Chapter 90: Rock Devouring Beast

Before it came to Earth, this mine cave was a place for mining. Alien creatures also mined here, and these oil lamps were left behind by them.

However, after this area arrived on Earth, both the people mining in this cave and the former creatures inside mutated and became monsters. These oil lamps then became ownerless items, and whoever discovered the mine cave first could take and use them.

Carrying the oil lamp, Xu Feng continued deeper into the mine cave. The ores near the entrance were mostly mined out. To obtain high-quality ores, he had to go further inside.

As he moved forward, he heard a “whoosh” sound. A fist-sized rock shot toward Xu Feng extremely fast, like a cannonball, and it sounded very powerful.

Xu Feng sidestepped slightly, and the rock flashed past him, hitting a stone behind him with a loud boom. The hard rock wall was smashed into a bowl-shaped hole half a meter in diameter, and rubble clattered down.

Looking ahead, a monster with a human-like upper body and two thick arms, and a lower body with four spider-like legs, was staring at Xu Feng from not far away.

“Invader, invader… die, all die…”

A strange message echoed in Xu Feng’s mind. The monster opposite him was actually using a telepathic method to roar at him.

However, this monster seemed to lack intelligence and could only express simple words. Additionally, it attacked any living being that entered the mine cave.

“Roar, roar~” The Giant Lizard Beast jumped and roared continuously at Xu Feng’s feet, but its “small” size made it look completely unthreatening.

“Rock Devouring Beast?” Xu Feng was slightly stunned. He had seen this monster before. It liked to devour various ores, and high-quality ores could help it evolve.

Xu Feng drew his hand crossbow and shot at the monster.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

The bolts hit the Rock Devouring Beast, causing several splatters of blood. The Rock Devouring Beast seemed to feel no pain and showed no sign of suffering. It grabbed a piece of rubble from the ground and threw it at Xu Feng again.

“It’s only a One-Star Strength monster.” Xu Feng felt a bit relieved. Rock Devouring Beasts could enhance their strength by devouring ores. The higher their strength, the greater their defense, eventually becoming impervious to weapons and immune to all physical damage.

But this one clearly hadn’t reached that high level. Xu Feng twirled his sword and thrust it toward the Rock Devouring Beast.

The Rock Devouring Beast’s long-range attack ability could even match that of a Two Stars monster, but its close combat skills were very poor. Once engaged in close combat, it had no time to grab rocks to throw and could only fight bare-handed. Its defense was weak, worse than that of an Insect Human; at least Insect Humans had a hard Insectoid Carapace, while a One Star Rock Devouring Beast only had gray skin. Though tough, it couldn’t withstand Xu Feng’s long sword.

Before he could finish one set of the Drizzle Sword Technique, the Rock Devouring Beast was already covered in wounds and its Health Points were depleted.

Crack, crack~

The dead Rock Devouring Beast’s body quickly turned into rock, then cracking sounds came from inside, and finally, it broke into several rock pieces.

A white crystal, half-exposed in one of the rocks, glittered.

This was a Beast Crystal, similar to an Insect Crystal. Xu Feng dug it out and put it into his Storage Ring. Now, such One Star Beast Crystals were no help in leveling up for him, but they still had some value and could be sold for Fate Points.

Then, Xu Feng cast Gathering Art on the Rock Devouring Beast’s corpse. Several pieces of ore with a black luster appeared from the body.

“Black Iron quality 13, Copper Ore quality 19, Silver Ore quality 6…”

Xu Feng identified them one by one and shook his head. They were just low-level ores, not very useful, but they could be used as quest items to complete collection tasks issued by Earth’s Will.

He continued deeper into the mine cave and encountered several more Rock Devouring Beasts along the way. None exceeded Two Stars level, and Xu Feng easily dealt with them, also obtaining some low-level ores.

In the depths of the mine cave, fist-sized ores gradually appeared on the rock walls, emitting a faint glow. The further he went, the brighter the glow became. By now, the oil lamp was no longer useful, so Xu Feng extinguished it and hung it on a hook on the rock wall.

Clink, clink, clink~

Mining sounds suddenly came from afar. The mine cave was deep and quiet, so even slight noises could travel far.

“Someone actually arrived before me and has already started mining ores.” Xu Feng thought to himself.

In his previous life, Xu Feng had worked as a miner for a long time to survive, mining inside mine caves.

Although he had to give most of the mined ores to the guild guarding the mine, he could still keep some for himself. Sometimes, if he mined high-quality ores, he could make a small fortune.

If he encountered other humans in the wild, he would usually be very cautious because you never knew if the other person would suddenly attack to kill and steal treasures. But in a mine cave, if he met other humans, he generally didn’t worry too much. The only purpose of entering the mine cave was to mine; everyone was a miner working in the same place, so they got along quite harmoniously. Unless you mined an extraordinary ore and insisted on showing it off, letting others see it…

Recalling those mining days, Xu Feng smiled slightly and walked toward the direction of the sound.

The small-sized Giant Lizard Beast wagged its tail and followed behind Xu Feng. In such a narrow space, even if it encountered monsters, it could do nothing but stare blankly and let out a couple of unthreatening roars. Therefore, along the way, the Giant Lizard Beast was in a bad mood and looked very aggrieved.

Soon, Xu Feng saw a human ahead in a darker corner, gripping a pickaxe with both hands and striking hard at the rock wall. The sounds earlier were made by this person.

“Hey, brother, mining huh!” Xu Feng raised his hand and greeted.

However, the person seemed not to hear, paying no attention, and continued repeating the mining motion.

Xu Feng frowned slightly and walked forward.

As soon as he came within ten meters of the person, the miner suddenly stopped mining, lifted the pickaxe, and turned to look at Xu Feng.

“Hee, heh, hehe~”

A hoarse voice made strange panting sounds. The person dragged the pickaxe and actually walked toward Xu Feng. Its back leg seemed injured, making its walk stiff—always stepping forward with the left leg first, then dragging the right leg up, repeating this movement.

Seeing the person’s condition, Xu Feng’s eyes turned sharp, and he instinctively tightened his grip on the long sword. He felt the atmosphere around him had suddenly become strange.