forehead, murmuring through clenched teeth.

His robe, now sweaty and dirt-stained, was unrecognizable.

After a few minutes of slow, composed breathing, Lian sat up.

Despite the pain, the gains he had received were substantial, but Lian’s mind was not on becoming stronger—it was on something else.

"The sensation from this core was different from the worms’... is it because they are different monsters, or something else? Maybe because the worms had only recently become magical monsters?"

The more Lian thought, the less he understood.

In his hands, he held two mana cores: one from a Bronze 1 worm, the other from the Bronze 1 earth golem he had killed earlier.

Both had the same shape and size, only the mana quantity differed slightly. The worm’s core had less mana than the golem’s. A small difference, but not negligible.

"There is something I am missing..." Lian murmured, lying on the ground, staring closely at the two cores.

Something seemed to shimmer inside them, but Lian could not make it out. The glimmer was too small to observe in detail.

But the more he looked, the more a thought took root in his mind.

"Could it be due to the difference in element?" he said with an expression mixed with doubt and certainty. "One is formed from the fire element, hence the burning; the other from the earth element, hence the crushing sensation."

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed likely, but Lian had never heard of cultivation pills differing by element, only by purity.

Not that he was an expert, but from what he had learned through casual conversations with Patrick and Sera in the past, and Seline and Freddy earlier, Lian knew a thing or two about the world.

"If that is the case..." he continued, a hopeful look on his face, "then it means I can absorb the Bronze 1 golem cores too!"

After this discovery, Lian sat back up, ready to test his theory.

"Alright, let’s begin!"

The Bronze 1 golem core vanished from his hand, entering his body as pure mana. The same crushing sensation, but much milder, sank into Lian’s body.

After several minutes, the pressure faded, and Lian had a radiant smile on his face.

"Yes! I was right!"

And so began his practice of absorbing cores and Geometric Meditation. After all, he could not use normal meditation yet, as it was limited to once a day.

A few hours later.

"Damn it, how the hell did I end up in this situation!"

Lian shouted curses one after another while fighting and dodging the assault of two powerful monsters.

They were nothing like the golems from before; these were war machines designed to kill, relentless predators built for destruction.

"Geometric Spell, Square!"

Without uttering any incantation, Lian launched spell after spell. Their power was reduced, but he had no choice. He did not have time to recite incantations; the two monsters before him were too fast and powerful to allow it.

Lian could not face these two monsters at that moment; he had to escape. But it was easier said than done—the monsters would not give him a chance. Moreover—

"So those stone wings are not just for show?! You can actually fly?"

Lian did not have time to dodge a claw as the other monster, soaring through the air for speed, crashed into him.

Fortunately, a block of earth appeared before the boy, cushioning the damage, a desperate defense that softened the blow.

But it was enough to send him flying and make him spit blood.

"Dying in this shitty place against two gargoyles is not ideal..." Lian’s body was covered in cuts and bruises, his robe torn in multiple places, blood staining him from head to toe, a battered warrior on the brink.

"But it is my own fault..." he said with regret, staring ahead, a trickle of blood dripping from his mouth. "Who told me to go explore that menacing structure??"