Metalweaver's Odyssey: A Mobster's Full Metal Alchemical Isekai

1-7. A beacon of hope

Chapter 7: A beacon of hope.

Adam's POV

I managed to break my fall with a quick roll, ensuring that my legs remained undamaged. Glancing around cautiously, I confirmed the absence of any nearby monsters. "Woah... Now that's cool," I exclaimed, marveling at the unexpected beauty surrounding me. Positioned on a small cliff overlooking a pond of water, the cavern walls displayed a stunning array of hues.

The dark expanse was illuminated by small orbs of yellow and blue radiance, emitted by delicate flora clinging to the cave's edges. The sapphire glow from these blooms contributed to an otherworldly luminescence. In the heart of the darkness, luminous stones embedded in the walls cast a warm golden radiance, creating a celestial dance of light and shadow.

Stalagmites hung like stony chandeliers from the ceiling, and natural stone pillars rose from the cavern floor, adorned with ethereal strands of glowing blue algae. The cave was not just a dark void; it was a living canvas, a symphony of light and life where the ordinary transformed into the extraordinary. Unable to resist the allure, I stood next to the cliff's edge and gazed down below for a moment.

"Wow, this is beautiful. But... How the hell am I supposed to get out of here?"

"I recommend storing some water for future use," Nove quietly chimed in.

"It's nice that we can just store water in our inventory" I said before looking over the algae and getting an idea, "Hey, Nove, you can purify the water right? But what about those glowing algae by the pond? Can we do something with them, like metal weave them into a torch? Or maybe create a core node that gives me a torch-like ability?"

Nove responded in her usual monotone voice, "Unfortunately, you don't know the Metalweaving arts needed to mold biological materials. And we're out of Nexus blood or Nexus crystals."

"Wait, hold on," I interjected, puzzled. "Since when did we even have Nexus blood or Nexus crystals?"

"From the Muck Worm. All monsters have Nexus crystals and Nexus blood. Unfortunately, while they have a lot of Nexus blood, they only have one Nexus crystal," Nove explained. She paused for a moment before continuing, "While it's better to use Nexus crystals to create Core nodes, you know of an alchemical technique that can use Nexus blood as a substitute. But, be aware, the core node made with it will be of lower quality. That's why all the recent core nodes I made, besides the dirt core node, are of 3 and 2-star tiers, because I had to use Nexus blood for them"

Oh... I didn't knew she had been using that single muck worm I killed so efficiently that not even it's blood is wasted... Wait, was that why its meat was tender? All of its blood was already drained?

Regardless, Nove collected some water and purified it for me, My hands were dirty and bloody, so I had to make a small stone cup and use some of the purified water to clean the cup for usage.

"Ahh," I sighed in relief as the water quenched my thirst. "Feels like I'm born anew."

"Alper, What's your next move?" Nove suddenly asked.

"Well, let's see... Since this cave is gigantic, and I don't want to go back. I think it's a good idea to make some sort of torch first." We didn't have wood; otherwise, we would've just created a fire. So the only thing left to do is to extract some of the glowing rocks and use them to fashion a makeshift torch. Too bad those glowing rocks were quite a distance away.

Plus, it's probably better not to go deeper but rather higher. While this cave was huge, I could see a small entrance in the wall a bit ahead of us. Also, I've been hearing movement every now and then from the cave below. So while I do need some nexus core and blood, I'd rather not risk it. I also don't want to be captured by the rescue team either, so I need to make a move fast.