The death of the Clone Arkz was unexpected for Arkz.
Although due to insufficient development, his clone was like a glass cannon—very high ATK, but insufficient DEF, shattering at the slightest touch.
However, insufficient DEF was only relative to someone as powerful as Arkz's main body; the Clone Arkz's DEF was still slightly stronger than that of an ordinary person.
But in the face of this sudden attack, the clone's DEF was completely inadequate.
"With the clone's perception and speed, it actually got hit without even seeing the enemy!"
Arkz carefully reviewed the playback of the clone's death in his mind and finally discovered a clue.
"When the clone raised the pickaxe, a black tentacle grew out from the rock behind him."
"It was precisely because this black tentacle pierced the clone's body that it seemed to pause for a moment as the clone's body dissipated, which is why the clone managed to capture its shadow at the last second."
"Otherwise, given the dark environment inside the mine, coupled with the clone's shadow providing cover, the clone should have died without noticing anything at all."
Arkz secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, he had tried to be lazy and used the clone to replace himself; otherwise, he would have been the one ambushed at this moment.
Lazy people have lazy blessings!
"Arkz, what's wrong? Your face looks terrible."
Amu noticed Arkz's unusual expression and asked with concern, his tone filled with eagerness and care.
Even with the sunglasses concealing his face, the moved Arkz believed that the eyes beneath the sunglasses must have been brimming with deep affection.
Arkz patted Amu's head, who was wearing a black hood, and said softly, "Don't worry, I'm fine. Go play."
Amu nodded upon hearing this and led A Qiu to continue patrolling the farm.
However, upon closer inspection, Amu's steps seemed much heavier.
Although the clone was killed, the incident did not affect Arkz much.
The ores he and the clone had painstakingly mined, along with the materials dropped from fighting monsters, were all stored in his inventory space.
The clone's death only resulted in the loss of a bit of mental energy.
[Underground Mine Harvest:
Stone * 1023
Copper Ore * 507
Iron Ore * 359
Coal * 59
Ruby * 3
Emerald * 2
Cave Carrot * 17
Wood * 5
Crystal Ball * 10
...]
This was only the harvest from the first five levels of the Underground Mine, and because the clone died suddenly, a large portion of the fifth level remained unexcavated. These minerals were more than enough for Arkz to renovate the farm once and ensure the smooth progress of Ellin's training plan.
"Although the loss wasn't huge, that was still my clone!"
When a clone is dismissed or dies, all of its memories are transferred back to the main body. Therefore, Arkz, having received all the memories before the clone's death, empathized deeply. Since the clone and the main body were essentially the same person, for Arkz, this was no different from experiencing death firsthand.
Although Arkz was usually kind to others, he never showed mercy to enemies who truly threatened him, except for troublesome ones he couldn't defeat, like the junior sister Dottore.
However, Arkz was very confident that after mastering the geo vision, he would have sufficient strength to contend with Dottore!
Ascending to godhood was not distant for Arkz; it could even be said to be within reach!
Only now did Arkz understand why Zhongli said he would step in to protect him immediately if he encountered danger. Initially, Arkz had been very confident that he wouldn't encounter danger, given his strength level of 'Invincible below the gods, trading one-for-one above the gods.'
But now it seemed he had overthought things.
How could the Rex Lapis, with his strength, fail to detect his power level? Since he said that, it proved he believed there were enemies within the Underground Mine capable of threatening him. Looking at the death playback of the clone, this Underground Mine was indeed not simple.
If the enemies on the fifth level were this cunning and powerful, how terrifying would the guarding BOSSes on the fiftieth or one hundredth level be? Arkz immediately gasped, deciding to play it safe.
Although the fact that Rex Lapis did not intervene when the clone died showed that, in his eyes, the clone's death did not pose a lethal threat to Arkz—even though it strongly resembled imitating the famous scene where Xiao was coolly saved by the Archon—his own life was still more important.
"But there's no need to regret it too much. Later, if I encounter a powerful enemy, I can hide in the Underground Mine. If the enemy gives up, fine. But if the enemy is stubborn enough to pursue and try to wipe me out, then they should prepare to witness the Rex Lapis's 'Planet Befall'!"
After some thought, Arkz decided to send clones to mine in the future. Letting the clones die a few more times would also allow him to perfect his clone skills faster.
The Wood Clone had weak DEF; he could develop a Rock Clone. A rock-attributed clone would surely have rock-solid DEF.
Arkz inhaled the fresh, grassy fragrance in the air, feeling his thoughts becoming increasingly sharp.
He followed this peculiar scent, constantly searching for its source. At first, he thought it was wild flowers and grass on the farm that had mutated after absorbing the Elemental Power emanating from the farm, but it turned out the fragrance truly came from his farmland.
Smelling closely, among the farmland Arkz had cultivated so diligently, green, vibrant seedlings were stretching their forms under the sunlight.
Arkz bent down and gently touched the tender leaves of these seedlings, his movements as soft as if caressing a delicate flower, fearing that even a slight increase in force might damage the seedling.
As Arkz brought his nose closer, the fragrance grew richer. The earthy smell mixed with this strange aroma, becoming increasingly intoxicating.
"This smell... if it could be made into perfume, based solely on its refreshing effect and this intoxicating aroma, it would surely be wildly popular."
"This area... I remember it is... the strawberries I just planted a few days ago!"
"They just sprouted and already have this magical fragrance. As expected of the strawberry seeds I bought at a high price. I truly look forward to the day the strawberries ripen; I wonder how delicious and juicy they will be!"
...
Just as Arkz was immersed in the scent of the strawberries, the Underground Mine had descended into chaos.
Because the seemingly very peaceful 'Slime Queen' was suddenly enraged!
On the one hundred and twentieth level of the Underground Mine, the guarding BOSSes past the hundredth floor were exceptionally aloof and reclusive, never appearing within anyone's sight.
If it weren't for the fact that ordinary monsters still lived on levels past one hundred, and they all swore that the existence of the last twenty levels of the Underground Mine was real, many monsters would have suspected that the last twenty levels were just a lie fabricated by the monsters.
And on the first one hundred levels of the Underground Mine, the Slime Queen was the undisputed absolute ruler. Even the faction of Dark Geo Vishaps, who seemed at odds with the Slime Queen and acted as a rival power, was secretly supported by the Slime Queen.
A king's wrath causes corpses to pile up for miles.
When the Slime Queen tore off its hypocritical disguise, its brutal nature made all the monsters inside the Underground Mine tremble in fear.
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