"It's coming!"
Hiyama's pupils constricted. The Kicking Rabbit instantly exploded with power, leaving afterimages as it charged with lightning speed!
It was so fast that Hiyama could barely catch a glimpse of the rabbit.
If he were a normal adventurer, he would probably be dead by now.
"Vibration Magic."
Hiyama chanted.
A white halo attached itself to the guandao in Hiyama's hand. Hiyama didn't even look at the rabbit's position, raising the guandao and striking forward!
Crack!
A strange cracking sound echoed in the air, and white fissures covered the area in front of Hiyama!
Bang!
With a dull thud, the Kicking Rabbit's figure appeared in mid-air. Upon closer inspection, its brains were splattered, and it was undeniably dead.
It had crashed head-on into Hiyama's Vibration Magic!
"Stupid rabbit."
Hiyama laughed.
In front of Vibration Magic, speed was meaningless.
"Roar!!!"
Before one wave subsided, another rose. From the depths of the cave, another powerful monster emerged from the darkness.
This monster had a massive physique, about two meters tall, covered in white fur. It also had several dark red lines on its body.
It looked like a bear, but its arms reached its feet, and it had three sharp claws, each thirty centimeters long, on its hands.
"Found it!"
Seeing such a fierce monster,
Hiyama was not surprised but delighted!
Because he recognized that this "Claw Bear" was the Guardian of this level!
Each level in the Great Labyrinth's Abyss was inhabited by a Guardian, similar to a stage boss.
And these Guardians usually had their own territories; they generally wouldn't leave easily, meaning Guardians had an activity range.
"That thing" the protagonist discovered back then was within this Claw Bear's territory.
The appearance of this Claw Bear here meant that what Hiyama was looking for was also nearby.
"It should be around here."
Hiyama looked at the nearby ground. Although the ground looked no different from other places, he knew that a divine crystal was buried beneath it.
"Roar!!!"
The Claw Bear roared furiously. It didn't quite understand why this creature not only didn't flee upon seeing it,
but even looked delighted!?
It felt its dignity had been insulted!
After all, it was the strongest creature on this level!
Thump, thump, thump!
The Claw Bear approached with a swiftness unbefitting its massive body, using its long arms to swing its sharp claws!
A piercing shriek echoed through the air!
Wind Claw!
To this day, no creature had escaped death from its claws!
However, what awaited it was a baptism of purgatorial flames!
"Equip Magic: Armor of Purgatory!"
Hiyama activated Equip Magic, summoning the extremely destructive Armor of Purgatory from his magic space!
This armor was rumored to ensure no one who saw it would survive!
Hiyama, wielding a jagged greatsword and clad in nearly full-coverage black armor, looked like a demon god from the ancient abyss!
Whoosh!
The Claw Bear didn't know it was rushing towards death. It only felt a black shadow flash by before it was cut in half by the jagged greatsword in Hiyama's hand!
Flesh and blood splattered everywhere!
"Vibration Magic!"
After dealing with the troublesome Claw Bear, Hiyama struck the ground with a fist imbued with white light!
With the power amplification of the Armor of Purgatory,
Hiyama, with just one punch, created a massive crater in the ground of this level of the Abyss Labyrinth, like an asteroid impact!
"It's here after all."
Hiyama couldn't help but smile when he saw the azure blue ore at the bottom of the pit.
This ore was called [divine crystal], the most precious secret treasure in this world, a lost mythical-grade mineral.
Chapter 16: Where He Goes, Not a Blade of Grass Grows!
It was a beautiful stone full of mystery.
To describe it precisely, it was like deepening the blue of an aquamarine and making it glow.
If one were to speak of the greatest aid to the protagonist's turnaround in the original work, it would be this divine crystal.
The divine crystal was the result of magic flowing through the earth for thousands of years, with an accidental confluence leading to the crystallization of magic.
The ore was embedded in the wall, as if assimilated with the surrounding rock, and drops of water flowed downwards from it.
It was about thirty to forty centimeters in diameter. After crystallization and hundreds of years, when the internal magic reached saturation, it would flow out as a liquid.
That liquid was called divine water. It was said that drinking this liquid could cure any injury or illness.
Although it didn't have the power to regenerate missing body parts, continuous consumption would grant unending longevity, hence it was also called the Elixir of Immortality!
Besides this, the divine water had another effect.
...
In the labyrinth of the Abyss, a firelight rose, bringing a touch of warmth to this dark and cold world.
However, what the owner of the bonfire was doing at the moment was not so warm.
Hiyama cut off meat from several dead monsters, set up a bonfire with magic, and began to roast the meat.
The fragrant scent of roasting meat wafted out.
In the darkness, countless eyes spied on Hiyama, but no monster dared to approach.
Are you kidding? The strongest Claw Bear on this level was still roasting on his rack!
Did they want them to go up and offer themselves as roasted meat!?
The monster meat was very tough, but under the scorching heat of Hiyama's magical flames, it had no choice but to yield.
Hiyama cut off a piece with his knife, then took out some seasoning from his portable bag and lightly sprinkled it on.
Fortunately, he had bought a large quantity of spices in town beforehand, and now they finally came in handy.
He put the seasoned monster meat into his mouth.
"Hmm... it's not as bad as I imagined..." Hiyama smacked his lips, mumbling indistinctly.
Suddenly, Hiyama felt an intense surge of pain, as if something was eroding his blood. If left unchecked, Hiyama would probably explode within minutes.
But Hiyama, having been prepared, calmly opened a water canteen and took a gulp of the divine water gathered from the divine crystal.
Immediately, the intense pain was relieved.
"The effect of this divine water is truly immediate," Hiyama exclaimed.
According to the books he found in the library, monster meat was highly poisonous to humans, and consumption was fatal.
This was because monsters possessed special internal organs called magic stones, which allowed magic to circulate directly throughout their bodies, enabling astonishing physical abilities. The altered magic circulating within their bodies could permeate their bones and flesh, making their bodies stronger.
This altered magic was lethal to humans; it would erode the human body, destroying cells from within.
However, divine water could prevent all of this from happening. More precisely, divine water could repair the body damaged by the toxins in monster meat.
Thus, while being destroyed and repaired simultaneously, Hiyama's body underwent a massive transformation.
From this moment on, he was no longer human.
Destroy, heal, destroy, heal.
His flesh gradually changed with each pulsation, and that process was like reincarnation. It was a birth ritual, shedding the fragile human body and gaining a new life!
Finally, after Hiyama had eaten most of the monster meat, his body's evolution reached its final stage.
Hiyama's hair turned pale, and several dark red lines appeared on his body, just like the monsters here.
Originally, Hiyama's body was somewhat thin, but now he was completely transformed. Developed muscles were clearly visible on his arms and abdomen, and his height had increased by more than ten centimeters.
He reached a height of one hundred eighty centimeters.
Actually, Hiyama had always wanted to complain. The original owner was only about one hundred sixty-something centimeters tall, yet he acted like a hooligan.
If Nagumo Hajime hadn't been too cowardly, the original owner, with his scrawny arms and legs, would have been beaten to death long ago!
After this transformation, Hiyama took out his status board to check.
Hiyama Daisuke 17 years old
Male
Level: 8
Calling: Mage
Strength: 600
Stamina: 500
Resistance: 400
Agility: 620
Magic: 830
Magic Resistance: 640
Skills: Legendary Fire Magic Adaptation, Magic Manipulation, Gastric Acid Enhancement, Lightning Wrap, Heavenly Walk (+Sky Power) (+Shrinking Ground), Wind Claw, Language Comprehension
Special Magic: Vibration Magic, Equip Magic: Knight
As expected, the values on the status board increased significantly, and several new skills were added.
Magic Manipulation was a characteristic possessed by every monster. With this skill, Hiyama could now cast spells without chanting, just like a monster.
It was a very convenient skill.
The remaining skills, Lightning Wrap, Heavenly Walk, and Wind Claw, were obtained from the Two-Tailed Wolf, Kicking Rabbit, and Claw Bear, respectively, which he had eaten.
Every time Hiyama ate a monster, there was a chance that the monster's special skills would be inherited by Hiyama.
This was why Hiyama absolutely had to find the divine water. The reason lay here.
With the help of the divine water, he could be said to have the potential for infinite growth!
"Tremble, monsters!"
"I will eat my way from this level to the very last!"
"Where I go, not a blade of grass grows!"