The maw wasn't useless.
Although it seemed useless, constantly getting damaged while foraging and demanding a share of the spoils, it did provide a return. It could convert everything it consumed into power.
Some of that power was transferred to Mithra, strengthening her in various ways—sometimes physical strength, sometimes sense power, sometimes mental clarity, or heightened senses.
The degree of enhancement seemed to be inversely proportional to the amount of damage she sustained in that area.
The rest was stored for later use, allowing for dramatic transformations in critical moments.
The maw's self-enhancement was clearly far more effective than Mithra's.
But that wasn't a problem; she rarely needed it. As long as it performed well in key battles, that was enough.
A gruesome maw opened across her wound. Saliva mixed with Mithra's blood dripped onto the ground. Tentacles writhed and lashed out.
The Many-Armed creature, pierced by the maw's tongue, struggled violently before vanishing from the tentacles.
"Hungry... ugh... running..."
"It's fine. I can probably catch it. I felt it," Mithra said calmly, fastening the lantern to her hip.
"Hungry...eat..." Apparently unconcerned, the maw responded.
The Many-Armed creature moved beyond the five-meter range and hid in the shadows, but Mithra could still hear its dripping blood.
Judging by the maw's feedback, the creature hadn't used Instantaneous Movement to disappear but had moved at incredible speed.
This wasn't teleportation but extremely fast movement. This method seemed to have other strange properties, but for now, this explanation was sufficient.
Also, the creature's movements and attacks seemed uncoordinated, or Mithra would have been torn apart minutes ago. She couldn't even track its movements.
The barbs on the tongues had aggravated the wounds as the creature escaped, causing significant bleeding. Even without professional training, Mithra could pinpoint its approximate location, especially since there were no other monsters around to mask the sounds.
"Huh? What? You ate some of its flesh? You're temporarily absorbing some of its power?" Mithra had originally planned to use the maw's tongues for defense and counterattack. The creature, despite its injuries, lingered, suggesting a high level of aggression.
She hadn't expected this additional benefit.
"Hungry...eat more..."
"You should have told me earlier. I don't have an instruction manual for you."
"Ugh... hungry..."
Mithra continued her conversation with the maw, seemingly ignoring the Many-Armed creature.
Rumble...
Suddenly, the dripping sound stopped, followed by a strange sound from the creature.
The maw's tongues quickly enveloped Mithra, but the network of tongues protecting her left side was cut.
Mithra spun, bringing her hammer down. The maw's tongues followed, attacking the creature.
The creature vanished instantly after being blocked.
"Go," Mithra kicked off the ground.
The maw opened, a "void hand forming a lotus flower" black pattern appearing within.
Boom! Bang!
Another resounding crash. Mithra, seemingly teleporting, pursued the creature. The monster, surprised, turned only to see Mithra pass by and collide with a nearby wall.
The Many-Armed Monster: ...
Mithra leaned against the wall, shaking her head.
"It seems we need more practice," she said.
"Hungry..."
Mithra had experienced this unique movement technique.
It wasn't simply movement. During the process, her body entered a strange state, as if compressed, its physical volume decreasing. Besides movement, other bodily functions were briefly paused, though this was unstable and easily disrupted.
The maximum range was about fifty meters.
The impact wasn't very strong. Although the speed was high, the kinetic energy wasn't significant. The physical impact of her movement was minimal; for example, when Mithra hit the wall, there were no cracks. She just felt a normal bump on the head.
The Many-Armed creature attacked again.
The maw automatically used its tongues to block the attack.
With the maw's assistance, many of the creature's arms were restrained. The difference in strength between its arms and body was clear; the arms were much weaker, and this was even more evident when they were restrained. Mithra activated Reinforce Body, layering it repeatedly and focusing on the remaining arms, the corners of both sides of the mouth were cut open, and many of the teeth were chopped into pieces.
She struck its head with her hammer.
The creature's body tilted back, and it vanished swiftly.
Boom!
The maw unleashed another miracle. Mithra shifted her position and pursued the creature.
The creature's movements were now easily tracked, and as she reappeared before it, Mithra's hammer struck it.
Bang!
The creature was knocked out of its high-speed movement state. Its body tilted as the maw's tongues quickly grabbed it, twisting and breaking its arms.
Mithra drew a sword with her other hand and severed one of the creature's limbs.
The Many-Armed creature was now only twitching like a black insect.
Sheathing her sword, Mithra picked up the lantern and examined the creature. "Eat it," she said.
Her injured cheek and broken teeth hadn't fully healed, so her words were slurred.
"Hungry..."
The tentacles moved swiftly, dragging the creature towards Mithra's chest, where the maw began consuming it. The process was similar to normal eating, except for the pressure on her chest from such a large meal.
Soon, the entire creature was devoured.
"You don't even bother to taste it," Mithra said, looking at the deflated husk, the maw retracting its tongues, even its mouth returning to a more normal size.
"Hungry..."
"Alright, that's enough for today," Mithra said casually.
She had already fed it a lot today, and there was a "feast" coming up.
That "hungry" was just the maw's typical speech. Don't be fooled by its harmless appearance!
A tongue suddenly emerged, presenting a black, translucent object shaped like a hand.
[Many-Armed Monster Distilled Sense: Distilled sense from a creature evolved from "Universal Hands" and transformed by Eternal Night. Absorbing it will increase sense power and potentially grant access to unique miracles. However, it may also cause the growth of additional limbs.]
"More distilled sense. It seems that the strongest entities, those connected to Wandering Gods, have a higher chance of producing distilled sense," Mithra said, offering the sense to the maw. "Can you eat this?"
"Hungry..." The maw's tongue circled the distilled sense, seemingly delighted.
"Then eat it," Mithra said, stuffing it into her chest. More food was always good. It would make her feel less dizzy.
"Hungry... good... eat..."
Soon, Mithra felt her sense power increase slightly.
A picture suddenly appeared in her mind:
A pair of pale hands gently shaping clay. The hands were nimble and skilled, mesmerizing Mithra, as if the hands themselves possessed life.
The clay was molded into an upward-reaching hand.
Then, the clay hand came to life.