Chapter 15: Deep Earthworm
With a thought, several ghostly figures made of fire appeared around Mateo.
They looked alive and were capable of moving on their own.
This was the Fire Ghost Codex Magica.
The higher the mastery, the more lifelike they became.
If the mastery ever reached 100%, they would truly become independent beings, able to live without relying on their master while still remaining loyal to them.
Mateo felt fortunate to have obtained it directly at 15% mastery.
He quickly left the area, worried that someone might come after realizing the flames he had released earlier must have soared high into the sky.
Boom!
Suddenly, he heard an explosion from farther away.
A look of astonishment appeared on his face when he saw a massive blue dragon head rise above the forest.
More precisely, only the head.
It spewed torrents of water while a young man standing atop it unleashed massive bolts of lightning into the water below.
Mateo felt like he had seen him before, though he could not quite remember where.
Curious about what kind of monster the man was fighting, he ran toward the location since it was still quite far away from him.
The only reason he could see it from such a distance was because the dragon head was simply enormous.
When he finally got closer, Mateo realized they were actually standing in a vast open area in the middle of the forest.
That was when he saw a gigantic red worm bound by enormous roots.
The worm seemed capable of endless regeneration.
Lightning repeatedly tore through its flesh, yet it constantly regenerated.
DING!
(Monster Level 17!)
The notification made Mateo inhale sharply.
"Bro, more!" he heard someone shout.
The voice belonged to a fifteen-year-old boy.
Kevin Baker, the young actor who had recently become famous.
After observing carefully, Mateo realized the man standing atop the dragon head resembled him.
He immediately remembered another famous actor.
Samuel Baker.
But that man had supposedly died one month ago in a plane crash.
Mateo had even seen footage of his funeral.
If this truly was not a game, then it meant Samuel had continued his life in this world.
Mateo was not the only one watching, yet nobody interfered.
Ten minutes passed. Even though the worm could not fight back, it still refused to die.
It continuously regenerated every wound inflicted upon it.
From the conversations around him, Mateo learned that it was called a Deep Earthworm.
It was weak enough that even a Level 11 Monster could defeat it, but its endless regeneration made it incredibly difficult to kill. Even stronger people would need a long time to finish it off.
The fastest method was to destroy its Monster Core, but that was difficult because the core was hidden deep within its body and could even move from place to place.
And they could not simply destroy it because the core itself was the real target.
It was extremely valuable because consuming it granted the same regenerative ability for an entire day.
People used it when venturing into truly dangerous places.
Mateo could not help but wonder whether his flames would also be ineffective.
Filled with curiosity, he raised his hand toward the worm.
Buzz!
Hundreds of massive fire ghosts appeared and fused together, forming an enormous wave of flames.
It surged forward like a tsunami crashing toward the worm.
"You?" Kevin, who was restraining the worm, glared at Mateo angrily.
It was true that Mateo had interrupted them, but he only wanted to help.
He had no intention of taking the Monster Core.
The flaming wave swallowed the worm whole while the fire ghosts bit and tore through its body.
Zzz!!! Zzz!!!
The sound of burning flesh echoed loudly as smoke billowed into the air.
"What..."
When the results became visible, everyone was stunned.
Half of the worm’s body had vanished, leaving only the other half behind and exposing its insides.
Even its Monster Core became visible—a brown crystal sphere covered in vein-like patterns.
However, it quickly moved to another part of the worm’s body while fresh flesh rapidly regenerated.
"How is that possible?" people exclaimed in disbelief.
"Those flames don’t even look that terrifying," someone else muttered.
In truth, they could not feel any heat from them.
That was because of Mateo’s control.
He had finally learned how to contain the heat within the flames themselves.
Only those who directly touched the flames could feel their temperature.
That single attack had still failed despite Mateo using all eleven thousand of his Spiritual Energy enhanced tenfold in power.
He unleashed another Ghost Wave, swallowing the worm once again.
This time, the sound of burning flesh echoed even louder. The smoke produced was pitch-black.
When the flames disappeared, only one-third of the worm’s body remained.
Yet its Monster Core was still intact. Its durability clearly far surpassed that of ordinary Monster Cores.
Mateo unleashed another Ghost Wave as his Spiritual Energy continuously replenished itself.
Nobody realized that every attack he launched consumed all of his Spiritual Energy.
It made his level appear far higher than it actually was since most people only used a fraction of their Spiritual Energy with each attack.
DING!
(You have killed a Level 17 Monster. You gained 3 Points of Heaven Path Soul Energy and 30 System Points!)
[System Points: 30]
[Soul:]
Heaven Path Soul > 3 (SSS Class Soul)
The sudden notification made Mateo’s eyes shine.
However, he could not help feeling surprised by the smaller reward compared to before.
Even if this was an ordinary monster, its level was much higher. Mateo had expected at least an equal reward.
It seemed rewards truly could not be predicted. System Points depended on the System, while Heaven Path Soul Energy perhaps depended on the satisfaction his soul felt.
When his flames vanished, only chunks of the worm’s flesh remained.
Some parts had survived, though they were charred black.
The only thing completely intact was the Monster Core.
Whoosh!
A root wrapped around the Monster Core and sent it flying toward Kevin Baker.
"This belongs to us. We’re the ones who lured the worm out, and the only reason you killed it so quickly is because we had already exhausted most of its vitality," Kevin said to Mateo.
Meanwhile, Samuel looked hesitant, seemingly uncomfortable with taking the entire Monster Core for themselves.
He knew very well that the worm’s vitality had still been immense. If he relied solely on himself, killing it would have taken far longer.
Mateo had done it so quickly purely because his flames were absurdly powerful.
"Just take it..." Mateo replied with a nod, far beyond everyone’s expectations.
He had the strength, so he could have demanded a share.
After that, Mateo simply turned and left.
’System, convert my System Points into Heaven Path Soul Energy!’
[System Points: 0]
[Soul:]
Heaven Path Soul > 6 (SSS Class Soul)
Mateo still preferred that energy rather than directly using System Points.
That was because he knew relying on System Points was far more expensive, and System Points could only improve things that already existed within him. They could not directly grant him something entirely new.
DING!
(20% of the bones in your body have evolved into Diamond Bones at the cost of 6 Points of Heaven Path Soul Energy. You can now absorb up to 20,000 Spiritual Energy!)
Another notification appeared immediately afterward.
[System Points: 0]
[Soul:]
Heaven Path Soul > 0 (SSS Class Soul)
[Body:]
Primordial Life Body (SS Class Body)
Diamond Bones (20%)
