Chapter 96: Chapter 80: Senior, It’s Still Not Enough—I Want More_2
Senior Brother, do you mean that this Gem Monster is unusual?
"Of course it’s unusual. Who knows how long this Gem Monster has been alive; with its strength, if it mastered some magic-like skills, it would soon ascend to become the Labyrinth’s Lone King."
It’s just that it’s a healing monster, confronted directly by Rephya’s restraint, and went head-to-head with One-Slash Shura...
Otherwise, with Rephya’s current strength, it would indeed be challenging to handle.
"Elite Monster?"
The three who had finished dissecting gathered together and were surprised to hear Chloe mention this tidbit of knowledge.
But Fratiss frowned and said:
"But that doesn’t seem right. If there’s a chance that one out of every ten thousand Maze Monsters gives birth to such a creature, their numbers shouldn’t be so few; they shouldn’t be rare."
Chloe nodded.
The little gourmet knight spotted the point.
Even in natural mazes, the number of elite monsters is minimal, which doesn’t align with the ratio of elite monster births.
The Otherworld is vast, unlike some people from a capital-selling country with no clear concept of large territories.
However, precisely, he knew the answer.
"Fratiss, you’re right, but you’re also wrong.
In an underdeveloped natural maze, it’s normal for the number of Maze Monsters to exceed ten thousand.
Such a maze should logically give birth to a good number of elite monsters."
"But in reality, to the overwhelming majority of adventurers, elite monsters are more like legends."
"Because you forget, there’s a naturally unstable factor in the maze, the Labyrinth’s Lone King.
Do you remember the characteristics of the Labyrinth’s Lone King?"
Fratiss thought for a bit, cautiously probing:
"The Labyrinth’s Lone King originates from the maze itself, a kind of [natural phenomenon] that refreshes periodically if the maze isn’t fully conquered.
They typically have the ability to command other maze monsters, hmm..."
Fratiss paused there, already sensing something was wrong.
She realized something brutal.
"Looks like you’ve guessed it, it’s because the vast majority of elite monsters are dead, killed by the Labyrinth’s Lone King.
Elite monsters are very strong, and some with great opportunities might even come close to or surpass the Labyrinth’s Lone King.
But the Lone King’s trait is its dominance over its subordinate monsters."
"Or, from another angle, their power prevents ordinary maze monsters from daring to resist and doesn’t allow any challengers to appear."
Rephya rubbed her cheeks and whispered:
"So, most of the elite monsters born likely fell to the Lone King’s hands?"
Chloe nodded and continued:
"Master Nini once mentioned that the reason the Labyrinth’s Lone King carries a large amount of rare extraordinary materials might not only originate from itself."
Of course, Master Nini also raised another possibility.
Perhaps a very small portion of elite monsters truly succeeded in counter-killing the Labyrinth’s Lone King, in which case it would automatically become the new Lone King.
This might be the reason some mazes suddenly generate new Lone Kings that were never recorded before.
This type of Lone King, lacking data records, would only be more dangerous than the previous Lone King; the lack of information might render adventurers’ previous preparations worthless.
...
When the three women finished collecting the materials.
Only then did they gather in front of the elite Emerald Monster.
Chloe pointed at the three materials harvested from the Emerald Monster.
"High-efficiency Magic Crystal, which can be infused into weapons to increase weapon enchantment strength."
"Steel Rock Mixture, top-grade ore, when crafting armor or a shield, have a Dwarf handle it and integrate it, it will significantly enhance the shield’s performance."
"Six Life Stones, which can activate life energy and be used until sequence eight."
Rephya was stunned: "Wait a moment, why are there Life Stones?"
The materials produced by Maze Monsters generally relate to their power system.
Shouldn’t this be producing something like an Earth Element Core?
Chloe shook her head, picked up the Thunderous Battle Halberd as a handle, ran it along the gemstone gaps of the Emerald Monster, and then grabbed the halberd shaft with her hands, sharply prying it open.
The originally tightly bound stones, like an oyster being pried open, revealed tender flesh akin to jelly.
Suddenly, Chloe felt an intensely hot gaze.
Looking up, it was Fratiss.
Her eyes had already begun to become vague and awkward.
Forcibly described, probably a hungry wolf encountering fresh meat.
Or like an SP encountering its desired code.
Wanting to feast immediately.
Chloe cheerfully said:
"Gem Monsters aren’t purely Earth Element creatures; they’re more like shell demons.
But because they live in mineral zones, they consume a large amount of ore, eventually secreting ore slag mixed with gemstones.
These gems, imbued with Magic, allow them to manipulate these secretions coating their bodies, equivalent to naturally formed constructs."
But Fratiss couldn’t care about that.
Disregarding her hard armor, she grabbed Chloe’s hand and said:
"Can you eat it? Is it delicious? How much can you intake?"
Chloe smiled knowingly.
The truly useful material from the Gem Monster is precisely those gems on its body.
These gems that preliminarily convert secretions into constructs are quite special despite the characteristics of the Gem Monster species itself and are regarded as fairly good extraordinary materials.
According to the original storyline, Senior Sister Fufu almost encountered her nemesis that nearly killed her in her sophomore year, charging up with her now enhanced abilities to slice the elite Emerald Monster with three swift slashes.
Afterwards, Senior Sister Fufu and Young Lady Teresa couldn’t resist Fratiss’s pleas and attempted to dissect these demons.
In the end, they discovered the secret of the Gem Monsters’ movements and held an oyster feast in the Maze.
Breaking Bad Teresa took responsibility for food safety throughout, checking several times to ensure the outer meat was non-toxic.
Fratiss looked extremely excited.
"Can you eat every Gem Monster?"
"In principle, yes?"
"In principle?"
"After removing the digestive gland, gills, posterior renal tube, and pericardial gland, it’s all edible, but only the Emerald Monster is considered tasty."
Fratiss quickly ran out, picking up a Ruby Monster and Sapphire Monster.
Chloe, at a loss, used the Thunderous Battle Halberd to pry them open for her.
Aisha, unable to hold back, poked Rephya, trying to get her to stop her friend.
But...
"I’m curious!"
Rephya’s eyes sparkled.
Eatable Maze Monsters!
She had never eaten such a thing in her life.
"Fratiss has the Dimensional Stomach talent, which allows her to enhance her coating by consuming Maze Monsters. What about you?"
Chloe rolled her eyes, giving her a light flick on the forehead.
Rephya shyly chuckled but still said:
"I want to eat."
Chloe only complained verbally but still started cooking for them.
Brought out a pot, chopped garlic finely, and sautéed it in a bit of oil over low heat.
After cleaning the emerald meat, grilled it slowly over charcoal on an iron plate.
Added some vermicelli, sprinkled with chopped scallion and chili flakes...
"Wait, why do you have so much stuff, Senior?"
Aisha looked curiously at Chloe, who kept pulling cookware from the Space Backpack.
The Space Backpack is expensive.
Why is Chloe’s backpack full of cookware, isn’t she stocking food?
"There’s plenty of food, but wasn’t that because someone wanted to try?"
He continued pulling out items.
A small dining table.
A tablecloth.
Snacks and pastries.
Fruit tea and milk tea.
Even had full meals.
Aisha’s mind buzzed.
Since when did Senior have so much money?
This Space Backpack can hold an unbelievable amount.
"The gemstone meat is ready."
A fragrant aroma wafted over.
A large platter of "Scallops Three Ways" was placed on the dining table.
The Little Gourmet Knight looked at Chloe with pleading eyes.
She politely hinted for Chloe to start eating quickly.
Chloe’s lips curled up as he said:
"So, let’s dig in."
A sound of ravenous eating filled the scene.
"This steamed emerald meat is nice."
"Grilled garlic gemstone meat is delicious!"
"No, pan-fried flavor is definitely better."
In their munching, everyone quickly finished the Emerald Monster dish.
Fratiss exclaimed:
"My spatial coating has improved!"
Her resilience further increased, feeling that this venture into the natural maze was worthwhile.
"Senior, it’s not enough, I want more."
She looked eagerly at Chloe.
"The other meats aren’t as tasty."
"Let’s try!"
"I knew you’d say that."
He sighed, pulling out the secretly grilled ruby and sapphire meats:
"Don’t say I didn’t warn you."
But Fratiss was already digging in.
"Rua! Not tasty!"
Fratiss stuck out her tongue, showing a regretful expression.
She should have listened to Senior’s advice.
But... could it be that Senior, like her, also enjoys trying new ingredients he’s never tasted before?
The Little Gourmet Knight was full of confusion.