Levi stepped on another worm, and as expected, it burst into a pool of mucus with a sickening splat.
[You have killed a Dormant Monster - Larvae of Lunacy]
He crouched down, picking up what was left of the worm's body. With a grimace, he brought it to his lips and sucked out everything inside, as if extracting marrow from a bone.
"Ugh! This is disgusting," Levi muttered, his voice filled with revulsion.
He had been at this for a long time now, crushing larvae after larvae. Somewhere along the way, in his desperation to quench his thirst, he had started consuming them. The mucus, though semi-fluid and repulsive, had some semblance of liquid, and Levi had given in to the need for hydration. Thankfully, it wasn't poisonous—at least, he hadn't felt any ill effects so far.
After sucking out the worm's innards, Levi discarded the remaining outer shell and moved to the next tree.
"Ah… Come on, at least one artifact is worth it?" he muttered to himself.
Behind him, about ten trees had stopped glowing, indicating that he had already killed all the larvae clinging to them. The ground around him was wet with mucus, proof to the sheer number of larvae he had slain. Yet, despite his efforts, not a single artifact had appeared.
Levi was getting bored, to be honest.
Levi had long since lost track of how many larvae he had killed. The passage of time had become a blur, each moment blending into the next as he fought on.
The only measure he had was the rhythm of the battle- it took him roughly 5 to 10 seconds to kill each worm and by estimation, he was nearing his thousandth kill. That meant he had been at this for more than two hours.
He was exhausted.
Still, his thirst was finally quenched, and even his stomach had stopped grumbling, though he wasn't full.
"Fuck, when will I get out of this sanctum at this rate?" he cursed aloud, frustration seeping into his voice.
Then he paused, remembering something. "Wait a minute, what do I even need to do to get out of this dungeon?"
Levi realized he had no idea. He had been wandering aimlessly, killing larvae without any clear objective. For all he knew, he could die here in the sanctum, trapped forever.
With a heavy sigh, he grabbed another worm, stepping on it without much thought. Casually, he reached out to grab another larva, but this time, something unexpected happened.
[You have killed a Dormant Monster - Larvae of Lunacy]
[You have gained the artifact - Essence of Lunacy]
Levi froze, his heart skipping a beat. He read the message again to make sure he wasn't imagining it.
Then he turned his attention to the spot where he had just killed the larvae, and his eyes widened.
There, lying on the ground before the small, dead worm, was a small, crystalline vial filled with a swirling green liquid. The liquid faintly glowed, much like the larvae themselves.
"Finally, something," Levi breathed, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten. He didn't know what it was yet, but after hours of effort, just receiving something made him feel elated.
He crouched down, carefully picking up the vial. It was lightweight and fit snugly in his hand, almost as if it were alive, pulsing slightly with a faint energy.
Intrigued, Levi focused on the vial, and a description popped up before his eyes.
[Essence of Lunacy]
[Type: Consumable]
[Rank: ----]
Levi had half-expected the artifact to show such a rank. The sanctum itself didn't have a rank, so it wasn't surprising that the vial followed suit. He also felt some relief knowing that the green liquid wasn't poisonous—if it were, Providence wouldn't have labeled it as consumable.
Talking about artifacts, there were actually four types of artifacts known to humans: Weapons, Consumables, Armors, and Relics. Each was self-explanatory, with Weapons, which are designed for combat, enhancing physical or magical attack capabilities.
Consumables, which are single-use items providing temporary benefits or effects, like potions or elixirs, Armors, which offer protection by increasing defense against physical or magical attacks, and Relics refer to special types of artifacts that don't provide defense or power but instead offer other useful abilities and functions. A spatial device, for example, was considered a Relic.
Noticing the vial was marked as Consumable, Levi read further.
[Description: Brewed with Chaos, Blended in reality - this is the essence of true madness. Those who seek its power, beware - the price of stirring what's within is not light!]
That was... ominous.
As if the terrifying experience within the sanctum wasn't enough, now he had a vial of green liquid with a cryptic description that already made him uneasy.
"This doesn't seem any better than poison," Levi muttered, eyeing the vial warily.
The description itself was warning him against drinking it, so Levi hesitated. But despite his apprehension, he felt an inexplicable pull toward the vial, as if something within him was urging him to consume it.
"Wait—Is that you, dark twin?"
Of course, there was no answer, but Levi could vaguely feel it. His other consciousness, his dark twin, was urging him to drink the vial.
But how did it know what the vial contained? And in the first place, how is he feeling his twin, was that also a function of his innate ability?
There were too many questions swirling in Levi's mind, but he didn't have the luxury of answers.
For now, he weighed his options.
Firstly, he could drink the vial and take the risk.
Or secondly, he could continue killing the remaining larvae, hoping for a different artifact.
Surprisingly, Levi chose the latter.
"Like hell I would believe you," he said aloud, rejecting the dark twin's silent suggestion.
It
hadn't been long since he'd experienced his body being taken over by his dark twin. Who knew what schemes it was brewing, lurking within his mind?
He would be a fool to trust its advice. And more than that, the description of the vial itself was ominous. He might have taken the risk if he had no other option, but he still had a safer one available—perhaps he might stumble upon another artifact soon.
"Let's keep this safe for now."
Levi pocketed the green vial and once again looked at the glowing worms latched to the trees.
It was time to continue his slaughter.
---***---