Tom approached the maggot cautiously, retrieving his skinning knife from his pouch. He didn't expect to find any valuable materials from dissecting the creature, but he hoped to recover the ores it had consumed, now resting inside its bloated belly.

  He attempted to open the maggot without touching it, relying solely on his knife. Unfortunately, the slimy, jiggling surface made the task nearly impossible. Letting out a resigned sigh, Tom faced his fate. He grasped the maggot with his hands, suppressing his disgust. It felt unnervingly similar to kneading wet bread dough, and Tom worked quickly to finish gutting the creature.

  When he sliced open its stomach, a heap of red and black rocks spilled out, partially digested and coated in an unpleasant, acidic slime. Acting swiftly, Tom scooped the pieces into his spatial pouch, ignoring the stench that made his eyes water. He couldn't be certain the rocks were still usable but hoped they would retain their value despite the decomposition.

  Finished with the maggot, Tom headed toward the cave's exit and waited near the entrance. He knew it wouldn't take long for them to dig a fresh tunnel, and within minutes, his patience paid off. A group of scarabs had carved out a new cave.

  Wasting no time, Tom climbed into the freshly dug tunnel before any maggots arrived. He collected every piece of ore he could find, stuffing them into his spatial pouch. As soon as a maggot entered the cave, Tom dispatched it with a single precise blow, extracting its stomach contents to salvage any usable materials.

  This process repeated across several caves. Tom moved systematically, harvesting ores and clearing maggots with efficiency. After some time, he noticed a group of scarabs working together to excavate a much larger tunnel than usual. He couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation—surely, something special must lie within.

  The excavation took nearly thirty minutes, with Tom observing from the shadows, ensuring he stayed out of sight. Once the scarabs finally departed, he crept into the new cave, excitement rising.

  Tom's eyes lit up when he saw the chamber. Scattered across the floor were numerous pieces of rock, glinting faintly in the dim light. Without hesitation, he began collecting the materials, filling almost all the remaining space in his first spatial pouch. Satisfied with his haul, Tom decided it was time to leave the cave and head back to safety.

  However, just as he was preparing to leave, a massive maggot entered the cavern. It was unlike anything he had encountered before—nearly three meters long and two meters wide. Tom froze, watching intently. From his earlier encounters, he had realized these maggots were likely blind. They didn't react to his presence, even when he stood directly in front of them.

  Still, this one's size unnerved him. He had already gathered all the ores it might have consumed, so he was curious about what it would try to eat now. His question was answered almost immediately. The maggot began munching on the walls of the cave, devouring the stone with a terrifying ferocity. As it fed, the walls crumbled, and the chamber grew larger with every bite. At the same time, the maggot itself began to swell, its body expanding like a balloon being filled with air.

  Tom's unease deepened as the maggot continued to grow, soon filling most of the available space in the cave. Its sheer bulk left no room for him to maneuver, effectively trapping him inside. The creature inched closer with every second, its gelatinous body pushing toward him. Tom's heart raced as the maggot came to a stop mere centimeters from his face.

  He knew he couldn't fight in such cramped conditions. His blade would barely scratch the creature in these circumstances, and there was no way to dodge its immense bulk if it decided to attack. For now, Tom chose to wait, hoping the situation would somehow resolve itself.

  The maggot remained motionless for a moment, its bloated form looming over Tom like a living wall. He could hear its wet, squelching breaths and feel the oppressive heat radiating from its body. Every second felt like an eternity as Tom braced himself, unsure of what the enormous creature would do next.

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  The maggot, in the meantime, began secreting a substance from its body. The sticky material started off soft and slimy but quickly hardened as it dried, forming a buffed, shimmering cocoon. Within minutes, Tom could see nothing but a glimmering wall of the cocoon mere inches from his face.

  He realized he had two options: wait for whatever was inside to develop and hatch or try to break out and escape now. A third idea crossed his mind—logging out for the day and hoping that by the time he returned from school tomorrow, the situation would have resolved itself. But then he thought about all the ores the maggot had consumed, and greed began to take hold.

  Resolving to take action, Tom retrieved his knuckles from his inventory. With a determined expression, he started punching the exterior wall of the cocoon. To his relief, he saw damage numbers floating in the air with each hit, even if the damage was small compared to his usual attacks.

  -32

  -25

  -19

  -44

  The numbers flickered before his eyes, proof that he was making progress. However, the cramped space severely limited his ability to move, reducing the power behind his punches. Practically pinned to the cocoon, his movements were slow and awkward, but he kept going.

  Over time, cracks began forming along the hardened surface. Tom focused all his strength on those weak points, striking repeatedly at their base. Each punch widened the fissures until, with a final blow, he broke through.

  What happened next completely caught Tom off guard. A viscous, gooey mass burst out of the cocoon, flooding the confined space and enveloping him entirely. The sticky substance clung to his body, soaking him from head to toe. For a moment, Tom froze in disgust, nearly gagging as the slimy liquid surrounded him. It felt as though he were swimming in a nightmare, but he fought back the nausea and kept his composure.

  Luckily, as a golem, Tom no longer needed to breathe. This spared him the risk of drowning, but he still couldn't see anything—his vision was entirely obscured by the glowing red slime coating his face. As he wiped at his eyes in frustration, an idea struck him.

  He reached for his spatial pouch, which was still empty, and in a matter of seconds, began scooping the goo into it. The pouch quickly filled to capacity, but the chamber was still half-flooded. Undeterred, Tom pulled out a second pouch and continued collecting the mysterious substance until both were brimming with the sticky red fluid.

  With that task complete, Tom turned his attention to the second wall on the opposite side of the cocoon. Covered in slime and eager to leave, he worked faster this time. The extra space gave him more freedom of movement, and he managed to break through in half the time it had taken him before.

  Not wasting a moment, Tom began making his way toward the exit. He didn't know if the scarabs had heard the noise he made breaking through the cocoon, but he wasn't willing to stick around to find out. His entire body was drenched in slime, and the air clung to him with an oppressive dampness, but he pressed on.

  Just as he was sliding down the incline leading out of the chamber, something happened that he hadn't anticipated. He reached the bottom, his feet hitting the ground, when the floor beneath him suddenly began to tremble. Tom froze, his heart racing as he instinctively stepped back.

  The vibrations stopped almost as quickly as they had started, but the brief moment of instability set Tom on edge. He glanced around the chamber, unsure of what to make of the situation. At first, he thought the cave might be collapsing, but as he replayed the sensation in his mind, he realized it didn't feel like an earthquake. It was less like the entire cave had trembled and more like something beneath the ground had shifted.

  Tom retrieved his torch and, using the last of his mana, reignited its flame. As the flickering light spread through the darkness, what it revealed made him freeze in terror. The torch slipped from his hand, rolling forward across the uneven ground.

  Earlier, Tom had wondered where all the hatched scarabs might have gathered. Now, he had his answer. Before him stretched an army of scarabs. The floor was coated with them, their black carapaces interlocked and covering every visible inch of space. As the torch rolled forward, its glow revealed more and more of the mass, a sea of gleaming exoskeletons that stretched beyond the limits of the light.

  Tom's footstep had been the catalyst. The moment he stepped forward, the scarabs stirred. It was as if they had been lying dormant in some kind of slumber, only to awaken at the disturbance. The movement began slowly, a ripple spreading outward, but quickly became a churning tide as the scarabs started to writhe and crawl.