It took Lewis a few minutes to test out how he was best able to sell his dungeon loot to the system shop, but it seemed like he was penalized with the amount of TP he could earn with every second he was touching the mana core. But he couldn't sell it to the system shop if he wasn't physically touching it either.
He struggled to find the best way to go about this, as his goal was to farm this dungeon for TP, but if he needed to touch each item to sell them, it would turn this into a speed run where he was forced to limit his exposure to the items as much as possible.
Thankfully, his 26 points of intelligence kicked in and he figured out a big brain move. By simply touching the entire stone spider corpse, he could sell it along with the spell stone imbedded in the creatures head. Granting him the full value of the spell stone along with a few extra points for the corpse. It seemed that as long as the valuables he wanted to sell was connected to something significantly far enough away from his body, he would be able to get their full values worth without issue.
Unfortunately, it seemed the prices the system was willing to give him for these spoils were significantly less than before. Killing the orcs was far more profitable, so he would need to find something far more interesting to sell, these under level 10 stone creatures simply were no longer worth the effort. But those larger spiders would be perfect.
As such, he began sprinting deeper into the gigantic cavernous space. His confidence was through the roof, his level and spirit physique, along with his anti-mana meaning that anything in here was likely unable to threaten him. And nor was he worried about going too far into the unknown and losing trace of the dungeon entrance, since this time he didn't plan on leaving out of the door.
It was time to do some leveling and looting. He thought, searching for the the biggest stone spider he could find. Wondering what sort of price their large spell stones would fetch since he was robbed out of the first one he faced, the thing having blown up.
He rushed deeper into the dungeon, ignoring the low level stone creatures, none of them being worth his time as he stretched his senses. It only took him a few minutes to spot something interesting.
Standing as still as a statue, a larger level 25 stone arachnid was lurking near by, it's body only moving when he came into range, the spiders far larger red spell stone turning to face him, it's body glowing with mana, but Lewis didn't bother testing his durability against the creature. Instead, he expanded his arcane nullfield, an invisible wave of pressure sweeping over the creature, but he shaped it so that it formed a blade jabbing at the connection between the spiders core in it's abdomen and it's spell stone in it's head.
Just like cutting a wire, the stone spider suddenly found itself unable to access the mana from it's core, the spell stone prematurely activating as it discharged a severely underpowered fireball, which Lewis didn't even attempt to smother as he closed in on the spider and straight up punched it, not even just using his unravelling strike skill, just the pure might of his body as the creature instantly exploded. Its body cracking, a portion of its chest was blown apart, although he was careful not to damage either its face or abdomen so that he could gather its valuable parts.
You have slain Granite sentinel - lvl 25 (+70 TP)
Lewis was excited about the result, having discovered a way to harvest his loot without directly damaging it and even allowing the mana stone and spell stone to remain encased in the spider's stone so that he wouldn't need to touch them directly.
He hadn't been sure that would work, but it seemed like the stone spiders weren't as resistant to his nullfield as humans, so he could push it within their stone bodies without resistance since their bodies seemed to lack whatever natural resistance true living beings have. The stone spiders possess a literal mana core rather than the more metaphysical mana pools humans have, allowing him to interact with their internal mana flow.
It gave him more ideas about how to better use his skills, but he was also well aware that when he flared his nullfield while fighting the orcs, only external mana had been affected. One of the orcs had managed to employ some sort of skill that bulked him up, while others had still managed to circulate mana within their bodies despite standing right within his nullfield. Clearly, his ability wasn't all-powerful, so he had to avoid getting overconfident just because taking down this golem-like creature felt effortless.
Grabbing the two ends of the stone spider, he closed his eyes and quickly slipped into the system shop, not wanting to spend more time than necessary within, even if he had scanned the surroundings for threats beforehand.
All he needed to do was think of selling the items and accept the prompt that appears. He didn't even look at the offered price, knowing he didn't exactly have a choice as to how much the system would buy them for. Still, he imagined an intact mana core and spell stone would fetch a reasonable price, but he wasn't planning on stopping until he had slain as many as he could get his hands on. It was time to get rich.
The next hour was a constant blur of motion, mainly Lewis rushing from place to place in search of more Granite sentinels, the creatures being spread surprisingly far apart, but he could usually find another one simply by picking a direction and sprinting at full speed.
His 'fights' with the creatures were surprisingly uninteresting, his nullfield utterly overpowering their bodies as it slipped within them and severed the flow of mana from their core, defanging them effortlessly. Even when he received an errand strike from getting too close to the large stone spiders, the granite limb would always be the one to receive any damage as his body effortlessly blocked the stone limbs, a single normal punch often enough to shatter the creature and allow him to easily harvest its loot in seconds, before he was off again.
He completely ignored the weaker stone creatures as he hunted. After effortlessly slaying the five Granite sentinel, he even got a level up as well as his skill improving, thanks to his localized use of his nullfield.
Congratulations! You have reached level 16 ( +1 STR, +1 DEX, +1 CON, +2 INT, +1 Free)
Skill: Arcane nullfield has reached level 11
Skill: Arcane nullfield has reached level 12
He gladly checked his status with the level up and noticed that his stats had increased in both the base value and the enhanced values. Meaning that despite his level up stats being assigned to the base values of his attributes, that change was simultaneously added to his total stats including his spirit physique enhanced body, increasing normally, which he wasn't sure would happened but was glad it did. It would have been bad if only the base values increased, leaving his enhanced attributes stuck where they are until he figures out how to start cultivating his spirit.
Still, despite that not happening, it highlighted his utter lack of understanding of what was happening to him. He really needed more information on everything spirit-related, and he doubted the cultivation manual would be too helpful in that regard. After all, the manual was clearly designed for a very specific type of path, which he didn't fit into. From the very first fundamental requirements, Lewis should already be disqualified, but somehow he was able to follow along, despite seeming to be doing things backwards; he really needed a more personalized guide on which direction he needed to take this.
The slow and steady building of spirit power through gradual improvement and refinement of control was supposed to be the first stage, but he had done the equivalent of birthing a teenager instead of a baby and had no clue what to do next, the manual not even thinking such a thing might be possible, so Lewis was left utterly alone. Well, he had a single lifeline, the system guide. But it would likely cost a fortune for the being to give him the answers he seeks, so he couldn't stop at killing a measly five stone spiders, but on the other hand, he wasn't sure what the level up stats were doing to increase his spirit physique and how that relates to his unstable technique, so would prefer to avoid leveling up too much before he had his answers.
As such, he also kept his senses sharp for other opportunities in the massive expansive cavern. He had tried to sell one of the large crystal pillars, but the system refused to acknowledge it as his property. Not even when he had shattered it from it's base using unravelling strike, collapsing it to the ground. It was unfortunate, since the huge mana-dense crystal would likely go for a good price, but the system failed to properly explain what was considered his loot and how, so he simply had to leave the pillars be, instead searching for more stone spiders.
It was unfortunate that they were so spread out, but he had journeyed deep within the dungeon by now and eventually found something new. Within a large section of sheer rock, a diamond-shaped crack was emanating a faint green glow, unlike the soft blue of the crystals. The change instantly caught his attention.
The rock in this area was different. More lumpy and uneven, opening up a into a narrow passageway that seemed to call to him.
He didn't know what it was, but something within him urged him forward, into the passage. Maybe it was the sight of some actual moss instead of the flat stone and rock creatures, or perhaps it was the fresh sense the mana gave off from within.
Either way, he began walking at a considerably slower pace within the narrow passage. Finding an increasing amount of bioluminescent moss sticking to the walls. The passage seemed to be inclined downward sightly, but it was too slight to be immediately obvious. He eyed the strange glistening rocks, their slick texture and smooth fell seeming a little damp.
The path continued for a while, Lewis wondering if there would even be anything here after only seeing green moss, but eventually, he heard what sounded like running water echoing off the walls. It wasn't something he expected considering how bone dry the place had been until now, but he picked up his pace anyway, the slopping passage finally beginning to open up considerably as the amount of vegetation also increased.
It was only a few plants and roots at first, but soon he was forced to step over thick vines, the walls now visibly covered in a layer of condensation as a faint mist filled the air and the temperature became more fresh and humid.
He was still looking around at the new plants when he found what seemed like a small tree with yellow tangerines dangling from it's branches. Curious, he stepped up and plucked one of the fruits, using identify to scan it.
[Elban tree fruit
A common fruit that can slightly improve one's health and stamina regeneration upon consumption.]
Lewis was surprised that it seemed to be a completely normal fruit, having expected it to be some sort of hidden horror, like being filled with acid or something. Shrugging, he took a bit... And immediately scoffed the entire fruit down.
It's sweet and juicy flavor was like nothing he had ever tasted before, making his mouth water for more as he picked another one of the fruits and devoured it with ravenous hunger. It felt like he hadn't eaten in years as the precious nectar graced his lips and pushed his body into overdrive as he scoffed down every single of the of small tree's dozen fruits. When he was done, he still felt the urge to eat more, but his stomach was considerably more weighty than before, having finally had a meal he didn't know he needed.
His body was feeling lighter than ever as his energy returned, making him feel in peak condition, as if he was having a sugar rush. Feeling more energetic, he moved on, looking for another elban tree, mentally reordering his favorite food tier list to have those yellow fruits be at the very top.
Unfortunately, the next plant he encountered didn't have any food to offer, instead believing Lewis to be offering himself as a meal.