Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 293 Obtaining the Core

The pit was deeper than expected.

His body slid rapidly down the molten, glass-like cave walls. The sharp edge of the adamantite dagger sliced ​​through the rock, sending up a trail of tiny sparks that barely slowed his descent.

The soles of the boots made a dull thud as they stepped on the raised, hardened lava.

The air was scorching and dry, mixed with a strong smell of ozone and overheated metal.

After falling about five or six meters, my feet finally touched solid ground.

The light from the illuminating crystals dispelled the darkness at the bottom of the cave.

Before me was a metal chamber, roughly a thousand square meters in size, with an irregular spherical shape.

The walls, floors, and ceilings were made of a dark alloy with fine metallic patterns, but now they were covered with signs of melting, twisting, and cracking.

Thick energy conduits extended from the walls and ceiling, most of them broken, with clusters of blue-white energy crystals condensed at the breaks, resembling menacing ice flowers.

In the center of the chamber is a cylindrical base about one meter in diameter, partially embedded in the floor.

The base, which should have housed some core components, now only has a groove covered with scorch marks and cracks, and a few twisted and broken connecting pillars.

Inside and around the groove, there were scattered dark gold metal fragments of varying sizes. They were similar in material to the fragments obtained earlier, but were darker in color and had denser patterns. Some fragments still had faint blue-white energy pulsations on their surfaces.

The entire chamber was filled with a chaotic energy field on the verge of collapse.

The air felt like a viscous liquid, and with each breath, I could feel tiny energy particles rubbing against my throat and lungs.

The mark on my wrist continued to send a faint but clear burning and resonant sensation, the source of which was the scattered fragments and the damaged base in the center.

Luo Lin immediately understood the situation.

This is a small, ancient energy node or relay station. The core part appears to be severely damaged due to its age or external impact, but the remaining energy loops are still barely functioning, resulting in periodic, unstable energy eruptions.

Those fragments are what was left after the damaged core components broke apart.

The "active fragments of the same kind of creation" that Bruno needs may very well be right here!

But he only had less than half an hour. The next energy eruption could happen at any moment, and in this enclosed space, once it erupted, the power would be much greater than what could be seen on the surface, with unimaginable consequences.

We have to be quick!

Rowling quickly surveyed the surroundings.

The source of the energy eruption is clearly the central base and the surrounding network of energy conduits.

During eruption, energy converges from the base grooves and broken conduits and is ejected upwards.

To safely obtain the fragments, one must avoid the eruption path and, ideally, weaken or disrupt the energy accumulation process as much as possible during the inter-eruption period.

His gaze swept over the broken energy conduits.

A faint, flowing blue-white light could be seen on the inner wall of the catheter, indicating that energy was slowly accumulating.

The connection between the conduit and the central base is a critical node.

Taking a deep breath, the power of [Quiet Dust Star] flowed through his body. He gripped the fine gold short blade tightly in his right hand, while his left palm pressed against a warm, milky-white pebble.

The first step is to cut off the energy supply.

Luo Lin strode to a relatively intact, thick conduit that connected to the side of the base and emitted a strong internal energy glow.

Without hesitation, the adamant gold short blade, infused with star power, was aimed at the connection between the conduit and the base and stabbed down fiercely!

"laugh!"

The short blade felt unusually rough as it pierced the alloy, as if it were cutting through aged rubber.

The light inside the conduit suddenly intensified, and a powerful repulsive force traveled along the short blade, accompanied by a burning, stinging sensation.

Luo Lin let out a low shout, his arm muscles bulged, and his star power erupted once more!

"Snap!"

The connection was finally forcibly severed!

The severed conduit sprang back violently, and a stream of scorching blue-white energy with tiny sparks of electricity shot out from the break, like a severed artery!

The energy jet hit the floor, instantly melting a shallow pit and making a sizzling sound.

The burning sensation on my wrist suddenly intensified, then subsided somewhat.

efficient!

Without hesitation, Luo Lin quickly moved to the next catheter and repeated the same action.

"Snap!"

"Sizzle!"

One by one, the thick ducts were forcibly cut off.

With each cut, the chaotic energy field within the cavity weakens, and the resonance of the wrist mark changes accordingly.

The oppressive, viscous feeling in the air gradually lessened, but the residual energy remained restless.

When the sixth and last conduit, which was still clearly transmitting energy, was severed, the blue-white light gathered in the central base groove dimmed considerably, and the pulsating frequency slowed down.

Nearly twenty minutes have passed.

Without pausing, Rolin immediately turned his gaze to the dark gold fragments scattered around the base.

The largest pieces are about the size of a palm, with sharp edges, fine texture, and subtle melting marks left by the flow of energy on their surface.

He squatted down, but didn't pick it up directly with his hands.

These fragments likely still contain residual energy and high temperatures.

He took out spare bone tweezers and another small lead box with cushioning and stabilizing runes engraved inside.

Carefully pick up the three largest fragments with the most obvious energy pulsations and place them in the lead box.

The fragments felt heavy in my hand, their coolness tinged with an eerie warmth.

When the third fragment was placed into the box, the runes on the surface of the lead box immediately lit up and trembled slightly, and the lid even became a little hot to the touch.

The activity and energy intensity of these fragments are clearly far greater than that of the dying arm obtained from the market!

After putting away the lead box, Rowling's gaze fell on the groove in the central base.

At the bottom of the groove, there seemed to be something embedded, covered by thick energy crystal clusters and scorch marks.

He carefully scraped away the crystal clusters and charred material on the surface with a short blade.

Below, a small, strange metallic sheet, no bigger than a thumbnail, was revealed. Its color was purer and deeper, almost dark purple, and its surface texture flowed slowly as if it were alive!

The energy fluctuations emanating from this thin sheet were extremely weak, yet exceptionally concentrated and—"orderly"!

Unlike the surrounding violent and chaotic fragments of energy, it possessed a deep, almost primal sense of stability, even echoing the rhythm of the milky-white pebble in the palm of his left hand!

Core Fragment!

It is very likely the core control or storage unit of this energy node!

Although it is the smallest in size, it may be the most valuable!

Rowling's heart skipped a beat.

He used tweezers to very carefully pry the dark purple sheet off the bottom of the groove, bit by bit.

Just as the thin sheet detached from the groove, hum!

The remaining energy field in the entire chamber, as if its last support had been removed, suddenly contracted inward and then completely dissipated. All the blue and white light in the air instantly went out, leaving only the cold light of the lighting crystal.

The faint light remaining inside those broken ducts also completely disappeared.

The burning sensation from the mark on my wrist suddenly decreased to a minimum, almost imperceptible.

It worked!

They completely severed and removed the core energy source!

But before Luo Lin could even catch his breath, a violent tremor suddenly came from beneath his feet!

Rumble—

The entire underground chamber began to shake!

Dust and tiny debris fell from the ceiling.

The walls and floors groaned under the strain, and the already cracked metal structure began to break apart at an accelerated rate!

Oops!

This node itself is structurally unstable and is barely maintained by residual energy.

Now that the energy source has been removed, the last support has been lost, and it's about to collapse!

Luo Lin's expression changed, and without hesitation, he put the dark purple shard into another specially made small box and stuffed it into his pocket.

Then he turned around and charged towards the opening in the hole!

The hole above was still there, but the cave walls had begun to peel away in large areas due to the tremors, with large chunks of hardened lava and twisted metal crashing down!

Luo Lin pushed the power of the [Starflow Aquatic Field] to its limit, manipulating the airflow around his body to instantly become viscous and elastic, like an invisible cushion, slightly pushing away or slowing down the falling rocks.

At the same time, using both legs to propel themselves, like an agile ape, they leaped and dodged among the collapsing rubble and twisted metal components, using both hands and feet to climb rapidly toward the cave entrance!

"Splash!"

A piece of hardened lava the size of a tabletop grazed his back and slammed into the ground, shattering into pieces!

Luo Lin could even feel the scorching heat wave coming from behind him and the shock of the rubble hitting his protective star power.

He didn't look back, focusing all his mind and energy on climbing.

The opening was getting closer! But the tremors were also getting more and more intense, as if the entire pit might close up completely at any moment!

Five meters — three meters — meters!

Just as Rolin's hand was about to grab a protruding rock at the edge of the cave entrance, the rock layer above his head at the edge of the cave entrance finally gave way and collapsed with a crash!

Large chunks of rock and soil cascaded down like a waterfall, instantly sealing off most of the cave entrance!

Everything went black; the last way out was blocked!

In that critical moment, Luo Lin's mind was clear.

There was no panic, no despair.

Without pausing, he used the recoil from the falling rocks to swing his body to the side, narrowly avoiding the most concentrated area of ​​collapse.

At the same time, his right hand plunged the fine gold short blade into the side cave wall, which was not yet completely collapsed, while his left hand, with its five fingers like hooks, dug deep into a relatively solid rock crevice!

His body was suspended in mid-air, with scattered pebbles falling from above.

A dull thud and a piercing metallic clang came from below; the entire underground chamber was collapsing completely.

Roland gritted his teeth, his arm muscles trembling slightly from the extreme effort. He steadied himself and looked up at the sky.

Although the entrance to the cave was mostly buried, there were still a few gaps along the edges, through which the dim light from the swamp above could be faintly seen.

still have a chance!