"Huff…" Wang Lei exhaled all the air in his lungs, then inhaled deeply once more, completing the final cycle of his circulation technique.
He sat cross-legged, and in front of him—where the blue ore once rested—was now empty. The ore had vanished, absorbed directly into his body.
"I ate a lot!" Wang Lei laughed, patting his belly in satisfaction.
After consuming the orange orb, he immediately turned to the thing he had been looking forward to the most—the blue ore.
However, once he finished eating it, the mana inside his body suddenly turned restless, surging wildly. To calm it down, he had to use his circulation technique.
It seemed that absorbing a large amount of mana all at once was the cause of the unrest—but Wang Lei couldn't complain. After all, it gave him a chance to improve both his Mana Sense and Mana Control skills.
"It's a shame those cave ants that died in the poison mist didn't produce any orbs," Wang Lei muttered in disappointment, slumping his back.
Since the cave ants weren't killed directly by him but by the poison, their bodies didn't release the white gas that formed the orbs—or at least, that was what Wang Lei assumed.
But technically, didn't the white ant also die because of the poison spreading through its entire body? Wang Lei found the inconsistency strange.
Was it because I weakened it first, which caused the poison to spread? Wang Lei pondered.
"Gah… I don't know. Let's just not think about it." Wang Lei grumbled, ramming his head with his palm before eventually giving up.
"Now then…" he muttered as he stood up, stretching his arms.
"Shall we move on?"
His next destination was another mining house, and beyond that—finally—the other exit. He couldn't help but look forward to getting out of this suffocating cave.
***
Meanwhile, in a place filled with lush trees, a man walked along a quiet path, gently cradling a child wrapped in white cloth.
He stepped with the utmost care, avoiding bumps and loose rocks, making sure not to disturb the peacefully sleeping child in his arms.
"Just how high is this mountain? I've been walking for two days already!" the man complained in a hushed voice, careful not to wake the child.
"And to make matters worse, I can't even use my skills here," he muttered, recalling what happened when he first entered the mountain.
It was during the night when they needed to rest.
"When I tried to make a fire or a small shelter with earth magic, the mana I used wouldn't move the way I willed it to. It was like suddenly losing my arms."
"I've heard that a God's territory can be completely cut off from the world, but to sever even my connection to it… They truly are terrifying beings," the man muttered with a shudder, relieved that he hadn't tried to offend them earlier.
"However…" The man gazed down at the child cradled in his arms, his eyes blazing with resolve and determination. "As long as it's for my Master, I'll face anyone… even if they are Gods."
***
Back in the cave, Wang Lei was making his way along the winding path, heading toward another mining house up ahead.
"This new skill I learned is seriously convenient!" Wang Lei said with a grin.
Exploring caves required the right tools—and one of the most essential was a reliable light source. In this case, it was none other than a flashlight.
Naturally, as a former mining enthusiast, Wang Lei had brought along a flashlight. However, it still had its limitations—it required batteries for power, and unfortunately, he had forgotten to bring any.
He searched through the storage room, hoping to find some spare batteries, but the only ones left were old, rotten, and completely unusable.
And that's where this new thing he had learned comes in.
"I call it Mana Illumination!" Wang Lei thought proudly.
Using the glowing light that had radiated from the blue ore as a reference, he gathered a small clump of mana in his palm and dispersed it around him. In an instant, the surrounding area lit up.
Although each use consumed about twenty mana points, Wang Lei didn't consider it a drawback. With his current reserves, spending a few points was no big deal.
In fact, his Mana Illumination was even more effective than a regular flashlight. Instead of focusing on a single point, it lit up the entire area evenly, eliminating blind spots.
Even better, when he combined it with Mana Sense, it gave him awareness of everything his mana touched. It was like having a built-in radar—one that fed information directly into his brain. Though he couldn't use it too frequently due to the headaches that came from processing too much sensory data.
Each mana point used was equivalent to a one-meter diameter of coverage. That meant with just one activation, Wang Lei could sense everything within a twenty-meter diameter around him.
It was an incredibly useful ability.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Wang Lei laughed arrogantly. "Let's see if those ants can ambush me again with this skill!"
That's right—Mana Illumination, something he had only half-heartedly tested at first, had now officially become one of his skills.
It took a lot of time to gather and scatter the mana at first, but after a few uses, I was eventually able to perform it in just a couple of seconds. Then, all of a sudden, a screen appeared, announcing that Mana Illumination had been officially integrated as a skill, Wang Lei recalled, thinking back to what had happened a few hours ago.
Now, I can activate it almost instantly.
At the same time, it also significantly leveled up both my Mana Control and Mana Sense.
By simply creating Mana Illumination, Wang Lei was able to light up and sense everything within a wide diameter. Moreover, not only did the technique become a fully integrated skill, but it also greatly enhanced his Mana Control and Mana Sense in the process.
"Talk about hitting five birds with one stone," Wang Lei chuckled.
He continued walking through the cave, occasionally activating Mana Illumination whenever he stepped out of its range.
After about an hour, he finally sensed something different—something other than just stone walls and scattered ores.
Eventually, he reached the source of what he had sensed.
"…What happened here?" Wang Lei muttered, unable to hide his shock at the destruction before him.
Just as he had expected, there was a mining house situated at the path. However, the entire structure was in ruins—shattered beams, splintered walls, and scattered debris filled the area, as if a storm had rampaged through it. But that was clearly impossible. They were deep inside a cave. Storms didn't exist here.
Wang Lei didn't enter the place first, instead, he extended his palm and muttered under his breath, "Mana Illumination."
The moment the words left his lips, a small sphere of mana—no larger than an inch in diameter—began to swirl above his palm. In the next instant, it burst silently, scattering its mana like shimmering glitters that spread out in all directions, illuminating the area with a soft, ethereal glow.
Wang Lei closed his eyes, focusing as he digested the stream of information flooding into his mind.
"This is…" he muttered, sensing something strange.
It's so thin I can't even see it with the naked eye. I wouldn't have noticed it at all if not for my Mana Illumination… Wang Lei thought as he slowly opened his eyes.
Wang Lei took a step back. Is this… a spider web? But isn't it way too big?
It was invisible to the eye, but Wang Lei was certain—a cobweb was stretched out just in front of him. It was so close that even a single step forward would cause his body to brush against it.
The entire entrance is blocked by the web… I have a bad feeling about touching it, Wang Lei thought, staring at it cautiously.
But I can't move forward if I just stay here… He frowned, trying to think of a solution.
"That's it!" Wang Lei suddenly exclaimed, his eyes widening as a brilliant idea struck him.
He looked around, scanning his surroundings as if searching for something. His eyes darted left and right until they finally locked onto a certain rock embedded in the wall. It was gray in color, marked with numerous black spots.
Wang Lei approached the gray bedrock and gave it a light punch with his fist. A small crack formed on its surface before the entire chunk began to crumble, fragments falling to the ground with a soft clatter.
He crouched down and picked up a small piece of the gray rock. "This should do it," he muttered.
Next, he grabbed another rock—this time an ordinary one—then made his way back to the cobweb. He stopped just a step away and crouched again.
Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a piece of coal. With his fingers, he chipped off a small fragment and returned the larger chunk to his bag.
Clenching the coal chip in his fist, he ground it into fine powder, then slowly let the black dust fall near the cobweb.
Then he grabbed the two rocks—holding the gray one in his left hand and the ordinary one in his right—and positioned them close to the coal dust.
Just before he began, he activated Physical Enhancement, a soft blue mana coating his entire body like armor.
Just in case… Wang Lei thought, a flicker of fear in his eyes at what he was about to attempt.
With the rocks in place, he lifted the gray one slightly above the ordinary rock, then struck it down with controlled force.
The impact created a small spark that jumped into the coal dust.
But even before the spark landed, Wang Lei vanished like a ghost, dashing away from the site with all the speed he could muster.
Then—
BOOM!
The explosion roared through the cave, the ground quaking beneath its force.