Don't Worry

The last one came straight for Ben. He exhaled sharply. "Alright, let's see if this works." As the spinning cube approached, he lifted his pickaxe and, at the last second, 'Send You Flying!!!'. 

The impact kicked up a chunk of stone, right into the cube's path. The spinning monster crashed into it. For a brief moment, it lost balance—just enough for Ben to swing his pickaxe sideways. The blunt side of the weapon smashed into the cube, sending it flying into the wall. The moment it made contact, the monster shattered completely. The chamber fell silent again.

***

LEVEL 2 COMPLETE

The numbers flickered again.

LEVEL 3

0/16

00:30

***

Ben groaned. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Just how many level is there?" 

"Probably ten," Elvira said, plopping onto the floor with a bored look. She wanted to fight, but she knew it was better to follow Ben's suggestion. The reason? Earning his trust. Mana wasn't a concern. She knew exactly how many white gemstones he had on him. As long as she had time, she could recover her mana indefinitely.

"How do you know that?"

"Well, it's just a guess based on who made this ruin." She leaned back, resting her arms on her knees. "I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I'm pretty sure this is a Caretaker ruin."

"The Caretaker?"

"A human organization from the Utopia Era. I've read about them before. This kind of test is one of their trademarks. Of course, there's a chance this ruin belonged to another faction or species, but I think that's unlikely."

'Caretaker? Was this some kind of preservation bunker?' Ben remembered reading about something similar—an underground vault filled with every kind of seed in the world, alongside copies of literature, historical artifacts, and other preserved human knowledge.

"You have any idea what's inside?"

"No clue. My clan didn't find it. The ones who did live far from here—we only get bits and pieces of information when they come to trade." She tilted her head. "But from what they've told us, there are a lot of Caretaker ruins in their territory."

'A lot of ruins?' Ben frowned. 'Could it be somewhere like the North Pole? 'Humans in his world built vaults there because of the cold—it kept things frozen without using much energy. If these ruins were all clustered in one area, it could mean something. Maybe the climate here isn't too different from Earth's… At least, he hadn't transmigrated to some weird place like a flat planet. Or worse—a cube.

But his ridiculous thought quickly stopped as the timer hit zero. 16 block monsters rained down. Ben wasn't going to wait. He burned biomass. Eight long legs burst out from his back. It look like spider leg with very sharp tip. The moment they emerged, they shot forward like spears—skewering, slicing, tearing through eight monsters instantly. Their shattered remains disintegrated, breaking apart into dust-like fragments, vanishing before they even hit the ground. 

The remaining eight moved fast—firing spinning projectiles. Ben dodged, weaving between attacks. His legs struck like whips, cutting down another two. One jumped at his back—his leg twisted unnaturally, stabbing straight through its core. The remaining five surrounded him. A cube lunged from the right—Ben's spider leg pierced straight through it, then used its body as a bludgeon to slam into two others. Shatter. The last two went for a synchronized attack—Ben dropped low, legs stabbing upward like a cage of blades. They died mid-air.

The final block monster twitched—but it was changing. Its form bulged, shifting, its cube frame stretching into something different. Ben didn't bother to wait him to finish, the spider legs shoot forward, it tip than expanded turned into a massive mouth. GULP!!!! In one move the transforming block monster were devoured whole. The chamber went dead silent.

***

LEVEL 3 COMPLETE

The numbers flickered.

LEVEL 4

0/24

00:30

***

"Wow, you've gotten even stronger, my beloved," Elvira praised, watching Ben utilize his Metamorphosis skill mid-fight. Before, he could only modify existing body parts—like turning his arm into an ant claw—but now he was creating entirely new limbs. Some kind of spider legs sprouted from his back, shifting and flexing with inhumane agility. She knew he had tried to make wings before, but those were barely usable, more like a malformed attempt rather than a proper feature.

Yet, unlike Elvira, Ben wasn't pleased at all. 'The block monsters keep evolving… The last one even started shooting projectiles.' His grip tightened as his confidence wavered. He had sworn to protect Elvira, to make sure she never needed to fight, but the battlefield was shifting. The last one also looked like it was about to evolve again… His expression darkened. Seems like I really have to do it here.

With a reluctant sigh, he pulled up the Creature Creation screen. Consuming biomass and the white gemstone, Ben spawned eight more Krell Scouts, bringing their numbers to ten. His back split open as the spider legs merged, locking into place with a grotesque squelch. "Elvira, be careful. They keep evolving—if some get past me…"

"Don't worry, my beloved. I know what to do," Elvira replied, eyeing the ten Krell Scouts surrounding her. A small, amused smile played on her lips. "With you protecting me from all sides like this… I doubt they could reach me, even with ranged attacks."

"Don't underestimate them." Ben's voice was tense. "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the next one could merge together." After all, their bodies were made of blocks—it wouldn't be weird if they started stacking into something massive.

"Well, in that case, isn't it even better?" Elvira tilted her head. "If they become one big target, that just means you can focus all your attacks on it."

Ben blinked, then let out a short breath. "…That's true," he admitted. But his gut told him otherwise. In this world, nothing was ever that simple. No matter how strong he had become, he knew better than to underestimate his enemies.