Sensing the immense life energy emanating from the creature, Roy dismounted from his warhorse but kept it nearby, ready to flee for his life at any moment.
Only after confirming that the creature lacked any semblance of intelligence or even a trace of spiritual fluctuation—essentially just a massive chunk of flesh—did he feel somewhat at ease.
"Let's find a way to get a piece of it!"
With that thought, Roy began to consider how to deal with the creature.
However, when he actually tried to act, he discovered that this slug-like behemoth was both tough and hard, making it far from easy to handle.
Even with his current Grand Knight-enhanced physique, a forceful slash only managed to leave a shallow wound on its body.
Moreover, the wound quickly secreted a large amount of mucus, rapidly healing itself.
"What an absurd vitality! With such quick regeneration, it's hard to cut anything off!"
He moved to the other side and tried in several different spots.
As a result, a fist-sized hole formed in the creature's body.
Roy quickly dodged.
"Sizzle…"
A jet of strong acid nearly sprayed onto his face.
"This thing can even spray acid… Wait!"
Roy was momentarily stunned. After retreating and staying on guard for a while, he suddenly thought of something and looked down at the iron sword in his hand.
The blade of the sword was being eroded, and the part that had cut into the flesh was visibly rusting.
"The mucus is corrosive and can dull ordinary iron weapons!"
Seeing that the creature seemed to sense something and was about to spray acid again, Roy hurriedly moved far away.
…
After a brief pause, Roy stared at the creature for a while, pondering how to deal with it.
This thing possessed the vast life energy of a Wizard Physique but lacked the corresponding intelligence, making it not particularly dangerous.
However, with its ability to secrete acidic mucus, most weapons like swords and knives would be rendered ineffective against it.
"It seems ordinary methods won't work. I'll have to resort to something more extreme…
Let's use the Blackening Potion to corrode and dissolve it!"
With that, he mentally connected to his spatial ring and retrieved a bottle of clear, transparent liquid that looked like water.
Then, aiming at the target, he hurled it from a distance.
Sizzle, sizzle…
The sound of bubbling, like carbonated soda poured onto the ground, filled the air.
The massive chunk of flesh immediately began to blacken and wither at an astonishing speed, visible to the naked eye.
The melted solution turned black and continued to react with the flesh, forming new liquid.
This caused the Blackening Potion to spread like wildfire upon contact.
This fleshy body, which inherently possessed acidity and could secrete a strange liquid that rapidly corroded metal, was now being overwhelmed by the Blackening Potion's far more terrifying properties.
In one go, the potion created a gap the size of a millstone in the creature's body, with black liquid dripping out.
Moreover, the gap continued to expand until it had dissolved several hundred pounds of flesh, only stopping when it became diluted, neutralized, and lacked further contact.
"It works!"
Greatly encouraged, Roy continued his efforts.
Even before advancing to the rank of Elite Apprentice, he had begun preparing for this adventure, determined to accumulate enough resources for his future development.
He had prepared quite a few items like the Blackening Potion, which he could craft himself.
The results were indeed impressive.
"Third vial!"
Seeing that the creature was no longer secreting acid, Roy seized the moment and threw the third vial of Blackening Potion.
"Sizzle…"
The wound on the giant insect's body grew even larger.
"These are all good stuff!"
Roy looked down and saw a large pool of black, ink-like "soup" that exuded a dense aura of mana.
Without further ado, he got back to work.
Next.
The fifth tube, the tenth tube, the twentieth tube...
Roy consumed a large amount of Blackening Potion, almost turning the entire giant insect into soup.
His eyes gleamed as he looked at the ground.
"I've struck it rich!
A large creature of this level contains an immense amount of life energy and converted mana. Even with low extraction efficiency, I can still gather tens of thousands of Magic Stones!
Although I've used up a lot of Blackening Potion here, it was all accumulated over time.
If I can refine it properly, it's like getting Magic Stones for free!"
Since the giant insect's flesh had completely melted and the mana had dissolved into the "soup," Roy began using an iron sword to dig a trench, directing the black soup into a nearby natural pit.
Then, he proceeded with sedimentation, purification, and fine screening on the spot.
This wasn't about refining Magic Stones on the spot—he didn't have the time for that—but rather to purify and refine the raw materials so they could be stored in pre-prepared large barrels for future extraction.
"Thanks to my various mature conditions, I can decompose and utilize this monster on the spot.
Otherwise, even if I gathered a team to kill it, I'd be at a loss on how to handle the monster's corpse."
Roy felt a sense of relief as he worked.
Transporting a large amount wasn't practical.
Even if he emptied his Spatial Ring and used all its capacity to store the creature's remains, it would still be packed to the brim.
And without a Spatial Ring, it would be even more absurd.
Tens of thousands of pounds of flesh—there's no way to take it back, and I'd inevitably miss out on this harvest.
These are all factors that reduce the gains.
Spending a fortune on a Spatial Ring was definitely the right move; it's essential!
...
After a while, Roy completed the basic preparations and then sprinkled a type of alum infused with mana into the mixture.
This substance could bind with mana-containing impurities, forming flocculent precipitates.
Eventually, the bottom of the pit turned into a melted asphalt-like black mud, while the upper layer was purified water.
This "black sludge" looked disgusting but was actually rich in Mana, aptly named "Mana Mud."
Taking it back for further fine refinement would yield a lot of Magic Stones!
This money isn't something just anyone can earn. It's not about being brave or risking your life; you need some Alchemy skills to make it happen.
"Good thing it's me, with the synergy of [Proficient], [Alchemy Machine], and [Blackening], that I have the conditions to handle this on the spot!"
Roy wasn't too confident in other areas, but in Alchemy, he definitely stood above other apprentices.
If it were Sophia or Olen who discovered this, they'd probably just sigh in despair.
Just as he was feeling sentimental, Roy suddenly noticed a semi-transparent virtual panel appearing in the corner of his eye.
[Alchemy Talent Acquiring (91%→100%)]
What he had been longing for...
The progress of his Alchemy Talent...
Had finally reached 100%!
[Mana Return (Black Iron Level)]
[When performing apprentice-level Alchemy operations, half of the consumed Mana will be returned]
"New Black Iron Level Talent!"
Roy's eyes gleamed as he focused on the translucent, illusory panel.
[Alchemy Talent Acquiring (0%)]
It eventually came to a halt, completely resetting to zero.
(End of Chapter)