‘This one must be close to ranking up,’ he analyzed while studying the residue patterns. ‘The marks are deep, regular. It’s been consistently accumulating mana.’
With methodical precision, Ren began to strike the tunnel wall.
These weren’t random blows, they followed a specific rhythm, a vibration that mimicked the lesser worms’ mating call.
Each tap resonated through the ancient stone, carrying subtle harmonics that only the creatures could fully appreciate.
Tap-tap… tap… tap-tap-tap
‘It’s not really mating,’ knowledge flowed through his mind while maintaining the rhythm. ‘It’s more like an invitation to joint evolution.’
The complex social behaviors of these supposedly simple creatures never ceased to amaze him.
Tap-tap… tap… tap-tap-tap
Lesser worms, upon reaching certain levels of maturity and mana accumulation, initiated this ritual. It was their way of seeking a compatible partner to merge with and evolve into a larger, more powerful common worm. Each tap echoed the ancient dance of transformation that had shaped these tunnels for centuries.
Ren placed more crystals, forming a path leading toward the ascending tunnel he had prepared. Each crystal was strategically positioned, calculating the optimal distance for the worm to detect them sequentially.
The placement had to be perfect, too close together and they’d overwhelm the creature’s senses, too far apart and it might lose interest.
‘The concentrated mana in bronze crystals,’ he continued his analysis while working, his movements precise despite growing fatigue, ‘mimics the signal of a mature worm offering part of its accumulation as an incentive for fusion.’
Tap-tap… tap… tap-tap-tap
A distant echo responded to his strikes.
The mushrooms in his hair pulsed weakly, detecting movement approaching. Something had heard his call and found it intriguing enough to investigate.
‘Perfect. Now I just need to maintain the rhythm.’
Ren continued his rhythmic calling, each series of strikes precisely spaced. The knowledge showed him exactly how to modulate the vibrations to maintain the worm’s interest without alerting it that something was wrong.
Each tap had to be perfect, too strong would suggest aggression, too weak would indicate weakness.
The crystals glowed faintly in the darkness, their concentrated mana acting like beacons for the approaching creature.
The path he had created led directly to the ascending tunnel, where more crystals waited. It was a trail of irresistible temptation for a creature driven by mana hunger.
‘An almost mature lesser worm can’t resist a signal like this,’ he thought while listening to the increasingly closer movements. ‘The promise of enough concentrated mana to evolve… it’s like showing a feast to a starving man.’
The sound of something dragging grew louder.
Ren maintained the rhythm, though each strike became more difficult with his arms numbed by poisoning. The dense mana of the deep tunnels was taking its toll, but he couldn’t stop now.
Tap-tap… tap… tap-tap-tap
‘Come on,’ he mentally urged while feeling the worm approaching. ‘I just need you to follow the path upward. You get some bronze crystals, I get my escape route.’ The bargain seemed fair enough, even if his partner in this dance was unaware of the final exchange.
The mushrooms in his hair could barely process the ambient mana now, but it didn’t matter.
The plan was in motion, and the worm was approaching exactly as he had foreseen. Each movement brought it closer to springing his carefully laid trap.
♢♢♢♢
Ren slid silently toward a tunnel bend when he had made enough attraction taps, his hand holding the specially prepared brown crystal.
The lens light had altered its structure, and the addition of common worm excrement had transformed it into a Bronze-level earth crystal.
‘Now comes the delicate part,’ he thought while listening to the approaching worm.
The lesser worm emerged from below, its sensors vibrating with excitement at the mana concentration. Without hesitation, the creature lunged at the first pile of 5 crystals, absorbing them with frenzied movements.
‘Hungry, eh?’ Ren observed as the worm followed the path of crystals he had laid out. ‘Perfect.’
With silent steps, he began following the creature, maintaining a safe distance. The worm continued its ascent through the tunnel, each crystal drawing it higher, away from the high mana concentration zone.
‘A little more,’ Ren controlled his breathing as they climbed. The dizziness from poisoning made maintaining balance a challenge. ‘Just a little higher up.’
The worm reached the last crystal at the tunnel’s dead end. Its sensors writhed in confusion at detecting no more mana signals nor traces of the supposed evolution partner.
‘Before you decide to return…’
Ren struck the wall in a specific pattern, but this time different. Not the mating rhythm, but something more aggressive, more threatening.
The sound a worm would make defending its territory.
The reaction was immediate and grotesque.
The lesser worm’s body contorted in an unnatural peristaltic movement, its posterior end transforming into a new head while the original retracted.
‘Now!’
Without losing a second, Ren threw the processed crystal directly toward the worm’s new mouth. In the same movement, he dropped and slid down the tunnel slope, his hands striking the walls in a rhythm that mimicked a superior worm’s threat.
The lesser worm froze for a moment, caught between the confusion of contradictory signals and the sudden alteration in its system from the special crystal.
Its body contorted again, trying to move away from the supposed threat.
As it advanced, it began digging the tunnel upward, exactly what Ren needed.
When it was about to realize that the mana was too low here and turn around, it noticed the problem in its internal mana flow, but it was too late.
‘Three… two… one…’
The mana imbalance in the worm’s body reached its critical point. The creature writhed violently, its body glowing with unstable light.
It was time, dizziness crept in, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through…
Ren clapped three times as fast as he could with all his strength, his hands firm but not so much, forming a perfect hollow curve to amplify the sound.
With a sharp shriek that resonated through the tunnels, the worm shot upward, its body frantically digging through the rock.
BOOM!
The small explosion shook the tunnel, sending a rain of rock fragments and crystals. Ren protected himself, a satisfied smile on his face while the dust settled.
‘And that’s how you create an escape route,’ he thought while climbing up through the new tunnel connecting to the upper levels. ‘Though it pains me to have spent so many bronze crystals… at least now I have a perfect explanation for my “discovery”.’
The dizziness intensified, he needed to get out soon. But his plan had worked perfectly.
Now all that remained was to climb up and tell his story of how he had “accidentally” found all these materials after a crazed worm dug a new tunnel and exploded near him, burying him in a hole.