Chapter 18 : Move !

Silence returned. His muscles screamed to move.

Six.

Seven.

"Hsssssssss..."

The sound came from everywhere and nowhere. Adom's fingers tightened on the sword grip. Sweat rolled down his forehead, but he couldn't risk wiping it away.

Eight.

Ni—

A crystal shifted. Wrong timing. Wrong place.

The hiss grew closer.

Don't move. Don't breathe. Don't—

Something heavy scraped against stone above. Particles of dirt rained into the hole. One landed on his nose. It itched unbearably.

Ten.

Eleven.

The massive body slithered past his hiding spot. He could feel the ground vibrate. Just a little further. Just a little—

His leg cramped. The sword trembled slightly.

The movement above stopped.

Twelve.

Thir—

The snake's head snapped toward his position.

A heartbeat of perfect stillness.

Adom's free hand found a loose crystal. One chance.

He flicked it.

The carefully arranged stones responded, creating a cascade of sounds - prey running, stumbling, panicking. The acoustics"No, no, no," he muttered, frantically trying to wipe it away, only managing to smear it further. His mind raced through everything he knew about monster parts. Hearts could grant abilities if you were born with the right constitution. Some organs were sought after as aphrodisiacs by foolish nobles with more gold than sense. Certain flesh just tasted impossibly salty, while other parts would kill you outright. But blood? Blood wasn't supposed to do anything except maybe poison you if you were unlucky.

The tingling grew stronger. Was this how it felt to be poisoned by monster blood? Monsters were mutants, creatures warped by concentrated mana over time, and no two were exactly alike. That's what made them so dangerous - you could never be entirely sure what effects their parts might have. What worked like a charm for one adventurer could kill the next. And this was a White Wyrm - a creature he knew very little about. Who knew what its blood might do?

He'd heard horror stories of adventurers who'd gotten monster blood in their wounds. Some dissolved from the inside out, others suffered mutations that... He cut that line of thought off, his breathing becoming rapid and shallow.

[Wyrm Blood properties integrating with host body]

"Integrating what? Wait!" He shouted, as if that would have changed anything.

[New Passive Skill Acquired: White Wyrm Body (Very Rare) (Level 1)]

[White Wyrm Body: Your flesh remembers the serpent's blood that bathed it. Each instance of body damage will gradually strengthen your physical resistance. Current defense multiplier: 1.01x. Through successive damage and healing, your body will develop resistance potentially surpassing the White Wyrm's own scales while maintaining human flexibility and adaptability. Maximum potential: Unknown.]

Adom's panic subsided as he read the system notification, replaced by cautious relief. A skill? That was... unexpected.

As the system notification faded, the tingling gradually subsided. He took a deep breath, his panic giving way to curiosity as his analytical mind kicked in. A skill from monster blood? That wasn't supposed to happen unless...

"System," he started, trying to keep the hope from his voice, "did something change with my constitution? Like, can I safely consume monster parts now?" The possibilities raced through his mind. "Is this some sort of... reward for coming back?"

[No. You are not special.]

Adom blinked at the blunt response.

[Monsters are mutants. While their effects on humans are generally predictable, variations can occur. This particular White Wyrm happened to possess this property, which was transferred to you through blood contact. Had it been another White Wyrm, the effects could have ranged from nothing to death. You were merely lucky.]

There was a long moment of silence as Adom processed this.

"Was the 'you are not special' line necessary?"

[The System only provides accurate information.]

"...Right," he muttered, wiping more blood from his face. "Thanks for that."

Looking at his blood-soaked reflection in one of the pools, Adom raised an eyebrow. "So, let me get this straight - you want me to get hit. A lot. Repeatedly. For this to get stronger?"

[Yes.]

"Alright, just making sure we were on the same page," he muttered dryly, wiping futilely at his face and only managing to smear more blood around. "Because getting beaten half to death is exactly what I had planned for my weekend anyway."

The system offered no response to his sarcasm. The wyrm's corpse just continued its death spasms behind him, as if to emphasize exactly what kind of punishment his body would need to endure to reach that level of defense.

"Awesome."

[Note: A critical area remains unaffected. Upper mid-back unexposed to Ancient Blood. This will remain normal and vulnerable.] The System displayed.

Adom froze. His hand reached for the spot between his shoulder blades, where he found a leaf. Probably from the earlier crevice. It was the only place untouched by the wyrm's blood.

"Oh, no you don't," he muttered. He turned back to the still-pooling blood, crouched, and scooped a handful into his palm. Without hesitation, he reached over his shoulder and smeared the warm liquid onto the bare spot.

It soaked into his skin instantly, leaving a faint, almost imperceptible tingle in its wake.

"There. Perfect."

Adom glanced at the still-warm blood pooling around his feet. "Hey. Can I store some of this? You know, just in case I missed a spot somewhere important?"

[Analysing...]

[Blood absorption window has expired. Current blood properties: Normal. No special qualities remain.]

"Of course," he sighed, then turned his attention to the wyrm's split carcass. "Well, might as well not waste everything."

He waded through the gore toward where the massive heart lay exposed through the wound. Even in death, it was larger than his torso. The organ would fetch a considerable price - monster hearts always did. And if he was lucky, he might find a Constitution-gifted individual willing to pay even more. Those rare few who could consume monster hearts and gain their properties... a gift Adom unfortunately never possessed.

He picked up his sword again, carefully cutting away the crucial connecting tissues.

"At least something good came from getting a blood bath," he muttered, working the heart free. "Besides the whole 'please hit me harder' skill."

[Heart of the White Wyrm has been added to inventory]

[Item will remain in stasis until retrieved]

Adom looked at the sword in his hands, still dripping with wyrm's blood. The memories came unbidden - his father's frustrated sighs, the countless dropped practice swords, "Son, you need to learn how to defend yourself." But Adom had always found another book to read, another spell to practice, another excuse to avoid training.

It wasn't just that he was terrible at it - though he absolutely was. The countless bruises from dropped guards and mistimed parries proved that. No, the bigger problem was that he'd never wanted to learn. Why spend hours swinging a sword when he could be learning about the theoretical foundations of elemental magic?

His father had eventually given up, though the disappointment never quite left his eyes.

"Well," Adom muttered, "looks like I don't have that luxury anymore." This world wouldn't let him hide behind books. "System, what exactly does a rank S weapon mean?"

[Rank S represents one of the highest quality classification possible. This blade was forged from Star-fallen steel, a material of celestial origin.]

The corner of his mouth twitched upward. A Star-fallen blade. The kind of weapon that made collectors lose their minds - and their fortunes. The type that, in the right hands, could carve its way into legend itself.

In his hands, though... He shook his head. That would need work.

"The treasure," he suddenly remembered. The sword wasn't the only secret this place held.

He spotted a deeper pool nearby and waded in, watching clouds of red disperse in the clear water. The cold bit at his skin as he scrubbed wyrm's blood from his clothes, his hair, his skin.

Once reasonably clean, he climbed out, clothes soaked but at least no longer crimson. He oriented himself, trying to remember the path back to the treasure room through the maze of tunnels.

The route now eerily quiet without the wyrm's presence. When he finally reached the treasure room again, he let out a low whistle. He hadn't been dreaming - this was far beyond the reported 500,000 gold pieces. This had to be at least 50 million, maybe more. The disparity between historical records and reality was puzzling. How had such a vast difference gone unreported?

A question for another time perhaps but for now, he had more pressing matters.

Reaching into his inventory, Adom pulled out the dimension bags he had purchased earlier.

He began filling the bags methodically, watching as the system confirmed each one's capacity. One bag full. Two. Three. Four. Five. About fifty thousand gold pieces secured, and it barely made a dent in the massive pile.

"That'll do for now," he decided, storing the bags back in his inventory. He'd need to check the rune at the cave's entry later, make sure it wouldn't expire at an inconvenient moment. The rest of the treasure would have to wait.

Adom cast one last look at the glittering hoard. "Don't worry, I'll be back. But first, I need to find a way out of here."